[DebNJim B]

Well, congrats on the new camper and welcome from Upstate NY to the MOC.
That’s a very nice floorplan you’ve chosen and you’ve come to the right place for advice on how to set up to begin camping adventure. Just want to comment on a couple.
First that camp coffee pot. We picked one up at a garage sale maybe 30 years ago for $.50 and it’s been with us through at least 10 campers. Started when we camped a state parks w/o electric and now it’s just for back up but it’s good sometimes to just have that good old camp coffee to start the day.

Then there’s the air compressor. We only carry one. It’s a a/c, d/c, battery tankless. It replaced a tank compressor to reduce space and weight. Whether you go tank or tankless you’ll need something to go up to 150psi for the tires you have. BTW I have the Sailins and love them and you start them out cold at 110psi. I don’t “air down” on arrival and don’t know what that is.

One piece of equipment that’s particularly important is an electric management system referred to here as an EMS. That will guard you against power surges but more than that it will warn you of high or low voltages and open grounds among other things that can cause big $$ damage to your unit. Campgrounds (CG) don’t have the best reputation with their service pedestals and if your EMS detects a problem it will shut if down.

One thing we did with our first 5er about 8 years ago was to stay in it in the back yard for 3 weeks just like if we were camping. A stay-at-home shakedown cruise. We used all systems except the A/C and electric side of the W/H because we only had a 20A service. We had a septic system near by so used all the water systems. When you bring it home and park it, if you’re close to the house you may want to try that. You’ll discover a lot of things you need to supply the rig with. Speaking of parking it, I can’t emphasize enough the advice you got to put planks and blocks under the tires and jacks. This is very important anytime you’re parked on bare ground and especially on grass.

After you’ve used the camper for a year you’re going to find things that you wish were different. The good news is you can make it the way you want it. Check out the mods section of this forum and you’ll see what I mean. I find doing the mods and tweaking things is as much fun as the traveling and camping.

Here’s hoping you have many years of enjoyment out of this stage of you life as we have.

Oh, and the best deal on a patio mat is Walmart. High quality mat at a great price.