Our Maiden Voyage

JPRoland · September 2020

Hello, All. My wife, Sara and I (John) are on our maiden voyage in our brand new T@B 320S Boondock pulled by our Toyota Highlander Limited. We traveled from Little Rock, Arkansas to Houston, Texas to see our children and grandchildren. We have not seen them since February and that was the inspiration to get the T@B. We wanted to be safe and self-contained. Everything has really gone well, but we have already had a few near-mistakes. We will return to Little Rock this weekend after a couple more nights camping and I'll give a full update. But, there are a few things I've learned so far:
1-Put the step in before hitting the road.
2-Never arrive on the first night of your maiden voyage after dark.
3-Put the step in before hitting the road.
4-Leave yourself plenty of room between you and the car in front of you. Even with the electric brake kit, it is different when having to brake suddenly.
5-Put the step in before hitting the road.
6-Lock the generator to the rig even if you are in the vehicle. More on that theft-attempt later.
7-Smile and be friendly to every motorist who drives by pointing at your trailer yelling, "YOUR STEP IS OUT!"

Rodent77 · September 2020

@JPRoland thanks for the laugh on1,3,5,and 7...reminds me of my motorcycle, I have a sticker that says "Turn the Gas on Dummy".....Need something for the trailer " Put up Step before hitting the Road" Safe travels....

jkjenn · September 2020

Hahahaha

I bet you won't forget to put the step back, again.

Welcome and congrats!

tabiphile · September 2020

Too funny......everyone has some kind of first outing event. Ours was neglecting to bring toilet paper..it's not happened since.

JPRoland · September 2020

The maiden voyage is complete and we sure learned a lot. We didn't do anything stupid enough to hurt ourselves, but certainly could have. We left the step out four times. We learned that if another motorist pulls up next to you waving and yelling, roll down your window and be very nice...they are about to give you some useful information. The most interesting one occurred on our return trip from Houston to Little Rock. A woman pulled up next to us on the highway and yelled, "You are dragging your extension cord!" I said, "Thank you" and pulled over. I couldn't imagine what on earth she meant. An extension cord? I had visions of an orange extension cord dragging 20 feet behind the T@B. When I pulled over I discovered that my lights/electric brake connector had come loose and I was dragging it at 62 mph down the highway. I was running without lights or electric brake assist. The rubber connector plug was worn down to about half it's normal size. It was no longer a cylinder and was now shaped like an arrowhead. I put on the warning flashers and was able to somehow get it to make connection. Little did I know it was shorting terribly. I started to take off with the flashers still on and the car began lurching or porpoising. I thought it must be a flat tire so I stopped and checked. All tires were fine. I started again and it kept lurching. As I moved forward I turned off the hazard lights (warning lights) and it stopped lurching. I discovered it was lurching each time the lights flashed. So, off we went down the road. Everything was fine when I turned on the left blinker to pass, but when I turned on the right blinker to return to the right lane it would lurch each time the light blinked. The brake was being depressed each time the turn indicator blinked! Very scary. I pulled over at a gas station as early as I could and did a good walk around checking all lights. Only the left blinker, and left brake light worked. I disconnected It but was very aware that I now had no turn indicators or brake lights. Fortunately, it was daylight but we were still three hours away from our campsite without brake lights so I had to use a lot of caution. I decided to look for an RV dealer along the way while keeping in mind I might be able to get a mobile mechanic at the campsite. Five minutes before closing time we spotted a small hand-made sign that said, "RV Repair." They were about to close and go home, but were kind enough to stay late, remove the old connector, and install a new one in about twenty minutes. Total: $40.00. We were very fortunate. We learned to leave a bit more slack in the light/brake connector cord. We also learned it is best to arrive early at the campground and especially not after dark. But, for the most part, everything was more than satisfactory and we will be so much better prepared next time. I am certain that by learning so much from you fellow T@B owners prior to the trip we saved ourselves from potentially even more newbie mistakes. There is a learning curve, for sure.

Kajakcamper · September 2020

Thank you for sharing this adventure. You were so fortunate, and it is kind of you to post your experience. We will all learn from this. My TAB 400 will arrive in the future, and I am reading everything I can find about it.

JPRoland · September 2020

Well, Kajakcamper, you are going to love your T@B. I read everything I could and practiced in the driveway, but actually getting out there is the best way. You'll make some mistakes, but you'll continually get better at it. I know more today than I did a week ago. Have fun.

JPRoland · September 2020

More on the attempted generator theft: I had read that you should lock down your generator because they are desirable. They're worth cash and easy to pawn. I had mine strapped to the front platform of the trailer but I didn't lock it on the way down to Houston because I knew I would be with it the whole time. I started getting tired in some little east Texas town so we stopped in a Builder's Supply parking lot so I could take a twenty minute nap while Sara made sandwiches. We pulled the night shades up and it gets very dark and perfect for taking a nap, but you can't see out. While I was sleeping I thought I heard something. Sara said someone pulled right up next to us when we first climbed into the camper. She said they were admiring it. Well, after my nap we stepped out to find one of the straps off and on the ground and the other one was loosened and it appeared someone had attempted to take it, but I suspect they heard us inside which probably surprised them. We were fortunate. I almost lost a thousand dollars! It stays heavily locked on the platform now! Lesson learned.

Bailey · September 2020

What great advice, and funny! We are pop-up campers with loads of stories, getting ready to purchase a 2021 320 Boondock trailer now. Can you comment on how you bargained for your price of the 320, how many added features you ordered, costs. Thanks- Bailey

Tampakayaker · September 2020

Bailey said:

What great advice, and funny! We are pop-up campers with loads of stories, getting ready to purchase a 2021 320 Boondock trailer now. Can you comment on how you bargained for your price of the 320, how many added features you ordered, costs. Thanks- Bailey

We went from a PUP (our old Coleman was a 8 x 8 body) to a 320 last fall. You will be surprised how much more storage a PUP has over a 320. So be prepared to start paring down your "essentials".

mrdeepfryguy · September 2020

@JPRoland first timers too with same rig as yours. Drove from Ohio to Galveston to meet son’s family (incl our 3 grandchildren) at the beach. Stayed one night each way at a campground in Hazen Arkansas. Remembered to leave the step up, but briefly lost our 7pin connector. Torrential rains in Houston forced us to detour off of our planned route. Detour took us to a highway on-ramp which looked a “little flooded” . Big truck ahead made it through so I gunned the 4Runner to get through the 20 foot long water ditch. Felt like our T@b hydroplaned for a very long two seconds and we made it onto the highway with severely backed up traffic. Felt uneasy about what I did, so pulled off to inspect. 7pin connector was out, no other visible damage. Got to Galveston and no water inside the T@b either. Whewww what a relief. Wouldn’t recommend this camper as a flotation device, but somehow we dodged this bullet. Will lock down everything going forward to avoid these parking lot bandits. Assume they are everywhere. Enjoy all your future adventures. I am hoping our new adventures will be on hiking trails, beaches and music-fests, not at on-ramps !

JPRoland · September 2020

Everyone will tell you and there are even YouTube videos that are saying, "Don't buy an RV right now!" "It's a seller's market!" "There will be a flood of used RV's after COVID19," etc. Well, I'm sorry, but we can't wait for the market as we have not seen our children and grandchildren since February. They live 9 hours away and I am 64 with a medical condition. I will not do well with this nasty virus, so my wife and I have just laid low in our six acre forest west of Little Rock since March. We don't want to stay in a hotel. We don't want to have our food prepared for us at a fast food place on the highway and we don't want to use a toilet at a truck stop. So, I suggested we become self-contained and buy an RV. We had never considered one before this moment. We didn't want a big trailer because we didn't want to have to buy a truck to pull it. We also wanted to be able to pull into gas stations and rest stops easily. Some campers are crazy-big. I also didn't want an "ordinary" trailer like everybody else's. We felt that if it was unique and had lots of features it would be more desirable for resale. I started looking at trailers and RV's in April. I looked EVERY DAY! You have to. I was looking at used 2017 T@B 320 S Boondoks for 17K-20K. Used 2019 and 2020 models for 21K-24K. It is truly a seller's market, no doubt, and it is true that inventories are very low so selection is sparse. It takes daily hunting an a lot of perseverance to find what you want. I didn't limit the size of my seller's market, either. I kept searching the entire nation. About 3 or 4 weeks ago I found a new 2020 model (not a new 2021) for sale at a dealership in Mississippi. He wanted 27,500 for it and I would have to pay an additional $500. for the brake assist/light kit which I needed. $28K total. That was a bit steep, but I was tired of looking and I was afraid if we waited much longer our grandkids would be graduating college when we finally arrived. They are ages 6, 3, and 1 right now. I was an inch away from pulling the trigger but when I went to give the salesman $500. to hold it until I got there, he wouldn't take a credit card. He wanted the deposit in cash. There's nothing wrong with that, but it was an inconvenience that just kind of ticked me off. Plus, I had been waiting on a check for two months and I was going to use that to buy the T@B, but I didn't have it in hand, yet. I said, "I tell you what...I think I may be getting the cart before the horse so when I get my check I'll call you...If you still have the T@B, I'll buy it." I kept looking at RV classifieds and dealer websites daily. One morning to my surprise, the exact model I was looking for popped up at a dealership just 30 minutes from my house. I was there within an hour. As we looked it over, it was even better than what we had imagined. It had central air, a microwave, lots of electrical and usb ports, a full-size spare with matching rim mounted in the front. It was the one. The color even matched our Highlander. When I sat down to discuss price with the salesman he said, "27,500.00." He said that I would also have to buy the additional brake assist/light kit for $750.00. Total: 28,250. I said, "If you could bring it in around $26,500. for the trailer, I would buy it." But, I told him he would have to hold it for a week and I would only put my deposit on credit card. They actually did even better. By the time we were through he took my deposit on credit card and we agreed on $26,500 total with the brake assist/light kit and anti-sway bar all thrown in. Total for everything out the door: $26,500. Sara and I took delivery two weeks ago and we paid cash. I realize that is still high, but we are pleased. The T@B allows us to be self-contained during this health crisis. If I were to use this for two or three years and sell it for 5K less it would still be a bargain to us. However, we had so much fun on our maiden voyage last week that I think we may fall in love with RVing and just keep it for the next 15 years.

Sharon_is_SAM · September 2020

@JPRoland - so glad you got to see your kids and grandkids! Sometimes in the bigger scheme of things, money is not top priority.

JPRoland · September 2020

That's how we feel, Sharon. In the past, we always drive down and spend the night in Shreveport so I can play Blackjack. When we get to Houston we spend three nights at a Residence Inn. Plus, we eat lunch and dinner out and breakfast is free. We also stay in a hotel on a return trip, too. With tax and tips we normally spend a little over a thousand dollars for lodging and meals alone. This trip, we spent two nights in campgrounds and made our own food and we camped in our trailer with the grandkids in the back yard for free. For food and lodging plus tax and zero tips we paid about $125.00 total! So, let me just say, "It's the perfect time to buy a T@B!" The money we will save over the next few years will make this little RV a bargain!

Tampakayaker · September 2020

Saw a FB repost about an RV dealership. The dealership posted that they had no RVs for sale, anything on the lot and coming in thru the end of the year were already spoken for.

They said they could take deposits for campers being delivered spring of 2021.

JPRoland · September 2020

I don't doubt that Tampakayaker. By the way, are you a Florida native? It's such a rare thing that I have to ask. I come from an old Florida family that lived in south Florida since the 1930's. Florida was still very jungle-like in those days. My brother's and sister and I are all natives from Miami and three of my children are natives born in West Palm. We have lived in Little Rock since 1994 and there is some awesome, camping, fishing, and hunting here in Arkansas. But, if you are in Florida and you are ever in The Jupiter area, there is a great camping area that is still REAL Florida and not far from a beautiful beach: Jonathan Dickinson State Park. If you read about the Dickinson shipwreck and how the Indians saved the Dickinson family, it makes it even more fun to stay there. It's still very pristine.

Denny16 · September 2020

@JPRoland, what is this additional brake assist/light kit you keep referring to? A trailer brake controller for the tow vehicle or ?

Cheers

JPRoland · September 2020

Hi, Denny. Since I am not a mechanic, I am probably not even calling it the right thing, but here is my best layman's answer: The way I understand it, the 2021 T@B Boondock I purchased comes with "electric brakes." I'm not sure all T@B's come with them, but this Boondock is pretty loaded up. The electric brakes assist your vehicle's ability to stop better while pulling 2500-3000 extra pounds. I have a 2018 Toyota Highlander Limited which I have used to pull my little 4x6 cargo trailer for the past ten years and that little trailer does not have electric brakes. They are unnecessary because it is very light and I hardly notice it's back there even when braking. Consequently, my Highlander was fitted at U-Haul with that typical four-pin flat connector, like you would use for pulling a small boat trailer. While searching for a T@B, each dealer I spoke with mentioned that my car would have to be fitted with a larger, cylinder-shaped connector that would accommodate the lights and electric brakes. Part of this light/brake assist kit includes a small black box with an LED readout that is mounted below and to the right of my steering wheel. I have no idea what that read-out means. I just notice that when I brake the numbers go up rapidly. To me, it means it is functioning. A dealer in Mississippi said it would cost an extra $500.00 to install it and the dealer in Arkansas quoted $750.00. I purchase my T@B from the Arkansas dealer who ended up throwing it in with the deal. (He probably felt bad because it is such a "seller's market" and he knows we are all paying full retail right now.) He threw in the little anti-sway bar, too, which I highly recommend to prevent "fish-tailing" or sway. I can tell you that the electric brakes make a big difference. I have already had to slam on my brakes once and they worked perfectly. Normal braking with them is effortless. However, last week when I didn't allow enough slack in the electrical cord from the trailer to the car and it became disconnected during my brilliant U-turn, I noticed a palpable difference in the thirty minutes I drove before I discovered it. Well, Denny. There you have it. A non-mechanical man's explanation of the "light/brake assist kit." I hope that helps.

Sharon_is_SAM · September 2020

@JPRoland - that is your 7 pin and brake controller that you are referring to and it should come with a charge wire to charge your battery while driving. What brand did they install?

JPRoland · September 2020

I am not sure of the brand, Sharon. I realized later on after the purchase that I have no manual for it and know very little about it, just that it works. Once the mechanics at the dealership realized my level of mechanical expertise, they probably figured the less I know the better. I will get in there and check on the brand once the sun comes up.

Tampakayaker · September 2020

JPRoland said:

I don't doubt that Tampakayaker. By the way, are you a Florida native? It's such a rare thing that I have to ask. I come from an old Florida family that lived in south Florida since the 1930's. Florida was still very jungle-like in those days. My brother's and sister and I are all natives from Miami and three of my children are natives born in West Palm. We have lived in Little Rock since 1994 and there is some awesome, camping, fishing, and hunting here in Arkansas. But, if you are in Florida and you are ever in The Jupiter area, there is a great camping area that is still REAL Florida and not far from a beautiful beach: Jonathan Dickinson State Park. If you read about the Dickinson shipwreck and how the Indians saved the Dickinson family, it makes it even more fun to stay there. It's still very pristine.

My wife and I are probably more "native" than most of the transplants. We moved to Tampa in 1978 from NY (60 miles up the Hudson from NYC).

All 4 of my kids were born in Tampa, so I guess they are 1st generation natives.

Thanks for the info on the park. Between Covid, the rain and the oppressive heat we only camped once this year so far, back in February.

A friend had recommended Oleta River State Park, but that is even closer to the Miami hot spots.

JPRoland · September 2020

That's awesome. Yep, I'd say if you have been there since '78, you are truly a Floridian. My grandparent's from Georgia moved to West Palm Beach in 1930 during the depression. My grandfather moved down there to sell used cars to the only people that were buying used cars during the great depression-rich Palm Beach folks. We always loved Homosassa Springs just north of you because the kids loved the clear water and the manatees, but I don't remember if you can actually camp there. Have fun!

TabberJohn · September 2020

Just to make sure you know -- the round 7-pin connector has a lip on it. When inserted far enough into the plug on your vehicle the spring loaded cap on the plug will snap down and lock onto the connector. This doesn't prevent it from being jerked out if there isn't proper slack in the cable between trailer and TV, but it does prevent it from vibrating loose while towing.
Your brake controller LED also tells you when the connection is working or not.
There is a manual lever you can use to test/adjust the trailer brakes. Try it sometime in an empty parking lot.

Let us know the brand/model controller and we can locate instructions for it.

Denny16 · September 2020

Yes JP, a brake controller and new vehicle tow wiring harness would add up to $400-800. As long as the dealer adjusted the brake controller, you should be fine. When you apply the vehicle brakes, the controller activates the trailer’s brakes. All the TaB models now come with electric brakes, and have done so since nüCamp has been building them.

If your trailer ever starts swaying (very unlikely) then you can use the lever of button on the brake controller to activate the trailer brakes (without engaging the vehicle brakes) for a few seconds to help get the trailer back under control and towing straight. Not all controllers may have this feature. Refer to the instructions that came with your controller.

Cheers

JPRoland · September 2020

Here is the brake assist controller they installed at the dealer.

JPRoland · September 2020

Perhaps, this is a better size photo:

JPRoland · September 2020

I notice the electric brakes working very well. I have done an "A/B" comparison and it is a big difference. I don't see a button that is readily available to push if experiencing sway, but it may be on the other side. I have an anti-sway bar and my max speed is 64, so I have not had any sway or towing problems with the T@B.

JPRoland · September 2020

I am up early this morning making sure the heater works as it has begun to turn cooler in Arkansas. It works! Tonight we head to a local park, Maumelle Park, which is an absolutely wonderful campgrounds situated along the Arkansas River in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is just a practice run for one night as we attempt to get better at setting up and taking down our campsite. It is only five minutes from our house in the woods so if we forgot anything we can make a quick run. This practice night is in preparation to see our grandson in Nashville next weekend. He can't wait to camp out in his big back yard in Belle Meade. If you know of a good campground between Little Rock and Nashville, please let us know.

Sharon_is_SAM · September 2020

@JPRoland - does the brake controller unclip from the mount? Is there something on the back? Anyone ever seen one of these? Show us a picture of the front with the lights.

Slackers · September 2020

The button is on the top right in your photo. Push torward the the left. The further left you push the more braking is applied.

Denny16 · September 2020

Yes, the easy way would be to use yiur thumb, while holding yiur first finger on the left side, then squeeze, pinching the button to the left to engage the brakes.
When backing up, that requires a turning maneuver, remember to disconnect the sway bar first. Backing up straight is not an issue with the sway bar. Have a grand trip, and be safe JP.
cheers

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