Hooked

dtstanton · 11-23-2012, 01:06 PM

OK, I think we're hooked. We spent Thanksgiving in the canyon with our Sunny, and had a complete traditional dinner. It was a beautiful day, followed by a beautiful night. Had a young deer join us for a while, being very sociable. Up in the middle of the night, looked up in the sky and.....OMG! Even here in the wide openness of the Llano Estacado, I've never seen so many stars! It got down to about freezing, but we were warm and snuggly all night. We used a small electric heater so we didn't have to use our propane furnace. Figured we'd use their electric instead of our gas. <G>

I say we're hooked because I see posts talking about the "last time" with their campers, and I find myself thinking "Say whaaaaaat???? What's the matter with them!? Are they nuts?" LOL! No offense, anybody. It's just how I tell myself I'm loving it! The best part is that my wife is, too!

Our T-1350 isn't perfect, but it's perfect for us. We're looking forward to many more times out - any time of year, as long as it's not icy or slick.

Split · 11-23-2012, 01:43 PM

..GOOD DEAL. I love these single axles.. Need to get our bigger hitch bolted on in town before we can tow.. Was painting some frame rust
underneath today in east tenn.. Only acquired about 2 1/2 weeks ago.

. I had been pickin at our Sat am town Flea Mkt for a few months &
scored a faily new DE-LONGHI electric quiet type HEATER on wheels for $5. Glossy white outer , six vertical fins or chambers,, 24 hr program
cycle switches, has been working wonderful in the house living room..
We have the older fan type ,under table radiant, but sort of noisy when
cycles..

I see a nice interior dinette pic of your rig in Albums, as we also have to
re-fab the dinette cushions & get a pedistle base or legs.. Prior owner
nailed full time bed mattress across back..

. Do you have electric brakes on your axle .? & do you use them or have
a controller... Would like to take ours to Florida in Jan or Feb..

dtstanton · 11-23-2012, 02:12 PM

Welcome to the forum, Larry! You'll find a lot of helpful people here. They've done wonders with me. Our T-1350 is the first TT we've ever owned, so I've definitely needed help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Split

I see a nice interior dinette pic of your rig in Albums, as we also have to
re-fab the dinette cushions & get a pedistle base or legs.. Prior owner
nailed full time bed mattress across back..

I'm going to do the seat cushions too - when I get to it. Going to do them in a denim or chambray to kinda go with the theme we set up.

Quote:

. Do you have electric brakes on your axle .? & do you use them or have a controller.

No, it doesn't have brakes. We bought it used a few months ago and although it originally had electric brakes, a previous owner did away with them. The guy we bought it from put a new no-brake axle under it recently. (Somebody along the way put a surge brake coupler on it for whatever reason.) Fortunately in Texas, it doesn't need brakes at its weight rating. I forget what they require brakes on - 3500 or 4000. We had a discussion about this when I first started asking questions.

Our trips have been pretty local. Haven't considered any cross-country trips yet. Might have to get a bigger truck before we do any of those.

Janalee · 11-23-2012, 02:48 PM

I remember my first Sunny -a 1350--I fashioned an extension for the bed to make it a queen size..took a board base the measurement needed to span the space between the seats, it wedged and sat on the table "runners"...made a cushion for the top and stapled it on to the board...voila! larger bed w /o being toooo large. Sunline Co. liked the idea and were thinking of using it in production...They did use my suggestion to attach the pillow shams to the bedspreads!!

dtstanton · 11-23-2012, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janalee

I remember my first Sunny -a 1350--I fashioned an extension for the bed to make it a queen size..took a board base the measurement needed to span the space between the seats, it wedged and sat on the table "runners"...made a cushion for the top and stapled it on to the board...voila! larger bed w /o being toooo large. Sunline Co. liked the idea and were thinking of using it in production...They did use my suggestion to attach the pillow shams to the bedspreads!!

Interesting. Ours has a couple of pull-out extensions that make it something between a queen and king. I'm going to have to re-do them some day because they are kind of awkward to use. We can use it as a smaller bed using just the table, or use the extensions for a bigger one. Cushions are sized accordingly for either use. It's a nice concept, but the extensions aren't implemented very well IMO. I like your idea, but I couldn't staple the cushions down, since they do double duty.

-Dale

hiller64 · 11-23-2012, 04:28 PM

That’s a neat rig and it looks like a great place to camp. Your description of the night sky reminded me of the western song about the "stars shine bright deep in the heart of Texas". Barb and I had a wonderful time when we camped in West Texas the scenery was fantastic and except when the wind blew so hard it blew our awning away while we were camped in the Guadalupe Mountains everything was great. Your part of the US is much different than camping in Virgina but just as much fun.

dtstanton · 11-23-2012, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hiller64

That’s a neat rig and it looks like a great place to camp.

Thank you, Sir.

Quote:

Your description of the night sky reminded me of the western song about the "stars shine bright deep in the heart of Texas".

This time of year (at around 3,000' elevation), the air is so dry and clear it really brings out all those billions of points of light - once you get away from peripheral light.

Quote:

Barb and I had a wonderful time when we camped in West Texas the scenery was fantastic and except when the wind blew so hard it blew our awning away while we were camped in the Guadalupe Mountains everything was great.

The wind in the panhandle can be a challenge. You really have to be careful, because it can be acceptable one minute and over 30mph the next. Just a nice breeze as we like to say, but can wreak havoc on an awning.

Quote:

Your part of the US is much different than camping in Virgina but just as much fun.

I can imagine. I lived in WV for quite a few years, and travelled to VA Beach fairly often. There is no comparison in landscape, that's for sure!

I've never been down by way of Guadalupe, but I'm sure it's much different than the panhandle as well. Here you'll be driving along on boring ole flat/straight road, and all of a sudden you're "dropping into" the Canyon.

-Dale

jim44646 · 11-24-2012, 12:01 PM

[QUOTE=dtstanton;110220]
I say we're hooked because I see posts talking about the "last time" with their campers, and I find myself thinking "Say whaaaaaat???? What's the matter with them!? Are they nuts?" LOL! No offense, anybody. It's just how I tell myself I'm loving it! The best part is that my wife is, too!

Our T-1350 isn't perfect, but it's perfect for us. We're looking forward to many more times out - any time of year, as long as it's not icy or slick.

[QUOTE]

Northern Ohio a bit different than Texas. Woke up this AM snow on ground. It's finally up to 30*. I've used camper for hunting in years past. Even with two electric heaters it was still drafty & cold. Now I'm older camper goes into storage. 40 & 50's ok below freezing, Nah

dtstanton · 11-24-2012, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim44646

Northern Ohio a bit different than Texas. Woke up this AM snow on ground. It's finally up to 30*. I've used camper for hunting in years past. Even with two electric heaters it was still drafty & cold. Now I'm older camper goes into storage. 40 & 50's ok below freezing, Nah

I hear ya, Jim.

I wasn't knocking anybody. I know how N Ohio can be. I know those lake effect snows can really dump on you. I can't handle the cold like I used to either. (I was born and raised in Iowa.) Our altitude in the panhandle (over 3600') offsets the difference in latitude quite a bit.

Our camper kept plenty warm with a little ceramic bathroom heater even at freezing. If it didn't keep up we'd fire up the furnace too, but even as cold as it was the little heater didn't cycle very often. I've seen all 4 seasons in a 24-hour period more than once here in the panhandle. It can get pretty nasty in the winter. 20 below isn't out of the question, but we don't get anywhere near the yearly snowfall you get up there.

I may change my tune about cold weather camping when I get a little more experience under my belt. For now, I'm lovin' it!

Wannabes · 11-24-2012, 07:27 PM

Dale,

We feel like you do; altho' we've only been out for 3 overnights since we bought our 2363 in late August, we love it! We're trying to stretch out the season by camping one more time before most of the State Parks in our area close for the winter. (Deer hunting is big in PA and a few of the parks near us stay open to accommodate the season which starts this Monday.) We also want to see if we can handle camping in colder weather. How about trading a weekend in Palo Duro for one in the PA SP of your choice?

dtstanton · 11-24-2012, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wannabes

We feel like you do; altho' we've only been out for 3 overnights since we bought our 2363 in late August, we love it!

Same here. Bought our 1350 in August and have only been out 3 times. Thinking about doing Christmas Eve down there, too.

Quote:

We're trying to stretch out the season by camping one more time before most of the State Parks in our area close for the winter. (Deer hunting is big in PA and a few of the parks near us stay open to accommodate the season which starts this Monday.)

I know about those deer seasons out there. Lived in WV for about 35 years. Some schools out there let out all the week of Thanksgiving - the first week of deer gun season. <G>

Quote:

We also want to see if we can handle camping in colder weather. How about trading a weekend in Palo Duro for one in the PA SP of your choice?

I think I'd rather get a bigger truck before taking it cross country, but you're welcome to come out here and try the canyon out. We'd love to have you. It's open year 'round, and they only keep people out if the roads are slick. Can't have campers sliding over the side of the canyon, ya know.

**JohnB** · 11-25-2012, 04:54 PM

Hi Dale,

Yes, you can get "hooked" on Sunline camping.... I must say, those steps look and I'm sure work first rate!

I see you had the windows open... We camped this weekend too. It was great! Although we left the windows closed....

We had snow flurries Saturday afternoon. The wind died down finally... and we had a really nice pre-winter walk in the park.

This is most I have seen at a CG here in central Ohio this time of year. There was 10 rigs not counting ours.

Generally there are only 1 or 2 others including us. Today was really nice, best day of the weekend and had to come home.

Back to work on Monday.

Here are a few shots from one of our State Parks that is open all year round. This park even has a heated shower house if needed. We still use the camper, have it set up for water in cold weather.

We had to help the crock pot along. I put my Dutch oven cozy over it. Being 30F out it needed some help.... It worked great.

Thanks for sharing. Some day we will make it down to Texas with the camper.

John

dtstanton · 11-25-2012, 06:45 PM

Quote:

I must say, those steps look and I'm sure work first rate!

Thanks, John. Yes, they are very sturdy and are at just the right step height for us.

When the windows were open, it was still around 70. Trust me - they all got shut later that evening. <G>

We haven't used the 1350's water system yet. I haven't checked out the holding tanks. Maybe next Spring we'll get that all done. Don't want to mess with it now. I've already blown out the lines and prepared it for cold weather.

Nice rig you have there, BTW!

We have a "3-holer" crock pot we used Thursday for some of our Thanksgiving dinner in the canyon. Had ours inside. Real handy with multiple-component meals.

We're keeping an eye on availability for Christmas eve in the canyon. It's our favorite haunt anyhow, but camping with the Sunny makes it even better. If it isn't slick, we'll probably be down there again. Can't get enough!

Quote:

Some day we will make it down to Texas with the camper.

If you are ever able to get down here in the panhandle, rattle our cages and maybe we can spend some time. (That goes for any of you here.)

-Dale

dtstanton · 11-29-2012, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Split

Do you have electric brakes on your axle .? & do you use them or have
a controller...

I was a little low with my original reply when I said:

Quote:

Fortunately in Texas, it doesn't need brakes at its weight rating. I forget what they require brakes on - 3500 or 4000.

In Texas, you aren't required to have trailer brakes until you get to 4500#.