Tricking out The Trailer

The trailer, a 24 foot long Widerness, was a bit more than we wanted. We checked the ads on Craigslist for weeks looking for a reasonably priced travel trailer. We wanted one which could be easily towed by our Chevy Astro. The owners manual said we could tow 6000 pounds. The Wilderness was close to the tow limits for the van. The wilderness had all of the things we were looking for, it was very clean and the price was very reasonable. It was more than we wanted, but we were unable to pass on such a great deal. We wrote the check, went to the DMV and took the first step on our 2008 journey.

The first task to trick out the trailer was to get a satelite dish so that we could have our regular entertainment on TV no matter where we might be. The RV store had a tripod similar to one we had used on another RV adventure. The tripod allows one to level and point the dish to recieve the signal. I called DirectTV and they sent a technician out with a dish. He spent a good amount of time helping me assemble the dish and point it correctly. I went out each morning for three days and practiced finding the signal.

The second task was to replace the crank on the front of the trailer with an electric one which raises and lowers the tongue with the push of a button. My Dad had one on the front of their trailer and it seemed to work well. I was off to the RV store, found exactly what I wanted and 3 bolts later the job was finished.

The third task was to purchase new batteries and tires.