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Old 01-16-2011, 09:11 PM   #1
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Our maiden voyage completed

We FINALLY got out for the maiden voyage in our “new to us” Casita. This was just intended to be a short overnighter, just kind of a shake down trip to see if we would have any problems. Plan was to leave the house by 9:00am on Saturday and return home on Sunday. As I was filling the trailer with a few gallons of fresh water our 1st problem came up. When I flipped the hot water heater bypass valve to not bypass the heater and noticed water leaking from the little lever itself. It was more than just a drip. This wasn’t good. Luckily I live within a 12 minute drive to Camping World……so off I go. Got back from CW with the new valve and we’re not going to make out 9:00am departure, as its now 10:00am. Got the new valve installed with no trouble, so now we continue to pack for the overnighter. Hum…don’t forget anything.

We’re off…….. OUR 1st camping trip with a REAL trailer. LOL.. It’s a few hours later (noon) than we would have liked, but we’re not going far, so all is good. We arrived to our campsite about 1 hour after leaving home (told you it wasn’t far). We are at “Tortilla Flat” Campground for our indoctrination to Casita living. We got all set up with very little trouble. I did have some problems getting the water heater to go, but we finally got it. I have some water heater questions, but will save those for another topic.

We found this campground to be very nice. The campsite was really flat, but I think I will get some of those colored blocks to put under the tire if needed for leveling. The camp host came by a while after we got there to make sure everything was ok. Nice guy. There was quite a few other campers and trailers there but still many open spots too. They have water and sewer at each site, but no electric. We did use the water, but didn’t hook up the sewer, figured we would dump the tanks later. We were in the lower loop of the campground and had a nice view from our campsite.

Also on this trip we thought we would try out “geocaching” . Its kind of a treasure seeking game using a gps. I got the coordinates off the internet of a couple treasures that were hidden in the area. After camp was set up, we headed out to find that hidden treasure. We walked about a mile in some rough terrain and finally gave up for the night as we felt it was getting to close to dark. We saw the error of our way and decided we would try a different approach toward finding the same treasure in the morning.

When we got back to the trailer I thought…. Yes, its happy hour!! Whoooo hoo! After a hike like that, could use a beer. “Hey honey will you grab me a beer out of the fridge…….please?” Jodi replied “ umm, I didn’t pack any beer!” “Oh ok” I said, “how about a wine cooler” (she would never forget those!).. … “Umm, sorry I didn’t pack any wine coolers.” “Ah, what do we have for happy hour?”… “Nothing” So we made the short drive over to Tortilla Flat general store and bought an expensive 6 pack. We’re not big drinkers, but we did enjoy the beer while taking in all the excitement of our day. Life is good!

I have a digital volt meter plugged into the 12volt outlet for the tv. I watched it closely to see how our battery was doing because we didn‘t have shore power. When we arrived it was 12.9volts. We played Yatzee with 1 light for a couple hours. We didn’t use more than 1 light at a time all night. In the evening we turned the furnace on and set it at a fairly low setting. The temps were not to cold, it was 47 deg when we went to bed about 9:30pm. I awoke at midnight and looked at the outside temp gauge and was surprised to see it was now 55 deg outside. In the morning it was 51 deg outside and 65 inside. The furnace kicked on a few times during the night. The volt meter was still reading 12.6 volts this morning, so all was fine.

Sorry this is getting fairly long…. All in all we had a fantastic time for our first “one nighter” in the Casita. Everything worked just as it should. The campground was nice and clean and friendly. (However one guy a ways away ran his loud generator all day long, shutting it off at 9:00pm sharp). I would return to this campground without hesitation and we will. It’s a great little get away only 1 hour from home with some good areas to walk. We’re making a list of things that we will need to get soon, like an outside stove, a second “zero gravity” chair, some LED lights inside, better pots, pans and just general stuff.

Cant wait till next time.!

Here are some pictures in no particular order
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Old 01-16-2011, 10:29 PM   #2
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What a beautiful view...how cool to have it so close to home.

Anxious for our first shake the nettles out trip, too. We just did an appliance inventory today for our records and to get operations manuals for all.

Thanks for sharing your first trip pix...Have fun.
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Old 01-16-2011, 11:04 PM   #3
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Are you planning to go see the cliff dwellings?
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Old 01-17-2011, 06:53 AM   #4
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Hi: Dale AZ... No beer... No wine, LoL, what else is there.............?
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie
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Old 01-17-2011, 06:59 AM   #5
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Looks at those smiles! I'm jealous, no coats or umbrellas either. Sounds like you had a pretty good first outing too. Now you know why checklists are important.
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Old 01-17-2011, 07:45 AM   #6
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digital volt meter plugged into the 12volt outlet for the tv

Where does a person find one of these? Cost?
I only use a 4 pin trailer connector which does not charge the trailer battery.

Is there a way to use one to moniter the battery voltage in the trailer only? (I only have one outlet in my trailer which is wired to the converter at 110volts )

Does that mean the meter would have to be connected to the battery itself or is there a way to hook it up inside the trailer which would be much more practicle?
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Old 01-17-2011, 09:02 AM   #7
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Where does a person find one of these? Cost?
I only use a 4 pin trailer connector which does not charge the trailer battery.

Is there a way to use one to moniter the battery voltage in the trailer only? (I only have one outlet in my trailer which is wired to the converter at 110volts )

Does that mean the meter would have to be connected to the battery itself or is there a way to hook it up inside the trailer which would be much more practicle?
Mark, here's one example from Amazon at a reasonable price:

Amazon.com: Equus 3721 Battery and Charging System Monitor: Automotive

You just plug it in when you want to see how much power you have left.
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Old 01-17-2011, 09:03 AM   #8
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Sounds like a great first trip! One question... Is it common around that area to have water supplied but no electrical? Many of the campgrounds we look at in the upper midwest are the other way around. Perhaps it's because the water lines would freeze in the winter up here and they're too much trouble.

You have many wonderful days ahead of you in your trailer!
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Old 01-17-2011, 09:08 AM   #9
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BEAUTIFUL photos!! Thanks for sharing them with us!!
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Old 01-17-2011, 09:19 AM   #10
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Are you planning to go see the cliff dwellings?
We didn't see any cliff dwellings? Are there some close to Tortilla Flat? maybe next time.
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Old 01-17-2011, 09:20 AM   #11
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Hi: Dale AZ... No beer... No wine, LoL, what else is there.............?
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie
Ha..ha.. This will make it onto our checklist for next time!
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Old 01-17-2011, 09:23 AM   #12
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Where does a person find one of these? Cost?
I only use a 4 pin trailer connector which does not charge the trailer battery.

Is there a way to use one to moniter the battery voltage in the trailer only? (I only have one outlet in my trailer which is wired to the converter at 110volts )

Does that mean the meter would have to be connected to the battery itself or is there a way to hook it up inside the trailer which would be much more practicle?
Mark, I'm not sure about the Scamps, but in our Casita there is a 12 plug for a TV. We just plugged in a digital volt meter there. Here is the one I use

Prime Products - 12/24 Volt LCD Voltage Meter - 12 Volt Accessories - Camping World
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Old 01-17-2011, 09:28 AM   #13
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Sounds like a great first trip! One question... Is it common around that area to have water supplied but no electrical? Many of the campgrounds we look at in the upper midwest are the other way around. Perhaps it's because the water lines would freeze in the winter up here and they're too much trouble.

You have many wonderful days ahead of you in your trailer!
Hi Kevin,
Hum, someone else will have to answer if that is common around here. This was our 1st campground. This is a national park campground (Tonto National Park). Price was just $6 per day, thats for a "Tonto daily pass". Good for 24 hours.
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Old 01-17-2011, 09:29 AM   #14
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2yax2go & Mary F, thanks for the nice comments.

Dale
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Old 01-17-2011, 09:35 AM   #15
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Looks at those smiles! I'm jealous, no coats or umbrellas either. Sounds like you had a pretty good first outing too. Now you know why checklists are important.
Hey Donna!

Yes we had a very nice first outing. gotcha on the checklist! The weather was the nicest day of the year so far. (ok, we're only 15 days into it.). Good campground for the winter, however we'll have to go a little further north in the summer as this place would be to hot. For that reason this campground is only open Oct 1 - April 30.
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Old 01-17-2011, 06:44 PM   #16
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dale...one day we plan on getting to arizona...your photos are great and help us to see what we can expect....but happy hour is MANDATORY!!!! bet you won't forget next camping trip.
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Old 01-17-2011, 09:14 PM   #17
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dale...one day we plan on getting to arizona...your photos are great and help us to see what we can expect....but happy hour is MANDATORY!!!! bet you won't forget next camping trip.
Thanks Theresa. Arizona has a wide variety of scenery and lots to see. Your right happy hour is on the checklist!
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Old 01-18-2011, 09:29 AM   #18
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here is what you use for single axle trailer for side to side leveling
Amazon.com: BAL R.V. Products Group 28050 Light Trailer Tire Leveler: Automotive
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