Yesterday I performed my Bighorn 3160EL PDI at Pete's RV in Indiana. I'm sharing this just in case it helps others.
My PDI took most of the day and kudus to Pete's for setting me up with power, water, etc in a location I could run everything and exercise all slides and awnings. I tested and inspected everything I could think of after priming my checklist with some PDI lists found here.
I climbed all over the beast including roof, all storage compartments, behind UDC and every nook and cranny inside. I ran and inspected all appliances. I operated all fresh and waste tank plumbing. A few things were difficult to confirm they really worked like the tank heaters, but most everything else had a verifiable outcome.
I'll just list the specific problems/issues found:
That folks is a pretty short list of problems and my build was loaded with most options.
The missing fantastic vent option was a mystery, but the dealer will install locally. After passing Heartland's audit bay testing its hard to imagine how the outdoor shower leak went unnoticed. Perhaps this is because the leak only was present when either the hot or cold valve was open. The trailer only traveled 100 miles to Pete's so its doubtful this was caused by road quakes. The other items were very minor as you can tell.
Not bad, huh? I wanted to share a more positive review for Heartland's initial product quality. Due to travel I won't be using the trailer until March so that is when a more thorough investigation will commence. Who knows what else lurks, but not too shabby a start.
A few other mixed observations from my visit:
The rubber roof membrane could have been installed better -- a little loose in some areas and I noted a few small bumps that might have been caused by debris lying under the membrane. I don't think the membrane is compromised, but it could have been a cleaner install.
The latest upgrade of overhead lighting for both the island and dining table were both huge improvements to what I saw previously.
Heating was a bit uneven as some others have reported. The bathroom vent needs to have a baffle added to redirect very strong flow elsewhere.
The Samsung TVs have been swapped out for the budget Insignia brand. Time will tell if this is an issue. I could not test satellite wiring but the reception for OTA was excellent.
It's possible the outdoor shower leak could have concealed a separate leak behind the UDC. I tried my best to evaluate all fresh water plumbing runs separately after trying to clean up the excess water from the outdoor shower valve. Pete's is going to re-verify fresh water plumbing behind the UDC after the outdoor shower valve assembly is replaced.
As reported by others the MCD day/night shades are back so that is good news.
Doing business with Pete's RV was a pleasure.
Hope this helps.
Kurt
My PDI took most of the day and kudus to Pete's for setting me up with power, water, etc in a location I could run everything and exercise all slides and awnings. I tested and inspected everything I could think of after priming my checklist with some PDI lists found here.
I climbed all over the beast including roof, all storage compartments, behind UDC and every nook and cranny inside. I ran and inspected all appliances. I operated all fresh and waste tank plumbing. A few things were difficult to confirm they really worked like the tank heaters, but most everything else had a verifiable outcome.
I'll just list the specific problems/issues found:
- Missing fantastic vent in bathroom
- Outdoor shower fixture leaked badly inside the valve assembly
- Refrigerator (PolarMax 18 CU) exterior trim not secured
- Missing end cap on MCD roller shade
That folks is a pretty short list of problems and my build was loaded with most options.
The missing fantastic vent option was a mystery, but the dealer will install locally. After passing Heartland's audit bay testing its hard to imagine how the outdoor shower leak went unnoticed. Perhaps this is because the leak only was present when either the hot or cold valve was open. The trailer only traveled 100 miles to Pete's so its doubtful this was caused by road quakes. The other items were very minor as you can tell.
Not bad, huh? I wanted to share a more positive review for Heartland's initial product quality. Due to travel I won't be using the trailer until March so that is when a more thorough investigation will commence. Who knows what else lurks, but not too shabby a start.
A few other mixed observations from my visit:
The rubber roof membrane could have been installed better -- a little loose in some areas and I noted a few small bumps that might have been caused by debris lying under the membrane. I don't think the membrane is compromised, but it could have been a cleaner install.
The latest upgrade of overhead lighting for both the island and dining table were both huge improvements to what I saw previously.
Heating was a bit uneven as some others have reported. The bathroom vent needs to have a baffle added to redirect very strong flow elsewhere.
The Samsung TVs have been swapped out for the budget Insignia brand. Time will tell if this is an issue. I could not test satellite wiring but the reception for OTA was excellent.
It's possible the outdoor shower leak could have concealed a separate leak behind the UDC. I tried my best to evaluate all fresh water plumbing runs separately after trying to clean up the excess water from the outdoor shower valve. Pete's is going to re-verify fresh water plumbing behind the UDC after the outdoor shower valve assembly is replaced.
As reported by others the MCD day/night shades are back so that is good news.
Doing business with Pete's RV was a pleasure.
Hope this helps.
Kurt
