I Know Nothing...

[LarsMac]

I'm 30 amp on my Class A RV. I use a 50 to 30 amp step down (bought at Walmart) and my surge protector still works with that setup when I have to.

I have a 50A to 30A dogbone, and have only used it once, but I hung my 30A Surge protector off of it, and all seemed to work as expected.

 

[TestMule]

Thank you, @Gary RV_Wizard. Do you have any suggestions on an appropriate device?

 

[TestMule]

Thank you, @LarsMac. I appreciate the info!

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Thank you, @Gary RV_Wizard. Do you have any suggestions on an appropriate device?

There are three prominent brands of EMS (Electrical Mgmt Systems):

• Progressive Industries EMS PT50X or PT30X
• Hughes Power Watchdog
• Surge Guard by Southwire

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Welcome to The Forum!

You are going down the right path trying to educate yourself on the do's and don'ts of RV'ing. But, heres the secret; Don't overthink the process! Do some Do Diligence on the type of RV your interested in *now". Check out brands, floor plans, amenities you think you'll need within your budget. Narrow the choice, research some more of the brand that checks the boxes, And go buy the rig!

Once you own an RV and you experience the lifestyle, Then it will become apparent to you Based on that experience what now you know you like, don't like, could use, could delete, and to your last post what tools and repair items to carry along.

Statistically speaking, most new RV'ers will Make a change from their original purchase, new or used, in about 2 years. Now,they have become seasoned RV'ers who can better understand what they more honestly need out of their RV of choice.

Go for it!

 

[TestMule]

Thank you for the words of encouragement, @Adventurous Traveler.

We made a deal on a trailer yesterday and we are looking forward to the PDI and delivery scheduled for next week.

We purchased a slightly used, one owner Dutchman Kodiak 201QB. The size will be perfect for the sites we frequent, and the amenities meet our needs. Our intent was to keep it simple and take our time to learn the ropes. I've reviewed quite a few checklists and I'm beginning to take what I believe is the best info from each one.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the new to us unit.

 

[TestMule]

Early next week I am going to call around and see if either the nearby Lowes or the Love's truck stop can be the destination for a shakedown.

 

[Rene T]

Early next week I am going to call around and see if either the nearby Lowes or the Love's truck stop can be the destination for a shakedown.

Can you do it right in your driveway?
That way if you find you need something, it’s just a few steps away. The thing is only take things from the house if you have two of an item. What you don’t want to do is transfer that potato peeler back and forth from the rv to the house Etc.. Make out a list and go get the items you need at Walmart.
what you don’t want to overload your rv. Make out two lists, the first list are things you have to have and pack them. and the second list are things that would be nice to have. You can always get those items while on the road.
Fill up all your tanks with water then go have the rv weighed to make sure you are not overloaded.
Safe travels and enjoy.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Nice looking rig and congrats on pulling the trigger.

Lowe's or Love's is nice, but you won't be able to test out the utilities without any hookups.

Good suggestion above about stocking it with doubles of things you already have in the house like a potato peeler. Same with clothes, the stuff you can leave in the RV, the lass you have to transfer back and forth every time you head out. When we bought our first RV I took underwear , T-shirts, sweatshirt, shorts and jeans that I would have either donated, or tossed, and put them in the RV to stay there. Not trying to impress anyone at a campground, especially if the sites are dirt.

 

[TestMule]

Can you do it right in your driveway?
That way if you find you need something, it’s just a few steps away. The thing is only take things from the house if you have two of an item. What you don’t want to do is transfer that potato peeler back and forth from the rv to the house Etc.. Make out a list and go get the items you need at Walmart.
what you don’t want to overload your rv. Make out two lists, the first list are things you have to have and pack them. and the second list are things that would be nice to have. You can always get those items while on the road.
Fill up all your tanks with water then go have the rv weighed to make sure you are not overloaded.
Safe travels and enjoy.

Nope..can't do it in the driveway as I don't have one! We live in a gated community, and you are not allowed to park overnight on the street. We have to find a nearby location for the shakedown.

We have most of what we need, in duplicate, so we aren't shuffling things back and forth between the house and the RV. Any gaps in that house vs. RV list will be quickly filled. What we have to be careful of is not adding too much stuff just because we have the room in this new unit.

I will weigh the RV after we take delivery with the contents & fresh water added. There is a scale nearby we can use for a nominal fee. I will have to weigh the tongue manually, but I can get truck weight & RV weights independently.

Yes, testing the utilities might present some initial difficulties but I can plug in at home with my adapter plus test the batteries, lights, etc...again after our PDI if needed. My real concern is gray and black water tank functions. I'd rather check them out before we take our first trip vs. being surprised or disappointed while we are on that trip! The inklings of a plan are starting to form into a real plan for this as well.

We are looking forward to this first big step!

 

[Trivet]

My real concern is gray and black water tank functions. I'd rather check them out before we take our first trip vs. being surprised or disappointed while we are on that trip!

You're not going to be able to do that in a Lowe's parking lot.

I saw in your other posts that you've had a teardrop trailer, so I think "I know nothing" doesn't really describe your situation.

I'm guessing your teardrop didn't have waste tanks, so what's new to you isn't traveling with a trailer, but having a trailer that is self-contained. And maybe your teardrop didn't have electricity?

 

[TestMule]

You're not going to be able to do that in a Lowe's parking lot.

I saw in your other posts that you've had a teardrop trailer, so I think "I know nothing" doesn't really describe your situation.

I'm guessing your teardrop didn't have waste tanks, so what's new to you isn't traveling with a trailer, but having a trailer that is self-contained. And maybe your teardrop didn't have electricity?

Yeah, I have to come up with another way to do that. It won't be during our overnight shakedown though.

I don't know much...how about that instead? The teardrops did not have tanks. Both had 30AMP service and one had solar capability. So, the unknown parts of this new adventure is a longer, heavier and more complicated trailer. We will have to learn a lot of new things.

 

[Trivet]

You'll figure it out. Millions of others have.

Our first RV was a 40-foot motorhome bought sight unseen. Talk about knowing nothing. We flew to pick it up and spent three days driving over 2,000 miles to bring it home. Six months later we'd sold our houses and started fulltiming. And that was in 2003, before there was such a massive amount of information available. Which, in retrospect, was probably a feature, not a bug. Our only option was to just figure it out, and figure it out we did.

You have a leg up having dealt with outfitting a trailer for use, maneuvering trailers, and dealing with campgrounds and electricity. The tanks add only a slight complication, in exchange for far greater convenience. And you don't even have to use the water/sewer hookups--we never hook up to city water and run off the tanks instead. But I'll concede that we're very much outliers on that preference.

 

[Rene T]

When weighing you need to fill all your tanks with water

 

[TestMule]

Our Northwood M-15D has a new owner and I am a bit richer than I was a few hours ago.

It was a good trailer and it treated us well. I hope the new unit does the same.

Bye Bye, True North!

 

[easontsien]

Something I learned the first Time I pulled into an FMCA event was hand signals. Dang things work well. No I won't describe them but they were what I would call obvious.

One I will explan. Arms crossed over your chest like the "X" on a Rail Road crossing sign
Meaning "STOP"

That's useful and interesting!
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[John From Detroit]

That's useful and interesting!
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The rest of them, at least for me... And a couple others I've used them on are very "Obvious"

But then I'm quickly learning obvious... does not apply to all....

Two nearly identical stories... A device I use (Pi-star) is a communications device. Well the display both "Web page" and the delux screen shows the call of the speaker and either an "R " or "RF" or an "N" or "Net"
On Facebook one user ask "Why does it show RF for me and NET for everyone else
And later a user on the radio "Why does it show R for me and N for everyone else (He has the delujx display)

Well the owner talks to his Pi-star via RF (Radio frequency) Using a radio.
So the pi-star's radio hears RF.

I may be using any of a number of methods Including a radio to talk to either a local ham raido repeater that is linked to the internet, another pi-star, or other interface device or I might be using a "Direct to net" Device like a SharkRF M1KE But no matter how I do it.

His Pi-star is "Hearing" me via the interNET hence the NET display.

We hams are supposed to know things like that..

But alas what is obvious to soem. not always to others.

And yes. sometimes I'm the one who does not get it so
(I had some help when I got started on those systems.... Just not on that specific item)

One of these days (May 2) I need to meet one ham who seriously helped me.

 

[RayIN]

That's useful and interesting!
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This is the RV industry standard hand signals pt.1