First Boondocking Trip

Wanderoo

I came back tonight from my first "boondocking" trip with Clement@B.  She gets an A.  Only reason she doesn't get an A+ is because I didn't have time to check out the freshwater/shower. 

Many items to comment on, but generally, OF COURSE, is the operation of the 3-way Norcold + altitude.  After leveling to 1/2 a bubble from "bullseye," the Norcold fired up on propane right away and continued flawflessly for the entire weekend.  It does take a while to cool down (and I had a frozen 3-liter bottle inside the Norcold).  I may consider firing it up the night before I head out in the future. I live in a high altitude location, and I towed from 5, 280 ft. to 8,270 feet to Kelsey Campground (Pine, CO). The newer T@Bs have two vents on the outside of the T@B for high altitude locations. The Norcold did not rattle and did not interfere with my sleep during the night (however, the 8 teenagers who camped next to me did!!)

Next thing I want to comment on was my beautiful 80 watt ZAMP!  I hooked it up without any technical experience, and immediately it starting charging my battery. On Friday, I was able to run lights, the stereo, and even the TV (via Rayzar Wyngaard) for three hours.  The next morning, the reading on my plug-in voltmeter was 12.3, and the day continued to be cloudy.  The ZAMP continued to charge and reached a max of 12.6.  I didn't run the TV for more than 20 minutes to get an update on the weather, but I did turn on the lights and stereo for about 1 hr.; the amperage did not fall from 12.6. 

The T@B tows very well on narrow, winding roads.  It follows right behind your vehicle.  It is such a great travel trailer, and I had many people walk by and comment, "love your travel trailer."  Ditto.  Have to agree.   

B-)

RZRBUG

Congrats!  Glad everything went well and that the Norcold behaved itself.  I see in LG's store site that they now have a Norcold 12V freezer/refrigerator for sale.  If I had seen it before I ordered the other one, I might have given it a try.  The descriptions are very similar.

BTW, I discovered while in Yellowstone that a combination of high altitude and cold weather lowers the ability of a butane lighter to actually light.  At least I think that is true because they both worked fine later on.  Wooden matches are now stored in the trailer, although striking one near the smoke detector will cause it to go off.

Michigan_Mike

Funny you should mention the effects of high altitude Larry as I notice it every time I am out west and in the mountains.  It takes seemingly forever to boil my coffee water when I get up in the morning and I just sit there shaking my head as it seems like double the amount of time as opposed to being closer to sea level.  I attribute this to my Coleman stove and the mixture of oxygen and fuel.  Water actually boils at a lower level of heat in a higher altitude which is wild, but it is the higher pressure of the elevation that impacts the process.  

Cyclonic

You should know the real reason for that Mike, a watched pot does not boil :-D

BTW, Mike makes a mean cup of coffee.

belvagillespie

Thanks for posting that guys. I had the same situation with the butane lighter and also boiling water in my new special camping. Pot. I did not think of the altitude being the problem. On the other hand , I endured altitude sickness in Jackson.
Had to go to bed. Too bad, this girl didn't get to go shopping in Jackson.
Drank more water and had carbs for dinner.

RZRBUG

What we put up with for a little spectacular scenery.  The high altitude gave me a mild nose bleed, which disappeared as soon as I got off the mountains.  Nothing major, and I suspect the blood thinners I take contributed to it.