In more than a year of renting the camper, I haven't had to deduct anything out of a security deposit. It's not that I couldn't, it's just that sometimes things happen.
Take the table, for example. It also doubles as the frame for one of the extra beds. It came back from the first rental of the 2020 season like this.
Well, OK, it's a 20-year old table that wasn't in such great shape to begin with and I wasn't a big fan of the laminated look anyway. Plus, I like to build stuff. So I didn't even ask what happened. My guess is someone stood on the table as a step when it was in the "bed" position. Whatever.
Off to the store to buy a 4 x 8 foot sheet of plywood, which was no picnic getting it on top of the car, what with me being old and all. But I got it done.
Then, I cut out the new table top...
And sanded it down, stained it, and applied three coats of polyurethane. Much better.
In fact, it came out so nice that I may do remake the rear post table. We'll see.
The renters told me in advance that the table "didn't make it" and I appreciated that.
What they didn't reveal was a small hole in the roof, a serious injury on pop-ups because if water should get in there, it's the beginning of the end. But I found it, repaired it and painted it. It probably came from raising the camper into a tree branch.
So before cranking up the camper when setting up, look up! Even if it doesn't hit the branch, a gust of wind can do as much damage.
I didn't file a security deposit request with Outdoorsy on that, either.
This isn't to say don't worry about trashing the camper. Sometimes things can't be improved while being fixed. But the goal after each rental, is look for areas to make things better.
So if you have any ideas for doing so, don't hesitate to make note of them in the camper journal.
I wrote earlier about some of the maintenance I'm doing on the Dutchmen during the winter -- new wheel bearings and an electric water pump -- and I'm on track to complete most of the wish-list items I had during the off season.
This week, I installed the new LED lighting, replacing the last remaining incandescent and low-light fixture. I had installed one last summer, asking campers which they liked better, and the response was unanimous and overwhelming. So now the inside is like Target Field on a summer night!
I tried to find the same model I installed last year, but, unfortunately, it is no longer available. I liked the dimmable feature. This one has an option to use one or two lamps to adjust lights.
Of course, the best feature is it uses less electricity, which will come in handy for those on extended trips operating off battery. I'm looking forward to testing it out at Oshkosh this summer, although my planned week there has been cut short by the Twins' booking of a Guns and Roses concert on Friday July 24th. Ushers are required to work concerts.
One other improvement. When setting up the camper, it's important to get it pretty level, using the bubble gauges on the camper. Leveling it front to back is pretty simple. Just crank the jack at the front of the camper. But side to side can be time consuming. Some people use wood under the wheels for example, which can be problematic, and requires you to haul a hunk of wood on your trip.
And putting jacks under the corners doesn't work because it puts a twist in the camper frame, which makes the door hard to close.
I found this solution which should allow you to level the camper lickity split. It goes around the wheel on the low side like a tire chock. And a racheting wrench is used to raise the tire. Fast and simple. I'll update the set-up instructions to make the change.
Yes, I realize none of this is particularly sexy news. But I hope it shows the amount of care I put into making your camping experience as enjoyable as possible, and how your rental fee is being put immediately back into that effort.
The coldest weather of the season has finally arrived in Minnesota right on time, so naturally my thoughts are turning to summer camping. I bought the camper last year with the idea of taking it to Oshkosh. That didn't work out; the campground was flooded out when I arrived so I just came home. Then a couple of days later, a renter contacted me about renting it for a week.
"Sure," I said. "Where are you going?"
"Oshkosh," he said.
So one of us got to Oshkosh in the camper, it just wasn't me.
The rest of the time, I figure someone should get some use out of the camper, and I can use proceeds to upgrade it here and there and keep it in tip top shape. I don't charge very much so in that vein, it's a community-owned camper. I'm not trying to make a buck.
Anyway, as I was saying, my thoughts are turning to the summer so I've been doing some maintenance. The new faucet and water pump is in and hopefully within the next week, some wire will arrive so I can finish the electrical connections. I built the entire avionics panel in an airplane I built, so this isn't much of a challenge, except for the cold. I used to be able to do a lot of work in the hangar in the winter. Not so much anymore. But, trust me, it'll be ready for you this summer.
Repacking the wheel bearings is an important part of off-season maintenance. I pulled the grease cap off one wheel last week and found this mess.
I think there were about six different flavors of grease in there, leading me to believe the bearings haven't been checked and repacked in quote some time. Fortunately, after I cleaned everything up and removed the wheel, the bearings were in good shape. They were repacked, and reinstalled and this time I added a Bearing Buddy, which gives me the ability to be sure the bearings are full of grease just by looking at it before dispatching it, and making potential problems less likely.
Like I said, nothing sexy. But an example of the work I'm putting into making the camper as enjoyable an experience as possible.
The camping season officially ended for the "Dutchmen" on Sunday when it returned from its final rental. It's October in Minnesota and while the weather was picture perfect, we all know what's coming.
The inaugural season was a lot of fun. I met some really great people and everyone reported having fun with the camper and everyone gave me great feedback to make things even better in the camper, and I'm implementing all of them.
The people have spoken. They like the LED overhead light better than the old incandescent version, and so I'll be installing a second one over the winter.
I'll also be replacing the screwy jacks I inherited when I bought the camper in May with new leveling jacks that will speed up the setup process to get Dutchmen perfectly level for you.
When Lynn rented the camper for a two-week rental to the Badlands (and ran into a blizzard), she reported difficulty keeping the door latch. That has now been fixed (I fabricated a bracket) and this also speeds up the process of getting the top door frame to mate with the lower one.
Lynn, by the way, printed and then laminated my setup/takedown instructions for future renters to reference. Thank you, Lynn!
I'm also going to put a new water faucet in with an electric pump, replacing the original faucet which, it seems to me, was useless.
Over the winter, I'm also going to replace the gas line hose to the propane tank (I will continue to provide free propane) so that a quick connect/disconnect can be added, eliminating the need to carry the wrench. This, too, will speed up set up time.
Other suggested improvements include some wall hooks to hand things on while camping.
Hopefully, you've had a great time on your camping journey (and documented it in the camper journal), and now it's time to get back to civilization.
Typically, I don't have a "must return by X p.m." time. Just let me know via text message (you can do it via the Outdoorsy site) when you're leaving your camping area so I can plan when to be at the hangar to welcome you home and get you on your way.
Breaking down the site is pretty much a reverse of what it took to get set up but to make it easier, let's just document it in order:
1) Open the power converter door (inside forward, left side near the floor, and shut off the first two circuit breakers. You can keep the powder blue circuit breaker in the "on" position.
2) Disconnect the battery by removing the white (ground/negative) wire first and then the black (positive) wire and wrap the wires so they don't drag. Put the battery in the milk crate.
If you used an electrical connection, disconnect and stow the power cable.
3) Go inside and flip the sink up. This will disconnect the lights and prevent a fire.
If you used the water tank, remove the cushions from the area over the power converter, open the top and turn the spigot to the "open" position so it drains to the ground. Leave this open, close the lid.
4) Return the table to the position you found it in, serving as the extra bed. Spread cushions out over it.
5) From outside, pull the forward bed as far forward as you can and lift. When you do, the two bracing bars will fall. Pick them up and put them under the forward mattress pad or on top of it. Repeat on the rear bed.
6) If you used the refrigerator with propane, shut the propane off at the tank. Also, remove the propane tank and place in your vehicle for safe transport. At the bottom vent cabinet on the outside left of the camper, shut the gas switch (right side) to "off" and turn the thermostat (black knob by the red button) to "gas" if it's not already there.
7) If you used the stove, disconnect it from the gas line outside, clean and store in the forward, right storage area. Stow the gas line.
8) Disconnect both the front and pack bed roof "shepherd hooks" from the ceiling and pull, then disconnect the plastic connection and put the hook under each mattress.
9) After pulling the the velcroed sections around the door frame inside and outside, unclamp the top of the door from the bottom of the door, lift it, and swing the top up to the ceiling and hook it in place.
10) Under each pull out bed area outside, unhook all of the bungee cord attachments and lift the vinyl fabric up and push it in toward the center of the camper on both the front and back.
11 Remove the two safety bars from the lifter posts at the front right and rear left and put them on top of the mattress pad .
12) Remove the two supporting bed posts, then push the back bed in, taking care to push the vinyl and fabric out of the way so it doesn't get pinched. Place the support bars on the matresspad.
13) Push the forward bed in until it hits the rear bed. You'll have to reach inside the camper where the two "tracks" meet near the door. On the side closest to the door, push the track of the forward bed so that it fits to the inside of the rear bed's track. Now you should be able to push the forward bed enough to clear the roof as it's lowered. You'll probably have to give the aft bed a shove because when you pushed the front bed in, you probably pushed the rear bed out a bit.
15) Remove the "T" bars from their slots, fold, and place on top of the mattress pad.
16) Start cranking the roof down, as you do, stop every once in awhile and go around the camper pushing the vinyl/fabric sides inboard so they don't get pinched. Push the green indicator cord on the front right post out of the way.
17) Before the roof is all the way down, close the door. Then crank the roof the rest of the way down, so there's slack in the cable. You may have to adjust the forward and rear beds so that they both fit inside the closing roof. You may have to do this a couple of times.
18) Put a little weight on each corner until it seats completely so you can latch each corner. You may have to raise the roof slightly again to adjust the bed positions. There's very little room to spare and you have to negotiate between the two to get the roof to fully close.
19) Remove the crank and store it in the milk crate.
20) Use the front jack to lower the front of the camper so that you can lift up each rear stabilizing jack by pushing the spring loaded level and raising the bottom of the jack, then swinging each (pull down first) to its traveling (horizontal) position. Again, you have to crank the front of the camper lower to have enough room to pull down the jack before being able to swing it to its horizontal position.
21) Use the racheting wrench to lower the BAL lifter jack you put under the "low wheel". Stow the jack in your vehicle. Put a set of chocks under the wheel.
22) Raise the front of the camper with the crank jack, remove the bolt/pin from the hitch clamp and flip the clamp up, move your vehicle into position and lower the tongue onto the hitch ball. Flip the clamp down and insert the bolt and nut to prevent it from disconnecting while you're driving. NOTE: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE WITHOUT THE CLAMP IN A LOCKED POSITION AND THE BOLT IN PLACE.
23) Attach the safety chains. The chain on the right goes under the tongue and attaches to the left side of your hitch. The chain on the left goes under the tongue and attaches to the right side of your hitch. This creates a "hammock" in the event the hitch disengages.
Be sure you leave enough slack in the chain and your electrical connection to allow your vehicle to turn.
24) Attach your vehicle power cable to the camper's cable. Check your brake lights and turn signals.
Double check that you've properly stored the hand crank, that all vent housing is locked, and that the door is properly secured under the roof.
BEFORE YOU DRIVE AWAY Walk around the camper and be sure everything is OK. These are the most often neglected items:
1. Have you removed the crank from the winch and stowed it in your vehicle?
2. Have the rear stabilizing jacks been raised?
3. Is the step lifted and stowed under the door?
4. Have you raised the front hitch crank and secured it horizotally? 5. Is the leveling jack stowed in your vehicle? 6. Have you removed and stowed all wheel chalks?
7. Are the safety chains in place, the locking lever down and bolted, and electrical wires hooked up?
Failure to do any of these things will ruin your day and potentially cost you your $500 deposit.
When you're leaving your campground, send me a text message so that I can plan to be at the hangar upon your return, get you unhooked, and get you back on your way home.
First this disclaimer. Setting up in a campground is where a lot of good
relationships fail. It's going to be OK. We'll get through this together. Deep
breath. This is going to happen and you're going to have fun. Let's get
started.
1) Now that you've pulled into your site. CHOCK BOTH WHEELS!!
Then, disconnect from your hitch using the crank jack, and move your
vehicle out of the way).
(Update) Before you can level the camper, you need to swing the rear
stabilizing jacks down. You'll have to use the front jack to
lower the front of the camper first to be able to swing them down (by
pulling on them). Don't push the jack extension down quite yet. You just
want to get them the jacks in the down position.
Now, level the camper. There are two bubble levels, one on the right
side of the camper forward of the door (for leveling forward and back, best
achieved by the crank up front) and one on the left rear for side-to side
After you level it front-to-back, replace the wheel chocks on the "low side"
with the leveling jack, then, using the racheting wrench, raise it until the
bubble gauge on the back left side of the camper shows it's level. (Video here) Stow the wrench. You might doublecheck the bubble level on the side
now. Sometimes it needs adjusting after levelling side-to-side.
The better you level the camper, the easier the door will open and
close. So take the time to get it right. You'll thank yourself later.
2) Unlatch all four sides of the camper top and grab the
crank bar from the milk crate. Note: Do NOT lose the crank.
Insert crank into the winch housing (right side as you face
forward) and crank enough to raise the top about a foot. This allows you to
open the door to retrieve some parts..
3) There are four marked bars -- two for the front and two for
the back -- and a pair of "T" bars, which go in the front. (These are usually
found on top of the forward mattress pad or underneath it). Take them all
out.
4) Now, start cranking. You'll notice the green indicator wire on
the forward left post. This gives you guidance on where you are in the
process. Leave flexibility in the fabric walls. Note, the wire isn't
taught when the roof is fully raised. It has a little slack in it. Like
this.
4) Grab the two brass-colored stabilizer bars (these are
usually placed on top of the forward bed). Place one in the front right and
one in the rear left (as you look forward) posts. The angled flange is the
top. Push it into place.
Do NOT go inside the camper without these bars in place.
TIP: If the bars slide on to the lifter posts and there's a gap
between the roof and the slider bar, lower the roof slightly. This will make
it easier to get the top half of the door to fit in the bottom half later in
the instructions.
5) Place the T-shaped bars in the front. The pin goes in the holes on
the top edge. The flat edge on the bottom slips into the open brackets on the
camper frame. Make sure the pin end is pushed down all the way or you won't be
able to slide the fold-out out.
6) Pull out the front bed. It should fit over the T-bars. You'll want
to pull it out all the way to the stop. It will probably bind up. Stop pulling
and check the vinyl sides to be sure it's not jammed up against a lifter post.
Then pull some more. Repeat as necessary.
7) Attach two bars to the appropriate location. The color
coding of blue tells you which slots on the camper tongue the bars go into.
One end goes on the bracket under the bed, one goes on the frame of the
camper. Once you put one end on the camper frame, use your back (or your
friend) to lift the bed slightly to get the top end to slip into this
bracket.
8) Go inside and flip the sink over. The sink loads a
safety button which will allow connectivity to your DC electrical devices
(it's a safety switch so that you don't accidentally leave lights on when you
fold up the camper, causing a fire from the heat).
9) Repeat the same process, pulling out the back bed, using two
supporting bars.
10) Under each mattress, there are two "cane" hooks. Snap the end
with the plastic fitting onto the center of the bed roof's aluminum frame,
push it out (thus raising the roof) and snap the open end into the bracket
near the ceiling. Repeat on the other bed.
11) Back outside, pull the vinyl sides down as need be (be sure
the extra flap of vinyl covers the corners of the bed, to keep the sharp
corner from cutting the vinyl) and snap the bungee cord to the nearby
posts (8 in the front, 6 in the back). Seal up the fabric around each support
post using the velcro. The better you are at sealing everything up, the fewer
mosquitoes you'll be dealing with. And it also will keep out the rain. Think
like a mosquito here.
12)
The top of the door is clamped to the ceiling. Take note of how it's clamped;
it'll come in handy when you put it back up.
Swing the door down, unfasten the velcroed door side pieces of the
camper, fit the two black plastic extensions on the door frame, into the
recesses of the bottom door, then latch the top to the bottom door. Then
velcro the sides of the door. Be careful when doing this. There isn't a lot of
support for the door when it's swinging up or down.
An important word about the door
The door assembly is the weakest link in the camper and takes a
somewhat delicate and nuanced approach. The black plastic
extrusion may not want to fit on the left side (as you face out). The horizontal metal plate at
the bottom of the door component that swings down has to be to the
inside of the bottom door frame.
Once you have the bottom frame positioned, open the bottom door
just slightly, and the plastic extrusion should drop into
place.
If you have difficulty getting the plastic tabs to fit in the
slots, you might lower the roof slightly. Also be sure that all fabric
is away from the door frame.
Once in place carefully secure the
camper skin to the velcro on the door frame, being careful not to let it
overlap and pinch the door, thus making it difficult to close.
At this point, your camper is ready. Set up and connect the propane tank.
There is a 12 volt battery in the milk crate. Place it in the area near
the propane tank. Connect the black (+) first, then the white (-) wire.
Once you flip up all the circuit breakers of the power converter (wait to do
this if you're hooking up to campground power) , you should now have ceiling
lights. The rear light has a dimmer. The front light as the option to turn one
or both halves on or off.
If you have an AC hookup, pull out the long cable on the left side of the
camper and plug in. Inside the camper, near the floor on the forward
right side, flip down the converter door and turn on all four circuit
breakers.This will allow the AC (I'm not referring to air conditioning)
to operate your DC circuits (lights) and recharge the battery. The powder blue
circuit breaker should also be in the "on" position.
This will also allow the AC to recharge the battery.
If you have an AC hookup, the AC outlets will work. If you do not have
an AC hookup, the AC outlets in the camper will not be powered, even if the
battery is attached.
If you're operating only on battery, conserve energy as much as possible to
prolong the life of the battery charge.
STOVE
I recommend all cooking be done outside; it's just safer and neater for
everyone. The stove hooks to the side of the camper to the left of the door
(the tab on the back of the stove hooks onto the lower tab on the side of the
camper), with a support post underneath. Pull the gas line out, push the
fitting from the stove into the connect switch (push it in hard) and turn the
stem to lock it into place.
REFRIGERATOR
The refrigerator controls are on the left side bottom vent door. There are
three ways to power it: AC, battery, and propane. If you have an electrical
hookup, that's the easiest way. Just flip the selector switch to AC and adjust
your thermostat.
The second-preferred method is via propane. Turn on the gas at the
propane tank. Turn the selector switch in the vent housing area to "gas", open
the gas line (to the right), and turn the black knob to the left while
holding it down. Wait a second and hit the red button to spark the
propane at the burner. Then open the little viewing door and confirm that
there is a blue flame in there. Adjust settings.
The battery is the least-preferred method but only because I haven't yet
established how long that battery will last powering both lights and
refrigerator.
You'll notice the burned area. The gas fitting broke there and a small flame
ensued. The fitting has been replaced and all gas lines have been subsequently
checked. Don't worry.
WATER
There is a filler hole on the left side of the camper. The tank is underneath
the forward, left stow area (behind the power converter). Be sure the spigot
is turned to the closed position (likewise, before you pack up, be sure it's
turned to the open position. It drains to the ground.
(New for 2020): I've installed a water pump and replaced the faucet. If you
have electrical power, and once the tank is filled), push the faucet down to
activate the pump. Alternately, you may simply pump the faucet up and down to
get water.
If you have campground water, you can hook it up to keep a constant pressure.
At this point, however, I have not yet tested the connection to be sure there
isn't a leak when using campground (aka: "city") water, so be careful. There's
no pressure regulator installed, so don't open the campground water full
blast.
If you prefer to schlep your own water, I have two camp water tanks you can
borrow. Just ask.
All water tanks and lines are sanitized between rentals.
HEATER
The heater operates via the propane tank but requires an electrical connection
to "spark" the burner. The thermostat is on the side of the cabinet with the
sink. On the bottom of the thermostat, slide the on/off switch to the right,
and move the thermostat on the top to the desired temperature. The furnace
blower will start in a moment. Once started, it will blow air for
a minute before the heat comes up. Do not EVER leave the camper with the heater on, even if only for a
minute.
A FEW IMPORTANT NOTES
1) Pack sheets. You must put down linens on all surfaces with peds.
Sheets are provided for the beds and must be used even even if you are using
sleeping bags. But if you have pets that will sleep elsewhere, put something
down.
2) There are no cooking or eating utensils or dishes provided with the
camper.
3) The post for the second table is in the storage area in the rear, interior
of the camper.
4) The table with the folding legs also serves as the third bed. If you don't
need it, set it up outside or stow it under the camper. Just don't forget it
when packing up.
5) The proper tire pressure for the camper is 80 psi. This is checked minutes
before you arrive, but if you're driving a long way, please check when you
stop for gas. There is no jack provided for changing tires HOWEVER I do have a
floor jack which I will give you during your rental on request. Be sure to
ask. Or not. Your choice.
If you paid for insurance, you may have
roadside assistance. Check your Outdoorsy rental agreement to confirm this.
6) The camper weighs almost 2,000 pounds. Please be sure your vehicle is tow
rated to tow that sort of weight. Be sure your electrical connection to your
vehicle is in working order. The camper will not be released unless brake
lights, turn signals, and lights are all working on the
camper.
7) Somewhere in the camper, you'll find a travel diary. Please feel free to
add your stories and experiences of your trip and any messages for other
campers.
