My husband and I have been working toward the goal of buying a camper for a little over four years now. Yesterday, we bought it! We bought a 2018 Prowler Lynx 25LX. We pick it up in a couple of weeks :) I have a couple of questions if anyone wants to answer!1. Water filtration - what do you do? I would like a filtration system that makes water drinkable rather than buy water. Is a double canister one worth the money if I will be using my RV recreationally, primarily in the summer? 2. Where do I go about finding a screen room for my awning? Can they be installed by us or should I have the dealership install it before I pick it up? 3. What items will make life easier in the camper? I’m used to tent camping. 4. What coffee maker do you use? Lame question but we’re big coffee people and I can’t have a Bunn because the water will get gross when it sits :(TIA! I’m just really excited. Our first overnight trip is April 21!

You seem to have a unreasonable expectation that the water is going to be vastly different than the water in6 your house. You have a fresh water tank, you can take your own water with you. Or you can use the campground water, which I can assure you, is perfectly safe (and 99% of the time has no objectionable taste or odors).

Just use a Brita water jug if that'll make you feel better . Can you just use a Keurig coffee maker ?

Screen rooms that I have seen advertised simply slide onto the awning rail. There is no dealer istall needed.There are two styles. Stove top or electric percolator. We have used the Coleman stove top perc. Slow but works great. If you have the room, simply buy a Cuisinart drip machine.Water? Once you have sanitized the tank you can fill it to use with no hookups. Hookups, like someone has already mentioned, use that. Some places will have really hard or heavy mineral content. Not much short of RO system will help that. So dont worry about it.

1. Water filtration.The only water filter we use is one like this: Click here.Because campground water does have different taste from location to location, we usually bring along some bottled water to use JUST for coffee. Everything else, we use the campground water just as it is. We have used the filter above in the past. One filter will last an entire camping season. Although the last 2 years, we never used it. You'll find that campgrounds have decent water. They have to because they have to pass State and County regulations and tests you know. But sometimes, campground water, connected through a city water system, can be chlorinated too strong, or well water may have a strange mix of minerals that cause different tastes. So, bottled water keep the coffee always the same. We use bottled water at home for coffee ONLY too.2. Screen room for my awning?For what it's worth, the screen rooms can be purchased at almost any RV dealership parts and supplies place. Check with the dealer where you are purchasing your camper. But a Google search on the Internet will also return lots of "hits" also. Here's one from Camping World: Click here. My suggestion... wait till after you get the camper and see if you REALLY still want it. They have to be put on after you extend the awning. They slide in the track in the awning roller. Depending upon the awning you end up with on your camper, you may not be able to add it on. It could be just too inconvenient, or if it's an electric awning, you may not want to at all. Wait till after you get the camper so you won't be buying something you won't be able to use later. 3. life easier in the camper:Anything that you enjoy or do at home, anything you use at home you can use in your camper. DO NOT spend money purchasing things that are advertised "RV". You will spend way too much money. It's usually snake oil advertising. It's fancy marketing to make you think there is something special about "it" so you have to have it for your camper. No, no, no. Whatever make you comfortable at home will make you comfortable in the camper. Blankets, sheets, appliances, dishes, silverware, toiletries, bath mats, cleaning supplies, clothing, everything ... is just your "normal" stuff you use in your house.Some things you do need specific for your RV, like water hoses, sewer hoses, boards or pads for under your stabilizer jacks, an extension cord for your camper shore power, folding camping chairs, stuff like that... yes. Everything else, it's just whatever make YOU comfortable.4. Coffee maker:Now this is a good question. My wife is the coffee drinker in the family. I don't like it. But she drinks coffee as heavy as I drink sodas. We've had several different coffee pots over the years in the camper. We've had everything from simple drip coffee makers, to Kreug's. We've had coffee makers that grind the beans, and those that just drip. We've had single cup makers, and 10 cup makers.Right now, we have one that will make both individual cups and 5-7 cups in a glass pot. We also have a stand alone coffee bean grinder, as she still like fresh ground coffee.But one morning the campground power went out and all we had were coffee makers that depended upon electricity. I improvised and boiled water on the gas stove, and poured the water though a coffee filter in a funnel. It was slow, but she got her coffee.After that, we purchased a metal campfire percolator coffee pot we keep tucked away, just in the event we ever are in a position again without campground power. And since we've bought it, it's never been used.Everything you do in your camper, you SHOULD consider doing it 2 different ways ... with electricity and without electricity. As former tent campers, I think you'll adjust to both styles very easy. Don't abandon those skills and those camping supplies you used when tent camping. Keep them with you. Even the old tent will come in handy, setting it up for an outside storage area. Good luck and enjoy that new camper.

We use a stove-top percolator. They are light weight, inexpensive, and very durable. Buy a stainless steel one, and forget the REALLY cheap aluminum ones. Water filtration depends. As others have suggested, you can always fill your fresh water tank (after sanitizing it properly) and drink that water. A Brita pitcher is also a good idea. But one essential you've not mentioned is a water pressure regulator, and not one of the cheap $10 ones, but a high quality one (probably $50-$80). You won't need it but rarely, but when you do need it, it will be absolutely critical. Your rig's plumbing can probably only take 80 psi, and I have been in two campgrounds where the supplied pressure was 150 psi, which will explode your plumbing. VERY expensive to repair.Screen rooms, others have addressed well.The same things you found crucial tent camping will serve you well in the new camper. Welcome to the scrum, and may that camper bring many joyous years of camping delight and lots of fabulous memories.

We got our camper! | Good Sam Community

BubbaChris
Explorer
Mar 14, 2018
Two suggestions for making life easier.

1) Get a pair of walkie-talkies to use while your spotter is helping you position the TT (at campsites, home, gas stations, etc). So much better than arm waving and yelling.

2) Boxes of disposable gloves. We do a lot of dry camping and cutting down on needing to wash our hands is a big plus. We take them into CG bathrooms, use them when dumping tanks, use them for food prep, etc.

Beyond that, it's all personal preference. We keep a second set of linens in the TT and change the sheets and towels on the last morning. Then we clean the TT and prep it for our next trip as soon as we get home. That way we're focused on packing mostly food and clothing when a couple of days away from each trip.

We also have small bins for sundries and pantry items to quickly move them to/from the TT when at home. Our summer heat prevents us from keeping everything inside between trips. We go out twice a month in season and this works for us.
sneakygroundbuz
Explorer
Mar 14, 2018
why does everyone reccomend to get walkie talkies?

i though everyone had a cell phone these days
rbpru
Explorer II
Mar 14, 2018
We have neither walkie talkies nor cell phones. My wife stands where I can see her in the mirror and guides me back into the campsite.
Vintage465
Nomad
Mar 15, 2018
For water filtration, I installed a Doulton 2 stage water filter. One filter is scale and the other one is ceramic/carbon. It does an excellent job of getting us bottled water grade product at the tap. The only down side of it is the slow pace that it fills. With the 2 pretty legit filters it takes a bit to fill a coffee pot. I installed a little pressure tank downstream of the filter and this gives me a fast fill for a glass of water. I would like to install a larger pressure tank so I could get enough water at a fast flow rate to fill a coffee pot or kettle. But that size tank will take up valuable space........

Coffee..........Kalita drip for me. Flair espresso maker along with a steamer on the stove to make cappuccinos for my bride. Works great. Whole bean only and we grind with a hand grinder just before each use. And for kicks I keep a pre-1964 Revereware stove top percolator when I want to go old school
xteacher
Explorer
Mar 16, 2018
For shade and bug protection, check out the Clam Shelter (available on Amazon). You can also purchase wind panels for it separately. Camping friends swear by them. Apparently, they're tricky the first time you put it up, but once you're used to the set up, they are super easy to use.
Clam Shelter
Wanderlost
Nomad II
Mar 17, 2018
sneakygroundbuzzard wrote:
why does everyone reccomend to get walkie talkies?

i though everyone had a cell phone these days

You're not always going to have a cell phone signal. Prime example: Yellowstone National Park. It's a wilderness area, and cell phone signals are few and very far between. Walkie talkies will still work and they're cheap.

As for stuff in the RV, suggest you start by using your tent camping equipment wherever possible. Next, look in your house for duplicate items you can use in the RV. Don't spend money outfitting the RV if you already have stuff that will do the job.

As you become comfortable in your RV, you may decide to change out items. When you do, suggest you choose multi-use items and leave the single use items to a minimum. You just don't have the storage space and you don't want to overload it, either.

Enjoy your new camping style.
DownTheAvenue
Explorer
Mar 17, 2018
Water filtration: Go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy a whole house water filter. Buy brass fittings to screw into the inlet and outlet that allow hoe to be screwed onto them. Put the whole house filter in a bucket to hold it upright. You will then filter your water to the same level that your house has. Cheap, easy, and practical.
sneakygroundbuz
Explorer
Mar 17, 2018
Wanderlost wrote:
sneakygroundbuzzard wrote:
why does everyone reccomend to get walkie talkies?

i though everyone had a cell phone these days

You're not always going to have a cell phone signal. Prime example: Yellowstone National Park. It's a wilderness area, and cell phone signals are few and very far between. Walkie talkies will still work and they're cheap.

As for stuff in the RV, suggest you start by using your tent camping equipment wherever possible. Next, look in your house for duplicate items you can use in the RV. Don't spend money outfitting the RV if you already have stuff that will do the job.

As you become comfortable in your RV, you may decide to change out items. When you do, suggest you choose multi-use items and leave the single use items to a minimum. You just don't have the storage space and you don't want to overload it, either.

Enjoy your new camping style.

i will take your advice on items for the TT,thank you

but a far as walkie talkies and having the wife guide me when i back up,nope wont do either of them.

i drive semi truck for a living and can back a 53 foot trailer,90* blind side into a parking stall at a trucks on both sides of me.
plus as a professional drive i use GOAL
GOAL is an acronym for Get Out And Look ;)
Vintage465
Nomad
Mar 17, 2018
sneakygroundbuzzard wrote:
Wanderlost wrote:
sneakygroundbuzzard wrote:
why does everyone reccomend to get walkie talkies?

i though everyone had a cell phone these days

You're not always going to have a cell phone signal. Prime example: Yellowstone National Park. It's a wilderness area, and cell phone signals are few and very far between. Walkie talkies will still work and they're cheap.

As for stuff in the RV, suggest you start by using your tent camping equipment wherever possible. Next, look in your house for duplicate items you can use in the RV. Don't spend money outfitting the RV if you already have stuff that will do the job.

As you become comfortable in your RV, you may decide to change out items. When you do, suggest you choose multi-use items and leave the single use items to a minimum. You just don't have the storage space and you don't want to overload it, either.

Enjoy your new camping style.

i will take your advice on items for the TT,thank you

but a far as walkie talkies and having the wife guide me when i back up,nope wont do either of them.

i drive semi truck for a living and can back a 53 foot trailer,90* blind side into a parking stall at a trucks on both sides of me.
plus as a professional drive i use GOAL
GOAL is an acronym for Get Out And Look ;)

My brother showed me these and they work amazing! They extend up above the tailgate and you can see the balls clearly in the rear view mirror. The only difference we do is you put the one on the pickup right on top of the ball. As you're backing up slowly and just as the balls touch the one on the hitch ball falls over, then the hitch ball is right under the coupling.
GrandpaKip
Explorer II
Mar 17, 2018
I use GOAL, too, even though I’m not a professional driver. And I didn’t even know it had its own acronym.

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