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The Annoyed Man wrote:Man, am I glad I started this thread. I am learning a ton of stuff from you veteranos.

There are tons of videos in the national archives (YouTube). That's how I learned lots of good tips. There are idiots out there but you'll quickly realize who is and isn't a credible source. And some are just dang funny...

carlson1 wrote:Speaking of dumping. . . for others with experience. . .when set up and a "full sight" do you leave your gray and black water valves open or do you leave them close until 1/2 or so full and then empty them?

I leave mine hooked up but close both grey and black tanks in order to prevent gases coming in from main line into the trailer. It's pretty simple to do a quick dump every day or two and drop in another tank treatment. (My wife says the lavender ones are the best

Some people make an makeshift P trap in their sewer hose by raising it and making a drop in a segment but I'm afraid of it coming undone.

Plus, before leaving I want my tanks to be fairly full for the "last" dump. I have no scientific proof but based on what I read and have experienced, a full tank creates a little suction or momentum to drain the black tank thoroughly and as mentioned before more water = better waste processing. Then, a full grey tank does a great job of cleaning the hose.

My black tank has the internal flush connection so I can get it very clean regardless but it's best to get that final good dump from the tank and make quicker, more efficient work for the little internal sprinklers.

The Annoyed Man wrote:So we went to Walmart and bought wheel chocks, a Lynxlevelers RV Leveling Kit, a knee-pad, a 15' Camco RhinoFLEX RV Sewer Hose Kit, RV toilet paper, a clean water hose, a 90º brass elbow and a brass water regulator for the clean water hookup, and a light broom and dustpan.

Question: do you have to have a separate drain hose for the gray water tank, or do you just use the same hose you use to drain the black water tank?

I drain black tank first, then gray tank last to clean out the hose.

As for water hoses...
I used to drink from the garden hose as a kid, so wondered why you would need a special freshwater hose for the RV, and a $20 filter.

However, after hearing about and seeing some of the water coming out of the faucet at these lakes I'm glad I took the extra measure. We still mostly have bottled water to drink anyway, but I have the hose filter because I don't want to take the chance of fouling up the water system on my rig.

The Annoyed Man wrote:My purchase included a leveling hitch and anti-sway bars (or whatever they're called). We pick it up tomorrow morning, and we have a 2 hour "class" one on one with a technician before we drive it away. I imagine that this training session will also be a chance to develop a shopping list for other equipment.

This is where the cash can really start to stack up. I bought the "must haves" first, then every few weeks added the "nice to haves".

Be sure to confirm if you have stabilizers versus levelers. Electric levelers are great, but for our TT wasn't worth it. If you need levelers, I highly recommend the Anderson levelers. They're about $50 for one, but you can get by as long as you don't need to raise one side more than 4 inches. I bought another to put under both tires (on same side) and it really improved the system and added some stability. Anyways, they're a crescent and you roll on to level versus the block type you stack. The other must have is a good sewer hose and a clear connector to make sure your tank is running clear after dumping. The ones with water hose connector don't really clean the tank but are good for clearing blockage and final rinse of the hose.

And then there's all the decorations...

The Annoyed Man wrote:A couple more pictures of our new one:

Nice! I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy our TT.

Depending on the whistles and bells, all the classes overlap when it comes to cost. We're considering upgrading to a Class A within the next few years. The only thing I'm certain of is that I want a diesel pusher from a performance perspective, and in the event we decide to tow a small vehicle.

The B's and C's are great options, but I haven't seen one yet that has a bathroom I like, and that's way up on the list with the diesel options.