New to rv

Playc

First time buyer and to an rv dealer.  My wife and like to drive to national parks around US as we recently retired

The littleguy trailer seems to be perfect for us.  Like to learn from you all.  Any advice greatly appreciated.

TIA

Cyclonic

Welcome aboard Playc.

Are you interested in the T@B or the smaller teardrops?  Either is perfect for two people, easy to tow, and can get into pretty much any spot, making them very nice for traveling light across country.

Nomad

Welcome - Peruse the various threads and/or hit the links to the various categories to the right - There's just a wealth of information here and all the members are friendly and more than welcome to answear any specific questions you might have.
I was completely new to campers and spent a month here learning before my T@B was delivered.

Rad

Welcome

Lots and lots of great info here.  Spend a few hours and scroll back through the web pages and read all the fun threads and ask any questions you want.  You will find this crowd very helpful, especially to  new folks.  

Playc

Thanks to you all.  I will read this forum daily to learn.   I loook forward to starting camping and hope to see you folks at some camp ground in the months to come.

bobandcarol

Playc said:

First time buyer and to an rv dealer.  My wife and like to drive to national parks around US as we recently retired

The littleguy trailer seems to be perfect for us.  Like to learn from you all.  Any advice greatly appreciated.

TIA

Hi, we're new to this also, just picked up our T&B CS Maxx over a month ago...it's perfect for us, retired as well...

Playc

Is there Heater for the T@B S?  I see the AC but not sure there's heater for winter camping.  Thanks you all for the advice/info.

Verna

Playc said:

Is there Heater for the T@B S?  I see the AC but not sure there's heater for winter camping.  Thanks you all for the advice/info.

The "Alde" is the heater, like a radiant heater.

Playc

Thank you, Verna

jkjenn

Verna said:

Playc said:

Is there Heater for the T@B S?  I see the AC but not sure there's heater for winter camping.  Thanks you all for the advice/info.

The "Alde" is the heater, like a radiant heater.

The unit it located under the rear driver side bench, so it isn't visible.

twocutes

Like others said, the forum is great and very accessible for new RV campers.  I'm just 1 year old with my 2014 T@B CS-S and never had a RV before.  The search function in this forum actually works very well.  The Alde system is really awesome for hot water and heat.  I was frightened of it, at first, because of my inexperience, but it's so easy to use and so efficient!  However, I have not used it winter camping in Minnesota or anywhere else.  I used the heat for the first time this past Memorial Day, but really couldn't tell if it was on or the 55 pound Aussie Shep next to me was providing the heat.  

Machak88

Re: heater, yes the T@B Maxx comes with Alde system that integrates heating and hot water supply (can do both or just hot water, on electricity or on propane). The forum has several threads about Alde, you may wish to review them before you decide which way you want to go regarding heating / hot water supply. That may depend on where you live and where you intend to camp, as well as on your priorities (more high-performance heating vs more storage space). For example, we live in GA and we found out that a tiny little $30 quarz space heater keeps us more than comfortable even in temperatures around 20F. If we were to buy a custom T@B again, we'd order one with only a small on-demand hot water heater but would not go for Alde - we'd prefer to have more storage space instead. We'd also order both an indoor and an outdoor shower. We love our S model otherwise! 

sgttiki

Machak88 said:

Re: heater, yes the T@B Maxx comes with Alde system that integrates heating and hot water supply (can do both or just hot water, on electricity or on propane). The forum has several threads about Alde, you may wish to review them before you decide which way you want to go regarding heating / hot water supply. That may depend on where you live and where you intend to camp, as well as on your priorities (more high-performance heating vs more storage space). For example, we live in GA and we found out that a tiny little $30 quarz space heater keeps us more than comfortable even in temperatures around 20F. If we were to buy a custom T@B again, we'd order one with only a small on-demand hot water heater but would not go for Alde - we'd prefer to have more storage space instead. We'd also order both an indoor and an outdoor shower. We love our S model otherwise! 

What brand/model quartz heater do you have? Same for on-demand hot water heater? Would you have to be plugged into electric source? Can you post photos?

Thanks!

Nomad

Keep in mind, a Quartz heater requires electricity so if you plan on any boondocking, no heat. Same with campgrounds without hookups.
Way too limiting for my variety of camping but may work for yours. The Alde was a big selling point for me. Very efficient and a power miser.

Machak88

sgttiki said:

Machak88 said:

Re: heater, yes the T@B Maxx comes with Alde system that integrates heating and hot water supply (can do both or just hot water, on electricity or on propane). The forum has several threads about Alde, you may wish to review them before you decide which way you want to go regarding heating / hot water supply. That may depend on where you live and where you intend to camp, as well as on your priorities (more high-performance heating vs more storage space). For example, we live in GA and we found out that a tiny little $30 quarz space heater keeps us more than comfortable even in temperatures around 20F. If we were to buy a custom T@B again, we'd order one with only a small on-demand hot water heater but would not go for Alde - we'd prefer to have more storage space instead. We'd also order both an indoor and an outdoor shower. We love our S model otherwise! 

What brand/model quartz heater do you have? Same for on-demand hot water heater? Would you have to be plugged into electric source? Can you post photos?

Thanks!

We use Vornado VH101, available on Amazon. Very compact and light, but very effective! We got a red one that matches our T@B but other colors are cute and retro too and just around $30 (red one is a bit more). You do need to have electricity, but that is ok with us since we are staying mainly in the GA state parks which all have electrical and water hookups. 

Machak88

P.s. We also have Alde, so we currently don't have an on-demand water heater. However, if we were to buy a new t@b again, we'd forgo on Alde in order to increase storage capacity, and we'd then order an on-demand small water heater. Again, we do not boondock, and we are in the South, so a small quartz space heater meets fully our heating needs.

Playc

We are taking our new TAB delivery today.  The dealer offers a 7 year warranty plan for $1,450.  Any of you newbee or pros has taken extended warranty?  Is it worthwhile?  Please advise, Thanks.

Nomad

I didn't - but I rarely, rarely ever do - but, haven't heard of anyone else doing it either. It has come up in the forums a couple of times that I'm aware of. Might find those if you search 'warranty" or "extended"

Playc

We took delivery our first rv Sofitel at at Prince Craft Saturday and drove 150 miles home in Houston. 

Back to my driveway was a challenge and after 30 min my neighbor came to help.  Unhitch and Level all took me quite a while.

Like to thank you all for sharing info that has helped us tremendously. 

Here is my first photo.

Nomad

Nice looking - All those difficulties will become commonplace with a little practice. Most all of us have gone through it and can sympathize.

Machak88

She's so cute - CONGRATULATIONS! 

Rad

You watch, a few months and a few trips from from now you will get a chuckle out of how difficult or time consuming all the processes were to begin with.  Don't be afraid to hook the beast right back up and go drive around and practice.  You don't have to wait until your first planned camping trip to start up that very easy RV learning curve.  

RollingLagrima

Playc, looks great. I pick up my Sofitel next week (up-sizing from my much-loved smaller LG Silver Shadow).  Enjoy! And post pics of your inside once you get settled in.   Happy camping!!

RollingLagrima

I have one question.  How difficult is it to put the table up and down to make the bed? The Sofitel table appears to be a bit different than the one used in the other T@Bs.  Many people seem to decide to not mess with the table and will either remove it permanently or leave it in the down/bed mode all the time. Just curious how's yours is working for you, once you have had a chance to play with it. Thanks.

Cyclonic

Congratulations on your new T@B. 

Backing, hitching, unhitching, all gets better with practice, it just takes time.  Don't worry about it, we have all been there.

Playc

Thank you all for your encouraging messages.  We are planning first camp trip to Galveston (60 miles away) the first week of August.

Playc

RollingLagrima said:

I have one question.  How difficult is it to put the table up and down to make the bed? The Sofitel table appears to be a bit different than the one used in the other T@Bs.  Many people seem to decide to not mess with the table and will either remove it permanently or leave it in the down/bed mode all the time. Just curious how's yours is working for you, once you have had a chance to play with it. Thanks.

Hi RollingLagrima - It's very easy.  Push the yellow button to unlatch and slightly push the table inward and the table will go down for setting the bed.  Slightly pull the table outward the table will return to nomal height.  One person can do it.

I probably won't mind to change the mode as like to enjoy use the table to do work, dine, and drink wine. 

bgualtieri

Yeah. It's a little counter intuitive. Slide the yellow button to the right and pull the table towards you and it will fold down.

Rad

bgualtieri said:

Yeah. It's a little counter intuitive. Slide the yellow button to the right and pull the table towards you and it will fold down.

Once you realize the table has "knees", how it folds down makes sense

TABaker

Many leave the table home, and use bed slats (made at home) to make the full bed.  I have a Dutchmen T@B, which didn't have an option of hot water.  I use a coffee urn picked up at an estate sale.  During travel, it holds a small lamp so pulls double duty.   No shower, so the water is  mainly for dishes and washing/cleaning.  Congrats on your new T@B!

Hans111

Playc said:

We took delivery our first rv Sofitel at at Prince Craft Saturday and drove 150 miles home in Houston. 

Back to my driveway was a challenge and after 30 min my neighbor came to help.  Unhitch and Level all took me quite a while.

Like to thank you all for sharing info that has helped us tremendously. 

Here is my first photo.

Playc, did you order or buy off the lot? If you did order, could you tell me how long you waited? We ordered our Sofitel four months ago and are eager to hit the road!