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Old 08-26-2015, 09:22 PM   #1
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Fort Wildetness

Well we are all connected with the new Vegas 24.1 at Disney world fort Wilderness. Everything is working as advertised. Freezer cooled right down on 110 AC. Refrigerator is taking a lot longer. We couldn't pre-cool because out hoa doesn't allow rvs. I read enough on forums to tell me it takes a long time for the refrigerator. We'll see how cold it is by morning. Lots of hot water and the 15,000 btu a/c can turn this thing into a meet locker. I must admit when I was an AF maintenance officer some of our jet engines were not as loud.

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Old 08-26-2015, 09:32 PM   #2
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Congratulations!

We also spent our maiden voyage, (the very first night after we picked up the motorhome in Melbourne, FL), at Fort Wilderness.

We were so tired that we slept through the "Magic Hour" in the mornings, and didn't realize that there were multiple trading posts until our third day.
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Old 08-26-2015, 09:34 PM   #3
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The fridge in ours takes several hours to get cold on the max setting but once it does, it's best to lower the setting a bit or the food will freeze. Freezer gets cold rather quickly.

Agree about the a/c's noise level and cooling.

Have a great time and enjoy your Vegas.
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Old 08-26-2015, 09:44 PM   #4
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Have fun. We were at Fort Wilderness in January and Disney without kids is a blast.

On my prior coach, initially, the Fridge w(a Dometic 4 door AC and LPG) would take up to three days to cool. After a few of trips I bought a small battery operated fan and it drastically reduced the cool down time when running inside the fridge.

I used a fan similar to this

http://www.amazon.com/Valterra-A10-2.../dp/B0006MRQYU

Again, have fun.
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Old 08-26-2015, 11:18 PM   #5
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It's been 5 hours since hooking up. Refrigerator is finally getting cool.
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Old 08-26-2015, 11:25 PM   #6
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Water ugh!

Refilled an empty water bottle and put it in freezer to get it cold. Just opened it and tool a sip. Tasted like a toxic fill dump. Note to self: post signs by faucts -- External Use Only. Will time deplete the chical taste -- RV is new, white hose is new -- or is it wise to just keep bottled water for drinking?
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Old 08-27-2015, 12:35 AM   #7
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You can use the outside shower to flush the water system (e.g. use it and let the water run through it for a while--although you'll have to put the water somewhere). Since you're at FW with full hook up you could just open the grey tank and let the kitchen sink run for a while (or the shower) to flush the lines a bit.

Check your thermostat: There are two fan settings: Jet Engine (high) and Turboprop (low). I find that Turboprop is slightly more bearable as far as noise.
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Old 08-27-2015, 12:53 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bevedfelker View Post
Refilled an empty water bottle and put it in freezer to get it cold. Just opened it and tool a sip. Tasted like a toxic fill dump. Note to self: post signs by faucts -- External Use Only. Will time deplete the chical taste -- RV is new, white hose is new -- or is it wise to just keep bottled water for drinking?
Did you sanitize the fresh water system as recommended? If not that could be the reason for the toxic taste and hopefully it is taste only
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Old 08-27-2015, 01:13 AM   #9
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Distankov -- this was a brand new unit from the factory. I'll try what jamiegeek said to flush the system. Actually I think the taste is from the brand new 50' white hose.

Jamiegeek - I had the thermostat fan switch on auto. I'll try it on a lower setting.
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Old 08-27-2015, 01:27 AM   #10
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We use bottle water for all human consumption. I don't trust some city hook ups and the water from our tank, although I do use an additive to keep tank fresh. We buy gallon jugs for coffee etc and bottle to drink and beer once in awhile.
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Old 08-27-2015, 02:15 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by bevedfelker View Post
Distankov -- this was a brand new unit from the factory. I'll try what jamiegeek said to flush the system. Actually I think the taste is from the brand new 50' white hose.

Jamiegeek - I had the thermostat fan switch on auto. I'll try it on a lower setting.
The attached is the warning label Thor installed on the fresh water fill door on my coach.

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Name:	Fresh Water Tank Warning.jpg
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Page 110 of the Owner's manual also states the fresh water system should be sanitized when you take delivery of the unit.

Thor, nor any manufacturer of the rigs I have owned, sanitize the fresh water systems prior to delivery. Who knows what substances, bacteria or chemicals are in the water system of your coach.

As a note, FWIW, I take it one step further and sanitize my fresh water hose the same time I sanitize my tank and system and keep the ends capped when the hose is not in use. I have even modified the fresh tank drain on my coach so I can connect the fresh water hose and sanitize the system, tank and hose in one shot. I posted the mod in the forum back in March I believe. Here s the link to that mod.

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...tank-1208.html

Again, that is for what it's worth.
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Old 08-27-2015, 03:03 PM   #12
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Guessing you're at a full hookup site, I'd bike over to the trading post and pick up a small bottle of bleach and do the sanitizing thing real quick over a cold beverage or two. then rinse it out really well as others have stated....

But really there's likely enough residual chlorine in the water there to just flush it through your system a while and it will be good enough, for me anyway....

I hope you're there long enough to enjoy the fort. It truly is like nothing else I have seen. Clean, and not just physically clean.... it's just a nice wholesome environment, not too stuffy... you can get a beer easily if you want it....go to the beach for the nightly fireworks....lots of activities to choose from.

Which loop are you in?
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Old 08-27-2015, 04:34 PM   #13
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Thanks to all about sanitizing -- I missed that when I went through all the literature. I read the section on sanitizing but missed they recommended it on a new unit as well.

We are in loop 400 -- site 409 so it's a short walk to the marina, trails end restaurant, & trading Post. This is a great campgrounds. What hasn't been great is we are on our second day of rain, with rain forecast for 2 more days. I' m used to the central FL 4:00 thunder storm then reemergence of the sun. But these storms are all-dayers.

All the rain gave us time to chevl for leaks and the tvs. Nobleaks. The TVs work great on antenna. We are getting about 30 channels -- although about 20 of them are religious and 5 Spanish language, plus qvc & hsn -- so we are watching about 4 different channels.

Could be worse -- we could be in a tent on a sand filled site.
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Old 08-27-2015, 05:11 PM   #14
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I think they have cable TV at every site there. You can get cable at the trading post if you don't have one to hook up to the post. Good opportunity to test that connection.

It rained on our first night in ours too. It was a nice opportunity to hole up, check for leaks like you said, put things away and get it all sorted, and learn the unit a bit.

Hopefully you're getting breaks though, so you can enjoy the park!
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Old 08-30-2015, 09:14 PM   #15
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We are back home after 4 nights at Fort Wilderness. We had horrendous rains every day -- probably 8 to 10 inches all together. The Vegas performed great. No leaks anywhere. Plenty of hot water. After the refrigerator finally got cold, it performed great.

I read in some threads that several owners added memory foam to the beds. My wife & I like hard mattresses. We let the Vegas configured as twin beds with just 1 bolster between the beds so that our dog could go from bed to bed at night. We thought the mattresses were great -- in fact we both had some of the best sleep we've had in years -- maybe it was the mesmerizing rain sound on the roof at night.


Notice on the picture that the awning is fairly flat. When it started to rain, especially when it was coming down hard, we retracted and stored the awning. With it laying so flat there is a tendency for water to pool on top and that adds an awful lot of weight. I didn't want to damage the awning covering so that was why we did not leave it extended in the rain.

Took a little effort to come to grips with the shower -- it has got to be the smallest in the industry. We've decided to replace the curtain and the flimsy liner with a heavier liner only. I think that will be good enough to keep the liner from clinging to your body.

Five days and 4 nights in the Vegas 24.1 and we developed the dance to keep out of each other's way. The 24.1 seems to me to be perfect for two people. It would certainly have been a challenge if there were two other adults with us.

We were in the 400 loop at Fort Wilderness. This loop is all premium sites and is located within short walking distance to the Trails End Restaurant, Pioneer Hall, Trading Post, and the Settlement transportation terminal. There was also a comfort station (unbelievably clean) directly across the street with showers and laundry facilities. We decided to really try limiting the amount of solid material we put in the black tank. We used the Vegas for all non-solid use. Since the comfort station was so close we used that and only used the Vegas' if we got the call in the middle of the night.

At first we were going to rent a golf cart ($69/day), but decided we were close enough that the short walks would not aggravate our arthritis and my wife's neuropathy in her legs. We were in site 409 (there was a bit of a swamp right behind our site in those trees behind the Vegas). The best sites were 403, 405, 406, 431, and 433.
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Old 08-30-2015, 09:38 PM   #16
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Awning: When fully extended look on the side arms there is a little latch that pops out of some holes. On one side you push in the latch and can lower the awning on that side so the rain runs off. I usually lower it one or two holes. It looks like a button along a line of holes; you push the button in and pull that side down until the button pops out the next hole.

Ft. Wilderness is one of the best campgrounds we've ever stayed at (we have a list of the top 4 or 5 campgrounds we've stayed at: Ft Wilderness, Normandy Farms (Boston, MA area), Cherry Hill Park (Wash DC), Mt. Rushmore KOA, Port Huron MI KOA).
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Old 08-30-2015, 10:02 PM   #17
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Thanks for the advice on the awning -- no one at the dealership showed us that during PDI.
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Old 08-31-2015, 02:37 AM   #18
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awning safety

It is important to tilt the awning when parked at the campsite. Especially in Florida summer rains, which can pop up quickly, and dump a lot of rain in a few minutes. If left out straight, the awning can collect a ton of water and be destroyed. There are adjustment buttons on the awning arms so you can tilt the awning to one side or the other to ensure drainage. Or, you can tilt both sides to lower the entire awning, which makes for good runoff, and gives better coverage from sun and rain, bringing the awning closer to the ground. Just remember to return the awning back to the original up position before retracting it for travel. It will not roll up tightly if this is not done. Put this on your pre-flight checklist along with lowering the antenna, turning off the water heater, taking in shore power hookups, locking all compartment doors securely, etc. I learned some of these things the hard way after 35 years of RVing.
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Old 08-31-2015, 03:41 AM   #19
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FWIW, I will add one additional recommendation; never leave the awning out when you are away from the coach. Many folks have returned to their coach to find their awnings ripped to shreds because of a sudden storm or wind squall while they were away. This happened to the folks in the travel trailer next to us at Fort Wilderness in January. In their case the storm ripped the awning mounts out of the wall of the trailer. It was a heartbreaking end to an otherwise enjoyable trip.

I even take this one step further and retract my awning before bed every night. I got tied of going out in thunderstorms to readjust the awning so I could retract it and prevent damage.
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Old 08-31-2015, 11:33 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek View Post
Awning: When fully extended look on the side arms there is a little latch that pops out of some holes. On one side you push in the latch and can lower the awning on that side so the rain runs off. I usually lower it one or two holes. It looks like a button along a line of holes; you push the button in and pull that side down until the button pops out the next hole.

Ft. Wilderness is one of the best campgrounds we've ever stayed at (we have a list of the top 4 or 5 campgrounds we've stayed at: Ft Wilderness, Normandy Farms (Boston, MA area), Cherry Hill Park (Wash DC), Mt. Rushmore KOA, Port Huron MI KOA).
Jamie, on the Axis/Vegas awning, can you slope both down away from coach "and" one side lower than the other at same time?

On older manual awning (different mechanism) I found that pitching one side lower than other side worked best for us to drain rain. Sloping away from coach alone collected water a couple of times when a small puddle started forming prior to water going over roller, and then it built up very quickly from there. Perhaps tension was less than with newer design.

Also, can the awning be stopped and left in place prior to being all the way up like shown on picture posted above? I rarely took mine all the way up in order to maximize shade. With taller RVs it may be even more of an issue.
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