First Time MH Owner

[dylansmom]

Howdy! We are fulltimers and have a 2005 Carriage Carri-lite and 2005 F350 dually. We went shopping for a new truck and ended up at an RV place, so looked at some MH's.

Left there owners of a new 2006 Winnebago Adventurer 38T, which we pick up next weekend. We have never owned a MH before. Any advice, tips, do's or don'ts that we should know about??

Look forward to learning all we can about our new home.

[dylansmom]

Howdy! We are fulltimers and have a 2005 Carriage Carri-lite and 2005 F350 dually. We went shopping for a new truck and ended up at an RV place, so looked at some MH's.

Left there owners of a new 2006 Winnebago Adventurer 38T, which we pick up next weekend. We have never owned a MH before. Any advice, tips, do's or don'ts that we should know about??

Look forward to learning all we can about our new home.

[Nonno]

Congratulations on your new purchase.

First thing that came to mind was to remember that you cannot back up when towing.

[Thudman]

Congrats and welcome!!

After loading ALL your stuff in the coach, weigh it (preferably all four corners), then have it aligned by a GOOD truck shop. It will be worth the cost.

After driving your rig for a while and if you think you need aftermarket chassis equipment (Safe-T-Plus, Trac Bar, etc) read DriVer's post near the top of the Workhorse forum (in bold type--DriVers Chassis Modifications).

This forum is a gold mine of experienced folks, and many RV Master Tech's. No problem is too small to post here.

Do a REALLY GOOD PDI!!!!

Adding your coach year, model and other info to your signature line would be helpful.

Thudman

[FrontRangeRVer]

The 38T is a great floorplan!!! Congratulations...

This is a good site with a wealth of information for you...and WELCOME!!

Also...dont think that just because someone has installed all this aftermarket stuff that you "need" one....Workhorse chassis come straight from the box as a good unit...

[peter griffin]

Congrats ....Make sure you check the motorcoach very carefully before you pick up..Paint, water pump for the coach, leaks, check and make sure the both compressors on the a/c come on and most of the time the new coach batteries are no good. check the welds on the front end and body paint lines.

After you get it..dont let your brother leave an open coke can in the cabinet and then drive around...mine did! good luck..

[John_Canfield]

Welcome to the Winnebago family! You will probably have more questions after you have had the coach for a few days/weeks, so we'll be standing by.

[GrammaAnne]

Congratulations. I know how excited you are. We picked up our new 38R this time last year. We love it. It's a great coach.

Best of everything to you.
HAPPY TRAILS
Anne & Maury
home in Oregon for the summer

[jthvalkyrie]

Congratulations!
And as others have pointed out, do a thorough PDI. We recently bought a new Itasca Meridian 36G, after the other motorhome we purchased (TropiCal T399) failed the PDI. The dealerships prep of the TropiCal was inadequate, and the unit had alot of easily visible defects.
We stuck with the same dealership and their prep of the Meridian was great!
It was quite a stressful experience but we are very happy with our new motorhome

safe travels,
John


thoroughly prepared

[dengraham]

My congrats to you also. We have found a new part of life since becoming RVers. This site will become a valuable resource and a good place to find friends. Enjoy every moment. We are still waiting (since July} for our new unit to come off the assembly line. Next week we think.

[rebelsbeach]

dylansmom, Welcome to the forum and Congratulations on the new rig!!

[The Godfather]

Welcome, my humble advise is to always remember when you turn the wheel the back end swings in the opposite direction (that's where most of the body work repairs happen). Once you learn where the four corners are, it's happy motoring. Best wishes from a full-timer wannabe,
Dick

[BIGRED1]

Work out a system with your co-pilot for helping with entering driveways(where they can get out of the MH without getting into traffic) and camp sites or any situation where you are backing up(which you can't do very far when towing). We use two way radios(the FRS band). If you're getting a diesel coach, get a fuel card from Flying J. They save you $.01 per gallon plus their credit price is the same as the cash price if you swipe your Flying J card first(another $.05 savings). I'd also suggest developing checklists for loading the coach and the maintenance checks you need to make each time you got out like fluids and tire pressure, one for hooking up at a camp site and one for leaving, one for your maintenace schedule, etc. Another one is to get a file box that can hold hanging folders and a box of manilla folders and labels or tabs. This will help you keep everything straight and easy to find.

["007"]

Welcome GrammaAnne to irv2
Congrats and welcome to you also dylansmom may you both enjoy the forums and post often.

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

Welcome and congrats. Don't be afraid to ask any question to your service rep when you pick up the coach. Better yet, don't sign any papers until they fix everything first. That will be a great motivator for your dealer. If it don't look right, ask. Bringing someone along that has owned a MH wouldn't hurt as they might see something that you don't.
A few things you could do is to have the taks full and be hooked up to city water, Check for leaks. run propane appliances, smell for leaks. Walk the roof and look for sloppy sealant work. check your tire pressure, not enough, bad, to much and you'll think you are driving something made in the 60's (rattle rattle) Have them explain everything right down to the home entertainment system. I can't stress enough to give your self a few hours at the deal for a complete PDI. DON't sign a **** thing until you are happy.

[dylansmom]

Thanks everyone! We already had a 2 hour crash course on how everything works. I totally agree with everyone on the PDI.

We will be staying overnight in it at the dealers when we pick it up this weekend. (Provided they have done all the repairs.) We will spend most of the day Saturday "moving" from the 5er to the new coach.

Love the "don't leave an open soda in the cupboard" tip.

[Gary the Wombat]

We've just started week 4 of our 6 week road trip from California to Wisconsin via Yellowstone, and back via the south (right now, we are in Bowling Green Kentucky) and I have 2 things that we have learned.

One, take your pets with you--it really makes your RV feel like home. Two, both husband and wife should learn how to set up and break down. If you can figure out things that you can each comfortably do, it makes the whole process faster and easier.

And, if you expect that a few little "problems" may appear with your new home, they will bother you less when they happen.

[campernut2]

Congrats! We are new to class A's and own the Winnebago Voyage 33v 2005. We are having a blast. just a few issues initially but dealer addressed those very nicely. WE LOVE IT! My husband lets me drive it too,,,fun just remember the little guys out on the road,