ROOKIE qustions

[7lazy77]

I am new to RV'ing & I recently purchased a well-taken care of 5th wheel camper. Just had a few questions & seeking some help. Did a little searching, found some helpful information, but still curious on a few other things. The camper is a 2002 Tahoe 28' bunk & even though it sat for 1 1/2 years, it is in VERY GOOD condition. Roof looks to be in decent condition, just dirty. So I plan on cleaning the rubber roof with a mild soap & re-caulking all seams.
My truck is a 4x4 & it sits pretty high, so the camper doesn't sit real level. Would you recommend flipping the axles or some other way (airbags?) to get the camper lifted another 3-4"?

Since the trailer sat for over a year, should I replace the battery regardless? The battery was fully-charged when I got home with the camper, but the next day it was dead (don't think I left anything on)? Went to plug it in (with the 30 amp to 15 amp adaper on) to the 120v GFI recepticle on the house & for some reason, it kept tripping the recepticle outlet on the house??? Any ideas why? I was using a cheap extension cord, could this be it?

Is one battery enough, or should I install a second one?

Sorry for all the questions, but I am sure I will have more as I go along. Thanks for your time & help!

 

[C Nash]

Re: ROOKIE qustions

What did you have on in the rv that was pulling amps? Cheap extension cord should run only lights and converter. I would replace the battery and yes 2 is better than one. Just depends on how you plan on camping. You could leave the battery cable off the neg post for a night and then see if the battery is dead. If the 5th wheel is only 3, 4 inches off probably want hurt. Might have to load a little more on front or rv to get the right tongur weight. I like the TT to be level but dont know about flipping axles. maybe some of the others can answer this. Welcome to the forum

 

[akjimny]

Re: ROOKIE qustions

You probably need a new battery. Batteries go bad just sitting around. Two are better than one. I asked the same question a while back and went with the advice - got two 6 volt golf cart batteries wired in series to produce 12 volts and am happy. We had a 20 foot Prowler TT long ago that I flipped the axels on to raise it level with my tow vehicle. Axels were hung on top of the springs - all I did was rehang them under the springs. That gave me four more inches of raise/ground clearance and brought the hitch up level with the van. All I needed to do after that was build a box out of 2x4s and plywood to put on the ground so we didn't have to jump to get on the bottom step when getting in the TT.

 

[Kirk]

Re: ROOKIE qustions

A battery that sits around and is discharged completely is not likely to ever hold a charge again and that is probably the reason yours didn't either. I would start with a new, deep cycle battery.

When you recaulk the roof, make sure that you use a self leveling caulk that is approved for use on EDPM roofing. The choice of caulk is critical to the roof material.

It is quite normal for an RV to trip a GFI outlet as they are wired differently. Try a different outlet. That cheap cord is also not a good idea.

 

[Heathb01]

RE: ROOKIE qustions

7lazy 77,

I too have recently purchased a 5th wheel. I'm pulling it with an 06' Dodge with a 4" lift and 35" tires. I had to flip my axles because I needed the clearance between the bed rails and camper. Remember, that if you are pulling into or out of a place that has an incline or decline, the bed rails will move farther and closer to the camper. If you don't have sufficient clearance, they will meet. Also when pulling your 5th wheel, you should have it as level as possible. This will help it pull correct and save ware and tear on both vehicles. For me to have my axles flipped, it cost a little over five-hundred. It is not very difficult for the do-it your self-er with some room and a little help from a friend.

Good Luck and Happy RVing.

Heath