New 364TS order and some questions

[carmex]

We placed an order this past Monday for a new 364TS! Looking at a mid-late June delivery; can't wait!

We ordered through RV Direct (aka RV One). I've been really impressed with them so far; no fuss, no haggling, just a great price and great service so far. Jeff is always quick to respond to emails or phone calls.

Only downside to them is we have to pick it up in Des Moines (or a couple other places, but that's closest to us) and drive it home. We are a bit nervous about driving a brand new MH home, what with all the horror stories you read. Maybe we get out there and find 20 things wrong and then what? Do we drive it home anyway and hope to find someone here to fix it, or leave it and have to fly out again another time to pick it up? We are considering hiring an independent mechanic in Des Moines to go out and do a PDI for us before we even book our plane tickets. Has anyone else ever done that? Any tips? How would I even go about finding someone qualified, and how do you think the dealer would react?

We did give our local dealer a chance to match their price. They were much nicer and willing to deal than I thought they would be, after reading countless stories about rude dealers laughing in your face when you show them RV Direct's pricing. They actually agreed to match the price, with the addition of several thousand dollars of freight fees to get it delivered out here. I probably would have gone for that, but the kicker was their financing. They required you to use their financing if you wanted the reduced price, and their rates were 1.25% higher than what RV Direct offered us. Between that and the freight charge, it wasn't worth it to us. But I do give them props for being so friendly and willing to deal. Quite unlike what I had expected.

I have another question about the towing that I'm confused about. My understanding about towing capacity was that it's basically GCWR minus GVWR. For the 364 that's 4000 lbs. But I've seen the towing capacity listed explicitly as 5000 lbs. Is that maybe just the hitch capacity, without taking the MH weight into account? Or am I misunderstanding?

I've seen people in the Georgetown Toad pic thread pulling a Jeep Liberty with a 364. I think that thing weighs over 5000 lbs. Not trying to call anyone out, but is that safe?

Our planned toad weighs 3800 lbs, but that's before the baseplate, etc, so how close to the margin am I? Do I have to worry about not loading the toad down with a bunch of heavy stuff when it's being towed?

Thanks so much guys! This forum has been instrumental during our research; I really appreciate all the great information and people here!

[JLud]

We found a dealer in Michigan who beat RV direct, and even though Im 2 hours from Des Moines I drove 5 hours to get it. I went to RV direct Des Moines and the salesman was nice but knew nothing, and the managers rude. They told me I couldn't sell my trailer legally as I had a lien on it....and I had to trade it in. Told them I could sell it for 10k more in a week and it took me a week and a half....I like their price quotes though not sure how well service or delivery will be.

We drove 5 hours to MHS2go to pick ours up as they beat them on price and included a washer/dryer! I was a bit worried as well picking up but have had very few minor items. Camping now as we speak and love the layout and 2 bathrooms! Also washer dryer will mean no laundry pile when we get home...its not as fast as residential but a load a day works well.

If they do a good job on prep should be fine. I got a check engine light, some missing air caps on tire fills, and I redid some caulking on a shower...that's it so far so feeling pretty good. MHS2go answered my email quick and sent me the parts. I just emailed a question today on my hvac and had the solution in less than an hour. So by that standard it's possible they can help take care of you, but I wasn't impressed from RV direct.

Tow rating is 22k chasis with 26k combined limit. Empty weight about 19k...so if you keep it to 21k you have room for 5k legally.

[rollin with the rudgies]

Congratulations on your new motorhome. we purchased our 364TS last April. we love it. the lay out works well for us and our 13 year old daughter gets her own bathroom :-). I have not pulled a toad yet but I do pull a 14' dual axle trailer trailer loaded up with 3 dirtbikes and a quad and all our riding gear which comes close to 4000 lbs. you cannot tell that it is there and the backup camera lets me see everything going on on the trailer while driving down the road. I had only driven a motor home once before this purchase (previous rv was a 5th wheel). the dealer pretty much gave me the keys and wished me all the best. to say I was nervous driving off the lot was a understatement. however this rig drives like a dream. It drives staright and true. It does not wander when being passed by semi trucks. after a few hours in the seat you will be comfortable driving it.

[Melvinson404]

I would highly recommend camping over night at their facility or a nearby campground to live in it and test out all of the features and equipment. And I mean test EVERYTHING. Take a shower, bake cookies, blast heat, use the A/C, test slides in and out, generator, cable, etc) Theres too much to absorb during your PDI. You may find a few things they can easily address while you're there. You'll Only get one crack at them while your local, because once you leave you'll have less leverage. We picked up our 364 two weeks ago and I have been "driveway camping" the last few days which has been really beneficial. I dropped it off at our dealer today (who is only an hour away) to address some minor issues that you would only discover if you're using it (like an annoying noise the washer/dryer makes only during the dry cycle or a slight leak on the fresh water tank full). I'd rather not discover something on an actual vacation trip. Good luck and congrats....

[marcusfan]

I bought my 364TS from RVOne in Des Moines. This was my second RV from them. I will say this. If you don't have anything unusual you will be fine. Both times I purchased from them I had negotiated in something additional and it did not come in in time for the PDI.

The first motorhome it was a GPS so they shipped it to and paid Camping World in my city to install it. The second time it was an additional hand rail for the interior because my mom is elderly and they showed me a book and said pick out the handrail you want and we will ship it to you and they did.

On the 364TS I bought from them we worked out a deal for a 2015 and when I got the title it was a 2016. Whoops! I imagine that probably didn't go over too well for the salesman. Overall my experiences were very positive except as outlined above. Their prices were competitive I thought with MHSRV. Good luck!

[RubberNail]

Do NOT have someone else do the PDI. It is during the PDI that you find out how everything works, and can ask questions if it becomes confusing. I would plan a FEW days camping in the area to check out that everything works. Another day for repairs, and another overnight to verify everything is fixed. Be prepared for some extra nights just in case it takes a few days to get it all done. New RV's are complex items, lots of parts, assembled by lots of hands and even with skill and care there will still be some problems to handle.

As far as the towing, the GCVWR is 26,000, GVW is 22000. UVW is around 19000. Hitch is worth 5000 tow. So if you load 2000# in the unit, you weight about 21000 and still have 5000 tow capacity, which the hitch will handle, before you reach 26000. On the other hand if you load 3000# into the unit, it weighs 22000 (max allowed) and you only have 4000 available tow weight.

[carmex]

Originally Posted by RubberNail

Do NOT have someone else do the PDI. It is during the PDI that you find out how everything works, and can ask questions if it becomes confusing. I would plan a FEW days camping in the area to check out that everything works. Another day for repairs, and another overnight to verify everything is fixed. Be prepared for some extra nights just in case it takes a few days to get it all done. New RV's are complex items, lots of parts, assembled by lots of hands and even with skill and care there will still be some problems to handle.

As far as the towing, the GCVWR is 26,000, GVW is 22000. UVW is around 19000. Hitch is worth 5000 tow. So if you load 2000# in the unit, you weight about 21000 and still have 5000 tow capacity, which the hitch will handle, before you reach 26000. On the other hand if you load 3000# into the unit, it weighs 22000 (max allowed) and you only have 4000 available tow weight.

Thanks for the clarification on the tow information. That makes sense!

I would still want to do a personal PDI, since like you said, that's how you learn everything. But I imagine a mechanic would be able to go in and check everything out without having to waste a salesman's time doing a walkthrough. That way any glaring issues could be taken care of before we even leave to go out there.

I don't have a week to take off work at the point when it will be available for pickup. At most I'll be able to make it a long weekend: fly out Thursday night, pickup/PDI Friday, camp that night check everything out, have them make any minor repairs / adjustments on Saturday and then hit the road that evening, planning to be back by Monday evening. With that in mind I thought it would be better for someone else to check it out first. Still think that's a bad idea?

Thanks again everyone.

[camaraderie]

Welcome to the G'town club and good luck with the whole pre buying process. One thing we found useful was to video the PDI so we could remember where everything is and how it works. Hard to remember how to winterize the hot tank when you were told about it in June!
See ya out there!

[RubberNail]

Your call, but I would not miss the PDI. If you are concerned you might have someone go inspect before you arrive, before the official PDI, or go with you. A PDI is a minimum of two, likely more hours and the person doing that is usually a skilled technician, not the sales people. For the most part it's not a test of everything, but mostly a demonstration of how everything works and where to access components that need maintenance or regular adjustment. Sometimes there's a problem discovered, but if it's a decent dealer, problems are unlikely. A competent independent technician should not need a PDI to inspect the coach. As for a fix on Saturday, not many shops doing repairs on weekend. Somebody might tighten a bolt but wouldn't bet on much more than that.
I understand your problem, but going in on Friday and being at work on Monday might need a plan B available. That said, I have purchased both MH's and towables that never needed to see the dealer again - but they were the minority of the many.
My 2 cents. Good luck whatever you decide!