Community Forums

Orchidgal · 04-17-2018, 06:33 PM

Aloha! Just wanted to pop in and introduce ourselves. We are first time trailer owners . Just bought a 2018 20fqs. Will pick it up this weekend. Any good advice for us trailering newbies?

Frontier · 04-17-2018, 07:03 PM

Greetings & welcome!
Tell us more about yourselves: location, tow vehicle, etc.

**TonyDi** · 04-17-2018, 07:19 PM

Glad to have you here in the forum with us. You're gonna like it here.

Tell us about the things you like to see and do.

Happy Trails!!!

Randy the sly old fox · 04-17-2018, 08:39 PM

Welcome to the club - you might also want to check out the ORV owners group on Facebook. Several of us also are members there and there are occasional cross posts but for the most part both groups are full of very helpful people.

As for advice I suggest that you do your first campout close to home - maybe even at home so you can learn how your new RV works.

Hopefully your dealer gave you a starter kit with a sewer and water hose. Your unit should have had a 30A electrical cord from ORV - your dealer may have added a 30 to 15A adaptor - if not you might get one.
Other nice to haves are a clear 90 or 45 elbow for the sewer connection - I know it may not be the nicest stuff to see, but when emptying your tanks it is nice to see when the flow stops - it also helps to see if your black tank flush is working. I recently discovered the cordless drill with the adaptor for operating the stabilizer jacks

I went 30yrs hand cranking

We bought a set of plastic dishware years ago and still use it along with lots of paper plates - they double as fire starting material. We also have a full set of silverware, knives, and other utensils pots and pans, plastic mixing bowls, measuring cups etc. We started using duplicate stuff from when we were married and swapped things out when we bought new stuff for the house.

When pulling your new trailer make sure you have good mirrors - watch your right hand corners as your trailer will tend to cut them sharper than your tow vehicle. Also watch yourself in gas stations - slow and easy will keep you out of trouble. The same applies for backing. One suggestion I have heard is to find a large empty parking lot and practice turns and backing - I found it hard to find any large and empty parking lots

For the most part, we have all the basics loaded and ready to go - all we need to do is add food and clothes and we are ready to camp. You will get to that point after a couple of trips.

Most of all enjoy that new trailer.

Robin25113 · 04-17-2018, 08:40 PM

Welcome to RV camping. There are a great bunch of folks here. Ask away for any of your questions.
Glad to have you aboard.

Lac · 04-17-2018, 11:27 PM

Welcome and enjoy. Our first trip was real close to home...in case I needed something and or I forgot something.

Very nice folks here..even Mr. Wonderful.

Coops

rotozuk · 04-17-2018, 11:58 PM

Welcome aboard! Lots of good folks here, and lots of good info. Read some posts and don't be afraid to venture into other parts of this site.

I highly recommend you camp at least one night at your house if you can. Set up the trailer, cook a meal or two, use everything and sleep the night. You can even do it on a week day. Keep a list of things you need for the trailer, or just run and get them out of the house. Regardless of how much you prepare, the first few trips are where you learn the most. Take your time and enjoy it all!

When towing, don't be in a hurry, and don't try to pack to many miles into the day. While you might be OK, the rest of the family may be sick of all the hours in the car. Give them a brake and let them have some fun outside exploring etc. You will figure out how many miles you should plan for after you do a couple of legs that were too long...

Try and set up camp before the sun goes down, especially for the first few trips.

When camping, be respectful of your neighbors. Clean up your campsite, don't yell at the kids, and please don't play music outside. Just treat others the way you would like them to treat you.

Oh yeah, when in Nevada always line your hat with tin foil..

ModestMonk · 04-18-2018, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orchidgal

Aloha! Just wanted to pop in and introduce ourselves. We are first time trailer owners . Just bought a 2018 20fqs. Will pick it up this weekend. Any good advice for us trailering newbies?

You’ll enjoy searching for ideas and answers here.

My first week was transporting the unit back from Washington/Oregon. My confidence of what to expect came from reading and asking many,many questions within this forum.

Try camping in your driveway for your first “trip”. Write down things you know you’ll need as you discover them.

Good Luck and enjoy!

Orchidgal · 04-18-2018, 11:00 PM

Thank you all for the tips and suggestions. This is my first time in a forum so I apoligize in advanced if I make any forum fopaws😄 due to our work lives my husband and I have spent the last 9 years separated by an ocean. We are now living and working back together and are looking forward to quality time together. This is why we decided to purchase an rv.
Since we have to travel a distance to get the trailer our first outing will be at a rv park 2 hours from where our pick up location is. Hoping to get in before dark. This will work if the pdi goes smoothly. I've written down your supply suggestions, and will be making my list. Once we get a few home and close to home trips under our belts we want to check out the redwoods, an orv rally, some local camp spots. We love nature and experiencing new things.

Off Road · 04-18-2018, 11:09 PM

First off welcome to the ORV family and the forum, you’re going to like it here. One suggestion would be to bring along some tools. When I picked up mine the hitch was not correctly installed and I had to spend some time reading the instructions and adjusting it properly.

ModestMonk · 04-19-2018, 06:33 AM

I payed the mega dealer to install my WD, and it wasn’t installed correctly either. After checking with manufacturer I had to reinstall it.

To the OP there are no silly questions here. The members are very patient and helpful. The community is growing daily. Be sure to ask and tune into discussions about safety issues, it’s better to be forewarned.

BTW,the DW is so excited her Orchids are budding.

Grump010 · 04-19-2018, 08:32 AM

Welcome to the forum / ORV product. This is a very comfortable and informative place, you'll probably enjoy the participants here. I also had to completely remove and reinstall the WD hitch installed by the dealer. We towed about 5 kms from the dealer to the RV park that we stayed at the first night and when I unhooked to the trailer, every bolt that was installed in and on the hitch was only snug or not tightened at all. This seems to be a weak link at the dealers when purchasing a trailer on either side of the border. Good luck and happy traveling.

Orchidgal · 04-20-2018, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frontier

Greetings & welcome!
Tell us more about yourselves: location, tow vehicle, etc.

My husband and I love nature, our 2 terriers and the out of doors. We are picking up this weekend a 2018 Timberridge 20FQS, towing with a chevy silverado 1500 ZTI. First time towers, and we are on the wet side of Washington