Our New 320 CS BD's Maiden Voyage

FreewheelinFranklin

After a bunch of manual reading over cocktails at the dinette and familiarizing ourselves with the systems in the driveway we took our new 320 CS out for its first adventure this weekend. We live in Seattle and made the short trip up into the Cascades to the Tinkham Campground in the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest as a milk run to try things out. Verdict: fun! The T@B is just right for us. Perfect size for the two of us and our Corgi. The aft galley suits our camping style very well, the sleeping arrangements were most comfortable, and the trailer was easy to tow and set up. 

We learned a lot from perusing these forums before we set out, so thanks to the collective wisdom for all that. We did come away with a few takeaways from the trip: I reckon we need two deep-cycle batteries for boondocking. The single flooded-cell dual-purpose battery it came with wasn't quite sufficient for our needs. The solar panel helped a little, but the beautifully shaded sites didn't afford much solar power. Our power usage was limited to the fridge, the stereo running Bluetooth from a phone, and the ancillaries (H20 pump, Alde) and we needed to fire up the tow vehicle a couple of times to top up the battery. A smart shunt is surely in our future, as I wanted a better view into what the electrical system was doing than the interior panel or Victron Connect app could tell me from just the solar controller's perspective. And I'm keen on one of the AllPro eyebrow awnings. 

All told we loved the T@B and we're looking forward to many more trips with it this summer and beyond. 

Mickerly

Don't forget you can move the Lagun table outside. We made a slightly larger table to make dining more comfortable. We opted for a 13 x 13ft Coleman canopy rather than the side tent. You'll spend a lot more time behind the trailer than along side.

We like our CS too. Welcome to the club.

Sharon_is_SAM

Congrats!  Yep, camping in the shade is a game changer.  I see lithium in your future.  We have a 150 AHr AGM that serves us well with sun and solar, but a couple hundred AHrs of lithium gives you more options.

Marceline

FreewheelinFranklin said:

After a bunch of manual reading over cocktails at the dinette and familiarizing ourselves with the systems in the driveway we took our new 320 CS out for its first adventure this weekend. We live in Seattle and made the short trip up into the Cascades to the Tinkham Campground in the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest as a milk run to try things out. Verdict: fun! The T@B is just right for us. Perfect size for the two of us and our Corgi. The aft galley suits our camping style very well, the sleeping arrangements were most comfortable, and the trailer was easy to tow and set up. 

We learned a lot from perusing these forums before we set out, so thanks to the collective wisdom for all that. We did come away with a few takeaways from the trip: I reckon we need two deep-cycle batteries for boondocking. The single flooded-cell dual-purpose battery it came with wasn't quite sufficient for our needs. The solar panel helped a little, but the beautifully shaded sites didn't afford much solar power. Our power usage was limited to the fridge, the stereo running Bluetooth from a phone, and the ancillaries (H20 pump, Alde) and we needed to fire up the tow vehicle a couple of times to top up the battery. A smart shunt is surely in our future, as I wanted a better view into what the electrical system was doing than the interior panel or Victron Connect app could tell me from just the solar controller's perspective. And I'm keen on one of the AllPro eyebrow awnings. 

All told we loved the T@B and we're looking forward to many more trips with it this summer and beyond. 

Welcome to Club Clamshell!

I'd encourage you to consider a lithium battery over two AGMs - especially if you plan to keep the camper for at least a few years. A lithium battery would weigh a LOT less than lead batteries (think in terms of tongue weight) and it's MUCH easier to maintain. The SmartShunt is easy to install and worth every penny.

If I know that I'll have trouble recharging from solar, I cut my power use to the battery and the water pump. I bring a bluetooth speaker and I use solar/battery powered lights. The newer CSS's have a solenoid switch to cut the propane that apparently constantly draws power when the hatch is open, so you might want to address that.

But the biggest power hog is the fridge. Before leaving on a trip that involves boondocking, I bring the fridge down to near freezing, then load it up with an ice block in the freezer compartment. Be sure that everything you put in the fridge is good and cold before you put it in there. Do your best to avoid opening it except when necessary, and keep the black door out of the sun (I covered mine in reflectix). I put drinks in a separate cooler to avoid opening fridge too much. And I use this bluetooth thermometer to monitor fridge temp. Have fun!

FreewheelinFranklin

Thanks for the great comments, all.

We'll probably upgrade to lithium batteries next season after I can internalize all the things I need to do to correctly do so while integrating a suitcase solar panel into the mix. I like the idea of being able to move them into the cabin from a weight distribution perspective. For now we're going with two 12v 100 Ah Renology AGMs in parallel and planning to pack carefully to keep tongue weight in check. I figure I'd rather learn the hard lessons about charging on $189 batteries vs $600+ ones. 

I'll look into that propane solenoid -- hadn't heard about that. And I like the reflectix idea for the fridge face.