Salem 31BKIS

[yourguide]

Started raining but the outdoor kitchen has a built in cover. Love it.
It's a small gas grill, but we pulled off dinner for 6 last night and then lunch today. Still have some leftovers

[hos]

FYI, this griddle fits perfectly on the grill. We use it for everything. No flare ups with burgers. Works awesome with the flat side for breakfast (eggs, sausage, bacon).
Has been one of our better add ons for the trailer
Amazon.com: Lodge LDP3 Double Play Reversible Grill/Griddle, 9.5" x 16.75": Kitchen & Dining

[safd18fire]

Well we have our new 31BKIS all set up at our seasonal site. So far we love the layout. The only thing I do not like is the awning is only 13 feet wide. Has anyone replaced their awning with a wider one? I contacted LCI and the roll and fabric is only $400 for a 21 foot awning. All I would have to do is remount the bracket to the other side of the kitchen slide.

[safd18fire]

Just getting the new rig into the site.

[carellifamily]

Very nice

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[yourguide]

Safd18fire, that would be an awesome upgrade. I would love to see it if you go that route.
The outdoor kitchen cover helps with the sun, would you go over that also or just the galley slide ?

[safd18fire]

Originally Posted by yourguide

Safd18fire, that would be an awesome upgrade. I would love to see it if you go that route.
The outdoor kitchen cover helps with the sun, would you go over that also or just the galley slide ?

The 21' would cover over just the galley slide. There is not enough room between the door for the outside kitchen and the end of the camper to install the brackets for the awning. I am just looking for more area under the awning. The current 13' ends right at the edge of the door, that is a terrible situation. Its raining and you can't even go out the door without getting wet. The 21' awning would solve this.

[yourguide]

Sounds great.. Love to see if it works out for you.

And now for something completely different....
I was reading another thread from a totally different model of TT regarding waste tanks and drainage valves.
Our 31BKIS model has a galley grey, a shower/bathroom sink grey and a toilet black tank. With a dedicated galley drain with valve, and a combo drain with the black and grey from the shower/bathroom sink with two valves.

I was wondering if my method during camping would be the best.
Currently I have only one sewer hose that I keep stowed in the rear bumper except for the ends that are in the storage area up front (accessible under the queen bed and outside).
Last time we camped with sewer hookups, I hooked up the galley and left it open the whole time.
When we were ready to leave I moved my hose over to the black/grey and flushed the black tank first, closed the black valve, then flushed the grey tank. So I ended with soapy grey water.. Much nicer to deal with than black water in the hose.

I was wondering if there would be any advantage to combining the grey bathroom and black tanks by adding another valve to the end of the Line with a screw in valve like: http://www.amazon.com/Valterra-T58-T.../dp/B000BGHYJS
And opening them both up?

Would the soapy water mixed with the toilet stuff help keep things cleaner? Or would that be a bad idea?
Also would to get all tanks hooked up at once am I right in thinking I would need 3 drain hoses with a y coupling? Where would I keep them? I don't want to store sewer hoses in the storage area if possible.
Even a dedicated plastic storage container in there would get gross over time.

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions.
Thanks.

[yourguide]

Hey could someone take a picture of the inside of their fridge? I need to see if I have the plastic clip and hose with a cap on it configured right.
I'm only able to get my fridge to 45 degrees.
The milk spoiled on our last trip.... I think something's wrong with my new fridge.
Thanks.



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[Terier]

While you wait for a picture do have the slider closer to the freezer? Moving it in either direction should adjust the temp accordingly (depending on direction).

Also double check that the door is shut completely - listen for the click. I am surprised by how many times I fail to shut the freezer or frig door completely.

Where in the frig are you checking the temp? My top shelf is much colder than the bins.

[yourguide]

I've got it stretched all the way up... It even pulled the little tray that catches the water out a little....
I'm still only getting 45 degrees.. After leaving it closed for two full days.
I've made sure the door is closed also.... The click is very reassuring.
My thermometer is on the top shelf in front of the metal fins.
I took the back off today and see a large piece of wood paneling that's covering all the outside venting accept for the very top. Is that normal?
There's only a small fan in there the size of a computer processor fan... And it was all very hot to the touch.

I don't see the fridge running long enough.... It seems to only run a short time then shut off before it really gets cold.



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[yourguide]

I have a dedicated thread to my troubleshooting, but no responses as of yet: http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ad.php?t=63022





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[carellifamily]

yourguide, I will be glad to take a picture of my fridge for you. I've been MIA from the forums for a while because I'm excited to say we got the transmission problem resolved and have been on lots of trips since our last post (6 total so far!!) My fridge inside actually gets too cold and freezes our milk, eggs, etc. I've tried to adjust that little slider thing down but in my opinion it doesn't seem like it would do much to adjust temp. As far as the outside vents go, ive never taken the covers off yet but will tomorrow and post pics for you if you would like?


My main issue so far has been with leveling. The electronic jacks are a great feature but from my experience so far I think i'd like the independent manual/electronic ones better. We just got home from a site that was way off level and after blocks under wheels, etc. I just couldn't get the jacks right. When they come down in pairs as the front/back do you still block under the lowest side? My experience has been that when they come down they keep going till they hit ground, and if they hit uneven then they lift uneven and mess up the wheel blocking that I just had leveled. Please give me some tips

[yourguide]

You can probably skip the photos, though I am curious where your thermistor is hanging.
I have educated myself on all things refrigerator after the service center keeping my TT For 3 weeks and not even LOOKING at it.
I brought it back home a coupled days ago and have been diagnosing the fridge myself.
I have it nailed down to the control board or electronics somehow. I bypassed the controls and just hooked up the heating element directly and it's already down to 44 degrees within just about 4 hours. It sat at 50-55 the whole day when I didn't bypass the controls.
So Monday I will call another service center... I'm not taking it back to those other guys. The extra miles will hopefully provide me extra service

Regarding your leveling issues... I have been fortunate enough to be on pretty level pads and spots at this point. Though I did have a scary experience trying to fit in a spot where the trees didn't allow my slideouts the necessary space. I tried backing way down in the site, but then the tail end was Hanging so far off the ground that the stabilizer jacks wouldn't touch when extended all the way.
I had two 2x4's and a tri-leveler at the highest notch to make it level left to right.
When I put down the front stabilizers the whole trailer started sliding down the hill sideways.... Only a few inches, but enough to scare me into foolishly trying to "hold" the TT in place with my back pinned against a tree.
That was a dumb move, I could have been really hurt.... The trailer would have stopped at the tree with minimal damage. Guess it was instinct... BAD instinct.
Anyway I got my truck hooked back up ASAP and asked for another spot.
It all worked out better the next time.

I put plastic pads under all the stabilizer jack feet, in my own yard the rear stabilizers are quite uneven, but the idea is to just take the bounce out... By applying very little to each jack once it hits the ground.
They are not "leveling jacks" as I'm sure you were told and I've noticed if I just get em on the ground they help take the bounce out.
I also have x-chocks between the two wheels and I use regular chocks as well now since I had the x-chocks let the trailer slide down the tri-leveler one time.
Perhaps I didn't have then tight enough... But I'm not sure how tight they should be.
Not sure if that qualifies as a tip or not



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[yourguide]

I suppose I have also always reached up under the trailer and leveled the stabilizer legs as they come down since I have yellow plastic pads for them to set on.
They usually hit the ground at close to the same time and the plastic pads also let the feet slide until they are flat.
Maybe I've not experienced what's happening to you?



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[carellifamily]

Sorry for the delay

[yourguide]

Thank you for the pictures... I can see that your thermistor wire has more length than mine... so I pulled some extra through when I was working in the back disconnecting it.
Now it can go all the way to the top like yours.
You mentioned that you were getting frozen food in your fridge... have you tried moving the thermistor down by sliding the white plastic tab that holds it?
So far we have been camping a couple of days and the temps have been acceptable in the fridge.... thats with the thermistor plugged in and everything as it was. Perhaps the act of unplugging and reg-plugging got it working correctly? Or maybe it has something to do with me gently pulling some extra thermistor wire through??
And perhaps it has all really been about the fridge light that doesn't seem to want to shut off. Im thinking that it was putting out quite a lot of heat.