New RVer Preparing for a Travel Trailer Purchase

[TestMule]

...so I will probably ask a few questions now and then. Just warning you all right up front.

But first, I am going to read as much as I can about RVs, the good the bad & the ugly, how to care for them, fix them and run them safely.

But most of all I am looking forward to researching trailers and making a purchase decision!

 

[JFlightRisk]

Welcome Western NY State!

We're on our 6th RV since we started in 1990 and would just like to throw out that any RV 2018 or older will have a better build quality than anything newer these days. Just food for thought, and my personal opinion. There are PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) lists that you can print off and take with you. So many things on them that you may not think to look at while deciding on "the one". There's probably one here on the forum under "Resources" to download too.

 

[Rene T]

Welcome to the forum.
Just remember there are no dumb questions. If you don’t know the answer to a question, it’s not dumb to ask. No matter how small it may seem to you.

 

[John From Detroit]

Welcome and well Remember the Star Trek (TOS) epsiode The City on the Edge of Forever?

Google Search

Well The guardian of Forever says as best I can recall:
"A question" then something about having waited a long time for a question."

We have not waited that long but like the Guardian, always happy to answer.

 

[Oaklevel]

Welcome from Virginia...................... also there are sites with this one where you can research, Forest River and Thor products. Same Login

 

[whiteva]

The ultimate answer: 42

(rats)

 

[RNS1]

Welcome to the forum from WI. No telling how many hours I wiled away on research before and after purchase. Is how found this site, YouTube saw lots of traffic also.

 

[LarsMac]

If you don't ask the question, you may never find the answer.

 

[CamperAL]

Welcome to the forum TestMule, glad to have you!

To buy without researching is to shoot without aiming. Plenty of great seasoned people here to help out!

 

[weighit]

Welcome aboard, I have to believe every one of us at one time started out without any/or very little knowledge of rving. As others have said just ask and one of us should have an answer for you. AND if that answer is wrong, someone else will give the correct one, Big Grin!!

 

[LarsMac]

I was lucky. Margo's sister and her hubby had a small class C. We were invited to go on an outing with them. He treated the thing like a boat, as in everybody on board needed to know how everything worked, and be able to handle it properly. We spent the first day or two going through all the tasks and operations. We joined them on a couple more outings after that. So, by the time We bought ours, were we already fairly properly trained.

 

[TestMule]

I spent quite a bit of time over the weekend on the phone with my bro-in-law. He and my little sister have owned RVs over the years, and he had a lot to share. He was fortunate to have had an older family member who owned and used RVs who schooled him on best practices.

He shared with me some operation & maintenance checklists, he pointed me towards some other resources online and he had plenty of "oopsie" moments to share in the hopes I don't repeat his mistakes.

I am doing my research. My truck/RV tool kit has many of the necessary items in it for minor repairs & maintenance. I already know a bit about trailer maintenance as I've towed work trailers for years. I do need to get some exterior tape, emergency sealant and I definitely need to consider what maintenance I am willing to perform vs. having it done on a regular basis by a local RV shop. I don't have a place to work on it at the house, and I will be storing the trailer in a storage yard not too far from me. I am not allowed, by the terms of the storage rental, to work on the trailer there. Oh well...I get to hook up and move it to the house for mobile RV service or just take it to the shop.

I have never owned a self-contained RV, and my biggest learning curves will be managing the waste systems, tasks in order of precedence while hooking up, things to do and the order you do them in when setting up to camp, learning the proper way to hook up electrical, water & sewer yadda yadda yadda. I won't bore you with what I need to learn. It's a loooong list.

I appreciate everyone here who has commented on this thread. It is communities like this that support and educate their members that make life and learning so much better.

 

[Kirk]

When it comes to things like hooking up, unhooking, backing or parking, and most any other of the normal activities, it is important to make your own process and follow it each and every time you do them. If someone comes by to talk while doing them, stop, finish the conversation and then go back to step one and go through the task completely. Visitors can often cause a step to be missed.

In getting into a campsite, develop your own system of directions with your partner and always use it, ignoring the directions of helpful passersby. Use terms like driver's side and passenger side, never right or left as those can be easily misunderstood. Have a signal between driver and ground guide that means stop immediately and only use it for that purpose as it can prevent disastrous mistakes. Never assume that a guide supplied by a campground actually knows what they are doing as some do, and others are idiots. The best way to avoid mistakes is to always do the operations the same way, no matter what the activity or circumstance. There is good reason why pilots always use a checklist, every time and never go by memory.

 

[TestMule]

Thank you, @Kirk

That is super helpful. Now I just need to create and organize those checklists!

 

[John From Detroit]

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"

 

[nibroc]

welcome

 

[TestMule]

Power Protection:

I see 30amp & 50amp surge protectors and I know why there are two ratings. I haven't stayed in a 50amp only park, but it could happen.

Will a 30amp surge protector, with a 30 - 50 pigtail, still protect me in a 50amp park?

 

[CamperAL]

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.

 

[TestMule]

Thank you, @CamperAL

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Power Protection:

I see 30amp & 50amp surge protectors and I know why there are two ratings. I haven't stayed in a 50amp only park, but it could happen.

Will a 30amp surge protector, with a 30 - 50 pigtail, still protect me in a 50amp park?

In a word, YES. And you could also use a 50A surge protector with your 30A shore cord mated via that 30-50 pigtail.

We are using the term "surge protector" rather loosely here. We mean a device that protects against low or high voltage, miswired outlets, open grounds as well as electrical "surges". If the device you have only suppresses power surges and does not do those other things, it's hardly worth bothering to hook up.