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-Leave your clean water tank full, not empty. When you come home from the sewer dump, drop a capful of bleach into the fill spout and fill 'er up with fresh water. This ensures that your total surface area of the water is only at the top of the fill cap, instead of the entire cross section of your clean water tank. The bleach won't harm you but it will ward off bacteria growth and eliminate odor. Plus, one less thing to worry about when you get ready for the next trip.
-Just before the step above, add your blackwater tank conditioner and run the toilet for a minute or two so there's lots of liquid in there. (This is after you've drained the blackwater tank, cleaned the hoses, and put everything away.) This will also help contain the smells. (You're adding the blackwater conditioner into the toilet, not your fresh water! Haha.)
-Sweep and mop the trailer floor like it's your kitchen. Your resale value will thank you for it.
The Shop
I noticed a lot of the comments about rot, water damage and complaints about crap build quality are from you guys that live back east.
Just curious - Do any of you guys cover your RVs?
Biggest worry here in CA is sun damage on roofs, which can then lead to leaks and other issues. I bought a nice cover for mine after seeing how my dads Class A RV (2008 model) still looks and works like new. He covers it religiously.
- Buy a one or two year old unit if you can. Depreciation on them is as bad as 250 4-stroke. I bought ours that was 2 years old from a guy who only used it 3 times (still had clear protective tape on fridge and thermostat) for half of what retail was.
-As many have mentioned on here, water is the enemy...so the rubber covered roofs need cleaned periodically and also inspected for dried out calk and tears. I check mine twice a year, and you can buy $6 tube of RV roof calk to fix almost all leaks that occur.
-Purchase units with aluminum frame structures vs. wood. Especially if you plan on keeping it for many years.
- Youtube is a great source to learn how to winterize, maintain and repair many common things that happen to RVs.
-The sensor lights that show you how full your black, grey and fresh water tanks are hardly ever work properly! As you use your RV more and more, you will not even need to rely on them to figure out what your normal usage and tank levels are.
-Having a separate garage area is a big plus, but most tow behinds with this option are in that 36' range. There are many options out there that you can still pull with a 1/2 ton truck. I have a 36' and pulled it with my Ford Raptor for the first year, but the soft Fox suspension allowed for a lot of "porpoising" movement with a trailer that long, so I sucked up and pull it now with a Ford F250 Super Duty and it pulls it like a boss!
-Enjoy the luxury that they provide, and laugh and wave at your buddies that are still in tents, trucks, vans! Can't tell you how nice it is to leave the track freshly showered and clean!
Hope this helps...and good luck to you. Here is my set up:
On our way to the track.
Family camping!
This is the group that puts on the largest RV show. I've ordered two so far and you get to see the latest and greatest side by side to make a more informed decision.
Pit Row
Lots of good advice here. Watch the roof. Go over the unit 2x a year looking for issues, especially underneath. Watch for frame cracks.
Mike
Open to sell to anyone and I’ll make a great deal on it..
It’s a Wanderer toyhauler
James Moore
214-458-8024
433moore@gmail.com
Buying brand new you're going to take a massive depreciation hit. As has been said in here A LOT of the brand new systems will not work. Test everything before you hook up to the unit and tow it away. AC, hot water, plumbing, the generator, make sure you use everything with the generator running so you can test it under load. Pull down the beds, unfold the tables, the chairs, the pull down stairs. Drop the ramp in the back and put it back up.Turn on the lights, radio, TV, etc. Literally spent a hour or two checking it all.
All of that applies to a used trailer too!
I purchased my first toy hauler used. Took me 6 months of daily looking to find one that I wanted in my price range. Here is what I have learned through my hell of a journey, and $1,000's spent:
BRAKES!! The trailer brakes will be SHOT. Regardless of what the owner says. Anticipate new brake shoes, new magnets. Also, THIS IS IMPORTANT, a lot of trailer brakes do not work because the factories run the electronic brake wiring THROUGH THE AXLES. The axles rotate inside the house and literally skin the brake wiring until its either completely gone, or making contact with the axle housing and creates shorts. In other words, NO TRAILER BRAKES. You'll spent hours and countless wasted $$ trying to figure out why your bakes dont work. The fix is running an external cable above the axles and re-wiring each drums magnet to your external wiring. You need to bypass the factory wiring.
Wheel bearings-first thing you do along with the brakes is have the wheel bearings pulled apart, inspected, replaced, and/or repacked. The previous owner has not done this most likely.
Generator. This is an incredibly important one. WALK AWAY FROM ANY TRAILER WITH A GENERAC. No, dont walk, RUN! Only purchase a trailer with an ONAN. Generac's are terrible generators, parts are difficult to locate, and their service life is awful. Also even if you buy one with an ONAN you need to immediately service it. Have the valves adjusted, change the oil, plug, air filter, all that. Because again the previous owner has neglected it. I had to have my top end on my generator rebuilt with a new head and cylinder and it cost me $1200 total by the time it was all said and done. Completely due to previous owner NEGLECT. (yes it was running when I bought it. but it didnt run for long). Also here is a protip, install an inline fuel filter between the carb and fuel pump in the generator compartment. keep a couple spares handy. You'll be blown away at how much shit is in your fuel tank.
Roof. This has been touched on a lot in here but the roof is most likely in poor shape. Especially the rubber roof's. Before you by find a way to get up there and inspect. Ladder, drone, camera on a selfie stick, whatever. Just check it. You'll know as soon as you look it'll be bad.
Tires. Unless those tires are like BRAND NEW, budget buying tires. Load range D/E are the best. Maxxis and Goodyear make the best trailer tires but Ive had separations on both brands. ALWAYS INSPECT BEFORE YOU LOAD AND DRIVE. I like to run my hands over the tires front and back and roll the trailer forward and check again. The separations happen very quickly and if it blows you'll lose an entire panel.
Whatever you buy your toy hauler for, have at least 25% of what you paid for it in a liquid account and dont be shocked when you have to spend that 25% in the first year you own the trailer. They are money pits. They take up a lot of time to load, unload, fill tanks, dump tanks, clean tanks, clean out, etc. It is nice to have your own bathroom,a comfortable bed out of the cold/rain/heat/mosquitos, and a place to shower/cook.
Good luck OP.
I love mine it's the best thing I ever bought wish I bought one sooner.
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