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Topic: Kate's Delivery - Some suggestions (Read 13 times) previous topic - next topic
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Kate's Delivery - Some suggestions
Yahoo Message Number: 56781
Hi Kate, When you take delivery at the factory, I would recommend doing the following:
1) If you can, video tape the orientation session.  I went straight  from backpacking to a Lazy Daze so I knew very little about RVs and  the session seemed to quickly overload my mental capacity.  A friend  taped the orientation for me in October 2001, but has yet to convert  it into a form that I can view.  Having the tape would have allowed  me to make more sense out of the owner's manual for such things as  awning operation, etc.
2) Get at least 6 or more of the plastic door catches for the main  entry door as they seem to break quite regularily.
3) Get at least one of the rubber city water caps as the supplied  plastic strap will break.  The rubber one is an off white so it does  not look as nice as the supplied one, but it will last a long time.
 If you do not like the looks of it, it will at least cover the  threaded connection until you can find a plastic one that will last  another brief time.  Or get a bunch of the plastic ones and replace  them as they break.
4) Get a few extra of the plastic window latches for the sliding  windows.  If one breaks (I have had two break so far on my 2001 RB),  you will have a spare and be able to secure the windows.
5) Check the operation of the shower diverter and the flushing wand  on the toilet.  Make sure the volume on the flushing wand is  adequate.  My original wand just dribbled water and I did not know  any better.  I went back and they replaced it with a new one that  was better, but later I found out that other rigs had much more  volume than mine.  The new rigs may not have a shower diveter  anymore, but mine broke shortly after delivery and they replaced it  too.
6) Purchase extra fuses and bulbs from an auto parts store and carry  them with you.  Use the owners manual as a guide for the types and  amperages.  The fuses for the accessories are all different types so  it may not be possible to cover all the possibilities.
7) Actually light the burners and oven during the orientation.  Also
 actually turn the fridge and water heater on and off several times until you are familar with it.  Just listening as to how to do it does not help much after you drive away.  Look at the flame in the water heater so you will know what it looks like.  Stand outside by them and have somebody turn them on one at a time so you will know what it sounds like when you start them.  Extend and retract the awning several times and count the number of loose pieces.  I was sure I was missing a support rod, but there was only one loose one and two were attached to the awning.
 One of the most significant improvements to the LD is to replace the mirrors with the Deluxe Mirror Heads from Velvac.  There is info on this on the "Techsnoz" group site.  The puny little wide angle mirrors on the LD tend to fall off as the adhesive is not very good.  I had to keep putting them back on then I used RV Goop and they stayed on until a put the Deluxe Heads on.  Now I can really see what is going on along side of me.  They have saved me more than once.  The difference is awsome. Take my advice and do not ask Steve about the Deluxe Mirror Heads, but they are an awsome improvement.

Never open the cab door while the coach is in motion.  If the cab door is ajar, stop the rig and then close it.  See CabDoor.pdf on "Techsnoz" for more info. (The air flow will pull the door open and try to jerk you out of the seat and into the wild blue yonder)

I know that I will be impatiently waiting for your pickup report.

Happy trails,

TerryT
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Kate's Delivery - Some suggestions
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 56799
Terry,
 WOW and THANKS, this is all great advice.  We are printing it out for when we go to the orientation.  Unfortunately, we do not won a video camera, so we will have to do with notes.

If anyone thinks of anything else, please let us knopw

Kate  -  EIGHT DAYS
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Kate's Delivery - Some suggestions
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 56800
Terry,

Excellent advice for pickup.....especially the tip about deluxe mirrors!  I still can't believe the improvement since I installed mine.  A super safety improvement.  Really necessary when passing through busy city expressways.

Bill Wait
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Kate's Delivery - Some suggestions
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 56823
Quote
If anyone thinks of anything else, please let us knopw
Kate, I forgot to mention one other thing and that is to check the inside sidewall of your tires for slashes or other damage before you drive off.

This is what happened to me.  At 168 miles, I took my rig into Camping World (Valencia, California) to get HWH Levelers, tow bar, and BrakeMaster auxiliary brake system (for my toad) installed.
Camping World completed the job and gave the rig back to me at the end of the day.  They rolled down the garage door and were gone.  I was checking the work and crawled underneath and I noticed that there was a slash on the inside side wall of the passenger side front tire. So here I am with 168 miles of RV driving experience and ready to tow my Wrangler for the first time with a slashed tire!

I called Good Sam and they came out and put the spare tire on. So I would have been on the Los Angeles Freeway in rush hour, towing with a damaged tire.  For two years it bothered me as to how my tire got damaged.  I thought it probably happened in the rail yard when they unloaded the chassis before it was delivered to Lazy Daze.  I was sure I had not run over anything that could have slashed the tire.
I took pictures of the tire with a dollar bill stuck in the slash.

Two years later I was back at the same Camping World waiting hours on end for them to fix a botched Gear Vendors Overdrive installation (another long but interesting story) and I noticed that their lift racks had angle irons welded on the inside edges of the racks to keep them from accidentally driving a rig off of the rack.  I took out a dollar bill placed it on the angle iron.  The height of the dollar bill on the angle iron matched the the depth of the slice on the tire. I watched the service people drive rigs on and off of the racks for the better part of 2 full days and if there was somebody handy, they would use them to help guide the rig driver onto the rack.  If nobody was around, they would try to drive the rig onto the rack without any assistance.  I wrote to the President of Camping World telling him of danger to their customers from the tire slicers that they installed on their racks and how their people drive the rigs onto the racks without assistance.  I got a benign response and I check the racks at Camping World ever time I go in and they have not changed them.

What I am trying to say is that if you really look at your tires at pick up, then you will not have to wonder if they were delivered to you damaged.  If you also inspect them everytime before you let somebody put them up on a rack, tell them that your tires are undamaged before they drive it onto a lift or rack, and then inspect your tires again when the work is done, you may prevent a tragedy.

At Camping World, at least, they do not care if they send you down the road with damaged tires.  The odds may be small that this will happen to you, but it happened to me.

You have a lot riding on your tires, so inspect them often.

Happy trails, TerryT
 
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Kate's Delivery - Some suggestions
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 56829
I used a small tape recorder when we had the run through on our first motorhome. It was very helpful.
Cindy