cityfisher Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) hi all, me and my wife finnally pulled the trigger and got our first Tent trailer. A 12 foot Jayco Qwest 2002 model. We purchased a property last year in the muskokas and wanted to get a portable trailer to leave on the property so we had somewhere to stay for now until we decide if were gonna build or not. Our property doesnt have power or water hookup, so luckly this trailer has a fridge and a heater that can run off propane and battery power. It also has a little sink and holding tank so we have some water while we are there. Questions: Should i bring it to a dealer to get looked over? I live in keswick and know that Tyson trailers is nearby. Anyone deal with them before? Is it worth to get it looked over / prepped? THe tires look in good shape but i wonder about the bearings, My plan right now is to just leave it on the property and not trailer around. Should i get them repacked anyways, replaced if needed? Any other tips and tricks on things I should add or do to make it more enjoyable since we wont be PLUGGED in like most people are when they use a tent trailer. THanks all Edited June 23, 2011 by cityfisher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 A 2002 model will likely have 2001, maybe 2002 tires, time for them to be turned inside out and made into redneck flower pots. Definitely get the bearings checked too. Running lights you can check yourself. If the fridge runs off propane, open up the outside hatch and really clean that out with a vacuum cleaner, especially around the propane pilot light, ditto for the heater if it's not a portable unit. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 I would have it inspected.Mechanically as well as the tent material and the mechanism that it opens and folds on.May be a good idea to have the tent part re treated with waterproofing too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbouck Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) If it's staying on the property, might as well have it inspected now. New bearings are cheap insurance for the drive. Should also invest in a couple good tarps for storing while you are gone Edited June 23, 2011 by Dan Bouck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Battery operated Carbon Monoxide detector ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIFTER_016 Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Might want to get a small generator for charging up the battery and running 120 volt stuff. A 2000 watt genny is about perfect if you have a coffee maker, toaster, microwave. I bought a 1500 watt model (it was cheap but noisy) so I can use my espresso machine, microwave and charge my battery while off grid camping. The 1500 watter is a tad small as if the battery charger comes on while I'm running the espresso machine it trips the breaker sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityfisher Posted June 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Thanks guys! great points, any idea if the heater can be run without electricity? just off propane and maybe battery power? Do you think its safe to leave UP during the week if I plan to go up multiple weekends in a row? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbuck Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Get the propane system checked out. If there are any leaks, better to get them fixed now rather than deal with issues once it's up north. A 2000 watt generator would be a good investment as would a second deep cycle rv battery for power while you dry camp. Bring your batteries home every weekend to charge. Have the tires and bearings inspected, you don't need a blowout or a bearing to fail on the way up. I wouldn't use the sink and water unless the fresh water tank was cleaned. You do this by filling it up with water and a half gallon of bleach, let it sit for a few hours and then run the sink until the tank goes dry, refill with water a couple of times to flush out the bleach. Also, don't use the holding tank unless you have a way to safely empty it and dispose of the contents. To keep that fresh, drop a cup of Calgon mixed with a gallon of water into it each time you use it. That way, nothing will really stick to the walls of the wastewater holding tank. The furnace typically runs off of 12volt power but it eats up battery power like crazy, hence the second battery. Good luck and enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityfisher Posted June 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Get the propane system checked out. If there are any leaks, better to get them fixed now rather than deal with issues once it's up north. A 2000 watt generator would be a good investment as would a second deep cycle rv battery for power while you dry camp. Bring your batteries home every weekend to charge. Have the tires and bearings inspected, you don't need a blowout or a bearing to fail on the way up. I wouldn't use the sink and water unless the fresh water tank was cleaned. You do this by filling it up with water and a half gallon of bleach, let it sit for a few hours and then run the sink until the tank goes dry, refill with water a couple of times to flush out the bleach. Also, don't use the holding tank unless you have a way to safely empty it and dispose of the contents. To keep that fresh, drop a cup of Calgon mixed with a gallon of water into it each time you use it. That way, nothing will really stick to the walls of the wastewater holding tank. The furnace typically runs off of 12volt power but it eats up battery power like crazy, hence the second battery. Good luck and enjoy. great points! Once i clean out the Fresh water tank, its ok to keep it filled for the season? I dont have a wastewater tank, i assume it just exits out the side of hte trailer onto the ground or into a bucket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbuck Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 I wouldn't leave the freshwater tank filled for a long time. That water will get stagnant after a while and get to be pretty nasty. Bring up fresh water each weekend and dump what's left when you leave. There should be a second waste water tank, I'd take a look, you really shouldn't let the water from the sink drop onto the ground, the soap is nasty for the ground water as it leaches in. I know there are 'caddies' for wastewater available at RV centres, they are a couple of hundred bucks or so and make life easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIFTER_016 Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 I wouldn't leave the freshwater tank filled for a long time. That water will get stagnant after a while and get to be pretty nasty. Bring up fresh water each weekend and dump what's left when you leave. There should be a second waste water tank, I'd take a look, you really shouldn't let the water from the sink drop onto the ground, the soap is nasty for the ground water as it leaches in. I know there are 'caddies' for wastewater available at RV centres, they are a couple of hundred bucks or so and make life easier. There isn't a waste water tank on these small tent trailers, just a drain that runs out the side of the trailer from the sink. I agree with letting the grey water run onto the ground, but I don't know what you're going to do with it unless you dig a pit and line it and just let the water evaporate or collect it in a 5 gal bucket. Heater will kill the battery quickly as will running the fridge on 12 volt power. When running the heater for any length of time fire up the generator to keep the battery charged. If you have a generator there is no need to cart the batteries home at the end of the weekend, just fire up the genny for a few hours each day and you're good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityfisher Posted June 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Great info , hopefully the first weekend , makes for good times and also more time to fish:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinerat Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Congrats on your Jayco. We have a 8' tent trailer and love it. One thing on the bearings. If it doesn't have bearing buddies then throw some on. They are about $30 and well worth it. Get some Ply wood cut to the size of the tires and lean it against the tires when parked. It will keep the sun light off the tires and the hubs from heating up too much in the summer. The sun will melt the grease out of the outside bearings. Just check them before trailering. See where the spring is which pushes the plate in to push the grease in (bearing buddies). Bearings are pretty easy to do once you have seen it done. The smaller trailers don't usually have a holding tank for gray water. You can get a 5 gal jug which looks like a colapseable water jug to let it run into. You'll have to do something with it after though. Maybe pick up a solar charger for the battery. Mine (battery) will last about 18 hrs if only running the fridge. I haven't had much luck with the solar chargers. If your leaving the trailer there parked make sure you don't leave any food in it. You can also lay Bounce sheets in it to keep the mice out but I haven't used this yet. My brother does this when storing his. As you start to use it you'll find what you need extra of and what you can leave at home. A 12v pump for tires is an assett too. RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbuck Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 I didn't know that the popups didn't have some sort of a holding tank. I'd get one of the wastewater caddies from an RV dealer then, it will hook up directly and be the least messy option for the greywater. Does the fridge run off 12volt power or does it run off propane?? If 12 volt, then your next purchase is a generator, if propane, you can run off of your 20lb'er and battery and it should last quite a while. I've got a 30foot travel trailer so that is what I'm basing my knowledge off of, it's our 3rd season and I think I've got it figured out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIFTER_016 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 I didn't know that the popups didn't have some sort of a holding tank. I'd get one of the wastewater caddies from an RV dealer then, it will hook up directly and be the least messy option for the greywater. Does the fridge run off 12volt power or does it run off propane?? If 12 volt, then your next purchase is a generator, if propane, you can run off of your 20lb'er and battery and it should last quite a while. I've got a 30foot travel trailer so that is what I'm basing my knowledge off of, it's our 3rd season and I think I've got it figured out. The fridges run off 12 volt/110 volt or propane. When off grid run them on propane. The battery will last a long time as long as you are only using it for lighting. As soon as you use it for the fridge & or heater it sucks the battery down quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinerat Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Oops. Sorry some of the larger tent trailers may have portable holding tank. Usually it is just the hook up the hose on the outside and run it into something. RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityfisher Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Congrats on your Jayco. We have a 8' tent trailer and love it. One thing on the bearings. If it doesn't have bearing buddies then throw some on. They are about $30 and well worth it. Get some Ply wood cut to the size of the tires and lean it against the tires when parked. It will keep the sun light off the tires and the hubs from heating up too much in the summer. The sun will melt the grease out of the outside bearings. Just check them before trailering. See where the spring is which pushes the plate in to push the grease in (bearing buddies). Bearings are pretty easy to do once you have seen it done. The smaller trailers don't usually have a holding tank for gray water. You can get a 5 gal jug which looks like a colapseable water jug to let it run into. You'll have to do something with it after though. Maybe pick up a solar charger for the battery. Mine (battery) will last about 18 hrs if only running the fridge. I haven't had much luck with the solar chargers. If your leaving the trailer there parked make sure you don't leave any food in it. You can also lay Bounce sheets in it to keep the mice out but I haven't used this yet. My brother does this when storing his. As you start to use it you'll find what you need extra of and what you can leave at home. A 12v pump for tires is an assett too. RR Good call on the plywood for the tires/bearings,sun roasting them cant be a good thing. I'm defiantly gonna look into a set of bearing buddies. I assume Canadian tire should carry them. Bounce sheets! don't want little buggers eating up the canvas etc. I checked on the trailer yesterday and the wiring connection is the same 4 prong that is used on my boat, I assume this means i don't have electric brakes. When off grid, it appears the heater will run off the propane, and the heater FAN runs off the battery, probably not for long. Should be fun.. looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinerat Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 no electric brakes if it is only a 4 pin. There may be serge brakes which work off the trailer hitch. Bearing buddies are pretty common. CT or Royal Dist should have them. RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Wife and I bought a brand new soft top trailer from K-Mart in Scarboro about 40 years ago for $500. We pulled that little cottage on wheels all over Southern Ontario for 5 years then sold it for exactly what we payed for it...$500 Nothing fancy but we still talk about all the fun we had with it and the many places we visited. Thanks for jogging the memories & hopefully you'll enjoy yours as much as we did ours !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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