Newbies on our first long term trip

izp50

Greetings to all you T@B owners.  We bought a used 2004 T@B 16 in the early spring and had only camped out one night prior to this long trip. This was our "Shake Down" trip and we did learn many things about our little "Rosebud" which my wife named in honor of her Mother who passed on several years ago. Our trip took us through parts of Nevada on US 50 and on down to Southern Utah with a final stop at Fish Lake close to 10 thousand feet.  In terms of "shake down", we lost one piece of rubber strip on the Keder Rail and one amber side marker lens. Other than that, all other mechanical items faired well.  Does anyone having an older T@b 16 know where I can get replacement rubber stripping?  No Mods done yet to the Rosebud except for replacing the incandescent interior lamp bulbs with LEDs, which gave more light output while drawing less current. We put up the slide-in rain fly, that apparently had not been used by the previous owners, since all parts were still new in their respective carrying bags. After putting it up (It took myself, wife, and two grown children to get it up) without installation instructions, we have decided that we will look for an alternative structure for future trips! All in all, it was an enjoyable trip and we look forward to our next outing possibly to Bodega Bay, CA (We are from Roseville, CA).  

SGH0004

fun times & welcome to the forum! Like the setup.  We will be headed out that way in October.  As far as the lens & weatherstrip, If you have a dealer close to home you might have to order it since the lenses are prob different than the new led type.  

izp50

@SGH0004 Thanks for the welcome. You are correct in that the older lens size is different. I searched around town at auto supply stores and surprisingly, found the correct type at my local ACE hardware store.  Did not buy it there since it was only available as an entire assembly and all that I wanted was the lens.  After putting on my reading glasses I discovered that it is a Bargman type 59 and went down to Allied Trailer Supply in Sacramento CA, got lucky and bought one and a spare.  No luck on the weatherstrip there, but found a local T@B dealer and will check there.

Happy motoring in October - Should be cooler at that time. 

Runtarooti

@izp50 here is a POLL about what folks do with the keder stripping after they remove it to use their visor or tent. A lot of folks throw theirs away.
http://tab-rv.vanillaforums.com/discussion/4997/what-do-you-do-with-the-black-vinyl-keder-rail-strip-once-you-remove-it
If you go to the Pahaque website they have videos on how to put up the visor and awning, easy 5 minutes once you see how it's done. You do need to remove the strip first. 

izp50

@Runtarooti, thanks for the tip/info. We're still very newbie oriented and any help that we can get goes a long way to our success. After that first trip we started a list of items that we need and the list continues to grow. Experienced folks like you give us many options to explore.

Thanks again    BTW, how does everyone get their T@B type and TV info etc. placed at the bottom of their posts?  Anyone??

ericnliz

@izp50, Really like your decal, and thanks for sharing the photos!! Sounds like you had a good time, and are learning your T@B. Lots of good info here, best to just start browsing, and if 'ya can't find something in particular, don't be afraid to ask, lots of good help here as well! (We all had to start somewhere, and we're STILL learning!)
As far as putting in your T@B type, and TV info, go to your icon at the top with the little face followed by izp50, click on it. You'll see a little man silhouette, click on it, and edit profile will drop down, click on that. This will take you to where you can edit your picture, change your password, etc. At the bottom is a signature setting, click on it & type your little heart out! Make sure 'ya hit the save before exiting! Hope this helps you, I had to figure it out too!

Sharon_is_SAM

If the stripping was inside the Jefferson railing, you do not need to replace it.  What kind of awning do you have?

Ratkity

Runtarooti said:

@izp50 here is a POLL about what folks do with the keder stripping after they remove it to use their visor or tent. A lot of folks throw theirs away.
http://tab-rv.vanillaforums.com/discussion/4997/what-do-you-do-with-the-black-vinyl-keder-rail-strip-once-you-remove-it
If you go to the Pahaque website they have videos on how to put up the visor and awning, easy 5 minutes once you see how it's done. You do need to remove the strip first. 

From their picture, it was the rubber stripping on top of the camper that tucks into the rounded molding. One side of mine unhinged partly, but I didn't lose it! I was told to put a dab of shoe goo on a few spots and tuck it back into the molding (you'll need a step ladder). If you totally lost the stripping, you can probably get another from Elsie at NüCamp. Their numbers are on the left side of any of the forum pages, top, under Categories. Great people there! 

Jannon

May I ask how the Subaru dis pulling the trailer... Im a bit nervous; however if I keep the weight down believe I'll be ok.  

Dptrit

izp50 said:

Greetings to all you T@B owners.  We bought a used 2004 T@B 16 in the early spring and had only camped out one night prior to this long trip. This was our "Shake Down" trip and we did learn many things about our little "Rosebud" which my wife named in honor of her Mother who passed on several years ago. Our trip took us through parts of Nevada on US 50 and on down to Southern Utah with a final stop at Fish Lake close to 10 thousand feet.  In terms of "shake down", we lost one piece of rubber strip on the Keder Rail and one amber side marker lens. Other than that, all other mechanical items faired well.  Does anyone having an older T@b 16 know where I can get replacement rubber stripping?  No Mods done yet to the Rosebud except for replacing the incandescent interior lamp bulbs with LEDs, which gave more light output while drawing less current. We put up the slide-in rain fly, that apparently had not been used by the previous owners, since all parts were still new in their respective carrying bags. After putting it up (It took myself, wife, and two grown children to get it up) without installation instructions, we have decided that we will look for an alternative structure for future trips! All in all, it was an enjoyable trip and we look forward to our next outing possibly to Bodega Bay, CA (We are from Roseville, CA).  

Great photos, way to go Rosebud. Love to see it, we have the same Subaru, color too, and a soon to be (were pregn@nt)  2007 T@B.

izp50

Thanks again everyone for the warm welcome and tips/info.

@ericnliz, the decal was designed by my graphic design/artist daughter and produced by my son's girlfriend on her father's equipment. He is in the racing business and they do a lot of decal work on both new race cars and ones that have been rebuilt due to crashes etc.

@SAM, the awning came with the T@B and I have no idea what Dutchman called it however, I am including  a pix of it at the end of this post.

@Jannon, The Subaru pulled very strongly and we had to force ourselves to drive slower.  In California the max speed while towing is 55 MPH while in NV and UT higher speeds were allowed.  The Subaru pulled excellently at 70 MPH. Our gas mileage was very concerning to my wife ranging from a high of 19 mpg to a low of 9 and change over steep inclines. I will have to tell her of the info that I gleaned from other posts that mpg indeed goes down for most TVs while towing a T@B. One thing that we learned was to release the cruise control while climbing and use the gas pedal lightly while climbing grades otherwise the cruise control will try to maintain speed and race the engine to high revs.
 

Ratkity

Wow about the decal stuff! I absolutely love yours. Does your son (and all his gf's connections) take orders?

2Cougs

@izp50 - Welcome!  I love Rosebud!  I hope you are having some great T@bventures.  We are heading down your way in August.  Heading down the Oregon coast  to visit parents in Santa Rosa we will be staying one night at Stillwater Cove.  There is some beautiful scenery to explore ... Have fun at Bodega Bay!

izp50

@Ratkity, Thanks for the interest. My young son does not do any of it as he is a full time Ca Fish and Wildlife Warden.  The design work is done by my daughter and the decal work was done by young son's gf.  I will ask the girls if they have the time and would like to take on the task.    

@2Cougs, We are honored. I am truly sure that you will have great times on your trip(s) as the Pacific Northwest is always a pleasant place for junkets.  Santa Rosa is great also and Oh So Close to wine country. Enjoy