Our first time out in our TM!

There is a full service CG in the GC Park. Not sure if it's all season or not. Sorry the name escapes me.

Judy ~ I found your story to be absolutely "hilarious" and could totally relate. Been there and we do "have the T-Shirts". Just what I needed to read after a hard days work! The world could use more laughter! Glad tho' that it all worked out for you. Enjoy your TM ~ it only gets better ......... we are still newlywedding with ours.

No internet for 2 days....I was having withdrawal. Trip is still a learning experience....we discovered why we couldn't close the TM very easily....we had curtains up and a couple of blankets on the bed....took EVERTHING off and now it closes as easy as pie! Silly us. Last night we stayed at the Elks Lodge in Needles, CA....we are Elks members and we were happy to discovered that many Elks Lodges have inexpensive facilities, they may have partial hook ups, some have full hook ups like the Needles Elks....anyhow, it was a very nice set up and when we went to the bar we got bought quite a few beers! Win-Win! We are getting a bit weary making our way to Santa Rosa, CA on this learning experience with our TM and being that I sort of have taken the role of "inside" break down chief, and DH is outside king...well....can I blame it on the weariness??? I not only forgot to pull the 2 bed locking clip thingys (the name of them totally escapes me!) but I left the removable cupboard over the kitchen sink up on the wall and then we wondered why we couldn't close that side.... talk about feeling like a goof! DH discovered after we took off that he hadn't pushed the plug from the trailer to the vehicle for the lights and brakes in all the way...glad we have a brake controller box thingy in the Durango or we might not have known for awhile! We found a WalMart yesterday and we bought a ceramic heater - yes that furnace in the TM is loud! Works good though. We bought batteries for the remotes for the tv and dvd player that we had forgotten, bought a cable to hook the tv to the cable hook up in the TM but forgot that some campgrounds don't have a cable to fit from their box to the trailer so still no tv...oh well, who needs it? DH does! Thank goodness we brought some DVD's. So far no major troubles, leak in water hose - need new hose, cheap hose not good. Small leaks under kitchen and bathroom sink (now my extra toilet paper rolls are kinda soggy - learned my lesson) There is a bit of a problem with dirt from the road getting on the wall in the bathroom over the shower and where the wardrobe is...and hot water heater didn't want to light on gas tonight but is working find on electricity. All in all we feel it's been a successful experience....tomorrow we reach our destination, can't wait to wash this poor dirty TM. Bill, thank you for the info on the Battery - am showing to DH, he is very handy with that type of thing.
Bob - arn't Boston's the best little doggies?? Ours are having a ball! or they would if they ever woke up, they are sleeping through some of the best parts!
Sorry I got so long winded....we are really enjoying our TM!

Do you have a pressure reducer on your shore water hose. If not, sometimes the pressure in shore systems can be high enough to cause small leaks ( occasionally major blowouts) in the plumbing. If your leaks go away when running on the 12V TM water system, this could be the problem. Easy fix just get a pressure reducer.

Originally Posted by JudyGutierrez

:
Bob - arn't Boston's the best little doggies?? Ours are having a ball! or they would if they ever woke up, they are sleeping through some of the best parts!
Sorry I got so long winded....we are really enjoying our TM!

Yes, they are - ours love to travel! Problem is, they sleep all day in the truck and are ready to go by the time we're tired enough to stop for the day!

Bob (runbleweed) has a good suggestion for your water leaks - if you don't have one, get a pressure reducer. Another thing I've found with ours is that occasionally, after many miles of towing vibration, the drain connections will work loose just slightly but enough to cause a small leak.

Have fun,

Bob

Yea I think all of our "first times" we all kinda fumbled around. Mine was in a state park camground, in the dark. My wife, son and dog joined me for a cold night as it was late November. Turns out we were in a "no dog" site. Park ranger shows up after we had managed to set up and get comfortable. He could not have been nicer. Welcomed us to our first -in a trailer - camping experience. (since then here in PA, I have found all of the rangers to be very helpful) 3 years later I certainly understand the notion that " experience sure is a good teacher." Someday you will look back and fondly remember that first night and laugh, at least I do. Good luck and best of wishes.

Thanks for the tips everyone, I asked DH if he was using the pressure reducer (I know we have one!) and he said he would if he could find it! So that is probably what happened to the hose. Glad to know we arn't the only ones who had some learning to do on our first trip. Nothing else major happened on our last leg of the trip except that as we were on a crowded stretch of freeway a guy was trying to tell me something from the next car over and it turned out the door was flapping along the freeway. That little white thing that holds the door closed doesn't seem to be enough, it wiggled loose as we bumped along the terrible roads here in CA. Has anyone used something else to hold it like a hook or something? We really like the TM and look forward to actually camping with it at the beach and by the river and such while we are here in Northern CA.
Happy Trails everyone!

[MudDog]

Originally Posted by JudyGutierrez

Nothing else major happened on our last leg of the trip except that as we were on a crowded stretch of freeway a guy was trying to tell me something from the next car over and it turned out the door was flapping along the freeway. That little white thing that holds the door closed doesn't seem to be enough, it wiggled loose as we bumped along the terrible roads here in CA. Has anyone used something else to hold it like a hook or something?

We had the same thing happen too many times. The little plastic knob would be tight when we left, but work loose on the road.

It can also lock you INSIDE the TM. My kids would come in and shut the door hard enough to cause the knob to slip into the locked position...try getting back out when that happens (had to practice the emergency bed exit routine)

On one trip the door came open on the road and the knob and screw were completely gone (always have duct tape with you).

I finally went to Home Depot and bought a dead-bolt lock and had it keyed the same as the existing locks. I installed it on the upper door. When setting up or taking down you can easily reach between the gap and lock or un-lock it from the inside. No more door coming open on the road or getting locked inside the TM.

--jim

[wbmiller3]

I just slipped a couple inch long piece of flexible plastic tubing over the little plastic latch. This increased its diameter so it was a tighter fit and made it a little longer. No open door episodes since I did this.

I bought a long 1" wide nylon ratchet strap at a big box hardware store to keep in the TM for emergencys. Can be used for your door problem or to hold the shells down should you ever have a latch fail.