Accessory advice when purchasing a new trailer

[Mountains2Sea]

Hi everyone, I’m a new guy to RV’s, your group and forums. I have been fascinated the last few hours reading what you all have had to say in response to so many inquiries in this forum. I hope to be the owner of a new Wolf Pack 21WP or 21WP120 in the very near future and have been reviewing the many posts regarding purchasing new and negotiating. There has been some great advise. My question is what additional items can I expect to purchase or negotiate into my purchase price? As an example, my 2002 Duramax is not equipped for trailer brakes so I expect that is one item. What else, sway bar and???? One other question – I saw a comment about canvas covers for slide outs; should the 21WP back slide out bed have one of those? It seems awfully big. Thanks so much......Cheers

[Duckogram]

We were all new kids at one time. Here is my list of stuff for a tag along; Brake Controller - I like the Prodigy P2. Weight Distribution Hitch - Since you will have all your toys on the front deck... I picked the Equal-I-Zer with 4 point sway control. Power tongue jack - You'll wish you had one. I picked the Barker. Dual House Batteries - A pair of 6V marine/golf cart deep cycle numbers will give you plenty of juice. A good cordless drill driver. Doubles for power stabilizer jacks if you don't have em on your new unit. Lithium Ion batts a +. Lumber. To level with. Under the tongue. under the stabilizers & chocks. A good quality water pressure regulator and 2 each 25' potable water hoses. A good quality sewer hose. I suggest 2 each 10'ers. A dump elbow and a rubber seal (required at some campgrounds). A container for the above. A bottle of Clorox and a spray bottle of disinfectant with bleach (Clorox clean-up). For the water spigot and your hands if you go without rubber gloves. A good hitch lock so your wolffie is there when you get back. A fish scale to weigh your propane tanks if you really want to know. A tire pressure monitor system. I picked the TST 507 with flow thru sensors. Saved my bacon. Works on Tow Vehicle also. Septic safe form #1. A level bubble. I used a round one on the tongue jack and a 1 footer to check the fridge. (important for absorption units), OK I'm done. Happy Camping Maybe I'll see you in Drake or Cheyenne Mountain.

Edit: Ooops Forgot the slide out topper. They are mostly vinyl with A&E and Carefree of Colorado being the most common. It will basically keep the outside out when you pull you bedroom in. Otherwise, if it's wet out you will bring the water in. Water in the trailer is not good. Since you only need one and it's under 8' wide your looking at a few hundred bucks. Some folks don't like em cause they are noisy when it's windy. Some folks like the cooler slide out. As with most things, there are pros and cons. Your dealer should know if your unit has the proper backing for mounting one without thrashing if you so desire.

[KMP44]

Welcome to the forum. As far as negotiating- you can go in a lot of directions there, but the most common items are the brake controller and weight distributing hitch and sway control (and installation of those items). From there, dealer installed options - like the slider topper awning you mentioned may be negotiated in. And most dealers will give you a very basic kit with a cheap water hose and sewer hose that are guaranteed to be 6" too short at every campgound. If you plan to camp without hookups, a second battery is also a good item to negotiate in.

There are pros and cons of trying to negotiate those things in or just going for the best price, but its worth at least asking what kind of deal they will give you as a package.

As for what you need to get started - the towing gear is a must. Then you need a few basic items, like wheel chocks hoses and cords. Those basics will get you started. Unless $$ is no object, my suggestion would be start with the basics and take a couple trips. You will quickly find out which extras you want to make your trips more enjoyable.

There are grills, outdoor rugs, chairs, awning lights, surge protectors, winter covers, tools, housewares - the list goes on and on. You can add that stuff as you go, which gives you some experience to decide what things you really want.

We've had fun over the years adding to our gear. Sometimes if we come across something in our travels, we'll pick that up in place of a souvenir like a t-shirts. So a lot of the stuff in the trailer has a story behind it.

[Mountains2Sea]

Wow, thanks for sharing all that experience - there is so much there I'm going to have to try and prioritize it all on a spreadsheet. I have been communicating with 3 dealers today trying to work the the end of year angle. (and dealers, if your watching - you need to get that unit off your lot by the end of the month;-) Anyway, thanks so much and I look foreword to future forums...

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by Mountains2Sea

Wow, thanks for sharing all that experience - there is so much there I'm going to have to try and prioritize it all on a spreadsheet. I have been communicating with 3 dealers today trying to work the the end of year angle. (and dealers, if your watching - you need to get that unit off your lot by the end of the month;-) Anyway, thanks so much and I look foreword to future forums...

Welcome to the forums! I am sure you will find all the info you need - we are a chatty group and always happy to help.

Reading over the other posts, one thing I did not see is mention of your ..ahem...outflow needs

Your Black (Sewer/poo), Gray (Shower & Kitchen) tanks can be your worst enemies. I responded to a thread this morning - this may be of interest to you since you are new:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...tml#post507704

Also, you asked about what you will need to buy as a add on here is my addemdum to the already well annotated lists:

Inexpensive and a absolute must:

Camco 39761 RhinoFLEX 15' RV Sewer Hose Kit with Swivel Fittings : Amazon.com : Automotive

That takes care of the outflow...and for the inflow:

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-40055-Br...mco+water+hose

Amazon.com: Camco 22505 90 Degree Hose Elbow: Automotive

Camco 22743 TastePURE Drinking Water Hose (1/2"ID x 10&#39 : Amazon.com : Automotive

Damn expensive and a absolute must

Progressive Industries EMSPT50C Surge Protector : Amazon.com : Automotive

Really - low voltage can fry your A/C and fridge. High voltage can fry your unit wiring & electronics

You can get cheaper protectors (in the $40-$99 range) that will tell you when low/high voltage occurs - no protection, although some of the units will cut power to your RV when low/high voltage occurs.

What the recommended unit does is monitor power at the camp hookup and when it occurs shut power to the unit until it is within normal limits then delay start power so your A/C will not have a voltage spike it it is running.

You can spend even more on units that have capacitors that stabelize the electricial output to smooth over brownouts & surges... but WOOF they are really expensive!

Again, welcome to the Forums!