Picked up my 2024 2720QB on June 7th

Autosnap · 06-18-2024, 01:39 PM

Hello everyone, I've only ever tent camped so this is VERY new to me!

Like the title says, I got my TM on the 7th from Country Camping Corner in Kings Mountain, NC. My appointment was at 1PM but we didn't get there until just after 2. The traffic on I-40 and I-26 was real... After doing the walk-through (I'm pretty sure I knew more about the specifics than the tech did as they are a new retailer and I'd been creeping this forum and YouTube for weeks) and signing all the papers it was getting late. They were kind enough to give me a hand getting my WD hitch right, even though I didn't buy it from them. Good People!

By the time we got everything ready and I got some pulling tips, as I've never pulled much of anything, It was 5PM. We immediately took north to Bear Den campground off the Blue Ridge Parkway for my planned shakedown trip. I had hoped to be on the road sooner, but beggars can't be choosers.

I was white knuckled all the way, the roads were small and I was stressed. Turns out it was all in my head, I barely noticed the TM (except when I kept glancing to make sure it was still there) LOL I know now after being on even smaller roads on the way home that there was little to be worried about, it follows along nicely and even interstate traffic didn't make it stray.

Anyway, we pulled in at about 8PM. The hosts were great and made a big deal about our maiden voyage, and the help backing in was greatly appreciated! Thank goodness it gets dark so late, we had the whole thing set up and going in no time and before it got too dark I was sitting by a fire.

I'll knock on wood here, but the only thing that happened was a little leak under the kitchen sink. It was the drain and I think it was the first time it had seen hot water. A bit of a tighten and it stopped. Everything else worked swimmingly... After a couple of days there, I got up early to breakdown thinking it might be a beast. Less than an hour and we were on the road... Now I'm really excited!

I do wish the grey water tank was a bit larger. I had to teach my wife and 13y/o some water consumption discipline in preparation for our trip to my home campground in the Smokies at the end of the month. No hookups in the national park and the closest dump station is 6 miles away (the wrong direction from my house).

I'm definitely doing the shower mod (like this weekend), and I'm looking seriously at the thermostat replacement, but I won't need that till it gets cold anyway.

One question I have (If you've read this far, bravo!) Is about some sort of shelf in the back bed. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks for all your knowledge and tips, this does seem like a very nice place to share and learn!

Best,
Autosnap

**Kidkraz** · 06-18-2024, 10:56 PM

Autosnap, welcome to the forum. Is the shelf needed for anything specific? I made a removable shelf for my cpap machine. As you can see its pvc and a small piece of scrap wood I had. It stays against the wall with 3M heavy duty velcro, about 1-2" strips. The legs pop into a larger piece of pvc that had holes/oversized couplings that the leg ends fit into. Nothing pricy or fancy, but it works great. The larger piece is wedged between the mattress and bed frame. I can pull it off and stow it in the bathroom when closing up the camper. The wedged in pvc stays tucked in the bed. I have to give the top of the shelf a good tug to pull it off from the wall, so it does stay inplace thru the night.
I didn't want to screw into the shell wall if it wasn't required. Hope this will give ya an idea. Goodluck. The cpap machine has been replaced, its an old pic.

Autosnap · 06-19-2024, 05:16 AM

Hey Kidkraz, thanks for the welcome and for the tip. This is exactly what we need and why we need it.

Against my suggestion and any medical advice, my wife went without her cpcp. I'd rather it not happen again. Mine is a travel one that requires no water for humidification but she was afraid she'd spill hers or ruin her machine.

This looks like it'll fit the bill perfectly as I too am reluctant to put new holes in the shell if not necessary.

Thanks again!

**Kidkraz** · 06-19-2024, 11:36 AM

I normally run a short extension cord to the outlet next to the stove drawer.
I also use a good amount of command hooks and other items. The shelves or holders with mount brackets, where you can slide the hook, shelf or holder off before closing the camper up is the best. I use a short battery powered twinkle light with darker colored lights in the bathroom. I can see enough, but its dim enough to let me sleep.
If I can suggest, go around and get pictures of all the appliance tags, identification stickers. I even crawled under the camper and got the axle tag.

Larryjb · 06-20-2024, 06:05 PM

Congrats for your new TM.

Regarding towing, I remind myself that if a SEMI can drive on that road, surely I can.

I then take a few minutes to look at where the wheels of the trailer are while driving, and realize I still fit well within the road marks. At this point I see where I am driving. If I am physically sitting just left of the center line, I am probably centered in the lane, and the wheels of the trailer are also centered.

Then I pay attention to what counts: keeping a longer distance between me and the traffic in front of me, scanning beside and behind me, anticipating what is coming up. I always try to have an escape route in mind in case of some one doing something stoopid!

kjfatl · 07-21-2024, 09:07 PM

For the CPAP I use an old-fashioned shoebox. I don't want the CPAP to be above the level of my head since condensation in the air hose would run toward me, instead of back to the machine.

Autosnap · 07-23-2024, 08:18 PM

Larry,

I'm getting better about it, your advice helped my confidence a lot!

Kj,

That is an excellent point... don't need to go drowning... she has a heated hose so there should be less chance of fallout, but when we boondock in the cold, I'll have to figure in the amp draw into my power consumption Calcs...

Thanks again for the advice everyone!

Kidkraz,

I made the shelf very similar to what you did and she loved it! We'll have to watch for raining in the tube when it gets cooler, but for now it improved he sleep so much!

I've never thought about it, because when I was using a cpap with the humidifier camping I'd always turn it off to save battery. Now I have a travel one that uses the wafers...

**Kidkraz** · 07-23-2024, 11:05 PM

Getting a nose full of water sucks, but I wouldn't be able to function the next morning without it. I don't have a travel one, just haul the bedside machine. I have two different power packs depending on how long I'm out. Both packs have served me well out camping and at home with power outages.
I have an Airsense 10 and use the ResMed dc converter when boon docking. Plug it into the 12 plug on a portable power pack, and its whisper quiet. If ya use the ac outlet, the battery pack fan will kick on and off. Draining the battery quicker. The converter has a decent amount of cord too.

majohnor · 08-28-2024, 01:58 AM

Congrats on your new TM, Autosnap! Sounds like your first trip went smoothly overall. Enjoy modifying it to suit your needs. Hope you have many wonderful adventures together!

**ShrimpBurrito** · 08-29-2024, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kidkraz

Getting a nose full of water sucks, but I wouldn't be able to function the next morning without it. I don't have a travel one, just haul the bedside machine. I have two different power packs depending on how long I'm out. Both packs have served me well out camping and at home with power outages.
I have an Airsense 10 and use the ResMed dc converter when boon docking. Plug it into the 12 plug on a portable power pack, and its whisper quiet. If ya use the ac outlet, the battery pack fan will kick on and off. Draining the battery quicker. The converter has a decent amount of cord too.

If you have a DC converter that has a 12v input, why not just connect it into the TM house battery instead of taking a portable power pack? You could even install a cigarette outlet between the door of the cabinet under the bed and the bathroom wall. Just a short run of wire will get you from the receptacle to the DC distribution panel mounted to the bathroom wall.

Dave