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Old 07-17-2004, 08:32 PM   #1
Montana_1190
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Bridgeton
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M.O.C. #1190
Shakedown cruise a success.....now the questions!

We finally took our first trip in our Mountaineer and had a great time! It will take several more trips before I feel comfortable with the setting up and taking down but that will come with time and experience. The biggest flaw we found was the shower leaking where the frame meets the base but we think it just needs some caulking. Found a few other little things that don't amount to much so we're feeling pretty good. We were even in a BIG storm but didn't find any leaks!

I am on information overload so could someone tell me if there is anything we need to do now that we are back home? I know to keep the fridge open for air circulation and we are going to drain the hot water heater and water tank. We drained the black and grey tanks before leaving the campground...which was great by the way and will recommend it in the campground forum...but I just can't remember if we're supposed to do anything else to the black tank such as adding some water or something.

Thanks in advance for any advice or help!

Carolyn
 
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Old 07-17-2004, 09:55 PM   #2
Montana Sky
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M.O.C. #889
Carolyn,
I am glad to hear you had a great first trip. As for parking it, I usually leave approx. 1-3 gallons of water with the blue chemical in the toliet when not in use. Helps keep any odors down and break apart anything that still might be in tank. I also leave the fridge/freezer open for air circulation. Check your battery level, and if needed plug in your trailer to charge them up so your ready for the next trip. I dont leave it plugged while not in use. Just long enough to keep battery full. I do open my roof vents about 1/4 of the way. Helps heat escape and brings cool air in to keep things smelling fresh. Finally I put tire covers over all the wheels and tires. This will really help the life of your tires as the sun can do some serious damage to them in a short time. After that, just sit down, relax and start to plan your next vacation trip. =)
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Old 07-18-2004, 05:40 AM   #3
NJ Hillbilly
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M.O.C. #242
I keep the trailer plugged in and I leave the fridge on all season. This way the non-perishable items along with some drinks are cold and the freezer is full. Whatever we use from it we replace when we get home so packing to go again is a little easier.

Things will get easier and more familiar with use.

John
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Old 07-18-2004, 06:10 AM   #4
palebluedot
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We are only about 90 miles inland from the Gulf Coast and have very high humidity and use a fabric type cover when stored mainly for UV protection. I run a dehumidifier and keep the ceiling fan in the den and a box fan in the BR running 24/7. Have to empty the tank on the dehumififier every other day, but in over 2 years not a sign of mildew or mold anywhere. May not be necessary in low humid areas, but works for us. Of course running the fans etc., we stay plugged in - just check the fluid level in battery once a month. Good luck with the new unit.
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Old 07-18-2004, 06:12 AM   #5
Thunderman
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If you leave the trailer plugged in to shore power, be sure to check the level of distilled water in your battery often. Perhaps every 10 days. Failure to do so cvold result in a damaged battery.
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Old 07-18-2004, 07:43 AM   #6
vickster
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In addition to many of the things above, we remove the rechargable flashlight from it's cradle as we have found this to be a draw to the battery. Happy to hear you had no leaks!
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Old 07-18-2004, 11:30 AM   #7
Joyce H
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Another item that is a draw on the battery is the refrigerator light. If you leave the doors open to prevent odor & mildew, be sure to remove the light bulb. We did this in the beginning and found we still drained our battery when we did not use the unit for 10 days or so and had to leave it in storage with no power hook-up, so now we simply disconnect the battery when we leave our unit on the storage lot after a trip.
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Old 07-18-2004, 11:39 AM   #8
DrivesBGM
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Remove the 12v fuse powering the Carbon Monoxide detector.

Craig
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Old 07-18-2004, 01:04 PM   #9
kdeiss
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M.O.C. #164
Yes the Carbon Monoxide detector will kill your battery I found out the hard way.
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Old 07-18-2004, 02:50 PM   #10
Montana_1683
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Gardner
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When putting our 3295 away until the next time we use it; I simply undo the wingnut on the positive post of the battery before leaving it in storage. The battery is easily accessed in the front storage compartment. I generally have to take out blocks to place under the front legs of the jack before lowering them anyway. So after the landing gear is down, I simply lift the plastic top cover and undo the positive cable before closing the storage lid. Then when I am ready to hook up again, I simply open the storage lid, reconnect the cable and the battery stays charged for another trip.

Our fuse box cover is rather tricky to open unless you use a your Swiss Army knife our something to help pry open the cover, then pull the fuses.

Gary
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Old 07-18-2004, 05:31 PM   #11
Northstar
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Yes I was going to say disconnect the battary, but somebody beat me to it. Thanks for sharing. Happy rving....
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Old 07-18-2004, 07:04 PM   #12
Montana_1190
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M.O.C. #1190
Thanks for the advice everyone! We have it stored at home so it is plugged in so I can turn on the AC when cleaning and packing (and just so I can go in and stare at it and smile.) I open the windows everyday if it's nice out so I can get rid of the chemical smells. My husband checked the battery this morning. I'll be sure and disconnect everything when we store it away for the winter. I'm sure I'll have more questions but thanks again for the advice!
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Old 07-31-2004, 11:20 AM   #13
mobrownies
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M.O.C. #886
Glad your first trip went well. There is a moisture control switch on the refrigerator that will draw some power also, but if you are plugged in, it is not going to drain the battery anyway. We won't get to go camping again until the fall, but maybe we can meet sometime. Take care and enjoy.
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Old 07-31-2004, 03:54 PM   #14
Montana_1774
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I leave the unit connected to shore power. I also empty, then clean the refrigerator then push the little button that indicated on/off to the off position.
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Old 08-09-2004, 09:10 AM   #15
Dane
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M.O.C. #751
We installed a battery cutoff switch from Camping World. Using this between trips eliminates most of the worry about draining your battery.
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Old 08-18-2004, 04:20 PM   #16
sreigle
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Before we started fulltiming we used to leave the fridge on all season with the rig plugged into shore power when we were not using it. I also only drained the water heater when starting the winterizing process. There's probably lots of ways to do it and all are probably fine. This is just the way we did it. Now, of course, our fridge is on all the time and the water heater gets drained and refilled (and anode rod checked) about every 6 months.
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