Forum Discussion

Slimline's avatar
Slimline
Explorer
Nov 29, 2016

Just bought our first new trailer!

Hey guys, we are pretty excited. My wife and I just bought out first ever new trailer. We bought a Coachmen Catalina 323bhdsck legacy edition. It hast to be built so we have a bit of a wait ahead of us but that is ok. In other great news just this morning we found out we are pregnant with our third child. Thank goodness we bought a bunkhouse!

I have been reading tons and tons of threads, I am 50 pages into the cool mods thread and getting some good ideas for stuff. I am mostly trying to get myself up to date on doing a good and complete PDI. Now I feel like if our trailer gets delivered mid winter up here in Ontario, that I wont be able to test a lot of the trailer, like AC, water pump and fixtures etc for leaks and general function. Should I have them test all this and then rewinterize? My dealer seemed pretty good, very nice to deal with, I dont think he would give me trouble if I ran into factory issues in the spring but better be safe than sorry I guess.

We have done a lot of camping in our first trailer, which is a beast. It is a 1986 prowler lynx 31zb if I recall correctly. It did us well but we are excited to move on!

Anyways, I am just excited to go camping, or glamping as some would say, but I am ok with that too. AC for the first time out there will be awesome. This summer we got stuck trying to sleep in our old beast when it was 36 degrees celsius. It was miserable.

Rob
  • Slimline's avatar
    Slimline
    Explorer
    Dec 05, 2016
    Need-A-Vacation wrote:
    Slim,

    Congrats on the new rig and the 3rd little one on the way. But I have to ask are you guys sure it is only one baby???? Lol Having twin boys have to ask.

    Hope all goes well with both deliveries!!!

    As mentioned, if you are mainly concerned about battery drain while in storage, install a cut off switch. The mods link in my signature has pics of how I mounted my switch to the battery box. Used a Blue Sea Mini switch.

    Make sure you get a good wdh with integrated sway control. And try to size the wd bars to the loaded tw, not the "brochure" dry weight.

    Good luck!!!


    My goodness, I had not even considered twins haha. Well I guess that would solve the middle child dilemma. At least we would have the sleeping space. Congratulations on your new little ones on the way! It is exciting for sure.

    I actually just picked up a like new Husky Centreline HD with both sets of weight bars (Ill need the 1200 pound rated ones). I got it for 400 Canadian used, which isnt bad, the dealer quoted me 525 which seems about the going rate here. We do pack heavy, I will have to get it on a scale and see where I sit once we get it.

    Rob
  • Need-A-Vacation's avatar
    Need-A-Vacation
    Explorer
    Dec 01, 2016
    Slim,

    Congrats on the new rig and the 3rd little one on the way. But I have to ask are you guys sure it is only one baby???? Lol Having twin boys have to ask.

    Hope all goes well with both deliveries!!!

    As mentioned, if you are mainly concerned about battery drain while in storage, install a cut off switch. The mods link in my signature has pics of how I mounted my switch to the battery box. Used a Blue Sea Mini switch.

    Make sure you get a good wdh with integrated sway control. And try to size the wd bars to the loaded tw, not the "brochure" dry weight.

    Good luck!!!
  • 2012Coleman's avatar
    2012Coleman
    Explorer II
    Nov 30, 2016
    Forget the solar and run power out to your home parking spot. Maybe enough to run the AC. Sure is nice doing inside maintenance/loading/unloading in the summer and being able to run the AC.

    Happy camping!
  • carl2591's avatar
    carl2591
    Explorer III
    Nov 30, 2016
    congrats on the new RV and new addition to the household.:)

    As for tires, check out the airforums.com as more and more folks are ditching the Goodyear marathons, especially, and going with a Michelin LT tires in the 16" size to almost eliminating the tire blow out issue you can experience with the ST tires..

    I know there are a lot of folks that have used GM for years with no problems and that is good.. if you change them every 3-4 yrs, then no problem for the most part. With LT tires many are going 6-7 or more yrs with no issues and lot of OTR miles.

    On the solar panels you might want to check out Handy Bobs Solar.
    https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/welcome-to-handybob-solar/

    Here's a guy that installs or used to install, works on (not so much now), and lives on solar everyday all day in Montana, yes montana.

    So, Read and read and then read again, I have been through the site at least 5 times now and see new stuff every time :) (i print the stuff out and read in bed,what a nerd i know right..) and learn what it takes to put to together a real working solar system for your RV.
  • SoundGuy's avatar
    SoundGuy
    Explorer
    Nov 29, 2016
    Slimline wrote:
    Ideally we can book hydro sites to utilize the AC, it will be a welcome creature comfort this coming summer especially with a pregnant wife. Before we had trailers we would go on 4 and 5 day atv trips in tents on the good old earth in tents and sleeping bags. Times change and with the family trailers sure are nice.


    Yes they are ... and my bet is once you get used to all those amenities you'll really start enjoying them, which in turn means you'll be looking for electric campsites whenever you can get them. Everyone does, that's why electric sites in the Ontario provincial park system are GONE once that 5 month reservations window comes up. Unfortunately, on average only ~ 1/3rd of the sites in the Ontario provincial park system are electric but at least the govt has finally woken up to the fact they can sell more sites if they're all electric, Inverhuron PP being a great example. Point being, if your new norm is electric campsites you'd be far better off IMO to invest in a surge protector / EMS rather than throw $$$ away on a solar system you don't need. An EMS will go a long way towards protecting your trailer's very expensive electrical system from a variety of anomalies that you won't be able to avoid, particularly excessively low voltage. Your choice of course but unless you're committed to extensive dry camping you'll never realize full return on your investment in solar.
  • bobndot's avatar
    bobndot
    Explorer II
    Nov 29, 2016
    If you install an AGM battery, it will take a very long time to discharge while sitting idle with no power draw.
    Install a cut off switch or simply remove the power cable off the battery when you park it. No power draw, no worries about a dead battery.

    You could also install toggle switches to turn off the stereo and detectors and anything else running off 12 volts while you are not occupying the TT. If you leave the fridge running on gas , your only draw would be the fridge's 12v circuit which is about 1/2 an amp,depending on the model.
    I have left my fridge running on gas, off grid for about a week with no problems.
  • Slimline's avatar
    Slimline
    Explorer
    Nov 29, 2016
    Thanks for all the warm welcomes and suggestions everyone. I will see if my dealer allows for an overnight test run, mind you I am only 15 minutes away so if issues arise I don't have a long haul back for service. Forgive me if I conveyed the wrong message SoundGuy, I was not looking up solar to have an off grid/dry camp setup. More so just to keep the batteries maintained and offset light use. I currently have to run a 75 foot extension to my trailer on my property when not in use to keep the batteries up, I was figuring if I had a panel on the TT I could scrap the cord. We do mostly camp in the Prov. Parks, often we dont have hydro sites though and that doesnt bother us for the most part. As I said, I do have a generator and on my old rig had two batteries and we never had an issue. We do dry camp a few times a year for the weekend when we go to a few different events. I consider this trailer glamping in the sense it has so many amenities we are not used to. Ideally we can book hydro sites to utilize the AC, it will be a welcome creature comfort this coming summer especially with a pregnant wife. Before we had trailers we would go on 4 and 5 day atv trips in tents on the good old earth in tents and sleeping bags. Times change and with the family trailers sure are nice.

    Rob

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