Maiden Voyage of the Ventana

[69RoadRunner]

We took the Ventana out for its first trip over the weekend. We went to Pohick Bay park. It's a Northern VA Regional Park. Since it was a last minute reservation, we could only get a 30 amp electric only site.

Arrival

We got to the park and drove to our site. My wife wasn't sure about being a spotter. She pulled some limbs out of the way, but I couldn't see her. I got another camper to help out. I backed in without any damage, so it was a success.

Setup

The site was fairly level, so the jacks had no trouble getting the coach level. I plugged in the 30-50 adapter and then the surge suppressor. All was clear, so I plugged in the coach.

The slideouts were no problem, and I didn't bother with the awning.

Problems

I assumed if I didn't run anything else, I could run both air conditioners. I started the front a/c and waited a bit for the second. I started it and thought all was well. Then both shut off.

The EMS never said it was shedding anything. No breakers were flipped. I turned off the breaker at the box and turned it back on. I eventually gave up and only run 1 a/c at a time.

The sliding door between the bunks is a little out of adjustment.

The middle flourescent light in the living area must have a loose connection. It would go off and back on.

The grey water tank always shows 0%. This is probably the worst of the problems. Even after a couple of showers and washing dishes, it still showed 0. The fresh and black water tanks dropped and rose as expected.

I ran the fridge on LPG most of the weekend to cut back on amps and cooked burgers on the stove (to test it and it was raining hard) and ran the water heater, but the LPG shows 100% (even though that's technically 80%). I forgot to check at the tank. Would I use so little LPG that the gauge wouldn't move?

The door striker is loose. I bumped it without realizing it, and then the door would shut. I pushed the striker down, and it shut fine.

The toilet seat won't stay up. Looking at how close it is to the cabinet, this one might be hard to fix.

I already mentioned that 1 window won't latch.

Items We Forgot

The stinky slinky I bought showed all the attachments on the box that are NOT included. Grrrrr. I picked those up today.

Walkie talkies (which we use to store dead batteries) were left at home.

Spatula (the plastic fork worked, but is now horribly disfigured).

Large trash bags.

Bath mat.

Contact lens solution (we use disposables and had spares).

Microwave safe mugs.

Overview

We love it! It was a short trip, but the kids had fun. They remodeled the pool to have a pirate theme and had pirates there. The kids really liked it.

My theory of putting the kids to bed in the bunks and having the living area free worked great. If we would have put the kids to bed in the living area, our night would have been over because it was raining outside.

Instead, we watched a little TV while I read the owners manuals and my wife made Fathers Day cards.

Since we were only there 1 night with only electric, we took normal, but fairly quick showers to see how much water was used. Well, it was about 8% of the 105 gallon capacity. I might need to get one of those Oxygenics shower heads and a shutoff valve.

More later. I'm beat.

Here are pics from the weekend.

http://www.padefamily.com/gallery/v/20080614PohickBay/

[69RoadRunner]

We took the Ventana out for its first trip over the weekend. We went to Pohick Bay park. It's a Northern VA Regional Park. Since it was a last minute reservation, we could only get a 30 amp electric only site.

Arrival

We got to the park and drove to our site. My wife wasn't sure about being a spotter. She pulled some limbs out of the way, but I couldn't see her. I got another camper to help out. I backed in without any damage, so it was a success.

Setup

The site was fairly level, so the jacks had no trouble getting the coach level. I plugged in the 30-50 adapter and then the surge suppressor. All was clear, so I plugged in the coach.

The slideouts were no problem, and I didn't bother with the awning.

Problems

I assumed if I didn't run anything else, I could run both air conditioners. I started the front a/c and waited a bit for the second. I started it and thought all was well. Then both shut off.

The EMS never said it was shedding anything. No breakers were flipped. I turned off the breaker at the box and turned it back on. I eventually gave up and only run 1 a/c at a time.

The sliding door between the bunks is a little out of adjustment.

The middle flourescent light in the living area must have a loose connection. It would go off and back on.

The grey water tank always shows 0%. This is probably the worst of the problems. Even after a couple of showers and washing dishes, it still showed 0. The fresh and black water tanks dropped and rose as expected.

I ran the fridge on LPG most of the weekend to cut back on amps and cooked burgers on the stove (to test it and it was raining hard) and ran the water heater, but the LPG shows 100% (even though that's technically 80%). I forgot to check at the tank. Would I use so little LPG that the gauge wouldn't move?

The door striker is loose. I bumped it without realizing it, and then the door would shut. I pushed the striker down, and it shut fine.

The toilet seat won't stay up. Looking at how close it is to the cabinet, this one might be hard to fix.

I already mentioned that 1 window won't latch.

Items We Forgot

The stinky slinky I bought showed all the attachments on the box that are NOT included. Grrrrr. I picked those up today.

Walkie talkies (which we use to store dead batteries) were left at home.

Spatula (the plastic fork worked, but is now horribly disfigured).

Large trash bags.

Bath mat.

Contact lens solution (we use disposables and had spares).

Microwave safe mugs.

Overview

We love it! It was a short trip, but the kids had fun. They remodeled the pool to have a pirate theme and had pirates there. The kids really liked it.

My theory of putting the kids to bed in the bunks and having the living area free worked great. If we would have put the kids to bed in the living area, our night would have been over because it was raining outside.

Instead, we watched a little TV while I read the owners manuals and my wife made Fathers Day cards.

Since we were only there 1 night with only electric, we took normal, but fairly quick showers to see how much water was used. Well, it was about 8% of the 105 gallon capacity. I might need to get one of those Oxygenics shower heads and a shutoff valve.

More later. I'm beat.

Here are pics from the weekend.

http://www.padefamily.com/gallery/v/20080614PohickBay/

[OpaRon]

Beautiful first camping spot! I'm WAY too non-technical to answer most of your questions, but I will make one suggestion. WHEN you get the walkie-talkies back on line, have your wife drive while YOU do the directions into and out of the spot. I've found that we men generally (NOT always) can see the big picture better and tell the wife which way to turn the steering wheel, and when to turn it, etc. It helps us to get our spot on the pad near the water,power and sewer connections. I also seem to be able to watch out for tree limbs and other obstacles to getting the slides out, etc.

Our regular routine is when we pull up to check in, she moves to the drivers seat and adjusts the mirrors. When we get to our spot, I get out and direct her. The one unbroken rule is that if she can't see me, she stops until she can. Also, if she doesn't understand me on the walkie (which generally is because I start speaking before I push the talk button) she stops.

Beautiful coach! Enjoy it and your family!!

[Spikester]

69RR - Looks like a beautiful spot, with a beauty of a coach.
Normally 30Amps will only support operation of 1 AC unit. As you become more familiar with EMS operating parameters you will then be able to operate more loads. One of the things you need to remember to do when plugging in to shore power is to set your inverter controller to the correct shore power amperage. This will help alleviate some of your power problems, limits the amount of current that goes to your battery charger. Also a reason the EMS didn't pick up the inverter to provide addition power is that it may have not been turned on. Rule of thumb for your inverter is leave it off unless you need the power. With the inverter in the on position adds another parasitic load to your house batteries. Remember if your EMS calls for power from your inverter, it draws power from your batteries, as their charge depletes your inverter/charger will automatically come on to charge your batteries, so with limited Shore Power you could be going around in circles.
Remember your back-up monitoring system has an external mic, internal speaker system so your spotter can communicate with the driver.
We have also found that wife driving, me spotting works best.
Go to the FMCA website and search for spotter signals, they have visuals of the common signals they use, which are easily identifiable regardless of the light or weather conditions. They are also the signals that you will receive from parking personnel if you attend most all rallies.
Your propane use should have been minimal with your advertised usage, it probably would not cause your monitoring panel indication to change. It is correct to read 100% when the tank is at full capacity. Your local gage will read 80%. A good thing to remember is both your local and monitoring indication is effected by ambient air temperatures. The big propane user is your furnace. I filled my tank in Jan prior to, boondocking for 10 days in AZ, spent 1.5 months in AZ cooking on the stove, ran the refer during travel for 20 days monitor indication reads 50%, local is about 60%. You will find 29 gallons of propane lasts a long time unless you are using your furnace as your primary heat source in cold weather. Think you will find that most of us use heat pumps as primary heat source, especially those of us with the newer style that are extremely quiet and work efficiently with outside temperatures below 40 degrees.
Your problems seem like the normal kinds of things we all see in our new toys, others may manifest themselves as you become more familiar/intimate with your coach.

Spike

[69RoadRunner]

Thanks for the info. We may get to a point where my wife will do some driving, but it will take some training sessions. She's not comfortable with our 06 Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab, but she did move it around the corner to make room for the Ventana the other day.

The inverter is more confusing than I thought it would be. I thought it was a simple device that converted 12V battery power into 110. I didn't realize I should just keep it off.

I wondered why, when I got to the house, the microwave was on. I must have had the inverter on. I expected it to only come on when the genny was running. I must have run the batteries down, because the generator wouldn't start. I had to let the engine idle to charge them enough. Then the generator would start.

[Max Hubrich]

69roadrunner,

Beautiful rig-- Best of luck with it and many happy trips

If you can get the wife to drive it lots of luck! I've been trying since 1998. I asked her one time "What would you do if I got bad sick on the road?" her reply was "I guess you'll die!" UGH

You'll have a lot of questions that folks on this forum will answer.

The man I used to work for has a 45' Marathon coach with a home Refridge/freezer (compressor style),left on. He put it in the barn, was in a hurry, didn't plug in shore power and left. Three days later he tried to get into it with the key pad unlock/lock system-- forget it! No hide-A-key of course. All ten, or so batteries were dead. The rear fender area had to be removed to gain access to the batteries to charge them enough to unlock the doors and bays. His next learning experience was trying to cook steaks for all his friends out in southern California, running the generator (for the Genn Air outside cooking station)), and it quit before dinner was ready. He was below 1/4 tank of fuel!

You'll have your own moments of disbelief and frustration until you understand you rig and systems throughly. It's kindy like learning a new airplane for a pilot. It takes many hours of study time.

Short shakedown trips, as you did, are a blessing in the long run.

Best of luck,

[FlyingDiver]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Max Hubrich:

If you can get the wife to drive it lots of luck! I've been trying since 1998. I asked her one time "What would you do if I got bad sick on the road?" her reply was "I guess you'll die!" UGH
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Since Sue's not ready to drive the RV when we pick it up, the first thing she needs to learn on her own is how to unhook the toad. She can leave the RV where it is if there's an emergency.

joe

[69RoadRunner]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by FlyingDiver:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Max Hubrich:

If you can get the wife to drive it lots of luck! I've been trying since 1998. I asked her one time "What would you do if I got bad sick on the road?" her reply was "I guess you'll die!" UGH
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Since Sue's not ready to drive the RV when we pick it up, the first thing she needs to learn on her own is how to unhook the toad. She can leave the RV where it is if there's an emergency.

joe </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

But will Sue just drive away and leave you for dead like Max's wife will?

[FlyingDiver]

Hmm. Hadn't thought of that.

joe

[Spikester]

The good news if you have a magnum inverter/charger the operator's manual is straight forward and not cluttered with a much of hebahaabaa.

The day of plug it in and walk away is long gone I think with all these new electronics. Seems mind boggling at first but once you have more time it really gets pretty easy, just a matter of routine.

I am not familiar with Newmars EMS/Inverter interface so cannot comment. Inverter is a substantial parasitic load when left on, so if you are boondocking it will drain your batteries at a much faster rate than anticipated if left on when 115VAC is not needed.

[saydiver]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by 69RoadRunner:

But will Sue just drive away and leave you for dead like Max's wife will? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Heh! And what would your wife do?

I really don't think I'll have any problem learning to drive the RV. I became bareboat certified in a week, and I think the RV, especially since it's an automatic and has Comfort Drive, will be much, much easier to maneuver than a 39' sail boat.

Sue

[two2go]

Regarding women's sense of direction: I tell my wife she has SSADS:
Spatial and Situational Awareness Deficiency Syndrome.
Doctors come up with a name for everything else, so there's my contribution.

[69RoadRunner]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by saydiver:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by 69RoadRunner:

But will Sue just drive away and leave you for dead like Max's wife will? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Heh! And what would your wife do?

Sue </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

If she reads this posting, she'd back up the motorhome leaving dual tire tracks across my forehead.

[D in Davie]

I also had the toilet seat won't stay up problem that I solved with small pieces of velcro on the part of the wall that is preventing the seat from going all the way back. It didn't seem like a big problem until my grandson pointed out the mouse trap like hazard to his health.