First Dry Camping Experience
I thought I posted this, but it hasn't shown up, so we'll try again. Sorry if it's a duplicate... We had our first dry camping experience. It was nice, but could have been a lot better and now I ha...
Forum Discussion
oyarsa, first of all, congratulations on being located in Yakima -- you live in camping heaven. It takes us three days to get to your area, and there is so much great stuff available to you.
Second, the negative tone of some of the comments above is a little unfortunate. You are just making the usual newbie mistakes that almost all of us have made. No big deal. And do not give up on dry camping -- the boondocking near you is world-class.
Third, here is how to avoid the problem of the un-retracted jacks: after we did a similar thing, my wife and I created a "check before towing" checklist of all the things that have to be buttoned down before we actually start rolling. We keep the list in the cab of the truck.
After DW does a final walk-around, we go through the checklist, just like airline pilots do. Yes, it is a bit of overkill. And yes, after 13 years of trailering, we almost never forget a step, so the checklist is usually useless.
But not always. Once in a while, a missed step pops up (like "are the steps retracted??"), and we are glad for our plodding way of getting ready to roll.
Now, on to the batteries. We carry two group 31s, and I never let them get below 12.1 volts. They are carefully maintained on a BatteryMinderPlus, when we are at home. We have a 120 watt portable panel that tops off the battery each day.
With that setup (and careful use), we can go a week at a time without using our generator or plugging in to shore power.
You will gradually learn how to monitor your usage so as to extend the life of the batteries. It is not rocket science -- you don't have to be an expert. (I certainly am not.)
Finally, you need to find out if your fridge is drawing current to stay defrosted. That feature is a battery killer. It may take a while to figure out how to disable that defroster, but it is a job worth doing.
Hang in there! The learning curve for newbie drycampers is steep, but it does level off. And the payoff is huge.
Keep asking questions!! And ignore the replies that are not helpful.
Second, the negative tone of some of the comments above is a little unfortunate. You are just making the usual newbie mistakes that almost all of us have made. No big deal. And do not give up on dry camping -- the boondocking near you is world-class.
Third, here is how to avoid the problem of the un-retracted jacks: after we did a similar thing, my wife and I created a "check before towing" checklist of all the things that have to be buttoned down before we actually start rolling. We keep the list in the cab of the truck.
After DW does a final walk-around, we go through the checklist, just like airline pilots do. Yes, it is a bit of overkill. And yes, after 13 years of trailering, we almost never forget a step, so the checklist is usually useless.
But not always. Once in a while, a missed step pops up (like "are the steps retracted??"), and we are glad for our plodding way of getting ready to roll.
Now, on to the batteries. We carry two group 31s, and I never let them get below 12.1 volts. They are carefully maintained on a BatteryMinderPlus, when we are at home. We have a 120 watt portable panel that tops off the battery each day.
With that setup (and careful use), we can go a week at a time without using our generator or plugging in to shore power.
You will gradually learn how to monitor your usage so as to extend the life of the batteries. It is not rocket science -- you don't have to be an expert. (I certainly am not.)
Finally, you need to find out if your fridge is drawing current to stay defrosted. That feature is a battery killer. It may take a while to figure out how to disable that defroster, but it is a job worth doing.
Hang in there! The learning curve for newbie drycampers is steep, but it does level off. And the payoff is huge.
Keep asking questions!! And ignore the replies that are not helpful.
