first week long trip

[tincan]

Everything worked as expected.

On Day one of home trip, 25 MPH side and quartering winds gusting to 30 MPH +.  A wee bit windy.

#2 Ordering a new Anderson hitch this week.
#3 Upgrading bed struts
#4 installing Fantastic vent
#5 filling propane tanks

# 1 installing a easier to reach fresh water tank drain.  I am not crawling under the trailer on a muddy, rainy day EVER AGAIN! LOL

Stayed at
Crawfordsville KOA, Indiana (has full hook ups, but stayed with electric and water only)
3 Mile lake, Afton Iowa (electric only)
Kickapoo State park, Illinois(electric Only)

All three are nice, clean, pet friendly places. The KOA and the  State park have Lots O Trees, very nice and shaddy.

Approximate round trip mileage 1300, rained 3 straight nights in Iowa. It made a muddy mess of the gravel campsite.

[charliem]

[font size="3"]Tincan,

Looks like you had a reasonably good first trip, except for the rain. #2: I see you fall into my "don't need it, but I want it" group. I think you'll be glad you got the WDH. #3 and #4: you'll like them both. I thought LL was installing Fantanstics now; apparently not.

But #1? What's the need to constantly empty the FW tank. I only do that maybe once a year or when I'm running some capacity test. For road travel I try to keep 5-15 gallons FW for roadside potty stops, but don't try to empty it before moving on. With the FW tank right over the axles there is no effect on balance and the extra 40-125# really shouldnt make much difference in mpg. One hint though: I marked the drain valve with red and green nail polish so I could tell whether it was open or closed. Otherwise it's up to my untrusty memory. Not good.

Camp on!
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[tincan]

LOL, Yup memory is a killer these days.  I like the Idea of nail polish.  A simple piece of pex, a stainless hose clamp or 2 and a new valve; the drain will be right handy to reach.  Crawling under stuff with pinched nerves at C3-C6 can be a pain, and in the rain and muck, absolutely no fun!

I agree, there is no need to normally empty the FW tank, but in this case I know it was going to sit for a few weeks until I went out again, so I decided to empty when I left. Maybe a bad Idea in hind sight, but an easier to reach valve will take 10 minutes and be a MOD worth doing.

[calimobber]

Kickapoo isn't too far from me - we mountain bike there often. Since you didn't mention it I'm hoping you missed the flooding that happened there about 2 weeks ago. It's a mess. Something like 5 inches of rain in a single deluge. The trails will be closed for a while and I'm not even sure they got the campground open for the holiday weekend. 

We're thinking about some sway control since living here on the moraines of the Midwest the wind is nearly always a factor in highway travel. I'm sure you saw all the wind farms on your way through.

[spot1]

Good report & shake down trip!!!!

[whoofit]

That tank drain valve will be dual purpose too. A gravity fed fresh water spigot for those that have pooches. Think I'll add one for that reason alone.

[tincan]

Mojospeople, Yes it looked like the road into the camp ground had flooded recently, but the park was open and looked un-flooded.  

Whoofit, I had not thought about the outside water for the dog, but that is a good idea.  

Mods start this weekend. Maybe, I get 2 done, we will see, lots of chores to catch up on.

[kycamper]

Post pictures of your installation. I will do this also, when I get my trailer back from the grey water tank fix.

[geo92128]

Before we left Tallulah Falls GA last week our fresh water tank was full. I was confused by this as we had the city water line hooked up and I thought this only supplied the toilet/shower/sink lines but not the tank. We needed to fill the blank tank so we could get it unloaded properly, just held down the toilet valve and turned on the sink faucet putting water in both the grey and black tanks. I need to get the city water line and fresh water fill line figured out before the next trip in two weeks.

[furpod]

MonteD, your fresh water city supply is supposed to just supply water to the camper. If you found your holding tank full, the check valve is allowing water back into the system, past the pump. Try cycling the pump on and off a few times so it can push any debris or anything that might keep the valve from closing.

[kycamper]

Hey Tincan, are you just attaching the pex to the existing spout, or are you going to remove the existing valve and install a nipple to which you will clamp the Pex? I am thinking of remove/replace, but just wanted another opinion. The location of the valve is ridiculous . I agree that it should be an easy fix. I also agree about keeping some water in the tank when traveling, and like the idea of ready water for the pooches. I should be picking up my trailer in the next few days and will finally get to install my Andersen hitch. Getting ready for a two month excursion to Maine. Can't wait.

Happy Trails......