Whoo hoo

[jtl2]

The RV dealer notified us yesterday (3/14) that our Reflection 313rlts had arrived and we can't wait to see our trailer in person. The dealership is located about 2 1/2 hours from us so we will go pickup the trailer next weekend. We will be towing with a Ram 2500 4x4 and we have a Blue Ox Swaypro that I will have to hookup. Making my list of things to take and would appreciate any insight or recommendations from folks on the forum. Figure basics are tape measure, level, and tools.

 

This will also be our first walk through/PDI, so tips on that are appreciated.

 

John & Sherrie

[mohamer]

jtl2,

Welcome to the insanity!!!

Pay attention during the walk-through, take notes if possible. Ask them to stop if you do not understand something.

 

I like to use a floor jack when setting up a hitch the first time, saves on the camper tongue jack. Jack the tongue up to adjust the equalizer bars and let it down and check level and height at the fender wells of the TV (tow vehicle). The floor jack is a lot faster too.

 

John

[Chalkie]

In the walk through test everything! We found a bad tank by insisting that they run water. Video them while they turn on things like furnace, a/c, water heater, etc. Most RV owners manuals are pretty generic so you may welcome having the video later on.

[Kirk W]

If this is your first RV, video the entire walk-through if possible. The service people should be willing to help you in setting up your hitch and the floor jack idea is a very good one if available. Before travel be sure to check the trailer brakes and make sure that they are set up properly also. The brake controller should have instructions for doing that, but basically you want the trailer brake to apply slightly ahead of the tow vehicle brake and the maximum brake should stop just short of sliding the trailer wheels on pavement. I also test mine manually by trying to stop the entire rig a low speed using only the trailer brake.

 

Congratulations and welcome to the RV community!

[skp51443]

Specific things I'd test:

 

Fridge on electric and propane

Water heater on electric and propane

Air conditioner and heat if present

Propane furnace(s)

Water pump and city water, tank fill if present

Brakes, bring a compass and manually apply the brakes from the controller the needle should swing at each wheel if working

Do Kirk's pull test and adjustment, if one wheel is acting off check the shoes for proper adjustment

Test the break-away lanyard and switch the same way as the controller test

All lights, inside and out

All faucets and toilet

Dump valves (should be clean water at this point)

Open every cabinet, nook and cranny and look for any issues, outside too

Open the bed and check under it and that the lift struts are working

Check the sofa if it folds and the dinette if it converts to a bed, operation and fit on both

Check any electronics, TV, radio monitor panel, stove vent hood

Run the TV antenna up and down, check that it points easily and you know where to rotqte it to get it down completely

Look at all the windows for fit, sealing and easy operation, blinds too

Check the converter and if present inverter for proper operation

Open and close all the roof vents

Go up on the roof and inspect all the seams, vents and fittings to be sure they are sealed well

Check the slide operation a couple times, do leave a door or window open when moving the slide to avoid suction issues.

Check and set your tire pressures, you'll want to adjust them once loaded too

Check your lug nuts, check them again every 100 miles until they are stable

Crawl underneath and give everything a good look

Get a scale weight while the rig is empty, has no water but full propane, you'll wish you had this later if you don't get it when it is easy

Check your hitch after 100 miles and be sure it is still tight if it hasn't been used before

[hdonlybob]

If possible spend the night in it at the dealers lot.

You can check out a whole lot of stuff that way !

Cheers,

Bob

[jtl2]

Thanks everyone for all the info, we will incorporate as much as we can into our walk through. We got the first walk through of the day this coming Saturday.

 

John & Sherrie

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

Stanley has covered a good list of everything to check, and for sure video of the walk thru in it's entirety will be useful when you get it home.

 

We personally wouldn't sign the unit off or hand our final payment over until all issues on our punch list have been addressed in their entirety. Just going by what others have said that have been stuck at some dealerships waiting for getting their issues addressed for a very long time after handing over their payments and signing off the paperwork.

 

Excellent idea from Bob about spending the night at the dealership in it where you get to experience the various systems under your own steam as well.

 

Happy Travels ahead

[Gypsy Traveler]

Welcome! This is a fantastic place for information. Lots of great people with excellent advice.

We had our walk through a couple weeks back. It took 1 1/2 hours. They went over every single inch of our 5er. Of course, we don't start FTing until the end of this month so we'll forget everything so like mentioned above, video it. Good luck and welcome aboard!

[TXiceman]

One thing you need to make the dealer aware of is that the PDI has to be 100% or you will not accept or sign for the trailer. All too often, there are things that they do not check and will tell you that they will just fix that little problem when you bring it back for warranty work..Tell them NO, and you expect it to be 100%...no problems.

 

Ken