PDI questions - brr... picking up in cold weather

victw · 01-17-2022, 12:01 PM

Hi all,

Delivery and PDI are scheduled for Friday. It's supposed to be cold. 40s during the day and freezing temps all night.

Any thoughts on
1) how to verify that the heated tanks pads work correctly?
2) Heat is going down under the floor?
3) It's Texas - we could need the A/C in a week. How would you test the A/C in 40 degree temps?
4) What to look for in the roof? I saw that someone rejected their unit because of the roof. It wasn't obvious to me what the issue was.

Anything else we might want to think about during a cold weather PDI?

What an intro. Will be camping in it right away.

Thanks.
Vic

DavidM · 01-17-2022, 01:40 PM

Thoughts below in bold:

Quote:

Originally Posted by victw

Hi all,

Delivery and PDI are scheduled for Friday. It's supposed to be cold. 40s during the day and freezing temps all night.

Any thoughts on
1) how to verify that the heated tanks pads work correctly? Crawl underneath and feel them after they have been on for a while. Pads should feel warm.
2) Heat is going down under the floor? Don't know what you mean?
3) It's Texas - we could need the A/C in a week. How would you test the A/C in 40 degree temps? Can't start the A/C in less than 65 deg, could damage it. Is it a heat pump? Try it in heating mode. Cooling is almost certain to work if heating works.
4) What to look for in the roof? I saw that someone rejected their unit because of the roof. It wasn't obvious to me what the issue was. I think one poster rejected it because the seams at the edges were loose.

Has it been winterized. If above freezing at PDI and your camping will be in above freezing temps, ask them to go through winterizing and dewinterizing procedures and leave it dewinterized so you know it will work when you get to your campsite.

What an intro. Will be camping in it right away.

Thanks.
Vic

Marine359 · 01-19-2022, 08:57 AM

We picked up in cold weather Oct 2020
First, our 2021b model had tank heaters but no furnace ducting under the floor, so that point is moot. We didn’t have the time for as thorough a PDI as we would have wanted, so my focus was on things that would require dealer service vrs things I thought I could repair myself. So, we didn’t spend much time on the little stuff like tank heaters which we probably will never use because they require too much amperage. Our unit was winterized, and we didn’t want to de-winter, so we couldn’t check water pump and water heater. To test the A/C, we first turned on the furnace and let it warm to 70F while continuing the PDI. Checked roof, appliances, mechanicals, etc. then came back to check the A/C after it was warm inside. Our PDI took 90 minutes, which I sorta regret. But it worked out ok because WBGO did a quality build on ours, and we’ve had no warranty claims. We did camp first night within 100 miles of dealer, just in case we needed to take it back.

Sullivanclan · 01-23-2022, 08:43 PM

Ask the dealer to do the PDI in the service bay/garage and check all systems as noted previously.

victw · 01-23-2022, 08:59 PM

We picked it up on Friday. No major issues.
1) Velcro on the dinette back cushion needed to be reset.
2) Stove - one burner was inconsistently lighting. It worked for the tech but not always for us :(
3) The pull down on the faucet was stuck. It was hung up on something under the sink. Tech took care of it.
4) Someone forgot to load the batteries on the audio unit - they were still in the Winnebago bag.

We are taking it back to the dealer tomorrow because the brakes on the trailer seem to need some adjustment. We have the gain on our tow system set to 10. We would like a little more adjustment options.

We are on our third shake out night. So far we are using campground showers and avoiding the tiny shower.

Lots to learn as this is our first trailer.

Vic

Still bummed - I never figured out a weigh to test the tank heaters or verify that the heating duct was going to the underbelly.

Marine359 · 01-23-2022, 09:28 PM

Suggestions Vic:
2. Stove burners can sometimes have debris in them even when new. Disassemble, blow with high pressure air, reassemble. Should work fine. While you’re at it check that nothing is obstructing the lp feed line to the burner.
3. Faucet pull down has a counter-weight under the counter. If there is anything in the cabinet under the counter that might obstruct the hose, the counter-weight will always hang.
4. You’ll be glad the batteries were not in the audio unit, because the audio stinks.

Brakes need a break in,period. Ours took about 500 miles before we could reset the brake controller from 8 to 4.

Have fun. Drive safe. Cheers.

Sullivanclan · 01-24-2022, 07:35 AM

Digital heat sensor will come in handy for the tank heat pads and heat vents.

Be patient. I concur, brakes need a period to adjust.

**creativepart** · 01-24-2022, 08:55 AM

About the brakes… most drum brakes are self-adjusting but many, not all, only do so by backing up. Either way, with self adjusting brakes the more you use the trailer the better adjusted they will become.

However, some drum brakes are manually adjusted and need to have a star wheel rotated by a flat head screw driver from an access slot on the back of the drum.