First night camping

While it was not all that funny at the time, here is the story of our first night camping, ever.  Looking back I think it is hilarious.  Robin Williams had nothing on us.

We arrived at the factory at 10am to pick up our rig and were told it was going to be delayed a bit.  They had it out for alignment that morning and found something they did not like.  At 12:30 it finally came back and we started the walk through but by that time both Kyle and Earl had other appointments and kept switching off to get us done.  After the walk through and getting a few final few items installed it was after 5pm before we pulled out of the lot.  Then a ½ hour drive to the camp ground in the rain and dark.  Wife gets cranky when she doesn’t eat and we skipped lunch, so that was bad.  She had a first meal all planned out to cook in the rig but of course that did not happen and so we ate a lousy burger at Steak & Shake.  She had a visit to Target and Walmart planned to pick up the last things we needed and of course that isn't going to happen now.  All in all a frustrating day where nothing went to plan.

At the campground we discover that it is now past closing and they left our paperwork on the bulletin board.  Had really hoped for someone to be there to help us setup the first time but they were all gone.  Just left us a map with our site number.  I find the site and try to back in but discover that the backup camera is on the same fuse as the heated seats and when we turned those on they blew the fuse, so no back up camera.   

I finally manage to back in to our spot after several tries and fortunately without hitting anything.  Put down the jacks and they just keep sinking into the soft mud.  They finally stop about six inches deep.  Now hoping I will not need a tow truck to get out in the morning. 

Next I need to hook up all the wires and hoses.  In the dark, wind and rain.  For the first time.  With brand new cables and hoses still in the packaging.  Get the the electric hooked up and congratulate myself.  Except it doesn't work.  No power.  Recheck all the connections, check the fuse box, check all the panel lights and the inverter panel.  Nothing.  Then remember there might be a breaker on the power pedestal.  Yep, that works now we have power! 

Then tried to hook up the water only to discover that the faucet at our site was broken.  Fortunately the next spot over is empty so I figure I'll just use that one.  And of course, my hose is exactly one foot too short.  So I break out the brand new spare hose, unwrap it and finally get the water connected.  It is 23 degrees so I do not want to leave the hoses hooked up.  So I decide to just fill the fresh water tank and put the hoses away.  OK, I fill the tank until it runs out the overflow and then put the hoses away.  Except I unscrew the hose before turning off the water and get thoroughly drenched in 23-degree, windy weather.  Water is still running out from underneath the coach but I assume it is just the overflow.

We are both thoroughly tired and frustrated and very cold.  And I'm soaking wet.  Next to get the furnace running.  But the thermostat only goes up to 32 degrees?  Found out later it was reading in Celsius not Fahrenheit.  After 10 minutes or so finally get the furnace going and things start to warm up.  Spend some time discussing why we thought getting an RV would be a good idea.

Get to work unpacking and sorting and putting things away and figuring out where things go.  At 11pm we call it a night and decide to wash up and go to bed.  Except we have no water???  Gauge says tank is empty??  Too tired to do more so go to bed, while discussing why we thought buying an RV would be a good idea.  The campground at the fairgrounds is nice.  Except it is right beside the rail line and they run trains every 15 minutes all night.  And they blow their horns at 3 different crossings.  Every 15 minutes….

Next morning, break out the hoses and hook up again.  Fill the tank and notice that there is a steady stream of water out the bottom.  Running out as fast as I put it in.  Check the manual, check all the plumbing I can locate and find no leaks.  But water still running out as fast as I put it in.

Put hoses away, unhook the electric and try to raise to the jacks.  They all have what looks like half of Indiana sticking to them but they do come up.  Fire up the truck and reflect on maybe we should have ordered the 4x4 package.  But no problems, we get out of the site and back on the asphalt.  Breakfast at Starbucks instead of the omelette the wife was planning and then back to the factory.  Spend some time discussing why we thought getting an RV would be a good idea.

Tell Earl I have a leak in the fresh water tank.  He gives me the Earl look and says it is probably just the tank drain valve, did I close it?  Well, no I didn't close it because I didn't know there was such a thing.  He shows me where the drain valve is and yep, it is open.  Not going to hold much water that way.

Bobby and Doug jump in the coach and fix up all the little odds and ends we found the night before.  By 11am we are all done and on the road.  Both smiling and happy.

Sounds very similar to our first night!  Good part is we learned a great deal that night. 

It only gets better from here on out!

   - Mike

Oh my goodness! All I can say is it does get better. While we have massive amounts of camping experience, we knew nothing about an RV so our first outing was a major learning experience but we got to set up in good weather with daylight. You'll quickly get comfortable with all your systems and you'll get good at troubleshooting on the fly. I hope you also jump on this forum when you need help. I've put out an SOS a few times and got answers from forum members in minutes that saved the day. Don't hesitate to ask for help. Besides a typed response, we can always use the private message on the forum to send a phone number to you if you want someone to help walk you through something.

The first camp hookup the person showing me my site showed me step by step how to hookup. I didn't ask but appreciated it. Guess I must have had that newbee look.     Never had anyone walk me through it since.

First time I got propane I was asked if I knew the name of Marvin the Martian's pet. I thought maybe it was an intelligence check that I wouldn't blow myself up with the stuff! I guessed wrong but they gave me propane anyway.  

Even after years of RV'n I hate and try and avoid hooking up in cold or rain or mud. You have had a quick learning curve!

Not sure why PC would leave a valve open when handing off a new RV. I think that one is on them.

I like "the Earl look". I have gotten a few of those.  

RV'n is adventure..sometimes good, sometimes great, and sometimes not so great. With a sense of humor its all good.  

jatrax....We have all been in your shoes to a certain extent at some point.  Relax and go with the flow.  When you get a chance and really read the manuels a couple of times everything will begin to sink in and you will get into a nice routine.  If you are of average size I often never put the jacks down if site is flat.  Best of luck.   RAG

My understanding is that the levelers need to be engaged when using a slideout?

   - Mike

Thanks everyone!  All is well.  I have learned over the years that things generally do NOT go right and always feel blessed when they do.  So no worries, we just worked through it and called it a learning experience.  But getting soaking wet in the middle of a wind storm at 23 degrees is above and beyond even for my luck.

Not sure whether the valve should have been open or closed, maybe it got skipped during our walk through.  But the tanks were dry and I told them at the factory I would fill them at the campground so they did not catch it.  No big deal, at least I know where that valve is now 

Just to illustrate the way my luck usually goes here is today's adventure:
I had one tire valve extension that seemed a little loose but thought nothing of it, until I woke up this morning with a flat tire on the right dually.   Asked the fellow at the campground about the nearest filling station and he directed me to a Loves truck stop 2 miles down the road which I could get to without going on the interstate.  So I started out limping down the service road at 30mph.  Get to Loves to find out their air machine was broken.  They directed us to a 66 station 4 more miles down the road.  Except the underpass to get to them was closed for work.  So, we go another 4 miles to the next exit, cross over the interstate and head back to the 66 station.  Where they tell us someone stole their compressor last week.  So I check the gps for the next nearest station and find it is 4 miles the other way from the campground where we started out.  After 21 miles of limping along at 30mph we finally find an air compressor.  Wife says the first thing I buy when we get back home is a portable air compressor.  Anybody want to recommend one?

In a few months or years you will be laughing at these adventures. You take me back to my first travel trailer trip over 40 years ago.  AND, I am still having those "...and I thought an RV was a good idea because......?" moments.
     Get some jack pads. Lots of types/prices, but here is what I use.
https://www.amazon.com/Level-Trek-LT80050-Jack-Pad/dp/B007HRUY82/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1489113733&sr=8-7&keywords=rv+jack+pads
They are necessary and you have already experienced why they will be invaluable. We also only use the jacks when stopping for the night if spot is not level or wind is bad.

We bought an air compressor when we first purchased our PC.  It has never gone with us on a trip, for two reasons.  It takes up too much room, and we can call either AAA or Good Sam for this type of issue. 

But, in answer to your question, we have the Porter Cable CMB15 compressor.  Very nice, reliable unit.  http://www.portercable.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=23677

   - Mike

On our Jeep Rubicon we use a Viair model powerful enough that you need to clip it directly to the battery.  Any 12-volt compressor that plugs into a cigarette / accessory outlet must be slow and weak enough to not blow the typical fuses in those circuits which I think are about 8-10 amps.  And, such a unit might have to run so long to air up a big tire that the compressor motor would overheat and shut itself off via some sort of thermal cutoff switch if it has one.  The reason we, and other Jeepers carry such pumps or use other setups is due to the need to "air-up" after previously "airing down" for slow-going on certain surfaces both for traction and for comfort, and then airing up before resuming lengthy high speed highway travel.  And, we like to do it quickly.  Individual companies keep changing where and how they manufacture them, so a good off-roaders store where they want happy, repeat business and have off-roaders working there for a long time can be a good resource.   Upon recommendation of Off Road Warehouse in San Diego and some on-line research at the time, we ended up buying a Viair 300P a few years ago, made in China, but it's performed flawlessly.  http://www.viaircorp.com/portables/300p/

The company also makes another unit for RVs that seems to have more accessories, probably to better deal with the dual rear wheels, but I'm not sure. 
http://www.viaircorp.com/portables/400p-rv-auto/

The soft case takes up about as much room as a car battery, but we manage to pack it in the Jeep on trips OK, so I'm sure space could be found.  Compare gauge pressures with compressor on and off vs. a known good tire gauge so you can add or subtract as-needed for correct pressure without having to actually double-check each time with the separate tire gauge.  And, on ours, one person to anchor the compressor while the other pulls on the coiled hose helps, though I just often wedge it behind a front tire.  These are really handy for topping off air when you have a batch of vehicles and several leaky wheelbarrow and dolly tires, but be aware it'll overinflate FAST if you're not careful.

We are very happy with our Sears Craftsman Inflator. We hunted around for one that had enough pressure to handle the RV tires and this one does the trick. John uses it frequently to top off the RV tires, the Subaru tires, and occasionally to blow up inflatables. We recently bought inflatable kayaks and intend to blow them up with this inflator but we haven't tested that yet so I can't say how long it will take. We did inflate a snow/water tube with it and it was quick. It is loud - as all inflators are but we usually only have it on a few minutes.

In the attached pics you can see the mesh pocket in the back where all those attachments live. They come in a little zipper bag that we stuff in the mesh. The inflator normally rides on the upper shelf in the rear cabinet of our 2552. We carry an outdoor extension cord that we use with this inflator as well as for our computers so we could work outside on a picnic table (we originally worked half time from the rig via the internet - now retired.) If you have concerns on drawing down the battery, you can follow Ron Dittmer's advice and kick on the generator when running the inflator. We've never run it long enough to worry about that but if we had to fill a totally flat tire, we might consider it.

jatrax, sorry for your experiences on the first day of camping in your new rig.  

I distinctly remember our first round of "experiences".  We were young, stupid and bought a used Class C that had been setting for tooooooo long.   Off we went.  Oklahoma City to Mesa Verde National Park (800 miles).  That old Chevy started  cutting out between Clayton and Raton, New Mexico.  Today, it is just a long good highway, about 90 miles, but back then it was just a narrow, desolate,  beat up road.  It got better the next morning and off we went across Colorado to Mesa Verde.  We were driving it around on top of the mesa and it just quit.  Nothing.  Hours later, we got a tow truck to tow us thirty miles into Cortez for "repairs" and the only person there that would work on it was the guy that owned the salvage yard.   It was a gasoline problem and he was allergic to gasoline.  

The story resulted in spending our fifth wedding anniversary (the purpose of the trip in the first place) in a not so nice motel. We moved some furniture in front of the door so it could not be opened and that tells you about the place.   The rest of the story is too long for this forum, but let me just say our first adventures in RV World all have horror stories.   That was thirty-six years ago and we have had a hoot telling the story in detail over the years, usually around a campfire or over drinks.  The story, I find, expands in my telling with two or more Bombay on the rocks.  

Hang in there.   We have all been there.

Paul

Air pumps: I first tried a cheap $50 portable pump and it literally blew itself apart the first time I used it. I then got a Vlair 400P-RV. It has been a workhorse and never given me problems. I determined to get a pump after I had a leaky valve while in the Yukon and had to drive 200 mile before even finding an available air pump.On my last trip I had a leaky valve and had to add air to a tire daily (and towards the end twice daily) for 1200 miles until I got fed up enough to get it fixed.

They have improved the kit of the 400P-RV a lot since I bought it and looks very complete now.

Portable air compressor:
After using many other tire inflators over the years I found them too large to pack on an RV trip or not powerful enough to last very long.  I now use this:

Markwort Volcano 120 Volt Air Erupt Inflator
Brand: Markwort
SKU: CA11A1UYRBZ5H
Model: AHT626
UPC : 016562590415

I recently topped off the front tires on our PC from 60 psi to 70 psi very quickly.  This inflator is small and doesn't make much noise.  It's a powerful little thing.

--Bruce

I had problems using my digital pressure gauge on the Phoenix supplied valve extensions.  Also when attempting to use TST remote pressure/temperature sensors the extensions on the inner rear tires did not work well.  My portable compressor was also difficult to impossible to use on the extensions.  To fix this I had all the rear valves replaced with Borg valves that did not require extensions.  This was an instant fix to the above problems. 

I have a Viar 88P portable compressor that works well with the Borg valves and with limited need so far I have been able to add air without issue.