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  1. #31
    Fireside Member
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    This list was inspired by KYD youtube channel
    Teardown Checklist
    Inside list
    [ ] Turn off water pump
    [ ] Turn off water heater
    [ ] Lower the counter top extension
    [ ] Check bedroom vent
    [ ] Check living room vent
    [ ] Check bathroom vent
    [ ] Close range hood vent
    [ ] Check all windows
    [ ] Close all blinds
    [ ] Take out everything from bedroom
    [ ] Check 2 door straps
    [ ] Check outside the slide
    [ ] Retract the Slide in
    [ ] Empty tanks
    [ ] Close black valve
    [ ] Close 2 grey valve
    [ ] Drinking hose
    [ ] Sewer hose
    [ ] Disconnect electric wire
    [ ] Empty all Trash cans
    [ ] Turn off all lights
    [ ] Lock main door
    Outside checklist
    [ ] Ensure choke is in place
    [ ] Retract stabilizers
    [ ] Hitch receiver and Pin
    [ ] Silicone spray
    [ ] OCL latch and Pin
    [ ] Hook up truck to TT
    [ ] Safety chains
    [ ] 7 pin wiring harness
    [ ] Safety pull strap
    [ ] Check struts
    [ ] Tighten jack
    [ ] Remove all choke
    [ ] Retract tongue jack
    [ ] Propane tank
    [ ] Check brake lights
    [ ] Check all pins
    [ ] Check turn signals
    [ ] Check tire pressure
    [ ] Remove choke
    [ ] Walk around 1
    [ ] Lock storage
    [ ] Install tow mirror
    [ ] Walk around 2
    [ ] Setup and Check TPMS
    [ ] Enter trailer mileage log
    [ ] Check site
    [ ] Check trailer brake
    [ ] Check trailer lights

  2. #32
    Rolling Along Houndbb's Avatar
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    “And please pardon my english. I am an immigrant.”

    Mat, Nothing to pardon. If English isn’t your native language, your facility with it surpasses many native speakers I know!
    N
    Bruce and Nancy
    2018 Imagine 2150rb
    2011 Silverado 1500 5.3L

  3. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by SJMaye View Post
    My wife and I have used our 2500RL three times now. Each time we learn something new. Aside from gaining an understanding of the trailer mechanical and electrical systems we are trying to find our groove when it comes to RVing vs just getting a hotel room. We bought the trailer because we were sick of hotel rooms and eating out all the time. We thought if we had a trailer we would have a place of our own to come back to rather than the hotel crapshoot we had been experiencing. We also liked the idea of being able to cook there rather than eating out all the time.

    All this has worked out, however, we were not prepared for all the preparation, setup, takedown, cleaning time for every trip. I am thinking the reason for this has been our trips have all been only 2 night stays. So, all the setup and takedown feel like a lot just because we were not there long.

    I hope I have explained this well. Anyone have recommendations?
    I should also point out that this was the exact reason I bought my camper. I have visited almost 40 states so far by staying in hotels. I hated every single stay. I tried to stick with brands like Hilton and Marriotts. Issue was you could never find hotels at good locations. We had to drive hours to see a lot of places and had to eat out every single meal. So I did my math and figured out this is the way to go. Plus I have been watching KYD for a while now. So that was an inspiration too. For us, If we stay 22 nights a year for 5 years, the camper pays for itself. I did not add maintenance and it never really works that way. It could be more like 30 nights. We used to do 2 trips a year staying at hotels. This year we already did 3 with TT. So it is already looking better. At the end, TT offers us our own place to stay and our own bed. We cook a few meals and it is way more relaxing than hotels.
    2020 Imagine 2600RB
    2020 Ram 1500 Limited Hemi V8 Etrq

  4. #34
    Site Sponsor SGT ROC's Avatar
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    Like several have mentioned - Linens stay in the rig always, as do pots and pans, dishes and silverware (or paper and plasticware). Same with soaps and so on. All food items are removed for the winter, except spices. When spring rolls around we load up with Towels, washcloths, basic clothing items we have just for camping, and canned, boxed foods. If we are going camping on weekends fairly close together I leave the freeze full and on (the rig is always plugged in all year round). The only things we have to load up are fridge stuff and cloths. When the grandkids go it takes a little more planning, but not much - just what movies they want, and snacks they may want. As Rob says, hang in there - you'll find your groove.
    Bob (retired) & Vicki
    Scuba Diver
    US ARMY Vet (Go Cav!)
    2019 Reflection 31MB
    2019 Chevy 2500HD LT Crew Cab Gasser

  5. #35
    Site Sponsor GeoffnCheri's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SJMaye View Post
    My wife and I have used our 2500RL three times now. Each time we learn something new. Aside from gaining an understanding of the trailer mechanical and electrical systems we are trying to find our groove when it comes to RVing vs just getting a hotel room. We bought the trailer because we were sick of hotel rooms and eating out all the time. We thought if we had a trailer we would have a place of our own to come back to rather than the hotel crapshoot we had been experiencing. We also liked the idea of being able to cook there rather than eating out all the time.

    All this has worked out, however, we were not prepared for all the preparation, setup, takedown, cleaning time for every trip. I am thinking the reason for this has been our trips have all been only 2 night stays. So, all the setup and takedown feel like a lot just because we were not there long.

    I hope I have explained this well. Anyone have recommendations?
    The majority of our trips are still 2 night to 5 night trips. Including what others have said, here is what has helped for us:

    Afternoon before departure:
    Bring 5th wheel home from storage-
    Plug in to house to cool refrigerator-
    Fill fresh water tank if required -
    Load grill, firewood, fishing poles and incidentals in truck bed -

    Morning of departure:
    Load clothes and food
    Depart-

    We keep most non food items in the unit to include clean bedding, towels, games, etc.

    Loading and unloading takes about 20 minutes.
    You will get your groove for set up and take down at the site.

    My wife handles the inside, I handle the outside. No slides or awnings come in until we confirm with each other we are ready.
    Geoff and Cheri
    2011 F250 CC 6.7L
    Firestone Ride Rite Airbags
    Pull Rite 16k SuperGlide
    2018 Reflection 303RLS, Build date 9/2017
    USMC-Retired
    Thin Blue Line - Retired

  6. #36
    Seasoned Camper FatTire's Avatar
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    I agree that it is a lot of work fir a trip with only two nights. But that work for us is loading the camper as we don't keep much inside, and since it is not stored ot our house, part of that is bringing it home, backing it into the driveway, hooking up to power, getting the fridge cool, and then loading stuff - inside and outside stuff.

    That said, I keep most of it in the basement, and everything else, I keep in a bin which sits on a shelf in my garage. I have a checklist on a dry erase board in the garage for things like grill, tire pump, charcoal, water hose, etc. When we get to the site, it a two person job to get unhooked, chocked and level. Since we have a big patio mat, we take that out and put it down, and put it where we want it. Then I begin setting up outside while the wife sets up inside - first thing she does is deploys the slides and the two awnings. I don't go by a list when setting up at camp - I go by logical order _ I'm a computer programmer. I take my bin out, set it on the table and remove the lid so I can take out stuff as needed.

    She's going to need to have power inside, so first is the power cord. Then comes the water hookups. Bang on the side and let her know the water is coming on - have overflowed a sink because the faucet was left on and no one was inside - old camper...

    She knows to turn on the faucet to get the air out, then turn on the water heater.

    I then get out our small table, and two chairs, set them up, get out the cooler and pop a beer. That's basically it. About this time she's coming out with a sandwich and I pop a beer for her. I rather enjoy setting up and taking down - although to a lesser extent since it means I'm leaving. All the other stuff like setting up sewer lines can wait - your tanks aren't full yet. After I've relaxed a while, I may pull out the grill if we are cooking outside that night, but the first evening meal is usually simple like spaghetti. The bikes stay on the rack until we are ready for a ride. don't feel you have to pull everything else out all at once.

    Taking down, the opposite - electric is alyawy the second to last thing - the last thing is folding the patio mat and storing it. then it is a two person job to hook up.

    We are going to try as the other posters have suggested - leaving more stuff in the camper, then going to it in storage, switching on the fridge on propane to let it cool off for a day, loading it minimally, then taking the rest of our stuff, loading it into the truck, going to storage, hook up and go camping from there just to use the camper more but for shorter durations like long weekends. Then come back straight to storage.
    2018 Reflection 303 RLS
    2018 Ram BigHorn 3500 CTD

  7. #37
    Long Hauler geotex1's Avatar
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    Tons of great advice here! I know all about the hotel deal. My career has me staying 100 nights a year in hotels at a minimum, and even if you're a member of the super exclusive member club- it's still a hotel room!

    You do find a groove for every style of camping and camper, and for my wife and I camping with a popup was the longest to pack and breakdown! That was long ago now, and we learned much progressing into different campers and styles of camping. The key is really taking the time to evaluate what you REALLY need, how long you're typically going to camp, and then how you pack it and/or unpack it.

    With our prior TT and now the 5er, we evolved into the mentality of treating it like a second home. What I mean is that we are ready to go anytime during the season. We both have camping wardrobes so we never pack a bag - just launder and put back after each trip. The pantry is always full and restocked as needed. Fridge is always on with the condiments, adult beverages, and frozen good so we just add fresh dairy, veggies and meats before we go. Obviously, this only works if the camper is parked where it can be powered. Ours is parked at our home all year and I installed our own full hookups.

    Organozation is key! Everything has its place, there's a place for everything. This goes for small appliances, entertainment, outside gear have their permanent spots so easy to find and replace when used. It simply cannot be everything stuffed in on top of itself either! Especially for short trips! Minimalism, efficiency, whatever you want to coin it is what you have to adopt.

    I also used to be religious about wiping hoses, cords, etc before stowing but found it to be very inefficient after packing up so many times in the rain it's staggering. So I migrated to dedicated containers for each so they can go away wet and muddy but not make a mess of everything around them. I then clean them up on a nice day at home and the plastic containers are simply blown out with air or hosed if need be.

    If you're short-tripping a lot, become ok with buying firewood at the CG or local to it to save time. One trick for us is to always keep two bundles of kiln-dried, bug free in the truck bed at all, which keeps you environmentally conscious and in the good grace of the Park Ranger.

    I could go on with our tricks, but I figure just some ideas will help you just as others have offered. However, I do have a final, sage piece of advice: you and your wife should each have your own set of dedicated tasks for both prepping before a trip, breaking camp, and once back home, and then know the shared, it takes two chores and when they fit into the routine. This will bring you great efficiency rather than working over one another or one doing all.

    Happy camping!

  8. #38
    Setting Up Camp
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    Jun 2019
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    We have been living full-time in our Reflection 367 for 6 months now. We have moved it 3 times. The first time I studied you tube videos to see how to "pack" to move. It was a relief to learn that all we really needed to do was pick up things that would slide around during movement. Most cabinets are designed to keep items on the shelves during movement. The other thing that was pretty nice to realize was that once we got to the new site, everything was the same! same bed, same kitchen, same 'stuff' just a different location! Since we had no where else to live, this just came easy. We stored most of our belongings at a storage unit. If we had to do it over again, we would have packed an "RV" set of things.... For instance, I packed all my dishes, all my kitchen utensils, all my sheets, towels, bathroom items. Then had to find them in the storage unit and sort through to find just the minimal things we needed for our rv! Totally backwards.

    Definitely good advice to set aside an "RV set" of everything you need and leave it in the RV. I am an environmental protector, I am passionate about saving our environment from single-use plastic, etc. Using paper plates was really against my beliefs, but I have caved to the fact that it's just easier to use paper plates. I haven't gotten to plasticware yet, still using 'real' forks, spoons, etc. We have since bought a set of Melamine dishes, but still use the paper ones most of the time. (After all paper does decompose so not too much footprint) Definitely purchasing an electric skillet and also an electric smokeless grill (from Cosco, works awesome) is the way to go. We have an outside grill too, but sometimes weather doesn't permit being outside!! I find washing the dishes to be the hardest thing to deal with. It's just a given, if you care about what you eat, you have to cook yourself, then you spend a lot of time washing. There are tradeoffs...

    Lots of blah blah here, hope this helps others!

  9. #39
    Site Sponsor JFF&KRN's Avatar
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    For us: we have been doing it for about 20 years, we still find things that help with the "ROUTINE". we do have a pretty simple process, but it did take a while to get r down pat. we also have ours at home so it makes it easy especially if we are going to be gone for a month or so as we can do some each day as needed. We do load food and clothes the night before or morning of departure, just depends on when we want to leave. we have all our bedding and normal stuff in the fifth wheel so loading food and clothes is the biggie. I check tires, add fire wood to the truck and do all my checks. when we get to the spot, we back in, i level things off and get the outside stuff out, flag, grill, patio mat, chairs an a couple misc things if we are staying for a couple days or longer. She gets the inside stuff out that she wants, a couple pictures and misc little stuff. In about fifteen minutes, we are done. when loading to head out, just backwards on stuff and about twenty minutes and then double check stuff, hook up and go is about normal for us. but again we have been doing it for quite a while. it will all come into perspective for you and you will enjoy. just take out what you need and put things away as you don't need them. but youll get it. good luck.
    Jeff & Karen
    Peoria, Arizona

  10. #40
    Seasoned Camper
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    Lots of short trips and short stays and set ups can be a pain. On iously, by going longer the effort is kind of prorated over time. Go longer stay longer. If possible we like to stay for 4 or 5 days
    At a time and two week stays are the best. We are retired and have those options and not everyone does. Our longest trip was five months and 15000 miles from Florida to Maine to Colorado and Utah. We are lucky. With a trailer you get to go where ever you want.

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