Bought a camper for out of town work. Spent our first week in the camper don’t seem to be too bad of a deal. It beats staying in a motel.and a whole lot easier than dealing with trying to rent a house. with the beer virus we’re doing this project and phases. So really don’t want a sign a lease.
New to the camping thing my parents used to camp when I was a kid but that really don’t account for anything.
Is there anything I should be aware of or be looking out for as a new camper?? Anything special I should be doing to maintain the camper?
Always make sure your black tank is 2/3rds or more before dumping. Add a good bit of water to it & a camper chem.
Clean your a/c filters every week or two depending on how much you use it.
Inspect your roof seals & seals around exterior lights ect… leaks is a campers worse enemy.
Make sure your tires are in good shape with no dry rot cracks & keep proper pressure.
Lots of other little things too like winterizing.
Thanks. I think you saved me some problems.
Camper has new tires I checked the roof real good before I bought it. But after reading your post first thing I did was check the filter on the AC. Nasty nasty nasty cleaned it. AC probably blows 50% harder. Went around and checked all the sealant around covers windows and doors. Found the sealant to be bad around the cover or the cable hooks up. Removed it and noticed water intrusion resealed it and reinstalled.Went inside move the recliner to notice staining on the wall. Pulled the carpet loose not rotted . But if it continued it would have. Thanks again that spot would have turned into a major problem after a while
OTC ; ONE THING YOU CAN DO EVERY 2-3 YRS IS TO COOL SEAL THE ENTIRE ROOF AND DRIP RAILS AROUND ROOF OF CAMPER… CAMPERS BEING ALUMINUM THE HEAT/SUN CAUSES THE SEAMS TO EXPAND AND CONTRACT FORMING HAIRLINE CRACKS THAT ALLOW WATER PENETRATION… WATER SEEMS TO GET INTO CAMPERS IN THE LEAST EXPECTED AREAS…
George McDonald
US Navy Seabees,Retired,
MAD, Charleston Chapter
[http://www.militaryappreciationday.org
When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
Also one thing i added to ours to help deal with the summer heat is a window film that helps keep the heat out. I cant remember the brand but will try and find it. It wasn’t very expensive but sure keeps the inside a whole lot cooler. I have a 29" camper and it only has 1 unit, it would not keep up in July and August heat. Also i second the keeping a good eye on the tires.
Frig, keep door shut as much as possible. Also if you can keep the frig exterior hatch out of the sun it will help with keeping it cool.
Windows, tinting them really helps if they aren’t already tinted.
Putting interior covers over any un-needed skylights help.
Putting a smoke colored cover over your roof vent fans help as well. Keeps sun out but also allows you to leave the vent open when stored & not have to worry about rain getting in.
The small things you don’t think about can really help out.
I guess I will be cleaning the condenser coil this weekend. The previous owner or it came like that I’m not sure had put reflective tint on the window.They’re also white reflective covers over the roof vents. The AC does a pretty good job.at the end of the month we’re moving to another spot that has trees. We’re pretty much out in the open right now. Keeping the fridge closed. That’s funny. kids are grown and out of the house.but my wife constantly fusses at me saying I’m worse than the kids about that. Again thank you all tips/ pointers are greatly appreciated.
DON’T KNOW ABOUT FLEX SEAL ; BUT I KNOW COOL SEAL IS EXTREMELY THICK AND SEALS CRACKS BETTER THAN ANYTHING I’VE EVER USED AND GOES ON EASY, BOUT LIKE PAINT . I USE WHITE TO REFLECT THE SUN MAKING THE CAMPER COOLER …
George McDonald
US Navy Seabees,Retired,
MAD, Charleston Chapter
[http://www.militaryappreciationday.org
When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
We’ve been doing the camper thing for a month now. Everything working out well. Was kind of expecting to have some issues. The electric heating element on the hot water heater was burnt out. Replaced it but don’t use it just turn on the gas for a couple minutes and it heats up in minutes. The sensor on the black water tank was stuck. Someone told me to get a blaster and run it in there for a couple minutes. It worked. Was also told should do that occasionally anyway to make sure nothing’s building up in there. Moved to a better spot Sunday with trees . Cook quite a bit on the grill which I don’t mind. I should have done this years ago. Lot easier than dealing with motels or renting a house. I can see us running off occasionally and hiding out.
Second month of the camping adventure. Made a fairly expensive mistake.tree trimmers come around and trimmed up the trees a little bit. Wife rolled up the canopy and rolled it back out. I meant to adjust the slope but forgot about it. Had a hell of a downpour that night. The roller snapped and tore up the canopy also. About 3:00 in the morning I thought a tree had fell on us. Live and learn.what sucks about it the most it will be 30 days minimum before we can get a new one.
Haven’t toasted a marshmallow in 30 years. And now they got the new and improved ones.
Glad you’re enjoying the camping experience. As those who posted above have said already, preventative maintenance goes a long way in extending the life of the camper and preventing failures when you least need them. You’ll learn a lot of helpful tricks just by talking to other folks camping around you, and if you need something the chances are good that somebody has what you’re looking for. One other thing about the water heater, don’t forget to check and/or replace the anode each year. When I winterize at the end of the season I’ll pull that anode to inspect it and drain the water heater tank. I’ll also tape a piece of flexible tubing to the hose of my shop vac and suck out all the sediments that build up in the tank through the anode port. We set up at a campground that had very high water pressure once. When I hooked up the water to the camper it stirred up that sediment and actually stopped up the screen in the kitchen faucet. Only took me about twenty minutes to figure that one out! On that same note, make sure you have at least one pressure regulator on hand and hook it up AT THE SUPPLY FAUCET! NOT at the camper.
If you want to try something different Google “Pie Irons” to try over the grill.
Good Luck!
There's a reason I'm close to the top of the food chain.
'97 HYDRASPORTS 22' OCEAN DC
EVINRUDE 175
18' LOUISIANA CUSTOM
YAMAHA F50
'17 F-250
Pie irons. Didn’t know what that was. Googled that and instantly brought childhood memories back. Got the wife ordering one now. You can make the best grilled cheese sandwich ever.fill them with jelly, peanut butter & jelly ham and cheese . You name it.
Thanks a million.
OTC, something else to try in the pie irons- Take regular store bought biscuits and mash one out flat so it will flip over and cover itself when closed. Take a chunk of cream cheese and a good spoonful of pie filling (apple, blueberry, strawberry) to fill 1 half of the iron, pull the rest of the biscuit over the filling and close it up to cook. The tricky part is making sure the biscuit cooks thru before burning the outside.
Here’s another hack for ya. If you have an electric waffle iron you can cook a cinnamon roll in about 15 seconds once it’s hot. Make sure to spray it down good with non-stick after a couple have cooked. We don’t like cooking inside of the camper when we don’t have to so we look for ways to keep everything outside if possible.
Good looking rig! have fun with it.
There's a reason I'm close to the top of the food chain.
'97 HYDRASPORTS 22' OCEAN DC
EVINRUDE 175
18' LOUISIANA CUSTOM
YAMAHA F50
'17 F-250
Yeah, a couple of times. Just so frustrating dealing with the crowds and jet skis. Fished a few times from our neighborhood dock. Caught a couple of nice striped bass. Looking forward to the fall. I plan on fishing a lot off McClellanville this fall. Its so uncrowded down there, and the shrimping is great.
Impatient went last night to Cabela’s tried to find a pie iron they didn’t have any. Oh well should have the one wife ordered about Wednesday.
The neighborhood just south of the swing bridge. Plantation harbor? A couple years ago fishing the docks and that bridge pulled a 35-in striper from under the bridge.
It’s definitely been crazy how many people on the water. even on the weekdays.going to try to get home next week. make a Georgetown trip. try to get on some tarpon.
I’ve not been on the water maybe 15 times this year. I usually make it on the water nearly a hundred times a year. Even if it’s just a quickie 1 or 2 hour trip after work.
Oh well.
