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RE: help picking new tt
In my opinion the first thing you do is list what you want in an TT.
I our case it was,
* A bed you could exit without crawling over your spouse.
* A big bath with linen storage.
* Enough room inside for two adults and a big dog to stay comfortably when it rains.
* A large pantry area.
All the above had to be in a floor plan we liked. It had to be towable with an F-150 with a max cargo limit of 1411 lbs. It had to be at a reasonable cost.
We rented a TT that had that we thought we wanted for a ten day trip, refined our thinking, then found what we needed in a three year old, 25 foot, Dutchmen Lite with a short slide out.
That was six years and 40,000 towing mile ago.
Good luck
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rbpru
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11/20/19 09:42pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Voice Controlled Travel Trailer
Technology is a train. You do not have to board it, but you will be left behind.
I ride the train to the stops I desire, then let others go on their merry way. It is great when I need it, easy to ignore when I do not.
I am perfectly at home with a canoe and tent when I need to be or in my TT when it is available.
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rbpru
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11/20/19 09:24pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Casita vs "conventional" small trailers
It has been my experience that floor plan trumps all else. The best bomb proof TT will not be as satisfying as a proper floor plan.
Good luck
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rbpru
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11/19/19 07:00pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Voice Controlled Travel Trailer
I use the technology I need and leave the rest to others.
Next on my list of needs is, a car to drive me to the skeet range. A car that comes curbside to pick me up at the mall, after it found its own parking space.
Home and RV, I have what I need, though a rear mounted camera might be nice.
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rbpru
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11/19/19 06:48pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Extended Warrantee?
We bought a used RV and spent the extended warranty money on better insurance coverage.
For us it worked out fine when we hit a road hazard and took out a wheel and both axles.
It is simply a gamble.
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rbpru
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11/07/19 10:00am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Battery storage
I have left the TT plugged in all winter, checking the battery water level, I have disconnected the battery and charged it periodically on the TT. However, the easiest way for me is to charge it and leave it in the laundry room in a plastic tub.
It is convenient to check but only sits for 3-4 months so it rarely looses much charge.
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rbpru
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11/07/19 08:12am |
Travel Trailers
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It is mouse time again.
I just winterize the water lines and we are unloading the food. Soon we will be backing it into parking spot in the back yard.
Like most folks I have tried dryer sheets, peppermint oil, commercial mouse repellent and new this year, Osage hedge apples.
To be honest, a series of mouse traps has been the best solution so far. But running the trap line all winter gets annoying.
Good luck
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rbpru
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11/06/19 10:06pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Filling Propane While Traveling
My tank are a few years old and I take them to my propane dealer in town. If I run out on the road, I swap them out for the best looking tanks at the local gas station LP exchange. If they were new tanks I probably would not do that.
I do carry a extra tank in a milk crate secured in the truck bed.
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rbpru
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11/06/19 09:47pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: trailer size and campsites in National Parks
Rob,
I believe the most direct answer to your question is; there are too many variable to tell. What park, how many campsites are available, what kind of faculties do you need, when do you plan to go. etc. etc. There is no uniformity in campgrounds, National or otherwise.
The most important issue when buying a TT is the proper floor plan. This remains when all other problems have been solved. Of course you need the proper tow vehicle, this also limits the TT size and of course cost.
We had only a rough idea of what we needed, so for our first trip to the Ozarks we took our best guess and rented a TT with what we though we wanted. We discovered very quickly what it was like, pulling one of these barns down the road, what floor plan changes we needed, what kind of gas mileage and performance to expect. We did all this before we spent the big bucks on a TT.
The TT we bought to match our half-ton was a 25 ft. We have never been too big for any campground but we have had a few tight squeezes at some of the older campgrounds out west.
Good Luck
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rbpru
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10/29/19 10:49am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Quality versus Price
Try to build an 8 foot by 25 foot cabin with bed, bath, kitchen and the associated plumbing, electrical, lighting and appliances, for $25K to $28K.
Now put wheels under it and drive it down the road at 60 mph. then off road for a few more mile.
Oh, also,it has to weigh less than 6000# and you have to charge for your labor.
Lots of folks have tried and most of them are now owned by Thor or Forest River.
It is tough to do and even tougher when folks do not want to pay extra for a quality product.
The higher priced unit may use plywood over pressed board or better construction techniques and appliances but the manufacturing process is pretty much the same.
The Casita/Scamp egg types or Airstream are a few of the non-standard construction types.
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rbpru
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10/28/19 03:56pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: how to level a trailer
My floor, table, frig, frame and tongue all show some variations of level.
For us the frame and the stove top are the most important points to be level.
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rbpru
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10/14/19 08:12pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Murphy Bed vs. Separate Bedroom
We bought our TT because we did not want to set up and take down.
I Murphy bed maybe a simple option and handy, but for us it was never an option.
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rbpru
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10/14/19 07:58pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Stink Bugs
Yup, no ladybugs but lot of stink bugs. Both are better than ants.
I wonder whose turn it is next year. :)
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rbpru
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10/09/19 06:19pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Trailer Suspension Questions
One cannot deny the advantages of wet bolts and bronze bearings but I would certainly consider shock absorbers.
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rbpru
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10/09/19 08:51am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Organized Obie Installs
I use Command strips to hold several things. They hold well, so well, that they tear the wall paper type covering off the wall or cause it to slip and buckle on whatever the wall material is made of. We used them for small mirrors, thermometers, broom hooks plus an array of other items.
I use a Command hook that is rated for the load and add a small 3/8" long nail through it, to keep it from moving or tearing the wallpaper. This has worked well for thousands of towing miles.
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rbpru
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10/09/19 08:44am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Biggest unit you know of under 3,500 pounds ???
One of the rude awakenings I received, was when I took my 5000# dry weight TT across the CAT scales. Loaded for the road it weighted close to 6200#.
Also the tongue weight was advertised as 400#, it was 700# loaded for the road. That was about half my cargo capacity.
The fact that the gross vehicle weight was 7500# should have raised doubts about the dry weight.
If you have the tow vehicle, the cargo capacity is on the door sticker. How much the owner want to push it is up to him.
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rbpru
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10/03/19 12:02pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: What do you want in a campground?
As you can see, campground preference is so individualistic "good" cannot really be defined.
So to "camping". Once we had a hard roof, electricity and gave up putting things away wet, we were RVing. Dry camping or full hookups, I enjoy the creature comforts.
However, I still do pre-1830's reenactments a few times a year. That is about all these old bones will take. :)
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rbpru
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10/02/19 10:07pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Winterizing using an air compressor
Your process sound pretty compete and if it works for you that is great.
The last time I tried air to blow the lines, I bought a city water/valve stem adapter, I set the regulator to 20 lbs. and proceeded to blow out the pump check valve.
The air did forced the water through the lines and gurgled out the facet quite nicely, before the droplet on the pipe walls settled down into the low spots of the water line run when the air was removed.
These days I drain the fresh water tank and the bypassed water heater and open the low point valves. While the water drains I go get a cup of coffee.
With the water drained, I disconnect the fresh water line from the pump and plug in a 5 ft. length of clear tubing. (I got the fitting from TSC). I close the low point valves and drop the clear tubing into a gallon of RV antifreeze, turn on the pump and open the cold water facets till they each run about a pint of more of pink into the drain. I repeat with the hot water side.
Finally, I go back and repeat the process with another pint or so of RV antifreeze from each facet.
The five feet of clear tubing allows me to set the antifreeze jug in the middle of the trailer where I can see how full it is and when it need replacing. When I am done, I reconnect the fresh water line to the pump.
Not counting the time to drain the water heater and water pipes, the process takes about twenty minutes and uses about 3 gallons of antifreeze, which ends up in the P traps and gray tank except for the antifreeze that goes down the toilet.
We all have our winterizing methods that we developed over the years.
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rbpru
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10/02/19 04:26pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: What do you want in a campground?
In most cases campgrounds are where we park our TT while we go see the sights. State parks are our preference.
We usually go camping as part of another adventure, a family gathering, a fishing trip, a local concert etc. Our TT serves as our local hotel and restaurant.
Electricity is our only necessity, if we have to time we will hike the trails or take in a naturalist program. Our preference is to go when the kids are in school, the campgrounds get rather empty at those times.
Coming from years of wilderness canoe camping, our campground requirements are minimal.
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rbpru
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10/02/19 03:41pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: First TT advice
My F-150 has a max cargo of 1411 lbs. My 5000 lb dry weight TT is 6400 lbs across the CAT scales when loaded for the road.
The tongue weight is 750 lbs and my family and gear are right around 600 lbs. So my truck is at or near its max cargo weight.
We have towed 40,000 miles in 5 years and would not change a thing. The combo works great. But do not kid yourself, it is a lot of wear and tear; compared to just hauling air or light loads most of the time.
Our TT is 25 feet and perfect for winding through city streets to find shops and local attractions. But the next most important thing is the floor plan, it has to be right for your family.
Good luck.
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rbpru
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09/30/19 10:17pm |
Travel Trailers
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