Question for the full timers

[nascarjody88]

Looks like I will be moving into my trailer full time due to a change in jobs. I unfortunately will not be traveling the states like most of the rest of you. Any suggestions on living in my tt full time? My wife will not be with me except for the occasional weekend.
1 Do I leave the black water tank closed till it needs to be dumped? 2 Same with the front galley tank?
3 What is the best slide out supports?
4 Do you run the a/c during the day when not in the trailer? (I will be in south texas)
5 does covering the tires make a difference?

Anything else you might suggest that I am not thinking of.

[nascarjody88]

Geocritter wrote:
You must be working on an Eagle Ford Shale project. As for your tanks, I leave my black water tank fill until its nearly full and then open up the valve and let it rip. As for my grey water tank, I currently have a cracked tank which I've repaired temporarily with Eternabond, all I can use the grey water tank for currently is through-put and don't dare store water in it. The advice about turning the water off when you leave for the day is excellent. You really don't want to have a flood in your rig while in Texas because of future mildew issues. Tire covers are a good idea, especially in south Texas.

I am not in the oil field. I am going to Beaumont for a job at Mid County Dodge in the service dept. Thanks for your advice.

[Bill_Satellite]

nascarjody88 wrote:
Thank you all for your responces. I am kinda curious about the slide supports. every one said no. Do they do damage?

They could damage. If you have the supports in place and the coach were to settle on the jacks or air bags the supports would remain fix in place and push the slide out of the track.

[Geocritter]

You must be working on an Eagle Ford Shale project. As for your tanks, I leave my black water tank fill until its nearly full and then open up the valve and let it rip. As for my grey water tank, I currently have a cracked tank which I've repaired temporarily with Eternabond, all I can use the grey water tank for currently is through-put and don't dare store water in it. The advice about turning the water off when you leave for the day is excellent. You really don't want to have a flood in your rig while in Texas because of future mildew issues. Tire covers are a good idea, especially in south Texas.

[Bill_Satellite]

If your coach was built with slides, no support should be necessary. There is always someone selling snake oil and the slide supports fall into this category. If you meet owners with the same unit you are considering and they recommend you buy slide supports, you should buy another product.

[nascarjody88]

Thank you all for your responces. I am kinda curious about the slide supports. every one said no. Do they do damage?

[Old-Biscuit]

Black tank.......let it fill up. You want the weight/volume of liquids to carry the stuff out. Leaving the valve open will drain liquids and allow stuff to pile up..the old poop pyramid

Grey water.......leave closed/leave open---then close a day or so before dumping black to use as a rinse. Personally I leave ALL dump valves closed until time to dump. Grey--especially galley get stuff in them (oil, scum, food etc.) and I want high liquid level to carry that stuff out.

Slide out supports NO! NO! NO! Slides are self supporting/mfg. don't recommend them due to damage to slide out if trailer should settle NO! NO! NO!

A/C Unit......turn it ON and let it run

Covering tires helps protect them from UV rays.

Turn your water heater OFF before leaving cause no need to heat water while not there......
Besides you also need to turn water supply off before leaving......don't want to come 'home' and find water running out of your 'house' NOT FUN!

Leave an 'emergency contact' phone number with somebody (office staff if in CG, other long term neighbors etc.) just in case.

[Bill_Satellite]

nascarjody88 wrote:
Looks like I will be moving into my trailer full time due to a change in jobs. I unfortunately will not be traveling the states like most of the rest of you. Any suggestions on living in my tt full time? My wife will not be with me except for the occasional weekend.
1 Do I leave the black water tank closed till it needs to be dumped? 2 Same with the front galley tank?
3 What is the best slide out supports?
4 Do you run the a/c during the day when not in the trailer? (I will be in south texas)
5 does covering the tires make a difference?

Anything else you might suggest that I am not thinking of.

I think I will be giving the same answers as above.
1. Keep closed until you need to dump and don't dump (if you can avoid it) until at least 1/2 full but 3/4 is better).
2. Dump gray only when you dump black. Dump gray after black to clean the dump hose.
3. I don't have slides but I must say that I have only seen 1 or 2 coaches over our many years of travel that had slide supports. My guess is they are not necessary unless the coach you bought was not well built.
4. YES! We are in Yuma, AZ in May and it's 80+ (10 degrees below normal!) We turn on the A/C on our way out in the morning to ensure it will be comfortable when we get home late afternoon. The cats like it that was as well.
5. If you are going to be parked in one location for months at a time then I would cover the tires as tires were designed to be driven. They have chemicals that come to the surface as you drive to maintain the health of the tire. If you park for months on end the tire will dry out and age prematurely. If you relocated at least once a month then I would not bother with any kind of a tire cover up.

There are many things you have not thought about but none of them are going to get you in any kind of trouble. Just keep in mind that you MUST do a physical walk around of your coach each and every time you are planning to move the RV, no matter how far you plan to move it. The very first time you think it's not necessary you are likely going to have a very large repair bill.

[Traver8]

I'll start this by saying that I have been living full time in my TT for the past year for a job situation so I can speak from direct experience.
So, here goes .....
1. Black tank, leave it closed until at least 3/4 full. I personally leave my grey tanks closed as well. That way I have plenty to flush the line with. I am in an RV park with full hookups so I have not been conservative with my water use but I generally can go 3-4 days before filling my shower grey and much longer for my black.
2. Slide out supports - don't use them and don't see anyone else using them. From my forum reads they are generally considered not to be a good idea.
3. A/C and heat - the best thing mod that I have done was to change to a programmable digital thermostat. Program it so that the A/C comes on and cools the trailer before I get back at the end of the day. In the winter I used an electric heater as my primary with the propane furnace as backup. Just set the thermostat back some. What I like as well is that I can temporarily set things back if I am going to be gone for the weekend or something.
4. Tire covers - don' t have any, though probably a good idea to keep the sun exposure down. Since my trailer has not moved in over a year I think that lack of use is having a larger impact on my tires.

Hope this helps. I'll be happy to answer more questions you may have. Feel free to PM me if you want.

Terry

[brirene]

Not a full timer but I'll take a swing at it.
1. Yes, definitely.
2. You can leave it open and close in time to flush after dumping black tank, but I would leave it closed and dump as necessary.
3. You probably don't need one unless something is not right.
4. Depends. Are you paying electric? If so, guess I would leave it off and suffer for a little while when you get home.
5. Again, yes, definitely.
Good luck!