3 easy questions - duh

[tkeen]

We camped for the first time this past weekend in our new Rockwood A122S. I have three questions - probably silly questions to long time TT users but here goes:

1. When lowering the four stabilizing jacks, I noticed that when manually cranking them down, they bind up. I would turn the handle 3 or 4 rotations and the washer near the front end would move forward and stop my cranking action. I would then need to reverse the cranking about a 1/2 turn and then could proceed for another 3-4 cranks. Is this common or normal? I haven't purchased a lug socket for my drill yet, but it seems to me that if I was using a drill, I would have to toggle back and forth on the drill direction.

2. Sliding windows ... I understand that this camper is new but we struggled to be able to slide the windows open. The sliding window on the door side of the camper was not able to slide open at all (I didn't want to tug and pull too hard for fear of breaking the plastic handle. Will those windows slide open and closed more easily as they become broken in?

3. Once I screw in the anode to the water heater, is there any reason to remove it except to service or store it? Should I leave it in the water heater when the camper is not being used?

Overall, we had a great first camping experience in this new unit and really enjoyed ourselves.

Any help is much appreciated.

[raspivey]

Originally Posted by tkeen

1. I would then need to reverse the cranking about a 1/2 turn and then could proceed for another 3-4 cranks. Is this common or normal?

Not normal, but not unheard of. You could try greasing the jacks and see if that helps.

2. Will those windows slide open and closed more easily as they become broken in?

Possibly. You could try carefully spraying the rails with a silicone lubricant. Just make sure you don't get it on the walls and wipe any excess.

3. Once I screw in the anode to the water heater, is there any reason to remove it except to service or store it? Should I leave it in the water heater when the camper is not being used?

Depends. You'll get a lot of different answers and opinions on this one. I used to take mine out and drain between trips. Now I just remove it and drain it if I'm not going to be using it for more than two months or if I'm going to winterize it. Mine seems to break down more rapidly (didn't matter if I took it out or not) possibly due to the well water that was going into it.

[ependydad]

For #3 - I wouldn't just take it out and leave it out due to fear of the threads rusting up. I'd just wrap it with a little teflon tape when you reinstall it so it doesn't have to be really tightened up. As for draining after each trip- totally your call.

[loki008]

Originally Posted by tkeen

We camped for the first time this past weekend in our new Rockwood A122S. I have three questions - probably silly questions to long time TT users but here goes:

1. When lowering the four stabilizing jacks, I noticed that when manually cranking them down, they bind up. I would turn the handle 3 or 4 rotations and the washer near the front end would move forward and stop my cranking action. I would then need to reverse the cranking about a 1/2 turn and then could proceed for another 3-4 cranks. Is this common or normal? I haven't purchased a lug socket for my drill yet, but it seems to me that if I was using a drill, I would have to toggle back and forth on the drill direction.

2. Sliding windows ... I understand that this camper is new but we struggled to be able to slide the windows open. The sliding window on the door side of the camper was not able to slide open at all (I didn't want to tug and pull too hard for fear of breaking the plastic handle. Will those windows slide open and closed more easily as they become broken in?

3. Once I screw in the anode to the water heater, is there any reason to remove it except to service or store it? Should I leave it in the water heater when the camper is not being used?

Overall, we had a great first camping experience in this new unit and really enjoyed ourselves.

Any help is much appreciated.

I just got an a122 as well a few weeks ago and noticed the same issues

As for #1 mine was a bit finicky as well at first, after a few times up and down the grease was on the screw and it moved much better. If you are having issues after one or 2 times, i would add a bit of grease to the screw and try raising and lower it and see if that clears the issue up.

#2 again, i have the same issue. Some silicone spray helped a small bit, but its still hard to open. I recommend not pulling on the plastic part, but lift to unlatch it and with the other hand put your hand on the edge as if you are trying to slide the screen over as well, both the screen and window will open but then you can fairly easily close the screen after. Its a bit hard to describe but it does make sense once you figure it out. As for spray, make sure its silicone, and not an oil based lubricant. Oil based products can break down rubber parts such as the seal on the window.

#3 I am personally leaving it in. They seem to be $10-$20 and even if i have to replace it once a year i am not too concerned as its designed as a wear component.

[force]

#1 - occasionally. I grease mine up 1 or 2x per year now, and I also use a drill, which tends to power right through any spots that want to bind up

#2 - not applicable

#3 - I only take mine out at end of year as part of winterizing, and then after draining, I screw it back in just 1 or 2 turns so I'm not leaving a hole a critter could crawl into.

Ependydad makes a good point, but I find rust is unavoidable no matter what you do. When I de-winterize, I wire brush the threads of the rod so they are nice and clean, and I made a tool out of a paint can opener to clean any gunk out of the threads on the water tank side (not really a tool so much as I had to file it down thinner so it would fit between the threads). Just try to avoid pushing an extra gunk into the heater.

And I also use plumbers tape but I'm not sure it works that well...the fitting is so tight most of the tape gets pushed out anyway. You'll also be surprised how hard you have to crank it down to get it to stop leaking.

[tkeen]

Thanks to all of you for the info.

I will (1) grease 'em, (2) spray 'em and (3) leave it in for a while.

[raspivey]

An alternative to putting the anode back in is to teflon tape a plug...I think it's 3/4" and just screw it in a few rounds. That's actually what I do when I leave it out and rust has been minimal.

[rawlus]

Windows being hard to open or close could be related to having one or more stabilizers cranked down too tightly, tweaking or twisting the flexible frame enough that the track the windows slide in is a bit out of alignment.

Not saying that I'd your case, but it is common for new users to try and use the stabilizers to level the camper and/or apply them too tightly to the ground.

In correct use, the stabilizer legs should contact the ground surface firmly, but not so much that it moves the frame at all. Any flexing if the frame introduced by the stabilizers can have an effect on the alignment or operation of any components above it.