# Heading Out For First Outback Experience



## olmnsml (May 22, 2009)

Ok, we think we have everything for this weekend... I have spent a ton of time reading the different posts on here and updating my list of stuff I need to make my first camping trailer experience a positive one. And we just got back from upgrading the lame hitch that the dealer put on to a Reese 1200 Dual Cam, so I fell better with that.

Our first outing we are staying pretty much local to the area, the "Kentukiana Kampground" is only about 15 minutes from the house and is a full service campground. So hopefully we can get all the issues with us and the camper worked out here prior to our big trip at the end of July to North Carolina to see the son/daughter-in-law and grandkids.

Thanks to all those who post the tips and suggestions on this site, I have been on information overload the last couple of weeks trying to get a grip on on the do's and don'ts of towing and trailer camping (up till now I have been an avid tent camper - towing a trailer behind my motorcycle with the gear in it).


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## Not Yet (Dec 13, 2004)

Mark,

Great idea to keep the first trip close to home. Several people opt to "camp" in the drive way for the first time out but I think that being a few minutes away is the best option. Prevents the running inside too often. Keep a log of those items that you wish you had, if the item ends up on the list more than once it is probably worth stocking for the next trip.

Have fun and keep us all posted.

Jared


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## olmnsml (May 22, 2009)

Not Yet said:


> Mark,
> 
> Great idea to keep the first trip close to home. Several people opt to "camp" in the drive way for the first time out but I think that being a few minutes away is the best option. Prevents the running inside too often. Keep a log of those items that you wish you had, if the item ends up on the list more than once it is probably worth stocking for the next trip.
> 
> ...


Thanks Jared,

The engineer in me likes to have a pilot project to prove the concepts









I do have a question I forgot to ask my dealer... why no backup lights on the 28KRS? I noticed on a lot of the trailers there are no backup lights... what gives?

Mark


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## Chabbie1 (Dec 3, 2006)

Good Luck and enjoy!


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

olmnsml said:


> Mark,
> 
> Great idea to keep the first trip close to home. Several people opt to "camp" in the drive way for the first time out but I think that being a few minutes away is the best option. Prevents the running inside too often. Keep a log of those items that you wish you had, if the item ends up on the list more than once it is probably worth stocking for the next trip.
> 
> ...


Thanks Jared,

The engineer in me likes to have a pilot project to prove the concepts









I do have a question I forgot to ask my dealer... why no backup lights on the 28KRS? I noticed on a lot of the trailers there are no backup lights... what gives?

Mark
[/quote]

Youll have to wire back up lights in yourself.. I cant even think of a model that even comes with back up lamps.. The back up lamp circuit is in your 7way plug though.

Some here have put em on, just cant remember who..

Carey


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

Good Luck and let us know how you make out.......


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

Good luck on that first trip out! You are gonna love Outbacking









-CC


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

Good luck on your first trip. Be sure to keep us posted.


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## olmnsml (May 22, 2009)

ok so far so go, we still have one more day to go on ths shake down trip... the "Seasoned Campers" have been very helpful when I forget to do something or do something stupid









I do have a couple of questions...

This morning was the first shower experience and two things that I noticed.

The bathroom fan, turned it on after my shower and it ran fine for about 3-4 minutes and shut of and won't come back on.
And the shower looks like it leaks around the surround right side by door as the water was out in the hall way/ garage area. One question, why are the surrounds not chaulked at the base and the corner?

Any ideas on the issue with the fan would be appreciated as well.

And yes the list is getting longer for things that need to go in the trailer


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

Oh boy, I can already feel another "to chalk or not to chalk" debate brewing, good luck with that one. As far as the fan, there is a switch on the fan as well as one next to the light switch on the wall, are they both on?

Glad to hear that things are going well with your maiden voyage!!


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## Ridgway-Rangers (Apr 18, 2008)

H2oSprayer said:


> Oh boy, I can already feel another "to chalk or not to chalk" debate brewing, good luck with that one. As far as the fan, there is a switch on the fan as well as one next to the light switch on the wall, are they both on?
> 
> Glad to hear that things are going well with your maiden voyage!!


I was afraid to post anything for fear the caulk wars would re-kindle.


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## psychodad (Dec 9, 2008)

I had the same water leak in the hallway a few trips back. Pulled tub faucet off and hand tightened all the water connections. That took care of it.


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## olmnsml (May 22, 2009)

Ok.. being a "Newbie" I definitely don't want to start Chalk wars or anything....

But here is the update on the first ever OB excursion.....

Got to campground with no problems, and started setting up..... Leveled ok and only problem was that DW did not know the difference between the 4x4 and the 2x4 for the tongue jack so we were not quit level front to back. But the "Old Guy" next door came down with sage advice "get rid of that piece of crap hand crank jack and get an electric one". Must order that immediately... Then we when setting up the awning... couldn't get it out... yep, old guy on other side reminded me of the lock...

Things that we uncovered during the trip that must be fixed by the dealer under warranty before we leave for North Carolina...

1.) Black/Grey/Grey shutoff valves do not close properly, when I uncapped to install hose there was water in the discharge tube; and then when I went to dump on the last day I found my hose was full but all the valves were shut. Would have really sucked if we were dry camping!
2.) Oven will not stay lite, I had the pilot lite for over 24 hours. Turned on the stove and it worked up until it reached temperature, then shut off. Determined that what happens is the pilot blows out some time during the initial heating of the stove, so when it kicks back on all it is doing is pouring gas into the trailer.
3.) Outside outlet has a short in it
4.) Toliet leaks at back of valve during flushing
5.) Shower Leaking somewhere
6.) Bathroom fan is out - (worked fine for almost 3 minutes and then shut-off never to come on again)
7.) Refrigerator latch is broken

Got hooked up this morning ok, but thanks to another "Old Guy" next door I did not pull out with my antenna still up! I rode the harley home and let my wife drive the TV/TT home by herself... but I forgot to hook up the TT lights







... But we are only 15 miles from campground so we made it with no issues. Got home and had to take the old dog (my 15 year old Lab) to the vet and have him put to sleep (yea hell of a trip).

But all in all great shake down trip, and learn a lot....

One that the trailer pulls better with the Harley loaded in the front, and that you DON'T need a Tire Dolly to get a full Dresser in the garage of the 28KRS - it is a piece of cake to load it. Second, we love the TT, but really think that when you shell out that kind of money that Gilligan should do a better job of ensuring that everything works properly.

Again thanks to everyone on this forum, as I am confident that by just reading a ton of the information here that I saved myself some headaches and embarassements on my first trip!


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## nekkoddd (Jun 20, 2009)

olmnsml said:


> Ok.. being a "Newbie" I definitely don't want to start Chalk wars or anything....
> 
> But here is the update on the first ever OB excursion.....
> 
> ...


Howdy,

Sounds like you are going to be busy. The good thing is the Harley sounds like it loaded up real easy. Did you happen to take pictures you can post to show how the Harley fit in the TT? Also, did you leave the kickstand down, I am guessing you did. Did you need to put anything under the kickstand to protect the floor?

Thanks for sharing,

Mike


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

Sorry to hear about your lab. We had to do the same thing to chocolate lab yesterday, one of the saddest days for our two young boys.

After 5 camping seasons with our Outback, I decided to purchase an electric jack this past spring. You can CLICK HERE to find an Ultra Fab 3002 tongue jack for $109 + shipping. It is a remanufactured unit that comes with an original warranty. I purchased one from their eBay store (RVtech) for $105 that included shipping.


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## olmnsml (May 22, 2009)

> Howdy,
> 
> Sounds like you are going to be busy. The good thing is the Harley sounds like it loaded up real easy. Did you happen to take pictures you can post to show how the Harley fit in the TT? Also, did you leave the kickstand down, I am guessing you did. Did you need to put anything under the kickstand to protect the floor?
> 
> ...


Hey Mike,

Nope, I am not going to be busy... I am making the dealer come to the house and pick it up and fix everything prior to my leaving at the end of hte month. They have been really great, just wish that these things would have been found prior to our first trip.

And as usual I forgot to take any pictures of the Harley in the OB. But here is the best way I can tell you to load. Make sure to have the front of the trailer as low as you can, prop up the diamond plate ramp extension with a 2x6 (two of them) and then a deck board infront of the Diamond plate, probably would not be a bad idea to have an extra 2x6 and deck board for the front of the door/ramp. Stay to the left hand side and once the front tire is in, turn right and head for the bed, that was all there was to it. fit like a dream. And of course check the tie downs at every stop.

I will try to get some pictures after we get her back from the warranty repairs.

Mark


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## olmnsml (May 22, 2009)

H2oSprayer said:


> Sorry to hear about your lab. We had to do the same thing to chocolate lab yesterday, one of the saddest days for our two young boys.
> 
> After 5 camping seasons with our Outback, I decided to purchase an electric jack this past spring. You can CLICK HERE to find an Ultra Fab 3002 tongue jack for $109 + shipping. It is a remanufactured unit that comes with an original warranty. I purchased one from their eBay store (RVtech) for $105 that included shipping.


Yea, Hershey was a 15 year old Black Lab; who was the neighborhood dog! The whole neighborhood came over this morning to say good bye to him before we took him to the vet. I was humbling to see how many people he touched. My only wish is that my oldest son, who is stationed in Camp Lejuene, could have been here; cause it was really his dog.

Thanks the link! I was going to go with a VIP Baker, but this looks like a better deal to me. Do you like this one, and I am assuming that since you TT is similar this one should work for me as well.

Thanks again...


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

http://www.outbackers.com/forums/uploads/1..._457_901786.jpg

Did the back up lights and under the rear chassis lights. Wired them thru the center wire on the plug to a switch on my overhead console.

John


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## olmnsml (May 22, 2009)

tdvffjohn said:


> http://www.outbackers.com/forums/uploads/1..._457_901786.jpg
> 
> Did the back up lights and under the rear chassis lights. Wired them thru the center wire on the plug to a switch on my overhead console.
> 
> John


Hey John,

So to replace the rear Running/Brake Lights with Running/Brake/Backup lights I need to replace the whole fixture an then run the extra wire all the way back to the main 7 prong connection? Does the main harness have the reverse light wire there? Was it very difficult to get this done?

Thanks...
Mrk


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

olmnsml said:


> Thanks the link! I was going to go with a VIP Baker, but this looks like a better deal to me. Do you like this one, and I am assuming that since you TT is similar this one should work for me as well.


I have been happy with it so far and it does a fine job.


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