Took the plunge

Ordered a 2010 2998RB last Thursday! Anxiously awaiting arrival in late January! Any tips on what doesn't come with a new camper that I will need? Hoses, filters, supressors, etc? Tips appreciated!

Most dealers provide the sewer hose and fresh water hose and the filter should already be in it unless it was bypassed to winterize it.


Here's kinda how it works.

When the unit arrives at the dealer seeing as it's already a "retail sold unit"

When the driver delivers a unit, the dealer inspects it for driver damage, defects and missing items. They then have generally 24 hrs to contact the manufacturer to report problems.

Yours being "retail sold" it will most likely go into the shop immediatly for them to install any items that have to be installed/serviced during dealer prep such as installing batteries, filling the propane tanks, attaching the power cord, putting hoses in one of the storage compartments, fixing any issues they find. Usually they will have the unit hooked to shore power and water to test things.

When you arrive to pick it up they should take you on a walk through to do both the PDI (pre delivery inspection) and an orientation and help you hook up your TV.

Some dealers even have hookups and you can stay for the night to check things out.


Basicly the trailer should be ready for you to just throw your stuff in and go camping as soon as you take delivery of it.

That might be the way it is SUPPOSED to happen, but I had to supply all of my own stuff. The guy who did my PDI helped me make a list as we went through. I asked about an owners kit but they said they give you a $25 gift card to use in their incredibly overpriced store. Since this is the only fifthwheel I have ever owned, I am not an expert but I think I have seen other posts about having to buy everything yourself.

When the dealer got to the part where they say "what else do we need to do to make a deal", that's when when I gave them my list of starter kit items. They blinked a couple of times and then said "OK". guess I should have made a longer list.

Gus

Highly recommend you purchase a 50-amp surge protector, extra water hoses of various lengths, either a two- or three-filter system to add to water line (do a search for threads and pictures on 'water filters'), water regulator (sometimes pressure can fluctuate and blow off hoses), good sewer hoses of maybe a couple of lengths and the fittings for the sewer hoses (Blue Line @ Camping World has kits containing most of what you need). Also, consider getting a Flush King Reverse flush valve and/or Hydro Flush attachment so you can see when tank and hose are flushed clean. Wal-mart carries a crawler (what we call it) that is flexible and can be spread out to hold sewer hose off ground when elevation is needed - some folks have built their own carriers out of PVC material or even wood.

You will also need sewer chemicals to place in the toilet to help control odor and liquefy wastes. Thetford also makes a level gauge cleaner which may be needed from time to time to keep the electronic tank monitor reading accurately.

That's the basics to get you well on your way. Happy Camping and God Bless your travels.

I know our 2997BHS ('08 model year) didn't come with, of all things, a toilet paper holder. Honestly, what do they (the RV industry) think we do in there????

JohnM. the TP and towel holders you buy yourself. We got ours at Lowes. The reason they dont supply these is because not everyone puts them in the same place. I installed them with molly fasteners in the thin plywood walls. Just wood screws will come loose or pull out of the wall. My 2 cts worth. Bob

Bob,

I know you have to supply your own and that plain wood screws would last less than a roll of toilet paper. What I don't understand is why. I know you might want it in a differant spot than me, but again, why doesn't the RV industry supply them with the new RV's? It's just a silly thing to not, at least, put in the camper for the owner to install.

Congratulations on your new rig. I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as we do ours.

As for the TP holder, etc. My rig came with all that, not mounted though. Dealer said because of different preferences, they left it up to the buyer to install themselves. Now knowing some folks got the stuff and some didn't, you'll know to ask when the time comes.

Frank

We had them in our 2900MK, but not installed when we picked it up. Glad they weren't installed - they were chrome and we wanted the oiled brass (like the knobs and cabinet handles). Got them at Lowe's and I put them in on one of our first trips. Also put a coat hook in the toilet room. Used existing studs as much as possible - molly bolts where there weren't studs.

Gus

Johnm said:

Bob,
What I don't understand is why. I know you might want it in a differant spot than me, but again, why doesn't the RV industry supply them with the new RV's? It's just a silly thing to not, at least, put in the camper for the owner to install.

Click to expand...

Actually that isn't industry wide, some do, some don't. Prolly all boils down to which companies got tired of complaints about where the TP holder was placed, what style of TP holder they used and why couldn't they match the finish to the rest of the fixtures and knobs and decided to let the customer take care of that themselves