Picking up new Dutchmen Denali 287re today!

[Wakeisland53]

Very nice looking camper!

[Bear25314]

Ok. So finally I figured out how to upload pictures on here. LOL. Anyways, this summer has been a great summer with the new camper. We took her out for 4 different trips. We love having all the extra room and this thing is BIG!. She pulls really nice and I actually can back this thing up better than my previous 27 ft trailer. The bedroom has plenty of room to move around in. (I do wish they put speakers in the ceiling in the bedroom though so we can use the camper radio in there instead of bringing our own) and the bathroom shower has plenty of room too. Kitchen with island is nice. I like facing the middle of the room while doing dishes instead of having my back to everybody at that time. The living room with the opposing slides is perfect. Nice place to stretch out on the recliners and watch a movie during a rainy night. hot days (Some 100 + days here in Texas) having the 2 A/C's is a must and with both running it can freeze you out of the camper. Nice place to stretch out on the recliners and watch a movie during a rainy night.

Outside I love the power stabilizers and power awning. With the 10 gallon hot water tank we NEVER run out of hot water when we use the quick heat gas setting no mater how many people take showers in a row. We get allot of nice comments on the "auto type" windows. They do look pretty slick! I like having a disconnect power cord instead of storing the cord back into a "mouse hole" especially on rainy days when packing up.

In all, she's a great camper. Large but easy to pull and very comfortable once you get to where your going.

[Adair1965]

Very nice looking rig. It's a monster in size eh!

[hmcfly]

I too got a 2014 Denali 287RE and love it. I have had a lot of little problems with it and they got fixed with no problems with Dutchmen authorizing them. I love the trailers it's got so much more room than my old Dutchman 26f-dsl. I was worried about pulling it for it's 1500 heavier but it tows great. I get my trailer back from the dealer today and I'm going camping Sunday. We will see if they fixed everything.

[stlipp]

We are looking at the 287 also. How are you managing with the exterior storage? That is the one thing that concerns me since it is alot smaller than the one we now have on our Dutchemen 27RLS. Now that you have had it for awhile anything that you dont care for? I am wondering if we would need the second AC, we live in ND and our summers can be hot but obviously not as hot as TX!

[Bear25314]

We are still very happy with our 287RE. I have had zero problems with it (thank goodness). I do wish that it did have a bit more outside storage however, there is a lot of inside storage in the closet up front in the bedroom. You can store quiet a bit up there!

I mainly keep the outside toys (water inflatables) and outdoor cooking equipment along with the hook up gear in the outside storage compartment.

Concerning the additional AC unit. This unit is very well insulated I must say. Better than most if you ask me. In TX we still need that additional unit (with the size of this unit) but you may not in ND. Also, keep in mind the additional tongue weight added by adding another AC unit up front.

Hope that helps!

[prm99v6]

Nice!

[DamMan]

Originally Posted by stlipp

We are looking at the 287 also. How are you managing with the exterior storage? That is the one thing that concerns me since it is alot smaller than the one we now have on our Dutchemen 27RLS. Now that you have had it for awhile anything that you dont care for? I am wondering if we would need the second AC, we live in ND and our summers can be hot but obviously not as hot as TX!

We love our 287. The exterior storage was a problem for us. In the end, I added a back receiver hitch, cargo carrier and locking aluminum toolbox. We keep the heavier items in the front storage compartment, such as tools, generator, etc. The back toolbox carries our camping chairs, cooking sticks and other lighter weight items. We thought we were fine with one A/C until a trip last month (July 2014). The living room stayed cool but the bedroom stayed hot too late into the night. I just added a bedroom A/C for our next trip. I sure wish I hadn't taken the lot model with 30A electrical service. What a pain to snake wiring through the ceiling, down the inside of the bathroom wall and out to a new receptacle next to the factory receptacle. Now I have a 20A breaker in my bedroom ceiling, a couple patched holes in my ceiling and wall and the need to carry an extra 12 ga. extension cord. The A/C unit itself was super simple to install but until our trip, I don't know how it will perform. I am not worried about the towing (famous last words) with the A/C weight balanced by the rear toolbox weight. As for reliability, my biggest and very troubling problem is the brakes. While under warranty, the brakes shorted out. The dealer found a bad brake magnet. Now I have an intermittent brake short that I haven't been able to find due to it being intermittent. Lots of smaller items such as a window that no longer opens, a recliner that the foot rest won't come up on, a broken kitchen faucet, etc certainly indicates that Dutchmen chose the cheapest components possible. Then again, I was very happen with my original purchase price. Over all I would buy the trailer again but insist on at least front A/C wiring, 50A electrical service and a thorough brake check when the first short occurred.

[hmcfly]

I have gotten all the little things that plagued my coach fixed. I'm very happy with the trailer now. It doesn't have enough outside storage and I wish it did so I store what I can and the rest go inside my truck. It seems to me that I got this big trailer because I needed more room to move in it, Now I just have more people in it to make it feel small again buts that's family. I got the 30 amp system with only 1 a/c, the question I have is if you have 50 amp service can you run both a/c's at the same time? I really didn't want to mess with that big 50 amp cord.I bought the extended warranty so if any problems pop up it will be fixed. I have no trouble pulling it , it really pulls great. I got a new hitch with it (Equalizer) and it pulls better than my 27 ft did.

[DamMan]

Yes, if the trailer is wired for 50A and is plugged into a 50A service receptacle. I won't know until I try my A/C install on the next trip but I should be able to plug my factory cord into the campground 30A service receptacle and my added extension cord into the 20A receptacle and run both A/C units. I have stayed at campground with 30A but no 50A service in the past.

[DamMan]

One other item of note on our trailer: I thought the stabilizer jacks worked fine but my wife wanted more stability. On the advice of a fellow camper I struck up a conversation with a while back, I bought and installed the Steadyfast Stabilizer System after returning from that trip and sure enough the trailer is now noticeably stabler.

[Bear25314]

Originally Posted by hmcfly

I have gotten all the little things that plagued my coach fixed. I'm very happy with the trailer now. It doesn't have enough outside storage and I wish it did so I store what I can and the rest go inside my truck. It seems to me that I got this big trailer because I needed more room to move in it, Now I just have more people in it to make it feel small again buts that's family. I got the 30 amp system with only 1 a/c, the question I have is if you have 50 amp service can you run both a/c's at the same time? I really didn't want to mess with that big 50 amp cord.I bought the extended warranty so if any problems pop up it will be fixed. I have no trouble pulling it , it really pulls great. I got a new hitch with it (Equalizer) and it pulls better than my 27 ft did.

To answer your question about the "50 Amp Service". Yes you can run both
A/C's without popping breakers. You can also run the TV and micro oven while the A/S's are both running. I have never popped a breaker with my 50 amp service.

[DamMan]

I can't believe how time has flown since I last visited this thread. I am finally short free on the brakes but Trailer Lift magazine has me convinced that disc brakes are the way to go. Other than the brake concerns, which is a big concern, we still love our 287re.

[hddecker]

Originally Posted by DamMan

I can't believe how time has flown since I last visited this thread. I am finally short free on the brakes but Trailer Lift magazine has me convinced that disc brakes are the way to go. Other than the brake concerns, which is a big concern, we still love our 287re.

I have aboslutley no regrets with investing in the disk brake upgrade. We have decided that the RV manufacturers are not getting any more of our money, so we blew last years budget on disk brakes, wet shackles and heavier axles.

We do a lot of miles every year, got too much to see and not enough time. When we looked at what we have and what we would spend to replace it, the upgrades were the way to go.

Wouldn't do it if we were going to be buying a new camper every few years.

[DamMan]

Originally Posted by hddecker

I have aboslutley no regrets with investing in the disk brake upgrade. We have decided that the RV manufacturers are not getting any more of our money, so we blew last years budget on disk brakes, wet shackles and heavier axles.

We do a lot of miles every year, got too much to see and not enough time. When we looked at what we have and what we would spend to replace it, the upgrades were the way to go.

Wouldn't do it if we were going to be buying a new camper every few years.

Did you install the disc brakes yourself or have it done at a shop?

[hddecker]

Originally Posted by DamMan

Did you install the disc brakes yourself or have it done at a shop?

Did it myself. I have gotten to the point that I just don't trust anybody to work on my vehicles any more.

I'm glad I did too, it gave me time to ponder a solution for mounting the brake actuator. It took my old brain a while to figure a solution that I liked.

I made a new battery tray that was a little wider so I could mount the brake actuator between the batteries.

I found the best prices on the parts at

Hub with Integrated Rotor 6 on 5-1/2 Inch Trailer Hubs and Drums | etrailer.com

the free shipping didn't hurt either.

The only thing I would do different, I would make my own brake lines, rather than buy a kit. I found that I had to shorten some of the to get a nice clean install. I suppose I could have done it the Dutchmen way and just stuff the extra behind something. NOT!

[DamMan]

Jim,
Thank you for the information. I have ordered various stuff from eTrailer and been happy with their service so I will likely ordered from them when I get ready. How hard was it to determine what hubs/rotors you needed to order for your axles? I also appreciate the info on the brake lines. I kind of thought making my own would be the best option but then started leaning towards a kit because I wasn't sure of my ability flaring the SS hard line. I really like clean quality installs so now I leaning back to making my own lines.
Wayne

[Handyman]

We just picked up our 326 Denali last month. Have had lots of company over the holidays so still doing some mods before our first excursion.

[hddecker]

Originally Posted by DamMan

Jim,
Thank you for the information. I have ordered various stuff from eTrailer and been happy with their service so I will likely ordered from them when I get ready. How hard was it to determine what hubs/rotors you needed to order for your axles? I also appreciate the info on the brake lines. I kind of thought making my own would be the best option but then started leaning towards a kit because I wasn't sure of my ability flaring the SS hard line. I really like clean quality installs so now I leaning back to making my own lines.
Wayne

Wayne,

The rotors will be the same size as the drums on your trailer. In my case it was 12" rotors, the choice is either order idler hubs and rotors or hub with integrated rotor.

I took the easy route and went with the integrated rotors.

It's been a lot of years since I last flared a brake line, but it's one of those skills that you don't forget.

[DamMan]

Jim,
eTrailer is shipping my items! I ordered a little while ago but they were out of stock. I did find the disk brake kit a little cheaper on southwestwheel.com but etrailer matched the price and had the best deal on the acutator. Now the fun begins! Thank you for the help.
Wayne