Couple of questions, for someone considering the purchase of a Landmark 365

Hello All!!

First let me begin by thanking you for being so helpful in my previous post about tow vehicles - your responses have been very helpful!!

As the possible purchaser of a Landmark 365 (we're considering the Madison (we love the forward living room) or Newport (for the two baths). I have more questions to which I hope you'll share your knowledge and experience.

First, and this may be a bit of a dumb question - When towing a 5th wheel, what do you do with the tailgate? Is it removed? Lowered? Can the stock tailgate remain in the closed position? Or is a modified tailgate required?

My second question is regarding solar power. I would think this would be a great option for obvious reasons - how many of you have modified your rigs for solar? Can the panels be stowed on the roof then deployed when parked?

In watching the RV shows on TV, I see some pretty neat outdoor furniture - chairs, picnic tables, etc. Are there stores that sell RV specific furniture? Obviously weight and compactness are quite important - so I'm wondering if there are rv specific furniture stores?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Silverado333

Stock tailgate works just fine. You lower it to hook up then put it back up when your done hooking up and plugging in you light cord. (To the installed in bed plug).

Yes you can mount permanent solar panels on the roof. With the right system (my choice is Go Power) they will be working constantly as needed, even while traveling.

Camping world is a good place to start looking at everything you'll need.

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I don't know what my phone was doing in my pocket. Looks like it was having a good time.
I can seem to delete them from my phone

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jesstalkn said:

I don't know what my phone was doing in my pocket. Looks like it was having a good time.
I can seem to delete them from my phone

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

LOL!!! I was wondering of you were talking in some kind of RV code??

I was checking out Camping World - WOW, lots of choices!!

Take care!

I'll delete them when I get back to my laptop

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Thanks to whoever took care of it
Now you can get rid of all of these that don't pertain to this subject.

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Will you want solar to keep batteries topped of while stored or will you be dry camping? Happy to help you with this.

Here is my setup on my roof... Just washed the roof and panels yesterday. We camped for 21 days straight...using only solar power!

Oregon_Camper said:

Will you want solar to keep batteries topped of while stored or will you be dry camping? Happy to help you with this.

Here is my setup on my roof... Just washed the roof and panels yesterday. We camped for 21 days straight...using only solar power!

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Hi Oregon_Camper!

Regarding your question of whether we'll be doing some dry camping or if it would be used for keeping the batteries topped off, but I guess I would say both. Does that matter?


Thanks!
Silverado333

Silverado333 said:

Hi Oregon_Camper!

Regarding your question of whether we'll be doing some dry camping or if it would be used for keeping the batteries topped off, but I guess I would say both. Does that matter?


Thanks!
Silverado333

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I should have said that better. By "topped off" I meant while RV was in storage.

However reading that you dry camp you'll need to determine a few things.

1 - how much power do you expect to use per day? Basic use or heavy useage?

2 - what is you battery setup? Stock (low cost...Less performance) battery or have you upgraded batteries to 2 or more deep cycle?

3 - will you be using an aftermarket inverter to power up some 120v items?

Well, actually I guess its my turn to clarify - we don't have a camper yet, or the tow vehicle for that matter - so I'm guessing at my responses to your questions, are based on how we "think" we'd use the camper. Although I'm certain at some point we'd like to do some dry camping. As for the question about batteries being topped off while the RV is in storage - I guess I'm too new to understand.

If the RV is in storage, why do you need to keep the batteries topped off? What if the camper is under a roof or cover?

Thanks!
Silverado

jesstalkn said:

I don't know what my phone was doing in my pocket. Looks like it was having a good time.
I can seem to delete them from my phone

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Click to expand...

Yep, wondered about that....

jesstalkn said:

Camping world is a good place to start looking at everything you'll need.

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Yes, we refer to Camping World as the "mothership". So many things you'll suddenly decide you can't live without! However they're not always the cheapest, but they do have good sales. It's not unusual for me to be walking through Camping World with my phone in hand doing comparative pricing online, especially with Amazon. That being said, Camping World is sure a fun place for those of us with trailers to visit! Walmart also has a very small RV section.

Sandy

Dry camping may be a challenge with the residential fridge.

Gaffer said:

Dry camping may be a challenge with the residential fridge.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't the solar panels resolve this. Or, is it risky due to cloudy days, etc.?

Silverado333 said:

Wouldn't the solar panels resolve this. Or, is it risky due to cloudy days, etc.?

Click to expand...

The correct solar setup will resolve this most of the time. However, there are those days where you don't get a lot of sun. This just requires you to plan and and purchase correctly now. That could mean more batteries (2-4) or more panels. Think about where you've camped over the last few years...do those sites offer direct sunlight? IMHO, unless you're going to Alaska where the sun is low is the sky, you can avoid the need to angle roof mounted panels. I get a LOT of power from my system, but I have close to $2500 invested. We dry camp almost exclusively, so this was basically and requirement for us as I don't like running my Yamaha generator if possible.

You can still pull in a lot of power on cloudy day with a good MPPT controller.

Oregon_Camper said:

The correct solar setup will resolve this most of the time. However, there are those days where you don't get a lot of sun. This just requires you to plan and and purchase correctly now. That could mean more batteries (2-4) or more panels. Think about where you've camped over the last few years...do those sites offer direct sunlight? IMHO, unless you're going to Alaska where the sun is low is the sky, you can avoid the need to angle roof mounted panels. I get a LOT of power from my system, but I have close to $2500 invested. We dry camp almost exclusively, so this was basically and requirement for us as I don't like running my Yamaha generator if possible.

You can still pull in a lot of power on cloudy day with a good MPPT controller.

Click to expand...

MPPT controller??

Silverado333 said:

MPPT controller??

Click to expand...

Getting on plane to Dallas....will give more details later....

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Silverado333 said:

MPPT controller??

Click to expand...

OK....back to your question.

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) are different than the traditional PWM solar charge controllers in that they are more efficient and in many cases more feature rich. MPPT solar charge controllers allow your solar panels to operate at their optimum power output voltage, improving their performance by as much as 30%. Traditional solar charge controllers reduce the efficiency of one part of your system in order to make it work with another.

I've been using a Renogy MPPT controller and love it. It does all work of powering my 2 Trojan T-1275 batteries

I highly recommend this model if you're looking.

Amazon Link

Silverado333 said:

Hello All!!

First let me begin by thanking you for being so helpful in my previous post about tow vehicles - your responses have been very helpful!!

As the possible purchaser of a Landmark 365 (we're considering the Madison (we love the forward living room) or Newport (for the two baths). I have more questions to which I hope you'll share your knowledge and experience.

First, and this may be a bit of a dumb question - When towing a 5th wheel, what do you do with the tailgate? Is it removed? Lowered? Can the stock tailgate remain in the closed position? Or is a modified tailgate required?

My second question is regarding solar power. I would think this would be a great option for obvious reasons - how many of you have modified your rigs for solar? Can the panels be stowed on the roof then deployed when parked?

In watching the RV shows on TV, I see some pretty neat outdoor furniture - chairs, picnic tables, etc. Are there stores that sell RV specific furniture?
Obviously weight and compactness are quite important - so I'm wondering if there are rv specific furniture stores?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Silverado333

Click to expand...

Tailgates are removable, but I have never seen a fifth wheel being towed by a truck with a tailgate removed. If you do not make a mistake, then lowering the tailgate and raising it back up after hooking up is the standard process. After two and a half years I finally backed up a inch too far. So I now have a V tailgate. I can backup, hitch, and go without lowering it. I am also adding a V tool box as well. So there are a lot of choices.

We do not dry camp so others who have installed solar can fill you in. You can do a search for solar on the form. Some have done a quite impressive installation.

You asked about furniture. After going through two uncomfortable chairs and another lounge chair, we found that the Harbor Freight, folding chair is comfortable, light, and as good as the expensive ones we purchased at Camping World. We got them on sale to boot. That being said, everyone has a different size, shape, and weight. It is a preference, but the Harbor Freight one surprised us. So just do not limit yourself to a RV store.

By the way, do join Camping World club. You get a discount and will find that you purchase more than you think you will especially at first so it will pay off.

Silverado333 said:

Hello All!!

First let me begin by thanking you for being so helpful in my previous post about tow vehicles - your responses have been very helpful!!

As the possible purchaser of a Landmark 365 (we're considering the Madison (we love the forward living room) or Newport (for the two baths). I have more questions to which I hope you'll share your knowledge and experience.

First, and this may be a bit of a dumb question - When towing a 5th wheel, what do you do with the tailgate? Is it removed? Lowered? Can the stock tailgate remain in the closed position? Or is a modified tailgate required?

My second question is regarding solar power. I would think this would be a great option for obvious reasons - how many of you have modified your rigs for solar? Can the panels be stowed on the roof then deployed when parked?

In watching the RV shows on TV, I see some pretty neat outdoor furniture - chairs, picnic tables, etc. Are there stores that sell RV specific furniture? Obviously weight and compactness are quite important - so I'm wondering if there are rv specific furniture stores?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Silverado333

Click to expand...

My vote is Newport, 2 months in living full time and it is great.