jumped into a new RV

[ArtW]

so here's how this happened
My landlord and his wife were both in hospital a while back, and since my land is a rent to own deal, I had a bit of a panic; if they both passed, I could be tossed off my land by their heirs
so that led me to the fact that my cabin is, duh, not mobile at all, and my old travel trailer is falling apart, as not titled
so i went investigating, and found a lender that would actually work with me
I know, adding to my debt load, not the smartest move, but it's an investment rigth? plus I need better quarters
I looked at vans, put a deposit on a runaway, then realized: I can get an actual RV, live in it, and while it's not exactly 'pullable cross country' with my Ranger, when my land is paid I can easily get a bigger truck
so I found a dealr who would work with me and yesterday I brought home one of these
http://www.rvtrader.com/dealers/Ran...sting/2017-Forest-River-Oasis-18-BH-118620996

Now i gotta clean out the building and call the folks to reclaim it, can't afford it and the RV, but why di I need a fixed, anyway?
BTW, anyone know if being somewhat off level for a couple days will mess up the appliances? don't have the money for levelers ATM, and don't want to overstress the stabilizers
Eventually I'll put it on blocks

 

[ArtW]

Almost forgot, it come with s Zamp hookup, so solar ready

 

[Gunny]

If you can, avoid using the refrigerator until it's within limits, the problems with using when not level are accumulative. Just get some scrap 2x4's and level, cheap and easy.

 

[Headache]

Congrats on the new digs and definitely what Gunny suggested. Maybe you could pick up some scrap hunks(or buy new and cut them) of 2x4, 2x6 or 2x8 and figure out some blocks you can make by sistering the dimensional lumber together. I've used scrap wood before for leveling and never felt bad about it.

 

[cyndi]

Nice! I hope you'll be very happy in it.

"1. First and foremost, the RV must be fairly level for the refrigerator to operate properly. Older RV refrigerators required more precise leveling, but even the newer models need to be close to level for optimum performance. Over time, a cooling unit operated out of level will be permanently damaged.

Traveling with the refrigerator on will not cause problems because the liquids and gases in the cooling unit are constantly moving around. They don’t collect and stay in areas of the cooling unit like they can in a stationary, out of level refrigerator."

 

[squatting dog2]

handy read right here. skip down to section C. most important info about leveling.

http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/operating/2652operation.pdf

 

[Txjaybird]

 That is a really nice looking unit and it has a solar hook up too!    Congratulations, from myself and Queenie   . 

  I know what you mean re: land could ""disappear".  Several months ago my niece & her hubby bought a rent to own house in FL.  Then the house went into foreclosure, they had to move and forget amount getting back the $$$ each month that weresupposed  to go into a "down payment" account.  Me I think it would have taken dy-no-mite to get me outta there! I'm contrary that way.

I have used scrap wood to level and when I had them flat concrete pavers as footers then various thicknesses of wood to level things out on top of the pavers.

Jewellann

 

[rvpopeye]

Cruise local construction sites and ask for scraps....

 

[BradKW]

Looks great! Hope you post some pics to give us a tour...if it's just you, I could certainly see some mods to the sleeping setups in the future...

 

[highdesertranger]

Art does this mean we will see you at RTR? highdesertranger

 

[Dennis]

Snug looking setup, Art! That will look good behind the bigger truck when you get one.

 

[StarEcho]

That layout is exactly the same as mine! I would look at that zamp hookup though. Does that have a charge controller for it, or is it just hooked up to the battery? I remember looking at that a while back and deciding it was more hype than substance at the time. Maybe things have changed though. Anyway congratulations! Re the fridge, though, the street in front of my house is on a slant so I'm never level when I park it in front to pack/unpack/work on it. And if I'm going somewhere I usually drag an extension cord out from the house, plug it in and turn the fridge on to cool it down the day or two before I plan to leave. I think for a few days at the most it would be fine, but then it really should be level.

 

[jimindenver]

Looks great Art. Those bunks hold soooo much stuff too.

Did you get a WDH and sway bar? Even if your truck doesn't need it, it is a good thing to have.

I have two 2x8 (or 10's) one a bit shorter than the other and beveled on the ends for leveling the trailer. Add to that eight of the yellow leveling pads that can be stacked for the right height. Boondocking doesn't always give the easy spot to park in, it can take some lumber at times. (they also make little bridges)

With modern rigs level means comfortably so, not perfect.

Probably the biggest waste of money is RV toilet paper. I have six rolls that some day I will use as April fools jokes because they poof on contact. Regular TP works fine if you are actually using the black tank. I bag my toilet and have twice the grey water capacity.

A set of mirror extensions are worth the money.

I have had a number of trailers over the years and each truck/trailer combo has it's own personality especially when backing it up. I take them down to the local box store at night and spend some time getting use to the combo before I have to. Most people are worried about getting into a spot but getting comfortable backing all the way around the lot each way will serve you better. I have had to back up a hill, around a curve on two ruts, it's a lot harder than getting into a spot.

On the solar ready part, find out what gauge the wire is before installing anything.

LED lights are a few bucks each if it doesn't have them. They save a lot of power. If nothing else replace the lights you use the most. My bunks still have incandescent bulbs.

 

[ArtW]

Thanks everyone!
I actually have a fair bit of lumber here, from various projects, and had thought of that, too, gotta change my hitch ball back to the 2" before I tug the trailer around any
Also will likely get a bottle jack (broke my floor jack getting the 'gost trailer' off my land a while back and put the trailer on blocks, much more steble than the levelers, but still, putting some wood between the ground and the tires souns like a good idea

the fridge seems to be working OK for now, but turned it of this morning to let things settl before I fetch stuff in to level it (wouldn't you know my fool level has disappeared?)

Star Echo, it looks like Zamp solar panels have built in charge controlers (might make them expensive)
heres what I found with a quick search
http://www.forestriverinc.com/brochures/2014/2014zampsolarinfo.pdf
I'll read the stuff with the owner's package soon, get a better idea what i have in there

Jim, I don't have one of those as of yet, nor a brake controller, I borrowed my Boss's F250 to tow the shasta home from the dealership (who taught me to use it there while they did my walk through)
Lol at the camping paper, I had heard that about it, never used the stuff
Mirror extensions are on the list of wants, too
Thanks for the advise re practice with the trailer, you are so right, and taking it to a lot for a 'back around' never occurred to me
I believe the lights are LED, though I couldn't swear to it, I guess I'll find out if and when they need replacing, lol, I don't really use lights a whole lot
as far as the Zamp hookup, I guess I'll have to do some investigating

 

[ArtW]

HDR, it's still up in the air
these are me options re the RTR
1 Tow my new home 2500 miles round trip with my Ranger. While I love this idea in a way, I'm a bit leary, dragging a 3163 lb (dry) RV with my little Ranger might be a bit of a strain on it (my tow rating is 400lb)

2 get the 'escape pod' legal and drag it up there much easier on the truck, and while less comfortable, doable if I bring a bucket and canned food

3 rent a UHaul trailer near Q and use it, less strain on the truck, slightly bigger strain on the wallet, LOL

4 just sleep in the camper top of the Ranger Least comfortable, especially if it's cold

I don't know what sort of elevation changes I might be looking at, gotta research that, and how flat the journey might be, looks like a straight shot up I 10 the whole way

Anyone made that drive? comments on hills / mountains? I'd rather not strain the ranger too much

 

[wagoneer]

Ranger is a tough little truck but IMHO underpowered for even a 18ft. TT It looks like a nice little trailer, enjoy your new home. And yes get load leveling/ sway control hitch easy to install and you will learn the best settings quickly.

 

[jimindenver]

What we have done with the fridge is either turn it on a day early when we know we are going or with the last minute trips we stuff a few frozen jugs of water in it while we go shopping. Those jugs help it cool down and keep the food cold while the fridge catches up. As they melt they are ice water for us to drink.

 

[ArtW]

yeah Wagoneer I'd trust it for short flatland trips but I don't think towing it to Q would be the best notion with the ranger
maybe I'll have the escape pod usable by then
If I really wanted to be silly I'd ride the scooter up, pay someone with a tow hitch to pull a UHaul out there for me and back, and then ride home again

Honestly the escape pod doesn't need that much to become legal, attach fenders, let theft division look at it, pay the fees

Jim I wish I'd left it on, the guy at the RV place said it wasn't tilted enough to matter
I got it a bit more level today, then the block under the left tire must have sank a bit
still better than it was I think, I can feel the tilt, but my bullseye level says it's not real bad
maybe I can do better tommorrow
It'll still be a cargo trailer, not a camper, but i can pull it with the ranger

 

[jimindenver]

As long as it serves your needs, who cares what it is called. I almost bought a truck tent for our 4x4 pickup. That and a pickup trailer with a cap and a flipped axle for storage and I could have camped places few will see.

 

[highdesertranger]

Art as long as you are coming to RTR it doesn't matter what you bring. there will be people there in every type of set up. highdesertranger