first trip

we took our 2027sl out for the first time last w/e and all went well.
great mileage (considering we tow with a f250 460 w/410rear).
coupla ?'s
can't get the frig to light up on gas. what is the orientation of the small valve in the outside compartment. the manual wasn't much help.

the manual suggests that the only outside surface maintenance is softscrub which seems kinda rough. it looks like protect all would be a help for uv protection ???

we live in central pa and (Lewisburg area) and took the unit up near the NY border - 11mpg up 18mpg back (uphill going there).
towed a holiday rambler before - always with white knuckles. this was a breeze. loved it.
what i didn't love was that toilet. do you need to put in more chemicals than normal? it smelled like an out house.
also at a dump station, how can you rinse out the tank after emptying it? it seemed to me the only way involved re opening the unit.
thanks
jack

Hi... I'm sure you will get a lot of responses, and from more experienced people than us. We bought some Thetford Aqua Clean, and that's what I use to clean the bathroom and kitchen sink with. Haven't tried it on the fridge though, but it says it's safe for all surfaces.

We use Thetford Aqua Kem for the toilet. One time we had left our supply at home, and had only a half of bottle in the trailer. It did not do the job!! We use a full 8 oz. and one Poddy Toddy. That combination works pretty good. I have a strong sense of smell, and can pick up things my husband never does. He calls me "Miss Nosey." What I usually smell in the bathroom is the chemical, and that's mostly when flushing.

To me, it's not the ideal toilet, but it is much better than I expected it to be. I also keep a Glade lavender candle in the bathroom sitting on the counter, not even lit, and it makes the bathroom smell nice. I rarely notice ordors drifting through the trailer, except maybe the lavender.

After dumping the toilet follow with dumping the grey tank.

[B_and_D]

We always fill up the toilet again (unless there's a big line at the dump station) up to the full mark after the first dump, recirculate several times and then dump again. We use the water from the TM fresh water holding tank and fill it up with the shower hose. I just think it keeps it cleaner (and smelling better) by doing that. We open the TM partially (just the shells, wardrobe, bathroom walls) to do this. Some people say that you can tow the TM for short distances open, but DH doesn't want to do that, so it takes us a little longer. We just pull out of the way and close down after we're done.

We tried some other toilet chemical first and found that we like the Thetford Campa Chem All Natural the best...you use two of the little bags and it really does a nice job controlling the odors. No acrid chemical smell, either.

I like the idea of letting the fresh water run through it too. We'll have to try that.

I think I will get some Campa Chem to keep in our trailer. What we use works well for us, but some camp grounds don't allow formaldehyde.