We are not doing that well practicing with our brand new 10.0 QS. Last night we spent some time before our trip on Monday for 8 days.
Afterwards, we watched the Scott Tuttle videos again. Ok, so we should start by taking out the center support rod; check. We didn't fold down the sink/kitchen side first; check.
But,
does the door stay zipped up or not?
Do you undo the velcro on the inside bimini bars? on the video it looked like the top was not going down the side of the bimini bars...those looked bare.
on the video the top folded nice and neat then was flopped into the coach. Ours was , well, messy.
Should the beds easily rest on top of the coach with the rubber gasket neatly resting. Ours required some pushing..
our tonneau cover, in just 6 days has some brownish gunk, undoubtedly from the wonderful air we breathe here in S. Ca and from environmental fallout. It won't wash off with dish soap.
thanks for any suggestions/answers
We have a used 2006
We fold ours down with both the door zipped as well as not un-doing the velcro from the bars. You'll find that there is a great deal of moving the bars up and down and doing some tucking to ensure the bed bases fold flat. If you see the tenting bunching up around the areas close to the pivot points off the bimini bars you are going to have trouble folding it down flat; some people dont mind this and just live with it, but I make sure the bases are resting on the camper box. Folding it down is kinda frustrating, but if you lower your expectations that you'll have to do adjusting near each of the pivot points, i.e. pulling it up a little and moving the tenting around and tucking correctly it will become second nature.
Regarding the tonneau i'm not sure about the discoloration. Different color tonneaus show the wear and discoloration worse than others. THink of it as BBQ grill cover quality vinyl vs. boat grade vinyl. Ours is the dark blue so it shows everything. The previous owners of it stored it outside and had something metal on top of it so there was a massive rust stain on it. I scrubbed ours for a couple hours and used good ole' fashioned armour all on it. It looks decent, but if I was overly concerned with it I would buy another. As for your unit and given it is brand new I would make the dealer replace it if you are not satisfied. Don't call Livin'Lite as they are not very quick. Make the dealer replace it. Also have them walk you through a fold down. You paid for a new one so make them help you!
Thanks Hiker.
Yea, the unit is brand new 2015, bought at Camping world. They were not that hip to how it works. I actually knew more than the walk-thru guy having rented the one last year. I do expect the tonneau to have some sun fade since it was on their lot. What was annoying was the sink was set down with the faucet hitting the floor. .. it seems to be ok.
we will try again Saturday...I bet it will go better.
I think that takedown video is still speeded up. If so it's hard to follow. We luckily picked up our 8.1 from the factory in 2010 and camped overnight at the South Bend KOA. Next morning we could not for the life of us figure out how to pack it down. Fortunately the weather was fine so we towed Rose back over there with the beds still sticking up a foot and the tonneau still rolled in the front. Mike at the factory kindly showed us how to do it in 5 minutes. We've never had a single problem since.
With a 10 I believe the recommendation is the drop the kitchen end first (with an 8.1 it's the opposite).
Here's pretty much what we do as well as I can remember it. We beat the blazes out of Rose (99 consecutive days out last year in 30 different camps, and we usually do a long tour every year).
We are always working together. If you have to do this alone, well, I haven't worked out how. I can get Rose up by myself, but not down, and that's because there is an important step that needs two people, one on each side of the coach (Step 7).
[ol type="decimal"][li]Remove the center brace from the bars and stow it[/li][li]Insure all windows and storm canvas are zipped[/li][li]Lower the kitchen to the deck[/li][li]Step out and zip the door (may be optional but we always close it)[/li][li]Stow the step so you don't fall over it :)[/li][li][span style="background-color:transparent;"][span style="font-size:13.3333311080933px;"]Undo all the snaps, bungees and [/span]Velcros[span style="font-size:13.3333311080933px;"], except for one snap on each bed end so the tent does not fall[/span][/span]
[/li][li]On a 10 or straight 8.0, go to the front (kitchen, hitch) end. Your partner stands on one side of the coach, you on the other. Your partner stands just at the end of the coach (not the end of the bed) and prepares to draw the bottom of the tent well away from the bars as the bars start down. You undo the final snap on the bed end and draw your side of the canvas well away from the bars. Some folks say they find it works better if they duck underneath the canvas on each side so they can keep the tent held well away while guiding the bars down, and they can smile at each other. :D[/li][li]You DO NOT need to undo any of the straps (I call them lifting straps) or the Velcros holding the tent to the bars! If you do that you just make it harder to set back up.[/li][li]Repeat step 7 on the back end of the tent.[/li][li]If you've done this properly, the bars and most of the tent are now lying more or less flat(ish) in the box, with the sides that you carefully held away now draped over each side of the coach.[/li][li]Now just FLOP the "extra" tent over the sides into the box on top of the bars. If the material is warm it will be easier. If it's chilly or really cold the tent will be very stiff, but the key thing is NOT to EVER try to "stuff" tent in and around bars; just flop the excess inside! Easy! Fast! Efficient! Guaranteed NO RUB HOLES EVER if you do it right (and as said, we beat poor Rosie half to death and she is still on her now-5-year-old factory tent).[/li][li]Release the bed braces from the bed frames and bring them over. Their weight will help push everything down so you can unroll the tonneau. Do up your snaps, hitch 'er up and go someplace else![/li][/ol][div][span style="font-size:13.3333311080933px;"]
That's what I can recall of the process. I hope I didn't miss a step. The thing that fouled us up (literally) that first time in South Bend was that we didn't know about the "flopping." I've lost count of the number of times we've had Rose up and down. When we're in shape (in our mid-70's now so "shape" is relative) we think we can go from "hitch to bed" in 15 minutes, and can get her down in 12 not counting the time it takes to stow gear.[/span][/div]
I use the exact same method as Chuck893 and never had a problem.
CATMANRIFF, we are just wondering how you are making out? Well, we hope! ;)
Was it the one in Bakersfield with big wheels and the rear deck? If so, congrats for beating me to it! :0)
O
[quote timestamp="1435477396" source="/post/12742/thread" author="@obadiah"]Was it the one in Bakersfield with big wheels and the rear deck? If so, congrats for beating me to it! :0)
O[/quote]I saw that one, and maybe should have bought it, but the regular 10.0 was like $900 less and it matched my truck!
Quote from: @chuck893" timestamp="1435281178" source="/post/12674/threadCATMANRIFF, we are just wondering how you are making out? Well, we hope! ;)
the trip was great! we got back monday evening. We learned a lot about how to do things, and where some simple mods might help us.
the folding up we've conquered pretty well.
My backing up skills, not so much!
I think a water filter might be in order on the hose hook up..the water tasted bad.
the outside shelf is pretty wanky, not a secure design, and I has second thoughts about putting the grill up next to the canvas top
We slept pretty well but need a real mattress solution instead of the air mattress that left about 5" room on one edge(or a few inches if it was centered). Also, a fitted rubber mat might help the cold coming up under the mattress.
The AC unit barely keeps up on a sunny 82 degree day. a fan helped.
We got rain...perfectly dry.
I think some accessory jacks might be better. The manual cautioned about jacking up the unit too much with the fold-down jacks. But the more off the suspension and tires you are, the more secure it feels inside
The dinette cushions are all over the place..need better/more velcro
there is lots of storage.
Quote from: @catmanriff" timestamp="1435793735" source="/post/12876/threadthe folding up we've conquered pretty well.
My backing up skills, not so much!
I think a water filter might be in order on the hose hook up..the water tasted bad.
the outside shelf is pretty wanky, not a secure design, and I has second thoughts about putting the grill up next to the canvas top
We slept pretty well but need a real mattress solution instead of the air mattress that left about 5" room on one edge(or a few inches if it was centered). Also, a fitted rubber mat might help the cold coming up under the mattress.
The AC unit barely keeps up on a sunny 82 degree day. a fan helped.
We got rain...perfectly dry.
I think some accessory jacks might be better. The manual cautioned about jacking up the unit too much with the fold-down jacks. But the more off the suspension and tires you are, the more secure it feels inside
The dinette cushions are all over the place..need better/more velcro
there is lots of storage.
Good to hear your trip was great! That's all that matters! :)
[ul type="disc"][li]We have never used our sink, never hooked up any water. We use a 2-1/2 gallon Reliance jug and a Brita filter. The filter is good for taste, but also filters out the minerals that can ruin a coffee pot. Everywhere you go the local water is different, but we've used the same system since we were tenting on the ground. [/li][li]There's a long, detailed thread here --> http://livinlite.proboards.com/thread/564/qs6-qs10-replacement-mattress about mattresses. Your 10.0 has full-size queen mattresses fore and aft.[/li][li]It's long been reported that AC cannot do much in a tent on a sunny day, esp. if the sun is hitting the tent. Most folks think AC is really for hot, humid nights. We have no AC. We carry an oscillating fan.[/li][li]GREAT to hear you had no leaks!!! ;)[/li][li]I have heard of some folks replacing the stock jacks with scissor jacks, but if your unit is new you might void your warranty[/li][li]We don't even bother to use the Velcro with our dinette cushions. When they fall over we put 'em back. :D (rofl)[/li][/ul][div][span style="font-size:13.3333320617676px;"]
[/span][/div]Enjoy! Keep on keepin' on!
Glad to hear you had a good time.
I agree about the outside table. I took it out/off and am leaving it in the garage from now on.
Also rebuilt the dinette table (stock is really flimsy)................only to find out that it was also just in the way the entire trip. I do need to be able to use the dinette bunk, so I cut some old wood to length. It takes up very little room and weighs much less. Most campgrounds we use have picnic tables and I also bring along an aluminium folding cooking/card table so yet another table was pointless.
Do you have an awning? I find it pretty stuffy when it rains and the design of the tent does not allow for the windows to be open when it rains.
I wouldn't be removing the existing fold-down jacks, just adding some better scissor ones that could be alongside under the frame.
I bought a 10 x 10 nicer EZ up for the site. The awning that came has stakes and rope that would have been trip hazards , especially in the evening. The EZ up could probably go high enough to sit against the QS but i'm really tall. so, i'd probably have to duck down to enter out of the camper.
I'd love to have a larger diameter tongue jack wheel
Just wanted to put a quick thought in about the mattress as our first trip was 5 days long and at the end we were hurting from low cushion. What we ended up doing since it's just my husband and I, was to take the one from the other side and put it on top of the one that's there, we then bought a 2" memory foam topper besides and between all three it's comfortable and we can still close everything up and not worry about deflating or storing extra gear.
Our other side that isn't used for sleeping becomes our pantry. We have the foam floor pads down to protect the aluminum and then we set our cooler (will soon become fridge), our roll away shelf unit and our clothes and other gear. It works perfectly. Hopefully I'll be able to find the appropriate post where I can state what I did above to help others with converting their 10.0. Happy Camping