Any Suggestions for First-Timers' Shakedown?

[Jamesbford]

Such a big deal for us! We've purchased a new '17 26U. We take delivery at the end of March. We plan to camp for a couple days of "shakedown." I've read the owners manual and Newbies Guide to Airstream. I have their checklists and plan to use them.

We plan to spend one night at one campground, then hook up, and travel to another campground for our second night.

You all who are experienced: Is there anything special you find particularly useful for beginners to know about; to do; or to have? For example how do you go about washing dishes and conserving water? When do you start up your refrigerator? Where do you pack heavy items like skillets? Do you put these items in cardboard boxes and keep them on the floor? Do you store heavy items in tow vehicle? Do you use a level? Do you actually bring an air compressor? What size socket is needed for the leveling jacks? (I'm bringing work gloves and knee pads.) What lubricant do you use for awning? Teflon spray? Do you lube the hitch ball often?

I know I can learn the "hard way" by just doing and making mistakes, but perhaps someone with experience can lend some insight to me, an insecure beginner.

Thanks!

Jim Ford
Kensington MD

[AWCHIEF]

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f368...ers-19484.html

[OTRA15]

Welcome to the forum, Jim!

The thread Michael just posted is the top "Sticky" thread in the Member Introductions sub-forum:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f368/

You can scan the list of topics there for similar threads. One common suggestion is to spend the first night or two in the dealer's parking lot, or in a nearby campground. The dealer should be able to recommend one or two nearby.

Have fun!

Peter

PS -- To find other sub-forums which may be of interest, start at the main Forums page, and start clicking various headings to dig down into the wealth of knowledge here:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/

[Al and Missy]

Hello Jim, and congratulations on your new Airstream.

For your Pre-Delivery Inspection - Have someone video it while you focus on hearing everything you can. Get the dealer rep to tell you what to do, but you do it instead of watching the rep do it. Hands on is the best way to learn. Having done it and having a video of you doing it can be very helpful when you forget how to do something on your particular trailer.

I'd suggest spending your first night at the dealer or close to home, if either is possible. That way if you have forgotten something or need something you didn't know you were going to need, it is easy to get.

Here are a few answers to your questions, at least from my perspective.

1. How do you go about washing dishes and conserving water?
The short answer is when we have a sewer connection, we are not particularly concerned with conserving water, at least not in a boondocking sense. The only caveat is you should leave your dump valves closed until the tanks are close to full. That way you will get a good strong flow to push things through the hose. When we don't have a sewer hookup, we are still good for three or four days. This can be stretched in that the first tank problem is likely to be a full gray tank. We have washed dishes in a small basin in the sink and then emptied it into the toilet. If you are camping without connections (boondocking) you will probably run out of fresh water at about the same time your gray tank fills. You can stretch the fresh water by filling from portable jugs if there is a water point nearby. Washing dishes and showers are the main consumers of fresh water and gray water storage. Run the water only when you have to. Take "navy showers" - the shower head has a shutoff button that trickles water to maintain temperature. Wet down, turn it off. Soap up, turn it on and rinse. Repeat for hair. Wash down the shower walls while rinsing.

2. When do you start up your refrigerator?
Usually 12-24 hours before loading up. Put food that needs to be kept cold in your home frig to keep it cold until the trailer frig is down to temperature. Don't fill the trailer fridge with room temperature food and expect the fridge to cool it down as quick as a home fridge. This will take overnight, at least.

3. Where do you pack heavy items like skillets? Do you put these items in cardboard boxes and keep them on the floor? Do you store heavy items in tow vehicle?
Try to keep most heavy stuff low and over the axles. We use the foam dish protectors between pans, but don't box them. We mainly store bulky things in the TV. Our cookware is pretty light except for a dutch oven. I don't follow my own advice here, it is in the rear storage compartment, outside, because it is usually used over a fire and is smoky.

4. Do you use a level?
Absolutely. I have one of the combination levels mounted just under the front window on the road side. I use it to get level side-to-side when getting into the campsite, then use it for front-to-back when unhitching. Front-to-back is critical for the fridge. Side to side is important for you, not to roll out of bed.

5. Do you actually bring an air compressor?
Yes, I have a small 12V one I bought at Harbor freight. I use it for topping off tires when needed, while out for longer periods and even at home. I have used it on the side of the road when I damaged a tire with road debris and hadn't checked my spare before heading out.

6.What size socket is needed for the leveling jacks? (I'm bringing work gloves and knee pads.)
I'm guessing here, but I think I remember someone saying 3/4". The one-piece adapter and a cordless drill makes that task almost painless. You will get a crank with the trailer, though, so unless you are going to use a drill you shouldn't need a socket. You mention work gloves - I carry a box of Nitrile gloves to wear when dumping. After that's done, I peel them off, throw them away, and finish up with hand sanitizer.

7. What lubricant do you use for awning? Teflon spray?
Silicone. The handles available from Airstream that bolt onto the main awning rods are very handy for putting up and taking down the awning if you don't have a power awning.

8. Do you lube the hitch ball often?
I try to remember to do it every time I hook up, but I'm not always successful. Get some high pressure grease at an auto parts store.

It is a continual process to add things to the trailer when you say to yourself "I wish I had brought x", and to leave off things you don't use. After a while you'll settle on what works for you.

Congratulation, and have fun.

Al

[FCStreamer]

These are my answers. Different people will give you different answers. YMMV.

1. Is there anything special you find particularly useful for beginners to know about; to do; or to have?

Walkie talkies. So you and a significant other can talk to each other while you are backing up your trailer.

2. How do you go about washing dishes and conserving water?

We use as little water as possible. Not sure there is another special way to wash dishes.

3. When do you start up your refrigerator?

When we first got the trailer. It has been on ever since.

4. Where do you pack heavy items like skillets?

In the overhead bins.

5. Do you put these items in cardboard boxes and keep them on the floor?

No.

6. Do you store heavy items in tow vehicle?

No.

7. Do you use a level?

Yes.

8. Do you actually bring an air compressor?

Yes. A Ryobi handheld cordless.

9. What size socket is needed for the leveling jacks?

3/4". https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

10. What lubricant do you use for awning?

Bieshield T9

11. Do you lube the hitch ball often?

Yes, every time we go out.

[Len n Jeanne]

We would urge you to spend your first night on your dealer's lot. Preferably on a night when the mechanic will be on duty the next morning. The two AS dealers we've purchased from recommend this, as well. The reason is, that if something malfunctions or you cannot figure out how to get something to work, they're right there to help you the next morning.

With Bambi the First, there was a problem with the furnace blowing fuses (on a cold night in March,) and with Bambi the Second, the entertainment systems were too advanced for our limited knowledge of how to use them. Both problems were quickly solved right on the lot the next morning.

The scenery on the dealer's lot lacks a little something, but the convenience of dealing with hassles makes it a worthwhile first-night experience.

[Jamesbford]

Thank you Al and Missy. I appreciate your thoughts. Clearly the best thing for us is to simply get out there and use the camper. But I'll take your suggestions with us. Jim

[Jamesbford]

Thank you for the info. Jim

[Jamesbford]

Thanks FCStreamer!

[rvb]

We put dish washing soap and water in a spray bottle, which lets us use as little as possible and that results in less rinsing. We catch the wash and rinse water in a plastic bowl that fits in the sink and since the grey tank usually fills up faster than the black we use that to flush the toilet. We grill outside as often as possible and use paper plates if we aren't entertaining which also reduces items to wash.

[VT Wanderer]

For our shakedown we did 2 weekend mini trips. 1st weekend was boondocking. We worked all the systems without any hookups to see what worked without them. We even got our generator going to see how that worked and what could or couldn't be operating. Found that there was not enough Honda 3000 power to operate both the AC and microwave simultaneously. 2nd weekend shakedown was to a full hookup campground to see how all those systems worked. The next week we were on our way for a 12,000 mile trip across the USA and Canada. What a great time!!! Good luck and safe journeys.

[Toasterlife]

What fun, congratulations on the new trailer. I would definitely try to stay within easy reach of the dealer for a couple of nights in case they need to tweak for you. Here are a few of the tips we have learnt over time.

Water
If you are the kind of person who likes parks with full hookups, water is never an issue. We are generally in National Parks or boondocking so water can be a limiting factor. Here are a couple of out tips - we have good plates, but in order to save on water we often line them with paper plates that once used we save for fire starters. If we use the metal plates directly we wipe them down with paper towels before washing them to save water. Then we have a small plastic bucket that we fill with hot soapy water ( we boil a kettle full of water) and wash all the plates with the soapy water and a brush. Then we get another plastic bowl filled with clear water and a squirt of bleach for sanitation and rinse the plates in the dish of clear bleach water - any bleach smell will gas off when dry and everything will be squeaky clean and sterile. with showers we run the cold water into a bucket for other use, we soap up with a sponge with shower gel and rinse off with warm water, we take showers back to back so as not to waste water. If the campground has toilets use theirs as much as is practical to preserve your water.

Refrigerator
Our Domestic works better on electric than gas, especially in warm weather. Always try to cool it initially with electricity if you can. Never overload it (it does not take much to overload). I have a fridge themometer that I added to mine and keep an eye on it at all times. We always pull out the awning on the fridge side to help the fridge in warm weather, even if we are towing and just stopped for lunch or at a supermarket.
If the fridge is struggling a bit block ice in the draw container in the bottom helps. I generally travel with frozen bottles of water filling my freezer. I worked in cold chains for pharma for years and this is the best way to deal with marginal equipment. When the weather is cool such as at night the fridge can freeze the water solid. If the weather is to warm in the day for the fridge to cope well the ice in the freezer will melt a little but contribute to keeping the fridge contents cool. (You would not want to eat food that has been repeatedly frozen and thawed, so use water, salt water if you want to increase the heat coeficient).My first long trip in the summer I pitched $50 worth of shrimp and smoked salmon due to the Domestic not holding temperature while towing across a hot summer Nebraska on our way out west - lesson learned.

Heavy items
We never pack heavy items up high - too much potential damage if they fall out. I'm not certain how much I trust the cabinetry either as we had the lateral pantry end up on the floor once, so I don't put cans in that either. We have 1 cast iron skillet in the back of the pickup, and try to go for aluminium kettle and lighter cookware. In Paris we bought a set of pans with a removable handle, that we can use on the stove-top or oven. We use silicone bowls and lids. We also have aluminium mugs, from Quebec Parks, which we use for everything from coffee to wine. We also have aluminium glasses. light and non-breakable is the way to go. Try to make everything do double duty.

Level
I keep a in the cupboard next to the door. The bubble level on the hitch is just a guide, I level front to back as well as side to side. Easy way to level side to side is to back the trailer just a little beyond where you need, say 1 to 2 feet, then put blocks in the path of the wheels and gently pull the trailer up onto the blocks with the tow vehicle, then level and unhitch as normal.

Handy things to have

A small folding stool. I sit on it while dropping the stabilizing feet. I use a tire iron. It goes quickly when you are sitting down. Also I use it inside as I am not tall enough to see into the upper cabinets.

1 2 step aluminium ladder - handy when dealing with the awnings etc - very handy.
A small zip lock bag to go over the hitch ball will keep the grease off your pant legs, an old sock over the plastic bag will hold it in place and stop it flying off in the breeze or when driving.

We also have rechargeable led lamps that we recharge in the tow vehicle, so as to use the in house batteries as little as possible to extend boondocking days. We have solar but it does not contribute much at all.

On cool days backing a cake will make your trailer smell terrific and warm it up a little without using the furnace that uses a lot of electricity for the fan, only an issue when the site has no power.

if you have a corner bed, then you might want to make a "bumper" out of a windscreen reflector, it is silver like the AS interior and much nicer to roll into at night. Avoids fights as to who get to sleep next to the wall...

Lastly when towing in the summer temperatures will rise. We line all windows with the shiny windscreen reflectors cut to size for each window and labeled. Surprisingly this makes a huge difference. In sunny hot locations we may also use it when leaving the AS on it's own all day especially if we do not want to deploy awnings due to wind.

[369goose]

Particularly useful:
1- spare keys for AS & tow vehicle; flashlights & tow mirrors

2- anything you forgot to pack CAN be purchased along the road or sometimes at camp.

3- heavier items pack over axles or forward (but don't overpack too many heavy items).

4- until your AS is fully stocked pay particular attention to the items you use around your home then buy duplicates for your AS.

5- you will eventually find a time where you will be confident in having all necessary items and will unpack a number of things from your AS that you thought you'd need but didn't.

Happy Camping 🤗

[Al and Missy]

I forgot to mention - an LED headlamp. It is great for hooking up utilities and unhitching if you arrive late like we always seem to do.

I'll echo the comment about walkie talkies. We happen to both be hams so we use our ham radios, but the inexpensive FRS units from WalMart and other places work great. Get the ones that use regular batteries. We thought the rechargeable ones would be great, but they don't like to sit around unused. When the rechargeable batteries died, I threw away the charger and just use alkaline batteries.

Al

[KCCO]

Congratulations on your new Airstream! The toilet - check the toilet! Haha. Seriously though - ours didn't seal properly when it wasn't flushing which caused quite the smell our first weekend.......have some water handy and put it in the bowl and make sure it stays there til you flush it.

Have fun and enjoy all the goofy mistakes you're going to make along the way - it's all part of the fun!

[Betty Farmer]

Wonderful suggestion - one and all. After 65 years of camping, I even picked up a few. Thanks to all. And best wishes on your new venture.

[StrmyWeather]

Congratulations! I think most has been covered. I would add Anderson levelers and chocks. We bought them prior to delivery and I remember setting up that first night thinking: 'that was too easy!'. They really do work well and you need a leveling system.

We keep heavy items stored low. I am just now completing my collection of cooking wares for the trailer and will be storing them in their own container in the truck bed mainly for convenience and because of weight; contains a lot of cast iron: dutch ovens, griddle, skillets... We'll also have other containers in the truck bed for misc trailer parts (extra water hose, planks for stabilizer and jack in soft sand...), gas cooktop, charcoal, grill...

We've put rubbermaid type containers in the external rear storage compartment to hold the extension cord, levelers and chocks, stabilizer handle, level, 25' water hose,... so things won't move around and will be stable.

The more you travel the better you'll get at figuring out what works for you. We keep things to a minimum and only get what we will use. Always travel with your patience and sense of humour. Enjoy!

[Piggy Bank]

Congratulations. Nice choice of trailer.

Here are my quick answers to your questions on what we have found works for us.

Is there anything special you find particularly useful for beginners to know about; to do; or to have?
Daylight! Check the time of sunset in particular where you will be and make sure you arrive well before dark. Don't guess. Easy to look up (google). Especially in spring and fall.

We also like to bring a small $20 fan and a 25 foot outdoor extension cord. Nice to have outside. Moving air helps keep away mosquitos.


For example how do you go about washing dishes and conserving water?

Get a good trash can with a solid bottom and use good quality trash bags that don't tend to leak. Scrape all plates into the trash can and wipe down with a paper towel or napkin. Same with utensils, and pans. Start with no visible food or liquids.

We have a standard size dishpan that we use for toting dirty things inside and outside Put the wiped off dirty dishes in the dish pan. (this is also handy for items during the day. We usually wash dishes after breakfast and dinner, and store up the dirty items used throughout the day.) We have the single tiny sink in the older style 22 sport, so I use a secondary smaller dish pan to make up the hot soapy water. In the sink I put hot rinse water about 1 inch deep. Wash off all items and set aside. Rinse, then put one of those extra large dish dry cloths with the foam in the middle on the counter. This keeps water from pooling on the counter or dripping. Then towel dry and put away.

When do you start up your refrigerator?
We have to store our trailer at a storage place not close to home. So we load up with everything in coolers and then usually just wait until we are at the campground to turn it on. We usually are camping about 90 minutes or so from home so feel that it makes little difference for us. But if you have time before you leave, cool it down on the propane about 12 hours before you want to leave home.

Where do you pack heavy items like skillets? Do you put these items in cardboard boxes and keep them on the floor?

I won't use any cardboard because I feel it can attract bugs and it holds onto dampness. I have a couple of plastic milk crate type of bins that fit under our dinette seats. For your unit, try to figure out the best place to keep things and then find decent quality plastic storage that fits well. They don't need to be ON the floor. A low cabinet is better. You probably don't want things underfoot. I do put a folded up paper towel between the lid and the pan on my cast iron to keep it dry inside. For skillets I have 2 but they are the lighter weight ceramic coated nonstick type. I just have them nested and stacked in a lower cabinet.

Do you store heavy items in tow vehicle?
I store items used in the trailer in the trailer. I store items used outside in the truck bed. I chose my trailer and the storage containers so that I would eliminate the need to drag things in and out to use and put away. For us the heaviest things are things that are used outside. Bikes, generator, large cooler, charcoal, firewood, gas can, 5 gallon water can. I usually keep bottled water when needed in the trailer. As well as unrefrigerated food (I use 2 vintage pic nic baskets that look nice when stacked on the counter, as my trailer is too small to have a pantry.)

Do you use a level?
Yes we have a smaller (8 inch long) bubble level. We use on the hitch for the side to side before we unhitch. Then on top of the refrigerator to get the front to back level after we detach the truck.

Do you actually bring an air compressor?
We bought a Viair 88P on Amazon. It is smaller than a toaster and works very fast. We can also use it for bike tires. Yes it was a total pain to try and fill tires at a gas station before we got it.

What size socket is needed for the leveling jacks?
Not sure I just crank it by hand.

(I'm bringing work gloves and knee pads.)
I found that one of those gardening kneeling cushions is easier to use than knee pads and not as hot.

What lubricant do you use for awning? Teflon spray?
We haven't done that yet, would check what is on the instructions.

Do you lube the hitch ball often?
I use equalizer goop stuff maybe 2 or 3 times a season. Little goes a long way.

[Wolfie321]

I too am a newbie...Picking up my new trailer on Wednesday. As I am inexperienced with AS lifestyle, I wanted to say hello and look forward to reading and learning. The AS is a 27FB and the TV will be a 2012 GMC Yukon XL (4 wheel available) when needed. Anyone see any problems? Thanks, Scott

Thanks for all the great notes!

[PKI]

As many solutions as there are rigs on the road.

Washing Dishes - we us a lot of paper plates and plastic glasses. We use one pan for a lot of meals and reuse glasses/cups.

Storage - The oven works for light items. We use aluminum disposable pans for pot luck dishes. We use plastic bins to hold liquid containers = secondary containment in the event of breakage. We use zip lock bags as a similar solution. We do find the area under the dinette as a place to store heavy items when traveling. Works for tire chains and similar. We pack dishes with tea towels between. We use paper towel rolls as padding too.

We use ice to help precool the freezer and refrigerator. We travel with only enough water to flush the toilet and keep a supply of bottled water for drinking and coffee. We have found expandable curtain style Camco rods to help stabilize goods in the frig and cabinets.

Take wine or other favorite things. Chocolate, ice cream, nuts, and prepared muffins or similar come to mind.

Develop a plan to address solutions for tires, converter (single vs multi-stage), battery isolation from parasitic load in storage, and off grid power (generator or solar).

But most important, use that sucker ..... miles = smiles. Go and do it! Pat