New from North Florida

robpt

Hello, from a North Florida resident somewhat new to T@B, but not new to NuCamp. Over the last 10 years, I have gone from a very basic teardrop (local homebuilt variety that didn't last) that I pulled behind a Mini Cooper, to a succession of 3, truck/slide-in camper combos. There were things about camping in a truck camper that I really liked - one being no tag and yearly registration  fees. The other was the maneuverability- no trailer to finesse around.  My last truck slide-in camper was a Cirrus 800 by NuCamp, and did I ever like that camper! The biggest problem I really had with owning a truck camper in general was the unavoidable fact that you had to have a very heavy duty truck to get it around.  Another thing is that, no matter how many times you did it, it was a very nerve-racking experience to back a pickup truck bed underneath a 2,500 lb. plus camper, jacked up in the air, with just about 2 inches of clearance at each wheel well. One false move and goodbye expensive camper, and probably a lot of damage to your truck. And you talk about weight police in a forum! Try visiting a truck camper forum sometime! You can easily get lost down that rabbit hole of "your truck is not big enough" and "you're always more overloaded than you think you are." Long story short, I decided having a heavy duty truck that would serve a contractor better than someone who only needed it to go camping was a big waste. So I went back to the dealer in North Carolina where I had gotten my Cirrus camper and truck (and the prior truck camper before it)  and arranged a trade-in for both the truck and camper in exchange for a T@B 320S, using the cash I got in exchange for that deal to buy me a good tow vehicle to get back to Florida. I made both purchases on the same day. I'm not quite done with my story yet though....

I have been out in my new T@B 320S a number of times since my return, towing it with the Toyota 4Runner that I bought used while up there. I found that my wife and I missed the space and amenities that we had with the Cirrus. The one trailer that I really had wanted was not on his lot at the time and I really didn't feel I could spend the money for its asking price at the time. I got the 320S as a compromise, but I thought about the other trailer a lot, especially since it is basically a Cirrus in a trailer configuration.  Last week I got an email from the dealer alerting me to a special "email price" on this trailer while I was again day -dreaming about it. I  contacted the dealer shortly after and worked out again another trade. As you probably already guessed, it's for the 400. If I had never been in the Cirrus, I probably would have been alright with the 320S, which is a very remarkable camper, but I had been spoiled. This dealer is even being kind enough to this time deliver the camper, meeting me part way - at no extra charge to me  - so I don't have to do the 10 hour drive up there again to make the exchange. My Toyota 4Runner has a 5,000 lb. tow capacity and I am sure for where I go camping (no mountains in Florida) it will be fine. My wife and I will have more needed storage and about the same amount of space as the Cirrus had (maybe more storage, as the early Cirrus had put the alde under the sink and thus knocked out a lot of usable storage space) along with all the familiar features - like the alde heat, froli bed springs system, and the fold down sink. Even the light fixtures and the flooring are the same that came in the Cirrus. Come to think of it, even the weights of the Cirrus 800 truck camper and the 400 are about the same. Now I have the Cirrus back, and the vehicle that gets it from point A to point B, can easily be parked at work. I think I'll live with that!

jgram2

Welcome to the forum @robpt! You've had some journeys! I'm glad you settled on the 400+ 4Runner, it sounds like a fine combo! Now the only thing left is to post some photos if you're not as technically challenged as me. There are other T@Bs in Florida, so you may have plenty of built in friends to boot. And I envy your weather and state parks! Happy T@bbing.

dragonsdofly

@robpt, welcome to the forum, the t@b family and congratulations on your trailer! Adventures are sure to come. Happy t@bbing! Btw, @Sally6 is new to the forum, from the Miami area, and is looking for fellow Florida t@bbers to camp with. You might check that out. Enjoy!

Sally6

Welcome! I am new to camping, and am spending my first night in my 2015 T@b right now! I live near Disney. It would be great to get a Florida T@b group organized.

Ratkity

Welcome!!!! I've never known a person who owned or seen a Cirrus in the wild. It's like the elusive unicorn. Many happy camping times ahead for you!

robpt

Thank you all for the warm welcome! Twojgrams, our weather in this part of the state has been less a model for envy this last month. I do not remember it getting this cold in a long while. Then of course there was the issue of hurricanes last summer.....  We do have some nice State Parks up here, especially along the Gulf Coast with St. George Island and St. Joseph State Park.

Sally6, my wife and I have busy schedules, but we would be interested in getting together with other Floridians, that would be fun! I hope your first night in your T@B was a success!

I will try with this post to upload some pictures to see if I'm good to go with this as I am sure I will be posting pictures of the 400 down the road..... I will include pictures of the old Cirrus so that other with the 400 will see the similarities (fold down sink in bath.) I have one picture of my current T@B on some North Florida property I own that has power and a well. The bamboo (clumping type, no runners) you'll see in the foreground I had planted last year has probably all been knocked out with this last cold snap. What you'll see next to the 320 is my Clam Pavilion screen house. It is one of the best purchases I have made for screen shelter - if you have space to store it as it packs about 6 ft. long. It is easily set up by one person in under 20 minutes and has more space than any other screen house I've owned. 

jgram2

@robpt nice photos!

Tabmann400

Hello, robpt.  We are from northeast Florida, Jacksonville area.  Maybe we will meet and greet sometime.  There is also another Tab owner from my area.   I am reposting my previous comment from another page:
I joined the forum today.  We took delivery of our Tab 400 on 4/9/2018.  Went through PDI with dealer's tech with limited know-how on Tab's electronic appliances.  Overall, we are very happy and excited to have our Tab. First time RVer, first time towing a trailer camper.  Went through a storm during the last hour of a 4-hour trip back to our house.  Wow, what a first day on the road!  Looking forward to learning from the Tab community. We registered for the nuCamp 18 Rally in July in Sugarcreek, OH.  

robpt

@Tabmann400, hello, welcome, and thanks for your introduction. We live in the Tallahassee area and are always looking for weekend getaway trips in the surrounding area. It would be nice to meet up sometime! We are actually planning a 3 day stay at the Florida Caverns State Park near Marianna, FL the week after next. There are so many nice State Parks in this area and in South Georgia.

I, like you, are still getting familiar with the 400, but I had a learning primer on the truck camper in my original post that had many of the components of the 400. I think you will be very happy with it! I actually took delivery of mine outside of Jacksonville in early December, but it had traveled from North Carolina and I took possession at a rest stop off 301 (also traded in my 320S). I had only towed a small tear drop and the 320S prior to the 400, most of my experience was with truck campers.

Please feel free to message me if you're ever interested in meeting up or have a question. I just switched up tow vehicles this weekend and traded my 2008 4Runner in on a 2014 Nissan Frontier crew cab with an A.R.E. shell for the extra tow capacity rating,  I am anxious to feel what difference that will make in towing!

Tabmann400

Hi, robpt.
I am very happy to hear from you.  I am still kinda lost or ignorant with our Tab 400.  I spent the last two years researching and reading all about Class B vans, specifically Roadtreks and Hymer camper vans.  I can almost recite through memory what their options and specs are.  I offered to buy a Hymer last Oct 2017, but it fell through.  That's an interesting story we would share with you later.  I am reading through a lot of booklets and materials that came with the Tab 400.  Not sure how things work, but I am beginning to have an idea.  

We will go out and try out the Tab this weekend and take it from there.  The campground is only 30 minutes away from our house.  It will be our "shakedown" trip as some people might say.  I will also be able to practice backing up to the campsite.  I also have to learn that, even though I think I can do it, how many attempts, I guess I will find out.  I bought a towing vehicle last month for the Tab.  Things are coming together for our RVing plans, specially now that we are both retired.

We have plans to travel that way next week and we will let you know.  Again, thanks, and we will keep in touch.

Tab 400
2017 Dodge Ram 1500  (towing vehicle)

Tabmann400

Hi, @robpt,  we have been in three trips with our Tab 400,  there were minor problems, but our most concern was the problem of “unhitching and hitching” the Tab 400.  The tongue of the hitch always gives us the problem. I searched YouTube and found some videos on how to adjust the tongue.  I think it is too tight and needs to be loosened a little.  I like to do it soon but we have so much rain lately.  BTW, I am looking for your posting concerning your TV HDMI reinstallation.  I was amazed and impressed as to how much work you’ve done.  The first time I read it, I couldn’t post a comment because I cannot sign in.  There was a problem  with my password.  I probably will find that posting later. I hope you’re finished with it.  Are you going to the nuCamp Rally in Ohio in July, because we are, it will be great to meet you guys.

robpt

Hello @Tabmann400, I too have had occasional problems with the hitch; what I found works sometimes is not only slightly pulling forward, but also slightly going in reverse and then forward seems to release it. I know the idea is to create more space between the trailer and the vehicle, but sometimes gently nudging forward doesn't quite get it. I find it becomes more of a problem if the trailer and vehicle are not level to each other or your vehicle is not in a straight line with the trailer. I also picked up from here the use of silicon spray - that I do recommend to help with lubricating the works. 

The HDMI cable is completed and once again functional...... Yes, it was a lot of work, but it was important to me enough to do it.  I had originally emailed Nucamp both at the warranty request and at the technical advice departments. I received a new HDMI cable a little over a week after the warranty request with no further comments on installation, but didn't get any technical advisement until almost 2 weeks after replacing it myself. I could have called them I guess, but I just went ahead and did it. The technical advice person stated that he went down to the floor to see how the HDMI cable was run and he advised that I had two options: The one he recommended was to take it to an RV center and have it done, or the second option, do it myself - which he stated was a lot of work. The email outlined the task as I had already found out. A little late on the advice, but it's done. I knew I had to do it myself as I wouldn't trust the one RV dealer that exists around here and I did not want to drive over 200 miles to another one to have it sit while they had to figure out how to do it - not to mention the labor costs! All for a little HDMI cable. The one thing I have since realized early on with this camper is, that since my dealer is in North Carolina, I would have to do a lot of repairs myself, warranty or no warranty. I didn't foresee Nucamp flying someone down here to put a new HDMI cable in for me. Luckily, I have had no problem with buckling flooring, warped doors, or leaks as others have reported, and if I set the hot water boost before a shower, I really do have enough hot water for the lather up, rinse off, method!

Yes the rain! I have made modifications to try to adjust to wet weather camping. I've included a picture of my last boondocking adventure that I set up before Alberto came in over Memorial Day weekend. I used two Thermacell patio mosquito repellent devices (picked that up from comments here) under the large tarp because there was standing water in the woods in the back and it would have made sitting outside impossible. I'm happy to say they worked! A few got through, but not bad. I used the other tarp for my two Yamaha generators (in case I absolutely needed air conditioning - which I didn't.)  My next thoughts are to find taller poles and to set the tarp over the trailer so I can use the vents during rain and have a awning surrounding the trailer. 

Unfortunately, we will not be able to make the Rally in July - although I sure would like to go. We have work obligations. I would sure like to attend and meet other people on the forum, but maybe some day we can do that. In the meantime, please private message me when you're planning a local adventure. I have tried to get a reservation at Anastasia State Park this summer, but they seemed to be booked up solid until the fall. We are going to Stephen C. Foster State Park in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia for 3 nights in June. It is one of the few designated dark sky areas left in the country and I want to see the Milky Way! Of course, that's assuming it won't be raining. I tested the thermacell device during my boondock just for that trip!

Have fun at the rally, but do let me know when you venture out locally. You're not that far from Tallahassee and it may be that we'll need to assist each other sometimes on repairs or maintenance. I hope you are enjoying your 400 despite the rain!