New Ameri Lite 199DD owner

johnemt23

New Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2024
Messages
5
Hello all, we are first time owners of an Ameri Lite 199D camper. We are very new to the whole experience. We are wondering what must haves we need to start looking at for our first trip. any suggestions are much appreciated. I know that we will create quite a list of things while we are using it for the first time but thought I might get a head start in here.


Looking forward to hearing the suggestions.


John
 
How comfortable and skilled are you with backing up a trailer? If you are not, I suggest that you look for a pull thru site to take that off of your plate. Also, see about a full hook up site. This way you won't be pressured for time and will have a better opportunity to clean up any messes as you are learning how to dump (black water first, grey water second to clean out your hose a bit). Do your first trip (aka "shakedown") near your home to limit potential issues. Scout out the campground first and even pick your specific site. You might even consider a Thursday arrival so you can possibly get more support from the campground staff if needed. They get pretty busy on Fridays!

You will need to have the equipment and the know how to connect your utilities.
Electricity - my camper is 30 A and I carry adapters for 110 V and 50 A at all times as well as a 30 A extension cord.
Water - I carry a 10' and 25' drinking water approved water hose as well as a Y-adapter that I will use to hook up another hose so I can douse the camp fire or clean up any messes I make at the campsite.
Sewer-Get a full hook up site if you can, otherwise you won't have sewer at your site and you will have to use the campground's dump station.

You have to get the camper level left-right before you unhook. I carry these two items with me to help with this https://a.co/d/1IlQOq5 and https://a.co/d/6JSdj41. After I am leveled left to right, I chock the wheels, unhook my truck and move it out of the way. Then I use the tongue jack to level front to back. I plug in to the electricity, drop the steps and go inside to open the slide and turn on the fridge. Then I lower the stabilizer jacks on to 4"x4" blocks that I bring with me using an impact driver and this https://a.co/d/0xmhoIo. At this point, my wife starts readying the inside of the camper and I get everything else going on the outside (water, awning, rug, table under the awning, cooking area, etc.).

I love the setup part of the adventure. We store everything that is used outside either in the truck (tables, chairs, 10'x10' if we bring it, rug, grill if we bring it, etc) or in tubs in the outside storage (things we always have with us - dish washing stuff, griddle, pop up trash can, trash bags, Lysol wipes, table clothes, paper towels, etc.).

We like to stay 3 nights at a time so we have two full days of play. Thursday - Sunday puts you in the Sunday departure crowd (not fun at the dump station some times) and Friday - Monday puts you in the "get in and get set up" crowd.

I hope this helps! Enjoy your adventures.
 
Thank you so much for the great advice! It will be a great help to us… Any other suggestions, tips, and tricks are always appreciated!

John
 
Hello and welcome

Good advice mentioned! But after hookup make sure you fill and purge the air from the water heater before using the electric side of the water heater or you will burn up the electric heating element in the tank very quickly!!
Hope you enjoy your new toy!!

LIFE IS GOOD!!!! LIVING IT!!!!

2005 41'4 Atrium SE CAT 8410
2017 20' Diamond closed trailer
2014 Streetglide Special
2010 Mini Cooper
 
As a new owner, one thing that you most certainly should do is to check the tops of your windows outside for proper caulking. You can use a ladder, but I've found that if you go up on the roof and look down, you get a better view. All it takes is a very small section of missing, or thin caulk, to cause a leak. Undetected, you'll have issues in a very short time!
 

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