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Old 09-23-2018, 12:58 PM   #1
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New to ALL aspects of RV TT

Hey all, new to everything RV. Bought a 2019 3210 BHDS at the Hershey show, towing with a 1500 hemi 3.92 rear end. upgraded tires to D bfg tako2 and timberin ses, delivery in 2 weeks. Not alot of info to be found on Aspen trail. Made a good sales pitch and after walking through about 20 trailers, we liked this floor plan the best and price was right. Anything specific to Aspen trail line I should be wary of at pdi? I downloaded some pdi checklists. TBH, I'm a little concerned about the issues regarding warranty stuff and craftsmanship but I know that is an industry wide issue. Comments would be appreciated
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Old 09-23-2018, 01:04 PM   #2
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Hello Gaer01! Welcome to the forum and to RV'ing. You are correct to be concerned about the issues with warranty and craftsmanship (huh?). If you do some diligence up front with your walk through, you may catch many of the issues that plague new owners and cause grief. The hidden issues and the issues with the internal components are few but they are there. I believe there are several pre-delivery inspection sheets and threads here on the forum. Download them all, put them together and most importantly, take your time and don't accept delivery until you are satisfied. They are in a hurry to deliver a new RV but don't let them rush you.
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Old 09-23-2018, 01:07 PM   #3
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Anything specific or infamous to Aspen trail line?
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Old 09-23-2018, 05:26 PM   #4
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Welcome to the forum - take your time and check as much out as you can during the walk through... and as soon as you get it home check the water system... We found a lot of construction debris in our Kodiak tanks and had to have the dealer get the crud out of them...
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Old 09-23-2018, 06:22 PM   #5
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Wouldn't we check the water at inspection? Or do they not do that.
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Old 09-23-2018, 07:51 PM   #6
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Yes, they should have water hooked up for you. Check all sinks, showers and toilets. Also make sure they put water in fresh water tank and run everything again, this time off of the water pump.

Do not sign for the trailer until everything is fixed, DO NOT EXCEPT THEIR PROMISE TO FIX IT LATER! Get it fixed before you sign, once they have your money, their interest in making you a happy camper will diminish markedly!

Make them show you how, and in fact that everything does work. Check for loose trim and delamination on outside walls.

Get up on roof, inspect the seams/seals, any cracks, make them reseal it. If they say you can't walk on roof, make them show you pictures from someone's phone.

Turn on all electrical equipment.

Make them set up your hitch correctly.


And most of all, once they meet your expectations, get out and enjoy it
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Old 09-23-2018, 07:55 PM   #7
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Thanks a bunch
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Old 09-23-2018, 10:30 PM   #8
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I am not familiar with the specifics of your trailer but just realize it is a bunch of stuff bolted and glued onto a chassis. Almost everything they bolt on is made by someone else including the frame most likely. The woodwork, walls and roof are made by them and the guys putting everything together work pretty fast and miss things. They also use pretty cheap and lightweight components too so not exactly the highest quality stuff out there that is for sure.

But on the positive side all of us are in this boat together and odds are not a single mishap you have hasn’t already happened to one of us. And there are members on this forum that are really good at giving advice and helping you trouble shoot.

My advice is that you keep a note pad in your trailer and write down things that don’t work right or are broken as you use it the first few times. I would try and hold off on any warranty work until after a few trips out because each trip back is time consuming and frustrating. And you will likely not notice many things until after a few times out. Then repeat the process again and plan on another return trip at around the 6-9 month mark. Finally try and plan on one more trip back to the dealer at month 12 just before the warranty is up.

I actually got lucky and we got my rig dialed in after the second trip back and actually didn’t need the 12 month return.

Here are some things I suggest you check after several days out:

Fridge and freezer—keep a thermometer in it and note the temps. They typically cool best when empty but when you load them up they can heat up quite a bit. That is to be expected but it needs to cool back down again. Also, try and avoid opening the doors frequently or for long times. Not trying scare you but they are not residential appliances and they just don’t cool as well.

Doors, windows and screens. As they settle they can get out of wack. Being level is critical so make sure before you assume one is not right that you are as close to level as possible.

Toilet- make sure that it doesn’t keep running after you flush it. They don’t always seal and a small leak will be annoying and worse can water your precious fresh water tank.

Oven and stove. Gas doesn’t always flow right away but after getting the air out of your lines make sure all the burners and often light and stay lit.

Thermostat—make sure all functions work.

And my last bit of advice is to take your time hooking up, backing in and unhooking—especially when dark after a long day. I think every mishap I have ever had was after a long day of travel and trying to “just get parked”. Try and find a big parking lot and practice backing in to some painted stalls. If you drive across a painted line it is far better than a tree or power podium or massive boulder that the campground uses to delineate sites!

Good luck and enjoy!
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Old 09-26-2018, 10:55 PM   #9
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I'm a newbie as well to being the trailer owner. There are excellent answers above me here.

I recently drove from Tucson to Knoxville, Tennessee to pick up my (new to me) 2014 Coleman 249 RB. I downloaded check out/walk through lists and added my own questions. The tech spent almost the whole day with me. We started at the top and worked our way around the trailer. I was very impressed with the patience they had at Tennessee RV with me. I hope your experience is just as good! Get your lists ready and then take your time. Don't forget to ask about where the water pump is, how to lube the axles, go over the hitching up with them...do it again by your self with them watching. Cover your list! But most of all, take pics or video and enjoy the process of learning about your new RV!
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Old 09-27-2018, 09:46 AM   #10
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Here are a few PDI's:
Attached Files
File Type: pdf PDI_V113_2.pdf (92.8 KB, 95 views)
File Type: pdf PredeliveryChecklistForTrailer2.4.pdf (150.2 KB, 91 views)
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Old 09-27-2018, 10:54 PM   #11
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Being newbies and given the current state of RV quality assurance you may be well served to hire an RV inspection service to do the PDI for you. There are so many ways to screw up the PDI that you may want someone who knows what to look for on your side. I would encourage you to scour the Internet for a PDI service nearest you. It will cost you but being stuck with a lemon will really make for a bad experience. You may want to start here: https://nrvia.org/inspector-locator-step-one/
We were lucky when we bought ours but I've read so many horror stories.
In case you are wondering, no, we did not follow the advice I have given you, we were just lucky.
My $0.02.
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Old 09-30-2018, 02:01 PM   #12
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I would be more worried about how overloaded your 1500 will be than the build quality of your new trailer!

Have you run the numbers? For starters, Ram 1500 have the lowest payload numbers in the 1500 class and your 35ft (!) long trailer is a very large, very heavy camper that puts significant tongue weight on your truck. Take the gross weight of your trailer, multiple by .13 and that is a rough estimate of your hitch weight. Add 100lb for your weight distrubution hitch and Id bet your are well north of 1300lb.

Second, add up the weight of your family and everything you carry in your truck. Let’s say you, wife, kid, dog all weight 500lb. Your truck’s payload is 1200lb. Subtract your family (1200-500 = 700lb)
And all you have to tow is 700lb hitch weight.

700lb / .13 = roughly 5300lb trailer. You are double that!

Please don’t let a dealer who only wants to sell you the largest trailer you can afford tell you, well your truck can tow 12000lb so your fine. This is dangerous and bad business!

Your vehicle’s payload rating in listed on the driver side door jam in yellow. I’ll bet you lunch you are significantly overloaded, like a lot of ram 1500 owners who have been ill-advised.
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Old 09-30-2018, 03:36 PM   #13
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Wow! Good catch.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetlou View Post
700lb / .13 = roughly 5300lb trailer. You are double that!
He said he already bought it. What next? Get a new tow vehicle? Are returns allowed?
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Old 01-01-2019, 02:39 AM   #14
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Thank you from another newbie

Quote:
Originally Posted by dsol View Post
I am not familiar with the specifics of your trailer but just realize it is a bunch of stuff bolted and glued onto a chassis. Almost everything they bolt on is made by someone else including the frame most likely. The woodwork, walls and roof are made by them and the guys putting everything together work pretty fast and miss things. They also use pretty cheap and lightweight components too so not exactly the highest quality stuff out there that is for sure.

But on the positive side all of us are in this boat together and odds are not a single mishap you have hasn’t already happened to one of us. And there are members on this forum that are really good at giving advice and helping you trouble shoot.

My advice is that you keep a note pad in your trailer and write down things that don’t work right or are broken as you use it the first few times. I would try and hold off on any warranty work until after a few trips out because each trip back is time consuming and frustrating. And you will likely not notice many things until after a few times out. Then repeat the process again and plan on another return trip at around the 6-9 month mark. Finally try and plan on one more trip back to the dealer at month 12 just before the warranty is up.

I actually got lucky and we got my rig dialed in after the second trip back and actually didn’t need the 12 month return.

Here are some things I suggest you check after several days out:

Fridge and freezer—keep a thermometer in it and note the temps. They typically cool best when empty but when you load them up they can heat up quite a bit. That is to be expected but it needs to cool back down again. Also, try and avoid opening the doors frequently or for long times. Not trying scare you but they are not residential appliances and they just don’t cool as well.

Doors, windows and screens. As they settle they can get out of wack. Being level is critical so make sure before you assume one is not right that you are as close to level as possible.

Toilet- make sure that it doesn’t keep running after you flush it. They don’t always seal and a small leak will be annoying and worse can water your precious fresh water tank.

Oven and stove. Gas doesn’t always flow right away but after getting the air out of your lines make sure all the burners and often light and stay lit.

Thermostat—make sure all functions work.

And my last bit of advice is to take your time hooking up, backing in and unhooking—especially when dark after a long day. I think every mishap I have ever had was after a long day of travel and trying to “just get parked”. Try and find a big parking lot and practice backing in to some painted stalls. If you drive across a painted line it is far better than a tree or power podium or massive boulder that the campground uses to delineate sites!

Good luck and enjoy!
Thank you for taking the time to post this, it is very helpful for newbies!
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Old 01-01-2019, 02:52 AM   #15
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Question 1500 truck with a 3210!?!?

Quote:
Originally Posted by gaer01 View Post
Hey all, new to everything RV. Bought a 2019 3210 BHDS at the Hershey show, towing with a 1500 hemi 3.92 rear end. upgraded tires to D bfg tako2 and timberin ses, delivery in 2 weeks. Not alot of info to be found on Aspen trail. Made a good sales pitch and after walking through about 20 trailers, we liked this floor plan the best and price was right. Anything specific to Aspen trail line I should be wary of at pdi? I downloaded some pdi checklists. TBH, I'm a little concerned about the issues regarding warranty stuff and craftsmanship but I know that is an industry wide issue. Comments would be appreciated
I have the Aspen Trail 3130 QBS which is 6800 lbs dry and can carry about another 2700 lbs. the tongue weight alone is 827 lbs, and with battery, propane and hitch, is easily over 900lbs (or about half a ton). This is the payload of your half ton truck and you haven’t even added passengers or gear. I would guess the 3210 is similar in weight. That being said, I believe you need more than a half ton truck for this trailer. I tow with a GMC 2500 with an 8.1 liter V8 and have a hard time imagining anything less than a 3/4 set up with my unit. Hopefully your newer unit is much lighter. I hope you are enjoying it.
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