Post by SusieQ on Oct 23, 2015 6:18:01 GMT -8
I set out from VA almost two months ago and headed to the MS Gulf Coast where I spent Labor Day weekend. We camped one night along the way in DeSoto State Park, Fort Payne, AL and I highly recommend the campground. It sits atop Lookout Mountain and there are several waterfalls to explore and a quaint little town. Just don't wash your car at the Washaroo because it dispenses rainbow colored soap and no water for the rinse 
.
My first stop for gas a man approached me with "That's a 13ft. Shasta, isn't it? What year? My parents had one like that when I was a kid." No. one question, "what year?" No. 2 would be, "Can I take a pic?" And of course, "Do you want sell that?"
I had no idea what to expect towing this trailer because other than its original journey from purchase to my home, it had only left my driveway once and that was for new springs in town and back. The towing experience was rather uneventful, thank goodness.
Here are some things I learned.
Hitch bar/ball. The biggest drop I could find was a 7 1/2 and was adjustable. I didn't like the extra pin and noise and found an 8" drop at TSC along the way. This had me towing almost level.
Springs. My springs are really stiff and I get a big bounce on bumps. The guy who installed my springs talked to me yesterday about removing the bottom stiff leaf or adding shocks. (shocks, haha!) But I was never once concerned about the integrity of my springs.
I had some extra weight on the way down but ditched it for the trip home. This made me bounce a little higher. I left MS and headed for IL, about 30 miles from St. Louis. Two hours before reaching my destination, all was well in the trailer when we stopped for a break and got sodas out of the icebox. I parked in a hotel parking lot that night when I reached my destination. Hubby had driven up and met us at the hotel. The next morning, my husband greeted me with the news that my trailer was a wreck on the inside. I guess the bumps driving through St. Louis did it in. The silverware drawer was on the floor. The sliding cabinet door above the stove had come open and my globe for my back light had bounced out and shattered. 
The icebox door was open (never happened before, maybe the kid didn't close it well). But I still had ice and cold sodas.
Gaucho beds. I slept in my trailer every night for almost two months. My cushions are extremely comfortable. I did put a fitted sheet around them that helped keep the two pieces together because the space between is a little noticeable. Moving the smaller cushion to the outside made it more comfortable for me. I may connect the cushion covers as they were originally to alleviate that gap.
The bed leg. It is adequate but I think we need to make two more for the outside corners. It's very tempting to sit on the corners and they have no support.
Also, the top board was originally nailed to keep it from sliding with the front pullout. I did not nail it back down because my intentions are to hinge it. It was pain because it would slide out with the front one and I would have to scoot it back in place under the cushion. One night, my son commented that he was falling in a hole, lol. The board was not up against the wall under him.
The stove. I love the stove top. I made coffee every morning using my whistling tea kettle and French press. It was my favorite part of the day. I did not use the oven but I did store my toaster oven it. We made yummy muffins in the toaster oven.
Water. I had a 7 gallon water container for my hand pump and it was plenty of water for us. I refilled it one time. I only used it for cooking and washing.
Fantastic Fan. It whines a little but it did its job well. Adding a small fan in front of the kitchen window really gave us a nice breeze.
Leveling. Ok, I didn't.
TV. We started out on a two week trip and I didn't take one. I bought one. I haven't mounted it yet. We set it on the kitchen counter and it worked out well for us.
The table. I have a short table. We left it in place while sleeping as the gaucho beds pull out to the table leg. It was convenient to leave it up, but my son refused to sleep with his head at the other end and occasionally bumped the table.
The toilet. Thetford Curve, as posted in another thread, it's great. Yes it did kind of explode after I traveled without emptying it. Luckily, I wasn't seated on it and didn't have my head over it when I pulled the flush lever.
Storage. Well, it's slim. I'm getting that figured out. There is a good bit of storage under the benches but it's not very convenient. My folding camping chair does fit nicely in front of the wheel well in that small space.
Power. My WFCO power supply/converter/charger worked great. It may not last long but I've already given it a workout and can't complain about it's performance, especially for the $$$.
Trailer lights. Perfect. I had never doubted them because I knew they were wired correctly by me.
Leaks. None that I know of.
The nicest moment of my trip was one night, a couple of weeks into our trip when my son commented as I was putting fresh linens on his bed, "Mom, this camper is really nice."
I really like towing the Shasta Compact. One of the advantages in contrast to towing my teardrop is that I can see the traffic behind me through the front and back window. I do avoid fast food drive-thru windows with the Compact due to it's height, but other than that, it is no more difficult to tow than my teardrop. It's definitely a keeper. And my dog likes it, too.
Oh, did I mention ants? Yes, they found a trail in that little space at the bottom of the glass on the front window. Ever notice that the weather strip at the bottom of the louvered windows has a small space where it stops just short of the end? At first I thought this was a missing piece but all of them are like that and I can only guess that it is to assure ventilation.
. My first stop for gas a man approached me with "That's a 13ft. Shasta, isn't it? What year? My parents had one like that when I was a kid." No. one question, "what year?" No. 2 would be, "Can I take a pic?" And of course, "Do you want sell that?"
I had no idea what to expect towing this trailer because other than its original journey from purchase to my home, it had only left my driveway once and that was for new springs in town and back. The towing experience was rather uneventful, thank goodness.
Here are some things I learned.
Hitch bar/ball. The biggest drop I could find was a 7 1/2 and was adjustable. I didn't like the extra pin and noise and found an 8" drop at TSC along the way. This had me towing almost level.
Springs. My springs are really stiff and I get a big bounce on bumps. The guy who installed my springs talked to me yesterday about removing the bottom stiff leaf or adding shocks. (shocks, haha!) But I was never once concerned about the integrity of my springs.
I had some extra weight on the way down but ditched it for the trip home. This made me bounce a little higher
. I left MS and headed for IL, about 30 miles from St. Louis. Two hours before reaching my destination, all was well in the trailer when we stopped for a break and got sodas out of the icebox. I parked in a hotel parking lot that night when I reached my destination. Hubby had driven up and met us at the hotel. The next morning, my husband greeted me with the news that my trailer was a wreck on the inside. I guess the bumps driving through St. Louis did it in. The silverware drawer was on the floor. The sliding cabinet door above the stove had come open and my globe for my back light had bounced out and shattered. 
The icebox door was open (never happened before, maybe the kid didn't close it well). But I still had ice and cold sodas. Gaucho beds. I slept in my trailer every night for almost two months. My cushions are extremely comfortable. I did put a fitted sheet around them that helped keep the two pieces together because the space between is a little noticeable. Moving the smaller cushion to the outside made it more comfortable for me. I may connect the cushion covers as they were originally to alleviate that gap.
The bed leg. It is adequate but I think we need to make two more for the outside corners. It's very tempting to sit on the corners and they have no support.
Also, the top board was originally nailed to keep it from sliding with the front pullout. I did not nail it back down because my intentions are to hinge it. It was pain because it would slide out with the front one and I would have to scoot it back in place under the cushion. One night, my son commented that he was falling in a hole, lol. The board was not up against the wall under him.
The stove. I love the stove top. I made coffee every morning using my whistling tea kettle and French press. It was my favorite part of the day. I did not use the oven but I did store my toaster oven it. We made yummy muffins in the toaster oven.
Water. I had a 7 gallon water container for my hand pump and it was plenty of water for us. I refilled it one time. I only used it for cooking and washing.
Fantastic Fan. It whines a little but it did its job well. Adding a small fan in front of the kitchen window really gave us a nice breeze.
Leveling. Ok, I didn't.
TV. We started out on a two week trip and I didn't take one. I bought one. I haven't mounted it yet. We set it on the kitchen counter and it worked out well for us.
The table. I have a short table. We left it in place while sleeping as the gaucho beds pull out to the table leg. It was convenient to leave it up, but my son refused to sleep with his head at the other end and occasionally bumped the table.
The toilet. Thetford Curve, as posted in another thread, it's great. Yes it did kind of explode after I traveled without emptying it. Luckily, I wasn't seated on it and didn't have my head over it when I pulled the flush lever.
Storage. Well, it's slim. I'm getting that figured out. There is a good bit of storage under the benches but it's not very convenient. My folding camping chair does fit nicely in front of the wheel well in that small space.
Power. My WFCO power supply/converter/charger worked great. It may not last long but I've already given it a workout and can't complain about it's performance, especially for the $$$.
Trailer lights. Perfect. I had never doubted them because I knew they were wired correctly by me.
Leaks. None that I know of.
The nicest moment of my trip was one night, a couple of weeks into our trip when my son commented as I was putting fresh linens on his bed, "Mom, this camper is really nice."
I really like towing the Shasta Compact. One of the advantages in contrast to towing my teardrop is that I can see the traffic behind me through the front and back window. I do avoid fast food drive-thru windows with the Compact due to it's height, but other than that, it is no more difficult to tow than my teardrop. It's definitely a keeper. And my dog likes it, too.
Oh, did I mention ants? Yes, they found a trail in that little space at the bottom of the glass on the front window. Ever notice that the weather strip at the bottom of the louvered windows has a small space where it stops just short of the end? At first I thought this was a missing piece but all of them are like that and I can only guess that it is to assure ventilation.
. If you are bouncing excessively then remove a leaf, you don't want it bouncing a lot as that could cause problems if towing in a strong cross wind. If your problem is the springs are to soft then shocks might help, but not if to stiff.