T@B 400 Shakedown Trip
The shakedown trip in our new camper was planned several months earlier and we expected it to be on our T@G. However, we purchased the 400 sooner than expected and it was just prior to our rather long trip to South Carolina and Florida.
The T@B 400
We have always camped in the much smaller T@G, so the 400 was a quite different experience. If interested in our thoughts for making this change, check out Replacing Our Tiny Camper, A Big Step .
The trip of approximately 1,400 miles had been on the books for several months, but the timing of our T@B purchase just a few days before the trip meant that we would have a very long shakedown trip in the 400. Yikes!
The Good and Great
The bathroom and indoor kitchen were wonderful! It was pretty chilly in the early mornings and at nighttime because it was an early December trip. Not having to go into the cold for the bathhouse late at night was amazing. Preparing breakfast in a warm camper was pretty nice as well.
Speaking of warm, the Alde system did an excellent job of keeping both the water and the camper warm. It was comfortably warm and also very quiet.
Set up and takedown were also very easy. We do not need as much external camping gear as we needed with the T@G.
Both of us could easily stand in the camper and changing clothes was much easier.
The Not So Good
Our gas mileage was awful! I was expecting 12-13 mpg and we barely got 10 mpg. The new vehicle had only 4,000 miles on it when purchased and I have been told it should get better. I certainly hope so.
Our 400 is a Boondock Lite and is quite tall. We like the extra height, but it can’t be good for gas mileage.
We were prepared for the bed to not be as good as our T@G because it was a king and had doors on both sides. The 400 has a queen bed and access from only one side. There is also the curve in the back of the camper that impacts one side of the bed. My husband and I traded off sleeping in the back of the bed. It really was not as bad as I expected, but this part was still a downgrade from the T@G.
T@B Issues
We expected some minor issues with the camper, but I must say we did not find anything significant. Unfamiliar with the Alde, there was a learning curve, but it performed very well. The temperature it shows is not the same temperature of the actual room, but it is my understanding that it is an Alde thing.
Our biggest issue was the size (18 gallons) of the gray tank. The only thing that went into it was from dishes and hand washing because we took showers in the bathhouses, yet we had to dump gray water in the bathhouse a couple of times. (We do not have one of those pull around tanks yet.)
There was also one shade that had to be pulled down carefully or it would bunch at the bottom, particularly on one side. That side of the window has a bigger gap at the bottom than the other.
We will be following up with our dealer, Bankston RV, about the shade.
Overall, I am feeling good about T@B 400 quality and our choice of camper based on this trip!
Tow Vehicle Shakedown
It was a shakedown trip for the Ford Expedition, our tow vehicle, as well. We bought it just a couple of days after the camper and felt good about its towing capacity of 9,000 pounds and a 900 pound tongue weight. It is a V-6 with twin turbos and gets 24 mpg on the highway when not towing. However, I was very disappointed at its mpg while towing.
Our Misadventure
We enjoyed the Expedition on the trip except for the low mpg. It does have one annoying and potentially dangerous trait though. The hands free function on the tailgate operates if you kick your foot under it. It hit my husband in the head a couple of times as he was working around the hitch. We tried disabling it, but then it was totally manual and my husband did not like that.
As we were stopped at the dump station in the last campground before heading home, I noticed our 7 pin was not yet connected. In an attempt to protect my husband from the tailgate, I took the keys from him and tossed them in the console of the car. But then I decided to get out for a minute and all the doors immediately locked. I had locked all keys, wallets, and phones in the car and it was running!
There was a code to the door, but with the rush to get ready for the trip, neither of us had committed it to memory.
It was about 6:30 in the morning and most of the campground was sleeping, but we had one friend who we knew had been up earlier walking her dog. She rescued us! We used her phone to call for help and waited in her warm truck for roadside assistance.
Conclusion
Despite our misadventure, our shakedown trip was wonderful and we love our new camper and tow vehicle. (Needless to say, we both have memorized the code to our car door.)
Can’t wait to get out there again!
