Monday, April 14, 2014
The “Lady Bug” is Home!
We took delivery of our 2014 T@B M@xx S last Thursday.
We drove the 2-1/2 hours to Miller Trailer Sales in Perkasie, PA and went through a bit of "training" as well as having the electronic brake controller installed. We were pleased to find that the rumors were true: we got many upgraded features including a sliding screen door, porthole window covers, LED lighting, etc.
There were two things that we did not expect. There was no small sink in the wet bath and the windows now work differently. However, these are small items that are just different from what we looked at earlier and have no impact on our joy of bringing the T@B home.
Susan (Lynne's sister) suggested the name "Lady Bug" and we like it. So, that is her name!
Here is a photo of our Lady Bug parked in the back yard with the dog fences set up. Oh, and the dogs are there too:
We had a bit of trouble with the brakes when we first started home. The break-away cable was too tight and we tripped the brakes on the trailer and did not discover it for a couple of miles (at which point we could smell them!) We pulled over, figured out the problem, let them cool some and then took off again. We are not sure how much we really need the brakes since we are towing with a Suburban. But, it is nice to know they are there and working in an emergency.
When we got her home we carted the stuff we'd been accumulating outside and staged it on the table. We then packed her and found a place for everything. And, we have storage room left over for clothes and infrequently used items.
Some of our storage bins: This first one has cooking utensils, salt and pepper, placemats, and the stove striker.
And, this one has eating utensils, paper towels, measuring cups and spoons, and it looks like some coffee.
We would be very interested to hear from other Tabbers about what they store where and any tips and tricks for maximizing the storage space.
I don't have a photo, but under the sink are the pots and pans (stackable), dishes, drinking glasses, coffee maker, etc.
We spent Saturday night in Lady Bug. Rick, Lynne and both dogs! It was crowded and a bit of a challenge to get everyone settled. We had to reverse our normal sleeping positions so Rick's feet could hang off instead of being up against the wet bath. And, Bella had to sleep on the bed instead of the floor since there was not enough room for both her and Hailey on the floor. Luckily, neither of us needed to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and it will be interesting to see how that goes when the time comes.
The dogs just barely fit:
Bella
Hailey:
While we got decent sleep, the "mattress" formed by the cushions was a bit hard for us. So, we bought a king size 3" memory foam topper at Walmart and have cut it to size. It folds into thirds and slips into the storage under one of the side cushions.
The refrigerator is not working on AC power. It works on propane and seems to work on battery. But, not on AC. So, we've contacted the Millers (who are fantastic and helpful) to figure out how to resolve the problem. When connected to shore power, we definitely want to use it for the fridge and not burn propane.
Please click on "More" for, well, more...
Posted under: Our T@B Trailer • T@B Food • Provisioning • by Rick on 04/14/2014 at 10:04 AM
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Thursday, March 27, 2014
Good News!
We just got good news! Our 2014 T@B is being outfitted with a bunch of new features that were targeted for the 2015 model and that we did not expect to get. Here is the text of a note from our dealer:
You should be getting the new features on your T@B since all new ones coming off line will have:
New screen door (your outside shower will not interfere I am told)
LED porch lights
LED license plate lights
New style interior LED lights with brighter, cooler and more modern appearance
USB-12V combo outlet
New Screens/shades
New higher quality side window
New portal window blind for the door
110 external doorside rear outlet
Stainless steel style formica countertop & table top with aluminum banding
Sink cover that provides more counter space and doubles as a cutting board
New industrial TV Mount
Redesigned solid wood A/C housing for S & CS-S models
Posted under: Our T@B Trailer • by Rick on 03/27/2014 at 07:11 PM
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Sunday, March 09, 2014
T@B Interior
Here are a couple of additonal exterior photos of a T@B almost identical to what we've ordered:
When we were looking at this T@B trailer, Lynne took some photos of the interior of a T@B S-style using her wide angle lens. They came out pretty good:
Here is the kitchen cooking area. You can see the sink, the stove top and a corner of the refrigerator:
Here is the wet bath. The toilet is out of site to the right:
For more photos, follow the "More..." link.
Posted under: Our T@B Trailer • by Rick on 03/09/2014 at 11:15 AM
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Equipping the T@B Kitchen
I thought it might be fun to document what we decided we needed to outfit the kitchen. Here is the list of things we ended up buying (or taking from the house):
Utensils:
- silverware for four
- 4 steak knives
- wooden spoon
- 5 sharp knives + steel
- For serving: one large spoon, one slotted spoon, one large fork
- 2 wisks, one silicone
- cheese grater + microplane
- corkscrew (essential!)
- can opener + bottle opener
- scissors
- tongs
- 2 rubber spatulas
- silcone spatula
Other:
- Set of 4 melamine dinner plates, salad plates and bowls
- 2 nice plastic wine glasses
- 2 large water glasses that match the wine glasses
- 2 small water glasses that match the wine glasses
- one collapsible bowl (super cool!)
- nested measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 2 hot pads
- 2 silicone trivets
- 1 small cutting board
- temperature probe
- timer which doubles as a clock
- small dustpan with whisk broom
The collapsible bowl shown in its space-saving collapsed position and fully extended.
Cookware:
- 7 piece Gourmet Nesting Magma non-stick cookware, plus stainless colander
- small cast iron fry pan
Here are a few photos of the cookware. It's very sturdy. It comes with two handles which attach to each pan. Here it is nested.
And here it is showing each piece. We also bought the colander which does not come in the set.
The set comes with two lids; one that fits both the stock pot and the sauté pan, and one ingenious lid that actually fits all the other sizes of pan! Here you can see the different ridges for the different sizes. Why don't all lids come this way?
We will just take whatever spices we need from the kitchen here at home each time as we need them. So far I think we've done a good job of not going overboard since we have such little space to work with.
Posted under: Our T@B Trailer • Provisioning • by Lynne on 03/09/2014 at 10:43 AM
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Sunday, March 02, 2014
Our T@B Specs
We purchased the 2014 T@B S-Style trailer with the M@xx package. The S-Style has a wet bath that gives us a proper indoor toilet as well as a shower. The M@xx package adds some options that we really like such as a 3-way refrigerator (110VAC, 12VDC, propane), an air conditioner, the Alde LP-110VAC Hot Water and Central Heat System (more on that in a future post), 19 gallon grey water tank, 19" LED TV and radio/CD/DVD/MP3 system.
Here are some key specs:
- Exterior Width: 76"
- Exterior Length: 15'2"
- Exterior Height: 89"
- Interior Width: 71"
- Interior Length: 124"
- Interior Height: 69"
- Weight (empty): 1670 lbs
- GVWR: 2800 lbs
- Tongue Weight: 180 lbs
So, it is tiny! I am 6'1" or 73" tall, so need to slouch by about 4" to stand up. That may sound bad, but most of the time I'll be sitting or sleeping. And, when I cook, I can sit on the sofa while watching pots and pans.
Dry camping will be a real challenge. The trailer only holds 5 gallons of fresh water, so we'll need to haul additional water (or have a way of refilling) if we need more than a day of autonomy. It does have a 6 gallon black water tank and a 19 gallon grey water tank, so we can go several days without needing to dump.
My guess is that we will be hooked up to city water, electricity, sewer (and even cable TV) most of the time. Then, we are free to live comfortably.
On our unit, we also ordered the fixed front window as well as a round portal window in the bathroom. They really open it up and make it feel a bit bigger.
The T@B trailers are built by the Amish in Ohio. All the finish work is exceptional. The interior finishes are Birch hardwood, for example. Side windows can tilt open and come with sun shades and screens. There is a bidirectional 3-speed exhaust fan (Fantasic). The table that folds down to make the bed platform is not attached to the floor, so can be removed and used as an outside table. We are getting an awning that provides shade and some protected outdoor space, where I'm sure we'll spend a lot of time in good weather. (Sitting in lawn chairs, in the shade, sipping on a marguarita and petting a dog.) There is a 2-burner propane stove (no oven or microwave), and we'll get a small portable outdoor grill for cooking also.
Here is a YouTube video with a pretty comprehensive walk-through of a T@B trailer. This model does not have the wet-bath, but is pretty representative otherwise.
Posted under: Our T@B Trailer • by Rick on 03/02/2014 at 06:54 AM
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