Don't tell my husband!

[wpbflorida5454]

Well, we just bought our first pop up!! A Coleman Sedona.

I/We have already had 2 SPUTs? (I think that is what you call it) in the first 2 days!!

First, we brought it home and put it up with no problem.  However, we could not get it down! The handle just would not go left! We tried to crank it right a little and then left, but it would not work! So, my husband, the engineer, sawed off the bolt and we used a screwdriver to disengage the mechanism to get it down.  

Next, we took it to a friends house to store it, and of course, he had to put it up again.  He left it up that night with instructions that I should go and put it down the next day.  Well, you can imagine with 4 kids there under the age of 5, my friend who is 3 months pregnant, and I, crawling underneath the camper to disengage the mechanism so she can put it down.  Needless to say, I was a little distracted.  I really tried to remember everything, but then we heard a loud crunch and the trailer stopped going down!!!  I FORGOT TO PUT THE SCREEN DOOR UP!! EEKS!  I don't think I did any permanent damage.  In the end, I could not get the front latched but am going to have him deal with it. I won't tell him about the door unless something is wrong.  He would be furious!!

Anyway, he is breezing it from Maylasia on Thursday and wants to go camping on Friday.  So, I have to outfit this thing now and am totally sure I am going to forget things that I will absolutely need.  Is there is list somewhere of things I cannot be without?

[bmbkamp]

I wish I could remember exactly where, but there are a few threads here that have the list you're looking for.  Good luck.

[Rustyone]

Hey Florida:

     So!  A crunched door ughh?  I tell my DW when she drives my pick-up if she scratches it to just keep going and don't think of coming back!  :p  .  I put "list" in the search and came up with 477 entries, most have little to do with what you're looking for I think, but you could try looking em over yourself.  What I do that works for me is I "live in it" in my head, make a list and be thorough.  Fried eggs takes oil, skillet, spatula, salt/pepper and so on.  Of course you could always play the "innocent female" role and tell DH "I don't know".  We guy's will always fall for cute and innocent.  

[JAL&JKL]

Try the following website for a good checklist:

 www.starcraftrv.com/ya/checklist/checklist1.html

[Camping Coxes]

Um, I hate to say it, but sawing that bolt may have just voided any warranty you might have had.   And aren't you guys in the middle of hurricane season right now?  A popped-up pop-up could be a problem in 100 MPH winds.

Try to think of everything you'll need for each meal, for each food prep, for each clean up, for showering and waking up, and that will help stock things.  You may want to get a separate set of kitchen stuff for the trailer so it's always in the trailer and you don't have to worry about forgetting to pack it.  The dollar stores are great for this stuff.  And Wal-Mart right now has all their summer plasticware that is perfect for camping.
 
Recently there was a thread about what you can't live without when camping.  That might help.  There are some webpages by members within this board that are very informative about that stuff.  Here's a great link to Tim's, one of our members.
 
 Natasha's Camping Site
 
He has a lot of great info.  Learn from his experience --  I know I have!  Have a great time breaking in your trailer!

[Sup]

Hi WPB!

    I'm not sure about his "mod" for the cranking down, but hey, don't worry about forgetting to put down the screen door, I bet 90% of the folks forget that at one time or another me included!:D Usually it doesn't hurt anything.. Typically if you can't close a latch it is due to the bunk end canvas/material not being folded up quite right when you put it down, and you may have to crank it up some and refold it so it is flatter under there, there isn't much room at all between the beds and the ceiling in these things..

  As far as what to take, just cloths and typical things u'd need when going on a trip(hey, keep it light, don't try to take EVERYTHING!:yikes: ).. Just remember there is usually always a WallyWorld close by and you can pick up some things that you have forgotten! The most important thing to remember is,,,,

 RELAX AND HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!  learning and being able to laugh at it all is part of the fun of the whole experience!! enjoy!!!! Walt