Just got a hell of a deal on a 04 sand piper 38fter. The owners dont have the owners manual anymore. Where can I find basic information about this thing? I couldnt find anything on the Forest River web site. Ive never hauled a 5th wheel or even owned a camper so theres alot to learn. Is there a begginers read somewhere that could help me with the basics? Ive had a 34 ft enclosed since 2001 but where do you learn about water and power hook-ups and dumping your tanks and all that?

camp with friends that know all of this, so much easier

Here is a topic to read. It probably could use some updating, but it will get you started with your new toy.
http://www.glamisdunes.com/invision/index....showtopic=98746

Congrats...Nice score!

Peeps here know everything you need to know...

Sorry, you buy something new and we want to see pictures.
Rob

Seriously, I'm bored.

^^^^^



Congrats on the purchase

where do you live? i wouldnt mind helping you out...

thanks for the offer- im in discovery bay- Its about an hour inland of san francisco. Thats the problem- My buddy who i dune with just bought his toy hauler two months ago and knows squat about it as well. I guess we will just have to meet up with some people on here durring the big wekends and ask alot of questions.

I cant post pics until I get it home Monday. I need to set it up for 5th wheel. Its got a hitch mount already in the bed but i need a hitch and wiring. Hopefully the hieght of the trailr and the truck all work out.

wow. thats just a little far from me. best i can offer, is you maybe look for a local camping club or something and talk to some of the people there that can teach you how to "use" your trailer. or find a neighbor close to you with a trailer that can help you out. they mostly operate all the same, just a matter of finding where everything is at on your rig.

just a little recommendation for you if i may. if you have a short bed, get a slider hitch. get one a size "larger". i.e., if your trailer weighs 15k loaded up, dont buy a 16k hitch. thats too close for comfort. buy a minimum of an 18k hitch. when it comes to a hitch, more = better. my trailer is 18k loaded, and I run a 20k hitch.

good luck...

Discovery Bay is Badazz. I used to live up there and used to cruise the Keys checking out the houses on the water.

Do you live on the water?

Heres this mornings sunrise! right now we are renting on the lake side but we are looking to buy on the deep water. 4 years ago My wife and I married and my in laws told us we were idiots for not buying our house for 650K, even offered to help us. They straight told me I was ignorant for not listening to them. They of coarse are rich and hate everything motorsports so they never supported me opening a shop. Instead of buying a over priced house with zero down I look out a loan to start a shop- even after my wife threatened to leave me over it! Four years later buisness is thriving in the midst of a recession, my father in laws plumbing buisness bombed with the economy- He lost his house boat on powell, i bought all his quads Hes in the process of loosing his house and just signed the divorce papers. This house is now worth $290 and the deep water properties are going for low 5s! Mother in law is currently not talking to me since i bought this 5th wheel- Imagine that! Its thats all it took i would have bought one a long time ago I got my truck ready this morning so im going to go get it- Ill post pics once its home

whats the best way to get rid of these decals?

looks nice! Enjoy!

and yes... sometimes family sucks.

www.rv.net

Lots of different forums and TH and 5er info there.

Remove the decals with a heat gun, goof off, wax and alot of energy....Its totally worth it. Congrats on the trailer.

is the gen supposed to automatically charge the batteries or do i have to flip a switch somewhere?

On my motorhome, it automatically charges the batteries, however I think on some toyhaulers you have to unplug the shore power and plug it into the genny power for it to work.

must be why its not charging- thanks

man forest river is really proud of their name- THe big swoosh graphics come off real easy- the sand piper logo is a pain in the a$$. Anyone have any tips for vinal that just wants to tear in little pieces? I tried a little heat- a lot of heat and then a plastic puddy knife with holding the heat to it. Im gonna try an eraser wheel and some goof off tommorrow. Any other suggestions?

old vinyl is hard to remove. hair dryer heating up the stickers may help, but the thin vinyl becomes brittle over time. once the graphics are removed, use some 3m adhesive remover to get the adhesive off. you can get it at any auto body and paint supply store.

My Brother in law lives at 440 disco bay blvd, his name is Eric Item, he has a 30' gearbox for the past 5 years should be able to help you on everything except 5th wheel specific info. I am in San Carlos and could help you with anything beyond his abilities. I am leaving for Glamis in the morning so I couldnt help you til next week. Gary

sweet- im on the blvd as well- hes probubly dirven by a few times wondering when im gonna get it out of the middle of the road. Jjust trying to wrap up a few things before it goes to storage

Had that problem with an old funrunner...vinyl just kept coming off in little pieces. My bro-in-law is a auto body man and he hooked me up with a little rubber wheel that I put on an electric drill. Don't know what it's called, but it's made out of whitish rubber. I was skeptical, but it worked just like he said and didn't scratch the paint.

FYI - Snap-On had an attatchment for my crud thug- Its a low rpm wire wheel made for stripping paint and undercoating. ANyway they had a eraser wheel for it and it made the rest of the job a breeze. If you dont have an eraser its worth it to buy a tool from harbor freight and go this route. Unfortunately I was using the heat gun at night and the next day I came out to look at it and it yellowed a little around the sticker. You also have to follow up with wax and grease remover which likes to spread around. With the eraser wheel its a one step process. Hopefully I can get the yellow to buff out a little.

Looks 10,000 times better without the decals!

Post the new pics....did you figure out the charging thing?

i need to upgrade my photobucket so pics would do no good- I did figure out the charging- Its charging just slowly- I didnt take into consideration that there were two betterys. I used the wall guage to measure how full they were and after 45 min to an hour it didnt improve. When i used a volt meteryou could see that it was charging

looking for tvs now- One for the bed room and one for the kitchen area- I was at costco today and saw they have a nice 26 in lcd with a built in dvd player. How do tvs hold up in these trailers? WHich is more durable? LCD or plasma? Ive seen some of you guys wall mounts in WW. My trailers got a little diferent set-up with a tv shelf at countertop hieght. Anyone have any suggestions?

Check the GFI near that bath. If the GFI's tripped reset it and that might be your problem.

Glad to see you are on board with the dunes !!!

Nice to see more Nor-Cal guys on here. Nice trailer.
Rob

just used one this weekend, that crud thug eraser works wonders doesn't it. And we were working on an old coke event trailer probably 10-12 years old, and took it right off. I tell ya I was skeptical about it destroying the paint, but it didn't hurt it one bit.