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Old 12-14-2020, 04:23 PM   #1
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New Surveyor 19BHLE / First time owner!

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Just purchased a 2021 Surveyor Legend 19BHLE!

First time RV owner. Anxious and excited!

Took quite a while to get it. Apparently these things are in high demand and low supply with everything going on. I live near Sacramento and the closest dealer I could find with the fastest availability was in Salt Lake City... Ordered it in September, they got it in the last week of November. Maiden voyage was a straight 10hr drive from Salt Lake City back to California. Haven’t slept in it, yet, though. Haven’t had any days off of work yet!

Looking forward to actually using it, but I’m still outfitting it with all the necessary supplies, adapters, hoses, bedding, flatware, etc.. etc..
... so many Amazon boxes!!!!
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Old 12-14-2020, 08:24 PM   #2
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Congrats. You have going to make great memories.
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Old 12-14-2020, 11:22 PM   #3
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I can relate to your Amazon boxes. Shopping with your keyboard is so easy and convenient.
Congratulations on your new Surveyor and welcome to the forum!
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Old 12-15-2020, 06:44 AM   #4
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Welcome to the forum and congratulations! Have fun and enjoy from Central NC
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Old 12-15-2020, 07:23 AM   #5
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Welcome to the forum from Winnipeg Manitoba
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Old 12-15-2020, 07:38 AM   #6
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Welcome to the forum and the world of RVing. Congrats on your purchase of a 2021 Surveyor Legend 19BHLE! Enjoy and Later RJD
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Old 12-15-2020, 09:53 AM   #7
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Welcome from Wisconsin. Congrats and enjoy your 2021 Surveyor Legend 19BHLE!
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Old 12-16-2020, 02:00 PM   #8
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Thanks everyone!
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Old 12-16-2020, 02:10 PM   #9
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Welcome from the Northern Shenandoah Valley
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Old 01-23-2021, 09:27 PM   #10
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2021 Surveyor 19BHLE for us as well!

Welcome, and ditto! We're new to the forum and also in December purchased a 2021 Surveyor 19BHLE. We're in the Denver area so first step was to add insulation and get some winter camping in. So far we've only gone to places with electric hookups, so have used a small electric space heater. Getting quotes now for 600w of solar. But it's been good!
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Old 01-23-2021, 10:15 PM   #11
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Welcome to both of you, from a fellow Surveyor owner. We used to live east of Sacramento -lots of good camping in your area.

Our unit is larger (251rks). We made some modifications that you might consider: (1)we added a cut off switch to disconnect the battery. This will prevent lots of stuff in the TT from using your batteries when in storage. (2) we added a voltage meter next to the door switch panel so that we can easily read the health of the batteries and (3) cut an access panel next to the water pump to let warm air get to the pump during the winter. I would also tell you to look at the load range of the tires; I found that the original tires are just barely adequate. We switched to Goodyear Endurance with a higher LR
.......................
Ram 2500 / FR Surveyor 251rks
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Old 01-23-2021, 10:30 PM   #12
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2021 Surveyor 19BHLE for us as well!

Awesome thank you. I was thinking of making a door for easier access to the pump, and your hint about getting heat there is an extra incentive to do it! We are usually in the mountains so its always getting cold. The new solar setup will hopefully take care of the others.

For budget reasons I hope to keep the original tires for a bit, they are D rated and I will check into the load range. Too many things to pay for all at once haha.
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Old 01-24-2021, 12:15 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RMA View Post
Welcome, and ditto! We're new to the forum and also in December purchased a 2021 Surveyor 19BHLE. We're in the Denver area so first step was to add insulation and get some winter camping in. So far we've only gone to places with electric hookups, so have used a small electric space heater. Getting quotes now for 600w of solar. But it's been good!
Congrats. Wish you safe travels and wonderful memories.
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Old 01-24-2021, 02:49 PM   #14
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Welcome aboard! I just placed a $400 RV supply order from the big A! Geeeeez oh Pete! But getting the basics out of the way from all the YT videos I have watched and advice of others.
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Old 01-24-2021, 04:56 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by RMA View Post
Welcome, and ditto! We're new to the forum and also in December purchased a 2021 Surveyor 19BHLE. We're in the Denver area so first step was to add insulation and get some winter camping in. So far we've only gone to places with electric hookups, so have used a small electric space heater. Getting quotes now for 600w of solar. But it's been good!

Awesome, looks great!

Did your unit come with the “arctic package” and the tank heaters? Mine did, but I’d like to add some more insulation, as well. We finally had the chance to take ours out for an actual trip New Years weekend and man that furnace was clicking on every minute or two trying to keep the trailer warm.

I’d like to know some more info on your 600w solar upgrade, too! Are you just adding more panels to the 80w it comes with?

For our NYE trip, we found a place on HipCamp that was a huge private ranch next to the lake that was relatively close to home. It was a great chance to break the trailer in and still be close to home in case of an emergency. No hookups, either, so also a good opportunity to test what we could/couldn’t get away with while dry camping.

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Couple of small things I’ve added to mine so far:

- Amtifo backup camera - Easy install and works great! Make sure you get this adapter and it’ll fit right into the Furrion camera housing. Less than $200 with the adapter!

- Harbor Freight Predator 2000k generator - works great so far. Way cheaper than the Honda 2000k. Was able to top off the batteries, watch TV, and even powered the wife’s hairdryer. Obviously can’t power the microwave or A/C. Found out it also cannot power the small Keurig coffee maker we brought along, so french press for boondocking!

- Hung “over the door” metal shelves on the outside of the bathroom door for pantry items. Had to cut a little notch out of the left side of the frame to fit over the base of the door handle. Used some 3M sticky strips to keep it from swinging/bouncing around instead of screwing it into the door.
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- Added some extra counter space by way of a plastic cutting board, couple of hinges, and one of those expanding shelf rods.
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- Found some “under bed” fabric drawers that fit perfectly inside the storage under the dinette booths. I store my pots/pans and other items in there and the drawers are nice for organizing and the ability to slide it in and out instead of digging around under the bench. The drawers have a clear plastic zip-up top that I just cut off. I also added these battery-powered motion lights inside the storage areas.

- Found these 3M Command Strip shelves that fit perfectly in the space to the right of the bathroom mirror and hold solid.

- I also bought a battery lock bar from https://batteryshackle.com/product/dual-batteryshackle/ because I keep my trailer in a storage facility and it’s just piece of mind. I know anything “locked” on a trailer is really just more of a deterrent than actual protection from thieves.

Also two small things I had to fix right off the bat:
- Check the screws that hold the net for the dog bowls under the kitchen sink. Mine popped out because they were just screwed into the thin paneling instead of the bracing behind it.
- While you’re under the sink, check ALL the screws that hold the sliding brackets for the drawers to the wall. ALL of mine were incredibly loose, some only had 1 screw instead of 2. I know these guys are hustling to get these trailers out, but come on.
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Other than that, I really haven’t had any complaints.

Next trip is Valentine’s day weekend.. full hookups on the beach! Looking forward to it!
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Old 01-24-2021, 05:13 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by debit View Post
Welcome to both of you, from a fellow Surveyor owner. We used to live east of Sacramento -lots of good camping in your area.

Our unit is larger (251rks). We made some modifications that you might consider: (1)we added a cut off switch to disconnect the battery. This will prevent lots of stuff in the TT from using your batteries when in storage. (2) we added a voltage meter next to the door switch panel so that we can easily read the health of the batteries and (3) cut an access panel next to the water pump to let warm air get to the pump during the winter. I would also tell you to look at the load range of the tires; I found that the original tires are just barely adequate. We switched to Goodyear Endurance with a higher LR
.......................
Ram 2500 / FR Surveyor 251rks

Thanks for the info! This is the first trailer I’ve owned, so everyone’s tips are greatly appreciated!

1) Not sure what year your 251rks is, but these new 19bhle’s now come with a battery cutoff switch on the frame near the batteries. Wonder if it’ll be the same across all their newer models?

2) They also come with 80w solar from the factory, which includes a digital meter by the panel switches that shows the voltage going to the batteries. I BELIEVE that’s what the display is showing, I could be wrong.

3) Where is said water pump? From the sound of it, it sounds to me like it’s in the panel next to the shower/under the bathroom closet, but I haven’t tried unscrewing that panel to see what’s behind it yet. That’s a great idea, though!

And thanks for the tip about the tires! I’ll check mine out.
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Old 01-25-2021, 09:47 PM   #17
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@ddrumzz this is fun, we'll have to keep swapping pix!

I'm also in the process of doing something similar to add counter space (will be checking all those screws, thanks for the tip!), and we have looked at that exact command caddy, and we've done some over the door shoe hangers (except over the bunkbed to the right of the ladder). We also converted a shower caddy into kitchen shelves. I'll take some pictures of all that in the daylight and send another post soon.
I'm very intrigued by your $200 backup camera. I'll be checking that out.

We do have the Arctic Package, and we also went out on NYE. But we are in Colorado so it was about 10 degrees that night, and this camper isn't exactly probably made for that. Thus, the camper is winterized so we didn't need the tank heaters (no water - just antifreeze for now!) So we went with hookups and the electric space heater. We tried the furnace for a while, but it would turn off for about ten seconds and then kick right back. Just too cold for that. But the small electric heater kept it toasty! I'll attach here a couple pix of insulation. Went with 1.5 inch in the storage bins, and put a .5 directly under the queen mattress. When it warms up here I'll be adding spray foam insulation as well.
Solar will be a journey - I'll keep you posted. I'm collecting quotes now.
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Old 01-26-2021, 12:19 AM   #18
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@ddrumzz this is fun, we'll have to keep swapping pix!

I'm also in the process of doing something similar to add counter space (will be checking all those screws, thanks for the tip!), and we have looked at that exact command caddy, and we've done some over the door shoe hangers (except over the bunkbed to the right of the ladder). We also converted a shower caddy into kitchen shelves. I'll take some pictures of all that in the daylight and send another post soon.
I'm very intrigued by your $200 backup camera. I'll be checking that out.

We do have the Arctic Package, and we also went out on NYE. But we are in Colorado so it was about 10 degrees that night, and this camper isn't exactly probably made for that. Thus, the camper is winterized so we didn't need the tank heaters (no water - just antifreeze for now!) So we went with hookups and the electric space heater. We tried the furnace for a while, but it would turn off for about ten seconds and then kick right back. Just too cold for that. But the small electric heater kept it toasty! I'll attach here a couple pix of insulation. Went with 1.5 inch in the storage bins, and put a .5 directly under the queen mattress. When it warms up here I'll be adding spray foam insulation as well.
Solar will be a journey - I'll keep you posted. I'm collecting quotes now.

Oh, I like the idea of the shoe organizer next to the ladder. We’ve been trying to think of something for that area.

We’ve been trying to think of ideas for the kitchen shelves, too. I agree, we’ll have to keep pic swapping on ideas. We’re also trying to find some sort of small shelf/basket to put under the switch panel for keys, etc. I also have a simple idea for some “half shelves” in the bathroom wardrobe that I need to make.

And yeah, definitely prefer to be on full hookups and not listen to that furnace! I did purchase a small electric space heater for that reason. Will be using that instead of the furnace for our Valentine’s Day trip.

If I get a chance, I’ll get a shot of the backup camera set up. It’s pretty straight forward, though. It’s less than half the price of the comparable Furrion camera with a 7” monitor. It even has a card slot for “DVR” style recording like a dash cam. I’m sure there’s some image quality or some other differences, but I’m not going to pay over $500 for a backup camera. Also FYI, the camera housing is only powered on when you hook up your vehicle and turn your lights on.

Thanks for the info and pics!
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Old 02-01-2021, 09:55 AM   #19
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New owner & new member

Been lurking the forum for awhile and it helped me make our new purchase of our first RV. Expecting a 2021 19BHLE within a few months.

Now going through the process of getting all the gear for when it arrives. We are very interested in the Anderson WDH system and was wondering if any owners would mind taking a measurement for me. I know the dealer could set me up, but the Anderson is not easily available here in Canada and I like the idea of the lighter WDH.

So thanks in advance,

1. Height from the ground to the TOP of the trailer frame near tongue when level.

2.Vertical width of the trailer frame at the front of the trailer.

Thanks.
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Old 02-01-2021, 06:12 PM   #20
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Been lurking the forum for awhile and it helped me make our new purchase of our first RV. Expecting a 2021 19BHLE within a few months.

Now going through the process of getting all the gear for when it arrives. We are very interested in the Anderson WDH system and was wondering if any owners would mind taking a measurement for me. I know the dealer could set me up, but the Anderson is not easily available here in Canada and I like the idea of the lighter WDH.

So thanks in advance,

1. Height from the ground to the TOP of the trailer frame near tongue when level.

2.Vertical width of the trailer frame at the front of the trailer.

Thanks.

My two cents on the Andersen hitch...

We were actually just having this discussion here at my work between a few travel trailer owners.

I have the Equalizer hitch for my 19BHLE. Last year I rented an R-Pod 195, which was about 300lbs lighter (dry weight) than my current 19BHLE. The R-Pod I rented came with an Andersen hitch.

I found that with the Andersen hitch, the ride felt very “floaty” and boat-like, and the rear of my vehicle still sagged a little more than I expected.

With my Equalizer hitch and my heavier 19BHLE, my ride feels MUCH firmer and the rear of my vehicle barely sags. I originally inquired about the Andersen hitch when I purchased the trailer, but the dealer I bought it from only sold Equalizer hitches. Within 10miles of driving my trailer off the lot, I was already happy I ended up with the Equalizer.

The reason we were having this talk at work today is because my coworker, who owns a 248BHLE (5500lbs dry) has an Andersen hitch and he wants to get rid of it. He has a newer Ford F-150 and he’s having constant issues with the rear sagging and the same “floaty” feeling I experienced when I used an Andersen hitch.

I am actually going to lend him my Equalizer hitch so he can test it out and compare. I’ll let you know what the results are.
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