I'm the newbie!

[DafferDips]

Hello everyone! I'm certainly not new to camping but have just purchased our first self contained! We are the proud new parents of a 23 foot Trail-Lite 7230. The one with the walk around queen bed in the front. It is in excellent shape, used only a few times by someone who really did use it, wash it and put it in the garage until it was used again! It is a 2002 - but as I said it really is in brand new condition. We are driving from central NY to Sheboygan, Wisconsin to pick it up sometime soon. The pictures are very nice and we bought it through a dealer.

Thanks for any thoughts and the site looks like a very friendly helpful place to be a part of. I recently (4 years ago) suffered a sudden death followed by 2 years of deep coma and 2 other years of various stages of coming out of the coma so my wife and I are ready for her to retire and hit the road!

Always, Dave

 

[utmtman]

RE: I'm the newbie!

Well congrats on the new trailer. Wish you and the other half the best in your travels.

 

[TexasClodhopper]

Re: I'm the newbie!

I bet you're just glad to be here at all! I know how you said it, but don't you mean "near death?" Since you're here to tell us about it?

You'll want to do some searching on the forum on what it takes to pull a trailer like that safely. Emphasis on the "safely" part of that.

 

[Texas_Camper]

Re: I'm the newbie!

Oh Great....
Now we got another newbie to break in... Yeah, we're gonna poke fun at you too....so get ready...
Welcome to the forum.
You need to be aware that tires usually need to be replaced every 5 years. They deteriorate by then. Your 2002 is just about due... Check the age...look at this: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11
This applies to auto tires too, but we wear them out before age takes over, so we usually don't consider it. Be sure to check the tire pressure and lug nuts before every tow. On long trips, check these every third day. Don't neglect the spare. Check everything out at the dealers to be sure the appliances work. The water heater has to be filled before turning it on, otherwise you'll burn out the element. Be sure the dealer explains how everything works. Hopefully you have an adequate tow vehicle. You'll need a weight distributing hitch (WDH), sway bar and a brake controller. The dealer should be able to fix you up if you don't already have these....
If you ever get down through Texas, we live right on the loop by the Dairy Queen... Honk as you go by...