Contemplating getting a trailer

[52weekbreak]

Not a problem registering in BC until they ask you to pay the sales tax. Remember you have to balance light weight with a lack of structural material. I have spent a considerable amount of time and some money (a couple thousand dollars) redoing and strengthening my fifth wheel. Pretty much completely redid the cabinets as there was practically no structure underneath. I/2 ton towables will be very light on materials inside but you can deal with those as needed. Have you come up with a budget number?

 

[gdhillon]

Ya for sure, I do sometimes wish I had a super duty for some extra length/weight. It will just be me though so I dont for see myself having too many dishes and whatnot.

Budget wise I am coming in a lot lower than Id like, going from a forklift operator at a pulpmill to an entry level position at hydro is a pretty big pay cut. But that being said getting on with hydro is a dream of mine. Today I will be looking at a 1997 21'rustler 5th wheel and a 95 27' prowler bumper pull. The 5th wheel is 6k with a new awning, hitch and new tires, the prowler is 8500 with a wdh receiver set up. Ive seen newer trailers in AB for around 10k but they are quite a ways from me in pg. I start march 1st so I'd ideally like something before next weekend.

On a seperate note I just watched a video on how to flush the black then grey tank on youtube and that seems to be quite the process:


Since id have a permanet sewer hookup would I be able to hook up the sewer connection and just leave the black tank open? Or would that make for 'pyramiding'

 

[Stompin Tom]

Ya for sure, I do sometimes wish I had a super duty for some extra length/weight. It will just be me though so I dont for see myself having too many dishes and whatnot.

Budget wise I am coming in a lot lower than Id like, going from a forklift operator at a pulpmill to an entry level position at hydro is a pretty big pay cut. But that being said getting on with hydro is a dream of mine. Today I will be looking at a 1997 21'rustler 5th wheel and a 95 27' prowler bumper pull. The 5th wheel is 6k with a new awning, hitch and new tires, the prowler is 8500 with a wdh receiver set up. Ive seen newer trailers in AB for around 10k but they are quite a ways from me in pg. I start march 1st so I'd ideally like something before next weekend.

On a seperate note I just watched a video on how to flush the black then grey tank on youtube and that seems to be quite the process:


Since id have a permanet sewer hookup would I be able to hook up the sewer connection and just leave the black tank open? Or would that make for 'pyramiding'

Nope, never leave the back tank "open". You get no liquid to flush out the solids and you end up with a full tank and lots of problems. Close the valve, let some liquid build up and just open the valve a couple times a week.

 

[gdhillon]

Not a problem registering in BC until they ask you to pay the sales tax. Remember you have to balance light weight with a lack of structural material. I have spent a considerable amount of time and some money (a couple thousand dollars) redoing and strengthening my fifth wheel. Pretty much completely redid the cabinets as there was practically no structure underneath. I/2 ton towables will be very light on materials inside but you can deal with those as needed. Have you come up with a budget number?[/QUOTE

I think my dad and I are going to head alberta next week with a list of kijiji adds and see what we can come back with.

 

[gdhillon]

So I found a 2012 coachman catalina santara series 281 bhs, its in good condition. The guy wants 15k, the propane tanks are a little small but I am thinking I could get two bigger ones and get them mounted up. It is in Prince George and it does include a equalizer hitch. Where its parked it has a decent amount of snow on top, would I be okay to drive to the nearest wash bay and get it the some of it melted off?

 

[the_real_wild1]

Don't wash if it is cold. Things freeze. As for the propane bottle you can get a really big tank for it and have someone come to fill it when you need to. Campground shouldn't have an issue with that but I would check with them first.

 

[gdhillon]

One thing to make sure about where you're going to park...are they going to put a meter on the your water and power or is it a flat rate? Some places do install meters and if they put one on the power side, could get pricey. Just a thought...

Would it be ideal for me to have a 30 or 50 amp hookup? The site I am going to offers the 50 for 25$ more, I just asked if they are metered as well but he has not gotten back to me

 

[the_real_wild1]

Depends on what your trailer requires. You need to see if it is a 30amp or 50 amp cord. If 30 no need for the 50. How many prongs on the cord? 3 is 30amp and 50 amp has 4.

 

[zal]

Or run an adapter. Nice thing about the 50 amp is if you're planning on running multitude of appliances at once (toaster, coffee pot, A/C, microwave, furnace) then 50 amp would be better AS LONG as you don't over power what your trailer cord is rated for. IE. running many appliances with a 30 amp cord hooked up to 50 amp power drawing more amps than rated can cause issues.

 

[gdhillon]

Depends on what your trailer requires. You need to see if it is a 30amp or 50 amp cord. If 30 no need for the 50. How many prongs on the cord? 3 is 30amp and 50 amp has 4.

It has 3

 

[gdhillon]

Or run an adapter. Nice thing about the 50 amp is if you're planning on running multitude of appliances at once (toaster, coffee pot, A/C, microwave, furnace) then 50 amp would be better AS LONG as you don't over power what your trailer cord is rated for. IE. running many appliances with a 30 amp cord hooked up to 50 amp power drawing more amps than rated can cause issues.

That makes sense, I was thinking in summer with a/c I'd need more.But the cord is rated for 30 it seems

 

[gdhillon]

So I have a bit of a weird thing going on. The black tank reads 2/3 full. I asked the po about it and he said its probably toilet paper or something on the sensor and he assured me he dumped it at the end of the season. How would i go about cleaning this sensor? Could I shove a hose down the toilet hole and move it around?

 

[the_real_wild1]

Fill with water and dump. They do make wands for them and some trailers are equipped for flushing and will have an inlet you connect a hose to

 

[blubbles]

Typically the false readings are just buildup on the sensors. If you can drive around with 2/3 of a tank in the black water and dumping it seems to work best. Another good tip when random camping if you have leftover fresh water at the end of the weekend to hold the toilet open for a few minutes to dilute things down and help clean the sensors on the drive back.

 

[Absledder]

Never tried it but some guys say dumping a bunch of ice cubes down the toilet before you go down the road helps clean things up too.

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

 

[52weekbreak]

Never tried it but some guys say dumping a bunch of ice cubes down the toilet before you go down the road helps clean things up too.

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

If you still have ice at the end of the weekend to put in your holding tank you aren't drinking enough booze.

Take a 3/8 inch piece of copper tubing at least 18" (preferably 24 to 36") long and gently create a 90 degree bend at one end. Take a hammer and flatten the end of the copper tubing closest to the bend to create a spray. Cut off the end of an old garden hose and insert the non flattened end into the hose and secure it with a pipe clamp. hook a new garden hose to the piece and you now have a wash wand. Shut your water pump off and open the flusher on your toilet. Put the wand down and spend about 5 minutes rinsing all sides of your empty black water tank. This will wash off any stuff hanging on to your level sensors.

 

[gdhillon]

I just used it as a pisser and made sure to hold the flusher down for a bit after each go. Just dumped it and its reading empty now.

I Have an ac unit/heat pump (learning about a heat pump as I go). Do I just turn the dial to red and turn the fan on low or high and it works? I'd like to use this heat pump thing if it works b/c all my receptacles are on one 15 amp circuit and 2 electric heaters going wide open don't allow for use of anything else without popping THE 15A breaker. Right now I have them both on low with my dehumidifier running, but to use my toaster oven or my keurig I have to have both heaters off. I did some googling about the heat pump, all I have really found is that the ambient outside temp has to be around 4c. Will it just blow cold if its 0C outside?

Another issue I have is when I shower I seem to be getting water on the bathroom floor, the shower has a curtain and a mini tub sort of deal. I am about 6' and am thinking this shower is too small for me. How hard would it be to install a sliding glass door setup for my shower?

 

[kingkris06]

piano hinge, plastic sheet , and bungee strap ?

i used one rv shower that water would bounce off my head and go over the shower door ...

 

[gdhillon]

I ended up using a couple spare bottles of body wash on the 2 ends of the shower curtain to get it as close as possible to the wall. I also folded up 2 towels and put them on the floor just in case and had the shower head off in my hand to wash the whole time. Made for a 'weird' shower experience but no water got out so I am happy. If I was to do it again I'd def buy a rv with a bigger shower/a sliding door setup vs the curtain lol.

I now know what you guys mean by buying the biggest rv to live in I could get haha

 

[gdhillon]

I seemed to have developed a little crack in my shower wall. When i push the crack it is soft and the rest of the wall is fairly solid. I will try attaching a picture.

Does this mean I have water damage inside my shower wall?