My First POPUP!! ??'s already

[BF558]

Hi all, I enjoy reading all of your posts and have become quickly addicted to this site.  We just purchased our first popup and already have a few ?'s we forgot to ask the previous owner.  Some of these may seem like stupid ?'s so bare with me!!

1.  The power cord has two different ends, obviously the "house connection" and then the other one.  is this just an adapter or are there certain circumstances where the use of one is better over the other?

2.  I think I understand now (from this site) how to level the camper, how crucial is being level?  Is it purely for your comfort or does it affect the structural integrity?

3.  our camper is a '98 and the previous owner never put water in it do you think we will have a problem?  What should I look for when I fill the holding tank for the first time?

4.  Can someone give me an idea of some basic tools to keep handy, I have a small tool box i was going to stock and am not sure what I need.  

I am sure after our first few trips I will develop more questions.  We took a short trip last weekend but only got to use it to sleep.  Looking forward to many many great trips and to all of your advice.

Thank you all,

BF, CL, Natty, and Peach

[Tim5055]

Try this page for a few answers:

Frequently Asked Questions

[jeffdjeffd]

Hi - I'm pretty new to this too, so we just went through figuring all this stuff out, too.

1. If it has different plugs at both ends, it's an adapter.  Likely 15A to a 30A plug.  The 30A cord in my pup is pretty long, but I was astonished how far away the power box was from our site the first time we went to the SP.  I could barely reach with my 50' 15A, the adapter and the pups 30A all stretched out.  I'll be making a 75' 30A cord before next trip.

2. Not sure how crucial, but I would think for comfort it should be as level as possible.

3.  As long as not dirty, should be fine.  Ours was same - '99 that had never been filled, they only went to CG with hookups.  Sanitize the water system per owners manual (1/4 C bleach per 10gal. water).  Run bleach mix through plumbing and let sit for 3 hours.  Drain and flush with clean water.

4.  Just basic tools.  Screwdrivers, pliers, adjustable wrench, flashlight, fuses, electrical and duct tape.  I also learned on our maiden voyage that the interior of the Rockwood is held together with square drive screws, which I needed to remove to fix the plumbing.  So you may find some specialty items unique to your pup.

Good luck.  Best tool I found was a pad of paper to write everything down.

jeff

no sig yet

[homecrew]

One item that you should add is some sort of jack in case of tire failure. We used a small bottle jack since there was little clearance when you have a flat.

[GrizzlyTaco]

You forgot one biggie, A torque wrench, a 6 - 8 inch extention and a socket to fit your PU's lug nuts......these are very important.........

[BF558]

That is all so helpful.  I need to go completely through the PU soon we are taking an 8 day trip end of August.  I already have another question I was reading some threads about gizmos.  What are they??  

As far as a jack.....I had assumed I could use the same jack that is in my truck for changing a spare.  It is pretty small.  

I love reading all of your posts.  thanks again

Bek

[tlhdoc]

PopUpGizmo's is a company that makes a few items that are very helpful to PU campers.  The one most people know about are their solar covers.  They are reflective covers that you put over your bunkends and slideout if you have one.  They greatly reduce the amount of heat entering the PU through the tenting on the roof of the PU.  On a sunny day I could not keep my hand on the inside of the vinyl bunkend roof.  With the solar covers on the bunkend the heat is gone.  They also keep the bunkend vinyl clean, reduce condensation on the roof at night and they can be reversed in the winter to help keep the heat in.
 
PS: they have great customer support too
 
www.popupgizmos.com

[patches]

Hi1   I bought a 1986 Coachmen pop up this April and I have been having a great time fussing and fixing it up.  I understand the leveling the pop up is important from my short experience.  My door will not work right and weight on beds would be unstable and cranking it down would be problems if my pop up was not level.  I learned alot from the Pop Up 101 course CD.  I recommend that.  How are you doing with the backing up while towing challenges?
Patches