Now living in a TT Full Time

[Apostle]

After 27 years as an operator in a chemical plant (over half my life) my job was moved to South Korea and we were all laid off. Now I get to live in a 2013 Fun Finder 264RLS we bought used from PPL in Houston. Paid the $390 for the inspection and was assured all was good. The furnace pilot will light and then go out in a few seconds. You cant light the oven, it does not seem to be getting propane, but the top burners work fine. One of the grey water tanks leaks. Waste of money for that inspection... Now the challenge of figuring out how to live in 200 sq ft as opposed to 1600. On the bright side of things. My wife, Missy, loves my beard, I was never able to have one with my job. We are together 24x7 now, which we love. She says me getting laid off is the best thing that ever happened to me. We left our home May 2nd while it's being prepared to sell or rent, haven't figured out which as of yet. Went to Irvine, KY for 5 days then settled down to Newport TN at the KOA until June 9. I've enjoyed my forced retirement so far. Life is good!

 

[Guybmoto]

Ah, bummer about the layoff...or maybe not.

The 200 square feet is only the beginning. In the photo, you're in the extended portion of the trailer, which is as big as you want to make it.

Have fun with it! I bought my first trailer so that my son could travel with me during the summer when my ex and I divorced. We figured out the trailer interior ballet pretty quickly and had some amazing times together traveling around the country. Here's hoping you do the same.

 

[Apostle]

Thanks guybmoto

 

[Guybmoto]

No problem. I lived in mine for a couple years, too. Gives a whole new meaning to downsizing.

 

[Haole Hiker]

For the Furnace Pilot Light, might there be a Thermal Couple in there somewhere? It should be sitting right over the flame and if it's not, or out of position then it tells the gas supply to shut itself off so you don't have unburned gas lurking around. I have that problem with my gas refer all the time. It doesn't take much to have that little bugger out of position.

Also, regarding your current situation, might I suggest Bob Wells Blog cheapRVing.com, mostly people on very low income who live very well as Vagabonds in smaller rigs mostly on public land. Many videos and fascinating examples and lessons over there.

Wives who like Beards are to be treasured! I am fortunate to have both.

Best wishes on your new adventure. HH

 

[John_C]

Hi Mr. and Mrs. Apostle,
Welcome to the Forum and the world of trailer life

I got caught up in one of those cost cutting lay-off in 2013; the company said it was to cut costs, but I found it strange that I had to train 6 engineers to take my place... Wow, I must have been making way more money than my pay check exhibited... cutting costs they said... I think it was Old Fart reduction...

BUT, I have to tell you... I am so glad to have retired and now enjoy what I like (If it is okay with my wife ) ... Getting ready to head up to the Mn North Shore and I want to spend a bit of time prospecting in the Black Hills of SD... Ya gotta love it...

Hey, BTW... Check out the Escapees RV Club https://www.escapees.com/ based in Livingston, Tx and although there are few Escapees Campgrounds in the upper mid-west, they have affiliate RV Campgrounds through much of the US. My annual membership rates more than paid for itself last year on savings at a campground in Congress, Arizona. And if you haven't already checked them out, you might be interested in joining Good Sam as well; they offer discounts at Camping World and many campgrounds throughout the US. You can also check travel routes on their site and even see if the campgrounds on your route recognize a Good Sam Discount... The savings add up...

Good luck in getting the issues fixed on your trailer enjoy the world of retirement... Both of you... :grin::grin::grin:

 

[brackenlip]

Well, "congratulations", if that is what's in order, on the move !

Kind of a forced early retirement, but hey, if you can make it work, then go for it.
Enjoy the new-to-you camper. A few things to repair.....hey, that's all part of the fun !

Edit: like John above, I too was part of a head count reduction at our company in 2010. I was ready to go anyway, so it came at a good time for me. Leaving a management position was the best thing for sure regarding getting my blood pressure back down to normal levels.

 

[Apostle]

Thanks all for the warm welcome, encouraging words and needed advice.

 

[runner421]

Hmmm. . . didn't know some campers' furnaces have pilot lights. On ours - just a simple 210-UDS, it auto ignites when you turn the thermostat up. Just like the auto-ignite system that fires up a propane water heater.
As for the oven-ours is temperamental. You really have to have have the oven temp knob in the ignite position, push in and that one actually requires a lighter to light the pilot light.
Not sure if any of this applies or is useful in your situation.

 

[Apostle]

Runner 421 - You are correct, I do not have a pilot light. My setup is the same as yours with the igniter. What I should have said is: I can see the igniter lighting a flame on the burner and in a few seconds out it goes out.

 

[LJAZ]

There is a thermocouple that detects the heat from the flame. If it doesn't sense heat it shuts off the gas. It's a safety feature so you don't fill the camper with propane. If the thermocouple is faulty it would act just like you are describing.

 

[brackenlip]

Apostle, I'm curious what your evaluation is regarding your Frontier as a tow vehicle for your trailer. Good match ? If you are using a weight dist hitch, I'm wondering also which one ? Thanks for any comments you care to share.

I tow my 189FDS with a '06 Frontier.

 

[michellep]

I also tow my 2015 189FDS with a 2013 Frontier SV V6.

And here I thought my 189 was too much trailer for my little truck!
As long as it's all safe, keep on rockin' it out!

 

[Apostle]

Runner421- I got my stove to work. Thanks for the instructions! LOL

LJAZ- I'll look into buying a new thermocouple and go from there. Thanks!

gmw photo- I'm not sure what you mean by, "what your evaluation is regarding your Frontier as a tow vehicle for your trailer." I am using a WDH, Eaz-Lift 48058 Elite Weight Distributing Hitch Kit - 1,000 lbs Capacity. It's more than I needed, but I would rather have too much than not enough. They wanted $180 to set it up for me at the place I bought it from, so I ordered it from Amazon and installed it myself from watching YouTube videos. I also bought the Trailer sway control kit from Harbor Freight and installed it on the other side so I have two sway controls. I really wanted to install a transmission thermometer so I could have a better idea of how my Frontier was doing with all the hills / mountains. I did not have the time to get that done before we left. O a different note, I did install a camera on the back of the TT and was wireless into the truck for a rear view camera. I am so glad I did. It gave me much more confidence for the trip and making lane changes. I got the setup from Tadi Brothers. I think I could have pieced it together from Amazon for about a third of the price, but I didn't have time for experimentation.

 

[brackenlip]

Apostle,

Actually it you pretty much answered my question: it sounds like you are happy with the towing performance of the truck with your trailer hitched up.
I often say to people, the Frontier (and Tacoma) are very much under rated in the marketplace. These trucks are far sturdier and capable than many people think. And a lot more user friendly on a day to day basis than trucks like F series Fords etc. Since the Frontier sits a little bit lower, the reach over height into the bed is much easier, etc.

Honest truth here, of all the vehicles I've had since the late 60's, this Frontier is my favorite.

Reason I asked is I'm always curious to hear others opinion on these kinds of things.
Thanks for the comments.

 

[runner421]

Like a fireplace pilot light or even a gas grill - sometimes you have to hold the button in for what seems like a really long time to get the propane flowing and keep it flowing so the pilot light stays light.
Maybe . . .

 

[Apostle]

 

[Apostle]

I tried posting a couple of pics of my truck and trailer to show my setup, but it's pending moderator approval. Anyway... I saw a Tacoma hauling a 5th Wheel the other day. I didn't think you could do that. I know that Nissan highly advises against it for the Frontier. Also, the main reason I went with the Nissan was because of the towing capacity, it's almost twice that of the Tacoma and the Colorado. I didn't want a full sized truck, so I was limited. I also liked the Frontier better than the other options so I was especially happy with the towing capacity.

 

[michellep]

Whew, you had me scared cuz I was just inches away from buying the Tacoma over the Frontier (2013 model year).

But I just now went digging to see what I might have missed. That low tow capacity is for the 4-cylinder. I downloaded the 2012 Tacoma brochure and here's the various model's towing capacity - right up there with the Frontier.

 

[profdant139]

I'm pretty happy with my 6 cylinder Tacoma -- but of course my trailer is really, really small. We did have some problems with the rear leaf springs, but that was covered under warranty.

My heart says get the biggest truck possible -- maybe a Tundra? But my wallet says get something sensible, since this truck is my commuting vehicle.