hello from new-b and 1 question!!

[oldmannj]

Hi I'm Ed, AKA oldmannj. I happen to be the newest member of the club. Not exactly an owner yet,but heading to the dealership Saturday to sign the paperwork. Which leads me to my question. I'm purchasing a 2011 trail runner 28rks. Everything from the perspective of a potential buyer looks very good. My concern is what might not be quite so obvious. Are ther any questions I should ask or places I should look for problems that might be specific to heartland rv's??? This is my 2nd trailer and I learned the hard way with my Terry. Hoping for some imput. Thank you in advance for any help!! ED , IRENE , blondie,gizmo and jillie bean

 

[danemayer]

Hi Ed,

Congratulations on your purchase decision and welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. You'll find there are a bunch of friendly people here who are willing to help out and share what they've learned.

I expect other Trail Runner owners will contribute their advice shortly.

At a high level, I'd suggest you plan on spending a lot of time on your Pre-Delivery Inspection before signing off on all the paperwork. Understand how everything works, including all the plumbing, dump procedures, winterization. Make sure you've checked all the electronics to understand the operation and verify it all works. Bring something to check the microwave. Learn how to light the oven. Find the amplifier switch that switches between cable and antenna.

Don't be in a hurry to leave the dealer. Stay there overnight if possible to get a better look and try things out. Getting things fixed or adjusted is always easier before you sign on the dotted line, and you don't have to bring it back and wait for service to get to your rig.

 

[oldmannj]

Hi Ed,

Congratulations on your purchase decision and welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. You'll find there are a bunch of friendly people here who are willing to help out and share what they've learned.

I expect other Trail Runner owners will contribute their advice shortly.

At a high level, I'd suggest you plan on spending a lot of time on your Pre-Delivery Inspection before signing off on all the paperwork. Understand how everything works, including all the plumbing, dump procedures, winterization. Make sure you've checked all the electronics to understand the operation and verify it all works. Bring something to check the microwave. Learn how to light the oven. Find the amplifier switch that switches between cable and antenna.

Don't be in a hurry to leave the dealer. Stay there overnight if possible to get a better look and try things out. Getting things fixed or adjusted is always easier before you sign on the dotted line, and you don't have to bring it back and wait for service to get to your rig.

Thanks Dan, The advice is stellar would never have dawned on me to stay at dealership overnight. Likewise actually cooking in the microwave to test it is an awesome idea. You started my punch list for taking delivery, now I hope some more good suggestions follow. ED

 

[ILH]

Hi Ed,

Aside from trying every switch, every button, etc., look at the seems, the caulking, etc. too.

 

[hoefler]

In addition to the great advice above, do the Pre-Delivery Inspection BEFORE you sign the final paperwork or give them your money. If they don't want to let you inspect and try everything out, take your money elsewhere. Now if you want to live in it on their lot, you will have to sign the papers and pay for the unit. But you should be able to inspect it thoroughly before signing.

 

[Hastey]

Check all the plumbing connections that you can as well. When we bought the Sundance I found that their were a couple of fittings under sinks that were not even hand tight. I found them the wet way.

When we done the PDI on the new Big Horn the dealer had done a pressure test and made sure that everything was tight. If it holds air, it should hold water.

 

[sjs731]

Staying overnight at the dealer is the way to go if they will let you. Our dealer is 10 hours away so we got there on Saturday right before they closed and lived in our rig till Monday when they opened back up. We had made our list of issues for them which was a very small list. They fixed those and added extras we wanted, signed our paperwork and were on our way home. Like others have said, try EVERYTHING. Faucets, switches, jacks , pump, water heater, fridge on gas and electric, A/C.


Steve
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DW_Gray]

Congratulations on your decision to invest in Heartland. Wise choice.

Other than what's stated above, the information that's always important to me is the question of what you are towing with. Since you didn't mention your tow vehicle I recommend you read the article "Before You Buy..." mentioned below.

 

[oldmannj]

Congratulations on your decision to invest in Heartland. Wise choice.

Other than what's stated above, the information that's always important to me is the question of what you are towing with. Since you didn't mention your tow vehicle I recommend you read the article "Before You Buy..." mentioned below.

Towing shouldn't be a problem I'll be pulling it with a 2500 GMC sierra with a rating of 9,700 # At a listed dry weight of 6,800 I should be well within weight limits as I rarely if ever tow with more water than is required to get to our destination. I'd like to thank everyone who added their thoughts to my query. I feel lucky already to be a heartland owner with as many nice folks as there are here. ED

 

[boatto5er]

Highly recommend you hook up the New Jersey chapter of the owner's club. I'm sure someone from there will be contacting you shortly.

 

[oldmannj]

IT'S OFFICIAL !!!!! Pending final walk through inspection and then dipping my quill into the old inkwell to make my mark......My wife and I are the proud owners of our new (to us) trail runner. You couldn't beat the smile off my face with a bat

 

[jbeletti]

Awesome Ed - now bring it home, take it out and make some memories with it. And of course, join the club and come to a few rallies. You won't be able to get that out of your system once you starting joining us at the rallies

 

[dbylinski]

Welcome to the Northeast Region of Heartland Owners. I sent you an email and please think about joining the owners club! New Jersey has a rally coming up in October in Cape May. Check it out HERE and consider joining us. There are many events including the Northeast Region Rally still on the calendar for 2012 so maybe we'll get to meet you soon.