My first trip

[Bailey'sMom]

Hi all

Got back Friday from my first trip in my new to me 2010 TM2720SD. Many of you will recall all the GFCI problems I was having before I left. Well here is how my 13 day vacation went.

Two days before I left GFCI tripped again AFTER refrig was packed and TM was folded down. Tired of this issue I waited til Saturday morning pulled it out to street set up, dumped items from frig and packed an ice chest instead. Then folded down and took off 2 hours later than normal.

Towed beautifully with no WDH, using the tow haul feature on my Traverse. First time using mirrors, and the Milenco mirrors were great. No problems on any of the hills, where I used to feel my old minivan struggle a bit with old popup.

No problem backing into site by myself. Bailey even cooperated for a change. No way to,park solar panel in sun, so anticipating battery issues.

Set up easily, love the awning. Used the electric tongue jack while TV running. However when I got inside and checked battery level it was around 12.5, not so good. Stayed mostly around 12.2 or 12.3 which I know is bad.

Wish my dad was still alive. In old trailer he somehow added a junction box that tapped into the DC wiring, then moved my battery to back end of my car, plugged into 12v outlet so everytime you drove somewhere car charged the battery. Then when back at site would plug an extension cord from battery in car to the junction box on trailer, and voila, you had great battery power. Sadly I am electrically challenged, so probably won't ever have that set up again.

Anyway......

Went to fill hot water heater before turning on gas. Turned on faucets like supposed to but nothing came out. Puzzled. Then tried bathroom faucets. Nothing. Confused. Went outside and looked under trailer for wet spot, because water has to go some where right? Went inside again tried faucet, and still nothing. Finally walked around to backside of trailer and saw the hole in sand from water drained out! I forgot to close the bathroom low point drains! So there went 2/3rds of my water. Lesson learned.

Turned on frig on gas. Cooled down very fast, and just few hours later moved food into fridg.

Due to very low battery I used lights only when absolutely necessary. Tried to charge from car but only improved .1 or .2 volts. In fact now that I have been home a few days I notice car battery is much lower than before I went. Hope I didn't ruin the car battery.

Loved the roominess of the TM. Bed is kinda high even with a tall step. Will replace mattress with 6inch memory foam. I figure should still be able to close down since original mattress is 3.5" and I had a 2" topper and it closed no problem.

Never used the Thetford. Brought my old potty a pail instead. I'm a little afraid of the toilet. Maybe I will try it on my next trip.

When taking down, had minor problem with awning not going in exactly perfect. No biggy. Folded down and almost forgot to latch the four corner latches. Oops... On door side the two latches were caught in between the closed shells. Had to unlatch And popup again, rotate latches, and re-close. Another little thing to remember to watch for.

Dumped my gray water for the first time.....that was easy.

Now that I am home I need to figure out where the ground fault is. Hopefully Saturday. I also need to check the batteries. Looks like there are 2 golf car batteries. Should be fun trying to get them out.

Came back with a list of things I want to do. Was nice to have the hard sides with the cold weather we had. Went from high 80's / low 90's the week before to highs in the sixties! First 5 or six nights it was 45*. Never got warmer than 73 degrees.

But I wasn't at work, so it's was great. Went by too fast. Go up again soon for 2 weeks. Can't wait.

[LoveToCamp]

Glad you had an overall-successful trip! The TM is quite a trailer.

Re: solar - my solar charged well in non-direct sunlight. I was up to 14v every day, even when cloudy. Parked next to a tall tree, so only got direct solar for a couple hours each day.

Re: step into bed - we got a collapsible 2-step plastic "stairs" from Camping World - worth every penny!

Re: mattress - Also purchased a double-mattress air mattress, along with a pump. Took out the foam mattress. I also have a 2" egg-crate pad I got at Walmart (can't find link at the moment). Best sleep we have gotten on a trip for a long.

Hope any of these help you down the road.

[ChillEDog]

I enjoyed reading your trip report. Thanks for posting.

Re: Afraid to use the toilet. I was too, but it is easy, and it works great. A couple of lessons I've learned:
1. careful when pouring in the chemicals, they are very noxious. first time, I almost passed out. Pour in carefully/slowly to minimize dusting. Have water available to rinse into toilet.
2. if you are full hookup, or when dumping, make sure the sewer hose is properly elevated (highest at trailer, sloping down to drain). Ok, what I really mean is, if you have one of those expandable sewer hose racks that slope high to low, don't put it BACKWARDS like I did. Causes a little pooling issue, which becomes a most unpleasant surprise at disconnect time.

[Bill]

Bailey's Mom posted

First time using mirrors, and the Milenco mirrors were great.

Tell us more about these mirrors. What style did you buy, where did you buy them, what did you pay? I don't think I'd be a fan of the teardrop shaped ones, but there is apparently a rectangular one that looks good.

And ChillEDog posted

Careful when pouring in the chemicals, they are very noxious ... Pour in carefully/slowly to minimize dusting.

Sounds like you are using a powdered chemical. Have you tried the Thetford Campa-Chem liquid? Cheap at WalMart, biodegradable, available with and without formaldehyde (we use the "with" stuff, works great, never tried the "without"). No dust, smell, or eye irritation.

Bill

[ZekenSpider]

Originally Posted by Bailey'sMom

In Part....

However when I got inside and checked battery level it was around 12.5, not so good. Stayed mostly around 12.2 or 12.3 which I know is bad.

Not as bad as you might think. I think your Solar was helping even though you were in shade. They say it is best to not take the battery below 12.0 volts (50% charge). When you have time, study the info at:
<http://www.solar-electric.com/deep-cycle-battery-faq.html#Battery%20Charging>.

Among other things, it says:

State of Charge 12 Volt battery
100% 12.7
90% 12.5
80% 12.42
70% 12.32
60% 12.20
50% 12.06
40% 11.9
30% 11.75
20% 11.58
10% 11.31
0 10.5



Now that I am home I need to figure out where the ground fault is. Hopefully Saturday. I also need to check the batteries. Looks like there are 2 golf car batteries. Should be fun trying to get them out.

I suspect the GFCI problem occurred before you left after making everything work with an empty water heater (with the anode hole open). After you filled the WH, the electric heater element shorted the neutral to ground (even though the outside switch was off). The problem may go away again when the WH is empty, but the only way to make certain is to disconnect and tape both wires on the electric element and fill the WH. If that makes the GFCI work, it's time for a new element...or..leave both wires off and taped.

Once the GFCI problem is solved, the shore power converter/battery charger should bring your TM batteries back up to 13.7 VDC. If your TM is parked outside in the sun, the Solar alone should bring the batteries back up also but they will cycle between 13.0 and 14.3.

But I wasn't at work, so it's was great. Went by too fast. Go up again soon for 2 weeks. Can't wait.

Great attitude. Glad you got through the experience and are looking forward to more. If you are always going to "dry camp" there are some more hints to share that will make things even better.

Jerry

[MarkoPolo]

Sara, I have really enjoyed reading your trials and tribulations. It has been a fun vicarious experience and I am quite impressed how willing you are to try new things. Don't be afraid of the Thetford. It works really well. I will post some pics in the future of our tote and how we use it as a "quasi" cassette. I just received the Happy Camper tank treatment and hope to use it next week. Hope it works as well as some folks say. I have tried both the formaldehyde and non-formaldehyde formulas. The formaldehyde smells a little better, but both do their job fine. Hoping that Happy Camper is even better. Good luck.
Mark

Been using Happy Camper this season and have had very good results. Nothing is perfect, but this si the best I have found so far. After a few days just add another scoop and you are good to go.

[Bailey'sMom]

Originally Posted by Bill

Bailey's Mom posted Tell us more about these mirrors. What style did you buy, where did you buy them, what did you pay? I don't think I'd be a fan of the teardrop shaped ones, but there is apparently a rectangular one that looks good.

Got them on amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..._ya_os_product
$92.10 plus shipping



And ChillEDog posted Sounds like you are using a powdered chemical. Have you tried the Thetford Campa-Chem liquid? Cheap at WalMart, biodegradable, available with and without formaldehyde (we use the "with" stuff, works great, never tried the "without"). No dust, smell, or eye irritation.

Bill

. I bought the happy camper and it came before I left but I didn't try it. Will do next trip.

[Bailey'sMom]

Originally Posted by ZekenSpider

Great attitude. Glad you got through the experience and are looking forward to more. If you are always going to "dry camp" there are some more hints to share that will make things even better.

Jerry

Yes I will probably always dry camp so any other suggestions will be welcome.