# First Time Outback Buyer Needs Advice



## smsims (Feb 2, 2008)

My wife and I are looking at buying our first travel trailer and are leaning towards the 23KRS. I was wondering if anyone with this model could provide any input as to what options are good and what are not so good. Also, I want to have a generator on board but don't see that as an option from Keystone. Without a generator, we cannot even watch tv without being plugged in, correct?
Thanks.
Sean (New to this site!)


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

smsims said:


> My wife and I are looking at buying our first travel trailer and are leaning towards the 23KRS. I was wondering if anyone with this model could provide any input as to what options are good and what are not so good. Also, I want to have a generator on board but don't see that as an option from Keystone. Without a generator, we cannot even watch tv without being plugged in, correct?
> Thanks.
> Sean (New to this site!)


Hi Sean. Welcome to the site! The "Outback Options" aren't really 'options' to us consumers as most dealers order them all with everything listed. Therefore, (check with your dealer first but) but you might as well consider all that stuff as "standard".

As for your question re: the generator. We don't have tv in our camper so I don't know but believe you are correct - no external power = no tele. We do dry camp quite comfortably and the only things not available are the micro and the 12v plugs (which, I 'spose rules out the tv)...but the lights, heater, stove ignition, water pump...they all work fine.

Happy hunting!


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

There are 12 volt tv's with dvd players. http://cgi.ebay.com/AC-DC-15-INCH-TFT-LCD-...1QQcmdZViewItem . Or you could run a inverter to power your tv. James


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## Piecemaker (Nov 15, 2007)

Sean








Welcome to the site









I agree the trailers are as they are on the lot. Search around and I would surely guess you will find the tt that suits your needs.

If you have other questions please feel free to ask.

Good Luck in your search.

Brian


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## mike (Dec 17, 2006)

I do not know what tow vehicle u have but there is alot of info on generators our there. It seems some people use honda generators and keep them in the bed of a pickup. We don't have one yet but if u search generators u can find alot of info


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Hi smsims
















to Outbackers! 

It's nice to see another potential So. California Outbacker









We have the 28krs and it works very well for our family of 3. If it's just two of you, the 23krs should be just fine. We just enjoy having the side slide that the 23krs doesn't offer. Either way, the garage allows you to bring everything...No more having to leave that item behind cause there's no place to stow it









We have a portable Honda eu2000i generator that we take along, but rarely need it unless we're dry camping for more than 3 or 4 days. We use a 700 watt inverter that we use to run our television and dvd player off of battery power. It just hooks up to one of the batteries with clamps or plugs into the cig lighter plug and voila! Entertainment!









Once you decide to go for it, be sure to check out our So Calif Fall Rally by Clicking Here

Happy "Roo" Hunting!


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Welcome...Welcome...Welcome.

Glad you found us.









Agree with others....a nice inverter will power a TV/DVD player.


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

Welcome to the site.









As others have said, you will need a generator, inverter, or 12vtv to watch while dry camping. However without a generator of some kind you will eventually run your batterie(s) down, so still may need something to charge the battery.


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## Chasgirl (Aug 15, 2006)

Welcome to Oubackers and good luck on the search for your camper!









Along these same lines, we may dry camp in the future and I'm wondering if we need an inverter besides the one on the camper? Or can we just hook up our generator and be good to go? Sorry if this is a stupid or repeated question.

Chasgirl


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Chasgirl said:


> Along these same lines, we may dry camp in the future and I'm wondering if we need an inverter besides the one on the camper? Or can we just hook up our generator and be good to go? Sorry if this is a stupid or repeated question.
> 
> Chasgirl


Not a stupid question...Clicky Here to see a portable inverter

You'll notice that the 700 watt inverter is the only one shown without a cig lighter plug...I believe the higher wattage could fry the receptacle and wiring, so you would have to hard wire it or clip directly to the battery (not a big deal at all)


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## jjmaurer (Feb 17, 2007)

Just my 2 cents worth, but I bought the 23KRS last year for dog show use and LOVE it! The extra options I got were the day/night shades which I really like. I travel alone and set up by myself ( a short, squat, 57 yr old woman) very easily. I can use the garage for the crates, or leave the bed down for the "kids" and keep the crates in the truck. Several ex-pens connected & set up around the door and they can zip in and out as they please. I'm getting withdraw from it all while it's in storage!


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

showdogs said:


> Just my 2 cents worth, but I bought the 23KRS last year for dog show use and LOVE it! The extra options I got were the day/night shades which I really like. I travel alone and set up by myself ( a short, squat, 57 yr old woman) very easily. I can use the garage for the crates, or leave the bed down for the "kids" and keep the crates in the truck. Several ex-pens connected & set up around the door and they can zip in and out as they please. I'm getting withdraw from it all while it's in storage!


Just as a brief sidebar, 'showdogs'.....do you just leave the garage door open or do you have a screen? Feel free to PM me so as not to hijack/detract from this thread


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## Morgueman (Dec 3, 2006)

Be careful using the inverters when you're dry camping with no generator or electric hook-up. Get the smallest inverter that will accommodate your 120V needs. The inverter will use it's rated capacity regardless of what is plugged into it's 120V outlet AND they're inefficient (ie. they consume more energy from your battery(ies) than they put out). You can easily drain your battery(ies) with inverters.

Eric


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Morgueman said:


> Be careful using the inverters when you're dry camping with no generator or electric hook-up. Get the smallest inverter that will accommodate your 120V needs. The inverter will use it's rated capacity regardless of what is plugged into it's 120V outlet AND they're inefficient (ie. they consume more energy from your battery(ies) than they put out). You can easily drain your battery(ies) with inverters.
> 
> Eric


That is why we always watch the same rerun night after night while camping...it's the Campfire Channel. Sometimes it can be a bit smoky...but a quick slide of the chair normally eliminates that problem.


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## OregonCampin (Mar 9, 2007)

Oregon_Camper said:


> That is why we always watch the same rerun night after night while camping...it's the Campfire Channel. Sometimes it can be a bit smoky...but a quick slide of the chair normally eliminates that problem.


I am with you OC - Natures TV is the one we watch. We do travel with a portable DVD player that runs on a battery for those really wet Oregon nights, but for the most part we watch the fire!


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## OregonCampin (Mar 9, 2007)

smsims said:


> My wife and I are looking at buying our first travel trailer and are leaning towards the 23KRS. I was wondering if anyone with this model could provide any input as to what options are good and what are not so good. Also, I want to have a generator on board but don't see that as an option from Keystone. Without a generator, we cannot even watch tv without being plugged in, correct?
> Thanks.
> Sean (New to this site!)


Sean - What part of San Diego are you from? My husband grew up in Poway and we visit (w/o our Outback) several times a year.

There are two of us with a dog and two dirt bikes - the 23KRS works perfect for us. When the garage is empty we generally use it for a "changing" room - keeps the sand and dirt out of the main part of the trailer - it also doubles as a guest house when needed. Ours came with pretty much all of the options, but there are several mods that people have done to make it work better for their family - difinately want to search around the site for those.

On the generator / TV question - we dry camp a lot here - thats the best camp areas, so we don't take a TV - we do take a portable DVD player for those nights that it gets really nasty (which it does here in Oregon). We do have a generator - we purchased a Kipor from our dealer and it has worked great!

Welcome to the gang! A bunch of really great people on this site!


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

skippershe said:


> Along these same lines, we may dry camp in the future and I'm wondering if we need an inverter besides the one on the camper? Or can we just hook up our generator and be good to go? Sorry if this is a stupid or repeated question.
> 
> Chasgirl


Not a stupid question...Clicky Here to see a portable inverter

You'll notice that the 700 watt inverter is the only one shown without a cig lighter plug...I believe the higher wattage could fry the receptacle and wiring, so you would have to hard wire it or clip directly to the battery (not a big deal at all)








[/quote]
Yes, all the big inverters will require a direct battery hookup. A cigarette lighter is going to be fused at 15A. Since VxA=W, 12Vx15A=180W. Above that you will want to connect directly to the battery. Depending on your batteries, you can go pretty big though. I have a 1500W inverter that will power my Refrigerator and Upright Freezer at home. It, along with some batteries, is my home backup generator.









Also, they don't pull max wattage all of the time, but they do slowly drain the battery whenever they are on.


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