Hello everyone. Made a deal for a trailer.

[Jiuchessu]

Long story short, I park my trailers at a yard that I park my work vehicles in. This trailer belongs to the owner of the yard. This trailer has been parked there for 2 years. He doesnt use it. It still has stickers inside, looks brand new other that outside dust since he doesnt clean it either. Hes just busy running the daycare. Nice guy.

Anyways, we came to an agreement that worked for both. I do not know much about trailers, but I have been wanting one for a long time to travel with my 5 and 9 year old daughters.

I found the exact trailer (this is not the actual trailer, but it's the exact one)
2023 Palomino PALOMINO SolAire Ultra Lite 147H | Transcona Trailer Sales

I have 2 ways of moving it. My work van or my personal van but wanted to see if you guys think its ok? The specs say yes and i would like to avoid using my work van (Econoline E350) if possible.

2004 Honda Oddysey. Towing Capacity 3500lbs. The problem is the mirrors are narrow. I can add towing mirrors. Would you guys tow with this van? Its old, but only has 75k miles so it runs like new and (not that it matters) looks new.

It has a 125v Outlet, AC, Vent and some kind of antenna.

(im completely new to RV life. Hoping to learn a lot here. Things like, are there services that come to you for sewage or do you take it to them? Adding Solar and Starlink for fully remote living (maybe going for a 2 week national park, big bear lake trips etc...) Where would i begin to know what is considered livable and How would i know what to look out for and make sure that I have. Is there some kind of checklist somewhere?

My apologies if this post seems scattered, but my mind is racing. I just made the deal today.



I have a thousand questions,

 

[CharlesinGA]

The important number is the trailer's GVWR of 4475 lbs. This means the tongue weight needs to be AT LEAST 450 lbs when towing at gross weight (10%) and could be up to slightly over 600 lbs (13% to 15%).

The out of the factory dry weight is 3408 lbs so your Honda will be seriously overloaded I'm afraid.

The Ford van would be fine, however, if it is the long overhang model, you will experience some instability. Probably not much with a trailer of this size, but something to be aware of.

Charles

 

[No cats]

As Charles said, no, to the Honda towing it.

are there services that come to you for sewage or do you take it to them?

you have to drive to the dump

Adding Solar and Starlink for fully remote living

You can add solar and Starlink, but you will need to add more batteries and carry a generator. Remote living with canvas slide-outs will be limited to low wind conditions. Camping in locations with bears is a no-no with canvas and food inside, even toothpaste.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Good catch Pedro Dog, I didn't realize it was a hybrid. No camping in bear country with a hybrid, and some parks and campgrounds will turn you down. Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone is an example.........

Fishing Bridge RV Park—elevation 7,800 feet (2377 m)—is located near the Yellowstone River where it exits Yellowstone Lake on its way toward the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Only campground in Yellowstone to offer water, sewer, and electrical hookups. Because grizzly bears frequent the area, no tents or tent campers are allowed.

Charles

 

[Rene T]

Welcome to the forum.
Before you do much of anything, you need to get up on the roof, wash it with a scrub brush using a mixture of water, bleach and Dawn dish detergent, then inspect all the caulking for cracks and flaking. It you find some that needs repair , use only caulking made for rv roofs like Dicor. DO NOT use silicone that you buy at Lowe’s. Where this is a 2023, it probably has never been inspected and that should be done annually. After making any repairs, I would put a layer of Eternsbond take over all the caulking. This tape will last for 20+ years.

 

[rvlifer]

Welcome to the forum. Recommend you do a few close to home trips and spend a few nights in it in your driveway or yard. You will figure out what works and what you need.

 

[Kirk]

Would you guys tow with this van?

Absolutely not. As soon as you fill the water tank you will exceed the safe towing capacity of your van. If you put groceries, and the typical needs of 2 adults and 3 children inside you will need to be very careful or you will exceed the GVWR(gross vehicle weight limit) of the trailer.

are there services that come to you for sewage or do you take it to them?

While the service is available in some areas, not typically. If you go to established campgrounds there is usually a dump station and also water available, and some campsites have complete hookups available. What is available will depend upon where you go.

maybe going for a 2 week national park,

As mentioned, you won't be allowed to stay in national parks with bear activity and you really shouldn't want to. That won't restrict you a lot as there aren't that many places where it is a problem. For 2 weeks with 4 people, you will need to learn to conserve water as most people use between 5 and 10 gallons of water at each shower and will run out of water and of wastewater storage. You would be wise to stay in places that have full utility connections at least at first to learn how to manage things.

Where would i begin to know what is considered livable

The best way would be to have the person who sold you the trailer teach you how to use everything. An RV toilet works very differently that what is in a house. The furnace operates from 12V/battery as do the lights. Things like the microwave, air conditioner and TV will not work unless you are connected to outside, 120V electric power. If it has only 1 battery, even fully charged it will not last a long time and if the furnace is needed, maybe only 1 day. Have you towed a trailer and backed up one? Those are things that do take some learning so try it in an empty parking lot. If the seller won't or can't teach you to use things, you may want to pay a mobile RV tech to come and do so.

Good luck!

 

[oldryder1]

No to the Honda. If you youtube "RV towing fails" you'll see a lot of wrecks and the vast majority are people towing with an SUV type vehicle. The E350 will be more than adequate and with the 1 ton suspension you might not even need an equalizer hitch. re: inspecting the camper get a good flashlite and look deep into all the cabinets for water damage or mouse turds. good luck; camping with kids can be great fun. Don't tow with the Honda.

 

[No cats]

Hybrids are very unique in terms of how space is utilized vs self contained hard wall units.

The positives are the big beds on both ends, they are big and roomy. The negatives of having beds on both ends is that you loose a wall for mounting things like a refrigerator, counter space, storage, etc. In a small trailer, everything has to be fit on the side walls, very crowded. On a cold night, the canvas lets a lot of cold in and condensation can be an issue. Zippered windows are a PITA.

Another consideration is that the beds, the mattresses, take up a lot of space when the fold out beds are retracted. The packing space is very tight and access is limited. So, the big van is perfect for packing for camping with 2 active girls. Think bikes, toys, firewood, chairs, tools, you get the idea.

We had a pop-up and when the beds were deployed, it was very roomy. A few times we camped in windy weather in the south-west and sleeping was difficult, very noisy. We camped in the sierras and Colorado where Bears were a big concern. Even squirrels will eat though canvas if they smell snacks laying around.

 

[JudyJB]

So, make your first short camping trip in your driveway or a campground very close to your house. Keep a big pad of paper for making a list of all the things you forgot and stuff you need help with understanding.

I see you are from Los Angeles, so while everything this group has told you about bears and not being allowed in a few campgrounds, for the most part, this will not be a concern, at least for a while while you get used to operating this thing. (I was lucky with my first four-day close to home trip because I had a hot day, a cold day, and some rain, so I could check my RV out for leaks and know what I still needed to add to my equipment.) Take along some flashlights and a few tools like a hammer and screwdrivers. (Believe it or not, I had forgotten flashlights!)

You will not want to pack and unpack for each trip, so bring some towels, sheets, blankets, and pillows you can leave it in permanently. Ditto for a minimum of cooking equipment, plus a lot of paper plates and paper towels. Keep it to the basics for a while.

I was also lucky in that when I pulled in and started to unpack my sewage hose for my first trial camping, the lady in the next camper yelled over for me to ask for help if I needed it. And I did need it, so it was nice to have friendly neighbors!

But mostly, have fun! My granddaughter was 5 when I drove across the country and pulled into their driveway. She came in to check the place out, then went back into their house and came out with a big basket of stuffed toys. She had moved in!!

 

[No cats]

Much of the camping near Los Angeles is bear country. We get regular news stories of bears in the LA foothill communities. Camping in the San Bernardino mountains is even worse. Some very nice camping is available in the San Gabriel mountains around LA, but the bears are everywhere. The sierras have lots of camping but they are also bear country. Coastal camping is bear free, but it's hard to get reservations.

I'm not saying that camping in bear country is not doable with a hybrid trailer, people camp in tents. Tent campers hang their food from tree branches in bear proof containers if they don't have bear proof boxes in the camp.

What we did with the pop up was to put everything that was not in the refrigerator in the bear proof box overnight, including toothpaste. During the day, snacks were in the trailer but we were careful with the chipmunks and squirrels. With a 5 and 9 year old kid, they will have to be very careful.

edit: added in bear country

 

[TXMOOSE]

Congrats on the new trailer , but , should have asked first. Myself I'd never get a trailer with those fold out beds, seen to mant picks of things falling on them or trees flopping up against them and causing tears. Besure to get patches. If there's dump stations mite be good to have a portable tank so you don't need to move your trailer till your use to it.
Sorry to kill your buzz, ill stop there. Its an awsime idea though. My first trailer i had at a campground where my buddies and parents were at for years. I was there 7 years and learned alot.
i was not moving around at that time but in the first couple of years i learned alot of stuff. Good thing i didn't move around. I definitely would have forgot or didn't know alot of stuff.
if anything I'd go to a campground the first season. Trust me your kids will love it big time. In that time figure if it's the trailer for you or get one a little bigger with bunks.