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Shakedown in Ohio - edited

Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,746
edited May 2017 in Camping & Travel
So, we finally have our TaB!  Picked it up from Haydocy last Monday and after screwing down the ARB feet to the slide, connecting the sewer hose holder and adding bleach to the fresh water tank, off we went.  We combined a camping trip at AW Marion State Park with a visit to my father-in-law in Assisted Living-3 nights camping and 1 night in a gravel lot with hook ups at the nursing home.

The 2 + years of reading the forum paid off - and maybe we were a little lucky.  We managed to use every system ... except the black tank.  No blown fuses, the Alde worked flawlessly and silently, the Shurflow water pump cooperated, and the tank level monitors were maybe just a suggestion.  We rinsed and drained our fresh water tank and hauled (multiple times) gray water using our portable tank to the nearby gray water drain.  The water spigots were not at each camp site, but close enough.  We did get a lot of exercise!  We tested the city water connection at home and tried our new flat hose system.

We found the firm cushions made a comfortable bed and we tested how quickly the Alde can heat the cabin at 3 am when the temperature dipped to 55 degrees.  We used PhotoMoms checklists,  especially for hitching, and Verna's gravity fresh water tank fill system (leaked, so back to the drawing board:)  Although we had electricity, we tested the battery system and watched the Victron monitor.  The ARB performed as expected and was silent.  My DH volunteered me to drive first, so we towed for the very first time on the backroads, then we took I 71 home - but did not keep up with traffic.  Bruce Miller from Haydocy adjusted the Prodigy RF brake controller for us and we further adjusted it as the brakes were grabby when coming to a stop.  He also texted us to check and see how we were faring - nice touch from the dealer!

The only thing difficult was not having everything in place.  We will need more time to figure out a storage system.  I already know that we will need to place some kind of shelving system in the galley cabinets to protect the plumbing.  After returning home and parking in our driveway, my DH clocked his head on an open window - knocked him off his feet and resulted in a big gash.  Pressure, ice and Tylenol to the rescue - oh and we have pool noodles on the window edges now:)  We were so pleased that the TaB spins like a corndog on a stick - able to relocate it very easily in our driveway and align it to hitch back up - wonderful!

We have a few more trips planned this summer and a trip to the factory for some fine tuning, so we will have more fun coming up soon!

Sharon
Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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