RV on Order! Have owned 2, but not NEW.. What to do when picking up new RV???

[tanglemoose]

Ok, we bought two RV's from Craigslist... loved them.. but they were you know AS IS... Now we have our new Keystone Cougar coming... in 4-6 weeks.. A lot of you have picked up new RV's from dealers...so... ??? I have read different forums on repairs etc... but what to DO BEFORE you leave their lot!

What to watch for ?
What to ask ?
Any good advice ????

thanks! Donna

 

[grashley]

I would go over it with a fine tooth comb.  Follow one of the Pre Delivery Inspection (PDI) lists in the Library, and verify everything works.  Refuse delivery, and payment, until everything is fixed, AND you verify it was fixed.  The bigger the dealer, the more carefully I would inspect.  They will be much quicker to fix an issue BEFORE delivery.

 

[garyb1st]

We bought a new Keystone product in 2008.  When we went to pick it up, the guy they hired to the PDI said he only had an hour to the inspection.  If they do that to you, ask for another guy.  It takes as long as YOU want, not them. 

 

[viceprice]

We took our adult son and his wife with us and they video taped the entire orientation while I asked all our questions.  We scheduled for later in the day at the dealer (1 pm) only to allow us the travel time we needed to get to the dealer. It turned out that it was the last appointment of the day for the guy that was giving us the orientation. I told him up front I was planning to be very thorough. He said that was fine since we were his last appointment, we could take as long as we wanted.  I did have to ask for a special session on the WD hitch before we left which they gladly did. We were satisfied with the attention we received.

 

[jackiemac]

Our dealer in Vegas lets buyers stay I  the trailer/rv on their lot fully booked up for a few days. You arrange a handover and get a hour or so for orientation. Our young guy was great. They ask you to detail anything you find that they need to look at. We had a few cosmetic things. They were rectified quickly. Then we left. Great service.

 

[tanglemoose]

Enjoying reading all the tips! Only thing we are worried about is getting our December delivery in MONTANA..not sure how to do water issues.... thinking it better be a warm day to be able to take the time we need!! To look over all....

 

[E5Jake]

...Refuse delivery, and payment, until everything is fixed, AND you verify it was fixed....

Absolutely agree with this. I would recommend doing the walk through before you sign anything. Our dealer wanted us to sign the paperwork before we did the walk through. We told them that wasn't going to happen.

 

[John From Detroit]

If is delivered in Montana in December it should be winterized BEFORE delivery.
If not ask the dealer to do it with you watching BEFORE delivery.

Now: One thing about NEW RV's... Shortly after I took delivery I found that many RVers have a few seem to have a few screws loose (No not that kind)  and more recently many RVs have a loose nut or two (Again not the one behind the wheel)

The story:  My Air conditioenrs were acting upl. Sometimes one would work, sometimes the other, both or neither... Well I do not have an Energy Manger (Load shedder) so it was not that.

I opened the power distribution panel (Breaker box) and found that several of the screws inside were loose, also one of the screws securing a wire on my Shore power INLET was loose.  I applied a #2 Square bit and a bit of elbow grease (one took a full 3 turns plus before it was tight) and have not had that problem since.

Another RVer had a brand new 5th wheel.... STICKER IN WINDOW new. 1st time out, and the shore cord outlet (the part that attches to the INLET on the RV) fell off in my hand.

The NUTS were on another forum member's RV, in the 12 volt system

Now.. All of these WERE properly tightened at the factory,,,, (Save for the shore cord outlet) but solid copper wire tends to :"Flatten": when used in RV's resulting in loose screws.. All you need is a #2 Square bit or #2 Phiullips (Square worked better for me) and you are good, oh Insulated screwdriver or better yet. PULL THE PLUG first.

 

[tanglemoose]

Yes should be winterized but how  to prove to me first nothing leaking?? If no water in rv...

See the list do you really want to  overflow the toliet by filling black tank..