First Time Seasonal Camping ~ Some Questions

[Jenner]

Hi everyone! This is our first year seasonal camping...actually our first time owning a camper of any kind (we used to rent cabins). I have a few questions that I've researched and have seen many conflicting answers. I have a 2012 Keystone Outback 312BH.

Do most people leave their slides out all season? We were told not to but I'm not sure why.

We have an electric awning. Do you bring your awning in every time you leave or do you leave it out and tie it down? We have awning lights so bringing the awning in every time could be a pain.

What do you do when you leave? I've read turn off the water. Anything else?

Lastly (that I can think of right now), we have a Jensen DVD player/radio in the camper. The DVD player does not work. It shows an error message. No sound/no picture. Radio works, TV works (when we can get a channel in). Any ideas?

Okay, one more...any other tips/tricks and ideas?

Thanks everyone! I've found this site to be one of the most helpful!!

[heavynlori]

We leave slides out all season and wash our rig at least twice during summer
We put awning away if it gets nasty and every time we go home
We turn off water when we go home as well as hot water heater and A/C or furnace
We leave propane on in case of power outage so fridge switches automatically

[travyp]

I would second that. If you leave the awning out and it rains heavily it could collapse on you and you wouldn't be there. Everything but fridge is turned off. I will leave my slides out. Pros and cons both ways. Same goes for slide supports. I will not have those either. Did you get up there already or is the camper at your house?

[travyp]

Oh and read through our whole seasonal thread for other tips. Lots of knowledge there.

[Jenner]

The camper is at the campground on a temporary site right now. We have to move it onto our permanent site yet. We bought the camper at the end of the season last year so we only got to use it a few times. Our campground still has a ton of snow!!!

So, if you bring in your awning every time you leave I am assuming you don't use awning lights? Our awning does have something where if it gets a lot of water on it, it automatically tips to one side to dump the water. That won't help with winds though.

[Jenner]

I have read most of the Seasonal Camping thread. I will definitely go through it more though. I am so excited to start camping I am doing all of the reading I can! Especially since I have no clue about what I am doing!

[heavynlori]

Oh do we have lights ?!?! We take them down when we put awning away though - only takes a few minutes for piece of mind 👍. We are in our 11th summer on our seasonal spot - haven't lost an awning yet ....knock wood 😉

[Jenner]

Yeah, I think I would feel more comfortable bringing in the awning....just seemed like a hassle putting the awning lights up and taking them down. Unless we are doing something wrong we have to put clips up to hang the lights (we have the big globe lights). Can I just roll the clips up with the awning or will that damage the awning? The clips we used slid into the edge of the awning and then the lights were clipped on to that.

[heavynlori]

We have canvas holders that slide in awning roller slot and stay in there - we also have the globe lights and we attached the S hook to top of each one and pinched shut so it doesnt fall off and just hook onto canvas hangers then

[heavynlori]

The holders have a metal eyelet to put the end of the S hook into - they are very flexible and can be rolled up with awning - kinda like a flimsy belt material

We use those black binder office clips to hang a windsock or whatever to the valance on the awning - those clips work great

[Jenner]

Oh okay! So the canvas holders stay in the roller slot then, correct? Where did you buy those? Then you have S hooks on the lights themselves that actually stay on the lights when you take them down. That I could manage! I was picturing myself sliding those darn hooks in and out every time we used the awning!

[heavynlori]

Originally Posted by Jenner

Oh okay! So the canvas holders stay in the roller slot then, correct? Where did you buy those? Then you have S hooks on the lights themselves that actually stay on the lights when you take them down. That I could manage! I was picturing myself sliding those darn hooks in and out every time we used the awning!

Yes the canvas things stay in slot - got them on Ebay and most rv places sell them too - yes the S Hook stays on light then - quick and easy

[Jenner]

Great idea!!! I would have never thought of the black binder clips. See, now these are tips I can use!! Thank you!

Where did you buy the canvas holders?

[Jenner]

Originally Posted by heavynlori

Yes the canvas things stay in slot - got them on Ebay and most rv places sell them too - yes the S Hook stays on light then - quick and easy

Thanks bunches!!!!

[heavynlori]

Originally Posted by heavynlori

Yes the canvas things stay in slot - got them on Ebay and most rv places sell them too - yes the S Hook stays on light then - quick and easy

You can also use the soft flexible plastic versions too and leave those in slot too but we think the canvas ones are less likely to leave marks when rolled up....

[Jenner]

Makes sense....I will look for some now!

[Jenner]

I think I found some on Amazon. I tried to post the link but I guess I don't know how. They are called Fabric Party Light Holders. Sound familiar? They look right. Thanks again!!

[Wiscampsin]

We leave our slides out all season too, and wash the rig and roof twice during the season. I also apply some Aerospace 303 to the slide seals after washing it. We pull our awning in if it gets nasty and every time we go home, as you know it can get rather gusty in Wisconsin without much warning. We turn off the water when we go home too. We leave propane on all summer in case of power outage so fridge switches over automatically. We have a 100 lb tank that we rent for $1 a year from a local LP dealer that fills it when empty. You might want to look into a surge protector, Progressive Industries is the brand of choice around here. We leave a roof vent cracked open about an inch when we leave. One other thing we did is park the tires on PT 2x10's but I put some roof shingles between the tires and boards. You'll probably need/want a shed. The Rubbermaid ones from Menards are nice but whatever size you think you need increase it by a couple feet in width and depth. You'll be surprised how much stuff you can accumulate after a couple seasons. Once you get settled post some pics of your site.

[Jenner]

Wiscampsin ~ thanks for posting the link to your pics. I will show them to my husband. Lots of good ideas there. And your camper is absolutely fantastic! All the comforts of home!!!

[MillerTime]

We're gonna be in the same boat as you jenner.
Well we camped the last 2 seasons but are planning on getting a seasonal site next month. We will probably test out our new camper a couple times before going seasonal. Just looking forward to not having to move and settup/teardown all the time.

On the awning light note, we got the camco slide in things from walmart, we used some rope lights in them, and we took them down everytime it got windy or moved. Just takes a couple minutes.
We also hard mounted rope lights to the frame and plugged them to the pedestal with an extension cord. Will probably do it on the new 5er too.

MillerTime- Future Sabre Handler!!