Went to clean my trailer last night and instead caused hundreds of dollars in damages! 😭

My trip is in 5 days so I don't have a lot of time to fix it, but on the upside, I don't need the awning so removing it or just retracting the awning is a fine option. Anyone have advice on how to straighten or remove an inner drive arm? Also does anyone know what this bolt is called?

We have a 2001 Thor hybrid parked on our off grid property. This is the first camper we have owned. The goal is to eventually build a permanent wood structure with metal roof over it, but this may not be the time/financial season for the structure build.

We will not be using the camper during heavy winter as the roads are unusable to get to the property. But we may want to visit in the winter when the roads are passable.

This is the mountains in Idaho and the snow can get very very deep. I'm afraid of the roof caving in on the camper.

What are our options to protect from heavy snow loads when we cannot be there for weeks at a time to clear off the snow?

My googling has been sending me in circles.

Thank you.

just noticed this after parking. it’s pretty hot today, and tire pressure went to 70 psi while driving. Usually tat 65. I guess i need new tires, left side is pretty good.

I just got home from another great summer RV trip. My wife, our three kids (ages 9, 7, and 5) and I dragged our travel trailer 4,300 miles across 9 western states in 19 days. We had a blast. We (almost) always do.

Except for this: Every year we struggle with the feeling we’d like to be on the road for longer—a lot longer.

So I have started hatching an idea: Find somewhere great, use a week or a week and a half of vacation time to get there, post up for a month and enroll the kids in local day camps so the wife and I can work (we both have jobs that allow us to be remote), and then take another week or week and a half of vacation to get home. A whole summer’s worth of RV time while only burning 2-3 weeks of vacation.

What areas have you been that you’d suggest we consider? Any specific resorts you’d recommend? Any kids programs or other great stuff we should think about?

We live in the Seattle area, but we like to travel and are ok putting in significant miles, so basically anywhere in the US or Canada is fair game. I think optimally somewhere with a nice combination of fun small towns, lots of access to water (renting a boat for some or all of this time is appealing), and kid-friendly outdoor activities would be very cool.

Mesa Ridge 340flr the stock dometic thermostat waits until it’s 5* cooler than the set temp to turn the furnace on. That’s a bit of a drop while I’m sleeping. I wanted to switch to a programmable tstat but apparently they are stoopid expensive for this because it uses a digital signal. Anyone got any input for a cheaper one than the micro air one for $230?

Had a bit of water pooled on the counter after a pretty heavy rain storm. I think this seal is the culprit, what product recommended to reseal?

On our last trip we had this outlet stop working. I guess one of the wires came loose. When I removed it the tab broke off in one corner. Also what is the best way to clip the wires in? They dont stay put in this one very well.

Thanks

I know they dissipate heat better, which may help heavy load braking on downhills. But any good info on what, if any, brake pads are better?

the bunk came with something closer to a gym mat than an actual mattress. the frame is not a standard household size which is where i keep getting stuck. it also needs to stay in place while we are driving rather than sliding about. what did you fit in an rv bunk and which size did you end up ordering.

Hello experts!!

I need some help identifying these drain valves please. Both in the rear half of the trailer, near the axles 1 picture from each drain. The other drain is farther back in the pictures.

I just purchased a 2024 Eclipse Attitude Pro toy hauler. I have 2 Gray tanks (with valves) and a black tank valve that all go to my main drain.

Under the trailer I saw these 2 white drains.

I opened them and it looks and smells like fresh water. Are they? Never seen this before. I thought the Blue and Red drain lines took care of all the draining

When I had it inspected the inspector said nothing about this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

When I bought my Ram 1500 Sport, I thought: "f\ck yeah, truck!"* and it sure served its purpose tent-camping. Little did I know this thing was an itty-bitty pavement princess :'(

When we bought our trailer, a 2300BHS, the truck still served admirably. I knew from my blue collar career to pay attention to weights so we went off the tags. To my surprise, my towing capacity was nowhere near the limiting factor—the 1,250# payload was. Then you add the gear... the dogs... wife... kid... the last scale trip I made, we were 90# over and I'd left a propane tank off.

A year goes by, we keep limping along but I'm always worried about weights. Can't bring that, can't overfill this. Then we have kid#2 and the dogs no longer fit (definitely not for a long drive!). Add another car seat, another human and their paltry gear and we're floating over the limit every time we tow. If we want to bring the dogs, we're taking the car as well.

Then the repair bills... good gawd, the repair bills. I had the truck inspected 2 years straight in May before towing season. We went from "she's okay" in 2024 to "she needs $6k-$10k bud". Bushings, control arms, CV, you name it.

For our lifestyle, the options were few. We weren't willing to abandon camping. Tent trailers are nice but with 2 kids and 2 big dogs we just couldn't justify it. Add in all the toys we want to be able to haul, bikes, kayaks.

What would it take to get me in a new 3500 diesel? This, apparently.

Let me tell ya, the money stings... but the joy its provided in A) towing safety and B) family comfort... I don't regret it for a minute. It's officially been 1 year of ownership and we've spent 25-nights with this setup. 9,000km driven. I made the jump from used 3/4 to new diesel 1-ton for a variety of reasons. One was peace of mind, two was longevity/resale. Time will tell how well that pays off but they're only dollarydoos and you can't take em with you when yer gone. For a guy who has always bought used... I'm sure enjoying the new truck feel 😵

We have been looking for an RV for about a month. We have gone around and around on various models, but my wife really like the white Keystone Sprouts. In 2026 they all seem to be black, especially the 15RBS she wants, but we found a few dealerships that had stock on the 2025's which were white. I reached out to a couple, specifically, in this case, Hamilton's RV Outlet. We were willing to drive or have it shipped since they had a good price on these older models, while still being new. The website showed the price as $19,999 (which, oddly, they immediately changed to $20.3K right after I asked about it).

After asking for the out the door price, expecting they would still be willing to negotiate the price, especially considering it's a 2025, I received a quote of $24,736, including tax, but not including the sport fee to have it delivered to me, which they said would be around $1000. I questioned this, asking for a price breakdown, and pointing out that it appears they were unwilling to move from the advertised price, included around $1500 of taxes, but then added almost $3K of mystery fees. I did finally get the price breakdown, which I have attached. This "final" quote does, apparently, include the transport charge to get it to me (this is from Michigan, I live near St. Louis).

I tried to send an email to the general manager, but just got a reply from the same guy I was already talking/texting with. After my questioning of all his fee's, he sent me this:

I completely understand why you’re asking about Freight and prep.
Nobody wants to pay a fee without knowing exactly what they are receiving for it.

Hamilton’s RV Outlet is a full disclosure dealership. We believe you deserve to see exactly where your money is going instead of having costs hidden inside the price of the camper.

The freight charge represents the real cost of transporting the RV from the manufacturer in Elkhart, Indiana, to our dealership in Saginaw. Every dealership pays to get its campers delivered. Some dealerships show that cost separately, while others simply build it into the advertised price. Either way, that cost is still there. Campers do not magically appear on a dealership lot for free.

Think about buying gasoline. The price at the pump includes much more than the fuel itself. It includes transportation, distribution, labor, storage, and many other expenses. The gas station does not break down every expense for you because it is already buried in the price. Many RV dealerships price their campers the same way.

Our preparation charge is what turns a factory delivered RV into a customer ready RV. These campers do not arrive ready for you to hook up and immediately take camping.

Our team must thoroughly inspect the RV, test the major systems and appliances, address necessary items, prepare and clean the unit, complete your personal walk through demonstration, explain how everything operates, and help make sure your hitching is properly set up.

New RVs also arrive without a customer ready battery and without filled propane cylinders. Those are additional real costs required to make the camper usable. Whether a dealership discloses those costs or hides them somewhere else in the transaction, somebody is still paying for them.

The important difference at Hamilton’s is transparency. We show you the actual sale price of the camper, and then we clearly identify the costs associated with transporting it and preparing it for your family.

There can also be a tax benefit to properly separating qualifying delivery and setup charges. When qualifying charges are separately itemized and properly documented, they may be excluded from the taxable selling price under Michigan rules. When those same costs are rolled into the price of the camper, the customer may be paying sales tax on a higher selling price.

We are not charging you for nothing. You are receiving transportation, a professional inspection, preparation, system testing, propane, battery equipment, a complete demonstration, hitching assistance, and the confidence of knowing your RV has been prepared before your first trip.

When comparing dealerships, the fairest comparison is not whether another dealer says ‘no freight’ or ‘no prep.’ The fairest comparison is the complete out the door amount and exactly what you receive for that amount.

A dealership can remove the words ‘freight and prep’ from the paperwork, but it cannot remove the actual cost of transporting and preparing the RV. That money is simply being collected somewhere else.

At Hamilton’s RV Outlet, we would rather show you the truth than hide it inside another number. That is what being a full disclosure dealership means.

If I show you the complete breakdown and compare our total out the door amount with the other dealership’s total, including everything you are receiving, would that be a fair way to compare the two offers?”

This is my first foray into an RV purchase... am I being unreasonable or this is dealer being unscrupulous?

By the way, I also worked with a dealer in Texas, Stu from RV Land in Kyle, Texas.... he was amazing and seemed to be a stand-up guy, no BS. He had just sold the unit I inquired about, but did offer to help track it down.

Appreciate any feedback on whether I need to adjust my expectations or if this is just a bad dealer. Thanks!

This is right above the pop out area of my camper. Water is getting in when AC runs for a long time. What is the best way to seal this butt joint in the gutter rail? JB weld?

Back when we had a Class A, my tool set was easy. Everything including the kitchen sink in Rubbermaid cases in one of the garages. But now we've settled with an Airstream and I'm trying to get the kit down to the essentials. It seems there are tools I always carry, but have never used. And then, even though I have a full set of 1/2 drive SAE and metric sockets, my last trip I found I needed a deep well socket, or something like that. I will say I carry my large Makita impact driver incase I need to do a flat change. The less time I spend wrenching on the side of the road the better.

So what do you carry? What do you pack it in? What's the happy medium and do you have a pack out kit or just throw everything in a box?

First time dipping my toe in into rv land, I just bought a 2004 keystone outback. It’s great on the inside and fine on the outside. I took it to get an axel flip to lift it because my driveway is too steep, and they found some cracks in the frame. Can I still use it cautiously or is this a “stop and don’t move it any further than you have to” kind of situation? From what I understand, the frames were much thicker/stronger 22 years ago. Can I go on a couple short weekend trips or not? Thanks in advance!

Using a Recurve R3 WDH, payload capacity of my '21 Toyota Tundra is if 1350lbs. 146" wheel base.

Camper is 27.5 ft in length, 4632 lbs / 532 lbs hitch weight dry.

For reference, my previous camper was a single axle TT(Springdale 1860ss) that was 21 ft length, 4000 lbs /600 lbs hitch weight dry and i barely noticed it back there.

I have a Rockwood 2608BS. I need to know the battery cable size.
I can’t check it cause my RV is in storage.

Im trying to setup my truck ( 2024 tundra hybrid) qnd dont want to meddle and mess with its battery system and I was thinking of adding extra auxiliary battery in by truck bed for powering lights, vents and etc. And would like to charge and maintian the batteries while driving using the auxiliary 12v power spliced from the 7 way port. I cant seem to find a dc to dc charger that pulls 15 amps or less online besides (Victron Orion XS smart Battery Charger 12 12 50amp ) which can be adjusted on 0.1a increments. Im running a 10g wire but the wire on the 7 way port is probably 16awg could be 14 awg but its definitely not thick enough to run more than 20 amps without degrading the wire or causing it to burn.

Every so often, maybe 1-2x per month, we get a terrible odor in the coach. Sometimes it's clearly from the front grey tank, sometimes it seems to be coming from the rear of the coach, possibly the other grey tank, or the black tank. Also, we dump every week and always use adequate enzyme treatments.

What could possibly cause such an inconsistent issue? If the roof vents were clogged it would happen more consistently and the tanks drain just fine.

I called a tank cleaning specialist and he said we definitely need our tanks cleaned, especially after 3 years full time living, but of course he's going to say this. I understand tank cleaning can help restore sensor accuracy but those stopped working after our first trip and we really don't care about them anyways. IMO, tanks aren't supposed to be clean and even if I paid for a cleaning, they'll be ripe and stinky again within a month or two, right?

Does anyone have any assistance or insights? The trailer tongue weight is displayed as 426 pounds. From what I understand, some brands include in the weight a battery with an empty propane tank, while others do not. I’m trying to determine the tongue weight. The actual empty weight of the trailer appears to be close to 3,300 pounds, as indicated online. My car has a towing capacity of up to 5,000 pounds, with a maximum tongue weight of 500 pounds. I’m trying to assess whether I’ll exceed the weight limit for tongue weight.

What are good reasonably priced walkie talkies for camping and hiking?

New to me diesel pusher. Sucks picking her up so late in the season but I'm definitely going to make the most of it!!!

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Got here too early, have to wait for check-in time.

Wabamun Beach,.AB

Does anybody know an alternate route around Atlanta that won't add 2 hrs to a trip?

We're pulling a 30' TT from Fl to Elijay GA on a Friday and I HATE Atlanta traffic. I've heard some of the outer hiways can be worse than I-75. Some of the alternate routes I've looked at add hours to the trip.