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RE: Score one more for the trailer -- it's a lifeboat!
We got back from a recent camping trip (just last Friday) to discover that the gas company chose that week while we were gone to replace our gas meter. We knew it was coming, but they hadn't told us when exactly. So we get back and I'm looking forward to a nice long hot shower and once all the hot water from the hot day was used up, my shower got real cold. Seems they needed me to call and schedule a guy to turn the gas on.
Being a Friday, they first told me it would be Monday before someone could come out. Well, that would have stunk, but we did have water in the trailer still, so we had already started to plan for that. Thankfully they got someone to come out and do it that night, but it was awesome knowing we had a solid backup plan.
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aaronttrv
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08/29/11 09:09pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Best way to back up for hitching
I taught my wife the hand signals that I found the most helpful (not sure if they're "authentic" signals, but now we're both speaking the same language at least). Basically just waving left/right or straight back, and when I'm lined up and going back, she will indicate the distance with her hands so I know just how far I have to go.
It was rocky at first and even still I have to get out and peek now and then (I have to back in at an angle at home due to the parking situation) and figure out my plan of attack. Otherwise we've noticed that it's been so much better than when we first tried it (to much hilarity, madly waving arms, yelling, etc) :)
Practice makes perfect.
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aaronttrv
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08/16/11 02:19pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Matress choice
I got a Sleep Number short-queen mattress from CW this year. The trailer (Keystone Hideout) came with a pretty "springy" mattress. We tried it last year and put stuff on top of it to no avail... it was better, but still not great.
So we sprung for the Sleep Number (never tried one before), and now my wife wants to get one for our house too... says the trailer mattress is better than the one at home. Oh well, c'est la vie.
We just got the el-cheapo Sleep Number that Camping World has... the one with the simple "inflate/deflate" controllers. The mattress itself is the same except it doesn't come with a memory foam insert. Well, we had a memory foam pad we bought for the old mattress so we stuck that in and it seems to be the same/better than the one that comes with the more expensive Sleep Number bed.
I saw on eBay you can buy the air pumps with the digital controls, or even the wireless controllers, for pretty good prices. If I really had a hankering to know what my actual sleep # is, I might upgrade the pump/remote, but for now I have it set where I like it on my side and we don't change elevation too much on our travels so far, so I don't deflate while driving and pump back up when we get there to avoid popping or whatever. I could, but haven't had to.
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aaronttrv
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08/16/11 02:08pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: What is that switch?
If you had a tone&trace kit, you could disconnect your trailer from any source of power (battery and shore power), take the cover off the switch and hook up the tone, then just wander around the trailer inside and out and use the trace until you get the beeping. You might start by seeing where it goes on the fuse box which might give you a clue to where it goes next.
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aaronttrv
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08/16/11 01:39pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: The chicken or the egg....
I noticed something on my last couple of outings (this is my 2nd year with my Keystone Hideout 26RLS).
I had been putting down the stabilizers and then sliding out, but a month ago, I noticed that when I do that, the stabilizers on the opposite side of the slideout no longer have firm contact with the ground. What happens is that slideout tips the balance of the trailer just enough that I was having to move those stabilizers down a wee bit more.
Then I got to thinking, is that putting too much weight on the stabilizers on the slideout side? Well, probably...
So now I get the trailer level side to side with blocks, like normal, do the slideout, and then I put down my 4 corner stabilizers. It's been a lot better I think, not as much sway/rock, and I feel better that I'm not overstressing the 2 stabilizers on that one side.
I don't know if my situation is normal... should extending the slideout cause the trailer to shift it's weight that much? I have a hunch that if I had a 3rd pair of stabilizers right where the wheels are, that might not happen. I think the extra weight on one side is causing the leaf springs to flex down just a quarter inch more, give or take.
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aaronttrv
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08/09/11 08:57pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Bizarre Campground Behavior
Not to get off topic but I haven't heard of fires being banned in Washington. We have had a VERY wet year so far.
Just got back from Taidnapam near Morton, WA and even though it rained pretty good last weekend, they still said they were limiting the size of fires. No real guidance there, just along the lines of "don't go crazy with your campfire". We kept ours to just 3-4 logs on at any time. It must have been drier the week prior or something.
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aaronttrv
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07/20/11 04:27pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: Best Pizza while traveling in RV
Cape Disappointment State Park in Washington (near Long Beach) has a pizza place in the park itself. We're talking gourmet, wood fired pizzas here, not some re-heated store-bought stuff. Color me surprised... never expected something like that in a state park, and there it was.
They've also got steamers and other stuff... it's near the store/laundromat in the park, by the entrance station.
Not sure how long it's been there, but it was at least there recently (May 2011).
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aaronttrv
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07/19/11 05:45pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: Campfires in campgrounds - different
I guess count me in the majority of replies I've seen... campfires are a part of the experience. Maybe it's different in the types of parks full timers go to, but in the state parks, national forest campgrounds, etc. that I go to, it's about families going "camping", not retired folks "living" on wheels. (no offense to full timers intended... I may be one someday). :)
I don't care if it was 125 degrees, I'd probably rub a couple sticks together. It's ambience. I guess it's not for everyone though apparently, which is cool I'm sure. To each their own.
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aaronttrv
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07/19/11 05:38pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: proper jacking proceedure
The dealer service dept. jacks on the frame between the two tires...
and...chock the other side securely...
2X on this method for servicing the wheels.
Bonefish
Speaking of (not to thread hijack), but I've wondered if you could level a trailer side-to-side by placing a scissor jack in that same location (frame mounted between the tires)? I know the stabilizers on the corners of the trailer frame shouldn't be used for lifting, but that location seems the perfect place. It's the same place it's already supported by the axles, so it seems logical.
Is the problem that it's hard to actually get scissor jacks in that exact spot without interfering with the operation of the tires or getting in the way of the leaf springs?
Just wondering... For what it's worth, I jacked my trailer up using a floor jack in that spot, although I used a cradle on it to lift each axle independtly of the other on that side (which raised the other up a little anyway). Worked fine, but that did shift where my tongue jack was centered. The trailer seemed to want to rotate a little, maybe because when I backed into that spot, I didn't pull forward/back to re-straighten the tires. Last time I'll do that... tongue jack was on one of those cone supports and it nearly fell off. Would have been horrible because I was working under the trailer at the time and didn't even notice it 'til later.
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aaronttrv
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07/19/11 05:04pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Traveling near Death Valley in August
I was in Death Valley a couple years ago in July on their hottest day of the year. The mercury reached 128 F at the ranger station (in the shade) and I discovered that my Tundra's built-in thermometer will show an error for any temps above 121 F so I really have no idea how hot it was in other parts.
We weren't towing anything, but we did see a handful of RV's in the park. I guess if you had an awesome AC unit you might be okay... our truck's AC was maxed out and we managed a relatively cool 85 F or so in the cab. I'd hate to have some mechanical problem or overheating there... even on hot days, there are other people so you wouldn't really be stranded long, but it would suck big time just the same.
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aaronttrv
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07/18/11 11:22am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: LED Ceiling lamps still expensive!
I upgraded mine last year using units from Command Electronics.
They have a nice warm color which I thought was just like the incandescents they replaced. High lumen also... 520 lumens for the replacement panels I think. They're more expensive than the ones I've seen people talk about from Ebay, but they really are nice products.
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aaronttrv
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06/05/11 11:43pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Antenna upgrade
I picked one of these up a couple weeks back, camping at Cape Disappointment State Park in WA.
Worked good... before we were able to pick up a few analog VHF stations from Astoria (yes, some locations still broadcast analog). After, we were able to pick up a few extra digital UHF stations.
For those interested in just how/why it works:
- it doesn't have any 'wires' to connect to your sensar, so you may ask "but how?". It creates a reflecting plane that your existing antenna will pick up, so it's not really magic.
- it really is "just that easy" to install. Remove some rubber bumpers on the bottom of the existing antenna, and the new Wingman has holes that you use to line up and then pop in the supplied plastic "rivets". 1 minute installation time is probably more than it actually took me. :)
- your old antenna probably only has the "batwing" which is fine for picking up VHF stations... stations that were in the 2-6/7-13 range. Since the digital upgrade, alot of broadcasters moved their frequency into the UHF range, as in channels 14+. The station # that shows up on your DTV might still show "5.1" for channel 5, but it's actual broadcast frequency might be UHF channel 38 for instance. If you aren't using an antenna that can pick up UHF frequencies (which the Wingman does), then you're really not going to get very good reception.
Example: In Seattle, only a few stations actually broadcast in the upper VHF range (channels 7-13), and the rest are all UHF. Before getting the Wingman, I could only pick up a few of them and I had to literally rotate my batwing to within a degree of where the towers are, 30 miles away. And even then it would pixellate like mad and I could only get a couple. After, I can rotate and be within 10-20 degrees off and pick up everything, with no pixellation (not KIRO for some reason...it still pixellates alot).
If you go to antennaweb.org and find your local stations, see which ones broadcast in VHF or UHF and this will give you an idea if the Wingman will actually help. Just remember, Wingman is especially useful for being able to pick up those UHF stations.
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aaronttrv
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06/05/11 09:55pm |
Travel Trailers
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