# New Owner Of 23Rs



## hookem (Apr 28, 2011)

I have been lurking around getting pointers and information as my family and I were about to purchase our first travel trailer. We ended up buying a 2007 23RS last Saturday and we are taking it out for the first time this weekend to see how we do. This is our first time with a trailer and I am hoping I do not embarrass myself too bad trying to hook up and everything. I did want to thank whoever started this forum as I did get good information prior to my purchase. No questions for now but I am sure I will have many as I go along. The people who I bought it from gave me their Equal-i-zer W/D hitch set up. It was not set up for my 2003 Z71 Suburban when I brought it home and it sure did drop the back end. I adjusted it and now it works great. Amazon just delivered my new P3 Tekonsha brake controller and GM harness so I hope I am well on my way. The owners also sold me two almost new Honda EU2000is generators with connectors for $500 total.

Again, thanks for the forum and I hope to be posting pictures soon and I look forward to being a new Outbacker!


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## SLO Outbacker (Jan 30, 2009)

Sounds like you are off to a good start. Hope your trip goes well.

I agree, this forum is a gold mine of experience and knowledge.


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## bbwb (Apr 4, 2008)

I think that you made an excellent decision! Of course, I might be a little partial to the 23rs selection anyway.
Welcome to the site. If you do some searching, you will be able to find several modifications that you might want to consider.
bbwb


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## Texas Friends (Feb 12, 2006)

Hookem,

Congrats on the trailer and Welcome to Outbackers! Always good to have another Texan here!

I sent you a Message.

Bryan


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## Texas Friends (Feb 12, 2006)

How was the shake down weekend?


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## ED_RN (Jun 25, 2006)

Great choice!!!!


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## hookem (Apr 28, 2011)

So here is the report on my family's first ever camping with a tt. Towing to the site went just fine on the way there. The adjustment to W/D hitch and the installation of the P3 brake controller made a world of difference. So we get to our site and pull in to our spot. So here comes the fun.

Mistake #1 - I was attempting to level the trailer using the stabilizer jacks and the left front just would not go high enough and it was very difficult to try and raise until finally the jack busted. Luckily the right side and the tongue jack held it pretty good. It appears I should be leveling using leveling blocks under the tires instead of the jacks. I guess the jacks are there for support really. I used the trailer jack and some blocks to hold for the balance of the trip.

Mistake #2 - After that jack fiasco, I finally get everything were it needs to start to hook up. I realize that the sewer connection at the site is not next to my tank drain and the hose that came with the tt is very small, so I can not make it reach. I read that most people empty the tanks when they leave, so I decide not to move the tt until we are ready to go.

The actual camping part was good. We kept a note pad and wrote down things that we need to remember for next time and we had a great time with the kids and the dog. So when it was time to leave, I moved the trailer to empty the tanks and was told I had to use a sewer donut which I purchased at Wal Mart (tip from this site). I could not for the life of me figure out how this thing actually helped and I could never get a secure connection. I just held the hose down and emptied the tanks. I did out in some of those toss in packages and left some fresh water in the black tank. So we head off down the road and my check engine light comes on. Went to a Autozone and turns out an oxygen sensor went bad. I am replacing that today.

All in all, not too bad an experience and I know there is a lot more to learn. I will be replacing the stabilizer jacks with the scissor version this week and buying those lynx leveling blocks and different sewer hose kit with the flush king. I also think we would want the stabilizer brackets someone just posted to keep the sway down. We can not wait for our next trip. Thanks again for all the information on this site. I will try not to be one of the newbies with a ton of questions and use the ever useful search function of the site.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Ditch the free sewer hose from the RV Dealer and buy a "Camco 39761 RhinoFLEX 15' RV Sewer Hose Kit " from Amazon for $30.


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## Dave_CDN (Sep 13, 2007)

I actually carry 2 sewer hoses , better quailty 20 foot kit I purchased and the original 15 foot one that came with the TT. That way you can use either or both all you need is one of these kits to join them together. I got mine at Wally World on etrip when I found myself in the same situation, setup and unable to reach the sewer hookup. And this all fits in the bumper for travel storage.

Camco Easy Slip Sewer Connector Kit

Sorry to hear about the broken jack. Every trip gets easier and we all break stuff.


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## Resqtool844 (Feb 3, 2007)

Very good taste in selecting campers! Ha Ha! Check out my gallery for a few mods!


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## hookem (Apr 28, 2011)

Thanks for the comments and recommendations. I keep searching through here and get so many ideas, I think I am getting ahead of myself already. I think in addition to the other items above, a surge protector is most likely in order next.

Quick question, I know I said I would try not to. We have friends that have land out in the Texas Hill Country and they have a 15a connection for me to plug into. When I tried this at home with my 30a to 15a adaptor and plugged into the house, the extension cord I used got really warm if not hot when running the ac. Is there a preferred brand or style of extension cord that should be used if your only option is a 15a hookup and you do want to run the ac?


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

hookem said:


> Thanks for the comments and recommendations. I keep searching through here and get so many ideas, I think I am getting ahead of myself already. I think in addition to the other items above, a surge protector is most likely in order next.
> 
> Quick question, I know I said I would try not to. We have friends that have land out in the Texas Hill Country and they have a 15a connection for me to plug into. When I tried this at home with my 30a to 15a adaptor and plugged into the house, the extension cord I used got really warm if not hot when running the ac. Is there a preferred brand or style of extension cord that should be used if your only option is a 15a hookup and you do want to run the ac?


The only real answer is do not do that. It will fry the compressor motor from an under-voltage/over-current condition.

You need to be connected to a 30 amp service to run the AC, even if some say it is fine with 15 (with all the other breakers turned off) it is not fine and just asking for trouble.


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## SLO Outbacker (Jan 30, 2009)

I put in a 30 amp circuit at my house with a standard plug so I could use it for more than my trailer. You need to use a extension cord that is rated for 20-30 amps. These are usually contractor or "Extra Heavy Heavy Duty" cords. They have larger gauge wires. (You cannot use your orange cord you bought at Walley World for your garage.)

With the larger capacity cord it will not get hot and you may squeak by. But if you start tripping breakers or creating heat you can damage your AC unit.


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## hookem (Apr 28, 2011)

Thanks for the feedback, I thought that would be the case, but I was told people do it anyway. Not sure it is worth the risk as you both point out. Might be better just to bring my generators out to my friend's land if we want the AC.


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## kmonty1 (Apr 24, 2011)

hookem said:


> Thanks for the feedback, I thought that would be the case, but I was told people do it anyway. Not sure it is worth the risk as you both point out. Might be better just to bring my generators out to my friend's land if we want the AC.


You can't fry a compressor just by using a 15 amp plug, and the voltage is no different then a 30 amp circuit, it's all 110 V. The only problem you would have is you would continue to blow the breaker. Your best bet is to be on a 20 amp circuit with the heaviest gauge extension cord you can get. With smaller gauge cords they will get hot and could start on fire if it can't handle the load, you see how thick you camper plug is. You should have no problem with just the A/C and some lights and tv on, just don't use the microwave at the same time.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

kmonty1 said:


> Thanks for the feedback, I thought that would be the case, but I was told people do it anyway. Not sure it is worth the risk as you both point out. Might be better just to bring my generators out to my friend's land if we want the AC.


You can't fry a compressor just by using a 15 amp plug, and the voltage is no different then a 30 amp circuit, it's all 110 V. The only problem you would have is you would continue to blow the breaker. Your best bet is to be on a 20 amp circuit with the heaviest gauge extension cord you can get. With smaller gauge cords they will get hot and could start on fire if it can't handle the load, you see how thick you camper plug is. You should have no problem with just the A/C and some lights and tv on, just don't use the microwave at the same time.
[/quote]

Actually you are wrong on this. A 15 amp circuit may have 110 no load just like a 30 amp circuit but the voltage will quickly drop as the load goes up to the limit. That is part of what makes the extension cord hot. A 30 amp circuit is designed to take 30 amps without an unacceptable voltage drop A 15 amp circuit is designed for 15 amps. The AC pulls up to 20 amps at 110. Yes breakers should trip to protect you but if you run your AC at voltages below 108 you are just a failure waiting to happen.

BTW the extension cord you say may catch on fire is what happens to your compressor motor.


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## akjason (Jan 2, 2011)

CamperAndy said:


> Thanks for the feedback, I thought that would be the case, but I was told people do it anyway. Not sure it is worth the risk as you both point out. Might be better just to bring my generators out to my friend's land if we want the AC.


You can't fry a compressor just by using a 15 amp plug, and the voltage is no different then a 30 amp circuit, it's all 110 V. The only problem you would have is you would continue to blow the breaker. Your best bet is to be on a 20 amp circuit with the heaviest gauge extension cord you can get. With smaller gauge cords they will get hot and could start on fire if it can't handle the load, you see how thick you camper plug is. You should have no problem with just the A/C and some lights and tv on, just don't use the microwave at the same time.
[/quote]

Actually you are wrong on this. A 15 amp circuit may have 110 no load just like a 30 amp circuit but the voltage will quickly drop as the load goes up to the limit. That is part of what makes the extension cord hot. A 30 amp circuit is designed to take 30 amps without an unacceptable voltage drop A 15 amp circuit is designed for 15 amps. The AC pulls up to 20 amps at 110. Yes breakers should trip to protect you but if you run your AC at voltages below 108 you are just a failure waiting to happen.

BTW the extension cord you say may catch on fire is what happens to your compressor motor.
[/quote]

A breaker is a breaker. You are still connecting it to the same bus in the panel. Circuit breakers are rated for 80% of their posted capacity, but will trip faster depending on the type of breaker used. The reason that voltage would very is resistance on the extension cord that would cause a voltage drop. You will get the same 120V off a 15 amp breaker vs a 30 amp breaker. However depending on the internal resistance of the conductor used to transport the current to the load will drop the voltage.

So, in short it's not the cicruit breaker dropping voltage. It's the extension cord's internal resistance in feet that would cause a voltage drop. That's why in long AC run's conductors are up sized based on length of AC run and expected voltage drop based on that conductors internal resistance.

That's also why you want to place your batteries in DC connected using 2AWG or larger within x amount of feet. At 12V DC, having 20 feet of a conductor with x amount of internal resistance can drop your voltage by 1v, which in the DC world can burn out sensitive equipment.


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

Glad to hear everything went ok - another issue you may run across is your electrical shore line not being long enough - depending on where you camp. We've camped in some state parks where the electrical connection is on the opposite side of the trailer. We carry an 30amp extension with us now.


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