Picked up a 24 Dutchman aspen trail 21' trailer. Bunk house for our little dude to grow to and for our next one to have space as well. I know everyone has their horror stories of campers but let's not burst my bubble. Let me find out on my own. Durango did awesome towing it home. 60+ miles felt fine.
Awesome! Welcome to the club. Time to make memories and have a good time. Be safe be smart.
Congrats ???? looks like a good size and perfect for the occasion ????????
I have nearly the same trailer. Towed it up and down the east coast using a V6 Grand Cherokee.
No ‘horror stories’, but some real learned advice from having nearly the same setup as you:
Edit: Still adding to this as I remember things.
Dump your waste tanks and keep your fresh tank at 50% when traveling long distances.
REMEMBER TO EMPTY YOUR TOILET of standing water before towing. ???? That one was so messy.
Change your oil before a big trip. My oil temps would get pretty hot doing long grades climbing mountains with it, oil degrades pretty fast.
Andersen Weight Distribution hitch made a huge difference in handling. 100% recommend that.
We used a tekonsha P3 brake controller. Worked pretty well for controlling the stops.
Recommend replacing your SUV’s front brake pads with PowerStop Z36. Fantastic at controlling brake fade and always a sure stop.
Get a bottle jack and a battery impactor with sockets for your wheels & stabilizer jacks. No point in having a spare tire if you can’t change it on the side of the road. Practice doing it at least once.
Do not over extend the stabilizing jacks when parking the TT. They won’t actually support the weight of the trailer, the jack screws will just bend under load. The battery impactor makes extending these a breeze. I always chuckle to myself when I watch people spend 20 minutes cranking these by hand.
My factory deep cycle lead acid battery exploded while the trailer was plugged in. As in, the battery plates looked like reactor 4 at Chernobyl, sprayed acid all over the place and destroyed the case. I swapped to a safer LiFePO4 battery and moved it over the axle where the cord stores to reduce tongue weight.
If you don’t have one, get a powered jack for the front. Made a huge, huge dent in the aggravation setting up the trailer at the camp site. Sometimes it’s a pain getting it off the ball. The up, down, up, down really sucked with a crank jack. Get a bucket and put it over the jack while it’s being stored.
Fort Knox locks to lock the tongue up.
Change out the propane regulator with one that has an indicator so you can see when the tank has run out.
Get a wheel cover for the spare. My spare tire with zero miles on it split in half as in the tread just came completely apart from sun damage.
Definitely winterize the RV with pink non toxic antifreeze when storing it. I drained all the water, but I neglected to winterize it that before it froze this year and that’s why I needed another toilet valve.
Store a broom using broom wall hangers behind the toilet.
I use a bungee cord to hold the bathroom door open when I need it.
I installed a curtain track in front of the master bed for a modicum of privacy from the kids.
The bed support was pretty weak. I ripped a 2×4 in half lengthwise and put in K brace supports above the basement to make it sturdy.
Get an electric blanket and a mattress topper. Put the mattress topper down, then the blanket, then your bed sheets right over the blanket. The bed is sooo comfortable to get into on cold nights.
We use a corner mounted shower soap/shampoo/conditioner dispenser to keep the bottles from getting everywhere.
I use a Bluetooth leveler. Not a cheap one. Still struggle with it from time to time, but it’s faster, if less reliable than a bubble level.
My propane fridge simply does not work when temps are above ~83. It will also freeze the food if the temps drop below ~45 outside.
Remove the bottom bunk. Pull apart the vent hose for the water tank. Get a faucet aerator cartridge and fit it into the vent tube, then reinstall the tube. When I got the camper, there were dead wasps literally in the fresh tank because they thought the vent tube was nest entrance. That was so damn gross. The aerator will still let air through the tube, but block any insects from crawling in there.
Be careful not to unintentionally ‘pressurize’ the fresh water tank when filling it. The vent tube cannot expel water faster than you can fill it with a hose. It will swell the tank and rip out the tank straps holding it to the floor. That was a fun lesson.
Towing mirrors. Good luck with these, I have lost a few while going down the highway. Bought several different sets. Never found a good solution for that other than buying a different truck. You really do need them on long hauls and so you can park the trailer properly.
A rubberized trunk mat may really come in handy for your SUV. You’ll find yourself putting wood back there for campfires, and it was always a lot easier to clean than the carpet. Also gives you a good place to put muddy gear when getting back your vehicle.
To not spend 20 minutes holding the button while lighting your hot water heater: The propane takes forever to get to the hot water tank when it’s been sitting with the gas off, as it’s the last appliance on the gas line. Run your stove until it lights up with a lighter, then turn that off. Goto your hot water tank, set it to high and put it in the ‘ON’ position. Use a propane torch and aim the flame directly at the pilot light. Keep it there. The water heater will sense the heat from the torch fast and trigger the main burner usually within about 30 seconds. This will flush all the air out of the line in a hurry and the torch will ignite the main burner. Once it’s fully lit, remove the torch and the pilot light should stay lit and everything is working.
Spare parts:
Light bulbs for the exterior lights
Toilet flush valve
Propane regulator
Automotive fuses for the 12v system
30A to 20A plug adapter
Quick disconnects for all of your water hoses
Disconnect tool for the sewer hose because sometimes it really gets stuck.
Magnesium AND aluminum anode rods to switch out with different fresh water chemistry so you don’t have stinky water.
If you made this far, I want to add that while there have been a lot of aggravations, I love the travel trailer, and I’m really happy I got one. We are actually taking it out tomorrow for a long weekend.
Congratulations ????.. Welcome to the club ! Now get in the right lane & stop swerving ! JK ! Welcome ????
Have fun!!
Awesome good for you!!
Congrats!!
Source: Picked up our first trailer
