New Aspen Trail 2810BHS

[JandOMorrison]

Hello everyone! We just purchased our first travel trailer and we looking forward to taking it out on our first trip next week!

 

[hddecker]

Hello everyone! We just purchased our first travel trailer and we looking forward to taking it out on our first trip next week!

Welcome to the forum.

 

[BobR-DUTCH]

Hello everyone! We just purchased our first travel trailer and we looking forward to taking it out on our first trip next week!

:-cong Welcome and how did it go? Ours went without a hiccup...

 

[JandOMorrison]

:-cong Welcome and how did it go? Ours went without a hiccup...

It went great! Our grey tank filled up a lot quicker than we expected, but other than that it was an awesome time! We went to Smith and Morehouse in Utah, very beautiful!

 

[ewarnerusa]

It went great! Our grey tank filled up a lot quicker than we expected, but other than that it was an awesome time! We went to Smith and Morehouse in Utah, very beautiful!

You said your first TT and I assume that means first experience with RVing. There is definitely some conservation-mentality to adopt when staying in a self-contained home-on-wheels. I'm not sure if you were at a campground with hookups or boondocking (no hookups of any kind like off-grid primitive tent camping but using a camper instead) which certainly makes a difference in your usage. If boondocking, conserve water and power (12V battery). Leave faucets off when not using water since that both depletes your fresh water supply and contributes to your grey tank filling. Turn lights off when not needed and better yet switch to LED lights which use a fraction of the electricity. This is a good read for understanding the 12V electric system in an RV.
The 12volt Side of Life (Part 1)

I actually have no experience at all using a campground with hookups. But from what I gather, leave your grey and black tank valves closed until they are near full. The logic is that the black tank flushes out better when it has more water in it, you want to minimize the residuals left in there. When it is time to empty, drain the black tank first. After you're done with the black tank, close the valve and then empty the gray tank. The water from the gray tank will flush out the black tank remnants from the sewer line. The reason for letting the gray tank fill up is because it provides you with more water to flush out the sewer line with. This is actually the best practice for both boondocking use and full hookup campground use, but I think it is tempting to just leave the tank valves open if you know you are hooked up to sewer. If you do leave them open, then black tank liquids will flow out but solids will stay behind. They will build up, dry out, and eventually cause a problem. So leave the tank valves closed until nearly full or you're breaking down to leave. Power use is no issue if you're hooked up to shore power, use it like you're at home.

 

[JandOMorrison]

You are correct. This trip was our first experience in RVing, and I admit I have a lot to learn. Being in the military and having been deployed i understand the conservation aspect with power and water. I just didn't account for 13 people using water. We had no hook ups so the grey tank filled up really fast. Haha. I do have a 2000w power inverter so electricity wasn't an issue. I would like to get another inverter eventually so I have to option to run my A/C but that's not a necessity. I figure when it's just my wife and I and our two kids, we shouldn't have any problems with the water conservation. We plan on getting to plastic tubs to do dishes in just like we did when we camped in tents and taking combat showers to reduce excess water usage. Thank you for the tips and the link and if you have any other tips or tricks I would appreciate it!!

 

[ewarnerusa]

No problem! So here's some more tips.
When you said "inverter", I assume you meant a gas engine inverter generator?

The term "inverter" stand alone implies a device that converts your 12V DC battery power into 120V AC electricity. They are not typically a standard item in a travel trailer (TT) but they are in motorhomes.
Power Inverters and Solar Inverters for Home and Businesses - The Inverter Store

Another RV term you'll hear a lot is "converter" which is standard on most any RV. This device converts the 120V AC electricity from shore power into 12V DC electricity for all the RV items that require it (lights, furnace, vent fans, etc.). It also supplies 12V DC electricity (actually more like 13-14.4V, but the standard lingo is to call it 12V) to the batteries to charge them up. So the converter is often referred to as the "charger" as well since that is part of its function. It is very common to hear the terms inverter and converter interchanged when in fact they are two separate items that perform different functions.

I use a 1500 watt inverter in our TT which I plug my shore power cable directly into in order to energize all the AC outlets. Then I can use the TT AC outlets like when the TT is plugged in at home (or would be at a campground). I do shut off the AC breaker for the air con because it demands more electricity than the inverter can provide and would pop its breaker if I tried. I also shut off the breaker for the converter because this device would otherwise try to recharge my batteries using electricity drawn from those same batteries which unfortunately just acts to quickly drain the batteries! I also have a Yamaha 2400 inverter generator that I can fire up if we want to use the air conditioner or microwave, but it rarely gets used.

 

[BobR-DUTCH]

It went great! Our grey tank filled up a lot quicker than we expected, but other than that it was an awesome time! We went to Smith and Morehouse in Utah, very beautiful!

That's Great to hear. I know for us having our first couple of camp outs recently and everything going as planned is a relief to know that everything works!
We were in Utah many years ago and look forward to going out west again, as you said, it is beautiful out there. One place I remember is Lake Powell. We spent the fourth of july weekend there on our trip with our 4 kids, ages 12, 10 & twins-6, in the mid 90's. I know things have changed since then.
well, congratulations again on a successful camp out and keep posting as I will and look forward to hearing more.
PS, don't forget to post some pictures also.

 

[wahoonc]

You are correct. This trip was our first experience in RVing, and I admit I have a lot to learn. Being in the military and having been deployed i understand the conservation aspect with power and water. I just didn't account for 13 people using water. We had no hook ups so the grey tank filled up really fast. Haha. I do have a 2000w power inverter so electricity wasn't an issue. I would like to get another inverter eventually so I have to option to run my A/C but that's not a necessity. I figure when it's just my wife and I and our two kids, we shouldn't have any problems with the water conservation. We plan on getting to plastic tubs to do dishes in just like we did when we camped in tents and taking combat showers to reduce excess water usage. Thank you for the tips and the link and if you have any other tips or tricks I would appreciate it!!

Depending on where you are, you might be able to quietly drain some excess grey water on the ground at night. We used to refer to it as "thirsty racoons" I have an old Airstream where the grey water tank only holds 10 gallons. They make a dump line cover that has a small hose bib on it that takes a standard hose. We carry a 10' section to lead the grey water off into the woods. I avoid doing it in very heavy use campgrounds or if the ground is already saturated.

Aaron

 

[JMS1027]

We just purchased our 2015 2810 Aspen Trail this past Thursday and left the same day for a four day outing. Other than a few minor hiccups we had a great trip. This is our second travel trailer, upgraded to one with a slider, but we love it so far and can't wait to get it out again!!

 

[BobR-DUTCH]

We just purchased our 2015 2810 Aspen Trail this past Thursday and left the same day for a four day outing. Other than a few minor hiccups we had a great trip. This is our second travel trailer, upgraded to one with a slider, but we love it so far and can't wait to get it out again!!

Congratulations and welcome to the forum! Let's see some pictures if you have any.

 

[Lampis]

We have a 2017 Alpine Trails,control panel states 2 gray tanks.1 is full the other light goes on but can not locate 2 handles for separate tanks.Do I only have one gray tank?