Hello from Syracuse N.Y.

brianfromsyr · 10-21-2010, 06:23 PM

Hello. I am excited to be a first time owner of a travel trailer. It is my hope that I will have many years of use out of my new 1987 Sunline Saturn T1550.
I have absolutely no clue on the proper size of a generator or for that matter common things a person should know about trailers. My hope is to be able to pick mine up next week.
Brian G.

kanyonkitty · 10-21-2010, 06:31 PM

HI Brian,

Welcome to the group and congrats on your Sunline purchase. To get better info about a generator it would help if you tell us a little bit about "how" you plan to use your Sunline. Some of the guys on here are very good with boondocking tips.

Kitty

brianfromsyr · 10-21-2010, 06:46 PM

Hi Kitty. A pleasure meeting you. Thank you for the greeting and your help. I love to travel and camp. During the summer I was thinking of camping along the south eastern coast of Lake Ontario. I drive from Syracuse to just past Sodus every day when I am at the office. Two years ago I tented through a good part of the North west for about 1 1/2 months. For now it is just myself. My camper doesn't have air conditioning. If it needs it and it can handle it I would like a generator to be able to handle it. For the most part I would just use my T1550 during the weekends.

KathleenNY · 10-21-2010, 06:59 PM

Brian, Welcome to the Sunline world. Can't help you much with the generator question, but wanted to say hello. We live just south of Albany and there are several of us NY Sunline owners. Having tented for years, I can definitely say camping in the Sunline is far superior!

KathleenNY
2002 Sunline T-2363

Steve Collins · 10-22-2010, 07:12 AM

Brian, welcome to the club!

Regarding generators, the short answer is that the Honda eu2000i is the most popular among campers because it is super quiet and can run the smaller air conditioners for RV's. The Yamaha 2000's are pretty much the same. The Honda 1000 is good, too, but can't run the wife's hair dryer, a microwave, or the A/C. It's marginal on a toaster, too.

But they're pricey as the Honda is usually over $900.

We've been camping in NYS DEC parks in the Adirondacks (no hook-ups) for many, many years, and can speak from personal experience. There is nothing worse than camping near someone with a "cheapie" generator that is overwhelmingly loud 4 and 5 campsites away.

brianfromsyr · 10-22-2010, 11:09 AM

Hi Kathleen and Steve. Its a real pleasure meeting you. I am very excited about my camper.I am also excited about learning.Never heard of the term boondocking. Today I was told There is even special toilet paper and water hoses!

Steve Collins · 10-22-2010, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brianfromsyr

Hi Kathleen and Steve. Its a real pleasure meeting you. I am very excited about my camper.I am also excited about learning.Never heard of the term boondocking. Today I was told There is even special toilet paper and water hoses!

Actually, any toilet paper that is safe for septic tanks is fine for RV use. It just breaks down a bit faster.

The water hoses are made of food grade materials and should only be used for city water hook-up or filling the fresh water tanks. Mine stay in a special tote and only get used as described. I carry some other hose for things like hosing down the black and gray dump outlet.

Boondocking is essentially dry camping meaning no hookups. I suppose it came into use by those that camp in the boondocks.

WandaLust · 10-22-2010, 01:11 PM

Hi Brian and welcome to one of the nicest Forums around. My husband and I had a 1981 or 82 Sunline 1550 for a year. We loved it but it was a little too small for two people when it came to sleeping. Unable to find another used Sunline at the time we decided on something larger, we bought a new Crossroads Zinger. Had Sunline not gone out of business we would have bought a new one in the 20' range.

We didn't do much dry camping but when we did we didn't need A/C or a generator. The weather was cool up north.

pwb01 · 10-22-2010, 04:46 PM

Welcome Brian from a former Syracusian. I usually dry camp myself and if you're mostly camping on weekends, two charged batteries is more power than you'll need if you're careful. I've rarely needed an air conditioner in New York but I would recommend a 12v fan installed on your roof vent to cool it a little at night time. I don't have a generator but would have one to charge the batteries if I camped a week or two at a time.

I suggest you try Selkirk Shores campsite for one of your first trials. It's near Pulaski on Lake Ontario and some sites have 10amp power. Beautiful grounds. Book 9 monthe before you plan on going since it popular.

Watch for the Meet and Greet in Old Forge next September. You'll have to consider making reservations 9 months earlier so that's around January. Good fun, Good people, Good campers.

You'll find a wealth of information here so ask on. Try the search feature first and you'll probably find the answers there.

brianfromsyr · 10-24-2010, 05:15 PM

So happy to have met all of you

TY for making me feel welcome

Brian

WandaLust · 10-24-2010, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brianfromsyr

Hello. I am excited to be a first time owner of a travel trailer. It is my hope that I will have many years of use out of my new 1987 Sunline Saturn T1550.
I have absolutely no clue on the proper size of a generator or for that matter common things a person should know about trailers. My hope is to be able to pick mine up next week.
Brian G.

I had the 1550 for about a year. We only dry camped occasionally and didn't find we needed a generator. The battery ran the water pump and the water was heated with propane. With all the windows open it was comfortable enough unless the day was over 90 and humid. We used a kerosene lamp at night and cooked outside on the grill.

Cooking inside (propane) made it too hot. The gas stove was good to perk a pot of coffee though.