My first weekend with T@G XL Boondock and my 2021 F-150 (with built in generator)

packetjunkie

This Memorial Day weekend marked our first trip with our new 2021 T@G XL Boondock trailer. Overall the experience was great, despite the lack of cooperation from mother nature (lots of rain). However, I did end up learning a lot about the trailer - and how my expectations didn't always align with the experience.

In the time coming up to our first trip I had built a vision in my head of a perfectly harmonious relationship between my new trailer and my new truck. Without the need to transport a generator, I was confident that I had everything I needed with my F150 and its integrated 2k generator and Max Tow Package.

A small misjudgement on my part the first time pulling it - on a tight turn a put a little dimple in my bumper with the deck on the trailer. Not all years have such a wide deck in front of the unit, but I like it and learned to be more careful in tight turns.

The first thing we needed to do was get a decent cellular connection for some remote work - which provided for the first hiccup of the trip. I had even gotten a really nice flag pole with the intent that it would serve the dual purpose of also raising up the antenna for (hopefully) a better signal - 3 hours later, I had to give up and drive down the mountain to get a decent signal. I had purchased the $500 weBoost Drive Reach RV unit thinking it would help improve a weak signal, but it didn't. (I ordered the Connect RV stationary signal booster at $650 to see if this would help next time). My feedback is that the Drive Reach seems to be geared towards those who have a decent signal outside, but want to improve the signal inside their RV - not boost it.

Back to camping... the canopy that I purchased (unp Easy Beach Tent Camping Sun Shelter Backyard Canopy) was a near perfect match. We had a lot of compliments on our setup over the weekend. Because it rained so much, we spent a good amount of time under it comfortably. The downside is that it only comes with two panels and they do not have the option of buying any additional ones. But at $149, I'll probably just buy a second one and then I'll have 4 panels and a backup.

When it came time to use the F150 generator that was a second biggest hiccup. None of the AC outlets in the trailer would work without external power - I have to admit in my perfect thoughts the AC outlets would work off the trailers inverter all the time, not just when plugged into AC. Once I got past that, I couldn't get past how when hooked to my truck the GFCI in the T@G kept tripping. At the advice of the dealer, I purchased a EMS-PT30X surge protector, but that would arrive at home and not to help with my issue. But other than not having AC power, the battery did charge from the generator and I could run the heater in the unit on LOW (not high - it got down around 40 in the evening, brrrrr). [Note: Upon getting home I used the surge protector and I get a "Ground Fault" error on the truck side, so will call the dealer.]

A note about using generators that I didn't know before - the truck is configured with a 15 AMP and 2k setup. You can do some things, like with nothing else plugged in anywhere, I could get coffee from a mini kureg coffee maker and I think the battery was getting a charge, but I can't be sure. But more importantly, when I filled up with gas I was suddenly hit by the very real cost of running a V8 5.0 2k generator on Supreme Gas. It's pretty expensive to use the truck as a generator over time, let me put it that way. I have a practically brand new WEN 2k generator inverter that also can be used in parallel with another unit (using their kit) to get 30-amp 4k solution capable of running the microwave, heater or AC unit. Since buying another 2k unit and the adapter was much less than buying a whole new 30-amp generator, I did that and it already arrived. So now I will have the two generators for 30-amp, single for some light use and the truck as a backup, I suppose. Not exactly what I had envisioned in my perfect world. Lesson learned, if you want to use your F150 as a generator for a full solution, you'll need to upgrade from the 2k version. Only the hybrid comes with a 30-amp 7.5k setup.

I also failed to fill the water tank by not RTFM and thinking the right hose hookup would fill the tank (not knowing how to check, etc) which means I had no water stored when I got to the campground. I did get help from here in my other post where my boneheaded attempt to get water into storage was pointed out as being a case of 'the wrong hole'.

Moving on, on the great experience side, I purchased two JBL Boombox units (12 hours of battery play time) and when paired with my tablet offered a great movie experience while rained in one night (you can pair both to your tablet at the same time) - and outside one in the galley and the other in the campsite was a great sound experience. The mini kureg coffee maker was a hit without the need to get a fire going and waiting for water to boil (especially with the rain).

I did purchase a cutting block that is the size I hope will fit over the gas range to use as counter space since we didnt even need the stove this trip. It will also help with adding some space for the counter/bar.

Post trip, other than the generator, surge protector and cutting board I've already mentioned. I just added a Victron Bluetooth Battery Monitor to the battery so I can get a better picture of how the stock battery is working for us - we didn't ever run out of power but I wasn't really testing it for endurance. I also purchase an orthopedic pillow to try out.

Apologies for the long post, but other than highlighting the headaches I wanted to say how much we loves to comfort and convenience of the T@G XL Boondock. From the Beddy sheets (easy to make, warm at night, look great) with a 4" memory foam mattress on top of the stock pads and a great nights sleep to the utility and style of the galley we loved everything about the trailer. We often had people stopping by to ask questions and admire the setup and were more than happy to talk about how much we were enjoying our first trip out.

With a couple of changes and a better understanding of how our unit works, next weekend should be even more fun.

JohnnyLoco

Heck yeah !

rich67

What size unp tent did you go with? I see the 12x12 and 15x15 on Amazon. That looks great.

beaky

that tent is going to be a handful in heavy wind

packetjunkie

Generally speaking, heavy winds are tricky for any canopy. For this canopy there are a number of tie down options to secure it - one long rope connection at each corner about 2/3rds of the way up and then at each of the bases. Also, there are four long straps that connect at the bottom of each corner allowing you to secure those with stakes. There are vents at the top that are covered and we didn't have any rain leaking in from them. We had wind and rain for two days and we had no issues at all - I can't speak for high winds, but with the number of options you have to secure it I think you can do pretty well.

For the size I went with the 12x12 - as you can see there is some elevation on the side by the trailer, but its a decent fit. Not flush on the sides, but pretty close. And one of the straps goes under the trailer.

beaky

its great, I bookmarked it