Shakedown Run – Sunset Falls
Well we finally finished the trailer and hit the road. Before embarking on a grand adventure, we decided to keep it small and have a shakedown run a bit more local. So we headed to Sunset Falls Campground (about 45min away). This would allow us to set up the full camp, have easy access and the ability to go home quickly if needed. So how did it go??
What worked…
Our trailer drove awesome behind Max (our 2018 Toyota Tundra)! It handled well, had no issues and nothing moved or shifted. Guess we did a good job bolting/gluing the whole thing together!
When we got to camp, we opened each door and amazingly everything was in the same spot. So our preparation for the inside items was well done! Hope this all lasts!
Our whole goal with this trailer was a 5 minute camp setup time. To be honest, we are probably more like a 30 minute setup right now but that has a lot to do with the fact that we are not optimized, couldn’t find things, forgot things, etc. I will say that our setup was pretty darn quick and once we learn, we should be at 5 minutes in no time.
Our electrical system is working great. The solar panel did a great job on the first day charging up the battery (we had almost full sun). The second day was rain, rain, rain so the solar panel supplied zero amps. However, our system draws very little amps at this point so we were fine. We have decided to hook up a system that allows the battery to charge from the truck as well.
Our canopy (aka Living Room) is amazing! We own a Clam Outdoors Quick-set Traveler Screen House which just pops up in a couple of minutes. We ended up in a complete downpour of PNW rain and it held up wonderfully. No leaks, no challenges, no concerns! We were also able to use our Mr. Buddy propane heater and BBQ on our SnowPeak Pack and Carry Fireplace inside the canopy. Very cozy!
Our truck platform system is spectacular! Andy’s Dad and Mom built/stained this platform system we have in the truck and we are so grateful! This allows the dogs to have a large area to sleep but also protects all of our gear (Dusty has a tendency to chew up things).
What we learned…
Our heater pad pulls a fair amount of amps and keeps the water at a lukewarm temperature. So we cannot drive around with that turned on. We will need to power that on in cold climates only but we did learn that it works well.
Crazy rain = semi-defeat with Alu-cab awning and our custom gutter system. Overall, the full system did its job pretty well considering how much rain we got. We had small leaks along the gutter, found out that our velcro adhesive doesn’t hold up too well attached to the RTT and awning. So we need to come up with a solution for that. Also, the awning puddles up pretty bad and you have to constantly dump water. We are pretty sure we can solve this with a bit better tie-down system.
Storage optimization/organization was a bit of a bust! We found that what we planned to use most was buried deep and frustrating to get out. This included kitchen items, our BBQ, clothing locations, toiletries, etc. This will just take some re-packing and we should be good.
It ended up that we were missing a bunch of things or noticed that we needed new things. So back to town we went and order new parts, got stuff out of storage, etc. We plan to spend the weekend fixing our last minute things and then hit the road for sure.
Water, water, water! Turns out we did not install a water gauge, thinking it would be no problem. Well, we decided it is a necessary item to have. We want to be able to know when our tank is full while filling it up and also our usage rate. Since water looks like it will be our limiting factor with this trailer.
All in all, it was a good shakedown! We learned a lot and have a great opportunity to optimize a few things.
