A Big Hello & Thank You from Georgia!

GeorgiaMB

Just got our 2021 TAB 320 Boondock home yesterday. We have never towed anything, so we were really nervous about that, but towing was a breeze!  We also were not certain if we were going to be able to move our TAB around our gravel driveway, but a simple trailer dolly was the answer!  This is my early retirement present to myself -  after 31 years with state government, I am about ready to hit the road and just enjoy my TAB... With my husband, too, that is.  He retired from the state as well.

I can't begin to say what a blessing this forum has been to help us get ready! (Forum + YouTube, that is). I was well equipped (thanks Amazon) with the exact items I needed, and for any questions we had, all we had to do was post a question here and the response has been amazing.  I read somewhere that when you buy a TAG or TAB, you also are getting an added social network!  You guys are great. I even saved $300 just by showing my dealer that others were getting refunded for my non-existent roof rack on my Boondock.  

Our first trip will be to Victoria Bryant State Park here in GA next weekend. 

Thanks again, and I am sure I will have more questions soon. (Let's just hope I resized the pics appropriately! And yes, my house is pink, lol).

xdr

Welcome! So glad to hear it all has gone well so far. Have a wonderful time camping and let us know how it went! 

Sharon_is_SAM

Congrats and welcome!  The forums really are an added benefit.

Millie_on_the_move

Congrats, and greetings from the other side of Lake Hartwell. Let us know how your first trip went

Tampakayaker

Welcome.  make sure you get some sort of locks on that great looking camper!

GeorgiaMB

@Tampakayaker. We have a wheel lock- Trimax maybe?  And guess we need a coupler lock? Any suggestions?  I also need some way to secure my very expensive surge protector. Maybe a bicycle chain lock?

GeorgiaMB

@Millie_on_the_move We are in Washington!  45 min south of Athens!

Millie_on_the_move

@GeorgiaMB I know Washington..... not far from Lake Russell....Calhoun Falls Is one of our favorite campgrounds, not far from you. I live in SC, but born and raised in Georgia... so Go Dawgs!.... we will be the T@B flying the UGA flag

GeorgiaMB

@Millie_on_the_move We have already scouted out Russell for campsites we like, & will definitely be headed over to Calhoun Falls! I’m a UGA grad so “Go Dawgs”!!  My husband is from South Carolina as well. He went to Presbyterian College.  Thanks for the nearby recommendations, and if you have any more let me know, since I’m still working for a few more months & have to squeeze in trips as I can.

JeffroNC

@GeorgiaMB check out Black Rock Mountain SP where we are hosting. Sites are perfect for Tabs - very small but beautiful. Also, its about 5 degrees cooler up here than down in Clayton.

Tampakayaker

GeorgiaMB said:

@Tampakayaker. We have a wheel lock- Trimax maybe?  And guess we need a coupler lock? Any suggestions?  I also need some way to secure my very expensive surge protector. Maybe a bicycle chain lock?

I use a masterlock ball lock, and then a lock thru the hitch handle, plus I have a wheel lock.  A lot of people like the proven locks but they are $$$.

I use a bike cable lock for the dogbone type surge protector.  I put it thru the security tab, the handles and around the power pole .

GeorgiaMB

I figured the bike cable would be our best option for the surge protector. We will go ahead and pick one of those up. We also bought just a regular keyed masterlock for the coupler, but it wasn’t quite wide enough so will have to get another one. I’m not so worried about it at the house, as we live in a small town and have tons of cameras, and good insurance on the unit. But hope we won’t have to worry about it at state parks either, but you just never know! Thanks for the recommendations.(You are right - Proven Locks are $$$!)

Tampakayaker

GeorgiaMB said:

I figured the bike cable would be our best option for the surge protector. We will go ahead and pick one of those up. We also bought just a regular keyed masterlock for the coupler, but it wasn’t quite wide enough so will have to get another one. I’m not so worried about it at the house, as we live in a small town and have tons of cameras, and good insurance on the unit. But hope we won’t have to worry about it at state parks either, but you just never know! Thanks for the recommendations.(You are right - Proven Locks are $$$!)

I use a masterlock long shank lock thru the hole in the hitch handle, what we used to call bike lock growing up!  It can from the previous owner.  I just started hooking my safety chains onto it all bunched up.  Keeps someone from using the chain to tow away the camper, plus with the chains on the lock it'll be a little harder for someone to cut the lock.

There are a variety of hitch handle pin type locks on Amazon.  The ones I saw are a lot longer that you would need allowing a bolt cutter to cut the lock portion off, but again something is better than nothing. And you could bunch up the chains on it like I'm doing.

brianlovestofly

Welcome and congratulations!  We picked up our 400BD from Southland in January and much like you received a refund on the rack.  Enjoy your new camper!  Let us know how Victoria Bryant is once you get back (we're south of the airport).

JeffroNC

I hate to be a killjoy but cables are useless when it comes to preventing theft. This will cut through all of them in seconds. Ratcheting Cable Cutter
I do use a cable on my EMS but not my ebikes! I'm a chain guy. )Yes, a battery operated cutter will defeat those too.)
Oy Vey...

m_lewis

We drove thru VictoriaBryant on our way back from Talulah Gorge last Thanksgiving. Beautiful wooded park, but the campsites were a bit narrow and close to each other. 

One of the reasons we like state parks more than RV parks is the space between neighbors. On that note, we highly recommend Mistletoe, Tugaloo, and Elijah Clarke Georgia state parks, while we were dismayed at Mocassin, Talulah, and Bryant. Vogel and Fort Yargo are also fine, but a little tight. 

Other than spacing, all the state parks we have been in are very similar, very clean, well maintained, and reasonably priced. Expect water and electricity, but no sewer. 

Looking forward to Cloudland Canyon and returning to some favorites after a trip out west to see offspring after vaccinations. 

As to theft prevention, I think the best you can do is make your property less attractive / harder to get than others. If determined thieves want your stuff, it will be theirs.  All locks and theft prevention devices can be overcome, some with astonishing ease. 

GeorgiaMB

@m_lewis. Thanks for the state park recommendations. Mistletoe and Elijah Clark are both within 25 minutes of our house!  We will have to do some mid-week travel there. 

Rodent77

If you switch to the inline Surge Protector EMS-HWC30C by Progressive Industries you never have to worry about locking it or forgetting it. I'm having one installed by dealer but they lock real easy to install if you are handy. One thing less to worry about...Was recommended by Jenn Grover.