New Owner New Member

Hello to everyone.

The wife and I just got our first camper on Friday. A Wildcat 313RE. Don''t have a tow vehicle yet so this weekend we are going to take it for a test run in the dirve way. Luckily we live in a rural area. It was amazing how many people advised us to purchase the trailer first then get the tow vehicle but when asked by any salesman what type of tow vehicle we had, they we all so suprised when we told them we were getting the trailer first.

Any suggestions up about tow vehicles would be appreciated. We will be buying used. Been a Ford guy for quite a while but have heard some horror stories about the 6.0 PSD. They delivered the trailer with a dodge 2500 5.9 Cummins. Driver said he has no trouble at all pulling that size trailer with that truck. Heard lots of good things about the Cummins as well as the GM Duramax w/Allison transmision.

Also love the trailer but the owner manuals have alot to be desired. Very generic, did not receive anything about the awining. Maybe it me but I'm one of those guys that likes to understand how everything works. Helps alot when they don't.


Thanks
Dennis & Lisa
Haley and Tucker ( our golden retrievers )
Eastern Shore of Maryland

Dennis & Lisa,

First...welcome to the forum. You will find it very informative and friendly.

My wife and I have a 2010 TS31 which I believe is very close to your model. We have a 2010 F250 deisel (6.4) and it handles the camper very well. We base the camper at Treasure Beach Campground in Fenwick Island, DE ( you may know the place). We live on the western shore of MD and trailer the unit when we can or stay long weekends at the campground during the summer. Works very nice for us.

I did some research on the big three tv's and found +'s and -'s on them all. It came down to facts and price for us when we did the purchase and we just like the looks of a F250 Super Duty.

Have fun with your new unit and feel free to shot us a message if you need any local information.

Can't got wrong with a cummins! I have two. Everybody should own at least one.


Earl

You should of got a separate manual in a plastic bag with an awning pull strap for the awning. Also you should of got separate manuals for all the appliances.


Earl

Dennis & Lisa,Hope you enjoy your stay.Congratulations on your new rig. Don't forget to post some of your new Cat and tow rig when you get it.

Mopar_Earl wrote:You should of got a separate manual in a plastic bag with an awning pull strap for the awning. Also you should of got separate manuals for all the appliances.


Earl

Should I have a pull strap if the awning is electric? Maybe I need to search more in the unit. I got a bunch of manuals for the appliances but how about the trailer it self? Things like were to find the power converter, how to locate the water tanks if needed.......What routine maintenance should be done....how to jack up the trailer if you would need to change a tire. I'm sure I will be able to find this info from other resources just thought the manual would be more like one for a vehicle.

to the forum, Dennis and Lisa.

I found a user's guide for an A&E Electric awning on forestriverforums.com . Here is the link to a forum page that mentions the awning- if you aren't a member, I believe you'll have to join to read and save this guide.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f210/manual-over-ride-on-dometic-electric-awning-16970.html

For more manuals or user guides, go to google, enter your appliance or whatever, and include the word "manual" in your search and you should come up with something. There is a list of Lippert manuals in the top section of the Maintenance...... forum. I think one of the links will take you to a list of more manuals. Heck, I posted it, and can't remember exactly what is in there.

For routine maintenance, the members here will help you.

Tater

I purchased vehicles for the city for many years. We required all our trucks to have Allison Transmission. I have a 2007 Chev Silverado with a Duramax Diesel and Allison Transmission. Quiet and transmission very very good.

Welcome to the forum, personally I like the D-Max Allison configuration (I only have the Allison with the big block gas).

Welcome from Ft. Worth TX! We love our 31TS which is very similiar to your model. I think it's a hoot you'll be doing your inaugural night in your own driveway....lol Enjoy!

From Winona and Ft. Knox

from West Virginia, Dont feel bad we did the same thing, got the trailer 313RE 2011, then we couldnt find a TV so I ended up ordering a new Ford F250, I got it with 4:30 gears, but the gas mileage is getting better now that its got a little over 4000 miles on it, Im getting around 14 to 16 MPG on the highway, I havent pulled the trailer sence the last of July and it only had a few miles on it but was still getting 10 to 12 MPG. Im sure if we were doing a lot longer trips I would have gotten the PSD but for us the gasser is working out fine and we saved a little over 10K by going with gas, so I would say try to figure out how many trips and how far you will be towing and you may find that a good gaser will do just fine, if it has the right gears and save you some money too.

TC

Dennis & Lisa, your almost in our backyard!!!!!

to the forum. We also have a 31TS. As far as a TV goes, it is really going to depend on what suits you. There are good and bad TVs of every make/model. I was able to find the exact TV I wanted, but had to wait a while. Fortunately, I had my TV before my 5ver and could afford to wait.

Best of luck in finding a reliable TV, no matter which make you decide on.