jcubeta
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Re: Need advice: Shopping for a Class A...
Ivylog wrote: Been on here for 1.5 years and wanting to change RVs in less than 5 months of owning a TT...going to be expensive. Are you saying that you've been on here and owned a trailer for that long? Or is my profile wrong/misleading? We've had our TT for about 1.5 years. And we're not buying anytime soon - I've already accepted that this is going to a long process - finding the $ is another pole in that tent. J593Views0likes0CommentsNeed advice: Shopping for a Class A...
Hello everyone, My apologies up front for asking something that’s probably been asked before, and for my wordiness. My wife and I have decided that we want to make the leap from a travel trailer to a Class A gas motorhome. After spending a good bit of our recent cross-country trip ogling other people’s coaches, we’ve since spent a few weeks looking at manufacturers’ websites to at least get a basic idea of the models out there and types of floorplans we like. However, as some of you have likely experienced at one point yourselves, this has become somewhat overwhelming. We have plans to visit a nearby dealer (a Camping World) this weekend to walk through some of the models on the lot. As I’m skeptical of sales reps in general, I’m not expecting them to be a wealth of unbiased knowledge. So we are a way’s off from buying but, as we begin this adventure, I’d like some advice on how to shop smartly. Also, if we’re going to plunk down $100-150K on a coach, I want to buy something that I’m confident is quality. As such, here are a few questions, some general and some specific: Beyond “fit & finish” touches & furniture comfort, what sorts of things do we want to examine to determine quality? Are there specific questions we should ask about, say, a coach’s structure/frame, electrical, towing, etc? Does anyone have opinions of Thor and Forest River coaches? We’ve seen a few of them at campgrounds that look nice from the outside, and one friendly RVer gave us the nickel tour of their Thor Challenger which was beautiful (from our 10 minutes inside), but many of the reviews on RVT.com of Thor and Forest River have scared me a little, in that many people talk of constant problems with these brands. On the opposite end of that, I’ve seen consistently good reviews of Tiffen, Newmark, and Winnebago coaches – should I just stick with these brands? Does anyone have comments on the legitimacy of reviews found on RVT.com? Are there other sites you recommend to check out? Is RVTrader a good place to try to sell our travel trailer? Or is it more hassle than it’s worth and we should just trade it? Is there an obvious benefit to buying brand new or is buying slightly used a better way to go? Also, if buying used, is buying from a private seller better or worse than from a dealer? Is it reasonable to consider traveling a long distance to buy from a reputable dealer (i.e. flying to a city to pick up the coach)? I know that's a lot of questions. Any answers would be very appreciated. Thank you for your time! James2.7KViews0likes17CommentsRe: HELP! Fresh water tank filling when valve set to “City”
myredracer wrote: Sometimes it's better to just do things yourself, besides you can often do a better job anyway... Also, your TT could sit at the dealer for weeks. I am COMPLETELY with you here and I'm not afraid to do it myself. Just want to make sure I know what I'm doing before I roll up my sleeves. Thank you!1.2KViews0likes0CommentsRe: HELP! Fresh water tank filling when valve set to “City”
Hello again, everyone - Sorry I didn't post a response sooner - we were trying to be less stressed and actually enjoy our weekend. :) Thank you so much for your responses - I really appreciate your time and input. We did run into another (maybe related?) issue, which I'd like to get your input on. Before I get into that, some suggested that I might be hooked to the wrong intake. I am certain that I am not. On our trailer, there are only two places a hose can connect: one is the black tank flush and the other is intake. There is a blue valve on the intake that can be switched from "tank fill" to "city". We got our trailer last year and have always used city water, and we've never had this issue of the fresh water tank filling up. As for the new, possibly related issue - two things that I should mention: We have never used/sanitized the fresh water tank This is the first time out with the trailer after winterization. Since the fresh water tank was full, we thought we should turn the pump on and at least use the water for washing dishes and using the toilet. When we turned the pump on, we could hear it running yet no water was coming out of the spigots; only air and sometimes some spits of water. So we just turned it off and decided to forego water until we get a better understanding of what's happening. A fellow camper suggested that there may be another valve near the water pump that was manipulated during winterization that I may need to open/close. I don't even know where my water pump is, but it sounds like it's under our kitchen cabinets (my dealer never told me about how to find or maintain the water pump). So that's where we are. I am taking the trailer in for inspection in a few weeks and I'd like to get things repaired if needed. But I'm wondering if this is a post-winterization thing that I didn't know to take care of... Thanks again! James1.2KViews0likes0CommentsHELP! Fresh water tank filling when valve set to “City”
Hello - We are travel trailer newbies and we have our camper out for the first time this season. We have a Highland Ridge Ultra Lite 2802BH. I am at a campsite hooked to city water. I have thw intake valve on the outside of the trailer set to “City” (see photo link below). However the fresh water tank is full and now running out the overflow. Could the valve be bad? Am I missing something else that I needed to take care of after it was winterized? Stressed. James I have uploaded a photo here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9s74kqIoflJ2hIes14.9KViews0likes20CommentsRe: Planning Yellowstone/Grand Canyon trip from VA
Kicking the dust off of this thread... So, we've ruminated on our idea for a bit and have sketched out the following outline. Let me know if this seems reasonable. Again, we are beginning in northern VA near DC. Our plan also assumes we drive 6 hrs/day at an average speed of 55 mph. Days 1-6: drive ~1600 mi, w/one 2-night stay to break it up Days 7-10: camp at Palmer Gulch/Mt. Rushmore/Badlands Days 11-12: drive ~800 mi to Yellowstone Days 13-18: camp at YNP Fishing Bridge Day 19: drive to Grand Teton Day 20-21: camp at Grand Teton Day 22-27: drive back to VA, w/one 2-night stay to break it up We've probably overestimated the drive time some, but wanted it to be a leisurely trip with 11 & 8 year-olds in tow. We also didn't want to overplan - so this plan hopefully can flex. Any thoughts/suggestions on this? Thanks!!! James606Views0likes0CommentsSomewhat urgent question about dual gray tanks...
Hello everyone, We are on our "maiden voyage" with our new Open Range UT2802BH (we're also first-time camper owners), and I have a newbie question: Our model has two gray tanks: one called "gray" and one called "aux". I seem to recall the dealer explaining that the "aux" tank holds the kitchen gray water, and the "gray" tank holds the bathroom sink/shower water. One tank is drained in front of the axles. The other is drained near the rear of the trailer. There is only one valve pull at the front and two pulls (grey and black) at the rear. This morning, the "aux" light showed F and the "gray" light showed 1/3. So I hooked up the hose to what I believe is the "aux" (which is in front of the axles) and drained it. However, when I checked after, the "gray" now shows E and the "aux" is still at F. So am I to assume that I & the dealer had it reversed? That the "aux" is the bathroom shower/sink and "grey" is the kitchen? Or did I just really screw up?! Thanks in advance for your help. James1.4KViews0likes7CommentsRe: Planning Yellowstone/Grand Canyon trip from VA
kohldad wrote: Sounds like a much better plan. Still roughly 4300 miles. Figure on adding a day or two going like a night under the stars in Badlands, you can spend several days in the Black Hills, add in Devils Tower for either a night or day (KOA is suppose to be good), and another extra day in the Big Horns mountains, finally after Yellowstone, spend a night or two in Grand Tetons. Dang, think I used up most of the 7 or 8 extra days you had and still need to get back home. Though don't worry, once you get into Nebraska, you aren't really going to want to do much any how plus we find once we have decided we are "turning for home", we really get moving to get on back. Take on of those extra days and get home one day early. This gives you time to relax and catch up on the home things before you have to work. Plus it gives you the "Just in case" day. All excellent ideas. I'm also wondering if RMNP is worth it - I've been there before and, compared to something like Glacier NP in Montana, it didn't really stick with me. Maybe I could scrap RMNP for the other things you mentioned and stuff in Utah (Flaming Gorge ,Dinosaur Monument, etc).605Views0likes0CommentsRe: Planning Yellowstone/Grand Canyon trip from VA
Thank you AGAIN for all these incredibly helpful posts. After reflecting on these and some other things I've read, I think we are going to do YNP and GCNP as two separate trips. For one, it seems like GC in July would be uncomfortably hot and, for two, both parks are so big that there's just not enough time to feel like we saw enough. So now we are leaning toward a loop that starts in VA, stops in South Dakota for a few days at the Mount Rushmore KOA resort (which looks super awesome for kids), then on to a week at YNP. Then south to Rocky Mountain NP for a few days, then (based on my back-of-the-hand estimating) that roughly saves us 7-8 days to get back. Sound more reasonable? :)607Views0likes0Comments
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