Quote:
Originally Posted by YYCBrad
Chris,
We purchased the same trailer, quick question.... Did you get the auto-leveling option?
|
Yes, we did get the four point auto leveling system. So far it has worked great. Kinda amusing to watch it work as it does it's thing for a few minutes.
We've used our trailer on a handful of camping trips so far and are very happy with it. One was a nine day trip to CA and the others were weekend or long weekend trips.
We are using out trailer as much as possible since we bought a Thousand Trails zone pass and we plan to get our money's worth (the more we use it, the better deal it is)! Most likely will not renew as we like State Parks much better but I will say the TT campground in Bend, OR last week was pretty nice (but no state park).
We have a small house and our oldest son is home from college so the trailer is like having an addition added to the house that we can tow! That helped justify the cost.
Things I added:
TPMS to keep an eye on the trailer tire pressure and temperature.
Back up camera added to our Garmin GPS (no drilling the way I mounted it). Attached to an existing rear ladder screw, zip tied cable down the ladder and followed the frame to the front compartment where I hooked it to trailer power (toggle switch turns on camera and TPMS signal booster).
RVLock keyless door lock (even my 8 year old can lock and unlock the trailer without a key now).
Replaced bathroom and bedroom door handles with locking door knobs.
Adjustable water pressure regulator attached to city water inlet on trailer (not on water spigot at campground). Seems to work the same and now it can't be stolen inside the locked compartment.
Electric fireplace looks cool but puts out very little heat so we added a space heater to save on propane when we have hook ups.
MaxxAir II covers on both vents (so I can have the vents open even when it's raining if I choose to).
Motion activated lights in cabinets/closets and lots of containers that my wife added to keep things organized.
A few observations/issues:
Plugged the toilet on the first long trip really bad. Toilet plunger didn't help at all. Almost aborted the trip and returned home. Ended up buying a $9.00 snake and unclogging it that way. We weren't using enough water when flushing and kids were using way too much TP. No issues since then, but I keep the snake on board just in case (or to help a campground neighbor).
Outside kitchen is a waste of space (for us). I may remove it and use the area for storage. Same with the outside refrigerator. Maybe on long trips I'll put it back in but even on the nine day trip we didn't need it.
BBQ attached to the rear bumper is a cheap piece of .... Removed it on day one and it will remain unused and put back on when we get rid of the trailer. We use our Weber instead and it would be great if Forrest River would spend a few more dollars and add a quality bbq.
The bedroom reading lights are super bright. We do not use them because of that. Need to find a way to shield them so they are usable for reading. May try lining them with tin foil that has pin holes (saw that on line somewhere and am hoping it will work).
Not happy with the shower water pressure and an Oxygenics shower head (RV model on Amazon) was worse. I wonder if I ordered the wrong model as I see many people rave about the Oxygenics replacement. It didn't work for us so we are back to the factory one. (I have the water pressure regulator at 50 psi).
The front gray water dump handle is very hard to pull and push back in. Lubrication doesn't help. I may try to fix it myself by removing the underside cover and seeing if the problem is cable routing or something under there. Or at the end of the the camping season, I may have the dealer address it. The black and 2nd gray dump handles work fine.
The tank level indicators are pretty worthless. That was expected but it's still annoying on a new trailer.
After a couple of camping trips I decided to check the smoke detector. It didn't work! I removed the cover and discovered a plastic film on the battery that had to be removed (must keep it from working until the dealer preps the trailer to keep the battery fresh). Anyway, I'm going to add a second and maybe third smoke detector and additional fire extinguishers. I'm not happy with myself for not testing it before the first camping trip.
Ventilation fan in bathroom sometimes makes a terrible grinding noise (we don't use it often anyway). Removing the wire mesh cover and pushing the white plastic fan up on the motor shaft fixes it until it moves again and starts rubbing.
Haven't decided where to mount the toilet paper holder in the bathroom. Still trying to figure that one out but until then, TP stays in the sink cabinet until needed.
Wood trim on the bedroom slide has come loose on the bottom on the bathroom side. It appears a nail (or whatever they used) didn't hold. I may fix it with glue or have the dealer address it.
Kitchen sink seems to turn on while traveling. No problem until we hook up to water at the campsite. We now check it before hooking up but the first time if my wife had not been right there we could have had a mess.
First trip, microwave opened and glass plate ended up on the floor (same with sink cover). We now store both items before traveling. Lucky nothing ended up broken.
The bathroom sink faucet nozzle does not stick out far enough from the back of the sink basin. Only fix is to replace the entire faucet, which I plan to do at some point. Not a huge issue as it works fine, maybe it's just personal preference.
Cheap plastic toilet seat on a porcelain toilet. Easy fix once I find the right one.
Overall we are very very happy with our trailer and plan to keep and use it for many years. The size works (32') for us with a family of four (next year our oldest son will travel to Moab with us so it will be five). No problem towing, maneuvering or backing it into sites.
Chris
Linear Mode
