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Thread: Nervous Newbie
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03-03-2021, 08:14 PM #21
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Welcome! Enjoy your new camper. I have learned a lot from this site, reading and talking with like minded people. There is a wealth of information out there. Take it slow and do not let anyone rush you. Be safe!
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03-03-2021, 08:25 PM #22
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Thank you. This is the first time I have ever participated in a forum. There are so many friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful people such as yourself that are more than willing to share advice and assist people like me that need all of the advice we can get!! It is truly appreciated!!
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03-06-2021, 02:54 PM #23
@tephlin - welcome and congratulations!
You do not indicate where you are, but in some areas of the country there are driving schools/affiliates that give instructions for recreational trailering. Often times, the instructors are retired Commercial Drivers or full-time RVers. Before COVID-19 swept the nation, I actually had just become an instructor. Something your could consider and see if there are offerings within your footprint.Rob & Nikki + Cloverfield
2020 Grand Design Solitude S-Class 3350RL
2015 RAM 3500 Longhorn Laramie Crew Cab, Long Bed, 4x4 Dually Cummins/AISIN
Mountains of Pennsylvania
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03-06-2021, 02:58 PM #24
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Greetings dear Sir!
My wife and I run the exact same setup as you. GD 22MLE with a Ford F150 and 3.5L Ecoboost. It is a near perfect match for us. A great couples retirement combination. Small enough to fit in most ANY campground and enough amenities to keep you amused and happy at the bigger RV parks.
Our lessons learned are:
1) Invest in a top equalizing hitch with sway control. I run the Blue OX SwayPro. Outstanding control and not much effort to hitch up. Some require much effort.
2) Upgrade the tires quickly to something like the Goodyear Endurance tires. Factory tires are suspect.
3) Invest in upgraded stairs with hydraulic assist. HUGE safety advantage for us.
4) Get a tire pressure monitoring system to monitor your tires while you drive.
5) Pay to get your wheel bearings repacked with a premium synthetic grease like Mobil 1. There are others, that can remove the worry of costly bearing failure.
6) I use a Mikita Impact battery powered impact wrench to run down the corner jacks. Get a socket and a charger and it is effortless.
7) Related, I use a long wrench bar with a big socket to provide leverage to load and unload the hitch bars easily. Usually easy but having the right tool is great.
8) Unless you park on flat cement, get wheel chocks and plenty of leveling blocks. I use 5 or 6 bags of the yellow leggos.
9) The factory mattress is unacceptable. We added two mattress toppers and sleep great.
10) If internet reliability is important to you, you may want to add an internet antenna and/or a cell phone booster with directional antenna. Communications are more needed now in our current life, and many RV parks and campgrounds have little or poor service. I did both on my little trailer.
11) Agree with the desire for a couple of short local trips to shake down the camper and Tow vehicle. You will identify many items you want to personalize or fix. Best to get them identified early and addressed before long trips. My first trip was 1800 miles, My change list was quite long upon my return home. Personalize!
Good luck and God's graces to you both. With a little preparation and upgrades you will enjoy a flawless transition to the RV freedom!
Carl
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03-06-2021, 03:05 PM #25
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- Feb 2019
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After reading though all the posts (all good advice) two additional things come to mind. First, make sure your roadside assistance (like AAA or other) cover RV's. There is a difference. The "assistance" will not even change a tire w/o this special class of insurance. Secondly, as a guideline we use the "330" rule which is: travel no more than 330 miles a day or after 3:30 in the afternoon. Fatigue and darkness is NOT your friend when you are tugging on an RV all day. Although we have broken the milage limit many times, I strongly urge you to arrive at your destination waaaaaaay before dark. It is not fun backing up or entering a park when you need headlights to see. Happy travels and breath deeply al that free clean air!
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03-06-2021, 03:29 PM #26
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- Jun 2020
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- South Carolina
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Join the Imagine Facebook Group. You'll learn a lot and if you have questions you'll usually have answers within a few minutes. Also that group has numerous "categories".... For example, there's one just on Surge protectors. The moderator, Tom Lasonde, does a fantastic job. If you're not on Facebook, it's worth joining just for this IMHO🙂
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03-06-2021, 03:35 PM #27
You will definitely need a good WDH. We have the Reese Stead-I-Flex. It has great sway control and its quiet too as the bars ride on a brake pad material. You will want to consider better tires, like the Goodyear's and eventually look into a wet bolt suspension system as the plastic inset type that are standard, don't last very long (but should be good for a year or so of short trips). A TPMS would a real asset as you won't be able to tell if you have a low tire or flat, without one. This Forum is a great source of a lot of information. Enjoy
Roger & Debbie
2020 XLE 22 MLE
2021 Chevy 1500 LTZ 4x4
Crew Cab with, 6.2L V8 With HD Tow Pkg
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03-06-2021, 03:49 PM #28
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You have gotten lots of great advice. I will add just one thing. The best thing my husband and I did when we bought our first trailer in 2003 was to sign up with an RV driving school. Even though we both had driven a Class A and Class C motor home before, we found the training extremely useful. Our training was 2 days long with one day of driving in a controlled environment (a parking lot at a local fair grounds), backing up, parking and other instruction and then on the road instruction. Just do a web search to find one in your area. Look for a program that will not only give you hands on towing instruction and experience with your own rig but also cover all the particulars about the various systems and components of your trailer, (sewer, slides, electrical, etc.). Sometimes the driving school/instructor is also a NRVIA certified technician. That is even better because when they work with you and your rig they will also point out any issues they see. Good, luck and have a great time.
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03-06-2021, 03:55 PM #29
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One of the BEST things that we did was rent a travel trailer for a week before deciding to buy one. It gave us a list of "must haves" and "nice to have" that became a checklist after we decided that we enjoyed it and wanted to purchase. At the time I was 65 and retired, so we dealt with the same issues - Class A, Class C, or Travel trailer. We decided on the TT since we weren't sure we would use a motor home enough to justify the additional cost and/or feeling that "we have to use it" every time we go somewhere.
We went with the Equal-I-Zer hitch and it does a great job. I especially like that there aren't any chains (other than safety chains) that you have to fiddle with when hooking up. The only caveat is that you have to make sure to keep the socket bolts properly torqued to eliminate sway when passed by semis.
Since you sound a little uncertain about whether or not to "jump in" and purchase, you might want to do a shorter trip with a rental (our rental trip was about 600 miles round trip over the course of a week).
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03-06-2021, 04:00 PM #30
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The only advice I can give that has probably not already been given is to get in shape. Exercise, particularly upper body and arm muscles. You'd be surprised how heavy the power cables and 25'-50' hoses can get when setting up and tearing down a camp.
There's also a lot of squatting and kneeling. You might as well start now, so you don't feel the pain while camping.
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