Tips and Tricks for camping trailers

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Hey fellas,

My parents just picked up a Keystone Cougar 29' (I think) trailer (5th wheel). They plan on enjoying their retirement and seeing the country. I will gladly pass on to them any tips or tricks you may have. Thanks in advance!

[rancher1913]

if they are not used to towing longer trailers, they need to get a big empty field and some traffic cones to practice turning corners, think simulating a turn at a tight intersection. many new trailer haulers never swing wide enough to not hit the trailer and it gets expensive quick if you hit a light pole.

[smoked turkey]

I hope it is not too late for them, but it is very important to match the weight of the new RV (GVW, & tongue weight) to the capabilities of the tow rig. It is a safety issue regarding towing capacity and braking ability. There are lots more things one could mention but this one needs to be done right before hitching up the first time.

[MtGun44]

Going to take a BIG motor in the tow vehicle, and big tranny cooler, too.

Bill

[garym1a2]

To tow heavy and far get a diesel dualy.

[Handloader109]

My suggestion is for a good diesel. Dual wheel for that little one isn't necessary and is a hindrance.
Enjoy

[Bad Water Bill]

You should practice backing up as well.

[Mica_Hiebert]

Get electric leveling jacks, good wheel chocks, if they have a diesel tow rig an exhaust break is nice, if they leave it any where for extended periods of time keep the pop outs closed, for some reason mice and get in if the pop out are left open but not if their closed, some public schools in Alaska have rv hook ups and will let you camp for free to keep vandalism down in the summer when school is out.

[historicfirearms]

Park it under a roof. They almost all leak water after a few years. When they start to rot out from water infiltration, not much you can do.

[Mica_Hiebert]

Park it under a roof. They almost all leak water after a few years. When they start to rot out from water infiltration, not much you can do.

Most of the new ones are aluminum framed and fiberglass shelled, alot les prone to leaks and rotting than the wood/tin campers of yesteryear some of the budget campers are still wood/tin in which case they want to get a gallon of alumaseal and paint all the roof seams and vents every 2 years

[William Yanda]

A friend, Jerry, worked construction, lived in a trailer for a lot of years. He told me-in all sincerity-to keep a trailer from freezing, park it in the South. Purple font off

[snowwolfe]

As long as your parents own a 3/4 or 1 ton diesel they will be fine. Otherwise be prepared for a lot of white knuckle driving and expensive fill ups.

[KAF]

When backing, put hand at 6 o:clock, move hand direction you want the trailer to go. Back slowly. Fuel milage will drop about 50% no matter what, when towing.

No fast moves, drive way far ahead. Watch the dumasses coming on to road way on a entrance ramp, they will drive right into the side of you or cut you off.

[pjames32]

Wow-responses all over the place. We have owned campers since the late 70's. We spend 3-5 months per year in our Keystone 5th wheel. Currently have a 3402 Montana that measures just over 39'. We pull with a 3/4 ton chevy diesel (9800gvw). Good mirrors are critical. If they have not pulled a 5th wheel, they do turn shorter than a bumper pull. I'm available by private message if I can help.
PJ

[runfiverun]

have them watch the movie 'the big trailer' with Ricky and Lucy in it.
that pretty much sums it all up.

[merlin101]

Come on guys, it only a 29'er! Duelly's and diesels and exhaust brakes are nice but REALLY? That's not much longer than a U-haul car hauler hanging off a bumper hitch. Without knowing the weight of the trailer and what the tow vehicle is it's hard to comment, but any 1 ton would be more than capable and I'd bet most 3/4 tons would be fine. A transmission cooler is a must, a big one is better and BIGGER is BEST! Practice does make perfect, so practice backing.
Two places most people don't watch when backing is the tailgate area, if backing on an incline the clearance is different than on level ground. The second is the overhead swing, as an example when backing into a space on the trucks left (driver side) the right front corner of the overhead 'swings' out and it's easy to overlook that.
The camper itself, get some metal screen and install it under all louvered vents (fridge, water heater etc.) bees love campers and that will keep the out.
Mice love them too, Its hard to mouse proof a camper but don't leave it parked in high grass areas for extended times and use peppermint oil to discourage them.
Get and use a good water filter/pressure regulator and a dedicated water fill hose and always use the filter when filling the fresh water tank at campgrounds! Nothing can ruin a trip faster then that! Keep an eye on the holding tanks, dump them often and always dump the black water first and then the gray. NEVER leave the black water valve open when parked at a camp ground! Doing that can cause the drain hose to slowly plug up with solids because you don't have enough water flow to really flush it the length of the hose.
Things move inside while traveling, pad and secure everything, stop a few miles down the road to 'check things out' before really turning the miles. and the most important is to HAVE FUN AND ENJOY!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

When my folks started getting close to retirement, they bought a 26' fifth wheel camper.
They took several short camping trips, before their retirement to prepare for the semi-annual long haul from MN to TX for winter and then back.
It's good to know your rig, what it can do, what it can't do, what you shouldn't do.

[Plate plinker]

Park it under a roof. They almost all leak water after a few years. When they start to rot out from water infiltration, not much you can do.

I have built 5th wheels for a living for 3 years and can tell you they will leak if you do not inspect the roof annually. People neglect the roof of these things from day one then wonder what happened? Yearly the roof should be inspected and resealed as necessary. Sometimes I would help seal roofs if they needed some help and I am sorry but those guys were not always the most diligent with their work. Even a new unit should get a look over on the roof. Trust nobody was my mantra when I was working in the plant.

Also the plumbing on these units is cheap stuff warn them to be prepared to repair water leaks (very serious about this) it will happen. Watch the P-traps and connections near them. If they have not received the unit yet make sure the dealer does a PDI inspection, which they should do upon delivery of the unit to their facility, but if it has been sitting on the lot for sometime I would ask that they perform it again. Lastly in regard to the plumbing when they get the unit I would fill each holding tank one at a time and watch the monitor panel to make sure each light corresponds with the proper tank and fills 1/3,2/3,full. There is nothing worse than thinking you have space in the tank then whamo you have sewage in the underbelly. You would be surprised how many will fail this test. Drain tanks and make sure the tank knife valves do not leak. PM if you need too.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

I will mention it is a Cougar Lite trailer. Weighs in at around 7k pounds empty, IIRC. Thanks for all the tips so far!

[dverna]

Sorry to hear about this. I will NEVER buy a Keystone product again.

Be prepared for many trips to the dealer and NO customer support from the manufacturer. Best to buy the extended warranty as they will need it if they use it much.

The units are junk. And you cannot speak to one of their service techs unless you are a dealer.

[popper]

Merlin nailed it. Plus GOOD heavy duty suspension & trailer brakes -inspect often, they will freeze up. Wife's BIL broke an axle on his 27' in P. E. I. Pretty well screwed up his trip.

[Teddy (punchie)]

Not sure about trailer for living in. But the 7.3 diesel uses allot less fuel at 55 to 60 MPH about 10 % more at 70 MPH. Normal for a haul of Max weight of hay ( 6,000) loaded plus truck and trailer . Right around max. Need to set brakes, in snow it gets fun, Oh-boy. I would say a good 3/4 is good enough. I know the 7.3 will pull but stopping is fun. Dually is nice for steep, windy roads.

[C.F.Plinker]

Some place by the water pump there should be a valve. One position will let water from the tank go into the pump. The other position will let you suck antifreeze into the pump so it can go through out the piping. This is the "pink stuff" not car antifreeze. Put a hose on that position if there isn't already one there. Now get a tubeless tire valve stem and trim it down so it just fits in the hose. You can now select that position and blow out your water system at the end of the season. Yes, I know the compressor in the garage will do it just fine because I did it that way for years. Then I had to leave it for a week in Flagstaff AZ while I attended a class and a major snowstorm was coming it. It's nice now to be able to blow it out at any gas station. At a minimum blow the plumbing out at the end of your last trip for the season and put the pink stuff down all the drains to fill the p-traps. Better yet is to fill the pipes with the pink stuff.

If any of your tanks (white, gray, or black) extend below the floor remember that they can freeze in sub-freezing weather. Not good. When we go camping in the fall and it looks like we will run into cold weather we take jugs of water along instead of filling the water tank.

Our motor home has a CO detector. One cold night we were boondocking and fired up the furnace. Along about 2:00 am the CO detector went off. We quickly figured out that the battery had drained down somewhat due to the fan on the furnace running. The CO detector was going of on low voltage not CO. Of course the battery is low enough that it won't start the generator. So we run the vehicle engine and charge the house battery enough to get through the night. This also means that the CO detector can drain your battery while the unit is in storage.

If you have an air conditioner cover it when the trailer is in storage, but be able to take the cover off when you are on the road since you probably won't be taking a ladder with you.

I will echo the thought about using a 3/4 ton or 1 ton tow vehicle. Some friends bought a 29' trailer and were using their GMC 1500 to tow it. Going from Butte to Moab on their first trip they had to make a 3 day stop in Idaho for a new transmission. 'Nuff said.

[Blackwater]

The biggest tip I can think of, having done a little travelling in my FIL's, is to make SURE you have a place for everything and then KEEP it there unless and until you're using it! This is simply discipline, but it's crucial to enjoying the trailer life. Trailer camping is simple, like all ohter campig, and discipline and keeping up with things is probably the most important thing I know of. If you have to hunt in every nook and cranny when you need something, you're not gonna' like camping very much. It's a good lesson for everyone, if it's not already part of their nature. Many today just use things and leave them lay wherever, and just go out and buy something new and cheap when they can't find it. You can't do that camping, so you just have to keep up with things, and also calculate how much grup you're going to need. Travel light and simple, and keep up with everything, and stock up intelligently, and it's a real pleasure to get back to a simpler life, where you can hear your own self think again, and enjoy the simple pleasures of the birds and squirrels and the sound of the wind in the trees, etc. Discipline seems to be a lost art these days, but it's crucial to really enjoying life anywhere, I think.

[shooter2]

We have owned three trailers. Two were Airstreams and one was a fifth wheel (Alpenlite, no longer in business). By far, the most enjoyable were the Airstreams. The most costly was the fifth wheel. Yes, we had diesel a Ford F350, and it was trouble free and towed the 12K pound trailer pretty well. The Airstreams we towed with either a Chevy Suburban or a Ford van. Both gas engines.

I would have advised them to find an Airstream, used is OK if you know what years to look for. New ones are pretty expensive. I would tell them to look for one in the 20 to 25 foot range. Easy to tow, parking is easy, and that is big enough to be comfortable and to enjoy the great outdoors.

Obviously just my personal opinion. We towed for just over twenty years.

[shoot-n-lead]

Come on guys, it only a 29'er! Duelly's and diesels and exhaust brakes are nice but REALLY? That's not much longer than a U-haul car hauler hanging off a bumper hitch. Without knowing the weight of the trailer and what the tow vehicle is it's hard to comment, but any 1 ton would be more than capable and I'd bet most 3/4 tons would be fine.


BINGO!

Gee Whizzzzzz

Folks were pulling this size camper or loaded horse trailer many years before diesel pickup's came along.

[Geezer in NH]

My 94 Silverado 1500 with a 350 engine got 18 hwy every time, with our 28 foot 5th wheel I would drop to 14 mpg in hill mnt country. in flatter ground 16 was common. pulled it over 200,000 miles.

I had the Tfluid changed every spring and fall trans was as good as new at 335K when the frame was condemned on her. Brakes were normal pad and rotor replacements for a truck.

The trailer had the brakes rebuilt a total of 3 times biggest problem we had on the road was a blown trailer tire that damaged body work on the trailer that was under our deductible. New tires were the answer every 2 years.

We stopped camping when our son entered senior year as he had a girl friend by then and camping went on hold.

Money wise my DW and I take a couple weeks trips now but motels are cheaper than a 3th wheel and truck maintenance.

Note: Maintenance on tow vehicle and trailer is the secret to all but minor inconveniences.

[historicfirearms]

Speaking of flat tires, I've heard a lot of horror stories of the Chinese made trailer tires. My Airstream is due for new tires. Has anyone found a new tire that holds up well?

[Mk42gunner]

Don't trust the latches on the cabinets to hold while going down the road. Mom always stuffed pillows in front of the plates and other glass objects and then taped the doors shut.

Robert

[454PB]

All good suggestions........

I've seen massive damage done to other peoples trailers and motorhomes caused by tire failure. I'm really paranoid about it because of that. I had a left front tire fail on our class A motorhome at 60 MPH a few years ago, I was sucked into the opposite lane of traffic nearly instantly. Luckily, there was a break in heavy traffic and I was able to recover and get off the right side. In a matter of 15 seconds, the tire was destroyed and the wheel was damaged.

[Powder Burn]

Many travel trailer sites on line and just about every topic is covered. (just like this site for boolet casting). Remember you have 'holding tank' not septic tank. There are many recipes for pre-charging your black water tank. Think Slippery. We recently moved into a stationary Park Model which is on its own sewer so our travel trailer days are over.

[Plate plinker]

Sorry to hear about this. I will NEVER buy a Keystone product again.

Be prepared for many trips to the dealer and NO customer support from the manufacturer. Best to buy the extended warranty as they will need it if they use it much.

\
The units are junk. And you cannot speak to one of their service techs unless you are a dealer.

Thor industries:evil:

[Plate plinker]

Speaking of flat tires, I've heard a lot of horror stories of the Chinese made trailer tires. My Airstream is due for new tires. Has anyone found a new tire that holds up well?

Very astute. If you have ever seen the damage a blowout will do to a rv. Goodyear tires are a upgrade.

CF Plinker is spot on about the blowout and winterizing of the unit. Also pull the drain on the water heater. When blowing lines DO NOT hit it with 100 PSI bad things will happen use 30 PSI and let it run for awhile while you work all the valves and such. then winterize with couple gallons of the pink antifreeze.

[MaryB]

Eternabond roof seam tape, skip the caulk and the paint that flakes off eventually. My parents didn't tow theirs all summer, just to the lake and back once a year but we learned a lot of tricks. The seam seal tape was one. And as mentioned, everything has its place and when you are done with it put it back so the next person knows where i is. And use a checklist! Before we packed up every fall the list came out and we made sure everything was stored in its spot.

Food wise look into some high end coolers like the Yeti series. We stashed them under the front of the 5th wheel when we got to the lake so beer and pop wasn't not cluttering the main fridge. Plus it kept us out of mom's way if she was cooking. Dad built a small fold up enclosure for under the front to store things like coolers, chairs etc at the campsite. I grew up living out of that camper all summer long!

[Ural Driver]

Had a guy at work that bought a 5th wheel 3 years prior to his retirement. He parked it at his house and then he and the wife moved into it while leasing the house to their son. They would take the occasional trip but mostly concentrated on learning to live in the trailer. When they did hit the road there were no surprises as it had become "normal". After a couple of years on the road they traded up to a full size Motor Home, and back on the road they went. Safe travels to your parents.....[smilie=p:

[MT Gianni]

I have a 27 ft 5th wheel I tow with a 1/2 ton Dodge 1500, previous owner used a Dakota. Find out what the overall weight is and what the MFG recommends before buying.

[osteodoc08]

I had a PrimeTime 3150 BH model for several years before I sold it. Here are some tips:

1. I had a 1500 GMC with the 5.3. For 55 and under it was fine, but the frontal volume caused considerable wind resistance and was futile to go faster than this. It was maneagable, but you will be a lot less stressed with a 3/4 ton + with a diesel. LT rated tires will also help.
2. Buy a good trailer antisway and WDH set up. I personally had an Equalizer brand and would recommend them.
3. Electric front jack and leveling jacks with manual back up are a must. So much easier to press a button after a long trip than to crank things manually.
4. Be sure to have surge protectors. I'm guessing you have a 50 amp system.
5. Buy slide out awnings and keep junk (leaves and debris) out of the slide outs. Keep the seals lubricated and protected.
6. You need chocks. I'd even recommend the device that basically pushes out into the tires to keep it from rocking. I always wanted one of those but ended up not buying one.
7. Be sure it has CO and fire detectors.
8. Carry spare tools and gloves. Also be sure to buy potable water hoses and regular hoses. Get a tire gauge.
9. Learn how to repair PEX. You will likely end up making repairs.
10. Check the roof annually. Dont ignore a small problem.
11. Keep from freezing. If youre gonna store it, make sure it is winterized properly.
12. Watch your head! Know the height of your trailer and whatever is on top.
13. Get a pretravel checklist. Make sure your antennas and vents are down. I also had vent deflectors on mine.
14. Get an aftermarket exhaust fan for the bathroom. Just trust me on this.
15. Have fun and use common sense.