# The Newbie Chronicles



## glennbo (Jun 27, 2006)

So folks, today was the big day. I picked up my first TT, Outback 21RS. The PDI and walk through went without a hitch. Err... well I bought a hitch too, Reese Dual Cam WD Sway Control.









I felt like a kid in a candy store after choosing among all the cool trailer necessities. I stocked up on two MAXX Air vent covers, a hitch lock, a hose, a water pressure reducer, lynx levelers, sewer kit, etc. All of which were compliments of the dealer.









Towing the trailer down the highway (first time ever) was a little scary but I settled into a confortable cruising speed on my 65 mile journey back to home base. It was interesting to have to stop first at the 10 mile mark, then again at the 25 mile mark and again at 50 miles to tighten the lugs as per instructions on the TT and the walk through guy.









When I got home the kids were jumping up and down with glee and begging to spend the night in the trailer. We'll see, it is over 100 degrees here today and quite muggy...

Being a newbie and everthing, I suppose I could be forgiven for the following: In my excitement to show my wife and kids how everything works I started by pulling out the rear slide. Hmm, now what did the walk through guy tell me about the slide? Anyway, I proceeded to pull out the slide. Only problem was I couldn't figure out why it was so darn hard to pull out and then after yanking on it a few times everything dropped into place. Except, dropping into place is not supposed to happen. I then proceeded to attach the slide bars that support the slide out. Hmm, is this supposed to be so difficult. Well, uh no, not exactly. Expecially if you put the slide bars on befor you pull out the slide!







Wifey figured that one out! So, after pushing and lifting and sweating and cursing, we finally got the slide back in. Now I put the bars in place and... imagine that, the slide comes out quite easily.









So now I've got the TT set in the driveway, awning open, things put away and I couldn't be happier. I'm looking forward to the fun times ahead!!


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

congratulations and welcome aboard. Dont run your a/c off a regular extension cord from your house, not enough amps and you could damange the a/c unit. Plus " new trailer smell " can be rough, just air it out dont bother trying the amonia trick that i did, it isnt worth the trouble.....


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## 3LEES (Feb 18, 2006)

Congrats on the new camper!

Another 21rs added to the fold!

You will love the camper.

By the way, push the rear slide IN to the camper BEFORE you disconnect the slide rails.............









Dan


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## shake1969 (Sep 21, 2004)

Don't feel bad. I did that too.

Enjoy your new Outback!


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## glennbo (Jun 27, 2006)

3LEES said:


> Congrats on the new camper!
> 
> Another 21rs added to the fold!
> 
> ...


Funny! I think I got that one figured out. Now I wonder what other brilliant mistakes I'll make before I finally get this thing figured out.


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## Mtn.Mike (May 3, 2005)

Hi Glennbo: I sure want you on my side in the wrist wrestling finals. If you can pull out the slide without the support rails that's good enough for me.








Good luck with the new "toys".

Mike


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## geodebro (May 26, 2006)

Congrats!!!

Did the dealer install the MaxxAirs or is this going to be your first mod?

George


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## glennbo (Jun 27, 2006)

No, unfortunately I didn't have the Maxx Air's installed. I guess i'll be doing the install.


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## Steve McNeil (Aug 30, 2004)

Congrats on your new Outback!!

I hope it enjoy yours as much as we have enjoyed ours!!!

Steve


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Hooray Glennbo









Congrats on your new Outback








Time to begin making great family memories
Enjoy!
Dawn sunny


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Congrats on your new baby! Nothing but fun and memory making ahead of you now!!!

Btw - I did EXACTLY the same thing with the slide....but slid it back in before I realized what I'd done. Yep, sure is easier with the slide bars (lots safer too....not a good thing to prove to others....)

Have fun!!


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Congratulations Glennbo!








You are going to love that new Outback!








_*Whoo Hoo!*_

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Golden Mom (Apr 25, 2004)

WELCOME! 
We did the slide thing too....unfortunately our was in front of neighbors. We wanted to show off how cool this slide was......we just couldn't figure out why it was so hard to pull and it wasn't level....








Didn't make that mistake twice!! LOL


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Congrats glennbo on the 21RS 
Glad everything went well with the PDI
Wow glad you got the slide back in that's a bummer( But don't worry we all have been there at one point) 
You and your family enjoy it
Now to start some mods and get out there and have fun

Don


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## pjb2cool (Apr 8, 2004)

glennbo said:


> No, unfortunately I didn't have the Maxx Air's installed. I guess i'll be doing the install.
> [snapback]129589[/snapback]​


If you can put in the slide like you did, installing these bad boys will be a piece of cake for you.







Congrats on the new OB, and welcome to the cult - oops I mean club. Really a bunch of great folks on this site.


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

Maybe moving from a pop up gave me a slight advantage here on the slide poles.









Just another tip for you. When installing the MaxxAir covers, make sure to put the ladder up first. That first step down is a killer.


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## geodebro (May 26, 2006)

campmg said:


> Maybe moving from a pop up gave me a slight advantage here on the slide poles.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Good advice.







The only thing I can add that down there in the Texas heat you'll need a two beer minimum per vent; preferably when you get off the roof.


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## glennbo (Jun 27, 2006)

OK, so we tried to camp overnight in the driveway but the kids just couldn't take the heat and I wasn't sure how we would run the AC w/out shore power so we packed it in about 11:00pm. We'll just have to try this for real sometime soon when we go camping.

Today I took the TT to storage and soon discovered I needed to learn how to unhitch the TT since I hadn't been the one to hitch it up (dealer did that). The one thing the hitch guy said (4 times to be exact!!) was to be very careful releasing the load bars or whatever they are called because if it wasn't done correctly, I would get hurt!! So of course the panic starts to set in as I try to remember how he said to raise the tongue jack as high as it would go before prying down the bars that hold up the chain. Of course I forgot to bring blocks to place under the jack to bring it to level. So back to home I go to get some bricks and blocks of wood.

So now the TT is separated from the TV but the hitch is sitting 6"-8" higher than the receiver on the TV. I think I have too much height (bricks and wood) under the jack. The storage parking space is on a bit of a downward slope so getting the TT level requires some extra blocking under the tongue jack.

Does any one know if it is safe to allow the weight of the trailer to rest temporarily on the stablizer jacks?







It is the only way I can see being able to remove some of the tongue jack blocks in order to lower the jack enough to rest on the hitch ball the next time I'm ready to tow.


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

glennbo,

Another Texas Outbacker!







WooHoo!!!

Glad to have you with us. And glad you aren't laying under your new slide!







Did the same thing on my 26RS once. And I mean only ONCE!

Hey, check out the Frio River rally in August and see if you can meet some of your fellow Texas Outbackers for a long weekend.

Again, welcome.

Mark


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## prevish gang (Mar 19, 2006)

You poor guy. You are trying so hard. I wish you had taken the DW with you for the PDI. It is so hard to remember everything on your own. If 2 people see the demo it is usually easier to remember what to do. Hang in there, guy. It will get easier with each trip, but be careful to get a system in place so that you dont forget things like putting the antenna down, etc. Congratulations on the new baby!
Darlene


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

Welcome to the site,

You will find plenty of friendly people here. Also, lots sof advice. Go ahead, make great memories with your family.


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

Welcome and the kinks always get worked out











> Does any one know if it is safe to allow the weight of the trailer to rest temporarily on the stablizer jacks? It is the only way I can see being able to remove some of the tongue jack blocks in order to lower the jack enough to rest on the hitch ball the next time I'm ready to tow.


Don't put any weight on the stabilizer jacks, they are not designed to carry a lot of weight. Put some blocking under the tongue and take the weight off of the tongue jack, remove a block from under the jack and jack it back up. Remove a block from under the tongue, lower the jack to remove the weight from the jack and remove another block from under the jack, raise it back up to remove another block from under the tongue and so on until it goes low enough.

Does that make sense??

Mike


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

glennbo,

Are you saying the hitch on the TT is 6-8" above the ball on the TV when the tounge jack is fully retracted (trailer lowered)? If that is the case, how did you unhitch the TV? Did it actually drop that far when you released the hitch?









Maybe a little more specific description of the steps you went through to unhitch will help clarify this. Bottom line though, is that whatever blocking you needed under the tounge jack to release the sway bars and unhitch, is what you are going to need to hitch back up and set the bars next time. In the meantime, the trailer does not need to be level while it is in storage, unless you are running the refrigerator.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## RizFam (Feb 25, 2006)

I see you have a lot of tech questions, but I just want to say ......









to Outbackers.com. 
Hope you can enjoy your TT ASAP, once you get fully educated from the Pros on this forum.









Tami


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

hi glennbo -

Relative newbie here.....

Camping 479's method really does work. This very weekend, KB lowered the jack stand onto a 2ft long 4x4, we unhitched, I got out of the TV to see the Stabilizers being lowered and to hear "they should hold the TT long enough for me to shift that Block - gotta shift it a bit." I looked to see the Jack Stand resting on the END of the 2' Support Block. "NO! You'll flatten the Stabilizers. I'll get more blocks." I was pretty sure that KB would raise the blasted thing up anyway while I was off getting the 'more blocks' ... so .... I dragged over a couple of cinderblocks sitting not far from where we were (could keep an eye on KB, that way







), propped up the tongue sides (as Mike suggests), KB moved the 4x4 and dropped the jack just a bit so the repositioned Block was again supporting, removed the cinderblocks - and - WALAA - TT is wonderfully centered on the Support Block AND the Stabilizers (and family life) are still in tact. Once again, Outbackers.com prevents trouble (trailer and home!)







and saves us the repair bill.


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

Glennbo,

Welcome to the site









You will find MUCH helpful advice on anything Outback. Don't ever think your question might be too dumb to ask.


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## glennbo (Jun 27, 2006)

PDX_Doug said:


> glennbo,
> 
> Are you saying the hitch on the TT is 6-8" above the ball on the TV when the tounge jack is fully retracted (trailer lowered)? If that is the case, how did you unhitch the TV? Did it actually drop that far when you released the hitch?Â
> 
> ...


Yes, that would be correct. And yes when I released the hitch the TV dropped quite a bit. I'm sure I'm unhitching this thing incorrectly. I remember the guy that installed the hitch told me to raise the jack as much as possible before releasing the bars which he said are under tremendous pressure. And as I mentioned before, I was pretty nervous about the whole process considering it was my first time.

So here is the step by step on how I did the unhitching. Please feel free to tell me where I am going wrong. I'm sure there are errors in just about everything aspect of my unhitching process:









The parking area is level but slopes forward slightly from the rear of the TT to the front. After backing the TT in place I proceed to crank up the jack to it's highest point. Only problem is that due to the slope, the jack does little to raise the back end of the TV which I was expecting. So after placing two 3" think bricks on one another along with a 1" thick piece of wood, I proceed to jack again. This time the TV raises some and things seem to go ok. Now, I remember when I was being hitched up the first time the nuts on the Cam were loose and were tightened after the hitch was put on. Thinking this is the procedure for unhitching, I loosened the nuts and then lowered the chain and bars. One came down pretty smoothly but the other snapped a little and the hitchball released dropping the TV to a level 6"-8" below the hitch.









So there you have it. Suggestions?


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## z-family (Oct 2, 2004)




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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

When I was looking at the Outback at a local DEALER...he did the exact same thing on 3 models. Kept saying...these normally slide out easier. He left all three in the "out" posisition and went back inside to seek help. Of course my kids were bouncing around on one of them while he was gone.







He came back and fessed up to his mistake...


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Oregon_Camper said:


> When I was looking at the Outback at a local DEALER...he did the exact same thing on 3 models. Kept saying...these normally slide out easier. He left all three in the "out" posisition and went back inside to seek help. Of course my kids were bouncing around on one of them while he was gone.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I guess that is a testiment to how robust these things really are. I would think you would about rip the rear wall out of the trailer pulling the slide all the way out without bracing it!

Wasn't there a post on here about a year ago from someone that tried to relocate their Outback to another site in the campground with the rear slide extended (but braced), and did in fact leave the entire slide box in the roadway? I'll have to look for that.









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

PDX_Doug said:


> Wasn't there a post on here about a year ago from someone that tried to relocate their Outback to another site in the campground with the rear slide extended (but braced), and did in fact leave the entire slide box in the roadway? I'll have to look for that.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Someone fessed up to doing that? shy shy


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Must say, you guys are making me laugh!!! I'm being simply amazed at how many of you are NOW fessing up to having pulled the slide out without the braces.









Seems to me that, only last Nov. when I reported having done that as a newbie, the general response was







"OMG", and "How could you have done that?" and "Everyone take cover - the planets have misalligned!" and "Boy, are you lucky the thing didn't drop on your foot and drill a hole through the earth's core impacting generations to come". NOW this appears to have been a fairly routine newbie act. No less danger potential, mind you - - - but MUCH more common than one would have been led to believe not so very long ago.

Thanks for exposing them all, glennbo! You've done a great deed for Newbies everywhere!!!!


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

wolfwood said:


> Thanks for exposing them all, glennbo! You've done a great deed for Newbies everywhere!!!!


Actually Wolfie, I think they are all just trying to make you feel better.









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

PDX_Doug said:


> wolfwood said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for exposing them all, glennbo!Â You've done a great deed for Newbies everywhere!!!!
> ...


Actually, buddy - I was over it just about as soon as I realized what I'd done (I was just glad to figure out how NOT to rip my back out again the next time I needed to pull out that DA** slide thingy!!!).

Ya know, if 'they" are still thinking about it enough to try to "make me feel better" then - geeeez - I sure do appreciate the good thoughts but "they" must have less of a life than those Outbacker guys who have 5000+ posts.









Oh, gosh - sorry - didn't realize - I mean - oops - um - I'll just be going now


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

wolfwood said:


> "they" must have less of a life than those Outbacker guys who have 5000+ posts.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


_*Badda Bing!*_









Hey Don, you gonna let Wolfie talk that way about you?









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## ssalois (Jun 19, 2006)

Too funny, Its amazing how something so simple can turn out to be really nasty. True strory, A long long time ago







my wife and i stopped in a local state park. Newbies to camping of course.We were in hurry to meet some friends in town, that there should tell you.







Anyways i pulled to the site and the drive was a 45 degree angle. UP TOP there was a gravel pad with a concrete curb all around it. Again in a hurry i Thought boy thats a nice tent pad i wish they had a trailer site like that..







So i set the trailer up on the 45 angle. talk about hard to level. After much cursing of the park, trailer, and DW we went to town. ON our return with friends they immediatly started to laugh. most of you already know where this is heading. Long story short and many apologies later there were smalll ramps for my trailer to pull onto that awesome tent pad.







Luckily it was a small pop-up and we were able to move it rather easily. Not a camping trip goes by that Dw doesnt remind me. SO i wish i would have forgotten rails instead of commomn sense


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

ssalois said:


> Too funny, Its amazing how something so simple can turn out to be really nasty. True strory, A long long time ago
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Getting "rushed" while sitting up a trailer is never a good thing. Glad it wasn't that bad in the end...


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