Things we learned on our first trip of the year - our second trip in this particular RV, and the first one where we were or should have been 'fully outfitted.' It was a one night stay-over in a local State Park (William O'Brien, for those in the MN area) with two days of hiking trips. It was intended for fun but also to continue the shake down of our unit and our preparedness for future trips
1) If you want a campfire, you're going to need to bring some matches! A little embarrassing when you are in an RV full of "stuff" and have to borrow a lighter from someone in a tent (we traded some fire starter sticks which they were happy to learn about).
2) The Fantastic Vent fan is going to be critical since the windows on our 2401R don't open much. Even with temps in the 70s, the coach can get quite warm. The vent fan does pull a lot of air through the unit. The issue in the campground is the vent fan pulls in everyone else's (and your) campfire smoke. Need to adjust windows side to side depending on where the smoke and wind are, and that changes over time.
3) 1/3 tank of water is not quite enough for two people for one night and part of two days. Even without shower use, and using water conservatively, a lot of water is used in the RV. Next time we will load in more and dump what's not needed at the end.
4) We should have asked at the entry gate if the dump station was open. Found out when leaving it was not yet open for the season. We didn't realize the park would open without the dump station being open. Water is not on in the park yet, but you also can't dump into the sewer system. Not good, not good at all. We could have used the pit toilets.
5) Yes, it would have been worth driving 15 minutes out of the way to one of the only dump stations in the area that is open year around. Yes, it would.
6) The clear sewer line connector is awesome. I'm glad we got the 90 degree not the 45 degree so it can run right out the bottom hole of the service bay.
7) Adding the front-back and side-side permanently mounted level guides did help expedite leveling in a big way. I brought a long level to help verify this time but now feel we can ditch that.
8) Those Lego-like leveling blocks are nice and easy to use. But being smaller and having an open area underneath (the bottom of the block is open, not solid), they do settle in the ground more than 1x6 or 2x6 blocks of wood we had been using. May need to add an extra inch or so when the ground is not hard.
9) It's a good idea to turn on the propane even if not using it just in case you need heat during the night - it's not worth getting out of bed and going outside in the cold.
10) Don't forget to turn on the refrigerator the day before leaving. It's on the pre-flight checklist, but if you don't start the checklist until departure day, your refrigerator won't be ready.
11) The checklist is worth its weight in gold. No more "did you do x" or "did we forget x"? (other than matches - we didn't look at the camping list!)
12) We really need to check every single cupboard and drawer and make sure everything is latched - assuming it's closed doesn't cut it.
13) We need to pay attention to securing cargo in the basement areas from shifting around. Even leveling blocks shifting around make noise. The more annoying or disturbing noises we can eliminate, the better!
14) The axe (or a hatchet) is critical for firewood because now you have to buy right at or near the park. The large chunks of wood they give you have to be split. People trying to burn the large chunks from scratch are the smoke creators!
15) Don't split firewood near the RV. 'nuff said!
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