Just bought our first new trailer!

[Slimline]

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

[rbpru]

We bought ours in December, and did the walk through in the dealers repair garage. They demonstrated everything then winterized it so we could take it home for Christmas.

Fortunately you have some TT experience so you know what to look for.

Congratulations on the new TT and baby.

[MarkTwain]

Catalina new trailer-
Welcome to new adventures in the RV world. Here are a couple of thoughts based on my own experience with a new trailer:
1. Tires- find out what is biggest and highest load range tire you can use with your new trailer. Pick out the brand of tire that you like the most. I have used Good Year "G" rated tires for years and have had good experiences. Talk with your other RV friends for their opinions. Yes, there are a number different brands to choose from. Make replacing the tires your trailer comes with the tires of your choice a part of the deal or no deal. The dealer can have this done at the Mfg. plant. Generally new trailers come with cheapest tires possible.
2. I would test every system completely, including the AC. Put water in the fresh water tank to test the whole system especially the shower and toilet. Fresh water can just be drained right on the ground when done. Have the dealer fill both propane tanks so you can test the heating system. Turn on every electrical switch. Take your awing completely out and back in a couple of times.
3. If possible, stay in your trailer overnight at the dealers lot to do a "real" test of all the trailer systems and functions especially the refrigerator.
Happy RVing:)

[SoundGuy]

Slimline wrote:
The trailer comes with a solar panel prep, what are the benefits of the portable solar vs hard mounting it on the roof? Just angling it for best sun coverage? I kind of like the idea of set it and forget it. I am eyeing up a 100watt panel. This should be sufficient to keep the batteries charged when not in use, and offset a bit of power drain when in use right?

A "bit" of power drain is about right for a 100 watt panel ... just not worth it IMO unless you permanently mount the panel on the roof and rely on it primarily for the purpose of maintaining a charge on the battery when you're not camping. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me though because dry camping here in Ontario suggests you'll be making use of the Ontario provincial park system where well shaded campsites are more often the norm than not, meaning your panel won't be putting out much anyway. You can solve that by instead setting up a portable panel and following the sun throughout the day but of course that means attending to it, not to mention the potential for theft when you're not on-site. It also won't be of much use while the trailer is in storage as you likely won't want to leave the panel out unattended. Either choice is way too much aggravation for me ... since you already have a genset I'd instead put the $$$ into more battery reserve and it use it as needed to recharge those batteries.

[Alabama_Jim]

Congratulations on the new trailer and even more for God Blessing You with your third child. May you and your family have many fun and safe camping trips.

[Slimline]

I have actually been looking at solar panels on Amazon and at Canadian Tire 1stgenfarmboy. The trailer comes with a solar panel prep, what are the benefits of the portable solar vs hard mounting it on the roof? Just angling it for best sun coverage? I kind of like the idea of set it and forget it. I am eyeing up a 100watt panel. This should be sufficient to keep the batteries charged when not in use, and offset a bit of power drain when in use right? I do have a Champion inverter generator I bring when we are on a non powered site to keep the batteries up when getting low.That does make sense to pick it up in the spring then SoundGuy, I hadnt really thought of that. I am guessing my dealer would probably have told me the same thing.

Rob

[SoundGuy]

Slimline wrote:
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.

Factory warranty starts the day you take delivery so considering there are very few campgrounds open throughout the winter here in Ontario why bother? ... pick it up in the spring when you can start to use it.

Congrats! 🙂

[1stgenfarmboy]

Congrats on the 3rd child to be, and the new trailer, I would think your dealer would stand behind a problem in the spring, if not he is not a "good" dealer, we also just bought a 2017 TT and only camped in it once so far and I don't see any more in the future till spring, for myself the best aftermarket mod is a portable solar set up, so your battery stays charged, it is so very handy.

Dar

[GrandpaKip]

Congrats. Lots to learn here to make your camping better.