Well, I am proud of the new trailer, and wanted to post a quick pic.  Now I know it is too big for much off roading, but for my family it is primarily used to run from hurricanes.  


It is a 32' Puma, which is a PAIN to pull, but with a family of 5, it is pretty much needed.

However, I mainly posted this to say, keep your eyes open for deals.  People are getting desperate to move inventory in alot of businesses.  This trailer was new on a lot at a Houston dealer who went out of business.  I have a friend at a local RV dealer and he picked it up right and sold it for a song.  I wouldn't have thought of trading in my old Terry, but couldn't pass up the deal.   Also my 14 yr old son has hit 6'6" and has a size 16 foot and can't fit in any of the beds in the old trailer.  This one has a fold out full size bed in the floor in back so old Sasquatch can stretch out.

Anyway, now days, cash talks.  Save, save, save and watch for those deals that are out there.

Good Luck
Doc

I've been shopping for one.  Can you tell us what you paid, approximately?

Great looking rig Doc

My knowledge of campers is just about nil, so I have a question or three if you don't mind indulging a newbie: Assuming that you have a fully stocked food pantry, and full propane and water tanks, how long could your family of five live in a rig like that without resupply? Is it a couple of days, weeks, or months? What consumables run out first? When you're on the road, where do you drain your sewerage/gray water(?) tanks, and where do you get fresh water?

Thank you in advance for your insight. I've always been fascinated by the notion of a home on wheels, and I'd love to learn more

It listed for 29,000.  He had it for 15 to move it.  It is a new '09 model with full warranties.  There was a 2010 model on the lot that also listed for 29(for reference) that he couldn't go less than 25.  With the trade in of my 7 yr old similar style RV I needed about 6000 cash.   Trade in was right on spot with blue book.  Could have probably gotten another 1000 if I had sold it outright, but was ready to move.

Legally, you have to dump at a dump station.  Most all of the camp grounds have dump stations, and our home septic system has an access cap that works for me.  As far as "how long can you go?", I guess it depends on what type stuff you pack.  We spend about a week at a time at most in it, and when we don't try to be conservative, I usually have to dump the black and grey tanks every 2-3 days.  I am sure you could go a week if you were trying to stretch things.  Same on water.  I will have to check and see what the water tank will hold.  I usually work off of city water.  

Food all depends on what you pack.  We are usually not trying to pack for long term, but when hurricanes come, we pack tons of nonperishables.  So a week would be no problem.  

Propane will last a long time if used for cooking.  If you are running the gas furnace, you will have to refill, but I never use the furnace (SE Texas) so I really don't know how long.   If I had to bug out with full water and empty tanks, I am sure we could stretch a week.  If I can find a water hose and dump tanks, we could probably pack in enough food for a month.

Hope that helps, but there are guys on here that might chime in who are much more adept at this stuff than I.

Doc

Nice rig. You will get used to towing with a trailer that size fast enough. Im always a little on edge for the for the 1st trip of the year after not dragging a trailer that size for 6 months or so. Just get out and enjoy it. In no time it will be like its not even there.


As for the propane. In cold weather it goeas fairly quick but in warm weather with 2 showers a day it lasts quite some time.


http://www.campingworld.com/  sells waste hoses , the crap caddy tanks and many other parts.
http://www.adventurerv.net/ also

I would reccomend buying atleast a quart of the clear roofing patch and keeping some form of material to patch the roof. falling branches can do a number on the roof not to mention the clear stuff can pretty much be used in a rain storm. I forget the brand tho. Im fairly sure I got it from camping world tho


As for the waste and grey water filling up fast thats always a problem.  We actually had an little external shower on the back side that you could use to lightly wash off with out filling up your tank.

Baby wipes also help with less showers. at the race track  I would do the face , pits , crotch and crack and felt quite refreshed and clean friday night then saturday mid day. shower sat night and use wipes to clean up on sunday. While its not optimal it saves water , propane and if quick and easy.

Very nice, congrats.  Living in Florida, we too have the possibility of bugging out due to hurricanes.  I'm currently in the market for a Toy Hauler.  Preferably no bigger than 20 feet as I have a 6cyl Tacoma to pull it.  Even with the tow package, I can't pull that much.  I figured a smaller toy hauler would be perfect to stash my gear in the back, with room for us to sleep/cook/live as well.  

Pics of the insde when you get a chance.

Hey they also make AC units that haver add on heat units. Search around for your model. you might be able to add the heating element to it and not have to worry about propane at all. That was out next step with out little RV was to go all electric 0 gas but a flood wiped it out before that happened

Sounds like a nice deal with the trade in value, moving 7 years ahead should help in some areas I would think.  Like the roof stuff someone mentioned.



I pretty much agree that how you live in the camper determines how long things last.  It is kind of like a battery bank and how often you need to charge it.  If you use a ton of electricity you will charge it every day.  Get someone who uses very little electricity and they might go a week the first time around learning things and then start stretching it out to two weeks.



Eventually rustee should have a nice long thread about how to live in a camper for more hints and tips.  

I dont know about in your trailer but in bolth the camper trailer and my small RV the interior lighting was 12 volt not 110. we also wired in a few cig lighter plugs for 2 of thoose 12 volt fans liks bus drivers used to use before buses had AC.  Some solar panels and some nice batterys would be pretty kick ass! Thats another thing we were looking into. basically trimming the fat , gaining more storage and making it a bit more self reliant

The water pump is 12V also if I remember right. So thats lights , water and circulation on 12v which is very low demand for a generator. the AC units on thoose things and the microwave are really the only 110v load per say atleast in our case the fridge and stove were propane.  How ever we wanted to rip out our kitchen area to make more room since it was an L shaped island of wasted space in our case. Never got to do it tho =(

We go how ever plan to convert our 24ft race trailer into a camper / toy hauler this summer if time and money permits so id be interested in any neat tricks you come up with for sure!

+1

OK guys, such as it is;


This is a look toward the back.  you can see tbe bunk on top and there is a fold out sleeper on the bottom.  Dinette and kitchen also visible.



Looking from the back to the front, entertainment system with TV between two doors going into the master bedroom.

FWIW
Doc

Nice.  You've got me browsing the net again for deals.



We've been toying with getting one, though size will be limited due to the tow vehicle.  Anything much over 22 feet with a Tacoma is a little spooky to me.

Man o Man that is NICE Doc...

eta: Floor vents for the heater ?... and one 15K btu A/C ?

Gonna take a generator ?

fun,

Yep, floor vents for heat.  and yes, 13.5 or 15k btu ac.  My EU2000 will handle everything but the AC....need a bigger genny for that.

Doc

I know my dad is interested in getting rid of his (since they are building a second house) pretty similar to that in Northern NJ.

If anyone is interested PM me and Ill put you in contact with my dad.

Nice trailer.

A couple of points on waste water. Black water comes from the toilet only. This tank can hold a lot of business. The gray water tank(s) hold shower and sink drainage. In a pinch this can be dumped without too much stink even if you don't have a dump station. Just be discreet about where you leave it. I sometimes cracked the gray water valve when there was a long stretch of highway ahead of me. I did a lot of camper living away from RV parks. Walmart welcomes campers at most locations. Its company policy.

Black water should always be dumped at a dump station. We have used gray water to water the lawn before.
The guys can help by using the toilet only when paperwork is required.

Solar panels will help keep the batteries up and a large enough battery system backed by solar can run the microwave and TV indefinitely.

Just things to think about during evacs.