First Outing in New TM

After years of tent camping, my parents last year gave us their barely-used 2004 TM 2720 (about five times in four years - no kidding). The timing was perfect, as we just had a baby last summer, so were looking for a more "sophisticated" way of camping.

The camper has an AC - probably not a feature we'll use that much in Colorado - my parents, who live in Houston, couldn't figure out why that feature didn't excite us very much.

I spent months lurking on this board, and picked up dozens of invaluable tips - worth the $12 many times over.

We spent a couple of weeks learning the camper, brought it to The Car Show for a pre-season checkup (and, sadly, had to fork out to replace the water pump and upgrade something in the fridge).

We scheduled our first trip close to home, and being Memorial Day weekend, there were no public campground sites with electrical hookups within a few hour drive. So we settled on Meadow Ridge, a National Forest campground adjoining Rampart Reservoir, about an hour from our house. Not the best campground we've stayed at, but that's what we got for waiting too long to book it.

The camper towed like a charm. The Jeep started getting a bit warm, until I remembered to turn off the overdrive.

Setting up was a breeze - we'd practiced it in the driveway a few times. Fortunately, we set up as soon as we arrived, for it started raining about an hour later, and rained solid for the next 20 hours, and for most of the three nights that we were camping. We managed to find a couple of dry spells to build fires, but overall spent far too many hours in the camper, happy not to be in a tent, but with a bored baby!

Thoughts on the TM:

1. I'd purchased new Energizer 6v golf cart batteries from Sam's Club, and after three days, they still showed 12.18 volts, or about half power. That was using the heater, toiler, water pump, and only sparingly using lights. I'm looking into replacing the dinette lights with fluorescent bulbs so we can play cards while the baby is sleeping w/o worrying about the battery.

2. The thermostat was lousy - it stayed on too long, so burned the legs of anyone sitting at the dinette, then cooled down too much before kicking in again. Per the recommendations of posters on this board, I have the Hunter thermostat on order from Amazon.

3. Having indoor plumbing was great! Since it rained every night, using the camper bathroom sure beat the heck out of getting dressed and walking in the rain. No odors/smells, and I have a pretty sensitive nose, so I give the Thetford an A+. By the end of our trip, the toilet was essentially full - I'll use a couple of ideas I saw here to extend its life, by only charging it initally with about 2.5 gals rather than 3, and draining it into the black water pipe to squeeze an extra gallon. Oh, and it's a pity that the hard wall doesn't mean soundproof!!

4. The 20-gallon freshwater tank is inadequate. Even with using water carefully (no showers!), we twice topped it up by hoisting our 7-gallon container. That was heavy, so again, per the suggestions on this board, have a bilge pump on order.

5. The 30-gallon holding tank was also a bit small for three full days, but easily solved by purchasing a tote.

6. There was a small leak in the front bunk ceiling - fortunately, we weren't using that bunk so put a dish pan under it. We'll get that fixed before our next outing. Also the rain leaked down between the awning and the TM right next to the door - that's also on the list to fix.

7. We received a few comments from people who'd never seen a TM, primarily from those in traditional tent pop-ups who were envious of the TM's features, and ease of setting up/taking down.

We have three more outings scheduled already for this summer, and are looking forward to many more trips in this great camper.

Cheers, Carl.

Originally Posted by Carl314

2. The thermostat was lousy - it stayed on too long, so burned the legs of anyone sitting at the dinette, then cooled down too much before kicking in again. Per the recommendations of posters on this board, I have the Hunter thermostat on order from Amazon.

For the same reasons as you, I just replaced the standard thermostat with a Hunter thermostat. Installation, based on information in recent threads, went without a hitch. Having digital accuracy is very helpful, but the location of the thermostat makes it less sensitive to real temperature changes in the TM. I think that the cabinet on which it is mounted affects (dampens) the temperature sensor. This was unexpected, but understandable. I find that the Hunter's thermostat lags about 2-5 degrees from actual temperature measured on top of the refrigerator cabinet, especially when the TM is either warming or cooling during morning and evening periods.

So, adapting to this reality, I find that if I want to run the heater when the ambient temp is around 55, I have to set the heat temp setting to around 60. I also changed the span to 1 from the factory setting of 2. Apparently the span affects how long the heater runs once triggered. Since it is slow to react, reducing the span should avoid the long runs.

These tests were conducted in my driveway. I will be doing the "field test" during our planned camping trip this weekend. We'll see...

[B_and_D]

You guys really lucked out, what a great way to start camping with the new baby! We had our cabover camper when our kids were babies, and we loved it. I wouldn't want to be in it with a couple of restless 3 - 6 year olds when it was raining, though. The one time we spent in our TM during a heavy 12 hour rainstorm in Yosemite when my son was about 12 was bad enough (spoiled California campers, here ). We had no hookups and he wanted to go running around in the rain (note for the list, bring more extra clothes). Welcome to the TM board & have lots of fun camping with your new family! Keep us posted with your adventures!

D

[Bill]

Carl and Virgil -

I think you'll like your Hunter thermostats.

There used to be a tutorial here on the board about how to adjust the span (preheat) of the stock thermostat. Apparently it disappeared in the board makeover in 2002, but here is a picture from that thread. The arrow points to the span adjustment - rotate the little arm clockwise (upward) for more "span", and reduced temperature extremes.

http://tmphotos.org/modules/xoopsgal...?g2_itemId=192

Bill

Can someone give me the specs (i.e. model #) of the Hunter thermostat? Is it only available on amazon or could I pick one up at Home Depot or Lowes? This sounds like a reasonably easy and beneficial mod.

Carl - welcome to the forum and to the community of TM owners! I know you will find the TM to be a great upgrade from a tent. We moved up from a popup and the difference is wonderful.

I'd like to recommend you check in to the Mile High Trailblazers - the TM owners group in Colorado. If you'll send me a PM I'll get you some information. We have the most active group in the country - with a campout each month from April to October. No one makes every one of them, but it is nice to have multiple options.

I live in Monument so maybe we'll run into you around the front range sometime. We are always on the lookout for other TM owners. We camp with a group from our church that includes 3 other TM owners!

Alan

[commodor47]

Originally Posted by Al-n-Sue

Can someone give me the specs (i.e. model #) of the Hunter thermostat? Is it only available on amazon or could I pick one up at Home Depot or Lowes? This sounds like a reasonably easy and beneficial mod.

Hunter Digital Thermostat Model 42999B ($19.95 at Wal-Mart) - that was the price and store where I purchased our unit. I believe they are still available at Wal*Mart for about the same price.

This thread may also be helpful:

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ter+thermostat

Dick

While I didn't have any problem with the standard thermostat, the Hunter does seem to be an excellent modification. The only problem I have had with it is remembering to turn it on!

[mcgyver210]

Originally Posted by Al-n-Sue

Can someone give me the specs (i.e. model #) of the Hunter thermostat? Is it only available on amazon or could I pick one up at Home Depot or Lowes? This sounds like a reasonably easy and beneficial mod.

You can pick up one at Home Depot made by RiteTemp it worked GREAT for our November winter trip. Basicly most any digital thermostat will work that has furnace features, battery & is sized correctly for the location.

The RiteTemp was a breeze to install. I was going to move it to bath wall same as Chip did but it did so well on winter trip it became a less important mod until I get more use to have a better idea it will benefit us enough. I also like the back light, programmability & it is easy to tell if it is off or on IMO

Here is the one we purchased:

Click Here for the RiteTemp Thermostat

I just installed a Rite Temp model 6025 (Home Depot - about $35). This is programmable like many others, but the winning feature for me is a large wheel that sticks out the side that allows you to quickly adjust the current target temperature without having to fiddle with all the small buttons. Installation was a breeze - about 10 minutes with clear instructions for how to hook it up to control heating only. I would thoroughly recommend this model.