Absolute must haves for for safe trip home in our new Canyon Star?

[CherandMike]

We will be picking up our 2016 CS 3755 the first week of June in Florida and will be taking our time, probably a week or more, traveling home to New Hampshire.
This is our first motor home but my husband has camping experience from many years ago. We are compiling a list of must have items for the trip home and we are ordering the following and shipping to FL that we feel are important:

1) Progressive Industries hardwired surge protector-EMSLCHW50

2) Garmin RV 760 LMT portable GPS

3) WeBoost drive 4G-M cell phone booster for better cell phone and data reception. We did upgrade to the Winegard automatic open face satellite dish w/Direct TV but probably won't have service for this trip.

4) The above items are being ordered on Amazon but the next item we feel we need is the Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Do we order directly from the manufacturer? Still not sure if EEZ or TST but DH would like something he can install himself without too much trouble. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

We will stock the inside with enough bedding, towels, kitchen items etc to make the trip comfortable but wanted to wait until we got home to purchase many items that will be needed as we use the coach more.

Is it necessary to buy new sewer & water hoses for this trip ? Any other suggestions for must have don't travel without it items?

We have have been following the Newmar forums for the last 2 years and really appreciate the wealth of information that you all share which really helped in our decision making process for our new coach and hope to return the favor as we gain experience.

[Scooter]

"New sewer & water hoses....." ? Yes, if none were supplied. Probably a 10-15 foot sewer hose extension will come in handy, one of these days.

Did your dealer give you one year or more of RV roadside service/towing ? Hope so.

We carry bottled water for drinking and distilled water for batteries.

[palehorse89]

Originally Posted by CherandMike

We will be picking up our 2016 CS 3755 the first week of June in Florida and will be taking our time, probably a week or more, traveling home to New Hampshire.
This is our first motor home but my husband has camping experience from many years ago. We are compiling a list of must have items for the trip home and we are ordering the following and shipping to FL that we feel are important:

1) Progressive Industries hardwired surge protector-EMSLCHW50

2) Garmin RV 760 LMT portable GPS

3) WeBoost drive 4G-M cell phone booster for better cell phone and data reception. We did upgrade to the Winegard automatic open face satellite dish w/Direct TV but probably won't have service for this trip.

4) The above items are being ordered on Amazon but the next item we feel we need is the Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Do we order directly from the manufacturer? Still not sure if EEZ or TST but DH would like something he can install himself without too much trouble. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

We will stock the inside with enough bedding, towels, kitchen items etc to make the trip comfortable but wanted to wait until we got home to purchase many items that will be needed as we use the coach more.

Is it necessary to buy new sewer & water hoses for this trip ? Any other suggestions for must have don't travel without it items?

We have have been following the Newmar forums for the last 2 years and really appreciate the wealth of information that you all share which really helped in our decision making process for our new coach and hope to return the favor as we gain experience.

Congratulations and Welcome!!!!!
I am going to say for a week or longer, you are going to need dump hoses.........and fresh water hoses to dump and refill the fresh tank.
The one thing I did not see on your well thought list is a bottle of your favorite wine to share on the first night ...............
A stop at any Walmart will help you out with just about anything you might need on your trip........even over night parking!

[cb1000rider]

We carry a 150psi air compressor.
Sewer hoses, fresh water hose, sewer flush hose.
I carry a 12T bottle jack.
Various power adapters.

[avid_dk]

The most important item you need to purchase is a Valterra twist-on waste valve. You connect it to the end of your dump plumbing and you will never have a drop of waste in your wet bay. You'll be glad you did.

Purchase a 15' Rhinoflex kit and a plastic tub to hold it that fits in your wet bay.

Appropriate sized sheets and comforters. A few kitchen essentials such as a way to make coffee. A copy of the book, The Next Exit.

A selection of iPod or iPhone music to play on your dash receiver or surround system.

A healthy dose of patience with yourselves and each other. You are going to have a lot of fun. Bon Voyage!

[alvo]

Fire extinguisher, maybe two; one front and one back.

[Archer2]

My $0.02 on TPMS I have the EEZ system. I have pass-through sensors for the coach tires and the theft-proof sensors on the toad. Installation was super easy. Basically you just "train" the system to recognize the unique address of each sensor, a simple process. Then you just remove existing valve stem caps and replace them with the sensors. Then you just set your upper and lower limits for pressure and temp and you're done. 15 minutes or so.

[CherandMike]

Thanks Palehorse, I'm sure there is sewer hoses to start with but I've read that a lot of people think they're worthless so I wasn't sure if we needed to replace right away. Not sure if the water hose is included in a new coach.
The wine is definitely on the list!

[CherandMike]

Originally Posted by Scooter

"New sewer & water hoses....." ? Yes, if none were supplied. Probably a 10-15 foot sewer hose extension will come in handy, one of these days.

Did your dealer give you one year or more of RV roadside service/towing ? Hope so.

We carry bottled water for drinking and distilled water for batteries.

Thanks Scooter, as I posted not sure if all hoses were supplied but we think at least one sewer hose is. Water is on the list.
We did not see anything about roadside service/towing in our negotiations nor was it offered. We thought that was something we had to sign up for. In the process now of looking for options.

[Mike and Cha]

Sounds like you bought a lot more than most people do already. When we bought ours we waited to see what the dealer was going to supply regarding chemicals and dump hoses ect. When we picked ours up they did give us all the hoses, dump hoses and connections, chemicals, and anything needed for the actual operation of the MH itself. So I would wait on that kind of stuff. We did purchase all the bedding, towels, dishware ect prior to picking it up so we had all that to load in when we got it.

I think you are good for now, pick it up and whatever you need for the trip home, you can always stop at a Walmart, Camping World or other RV shop if you absolutely need it. No matter how much you buy now you will create a list of things you need/want for future trips. Congrats on your purchase and have many safe and happy trips.

[danleininger]

A great navigator! My wife does most of the navigating. She uses Google Maps mostly which she runs on her iPad. She keeps our route running even though she may be doing something else (texting, FB, downloading Real Estate info, etc). That way she can periodically check the route for slowdowns. She has saved us many hours of delays!

Additionally, she locates our overnight campsites using RV Parks Reviews and Good Sams.

Having an involved partner while driving is a huge advantage!

So this is my number one accessory recommendation.

[twinknkate]

Congrats and welcome! We suggest to add to your great list the waste treatment "Happy Campers" available from Amazon. After 30+ years of trying practically every product sold at Camping World, I saw some posts about this on irv2 and thought we'd try it. Best ever. No smell, and great for both black and grey water. Also skip the expensive RV toilet paper and buy the inexpensive single ply paper at Walgreens or the Scott single ply. We've used both with never a clogging problem. Both work great!
Happy Camping!

[BPoland]

My wife made the trip to Florida in August 2014 To pick up our 2014 Bay Star at North Trial in Fort Myers. They put us up for a couple nights in an RV resort a couple miles from the dealership. Are you driving down or flying? If you are flying, you will be limited to what you can carry or bring with you. You could ship your stuff to the dealership ahead of time (Fed Ex or UPS). The day of purchase will be long and tiring, with the walk through and the actual sales process. Both of you should pay close attention during the walk through. You will both remember different things. Or maybe record it for looking at it later.

As for the drive home, if you are in Fort Myers, be prepared if you take Rt 75 North. The speed limit is 70 I believe and with a new coach can be rather intense until you get the feel for you new home. Take your time. We made it from Fort Myers to Baltimore in 2 days. Our first overnight was a Wal-mart parking lot in Hardeyville, SC. As others have said, that is a great place to go in and get whatever you have forgotten and can't do without. There are usually easy in and easy out, for a new RV driver. Coming North on 95, you will hit major traffic from Richmond up thru Washington DC. Most of your decisions will be based on how comfortable you are behind the wheel, (also know as how well your coach behaves in traffic). If you don't want to push it, and being new to this, I wouldn't, you should have no problems making to NH in 4 - 6 days. You will find that with the Motorhome, it's more about the trip, than getting there. On our return trip I did 9 hours on day 1 and because of traffic backups 13 hours on day 2. Not fun!

I know I have concentrated on the trip home, but everyone has already told you what they think you need. I will add one more thing that I think is essential for your first trip.

A good positive attitude!! You have to expect that this will happen that you didn't plan for. Take it in stride. This is a new process, and there IS a learning curve. Welcome to the Newmar family. You're gonna love it!

[FRR2EYW]

Might I suggest a dash cam. It's one of those things you will hopefully never need, but priceless when you do.