Taking the Leap - just bought 2005 Dutchmen for our first RV

[WanderingWades]

Hello from Washington State! Our family of 4 has been tent camping forever...but thinking about heading up into grizzly bear country & not feeling safe in a tent. So we bought a 2005 Dutchmen & are feeling a bit overwhelmed. We have SO much to learn & really appreciate this forum!!

 

[lcv800]

Welcome to the best RV forum on the web. EVERYONE is very helpful and don't make you feel stupid, regardless of the question. Only rule is you have to refer to what type of unit you have, and post a picture (when applicable) referring to a specific problem. There are some really smart people on this site (not me!) who could build an RV from scratch, so feel free to ask away. Congratulations again.
Rusty

 

[MTK1946]

:-cong On your new to you 5th wheel. As Rusty stated feel free to ask away. Quite a few of us have been RV'ers for 25+ years. We will be glad to help!

 

[Handyman-DUTCH]

Welcome to the forum. All of your questions will be answered here by some very knowledgeable folks.

 

[WanderingWades]

Thank you everyone! We look forward to asking & hearing advice from this forum!

 

[wahoonc]

Welcome to.... THE DARK SIDE

I have been RVing for a long time and camping for even longer. Even us oldtimers learn something new every day from this board. Any questions; ask away. Given the backgrounds and experience level on here someone will either know the answer or know where to go to find it.

What kind of dog is that standing by the fence?

Aaron

 

[WanderingWades]

Thank you Aaron!
The dog you see is one of our two Great Pyrenees - part of the reason for the larger RV size, LOL!!

 

[RVNevada]

Welcome, and enjoy, try everything out and let us know if you need help on anything, I'm one of the dumb guys who likes to rebuild Truck Campers...LOL

 

[hddecker]

Thank you Aaron!
The dog you see is one of our two Great Pyrenees - part of the reason for the larger RV size, LOL!!

Got to keep the dogs happy. Oh and the better half too!

That's the reason we got a camper with slides. Personally I just as soon not have slides, but we couldn't find a floor plan that works for us without a slide.

 

[wahoonc]

Thank you Aaron!
The dog you see is one of our two Great Pyrenees - part of the reason for the larger RV size, LOL!!

Thought that might be what it was. My son has a Great Pyr/St Bernard mix. I love the big dogs but my wife put a 50# limit on them.

Aaron

 

[WanderingWades]

A St Bernard would be a great mix with Pyr - big LAZY dogs!!!! Floor space is a must as we will need area to step over the dogs.

Now we are wondering if we should have gotten a slide Jim...we found some wet carpet on the inside ends of the slide - a slight soft spot as well...looks like we may be doing more work on this thing than we thought! The dealer says it was not level so we are hoping for no more additional damage now that we got them to put an awning topper over the slide & are storing it shut & level...while running fans & heat to dry the carpet out. I would just assume have it be all hard floor but didn't want to do the remodel this soon!

 

[drogers]

Welcome to the forum. Nice dog and nice 5th, we have multiple dogs not as large as yours but 50 lbs each (springers). we have been camper for decades tents , popups, TT and now a 5th. enjoy the forum and ask any question you need there are some really smart people on here. (wish that included me) .

Most importantly always remember there are no dumb questions. ask ask away.

Welcome again and enjoy that rig.

 

[WanderingWades]

Thank you Derek, we have already gathered a lot of neat information from this forum from "smart" people, just in one day!! Everyone is very helpful!! We can't wait to get out & use the trailer!

 

[wahoonc]

A St Bernard would be a great mix with Pyr - big LAZY dogs!!!! Floor space is a must as we will need area to step over the dogs.

Dexter is the epitome of lazy.. take him for a walk down the block and half way back he sits down and wants you to carry him the rest of the way back. at 100#+ I don't freaking think so!

Aaron

 

[hddecker]

A St Bernard would be a great mix with Pyr - big LAZY dogs!!!! Floor space is a must as we will need area to step over the dogs.

Now we are wondering if we should have gotten a slide Jim...we found some wet carpet on the inside ends of the slide - a slight soft spot as well...looks like we may be doing more work on this thing than we thought! The dealer says it was not level so we are hoping for no more additional damage now that we got them to put an awning topper over the slide & are storing it shut & level...while running fans & heat to dry the carpet out. I would just assume have it be all hard floor but didn't want to do the remodel this soon!

I would suggest that you peel the carpet back as far as needed to expose the wet wood. You want to get the wood dried out as fast as possible, so you don't create a mould pietre dish.

It will also get the carpet dried out faster.

Been through a mould infestation because of a water leak in the basement and I don't want to go through another one of them anywhere. It's made me a little overkill to the cautious side.

Get yourself a moisture meter and use it often all year long, your reno budget will probably thank you.