We Camp at Fort Stevens State Park

Tumalo State Park and the Discovery

Almost to Sisters, Oregon

Tumalo State Park

Time to relax.

Deb points at the trailer frame and says "Is that a Crack?!"

Back side.

Sure enough!  The other side is just as bad!

Inside view.

After contacting the trailer manufacturer we left the 'Little Guy' at the camp site.  They are going to send a truck with a replacement frame and make the repairs right at the site.

Another Lesson Learned: The Fantastic Fan Dome

Driving home from our last camping trip we stopped by the side of the road to grab something out of the trailer and make sure everything was looking good.  We had spent the last 15 miles on a dusty gravel road.  Everything was looking good at the hitch but went I opened the door to the trailer I was shocked!

The whole inside was FULL of dust!  I mean TONS of dust.  Like you had thrown a shovelful or two into the side door!

What did we do wrong?  We had shut the dome on the Fantastic fan but we forgot to lock it.  Didn't seem like a big deal.  It was.

The rocking and rolling had allowed the lid to come up just enough to create a vacuum affect that sucked road dust in through the A/C fresh air intake at the bottom of the trailer.  Failing to lock the Fan Dome was all it took to learn a valuable science lesson about pressure differences!

Lesson summary:  Dusty roads and an unlocked Fantastic Fan vent (or any open windows I would imagine) equal a dust filled interior that is a mess to clean up.

Drinking Water Hose 'Little Guy' T@G Max Accessory

Camco 22783 TastePURE Drinking Water Hose (5/8"ID x 25') - Lead Free

 Did you know:

Garden hoses are not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which monitors the nation's public drinking supply. Government studies found that levels of lead in water coming from garden hoses they tested exceeded legal safe levels 100 percent of the time.

When it comes to filling your water tank don't use a standard garden hose.  Always use one designed to safely get your water from spigot to tank with no surprises.

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Water Pressure Regulator: 'Little Guy' T@G Max Accessory

Camco 40055 Brass Water Pressure Regulator

 Here is one I never thought about until almost too late.  Your trailer uses plastic hoses to plumb your water system.  Those hoses are probably not prepared for some city water systems high flow pressure.

This Brass Water Pressure Regulator helps to protect your trailer plumbing and hoses from damage caused by high-pressure city water. It reduces the water pressure to a safe, consistent 40–50 lbs of operational pressure. This will protect your plumbing from a possible rupture

I just screw the thing to the water hose I keep in the trailer so I never forget to hook it on.

 

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Here Is Something To Remember When Leveling Your Trailer

I had a strange series of events that led me to an "Ah-Ha!" moment today that I think needs sharing!

My first clue that something was up started when I opened the tongue box and the back of the lid caught on the trailer face while opening.  It had never done that before and after giving it a good wiggle I determined that it was screwed down tight so I was mighty confused.

A bit later it was time to move the trailer.  I went to lift the stabilizer legs and they would not budge!  after a serious crank I got one leg to finally come up.  It was way overextended (you are NOT supposed to do that) and I couldn't imagine what had changed to make that happen.  Sure enough the OTHER stabilizer was in the same overextended condition.

Scratching my head it dawned on me.  We had put the stabilizer legs down BEFORE we used the tongue jack to level the trailer!  I had jacked up the front end and transferred a bunch of weight to the rear stabilizer legs.  And guess what?  Now that the stabilizer legs had been forcefully raised, the tongue box lid was all back to normal.

By having the front AND the back of the trailer fighting each other I was slightly bending the frame and pinching the tongue box lid!

So here is the lesson I learned.  Level the trailer THEN lower the stabilizer legs.  Trust me, cranking the tongue jack handle gave me NO feedback as to what I was doing, which was lifting both wheels off of the ground and transferring ALL the weight of the trailer onto the little teeny stabilizer legs!

A REVISED Handy T@G Max Pre-Roll Checklist

Little Guy Trailer Checklist

Arrival

·       Chock the trailer wheels.

·       Disconnect the trailer from the rig.

·       Level the trailer FIRST!

·       THEN lower the stabilizer legs.

·       Remove the sink drain cap and place drain bucket.

·       Propane on / power on.

·       UNLOCK the fantastic fan cover before opening lid.

Departure

·       Ensure all power, water and cable access doors are closed and locked.

·       Ensure stabilizers are up.

·       Drain cap screwed onto sink drain.

·       Ensure water pump switch is in the off position.

·       Ensure in inverter cooler door is latched and locked into tray.

·       Kitchen hatch door is latched and locked.

·       Ensure AC Ventilation switch is in the off position.

·       Fantastic fan vent is closed and LOCKED.

·       All windows are closed and locked.

·       Blinds and screens are open.

·       Heavy items are out of cupboards.

·       DVD's removed from trailer if hot outside.

·       Lock both entry doors to Little Guy.

·       Remove and stow all levelers and wheel chocks.

·       Trailer is seated on ball, latch lowered and locked.

·       Trailer wheel has been raised.

·       Trailer wheel has been removed and locking pin transferred to hitch.

·       Safety chains hooked up.

·       Trailer lights power plug hooked up and tested as secure.

·       Brake lights tested on Little Guy.

·       Propane is turned off at cylinder.

·       Gear Stowed and cover latched on tongue box.

4.25 lb. Propane Tank: 'Little Guy' T@G Max Accessory

My BBQ Grill usually ends up on the picnic table so I have plenty of room to work my magic!  My new grill uses the CGA 791 valve connection instead of the 1 lb. disposable propane bottle most portable grills use.  It was then that I realized I did NOT want to lug around a 20 lb. propane tank everywhere I wanted to cook!

I would like to introduce you to the Worthington Pro Grade 4.25 lb. Propane Tank.  This 'mini tank' holds the equivalent of 4 disposable bottles and takes up the space of 2!  Cost to fill was about $2.60 at the same place you fill the big ones.  It will last for about a week of grilling before needing a refill so it is perfect for those camping trips.

It's so small people call it adorable!

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Under Bed Storage Hinges: 'Little Guy' T@G Max Modification

One of the first things we wanted to do after we bought the T@G was install some hinges on the under bed storage doors.  Every time we went to use them they required some fiddling with to get them to line up and close properly.

Picked up 4 Gatehouse 1-1/16-in x 12-in Nickel Cabinet Hinges at Lowes.

I staggered them down the center line and took care to make sure they were straight.

We used double sided sticky tape to run a thick felt cover down the length of the hinges to insure we didn't damage our mattress by rubbing over time.

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Ceramic Heater: 'Little Guy' T@G Max Accessory Install

In September I bought a Lasko 106 My Heat Personal Ceramic Heater.  It works great when you just need to warm up the tailer before climbing out of bed.

Every time we needed to use the heater however it was a hassle...   Where to put it so it was handy.  Where to place it when it was running.   And the cord was always wrapped around something.

Today I fixed all that.

The heater is right there waiting warm me up!

Using heavy duty, double sided sticky tape I mounted the heater on the inside of the cabinet door.  Being careful so that the door would still close without the heater touching the shelves I made the attachment.

Since it is a ceramic heater there is absolutely NO heat transferred through the body of the unit.  This make it perfect for side mounting.

Drilling a hole through the bottom of the cabinet I ran the power cord to the wall plug.

I took off the cover of the circuit breaker box (two screws) and using a Dremel Tool created a nice path for the cord to travel behind the cover.

Best part is I can open the cabinet AND turn the heater on and off, WITH MY FOOT!  Trust me!  On a cold morning nothing beats it!

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Cabinet Door Towel Rack 'Little Guy' T@G Max Modification

Picked up this Over Cabinet Dual Bronze Towel Holder at Camping World.

Unfortunately the hooks designed to go over the cupboard door were too deep and prevented the door from closing all the way.  I called on my trusty Dremel Tool with a cutting wheel to make some slight modifications!

Once I cut off the offending extra bracket lengths I still had the top down screw holes to make the attachment.

The insides of the brackets are padded and will play nice with your wood finish.

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