Our first time out in our TM!

12-13-2011, 10:12 PM

We are now the proud owners of a 2005 3124KB! We picked it up last Saturday at Fountain, Colorado, Camping World....and for our first trick we got a flat tire on the TM only 1.5 miles from our home, Trinidad, CO. I know, I know, we should have checked the age of the tires. I read that tip on this wonderful and informative forum and somehow the 3 hours we spent at Camping World doing all kinds of set up and such, threw us off our learning curve...turned out the tires were from 2006! They might have looked good but they sure weren't. We bought 3 new Commodore E 15" (that's what it had on it) tires from Big 0 and I contacted Camping World about the problem...they were very kind and are going to split the cost of the tires (they are pretty expensive tires!) but we felt good to have new excellent tires. Then we load her up (lightly) and take off for our winter retreat from the snow, only we couldn't take off right away as our Durango battery was almost dead, seems the TM drains the car battery when plugged in (I didn't remember, but I did read about that here!) Jumped the battery, brought another battery with us, just in case and we are off! We get to a very nice KOA campground in New Mexico but it is dark and we set up the TM for the first time....that was almost out of a Lucy and Ricky Ricardo episode! 3 hours later we think we have it all set up correctly, furnace working, hot water heater working - that was a crack up as the dealer had winterized it with some sort of bypass tubing and we had to remove that and hook it back up correctly and the drain pipe was in the way.....but we got it, of course not without water everywhere, etc etc....then we cannot figure out why the lights won't work in the 1/2 of the trailer where the bathroom and king bed are...that took awhile to figure out that the bathroom wall has to be just right or the lights won't work. It was a learning experience but we had fun! We are now on night 2....we drove through rain and fog all day in New Mexico and Arizona and it is supposed to snow tonight - we are pretty toasty warm. We are having trouble closing the TM, but I read through the forums and will take some advice and make sure nothing is on the beds, that might have been the problem...I notice the main latches are not aligned with the little bars they catch on - this is on front and back...we may have some adjusting to do, but we also need to be sure we are level. We are loving the TM, it is different but very likeable - our two little Boston Terriers love sleeping on their doggie bed under the fold up table between the couches. I am sure we will have lots of questions as time goes on!

12-13-2011, 10:36 PM

Hitting the road right out of the gate! I love it, you are adventureous! Have a great trip.

rvcycleguy · 12-14-2011, 04:35 AM

good story. I'm right behind you. Bought our 3124 last month and had a blow out on the left side tire the first night out. TM was parked for the night, and we were able to get two new tires the next day. We head out again this Friday from Houston to Sedona for Christmas. We will be up on IH40 from Tx to Flagstaff. Anything to watch out for this weekend on that stretch?

rv

Dave99gst · 12-14-2011, 05:15 AM

how come when ever I read the headlines that say something to the effect "first time in our TM" i always think something else? Is it just me?

12-14-2011, 07:31 AM

Dave, LOL....I didn't think of it that way when I typed it, but you have a valid point! Very suggestive title

rvcycleguy - it's cold, not sure about Sedona area but the Flagstaff area is supposed to be in the upper 50's - 60's this weekend (just saw the news) no problems on the road - hope you have clear sailing!
Time to break down and get on the road again! Cross your fingers for us.

12-14-2011, 09:13 AM

I haven't checked the weather, but the Flagstaff area had a large amount of snow the past couple of days. Sedona is lower so I don't know what they got. If the weather is decently warm it should be a pretty epic trip...don't forget your camera! Northern Arizona can be really cold this time of year, so don't forget your long underwear!

Also, you will be very close to Williams. This is a terrific time of year to take the Grand Canyon Railroad to the south rim. They have a camping park near the Williams depot, and I recommend staying one night at Maswik Lodge at the canyon. We have done this several times (once just before Christmas) and it is not to be missed and will never be forgotten.

12-14-2011, 09:20 AM

Hi Judy...hope I didn't hijack your thread! Congrats on your first trip and glad the blowout didn't cause a mess. They can really damage the undercarriage of your TM.

In the years that I have been on this forum, I have found that there are answers for virtually any problem you might run into. All you have to do is ask and the experts around here will spring into action! I doubt if you will run in to any problem which has not been thoroughly discussed, so in addition to asking yourself become a friend with the "search" feature!

**Bill** · 12-14-2011, 09:26 AM

Judy -

I love your story! With that great attitude, you are going to have more fun in your TM than you can imagine. I'm pleased that this forum was able to help in some ways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JudyGutierrez

We couldn't take off right away as our Durango battery was almost dead, seems the TM drains the car battery when plugged in (I didn't remember, but I did read about that here!) Jumped the battery, brought another battery with us, just in case and we are off!

Yup. This will get to be really annoying. If you are at all handy, I think you will go to Radio Shack and buy a little $5 relay like this one
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=3020762
You will also need a socket or four blade-type crimp quick-disconnect connectors to fit - Radio Shack again.
The relay looks like a black plastic cube, about 1.5 inches on a side, with a screw-down metal tab coming out of one end. Screw it down under the hood somewhere. Wire the contacts in series with the 12-volt feed to the trailer, find a "12-volts when ignition is on" point to operate the coil (you can find several in the fuse box), and voila! You have an isolator, and the problem will never happen again. These relays are also available in a blister pack at a hardware store such as Ace, or at WalMart or any auto supply store, even though they don't show up in the online catalogs. My suggestion - not everyone agrees - is to get a relay, and avoid a diode-type isolator.

Quote:

We get to a very nice KOA campground ... hot water heater working - that was a crack up as the dealer had winterized it with some sort of bypass tubing and we had to remove that and hook it back up correctly and the drain pipe was in the way.

Another one of my pet peeves. There is absolutely no need for a water heater bypass kit in a TM, and they are nothing but an annoyance. Glad to hear you removed it.

Keep coming back! We're glad to have you aboard.

Bill

12-14-2011, 10:42 AM

Wow! Makes me want to go camping. Unfortunately, we have ours buttoned up for winter now. We love camping in New Mexico and Arizona - that's usually where we go when we take a trip. And by the way, our Bostons love to go, also!

Regards and have a great time!

Bob

rvcycleguy · 12-14-2011, 11:57 AM

Thanks Scott O for the tips on Williams. We plan on carrying our motorcycle with us and if the weather will hold out for us, we plan to head to South Rim on the bike. Or we can set up camp there as well. We expect to be in northern AZ for up to 10 days leaving Houston this Saturday morning.

thanks,

rv