rscraig
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Joined 21 years ago
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Re: Looking at an Older Hybrid for first camper
We had a Jayco hybrid for a couple of years and towed it all around Texas and the southwest. Pros are that it is luxurious compared to tent camping. Major con is that with all that canvas, the AC often struggles to keep the interior cool during hot Texas summers. But if you are used to tent camping, this may not be as important to you. As with any trailer that old, your first concern should be with the condition of the bearings, wheels, and tires. You'll want to have the bearings inspected and repacked as soon as you get it. Also note that tires on RVs usually die of age rather than through tread wear. If the tires are more than five years old, I'd consider replacing them first thing. Other than that, just use common sense. Does everything work? A 13 year old trailer is probably going to need some repairs. Good luck.428Views0likes0CommentsRe: water in black tank
Are you using RV-type toilet tissue that is made to dissolve easily? Does your unit have a black tank flusher built in? If so, use it each time you empty the tank and that should solve your clogging problems. If you dont have a built in tank flusher, you should invest in a Flush King. This allows you to "back flush" the tank and makes it easier to clean thoroughly.274Views0likes0CommentsRe: Poor FM reception
Sure sounds like an antenna problem to me. My first thought would be to remove the connectors on both ends of the antenna lead and inspect them for broken wires, corrosion, etc. While you have the one disconnected from the outside antenna, attach a short piece of wire to the lead and see if that gives you some reception.269Views0likes0CommentsRe: New to TT need some help please
You might want to look at a hybrid or a pop-up. Light tows but they open up to give you lots of room. Also gives you more of a "camping" feel than a TT. I raised 3 kids in a PUP and they had a great time. The outdoor kitchen depends entirely on you and the style of camping your family plans to do. Some people never use them, others use them constantly. For a small trailer with kids, you may find expanding to the outdoors is inevitable and an outdoor kitchen and a popup screen room for the picnic table can be very useful.476Views0likes0CommentsRe: Dumping at Campgrounds and Flushing Black Water Tank Too
If there's a line, just dump and go. Then just make sure that you give it a really good flush at the end of the trip. You may want to locate a different dump site near home that is not as crowded and has a faucet where you can do a real backflush before storing it away.373Views0likes0CommentsRe: Wash or wait?
Since you've never waxed it, I'd say clean the bugs off before you leave. Use one of those plastic net dish cleaner balls - they wont scratch. If necessary use commercial bug and tar remover. Once the front cap is clean, wax it with a good coat of paste wax. From then on, future bugs should come off fairly easily. You dont want the Texas sun baking them on permanently. You can wax the rest of the RV if you want, but IMHO, its a lot of work for largely cosmetic results. Once back from the beach just rinse everything down with clear water--especially the undercarriage where the rain wont do it for you.169Views0likes0CommentsRe: 5th Wheel Owner & Repair Manuals
I agree that the generic manuals are pretty much worthless. You'll learn lots more by surfing the web and asking questions on this list! The location of items like the converter vary from year to year and model to model. It is usually located at your breaker box, however you'll probably never need to access it unless you replace the whole unit. I would not bother trying to replace the sending units in your tanks. They are notoriously inaccurate anyway--especially the black tank. Your tanks may just need a really good cleaning and flush. If they are not working at all, it may be the wires that run from them. On some trailers these are very exposed and can get corroded or broken easily.215Views0likes0CommentsRe: 12V Power Turns off and on
X3 on the loose ground. See if you can locate where the 12v system is tied to the chassis. Sometimes its only a small self-tapping screw through a lug with wires coming out (Look near the battery). That connection can get corroded or the wires frayed and give an intermittent contact. Clean the frame contact point well with sandpaper and replace the screw and lug then spray on some battery contact corrosion preventer.192Views0likes0CommentsRe: carefree power awning wont roll up
Does your awning have the adjustable arms? You can tell by looking for several holes along the outside of the arms. One hole should have a push pin in it that allows you to adjust the awning angle. If the two arms are not adjusted to within three holes of the same angle, this will cause problems. Try setting both arms to minimum angle (holes closest to the trailer) and see if that helps. You might also try lubing all the arm joints with plenty of spray silicon lubricant.206Views0likes0CommentsRe: Mobile Hotspot, T-Mobile, anyone use?
X2 on Verizon. Bought the MyFi unit and then went on the $50 for 5 Gb plan. We use about that much each month as we do a lot of business usage. We can also suspend the plan when we're not travelling. I think you'll find that the cheaper plans offer less coverage. If you don't travel much and plan to use it only where your provider happens to be (mostly bigger cities), you may be fine. We wanted something with max national coverage. Before you leap, cheack the coverage maps.241Views0likes0Comments
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