First time out -Ouch!

[drillagent]

Decided to take out our new to us 5er for the weekend. I SHOULD have known from the beginning it wouldn't be pretty.

To start with, I went to the storage lot around noon to start the Norcold fridge so it would be cold before we took off. Wouldn't you know, I got the heat sensor fault code. Book says only technician can fix it. No problem, we'll take a cooler.

So then we got a late start. By the time we got the trailer loaded and hooked up, it's already getting dark. Get to the pull through site at the campground and there's two trees and a stone post on either side of the narrow entrance. With about a three foot drop off and no shoulder on the road I'm on. Tried to get in and ended up rubbing the awning on one of the trees. So I somehow back out and try to go around the front. As I'm backing in, I can't get the rig turned sharp enough. Thank God for the B&W hitch. I had the trailer twisted so bad that one of the front legs was scraping the ground and a corner of the truck bed almost hit the underside of the trailer. So I get out of the truck, and the neighbor comes out and says, dude, you're backing in from the wrong direction. The site is angled the other way. Doh!

So I look and the next site over has a better entrance and isn't reserved. So I pull in there. Now I'm trying to level the rig and it's at a steep grade. A full bubble on the level in the fridge. By the time it's level front to back, the nose is 6 inches off the ground and the tail is about three feet in the air. And it's still not exactly level.

So I get everything hooked up and we bed down. This morning, we're going through all the systems, and the black tank level says 3/4 full. So I go and empty it and barely anything comes out. So I look down the commode and there's a pile almost to the bottom of the toilet. Great. I get the house and stick it down the toilet and start flushing everything out. Pull the handle and get nice flow until nothing comes out anymore. Look down the toilet, and it still has water in it. Great, the black tank won't completely empty.

So my son in the front of the rig (front living room) says it's too hot. So I figure I'll turn on the fantastic fan and pull some of the hot air out. Cover goes up, fan doesn't come on. I check the other two fans, and they work fine. Great, the fan is broke.

So after all this, my wife and I are laying on the bed and my wife rolls over and says "can we just retire now and do this all the time?".

What an AWESOME trip!

[Poppy_s_5th_Whe]

NJRVer wrote:

Ouch!
I think I would have come back with a chainsaw and evened the score!:B

Haha! Believe me I wanted to but the park service took care of that for me although it was totally my fault. I wanted to roll up in a ball and cry. First ever "new" RV. But my level headed wife prevailed and we stayed for the weekend and had a relatively good time. 2 months and $15,000 of the insurance company's money later and you could never tell anything happened. I felt real bad for the insurance company because I hadn't even made one payment yet!

[NJRVer]

Poppy's 5th Wheel wrote:
Just to make you feel better. You know, someone always has a "you think that's bad" story.

First weekend with our new trailer. March 2011









Now, don't you feel just a little bit better? 🙂

Ouch!
I think I would have come back with a chainsaw and evened the score!:B

[drillagent]

Well, after seeing the pics, I feel kind of bad for my petty complaints. Sorry. I guess the moral of the story is, no matter how bad you think you've got it, somebody else has it worse. I hope you were able to get your trailer fixed without too much trouble.

As for my wife's sense of humor; what i didn't mention earlier is that I also forgot the sewer piece that conects to the ground inlet. Grabbed the box with the hoses in it, but didn't realize that piece was not in the box. So we ended up going into town and doing some exploring. Basically we had a pretty good time. Then we took the dogs down to the lake for the first time ever. So all in all we had a good time. I'm glad she could see past the bad part and look forward to the good.

The real test comes today. My wife had to go home yesterday so she could be at work today. So my 16yo son and I have to tear down, hook up, and take it on home. Should be interesting.

[kakampers]

There is a sensor on the fan up on the roof...clean it off and it should work...ours did the same thing....

[DustyR]

March 2012 I had picked up a new TT and when I arrived back at my camp site I made a simple turn to align with the site and the over swing on my TT took the bumper cover off of the neighbors car.

To my dismay, his reply "nice unit and the insurance will take care of my car, lets have a beer." Gotta love fellow travelers.

[Toolguy5]

We all have are issues from time to time.
Once there fixed it is all enjoyment. :@

[rexlion]

I'm trying to decide if your wife has a droll sense of humor, or if she just really, really loves camping! 😄 Either way, she's a keeper!

[Bamaman11]

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger on your first outing. After 5 great days in our new Grand Design 37' Reflection fifth wheel trailer, I had a small accident. The insurance adjuster's already cut a check to my dealer's body shop for $11,500. Much if the damage is in cabinetry.

Another bad part of the accident (other than having one) is doing without our trailer for 2 months.

The living room has a 12' slider that's wall to wall love seat/recliners. And they face a 40" television. We already miss our trailer.

[Tom_Diane]

I really like her sense of humor! LOL

[Poppy_s_5th_Whe]

Just to make you feel better. You know, someone always has a "you think that's bad" story.

First weekend with our new trailer. March 2011









Now, don't you feel just a little bit better? 🙂

[avvidclif1]

Now I know where Murphy was. He hasn't bothered me all day....

[twins89]

Great to roll with the punches. Buy a bottle of Calgon water softener for the laundry (found in the laundry aisle in Walmart) and pour about 1/4 of the bottle into the toilet. Make sure there is water in there (1/2 full is nice.) Leave it set and continue to use your rv. The Calgon will soften all the s... and then you can really flush it out. Sounds like you have the dreaded paper pyramid that newbies or some dummies get by leaving the black open all the time when on sewer. NEVER leave it open until it is at least 2/3 full. I still am amazed at how many don't follow this. Call Fantastic Fan, they have the best customer service. Explain the issue. They will send you what you need. Next time try not to arrive after dark. Some campground have it set up to back in on the "wrong" side. We then sometimes go around the loop the wrong way to get it to back in from the drivers side (not the blind side). Try the fridge again and see if resetting it solves the issue. Good luck.

[jjj]

Been there , done that, when it rains it pours. We all come across this at times. Believe me I understand your frustration. Just don't give up just yet it doesn't happen all the time but remember that it will happen again. It seems that everytime I go out there is somethig that won't work. Right now I am dealing with the day/night shades. I have 6 of them that the strings have failed and need to repair. I have ones that either won't go up or can't close and had to use a blanket to cover the window. Several years ago I had a floor on my back slide fall off the bottom of the walls. I bought my Keystone Challenger in December of 04 and later found out in the news that just prior to buying it that 1/3 of the work force was fired for some kind of drug use. I am just thankful it is still holding together as well as it has been since I cannot afford a new one. Good luck and happy camping.