RE: New to the pop up world-my intro

JemJen24 · Sep 28, 2003, 07:05 PM

Howdy parnters. Just wanted to introduce myself. I m new to the pop up world and have TONS to learn! We are closing on our new pop up (a 2003 Coleman Yuma) this Thursday and will then use it right away at Cedar Hill State Park on Friday and Saturday.

I ve submitted my request to joing the North Texas Pop Up Camping Association and am digging up all kinds of tidbits and handy info on how and where to use our camper.

I am 28, energetic, and very outgoing and married to the best hearted man in the world (but then, we all think that, ha!). My kids are my two dogs Cush (a Brittany Spaniel mix) and Pharaoh (my nubby butt Boxer). I am a VERY active person and enjoy hiking, swimming, and LOVE to fish!

I hope to soon be adding camping pictures to my website (Grin) and would appreciate ANY advise you may have about starting off with a pop up. Also, if anyone has a list of " pop up camping estentials" and " Forget nots" , please email them to me or simply post your ideas here.

I hope to meet many of you soon and perhaps I will even be able to venture out on my own when my husband is off on field service. My first priority now is to learn to back up the camper. God help us all!!!!

tlhdoc · Feb 24, 2003, 07:33 PM

JemJen24Congratulations on the new PU. Some things to help you back better are 1. When the person is giving you directions have them use driver s side or passenger s side instead of right and left 2. Hold the steering wheel at the bottom, move your hand in the direction you want to turn the back of the trailer 3. Several small turns are easier than one big turn. Take a pan and pen/pencil to write down everything you find you need. Have fun and happy camping.

Tim5055 · Feb 24, 2003, 07:33 PM

JemJen24Welcome to our little corner of the camping world. I m even willing to overlook the fact that you don t have a German Shepherd Dog.

Take a look at my web site and I think you will be able to answer many of your questions. I have been stealing information from this board for a while and stashing it away at my site. Some pages I would recomend at this point:

[link=http://www.title-3.com/FAQ.htm]Frequently Asked Questions [/link]

[link=http://www.title-3.com/Camping_Checklist.htm]Our Camping Checklist[/link]

[link=http://www.title-3.com/Hitch.htm]Towing and Hitch Information[/link]

[link=http://www.title-3.com/Level.htm]Level your pop up[/link]

After that, just wander around and look at what interests you.

Don t be afraid to ask questions, that s how almost all of us learned[

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RamblingWreck · Feb 24, 2003, 07:37 PM

JemJen24Welcome aboard! Some of your fellow Texans posted a similar inquiry less than a week ago. Here is a link to that thread:

http://www.popuptimes.com/members/tm.asp?m=10364&p=2&tmode=1

Lots of valuable advise there. We are still shopping for a popup, perhaps our trails will cross some day.

Rambling Wreck

JemJen24 · Feb 24, 2003, 07:51 PM

JemJen24Thank you for the quick replies!!! [

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I ll also forgive you for not having a Boxer! ha!!! Sooooo, is Natasha the German SHepherds name? Because I visited the site and saw " Email Tim" so I m guessing TIM is the site host and Natasha the dog? Either that or I m gonna have one offended woman on my hands now! ha!!! (grin)

Both of our dogs are very well behaved and my Boxer absolutely ADORES children. (he s been to local elementary schools with me), people, and small dogs. He was attacked by a (and I know you re going to hate this) German Shepherd when he was little and just hasn t liked big dogs since. He will not bark at them or hardly even growls, usually he just ignores them, until they come face to face and then he turns into Mr. Snarly pants (eyeroll).

That s ok tho .....his half sister Cush (the Brittany mix) loves ALL dogs. She s just a barker...bark bark bark...but she s all talk! On a side note, I am German and grew up with a German Shepherd named Zinus. Best dog I could ve had as a child and VERY protective of us. He died of old age and had sever hip dysplaxia [

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Well...enough jabberin ....if we should see that gorgeous GSD, we ll keep Pharaoh on a tight leash and let Cush say HOWDIE Bark Bark. [

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Ok..off to print your camping list...GREAT list by the way! And paruse some more of your site.

Jennifer

Camping Coxes · Feb 24, 2003, 09:05 PM

JemJen24Jennifer --

Welcome! This site has been extremely helpful to me in several areas I ve needed help in. And if you need specific info from someone, you can click on the icons near their name and you can E-mail them directly. Everyone s been very helpful to me over the years.

Also take advantage of the " search" feature. If you have a specific thing you re looking for, this will save you lots of time.

I look forward to getting to know you better![

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Ab Diver · Feb 24, 2003, 09:48 PM

JemJen24Welcome Jennifer! (Prodigy) Looks like you have progressed in an orderly fashion: Join PUT, introduce yourself, and then soak up as much info as you can from Tim s site. [

] (Prodigy)

Make sure your dealer explains and demonstrates EVERYTHING to you. (Prodigy) Tell him in advance you expect the battery to be charged, water system sanitized, and the propane tanks to be full. (Prodigy) Since you are going almost instantly on your first trip, you won t have time to do the typical " driveway camp" and prepare for your first road trip. (Prodigy)

Tow rig all set up properly? (Prodigy)

Got a good inertial brake controller? I like the " Prodigy" controller by Tekonsha myself, but don t like to sound pushy reccomending a particular brand. (Prodigy!)

Again, Welcome to PUT!

(Did I mention Prodigy?)

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ShirleyT · Feb 24, 2003, 11:06 PM

JemJen24WELCOME TO PUT!!

I am sure you can find all the answers you need to get you started. Don t be afraid to ask ANY question. We have learned there are NO stupid questions *LOL*. Hope you enjoy your new pop-up and being a member of our wonderful board!

Gamecock Camper · Feb 24, 2003, 11:20 PM

JemJen24Welcome Jennifer. It s always nice to " see" a fresh face here. Natasha s site is great and you should be able to find anything else you need by asking on this PUT site or querying the archives of the PUT site. Pull up a chair and join us every once in a while. I hope your experience is like ours, and that is that you will wonder how you ever survived without a pop-up camper.

wssfetch · Feb 25, 2003, 04:54 AM

JemJen24Welcome Jennifer!

You ll notice there are a lot of camping dog lovers on this forum! And you re right--they are our kids.

Be sure to check out the forum archives. You ll find a great deal of useful info there, as well as on the active board, regarding getting started with your new pop-up.

Happy camping!

Viking99 · Feb 25, 2003, 07:24 AM

JemJen24Welcome to the group!

JemJen24 · Feb 25, 2003, 10:21 AM

JemJen24LOL...so I take it you like PRODIGY?! What excactly is it?

And thanks for the warm welcome, everyone.

Jennifer

birol · Feb 25, 2003, 10:26 AM

JemJen24Tekonsha Prodigy, One of the best, if not the best, electrical brake controller.

If you are going to get a brake controller, this is the one to get.

NightOwl · Feb 25, 2003, 01:06 PM

JemJen24Welcome, Jen. You will love your popup, and this board as well. We have all learned priceless stuff about popups and camping from hanging out here. and some of our best members are right there in Texas, so you will never lack for campany.[

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Ab Diver · Feb 25, 2003, 02:34 PM

JemJen24

QuoteORIGINAL: JemJen24

LOL...so I take it you like PRODIGY?! What excactly is it?

Ah-Hah! (rubs hands together, gleefully anticipating another Prodigy prospect)

Jennifer, you said you have " TONS to learn" , so please don t take this as a condescending reply. If you know what a brake controller is, skip this post and take Birol s 2-line answer. If not, read on...

Your Yuma has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 2440 lbs. Depending on what your tow rig is, that Yuma can be over half your tow rig s weight. Unless you are towing with the proverbial " 1-ton Dodge Dually pickup" , that s a lot of extra weight for the tow rig s brakes to handle by themselves. When you bring the tow Vehicle (TV) and trailer to a halt, it will either be a slow, controlled stop that you plan in advance, or an all-out, heart-stopping emergency that rears it s ugly head with only seconds before impact. Without a brake controller to send power to your trailer s (electric) brakes, the TV brakes will be called upon to stop the weight of both the TV and the trailer. That will most likely not be enough braking ability in an emergency. At the very least, towing without a brake controller will cause the TV brakes to prematurely wear out. A brake controller allows the driver to determine how much power is sent to the trailer s brake from the tow vehicle, and how fast the trailer s brakes come up to that predetermined setting.

Still with me? Good.

There are basically two *types* of electric brake controllers on the market, time-based and inertial. There is another type of controller that actually bolts to the TV brake pedal, the " Jordan Ultima" (which is highly respected by it s users), but I ve never used one so I can t comment on it s abilities. I HAVE used both types of electric controllers.

A time-based controller allows the driver to set the total amount of power that is applied to the brakes, and how fast this pre-determined level is attained. It s simple, fairly easy to operate, and the option most often recommended by RV parts stores and RV dealers (read: inexpensive, so they can do you the favor of adding it to the trailer s cost for " free" ). The most popular version of the time-based controller is the Draw-Tite Activator II (the one I had). The problem is, it follows the same driver-determined *time and power setting* each and every time you apply the brakes.

If you set it for a slow, smooth stop, it won t come up to power quick enough to do much good in an emergency. And if you set it for quick, full power in case you need it, the trailer s brake will be very jerky at every stop sign you come to. Plus, once the brake pedal is depressed, the brakes come up to full power and stay there until the pedal is released, regardless of how much braking power you really need. This can fry your trailer s brakes on long downhill grades, and cause the inner tire to lock up in downhill turns.

Yes, some will speak about proper downhill braking procedures, but I m behind the wheel for over 50K miles per year, and I m just commenting on what I see happening in front of me on a daily basis in the real world. Every time I ve stopped to help some guy who s brakes are smoking, he s had a time-based controller. Due to the time-based controller s inability to adapt to changing needs, you have to adjust it over and over again as the road conditions change (slow or fast traffic, rain, downhill grades, etc...).

With an inertial controller, the rules are changed. You set the controller for the amount of power you want sent to the brakes, and forget it. The controller responds to the situation, sending power to the trailer in proportion to how quickly the TV is slowing down. In other words, the trailer will slowly and smoothly apply the brakes as you approach a stop sign, or instantly come to full power if you slam on the brakes to avoid hitting that deer, inattentive driver, or child that suddenly wanders in front of your vehicle. In an emergency, an inertial brake controller can literally mean the difference between a good scare, and a serious accident. (Been there, done that, got the soiled underwear to prove it. [

] )

The Prodigy (at last he gets to the point!) is the " top o da line" inertial brake controller made by Tekonsha. It can be mounted in almost any position short of vertical, works proportionally in reverse as well as forward, has a " boost" level to allow the trailer s brakes to precede the TV brakes by a few milli-seconds (helps keep the trailer in line behind the TV), is driver adjusted in less than a minute, and once adjusted, never needs to be set again for that trailer and load. When you come to a stop, the trailer s brakes are left in a 25% power mode to help hold the trailer in place (works great for San Francisco streets!). It can be moved from one TV to another easily, and shuts itself off after 15 minutes of no motion so the TV battery isn t drained. You can also order a simple wiring harness that plugs into most TV s without having to cut and splice the TV wiring. The Prodigy is, without a doubt, the best towing related money I ve ever spent.

Ok, I think that about cover s it. In my opinion, time-based controllers " do" work, but there are better, safer options on the market now. I ve towed trailers from 500 to over 8000 lbs. behind my truck, and the Tekonsha makes towing any of them smoother and safer than the Draw-Tite. My Draw-Tite is now a door-stop, and will never go on one of my vehicles again. I have no affiliation with Tekonsha, just a VERY satisfied customer.

Probably more info than you really wanted to know, but I hope that helps.

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