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First post and short review of my maiden voyage!
Scooter
Member Posts: 14
Hello everyone,
First of all I want to say a big Thank You to everyone on this forum. I have been lurking around in the background for a couple years, finally decided a few weeks ago to pull the trigger and purchase a T@B. The information, tips, tricks, etc etc that I have gotten from this site have been a TREMENDOUS help!
A little bit about my setup.... I have a 2015 CS-S Max, and the TV is a 2012 Wrangler Sport....2 door not 4, I'm a Jeep purist!
Granted, I didn't go very far, but I had zero problems towing the T@B. Growing up in East TN I do have experience towing, usually with some sort of farm equipment loaded, so towing isn't that daunting of a task for me. I feel the Jeep is going to do just fine...as they always do! Growing up with GSMNP right in my back yard I am familiar with camping....mostly tent and it's been years since that has happened, but it is something that I enjoy. I think the dog looks forward to the trips more than me.... ;-)
This past weekend I had the chance to take "Cleo's Clubhouse" out for it's maiden voyage. FYI.... Cleo is the dog. She's been my constant companion for the last 10 years and thinks that the T@B is her personal little doghouse playhouse on wheels.
Anyway, here are a couple things I learned that I want to pass along and hopefully help someone out in their decision making:
It took my forever to decide if I wanted, or would even use, the shower. Hey... all those years, I walked to the bathhouse so why would that be any different now!?!? To make things short.... If you are on the fence about this I would highly recommend you get one. I'm 5'10" and 220lbs, yes it was tight and small. However once I got the hang of getting in and out the door, it was a GREAT thing to have! I was pleasantly surprised how HOT the water got and it was so nice to be able to say: Ok.... I'm going to go take a shower now, take three steps and I'm in my own space enjoying a nice relaxing rinse! Waking up in the middle of the night to use the restroom was a breeze! Take one step and I'm there, another step in the opposite direction and I was back in bed. At first getting in and out of the shower door was a chore, but once i mastered the art... It was very nice to have! As far as dealing with the black and grey tanks, it was a little daunting at first, as I have no experience here, but in the end nothing to be worried about.
I was worried about storage... Where the heck am I going to put everything in such a small space!?!? But let me say, for my needs, there was MORE than enough room. As a matter of fact, I have room to spare. My years in the military taught me to travel light. I only take the basic essentials for me to get through the amount of time I plan to be away. After getting everything situated and put away in a manner that works for me, I realized I can still have some of those creature comforts that I didn't bring because I was worried I would have no place to put it.
To Clamshell or not to Clamshell.... That is the question!
I'm not one to do a lot of cooking when "on vacation". I keep things simple... However, I do love a nice bacon and eggs (maybe pancakes) breakfast when camping. They just seem to go together. I mostly use my dutch oven or cast iron skillet in the fire pit for meals. So I can't really comment on how "usable" the stove is. But here again, the storage, the rear access and having everything right there at my fingertips was great! Had one issue with the stove... At some point during the day, I must have bumped the knob and turned on the gas. There were 5 people on this trip and none of us noticed a propane smell, the galley door was open all day long... I didn't realize it until the next day and by that time I had an empty propane tank. I'm not sure if this is actually what happened, but upon further inspection, the knobs are VERY easy to push in and turn. And being in the location they are, we could only assume this is what happened. Before going out on the next trip, I plan on getting some thick rubber washers to put on the knob posts to hopefully eliminate this from happening.
I plan on trying to get out again this weekend for a short stay at Cowans Gap, PA. I see many posts about campgrounds and BLM lands out west, but not very much on east coast. So my plan is start writing short campground reviews for those of us in the Mid-Atlantic states.... Now I just have to stick to the plan! :-)
And FYI.... For those of you in the Maryland area. Beckleys RV in Thurmont, MD DOES have a T@B available to rent. Not trying to advertise for their business, however being able to actually take a T@B out before purchasing was a tremendous help for me. It's really what helped me decide the T@B was the right thing for me!
Cheers everyone and Happy Teardropping!
Scooter
First of all I want to say a big Thank You to everyone on this forum. I have been lurking around in the background for a couple years, finally decided a few weeks ago to pull the trigger and purchase a T@B. The information, tips, tricks, etc etc that I have gotten from this site have been a TREMENDOUS help!
A little bit about my setup.... I have a 2015 CS-S Max, and the TV is a 2012 Wrangler Sport....2 door not 4, I'm a Jeep purist!
Granted, I didn't go very far, but I had zero problems towing the T@B. Growing up in East TN I do have experience towing, usually with some sort of farm equipment loaded, so towing isn't that daunting of a task for me. I feel the Jeep is going to do just fine...as they always do! Growing up with GSMNP right in my back yard I am familiar with camping....mostly tent and it's been years since that has happened, but it is something that I enjoy. I think the dog looks forward to the trips more than me.... ;-)This past weekend I had the chance to take "Cleo's Clubhouse" out for it's maiden voyage. FYI.... Cleo is the dog. She's been my constant companion for the last 10 years and thinks that the T@B is her personal little doghouse playhouse on wheels.
Anyway, here are a couple things I learned that I want to pass along and hopefully help someone out in their decision making:
It took my forever to decide if I wanted, or would even use, the shower. Hey... all those years, I walked to the bathhouse so why would that be any different now!?!? To make things short.... If you are on the fence about this I would highly recommend you get one. I'm 5'10" and 220lbs, yes it was tight and small. However once I got the hang of getting in and out the door, it was a GREAT thing to have! I was pleasantly surprised how HOT the water got and it was so nice to be able to say: Ok.... I'm going to go take a shower now, take three steps and I'm in my own space enjoying a nice relaxing rinse! Waking up in the middle of the night to use the restroom was a breeze! Take one step and I'm there, another step in the opposite direction and I was back in bed. At first getting in and out of the shower door was a chore, but once i mastered the art... It was very nice to have! As far as dealing with the black and grey tanks, it was a little daunting at first, as I have no experience here, but in the end nothing to be worried about.
I was worried about storage... Where the heck am I going to put everything in such a small space!?!? But let me say, for my needs, there was MORE than enough room. As a matter of fact, I have room to spare. My years in the military taught me to travel light. I only take the basic essentials for me to get through the amount of time I plan to be away. After getting everything situated and put away in a manner that works for me, I realized I can still have some of those creature comforts that I didn't bring because I was worried I would have no place to put it.
To Clamshell or not to Clamshell.... That is the question!
I'm not one to do a lot of cooking when "on vacation". I keep things simple... However, I do love a nice bacon and eggs (maybe pancakes) breakfast when camping. They just seem to go together. I mostly use my dutch oven or cast iron skillet in the fire pit for meals. So I can't really comment on how "usable" the stove is. But here again, the storage, the rear access and having everything right there at my fingertips was great! Had one issue with the stove... At some point during the day, I must have bumped the knob and turned on the gas. There were 5 people on this trip and none of us noticed a propane smell, the galley door was open all day long... I didn't realize it until the next day and by that time I had an empty propane tank. I'm not sure if this is actually what happened, but upon further inspection, the knobs are VERY easy to push in and turn. And being in the location they are, we could only assume this is what happened. Before going out on the next trip, I plan on getting some thick rubber washers to put on the knob posts to hopefully eliminate this from happening.
I plan on trying to get out again this weekend for a short stay at Cowans Gap, PA. I see many posts about campgrounds and BLM lands out west, but not very much on east coast. So my plan is start writing short campground reviews for those of us in the Mid-Atlantic states.... Now I just have to stick to the plan! :-)
And FYI.... For those of you in the Maryland area. Beckleys RV in Thurmont, MD DOES have a T@B available to rent. Not trying to advertise for their business, however being able to actually take a T@B out before purchasing was a tremendous help for me. It's really what helped me decide the T@B was the right thing for me!
Cheers everyone and Happy Teardropping!
Scooter
Comments
Your propane leak is quite the mystery. We have used the SMEV cooktop to cook most of our meals as we have rambled around the country over the course of many months and are not quite sure how you could have just bumped the knob and turned on the propane. In order to achieve propane flow you have to push the knob and rotate it a quarter of a turn to the ignition zone in order to light the burner with a lighter or match. At that point you have to continue to hold the knob in for a few seconds as you rotate it into the cook zone in order to heat up the thermocouple. This keeps the valve open and propane flowing while you are cooking. If for some reason the flame blows out the thermocouple will cool and close the valve preventing propane flow. In the absence of a flame you have to rotate, push and hold the knob in order to achieve propane flow. If no one was holding it in and nothing was sitting on the knob holding it in then the stove is might not be the source of your propane leak...
Good luck solving your mystery.
Happy Trails!
Steve & Karen
Steve and Karen,
Thanks for the info! I'm headed out again this weekend and will give this a closer look. I'm really not sure how it got empty... The plot thickens!!!
2014 S Maxx
2011 Tacoma 4cyl ... edit: 2022 Tacoma 6cyl - oh yeah!
A_Little_T@b'll_Do_Ya