First trip in the bank

[Scott204]

Well the wife, my 3 year old, the dog and I did our very first trip. We stayed local just in case we needed anything from home, but it went well. I found that I maybe had too much tongue weight on the way to the campground which I fixed for the way home. I say that because the trailer seemed to bounce a bit with the extra weight and when I moved stuff further back it was much smoother for the way home. A couple of things I forgot and won't forget next time. 1. TOOLS, being the first time I was getting the hot water heater ready and the drain plug was not put in. Thankfully I had a nice neighbor who had some. 2. cable wire for the TV. We/I forgot about it. I know why do you need TV when camping, but I do have a 3 year old. 3. I need a mattress topper, man is that thing stiff. 4. An outdoor rug or matt, the campground we stayed was mostly dirt so we tracked in to the trailer. Think that was it. Great time and we are hooked!

[Scott204]

Drippin wrote:
The bounce could also be due to the set up of your W/D hitch. Post what you have and someone here should be able to give some pointers on set up.

I have an equalizer hitch with 800# bars. I don't remember exactly right now but dry tongue weight was around the 580# mark, loaded obviously more.

[Scott204]

southernsnow wrote:
Scott204:

First, congrats on your first outing! All the planning in the world is no substitution for getting out there and seeing what works and what doesn't.

I'm curious about your profile location - Toms River, NJ? The reason for asking is we are planning a trip this July to my husband's hometown - TR, NJ - and I was wondering where you stayed locally for your "shakedown". We have Cedar Creek CG reserved in Bayville.

Wishing you many good times and safe travels.

Marie
Cornelius, NC

We actually stayed in Jackson. But I have heard decent things about Cedar Creek.

[Caveman_Charlie]

Congrats on a first successful trip. May all your trips be so nice.

[rockhillmanor]

AirForceAngler wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
Congrats on your first trip and good luck on many more!


When adding Duct tape to your tool box......buy the white colored roll. Looks a whole lot better holding down the loose parts on your RV for the trip home! :W

But then you wouldn't have that "Kentucky Chrome" look! 😉

OMG! I never heard that one. That's a keeper! :B

[wkandxj]

That's great to hear! Every trip is a learning experience.

For the dirt getting tracked in - we have the outdoor area rug, step rugs (my parents have those and they were amazing at keeping the crud out) and the last line of defense is the broom. 🙂 It's always a battle haha

Every trip you take you'll add more to your list (the notebook mentioned above or a dry-erase) and it becomes an expensive hobby.

Good luck!

[Doug33]

We too had our first trip of the season last weekend. As I was pulling away from our house I noticed all this water sloshing out of the hot water heater. When I dewinterized the TT, I forgot to screw the tank plug back in. Oooops...

[AirForceAngler]

rockhillmanor wrote:
Congrats on your first trip and good luck on many more!


When adding Duct tape to your tool box......buy the white colored roll. Looks a whole lot better holding down the loose parts on your RV for the trip home! :W

But then you wouldn't have that "Kentucky Chrome" look! 😉

[campigloo]

Scott, glad to hear you had such a good time. You are now oficially a hopeless case. Have fun figuring out all of the little things about your rig, that's half the fun of it. Prepare for the inevitable upgrades.

[rockhillmanor]

Congrats on your first trip and good luck on many more!


When adding Duct tape to your tool box......buy the white colored roll. Looks a whole lot better holding down the loose parts on your RV for the trip home! :W

[southernsnow]

Scott204:

First, congrats on your first outing! All the planning in the world is no substitution for getting out there and seeing what works and what doesn't.

I'm curious about your profile location - Toms River, NJ? The reason for asking is we are planning a trip this July to my husband's hometown - TR, NJ - and I was wondering where you stayed locally for your "shakedown". We have Cedar Creek CG reserved in Bayville.

Wishing you many good times and safe travels.

Marie
Cornelius, NC

[kknowlton]

A mattress topper that has worked well for us: eggcrate foam (about 2") from Walmart, plus an extra-thick mattress cover (fits like a fitted sheet). Perfect! But then, we do like firm beds. 🙂

[AirForceAngler]

Some other things to add if you didn't already:
Duck tape
WD-40
Good first aid kit with burn lotion and bug bite stuff
Keep a broom/dustpan in the TT at all times
Notepad/Notebook to write down what you'll need to get/restock for the next trip

Happy Camping!

[Drippin]

The bounce could also be due to the set up of your W/D hitch. Post what you have and someone here should be able to give some pointers on set up.

[opnspaces]

I love reading the first trip reports. :B
Glad you had a helpful camping neighbor and that it all went well for you.