Getting started with the RV lifestyle is a nontrivial endeavor. There is a lot to learn about how to operate the RV, how to tow the RV, how to set it up for camping, what to do and what not to do, and importantly, how to be safe through it all. Since Travel Trailer (TT) ownership and usage was new to me, I got on line well before we were due to pick up the trailer to see what I could learn. I looked into the Lance website and found the Lance Owners of America website.
I quickly learned that to access any information of value, I had to become a Lifetime Member. No worries there, a quick search of the topics led me to believe that there was a lot of information to be had, so the $35 fee seemed as if it would be money well spent, and indeed it was.
The Lance Owner’s site was chocked full of information about what to do and what not to do. There are several members who do a wonderful job documenting what they have learned to making towing and camping go well, such as how to level a trailer at the camp site (There are several ways that one can go about it, but the one that seemed most sensible to me was to get an Anderson leveling kit which includes: levelers, wheel chocks, jack pads, and a rapid jack, along with Hopkins bubble levelers.
There is also a lot of information about modifications that owners have done to improve things or make camping go easier. It is a process of standing on the shoulders of those that have gone before, but one guy in particular, not only describes his efforts in detail along with pictures, but provides links to the work of others so one can delve more deeply into the details of a mod under consideration.
One key thing that I discovered early on in interacting with the Lance Owners of America web site was a New Trailer Owner Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) guide that some guy put together. There is a lot to a TT – it is a mini house on wheels, and pretty much all of the stuff in the TT “house” is different than what you’re used to at home. (A ‘fridge that runs on propane! Really?) The PDI guide was very thorough – 38 topics over 11 pages!
The basic theme was that you should plan time at the dealer to check out everything in the guide before taking delivery on the trailer. We’ve all dealt with unscrupulous businesses, or at least ones that tried to save a few bucks by minimizing service. And who wants to haul the trailer back and then haggle about getting stuff fixed? Not this guy!
I am happy to report that Princess Craft in Round Rock, Texas assigned a competent technician to prepare the trailer in advance, and then review everything with us in detail. I didn’t have to insist that they spend time with me checking everything out. As far as I could tell, they had done much of the checkout themselves, and ensured that everything was built and working properly. They then spent a good 2 ½ to 3 hours going over everything with me and answering all of my questions, which was much appreciated.
Months earlier, when I put the deposit on the trailer, the sales guy suggested that I use my cell phone to record portions of the overview, and that was a very good suggestion. It turns out that while Lance trailers seem nicer than most, they don’t deem it appropriate to provide thorough and detailed documentation. Instead of getting a nice user manual on my specific trailer, I got a general document that covers all similar trailers. That might not be so bad, but the manual fails to provide many fundamental things about how the different parts of the trailer function. Thus my one source for how things operate turned out to be my memory (eh, not sufficient) and a series of videos taken during my pre-delivery inspection / walk through. Unfortunately, I didn’t start recording the videos soon enough, and missed a couple of key things that the tech went over at the start. But those things I did record proved very helpful.
Other lists are handy as well, probably non more than the pack-up-before-hitting-the-road list. There are a number of things that you want to make sure to have done, turned on, turned off, packed away, or set in the proper position. Searching the owner’s site again provided a good reference. One guy’s idea is to paint things that need to be done before moving yellow. You see yellow, you’ve got to do something. Another guy puts some Remove Before Flight tags on things. It’s pretty easy to forget to plug in the trailer to the vehicle plug (which I did, but thankfully remembered before I went very far). The check list and the walk-around inspection are important. A few kind folks provided their lists on the web site.
There are other lists too such as a list of stuff to bring on a trip, and a list of tools and handy items to have, and more. The list are nice, but there are some key operational things to be aware of such as: how to provide water for various purposes, how to evacuate water, how to connect to electricity, how to properly connect the trailer hitch, how to set the trailer brakes, making sure the wheel lugs are torqued properly and tire pressure is correct… I didn’t pull out of the driveway feeling confident that all is set properly, and all will go smoothly.
Take water and electricity. On our maiden voyage, we planned to stay in commercial and state park campgrounds. Most of these sites provide water and electricity connections, so you should be good to go, right? Wrong. There is no telling if the camp-site wiring is done correctly, and there is no protection for the electrical circuits in the TT. Similarly, the water pressure could be high which would stress the plumbing. Reading the Lance Owners’ web site inspired me to spring for a voltage monitor and surge protector. I selected the Progressive Industries EMS-PT30x , which is good for the 30 amp electrical rating for my TT. Plug it into the campground’s electrical box and leave it for a couple of minutes, and it tells you whether the circuit is wired correctly and at the right voltage. If something goes amiss, it provides protection from a surge. For the water, the dealer provided a decent pressure regulator. Install it in series with the fresh water supply hose (at the source end, I learned later), and it should protect the trailer’s plumbing from excessive pressure.
One item for which I am thankful is the big bad trailer hitch I have. A buddy at work who is also considering the RV life, popped into my office one day and said, “If you’re gonna haul a trailer, you need an Equal-i-zer hitch!” My response was, “Huh? Don’t you just drop it on a ball and drive off?”
Well you could, but there are a few important things to consider such as the tongue weight, the effect it has on the Tow Vehicle, TV, and the possibility that the trailer can oscillate while you’re driving if down the highway. I burned up a couple of brain cells pondering it, but
the Equal-i-zer Hitch is a robust hitch that does two important things: it applies upward force to the back of the TV to offset the tongue weight, and provides friction to dampen any oscillation while not restricting the ability to turn and maneuver the TV and TT. When you are getting passed by semi trucks on a windy day, it’s nice to know that the trailer will stay where it should.
When I rolled out of the dealership with the TT, they had filled the 42 gallon fresh water tank. I couldn’t tell much on the drive home in the new truck with the new TT, but when we pulled out on our first trip, I noted that the steering seemed a bit light. It shouldn’t have with the load-balancing hitch, but it was a bit squirrelly. I wasn’t happy. When we camped for the night, we or course used some water, but… was the tank properly flushed? I didn't recall if they said. In any case we had the fresh water from the campground, which means that we’re not using the TT’s water tank. I had also bought along a couple of gallons of purified water for personal consumption, so we were OK.
In the morning, I did some research about the fresh water system. Here the manual proved insufficient. I hooked up the waste water hose, and pulled the fresh water dump lever, and was surprised to discover that the fresh water just dumps out on the ground under the TT. OK all is good, I dumped the tank of questionable water, and lightened the load and tongue weight by a bunch. The TV drove noticeably better from then on.
I know there will be times when we will want to tow with a full fresh water tank. (Have you MET my wife?) I’ll need to look into that, and a plethora of other things for future excursions.
And to think that some folks ask me how I’ll spend my time in retirement.
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