New Tab 320 owner

1963122

Greetings all. I'm a new 2017 Tab 320 owner. Glad to be here and have been reading everything I can to get up to speed. Will be traveling on a cross country adventure this June. Can't wait. Feel free to offer any advice. Thanks

Sharon_is_SAM

Welcome to the forum!

dragonsdofly

@1963122 welcome to the forum and congratulations on your trailer. Adventures await. Happy t@bbing!

AnOldUR

Welcome! Sharing of both information and adventures make the T@B Forum a great place. Enjoy your summer!

scott14

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new T@B.  This is a great forum with a lot of experience and friendly discussions.  I have learned a lot over the last year... during my rookie season!  Be sure to use the search function for questions you have, most likely it has been asked before.  If you don't find an answer then you ask it!  The members here are very knowledgeable.

kottum

Advice?  First make sure your 2017 Tab 320 is completely roadworthy, then work on the creature comforts.  

Inspect and repack wheel bearings, inspect brakes for wear and adjust them, inspect tires for unusual wear and aging, inspect hitch coupler, chains and connections for condition.  Grease hitch ball before hooking up.  Inspect frame and bolts/rivets/welds for condition and excessive corrosion.  Decide if you want to add a sway control bar to stabilize towing in various weather/road/traffic conditions.

Ask yourself if your tow vehicle up to the task.  Does it have basic towing equipment such as proper hitch, 7-pin electrical connection, and brake controller.  Do some local road tests before heading out too far.  Learn which transmission gears to select depending on wind, road grade, up and down steeper hills (if the transmission is constantly shifting itself up and down, you are in too high of a gear.  If when going downhill and you need to use the brakes constantly to slow the vehicle, you are in too high of a gear, the engine compression will help slow the vehicle).

1963122

Wow! Thanks for all the advise. Taking the tab to the local NuCamp dealer for a check up. I'm told it was only used 4 times and has been garage kept.  Will have everything checked. Having the Alde fluid changed. Probably a new battery. Brake controller for the tow vehicle and maybe a sway control bar.
 I'll post what I find out after the dealer visit. Thanks again.

Homebodyatheart

@1963122 Welcome to the NuCamp family! I have had my 2017 320S for six years now, looking forward to my seventh! A couple of thoughts: I upgraded the battery before I took delivery to a Group 27. It’s a bit larger and the service tech mounted the 27 base over the original Group 24 base. I am still using the same battery after six years, just checking the water level regularly and it still holds a good charge. About the sway control bars, if I remember correctly NuCamp doesn’t advise using them for this era Tab. I hit some high winds last year on a long trip, had filled the water tank beforehand and had no problems. A dear Tabber friend gave me lots of good advice, especially about gas mileage. He told me to focus on the journey not the MPG and enjoy the experience. Great advice! Anyway, there’s lots of great info and people on this forum. We’ve all been new once! Ladybug is my first trailer and I’m still loving my travels! Enjoy your journey! 

xdr

@kottum that is excellent advice. I think your list is valuable for the newbie and for current owners.  Our goal is to have this camper for many many seasons which requires regular monitoring and visual inspections. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound if cure. 

Great checklist for everyone! 

1963122

XDR-Yours is a duplicate of mine! Or the other way around.

fstop32

Yes, welcome to the forum and to the T@b adventure!  I have to second @kottum on his advice about making sure everything is "ready for the road" especially if your first trip out is going to be a long one.  There's nothing like a major failure to put a big damper on the experience.  You'll have plenty of time to work on the creature comforts.  Definitely do some test tows where you can stop frequently and check things like brakes and wheel bearings.  I took the "long way home" test drive right after a trailer repair shop overhauled the brakes and discovered a major overheating problem (brakes had been improperly installed).  Had I assumed they did the work properly and had struck out for parts unknown we would have been in deep despair.

1963122

We are already planning a few local trips. Toying with the idea of a trip to the NuCamp factory while we are wandering around the country. Maybe add some solar panels if I can get an appointment. Lets see how the local trips pan out

GregChris

I just traveled to N.E. Ohio to Ga and back. had several high wind warnings posted, but never had problem with sway. 65 mpg most of the way. Depending on your tv I don't think anti sway or load equalizers are necessary on a 320.

1963122

Has anybody ever towed a Tab 320 with a Volvo S-80 AWD sedan? I intended to use our 1999 Tahoe for a tow vehicle but my co-pilot is pushing for the S-80 for comfort. Anybody have an opinion on this? I think the Tahoe is the hands down winner here. 

dragonsdofly

@1963122 the husband and me are in full agreement that theTahoe IS the hands down winner. We are well traveled in our 2017.

The larger, heavier and much greater towing capacity make for the better tow vehicle. The extra cargo room in the Tahoe will make stowing gear such as chairs, carpet, grill and coolers much easier and that alone makes the Tahoe worth it.

It appears that the Volvo has more horsepower, but top towing capacity is approximately 3,300 lbs. The Tahoe is rated at a towing capacity of 5,700 to 7,200 lbs depending on equipment. Your Volvo will be (with your camping gear) close to it's max towing capacity while the Tahoe can tow/or carry a ton to ton and a half more. Think of all the extra creature comforts that actually is!

While the Volvo is probably capable of greater high end speed, the towing speed of your t@b is going to be the limiting factor. T@bs are RECOMMENDED to safely tow at speeds of 60-62 mph and definitely not faster than 65 mph so the higher end speed becomes a moot point.

There are many other points and opinions on either side of this debate but we vote Tahoe.

Good luck with this! -Jim & Denise

scott14

We recently upgraded our tow vehicle to a 2015 Tahoe LTZ with a factory tow package (including brake controller).  We have not towed with it yet, but I am hoping for a safer, better, and more confident towing experience.

1963122

New to me Tab 320S and 1999 Tahoe headed to the dealer on the 25th for brake controller install
and a once over to make sure everything is up to standard on the TAB. Here it is stored in sellers garage.

dragonsdofly

@1963122 nice looking rig. Thanks for the pic!

1963122

1963122

Finally have it!!! Picked it up and towed it directly to Millers Trailer sales in Perkasie, PA. They are the closest NuCamp dealer. Very nice folks at Millers. Having it gone over by the staff at Millers. Getting the Glycol flush and replacement. Bearings checked. All systems checked. Couple local shakedown cruises and then CA here I come!!! Let you know how things go.

1963122

Picked it up at Millers in PA. We had severe weather here in NJ. Tornado touch down in Jacksons Mills and Howell. Dark, rainy and windy on the road. But home with camper. Whew!!!

scott14

Congratulations and glad to hear you made it home safely.  We also experienced severe weather (some system) yesterday evening.  Several buildings destroyed in our town.  We were blessed, no damage to our home or the Tab!

1963122

Took out our new to us Tab 320S for a first ever camper trip to Gettysburg PA. Easy to tow and park. We stayed at a Boondocks Welcome host site. The hosts were lovely people. Learned a valuable lesson! Make a list of what you are supposed to bring. Yup I left my power cord home. Ed the host to the rescue. Just happened to have one as he had the same year and model as ours before upgrading.
 Had a heat hot /water issue. User error. So we slept in 42 degree weather. It was awesome! Slept like a rock. Cold water shower.
 So figured out the hot water now the heat is next. Forgot to mention we ordered a mattress topper from MatressInsiders. We were very comfortable. We are going to do a couple more weekend trips before we head out across the USA. Very excited.
 Please feel free to offer any advice to us newbies. Thanks for the help on the hot water issue.
 

1963122

Forgot to post a pic

Mickerly

Can't tell you how many times we've forgotten something. To make it easier to depart, we keep the trailer mostly stocked. We only need 3 things: clothes, toys (books, camera, etc.), and food. Envoy the adventures...

1963122

Looked at more than one video that said to make a list. Great advise from experienced RV'ers. 
We are still figuring out what we are going to bring cross country. Power cord is a must! LOL

1963122

Currently on the way to the West coast

1963122

1963122

Staying overnight at NuCamp

Marceline

1963122 said:

Currently on the way to the West coast

Where are you going?

1963122

National parks and visiting relatives