Boy it was hard getting here


jam

New Member
Hi all. Boy it was a lot harder to get to this point than we thought. I was so looking forward to the day I could post here that we had made the decision to buy our first rv and truck. Wow! What a lot of work. I have been following these posts for a couple of years and have learned a lot but was not prepared for the amount of choice there was...well you know what I mean...wheww..glad we made it! We chose the 2007 30.5 rls Jayco Jayflight 5th wheel. To pull we chose a 2004 Dodge 3500 auto 4x4 short box 4 door( diesel). We were very excited to have our first night out. Unfortunately our canopy came down in the middle of the night. Scared the u know what out of us and then we couldn't get out the door!
Also we realized the dealer care pack only came with 10ft of hose and of course after much manouvering we still needed more! All those posts I had read that told me to have at least three pieces of hose..10ft...20ft...gosh..what was I thinking? Anyways we managed to get out of the door and learned the ways of the grey and black tanks. We still have some bugs to work out but now I get what most of you have been talking about! We have arrived. And it feels good.
 

TexasClodhopper

Senior Member
Re: Boy it was hard getting here

Its just like having another house ... only this one you get to rattle around on the roads with! :)

Welcome to the forum, jam! (Even though you've been 'lurking' for awhile.)
 

DL Rupper

Senior Member
Re: Boy it was hard getting here

Hey jam, welcome to the forum. Make sure you also have electrical adapters. 50 amp to 30 amp, 30 amp to 15 amp vice-a-versa depending on what service you have. A spare 25 ft of 30 or 50 amp cable comes in handy occasionally if you can't quite reach the shore power. The best way to protect your appliances from low power/voltage RV Park shore power is some form of Autoformer. Low voltage takes years off of the expected duration of your air conditioner compressor and other 115 V appliances due to resultant high current and generated heat. Happy Camping. :)
 

hertig

Senior Member
Re: Boy it was hard getting here

And that dealer kit may have only had 10' of water hose too. At a minium, carry a 10' and 25' hose. A 4' comes in handy sometimes. Make sure you have a water pressure regulator either built into the trailer or in the hose somewhere. I didn't use one once, and blew the pressure switch on my pump and the feed line for the toilet. I like to have a water filter in line, to keep the sediment and other stuff out of my water system. The 90 degree and 45 degree brass angles come in handy to get to some of the strange water hookups out there, as well as reduce the stress on the hose going into the trailer. I'd suggest a cheap Y adapter in case you ever have to share a water source (and leave before the other guy).
 

jam

New Member
Re: Boy it was hard getting here

Hi Texas, DL and Hertig! Wow thanks for the info. This is so great being able to chat with you and get some invaluable advice. I have been reading all of your posts for a while (lurking I guess :) it's kind of surreal getting my own posts answered. We are both so excited about becoming a part of the rv life and meeting all sorts of new people. My husband is going out to get some adapters, extra hose and we bought a pressure regulator. We will also check out an Autoformer. This weekend I get to practice driving and backing up. The only thing I am worried about it getting used to the trailer brake. I have read that you should be able to apply the brake in case of the dreaded wobble. Yet a neighbour told we you only have to speed up to straighten out the wobble. What do you guys think? Thank you for such a nice welcome.
Jam
 

hertig

Senior Member
Re: Boy it was hard getting here

I don't know about a 'wobble'; there is a thing called sway which didn't bother me any when I towed a fifth wheel.

Travel trailers are famous for 'sway', and there are hitches which defeat it. If you have sway with a TT, you have a problem with your setup, either the wrong hitch, or the right hitch set up wrong.

I understand that a short tow vehicle and a long trailer is also sway prone, but I know no way to deal with it if you have a fifth wheel.

Speaking of which, how have you compensated for the short bed and the width of the fifth wheel? Slider hitch? Extended pin box? One or both of these can keep the trailer from intersecting the cab of the truck during tight turns.

A good trailer brake should be transparent to the user (sorry, a computer term :) Most, if not all of them have a button or lever to manually engage them, but I don't know under what circumstances you would want to do that. Perhaps going down a hill to give your truck brakes a rest?
 

DL Rupper

Senior Member
Re: Boy it was hard getting here

Hey jam, I forgot an important device you will need if you are going to get an Autoformer. You will need a plug-in voltage meter. You just plug it into any 115 V plug in your RV and leave it plugged in. That way you can tract the voltage at any RV Park you are staying at. If your voltage goes down to 105 V or lower you are harming your appliances. The Autoformers automatically boosts it back into the safe zone. Approx 115 V. The Autoformer costs about $350 for a 30 amp and about $450 for a 50 amp. They are well worth it because during the busy periods in an RV Park 7-9 AM and 4-7 PM the park voltage in a lot of cases will drop. Also, when you are running your air conditioner and everyone else in the park is running their's the voltage will often fall into the low/bad zone. The voltage monitor meter will run about $15-$35 depending what type (analog/digital) and where you purchase it. Most RV parts stores have them.
 

C Nash

Senior Member
Re: Boy it was hard getting here

Jam, the sway will generally happen going down hill so you would not want to speed up. Applying the trailer brake only would help. A semi and some vans passing you will also cause sway then speeding up will help. With proper tow equipment you should have no problems. With the standard load leveling hitch sway bars will work. I would use two.
 

jam

New Member
Re: Boy it was hard getting here

Hi all. Thanks for the info. We were gone for the Easter weekend enjoying the new Rv. I am taking in all of your great advice and have the hubby reading it as well...he generally understands more of the mechanics but I am learning. Must go and unpack etc...etc...thanks again.
Jam
 
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