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Re: First trip coming up next month (Rental TT)
We are looking forward to it; found a few campgrounds already for ~30 a day when we'll be spending more time in some towns. The dogs should appreciate this more than a hotel room; we'll see how they do but they've always been good travelers. FWIW, these are "short" legs for me. Generally when we do these back-east road trips, we're on the road 15 hours/1000+ miles a day. I'm planning on shorter distances/lower speeds due to pulling the trailer. I'm very fortunate that my son, wife and dogs travel well. I'm used to driving a lot for work, so a lot of butt-time in seat isn't the end of the world for me.317Views0likes0CommentsRe: First trip coming up next month (Rental TT)
DutchmenSport wrote: Just curious? What model is the Outback? Reason I'm asking is, because, where's the generator located. If it's not built into the trailer, then you'll need to run it outside the camper. It now subject to theft? So just wondering? I have an Outback 298RE, no place for a generator on-board on my baby. It's separate from the trailer, mounted to a rack that the owner has. I'll be using a 1.5" thick cable and a high security padlock to ensure that if they get it, they earned it.317Views0likes0CommentsRe: First trip coming up next month (Rental TT)
DrewE wrote: Your first few days are much, much too ambitious in my opinion. Those are two 750+ mile days in a row; that's maybe around 15 hours of driving each day, plus time to setup, tear down, eat, etc. Add at least another day in there. Maybe once you have a feel for what it's like to travel with an RV you will decide that such long days of travel are OK for you, but I would not plan on it for the very first leg. With a propane generator, you will be buying propane quite frequently if you run the generator much. It probably would go through two 20lb cylinders in one or two nights. It would be quieter and I think easier and less hassle to use campsites with electric (at least) hookups available. Given your long travel days (even with an additional day or two), I would suggest making reservations even if only the day before or the same day so that you know you have a place to arrive to...and what place it is. If at all possible, I recommend setting up camp before dark, especially the first few times. Backing into a camp site when it's dark without being too obnoxious to other campers is none too easy, and seeing to get things level and situated is also much nicer when it's sunlight rather than a flashlight. Sleeping for the night in a rest area or whatever is not necessarily poor etiquette, but it's not always very restful nor always easy to do. I would say it's poor etiquette indeed to take a truck parking space (which you'll need) if there's much chance that they would otherwise be filled with truckers who need their mandatory rest periods. If there's sufficient available that they oughtn't be filled, I have no compunctions about using one; after all, rest areas are there for rest. Many states do have time limits that are less than a full night. There are some private businesses that often welcome overnight sleeping in RVs; the most notable are Wal-mart, Cracker Barrel, and some outdoor stores like Bass Pro Shops. In any case it's good form to ask the management first as sometimes local laws or problems will mean that overnighting is prohibited. The television may well not support tethering to a phone. Receiving over the air broadcasts with the antenna is not too hard or too much work; you crank up the antenna (assuming it's a crank up one), make sure the little switch for it is turned on, and tell the TV to scan for channels, and then sit back and watch whatever is worth watching--if anything. Often I find that's a big "if". There's nothing wrong with not using the television. Appreciate the feedback. We may be too ambitious, but that's the great thing about the travel trailer. Most case scenario is I realize I made a mistake and find a spot to chill for a while and recharge my batteries. As far as the streaming goes; long as the TV has an HDMI port, I'm going to be using a cable to my iPhone that'll mirror the display to the TV. I've done a few proof of concepts testing streaming on a conference room TV at work. Works great.317Views0likes0CommentsFirst trip coming up next month (Rental TT)
Well, wife and I have been talking about buying a travel trailer for a while now. We were planning a road trip back east to visit some family next month, then realized this would be a great time to rent a trailer. Found one that was well within the weight my truck can tow; lighter than the campers we have been looking at (We really want a Nash 29 travel trailer). Ended up renting a 2017 Keystone Outback for 2 weeks (used Outdoorsy) for what I considered a reasonable rate considering what we were going to spend on hotels. Owner even threw in the use of a propane generator for our trip (he says the generator is about "conversation" level loud). With that being said, this will be the first time we've spent a night in a travel trailer. I've towed quite a bit, from car haulers to cargo trailers. I'm not that worried about towing, this trailer isn't even close to any of the limits on my truck, including cargo. My plan is to leave generally as follows: Day 1) Leave home early, get to Amarillo TX Day 2) Trying to get to St Louis MO Day 3) First family visit in IL Day 6) Second family visit in OH Day 9) Leave OH and get to Nashville TN Day 10) Get to Dallas Tx Day 11) Carlsbad NM We have time to stay some places longer or go explore as needed. The first leg of the trip is the only portion on a timeline. My initial plan is to try to find places to park where I can open the slide and run the generator as it's going to be HOT and HUMID; I really want to use the AC as much as possible. I DESPISE humidity but could not time this trip for the winter, unfortunately. Not sure if we'll use any TV time; I may try to tether my phone to the TV to stream some stuff, but other than that I don't anticipate much use. Is it worth trying to find a camp ground to park in for 8-12 hours at a time, for our downtime between cities we will be passing through? Not sure if it's poor etiquette to pull off in a rest-stop and plan on sleeping there for a night or what-not. I guess really what I'm asking is suggestions. I don't want to go and buy a lot of stuff for someone else's RV. He will be supplying "everything minus linen"3.2KViews0likes10CommentsRe: Looking for first Travel Trailer
Well, after looking at the Nash 29C online with the wife, she got a wild hair and we drove 125 miles to look at one at the dealer (Spoiler Alert: We didn't buy anything and won't for a while). Night and day difference in the quality of the Nash and the UltraLights I've looked at. While it's $10k more for the Nash, it would easily be worth it. We still want to check out the OutdoorsRV products; specifically the 27DBHS and the 27BHS434Views0likes0CommentsRe: Looking for first Travel Trailer
Thanks for all the replies! After doing a lot of reading on this site and looking at some others, my wife and I have come to the conclusion that while we liked the floodplain and size of the trailer listed above, that we wanted something a little more stout than an ultralight to get where we wanna camp. We noticed that when we walked in the ultralights we looked at, you could feel the floor flexing - didn't leave me feeling too confidant that it would handle off-pavement use. Now we are looking at Nash and OutdoorsRV. Little bit more expensive, but I think we'll be happier in the long run. I really do like that the Outdoors RV tanks are 80gal fresh, when most others are 50.434Views0likes0CommentsRe: Looking for first Travel Trailer
Alright, I'm probably going to be looking at a 2018-2017 (new), wife can get over the sticker shock. Water issues aside, how long can one expect to "dry camp" / "Boondock" off of a battery if the AC/HEat isn't used? Really have no idea how long the battery would last. Every trailer we looked at had a plug in the side for a solar charger, I figured Solar would be on the top, not the side... but perhaps it's to set it out next to the trailer vs mounting to the top? The more I think about it, I'm really digging this trailer: http://www.dutchmen.com/kodiak/floorplans-and-pictures/floorplans-detail/?modelId=4940 Does anyone have any experience with that unit/brand? I'd prefer to have one that'll last a long time and not fall apart when driving down dirt/washboard roads; I'm not looking to go rock crawling with it, just needs to not fall apart from some vibration. Edit to add: We would probably go with the 15k AC unit; although the salesman said that it'll really only cool 20 degrees below ambient temps. Out here, 110-115 is common during the summer; should I really only expect 20 degrees? 85 would be quite unfortunate. Also, what type of generator would you guys recommend to power the trailer during the day? I know the Hondas and Yahamas can be quiet.434Views0likes0CommentsRe: Looking for first Travel Trailer
Thanks guys. Found an RV show not too far away yesterday and went looking. Salesman that I ended up talking to understood that we were not there to buy, but getting a mental list of things that we liked and layouts we wanted. Found one TT where the rear bunks had about 12-18" of space above the mattress. My 6 year old couldn't even get back there. Aside from pets, I really don't see how a space like that is usable. Some of the better bunk setups had plenty of room. I need to do more reading on going with a wood frame vs alum frame unit; pros and cons of both. So far, we liked the North Trail 26DBSS and the Duchman 283BHSL; the salesman admitted they didn't have a ton of TTs. It was the last few hours of the show and the lot was empty. Guess they had a good weekend. Looking online, the Nash 25C looks nice. It's just heavy compared to the above listed trailers.201Views0likes0Comments
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We all start out new. Share lessons learned or first-time questions!Jun 15, 20174,026 Posts
