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Old 01-14-2013, 10:38 AM   #1
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n00bs from Sacramento, CA - '95 Prowler 19'

Alright, so affter years of tent camping with our three little ones (9, 7, 5), we finally decided to move up and get a trailer.

A little background on myself: I am an IT professional, automotive
enthusiast and regualr handyman around the home.
We're about a week into this thing and it has been bittersweet.

We found the Prowler 19LN trailer on CL in Reno (~2 hour drive) and lowballed the asking price down from $3800 to $2900 and he took it! Stoked, our family set out to pick it up. And that's where fun started

Long story short, our original plan of heading up there hooking up the trailer and heading back turned into staying the night and not getting back until 10pm the next day.

First note: We're towing with an '06 Kia Sedona van with a class 3 hitch. Trailer dry weight is 3100# and we can tow 3500# so as long as we don't load it up too much, we're good.

Van needed to be re-wired for a 7 pole connector and a brake controller - we had a flat 4 already installed. Also needed a weight distribution bar. The day we got there was spent gather most the materials we needed. The next day was spent installing the brake controller, 7 pole trailer wiring and weight distribution bar. Also had to get a new battery.

Hook it up at about 4pm and we're good, right? NO! The lighting didn't work right!

A run to autozone nets a lot of frustration and I ended up getting the running lights and brake lights to work by tapping the brake output and a constant power.

Fortunately, we were able to get home before a major storm hit later that night.

At home, we go to hook up the water and BAM! Water heater tank is gushing. So a $350 trip to the local trailer supply nets a new pilot only water tank and we're good to go. Everything else worked fine...for the time being.

We tested it this weekend on our first camping trip to encounter some electrical issues - but that will be saved for another post.

Well, there is the story of my life the last 10 days.
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Old 01-14-2013, 11:00 AM   #2
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First of all HOWDY and WELCOME aboard. Glad you joined us. Sorry to hear of your problems but as most of us have had to contend with they pop up now and then. You'll get plenty of support here when you have a problem and can't get it figured out. Good luck on you future travels and I'm sure you'll get the bug worked out. Good Luck and have a great time.
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Old 01-14-2013, 11:12 AM   #3
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Welcome to IRV2 and the world of RV'ing! We're sure glad you decided to join the bunch here!

Sounds like you got off to a rocky start, but also sounds like you're up to the challenge! Sure hope you can get everything up and running soon so your family can start enjoying the new adventure!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!
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Old 01-14-2013, 11:30 AM   #4
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Thanks for the welcome!

Yeah, a little bit of a rocky start, but I take it as more for me to learn.

I'm researching how the electrical works in these things. I'm pretty decent with home and auto electric work - and this being a hybrid/combination of the two just makes it more interesting/challenging/fun!

We have a huge laundry list of things to do, but when it's done, I'm fully confident that this thing will serve us for years to come.
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Old 01-14-2013, 10:08 PM   #5
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Howdy and welcome to the forum!
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Old 01-15-2013, 04:29 AM   #6
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Welcome to IRV2.


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Old 01-15-2013, 04:40 AM   #7
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Welcome to the group and forum. Sounds like your adventures have already started. I look at anything to do with this lifestyle just memories. The good ones always outweigh the bad ones. So enjoy and have safe trouble free travels.
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Old 01-15-2013, 06:21 AM   #8
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We're in the Sacramento area, too . . . There's a nice park you may have heard of in Plymouth -- 49er RV Park. Very kid friendly, nice spaces, nicely maintained common areas. With kids, you won't want to miss their Halloween celebrations -- SO much fun.
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Old 01-15-2013, 10:55 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by num1dgh View Post
We're in the Sacramento area, too . . . There's a nice park you may have heard of in Plymouth -- 49er RV Park. Very kid friendly, nice spaces, nicely maintained common areas. With kids, you won't want to miss their Halloween celebrations -- SO much fun.
Haven't heard of that one. Nice and close - I'm sure we'll check it out this spring/summer. Thanks for the info!
I'm glad we got this in the winter - get to solve some issues before the good weather hit us!
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Old 01-15-2013, 01:35 PM   #10
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Thought I'd share a pic of our trailer...
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