First trip out with our TM 3023

I had planned this trip two months ago. Well last weekend my wife and I did it..we went camping! It was a nice journey about 10 min driving time from our home. I was fully prepared for the normal spouse abuse especially when it came to backing the TM into our space at the RV resort.. Ok honey you have a try of backing. Well she had a go and we did not go far. At least after her short time at the wheel we had peace for a while.

The peace lasted until bed time. Without thinking I had left the outside light on..when I opened the door that was it, the inside of the TM was swarmed with mosquitos. We spent the next 30min killing these little blood sucking insects.

My wife had a hard time to climb into the aft bed...a few words were said.. I am going home, we are selling the trailer, I am sleeping in the car, I am too old for this, etc etc.

I forgot to mention the TM is our first trailer and this was our first camping trip. We are both over weight and near retirement. I will not bore you with the rest of the details, except the 2nd night went fine and the wife is now looking forward to our up coming trip to Denver.

I have a couple of questions:
On our trip to Denver we plan to stop 2 nights. Do I have to drain the
toilet each stopover. Is it ok to tow with the toilet about 1/3 full.

The condensation was a problem..has any one used a small dehumidifier?

Thanks for your help.

Brgds
John

Originally Posted by johngzwart

The peace lasted until bed time. Without thinking I had left the outside light on..when I opened the door that was it, the inside of the TM was swarmed with mosquitos. We spent the next 30min killing these little blood sucking insects.

I leave both lights turned on for the curb side. The interior switch on the right side of the door will turn them both off without any need to open the door. If I were to hear a disturbance outside I can turn them on with the door closed.

I always travel with the interior switch on and the two exterior lights off. If I arrive at camp after dark I can turn both lights on. They provide just enough light to get level and set the wheel chocks. Sometimes I forget the flashlight.

congrats on your first trip. One of the first mods we did was to change out the lens on the two curbside lights. we replaced the white lens with amber ones and they don't seem to attract the bugs as well (kind of like the yellow bug bulbs we have in our outside light fixtures at the house. I think the lens ran about $3 each and took 10 secs to replace! I would also recommend as you are new to camping to pick up a set of ultrasonic bug replellers. Home Depot or wal mart carries them. They normally are a compination night light, bug repleller (you hear a click every couple of seconds that you quickly learn to ignore and they also have a socket in the side so you don't lose one of your ac electrical outlets.

Bill

A couple nice heavy step stools come in handy both inside and out. I have the kind that stack inside each other when in travel and just leave them inside the TM. They make tinkering with awning lights and clothes line easy and with my two little ones they really help. I also since I am a big guy too got a super duty folding metal step for the front door with two steps on it and large round feet. I always worried about the factory step breaking. We too have the amber lense outside which seems to help with bugs and a small oscilating fan with a window cracked keeps the moisture low.
Have fun with your TM

Leon, Bill and Lisa,popbeavers sirdoc.
Lady and gents, many thanks for the good ideas. I would never had thought about the amber lens. I did go out and get a oscillating tower fan (on special from CVS). The ultrasonic bug repeller and the heavy duty steps are now on my shopping list.

Thanks for the help

Brgds
John

You can also buy the amber bulbs at the auto parts store. Cheaper and easier to find than the lenses. http://www.lightlens.com/coloredbulbs.htm Look for 1156A which has a single contact. Don't get the 1157A because it has two filaments and 2 contacts but the little pegs that hold it in are offset and won't work in a socket for an 1156 bulb. The bulbs on that website are really expensive - you can do a lot better than that at the parts store or Wally World.

Freedom, thanks for the amber bulb site. We printed that page and can now head out to a parts store.

Dear Cecil:

A friend of mine has been having some trouble lately with that perpetual pest, the mosquito. He remembers reading somewhere--as do I--about some kind of ultrasonic transmitter used as a mosquito repellent. Do these devices work? Do they have any effect on humans? Are they legal? And where can I get one? I'm just itching for your reply.

Cecil replies:

I'm not going to answer your last question, H., because ultrasonic mosquito repellers all have one thing in common: none of them work. At all.

Ultrasonic devices work, according to one advertisement, by "mimicking the sound of the bat--the mosquito's greatest enemy." (They emit sound in the 20-50 kiloHertz range, higher than humans can detect.) While it's true that bats eat mosquitoes and that bats make ultrasonic sounds (they navigate through a sort of natural radar), the humble mosquito apparently can't make the connection. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted two years of tests in the mosquito-ridden area around Chesapeake Bay, trying virtually every type of electronic repeller they could lay their hands on. Not a one had any noticeable effect on mosquitoes, or, if it's any comfort, on humans (although some say the latter question hasn't been studied in sufficient depth). Subsequent research at various universities has pretty much borne out the EPA's findings. Both the EPA and the U.S. Postal Service have gone after ultrasonic repeller makers for making unsupported claims for their products.

Some ultrasound firms say their products will also repel mice, rats, roaches, bats, fleas, spiders, and the like. The evidence to date suggests these claims are greatly exaggerated. At best they work only when used in conjunction with a concerted anti-pest program involving traps, improved sanitation, elimination of entry points and nesting places, and so on. So don't throw away that flyswatter yet.

--CECIL ADAMS

Originally Posted by Debian Dog

Dear Cecil:

Another Straight Doper>

[countrygirl]

Where can I find the amber lens that will fit the exterior lights on a TM?