!st time camper

[schuster]

Will be picking up our r-pod 176 in april 2011. Have been given an hour walkthough by dealer who is 700 miles away from our residence in 2010 when we purchased camper. We left camper in storage 700 miles away. Have forgotten everything. Will be connected with sway bar and having brake controller installed. Never been to a campground and do not understand the how to of connection and usage of utilities offered. We have a converter and furnace, air conditioner, and is self contained. Camper is winterized. Would appreciate any general info on what to do when you arrive at campground. Water, Elec, Heat, Water Heater, Converter, Leveling, Cable, Gray Water, Black Water, Drinking Water, Baterry Usage, Propane Usage, Electric Charging are all areas of concern to me. I was hoping there would be a user manual wth descriptive information for this model but we were not given one by the dealer and the forest river website does not seem to supply one. Would appreciate any help. schuster thanks you in advance.

[MtnGuy]

1st of all, to the forum !!!!

There should be a generalized manual from Forest River that is in your information packet. There should also be separate manuals for the appliacnces, ie microwave, fridge, water,heater, furnace, converter, etc. If you dealer did not provide those, then he needs to get on the ball and get those to you.

Read through the manuals to familiarize yourself with the operations of each item.

Leveling: Level side to side 1st by using wood blocks or Lynx Levelers under the low side, then chock you wheels, unhook, and level front to back with the tongue jack. Lower stabilizer jacks, but not too hard as they are flimsy.

Water: Hook up a dedicated hose (drinking hose) to the hydrant and to your city water connection. I also use a pressure regulator and an inline water filter at the hydrant. Make sure all faucets in the camper are closed before turning on the water. Turn on the water, and then bleed each faucet. The 1st hot water faucet will take some time as you fill up the water heater.

Dumping the waste tanks: Hook up the sewer hose to the dump valve, put the other end into the dump station inlet....make sure you secure that end with your foot, a big rock, or the flip-up cover. Dump the black tanks 1st. I usually drain the line after the tank emptys the best I can by raising the hose at valve and working it towards the dump station inlet. Close the black tank valve, and then do the same with the gray water tank. Close the gray water vavle, again drain the line, remove the hose from the camper fitting, and again drain towards the dump station. Wash down any drips and the sewer hose, store the hose, cap the camper fitting, and you are done. I usually wear disposable vinyl gloves and wash my hands with an alcohol wipe afterwards.

[grhodes50]

First of all, to the forum.

There is quite a lot to learn, but none of it is rocket science. To post all you ask would be just about like writting a manual and the manuals from manufactuers do not go into details. Try searching through this forum for some answers, then post questions on what you can't find or what isn't clear.
I'll try and help get you started.
When arriving at a campsite, lets say full hookups, position your tt where you want it, level your tt side to side using leveling blocks or wood under the tires if need be and use wheel chocks, then unhook from your tv and using your tongue jack level front to rear.
Plug in your electric cord, hook up your water using the city water inlet and then your sewer hose. Leave the dump valves closed until tanks are at least ¾'s full. Dump the black tank first, then the grey.
After your water heater tank has filled, you can turn on the water heater by using electric. There will be a black rocker on/off switch on the water heater itself. You access this on the outside of your tt. If your using gas, slowly open the vavles on your tanks, point the indicator to the tank you want to use, then inside the tt there is a switch with a red light under it. Turn the switch on and the red light will come on and then go off once the heater lights. There probably will be air in the lines and the heater will try to light 3 times, then you'll need to reset and try again. You can help get the air out by turning on the stove until you get gas.
Well, this is sort of a quick lesson. I'm sure you will need to tweak a few procedures here and there. You'll learn as you go. Hopefully this will help get you set up with electric, water (hot and cold) and sewer.

Good luck and happy camping!

[Pawpod]

Before you set your heater on electric, run water out of your hot water tap. This will ensure your heater is full. A few podders have burnt out the electric element from the heater not being full. I don't know if this is for all rv's, but have heard of at least 3 people who have rpods that have done this on their first trip!

[schuster]

I want to thank

mtnguy ,
grhodes50 and
Ourpod
for their replies.

re: !st time camper

I feel a lot more comfortable about the camping experience since getting these timely messages. I have printed these comments and will be ready to go thanks to your help.

Schuster