From delivery to home, a report January 15, 2008, 11:07:03 am Yahoo Message Number: 88393This is a first report on our experience of picking up our new LD [2007 23.5' Front Dinette] and getting it home. This may be a longer report than some of the longtime Lazy Dazers want to read...so skip it! I'm writing this with "wannabes" and "soon-to-bes" in mind who likely have some of the same questions/anxieties/hopes we had.For those who'll be flying into the Ontario airport, this has to be one of the nicest airports we've been in both in atmosphere and helpful staff. Getting to an area hotel was a snap and fast.Dave picked us up at our hotel in time for our morning orientation. He is a great guy and did a thorough and helpful orientation of our new rig. He omitted a few points we were curious about, but was quick with helpful answers to our questions. [Can you imagine giving these orientations multiple times a week and keeping track of what you told to THIS customer already as opposed to what you told to the LAST customer?] I think he does a super job.Because we're Oregonians, we had to officially "take delivery" in Vegas and so were driven there in our rig by Colin Moore, the owner of the transport company that LD uses for this purpose. He was professional, friendly, and drove the rig appropriately, never above the speed limit. Having said that, I don't think I would want to know the mileage for that leg of the trip! But his goal was not to get us the best mileage, but to get to LV.Speaking of mileage, when we finally got to drive this baby on our own, we averaged 10.3 mpg on the first full tank. That was from LV back into CA (those familiar with the route know there are lots of steep grades up and down) and then north on I-5. I kept it at 55 mph or lower, and believe me it was WORK to keep it at 55 or lower. I could so easily have slipped up to 70 and above without even realizing it. Which leads me to... Handling. It was a breeze. Everything I'd heard and read was true. We have driven a 3/4 ton truck for years and this ride and handling was superior. On good road the ride was as comfortable as our sedan. Steering was so like the sedan I could hardly notice a difference. Being passed by the big semis on I-5 was usually without any significant "impact" at all. Occasionally I noticed the "pull" from a big rig passing, but it was no more than I would have felt in my car. The ONLY time we experienced any handling difficulty was when we were driving up the Oregon coast (101). It was stormy and there were some strong wind gusts. A few of those were strong enough to "push" me towards the other lane. Those were "white knuckle" moments, but I suspect I would have felt them in my car as well. Anyone familiar with 101 in northern CA and in OR knows that there are places where the road is really "twisty" and a responsible driver needs to slow down to 30-35 to stay in your own lane. I drove responsibly and had no more trouble staying in my lane than in my car. Great handling on those sharp turns! We stopped for fuel and food at various places and, though I looked for stations with good turn space available, I never had any trouble negotiating any turn. In short, there are few places I would fear to go with this rig.How about noise? Not perfect, but good. As others have written, it's nearly impossible to not have some wind and road noise. The rig does indeed have a "solid" feel and there are few noises from the coach itself. The notable exception for us is the TV. It is on a pull-out arm and though it was stowed in its appropriate place for traveling it had a vibration "squeak" the whole time. It wasn't bad enough to "ruin" the trip, but it was noticeable enough for us to say, "we've got to find out how to get rid of that squeak..." [If veterans have read this far, any tips on how to stifle this sound?]We had to get back to Oregon to get back to work so we pushed ourselves hard each day, traveling many more miles than I would if I were vacationing. If we could enjoy the rig so much for "hard traveling," I suspect leisure travel will be absolutely wonderful. I hope others' experience is as good as ours!
Re: From delivery to home, a report Reply #1 – January 15, 2008, 12:05:50 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88395QuoteBecause we're Oregonians, we had to officially "take delivery" in Vegas Thanks Clarkie 46 for the info. Did you have any problems registering the coach. I.E., the paperwork provided was satisfactory for the OR DMV. We too will pick a 23 1/2 FD in a month or two. I am going to try to register in OR by mail as I am staying in CA for a few months. I'll drive up If I have to. Thanks-------Todd Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: From delivery to home, a report Reply #2 – January 15, 2008, 02:21:30 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88398Did you have any problems registering the Quotecoach. I.E., the paperwork provided was satisfactory for the OR DMV. We too will Quotepick a 23 1/2 FD in a month or two. I am going to try to register in OR by Quotemail as I am staying in CA for a few months. I'll drive up If I have to.QuoteThanks-------Todd I actually just got back from the DMV and (once it was my turn!) it only took about 5 minutes. The only paper work they asked for was the Certificate of Origin for the chassis and the separate certificate for the coach. They didn't ask for the mileage...for the bill of sale...or anything else. The COO's from Lazy Daze had all the information they wanted on the face or on the reverse of the form. Maybe your county or particular DMV agent would ask for more, so take whatever Lazy Daze furnishes you with you. Total cost was $288.50 ($55 for the title, 223.50 for the registration, based on the length of the MH, and the actual license plate cost of $10).You can do this in advance by mail, Todd, but there are a couple of catches. First, you need to allow 6 weeks to get your title, plates, etc. back. Second, you need to furnish the Certificates of Origin from Lazy Daze with your application for title and I don't think you're going to get those until you have actually paid the full price for your LD and signed all the paper work from the Lazy Daze end. You may be able to do that all by mail (call and ask Vickie or someone) but you'd have to get on it ASAP and pay for something you haven't received yet. You'll have to decide whether you're willing to do that rather than drive back to OR after you take delivery. Good luck! And when you do get back from CA I hope we see you sometime in one of Oregon's gorgeous parks. Dick (Clarkie46)
Re: From delivery to home, a report Reply #3 – January 15, 2008, 05:03:07 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88407boneheadz551890@... wrote: "I am going to try to register in OR by mail as I am staying in CA for a few months. I'll drive up If I have to." --- You sign your posts as "Indio Todd", so I figured that was your residence. If you're a bona fide resident of Oregon, there shouldn't be any problems with registering your coach there; Lazy Daze should provide all the information and paperwork. But if California is your legal residence and you plan to try to register your coach in Oregon (to avoid paying CA sales taxes), you might want to carefully consider the potential consequences of this action; the penalties can be significant. This caveat may not even apply, but just in case, the information is just offered as a "FYI". ;-)Joan
Re: From delivery to home, a report Reply #4 – January 15, 2008, 05:16:08 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88408Quote boneheadz551890@ wrote: "I am going to try to register in OR by mail as I am staying in CA for a few months. I'll drive up If I have to." --- You sign your posts as "Indio Todd", so I figured that was your residence. If you're a bona fide resident of Oregon, there shouldn't Quotebe any problems with registering your coach there; Lazy Daze should provide all the information and paperwork. But if California is your legal residence and you plan to try to register your coach in Oregon (to avoid paying CA sales taxes), you might want to carefully consider the potential consequences of this action; the penalties can be significant.This caveat may not even apply, but just in case, the information is just offered as a "FYI". ;-)Joan that is what I was thinking.... you ARE a permanent resident of Indio, right...??
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Topic: From delivery to home, a report (Read 7 times)
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