We're getting a new camper, should be delivered to the dealer in another month. We'd like to use it during spring break and take the kids to Colonial Williamsburg. Our concern is that it's a 9 hour drive with a brand new camper and that's a long way from the dealer if something goes wrong. Well really it's my husband that's worried about it but I'd like to know what you guys think. Is it smarter to take the first trip or two someplace closer to home in case something goes wrong? We live in New York state so it will almost certainly be to cold to camp in April if we don't go several hours south. Thanks.
My suggestion would be to go to an RV Park close to the Dealer, the same day/night you pick it up from the Dealer. This way you can check everything out (water, electric, sewer, propane, windows, etc), while the orientation that the Dealer gave you is still fresh in your mind. It will also help you realize what extras you might need (longer sewer hose, leveling blocks, water pressure regulator, etc)? The next day (if needed) you can return to the Dealer with any problems. When we bought ours, we also put a sprinkler hose on the roof and let it run for 20 mins to see if anything leaked. Once everything checks out then you can enjoy the camping experience and have fun!
Many dealers have hook up at their facilities for their customer's. Check and see if they will set you up for a night or two.
I think the best advice is a short trip. We camped in our driveway one day and night, meals, shower, satalite, A/C all put through the paces. we discovered that the refrigerator did not operate properly. Turns out a piece of insulation was partially covering the roof vent. It was nice to know and get fixed before we filled it full of groceries for the trip.
I agree with what everyone has said. Take a short, weekend, shake-down trip first to find any major problems. You will have more than enough "help" at the campground if you tell your neighbor this is your first trip. After that, keep a note pad handy and write down all of the little things that come up (drawer latches, day/night shade problems, bad ac outlet, etc.) then bring back to dealer and drop off with your list. It took me about 1 year to get the "original" gremlins out. If you both rotate on the driving, a nine hour trip is no problem. Wishing you all the best.......
QUOTE(hoefler @ Jan 19 2012, 06:23 PM) [snapback]28632[/snapback] Many dealers have hook up at their facilities for their customer's. Check and see if they will set you up for a night or two. This is what we did. But then it was written in the contract when ordering our trailer. They would do their PDI and then we'd stay in it an afternoon to overnight and do our own 5 page PDI. Anything that needed repair they had a certain amount of time to fix or we could pull out of the deal. No problems they took care of us.
Our first trip was a 40 minute drive. We even scoped out the campground before choosing a spot. Helps to work out the kinks...
Okay, thanks very much, the first trip should be close to home, perhaps even in our driveway. Thank you for all your comments.
QUOTE(markiemark @ Jan 19 2012, 02:48 PM) [snapback]28630[/snapback] We're getting a new camper, should be delivered to the dealer in another month. We'd like to use it during spring break and take the kids to Colonial Williamsburg. Our concern is that it's a 9 hour drive with a brand new camper and that's a long way from the dealer if something goes wrong. Well really it's my husband that's worried about it but I'd like to know what you guys think. Is it smarter to take the first trip or two someplace closer to home in case something goes wrong? We live in New York state so it will almost certainly be to cold to camp in April if we don't go several hours south. Thanks. Sounds like your husband might know you better than you think...my wife can get a bit edgy when things don't go as advertized sometimes...better to try it all out close to home before you wind up "up the creek without a paddle"...LOL!
QUOTE(JBH @ Feb 2 2012, 11:56 PM) [snapback]28711[/snapback] Sounds like your husband might know you better than you think...my wife can get a bit edgy when things don't go as advertized sometimes...better to try it all out close to home before you wind up "up the creek without a paddle"...LOL! Na, I'm more go with the flow than he is. To me, we're coming from a pop-up, it'll be luxurious even if some things are broken but, I'll be flexible, we'll wait until it warms up here and camp close to home the first time/few times.
We just picked up our new one two weeks ago, and we have to wait for April because nothing's open and it's winterized, but our first trip is less than 2 hours away. We try to make the first trip each year ~ 2 hours for the same reason, who knows what got messed up over the winter! Enjoy the new camper!
