Regrets? Wisdom for New Buyers?

[MartyinSC]

Originally Posted by JJC

FKT4387 I agree with you on the PDI. When we had our walk-through my wife video taped the whole thing. This accomplished 2 things - 1. I think the sales rep was a little more thorough than usual since he new he was being recorded. And 2. It was nice to have the video to refer to for things we might have missed. Most of what I learned about my trailer, WD Hitch and towing was from watching You tube videos and from these forums. I actually new more about how the WD hitch worked than the salesman. Information and knowledge of your rig is certainly going to give you a more satisfying RV experience. It would be nice if the manufacturers would put out videos specific to there units as the manuals are not always up to the task.

I had a camera ready, but never needed it. Our PDI was presented by one of the more senior (my age) technicians from the shop. He knew the mechanics of everything inside and out. We visited a little, and I told him what I understood (electrical and plumbing) and what I needed to be taught from the beginning. (WD hitch - never had one before) We seemed to hit it off, and he was very thorough, testing for instance, electrical on both shore and battery power, and plumbing on both city water and tank/pump. We both laid back on the floor and he showed me all kinds of things underneath. I must admit I've been lucky. We've had it almost 8 months, 4,000 miles, and about 20 nights in it, and I still haven't found anything wrong, or to complain about!

[ChristianM]

Originally Posted by JJC

FKT4387 I agree with you on the PDI. When we had our walk-through my wife video taped the whole thing. This accomplished 2 things - 1. I think the sales rep was a little more thorough than usual since he new he was being recorded. And 2. It was nice to have the video to refer to for things we might have missed. Most of what I learned about my trailer, WD Hitch and towing was from watching You tube videos and from these forums. I actually new more about how the WD hitch worked than the salesman. Information and knowledge of your rig is certainly going to give you a more satisfying RV experience. It would be nice if the manufacturers would put out videos specific to there units as the manuals are not always up to the task.

That's actually something that we are working on- providing you guys with videos and how-to guides! Will provide more info when the videos are available- stay tuned!

[johnboytoo]

As I tell our development teams, don't wait until the final T is crossed to show the customer, give them prototypes to look at early on because invariably, once they see it, they will have other "Ah-HA!" moments for other features

Making for a better accepted final product !
(but selfishly, also means more billable hours )

[Vic Seal]

I agree that really doing your homework prior to a purchase is the best advice a new rv shopper can get. After 3 TT s, we started shopping online and visiting 5 different dealers looking for #4. We researched for about a year before deciding on a Sunset Trail Reserve 30RK. If a salesman tells you that his brand is the best and everything else is junk, move on.

[Crobyn]

This was interesting reading!

I have to agree with many of you, we are very long time RV owners and upgraded to our current one. In hindsight - would not get one over 30 feet in the future. You are very limited once you go over the 30' mark. We manage just fine because I am certain my husband can park our trailer in a compact parking space. He amazes me on many occasions!

The second regret - the dark brown cap on our 2013 Cross Roads Reserve - our trailer looks like crap.

Otherwise love our trailer and use it all the time!

[johnwill]

I my self camped a lot while growing up in the 60-70s. My dad made his own truck camper and then he turned an old bread truck into a camper. I went with my friends and they had a pop up. Pop up to me are a pain in the rear. How about the ones with a bathroom in them. Hey dear could you hold the walls up while I sit here and read my magazine. That just isn't right. LOL. My dad then got a 23 footer no slides and it was nice but no real bedroom. They had to use the table area for the bed. Bathroom shower and toilet in one. We stayed there over night when my kids were small and had to sleep on the floor. Sorry that wasn't for me. I love the room in my31 footer and when it rains I am not sure any amount of room is big enough. This is my first camper and I have to say so far I Love it. While this one was being made I spent many days on You-Tube and learning. I would call my dealer and ask questions. They gave me a great walk around. I knew a bunch questions that I wanted to ask. For I didn't have time since I had to be pulling it to the shore 12 hours later. I also agree you need to be handy for the things that pop up. This is much better than sitting in a shelter half in monsoon season. I do wish I had driving lessons or time to learn some place before my first trip. I made lots of mistakes and scratched the side. a small scratch lol. Since that time I have been playing with it and have gotten a lot better. I do recommend that you take it over to a mall area after they close or on a Sunday they are not busy and set up cones. Practice.

[nachtmsk]

Great Thread.
I was a first time RVer. Never even really camped much before. However, I first rented a few RV's just to see what it was like. They were driving RV's though and not TT (which is what I wound up getting). Then I researched and visited dealers for well over a year. At the same time I was looking into getting the RV, I also was looking into getting a proper tow vehicle. I went with a Tundra (rated at pulling 9k pounds, but I never believed that). Bought the tow vehicle first, got the RV about another year later. Mine is 30' long and about 6k pounds. Asked many if my Tundra could handle that, everyone said yes -- the people I asked were on various forums, not the dealers people.
Then I researched the hitch and went with the equalizer.
The dealer gave me a good 2 or 3 hour walk through. I video taped the whole thing.
Then he hitched me up and I was off.
The one thing he didn't cover was how to un-hitch it! It sat in my driveway for a day until some nice people on this forum told me how to unhitch it.

It's been over a year since I've had it and we've gone on many trips. I've gotten much better at backing it up.

The QC in the build of the units is what I am most surprised in. I remember when I was at the dealer getting it, the salesperson implied I would need to use my warranty. He was right.
Just before the first year was up:
-- new front cap
-- new kitchen counter
-- new outside kitchen counter
-- fix leak in shower
-- fix broken outside light (water got in)
-- Fix seal around slide out

Various other odds and ends of things.

Now that warranty is up, my awning gas strut is dead, so the awning doesn't stay out. Need to get that fixed this year. I'm sure other things will come up.

I hear all of this talk in this thread about the slides. Is there some maintanence that I should/can be doing to take good care of my slide?


Thanks to all on this forum. I wouldn't feel anywhere near as comfortable about owning and RV if I didn't have all of these good people on the forum go to for help and advice.
As I get more experienced, hopefully I can start to also give out advice.

Mike

[FKT4387]

Wow that does not sound like fun. Crossroads announced a new two year warranty and if you hurry you might be good. I have had a couple of minor issues. I am surprised by the QC also. That is another thing I wish I knew ahead of time. I ASSUMED that it was like any other major manufacturer. Hopefully Crossroads continues to improve. I am concerned about my roof now and sent CR an email.

[RVCRUISER34]

We love our 2013 Cruiser 305th wheel. Have done about 30k on the road. Only change, make sure you can get into the restroom with out opening up the slide. Nice when you have to pull over. We will stop at a rest stop but prefer to use our own facilities. Prevents a lot of unnecessary ware and tear on the slide mechanism.
I believe the newer floor plans corrected this.

Hey, my two cents.

[sleepyT]

HCFR34
We owned a 2007---30SK before our 2013---305SKP (same floor plan) and it was the same way...You can also get into the fridg and go from the front of the camper to the back of the camper without have to climb over anything...

[RVer]

I'm still doing my research, but do you folks think this is a good PDI checklist:

PDI Checklist

Thank you!

[mark5w]

It's the same check list we have in our document section here on the forum, and I know a many have used it.