Motor homes

[E.Marquez]

Well, we bought a trailer today! We're picking it up on Friday. We settled on a Jayco Hummingbird 17RK.





With an upgraded towing system and electric brake controller, it comes to $21K, brand new.

Nice trailer ... One word.. maintenance ....did I mention maintenance? and dont forget maintenance ...
It is a love affair with a life style as the time spent will never be economical...except for $$$ saved.
And it pays to be a tinker,,,there will always be things needing fixed, modified, upgraded, swapped.....and it's costly to have it done on the shop.
Leaks, water pumps, electrical gremlins, oh how it would be nice to have an outlet THERE as well, oh the inverter went out...and the batteries no longer hold a charge.,,well upgrade the inverter/charge controller, the charge wiring and ditch the twin 12v deep cycle and go 6v....and dont forget to reseal the top, windows, hatches, doors, ect and sides yearly or at least every 2..a small leak, pin hole even in the sealant..will lead to massive damage..so you spend the time to reseal every few years as preventative....
What I learned is the travel trailer (Toy Hauler for us) is not much differnt then a boat... big dark hole you throw money and time into.... The best two days of ownerships is the day you buy it and the day you sell it....But the memories in between....priceless and i would not trade the many mornings waking with my sons and wife, dogs in the camp spot ready to ride the day away.... or the pulling in at night...where ever,,and having "home" right then and there.. a warm home cooked meal, family ..entertainment

[E.Marquez]

When you decide to get a gen set...and you will....lol.. Please for your own sanity and that of your neighbours dont get a old school construction portable genny.... get a uber quite inverter style ...better if you get one that can be paired and synced, so if your power needs go up, you can get a second 2K or what every and pair.. not buy a whole new one...it also adds redundancy as you can then run one as a single ..powering just the essentials, be it fridge, AC, heater..or what have you.

[The Annoyed Man]

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.

I would not stress over pulling that trailer. I used to pull a track car on a trailer using my little Colorado (V8) pickup. The only time it was ever uncomfortable was when I changed lanes a little too quickly while driving that high speed bypass around Austin (on the way to COTA).

Learning to back up is fun! Keep your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel (6 o'clock position) and trailer will move in the same direction as you turn the wheel. Just remember, it's like driving a boat, you can never go too slow!

I'm not that stressed about pulling the trailer. I had a good sized popup trailer years and years ago, and I've towed UHaul trailers and such since then. So I'm not really worried about how to maneuver it as much as I worry a bit about driving in stiff crosswinds with a trailer that has a fair amount of vertical real estate and doesn't weigh that much.

Stabilizers/levelers: I do have the gimcracks that are located at the corners of the trailer to stabilize/level it when parked. I do NOT have the gewgaw that you roll under the tire like a tire-chock to raise one side of the trailer or the other. I will probably get one of those. Oddly, I still have the little round bubble level I used to use on my popup trailer many moons ago when leveling the stabilizers. It's been sitting in my tool chest all these years, and comes out once in a while to make sure a riflescope is level in the rings, or something like that.

Sewer equipment: My LifeGroup leader purely coincidentally recently bought a much larger Jayco, after trading in the large one he's had for 13 years. He was giving me advice last night. I mentioned having those sprinkler doodads installed in the black water tank, and he said that while it's not a bad idea, for the 25 gallon tank on my trailer, it's not absolutely necessary because it's not that big. He did however recommend a clear elbow that goes on the sewer pipe, that has a hose fitting for a water hose to flush out the tank. He said a clear fitting is desirable so that you can see when the drainage is running clear and clean. (He also told me to never run the ceiling fan in the bathroom when the toilet flap is open. )

Generator: Yeppers, it's on the list, and no, I'm going to buy a piece of construction equipment. If I can't live with the noise, my neighbors can't either. It will necessarily be small, because my trailer/vehicle combo isn't that big.

But I do expect the wallet to contract a bit when the list of "wants" gets addressed.

[Dadtodabone]

My wife and I found that private RV campgrounds were often loud and filled with drunken louts.

If you insert "rich, wearing trashed topsiders" that sounds like most of the private marinas/yacht clubs on the ICW.

[carlson1]

My wife and I found that private RV campgrounds were often loud and filled with drunken louts.

If you insert "rich, wearing trashed topsiders" that sounds like most of the private marinas/yacht clubs on the ICW.

Our experience over the last 15 years have been the exact opposite. The places we have been have quiet time at 10:00PM. Even before the 10:00PM quiet time it is has been very peaceful and relaxing. We have even stayed overnight in Cracker Barrels parking lot and took a small nap before moving on to our destination.

[Oldgringo]

They're not among our favorites but we have stayed in Walmart parking lots. Walmarts, for the most part, welcome overnighters; however, there is a Walmart website that deals with RV'rs and tells what is expected and gives locations where RV's are NOT allowed overnight. The negatives are mostly city ordinances.

FWIW, our stays in Walmart parking lots have ended up costing more than a night in a KOA RV park.

[carlson1]

Oldgringo we have also done that for a three or four hour nap
And then moved on. Free is always good. I have noticed that some are not open to RV's anymore.

[E.Marquez]

Oldgringo we have also done that for a three or four hour nap
And then moved on. Free is always good. I have noticed that some are not open to RV's anymore.

I too have popped in to WM parking lot for a late roll in, early departure deal, making it not worth paying for a RV spot.... To me no different then finding a side road off the freeway,,,and less chance of getting rousted by LEO's.. but that is how I view a WM parking lot stay..not really a stay location, just an extended stop.

I had not heard some were now off limits to RV's..... but it's been 2 years since I owned and traveled in an RV... so....thanks for the heads up.

[Salty1]

Pilot Knoll Park in Highland Village has a nice campground on Lewisville lake. Might be worth a consideration for a first shakedown trip, Walmart is about a mile away for the items that are overlooked before hitting the road.... best of luck with your new travel adventures....

http://www.highlandvillage.org/Faciliti ... ty/Details

[The Annoyed Man]

Pilot Knoll Park in Highland Village has a nice campground on Lewisville lake. Might be worth a consideration for a first shakedown trip, Walmart is about a mile away for the items that are overlooked before hitting the road.... best of luck with your new travel adventures....

http://www.highlandvillage.org/Faciliti ... ty/Details

Thanks for the suggestion, but I live in Grapevine, and Grapevine Lake is much closer.....like maybe 6 or 7 miles away. There are campgrounds there too. There's a Walmart on the way, between there and my house.

We were going to go along with a friend and his wife, and their trailer, to Lake Witney on the weekend of Nov 5th and 6th, but I have a full day church commitment on the 6th, so I can't do it. But we'll do something else soon.

[C-dub]

TAM that is great looking. We need to get together and take a trip to Beaver's Bend at Broken Bow, OK. for a day or two. It is a beautiful place. I am happy for you and your dear wife and I know it will be great memories made with the grandbabies.

Carl, I'm up for that!

Hey, this trailer came with a free 1 year membership in [urlhttps://www.thousandtrails.com]Thousand Trails[/url]. Have you ever been a member, or know someone who has? Free seems like a pretty good deal, but I don't know if it's worth the $545/year to renew when the time comes.

One other thing...... Since I would NOT travel unarmed, how do most of these commercial campgrounds deal with firearms possession by customers? Do the ones in Texas post signage of any kind, or in other ways attempt to restrict possession? I'm thinking in terms of having a pistol along, and maybe a shotgun in the trailer.

IIRC, this is considered the same as your home in the eyes of the law as far as firearm possession go. However, with the possible/probable exceptions of COE land, Indian Territory, and some Federal Property, but I'm sure you're aware of those.

[WTR]

I don't care where I went, I always had a shotgun and a 1911 with me. I never advertised the fact that I had them and was never checked. I also never took a back woods trail with out a 1911 CC on me. (came in handy with three two legged vermin one time.) I also suggest you lock you hitch to your truck. I had mine stolen in CO one day and could ot find a replacement to save my life. I ended diving from CO to El Paso with a sever v between truck and trailer. Always camped at a "primitive" camp site. Only once did I have to ask a person to shut off their Onan after 10:00 PM.

[C-dub]

+1 on the hitch lock. However, don't ever forget where the key is.

[The Annoyed Man]

Look what followed me home:







Here is the hitch setup I have: load leveling, with anti-sway bars: