New XLR owner--395 amp

[Aggie Lockett]

Howdy,
I am new to this forum and the XLR family. We are so excited to get our new toy hauler. We are going from and open range bunkhouse to a 395 amp. What should we expect??? How do you guys like the quality of yours??? Are there any problems we should be aware of in the beginning??? I am so excited and so it seems we are getting a quality unit. I purchased it sight unseen based on what I read. I hope I made a good choice... Your thoughts???

[MightyMike]

You don't say what you're towing with, but one thing I noticed while looking at them is they are really heavy. They had one at the Hershey show when I was there and we were a bit interested, but the weight on it would have left me without much cargo capacity. They really are nice rigs. We got a 35-12 in November and haven't had a chance to use it yet. Trying to put a shakedown trip together for next weekend, but I have a rather long "honey-do list" at home. Definetly taking it out before our road trip to Va. Beach in May. Had a few minor issues with our PDI, and dealer wanted me to come back to fix it. I did the repairs myself, just have to figure out how to adjust the rear screen on the garage cause it won't stay down.

[Aggie Lockett]

We will be pulling it with a 2011 dodge 3500 4x4 SRW. Airbags are being installed on Tuesday to help with the squat that I anticipate.

[BHVRODR]

We just purchased a 395amp, and it is sitting back at the dealer already after our first weekend out. Slides for bedroom and living room did not want to go in and out correctly every time. Sometimes it would take 3 or 4 times to get them back in...even had to push on the large slide the last time to get it to go. Seals were torn under the living room slide, and during a big rain storm while camping, woke up to find a huge puddle of water on the floor...water was running in pretty fast...had to play with the ladder jacks to find the "happy spot where it wouldn't run in as fast. Tank gauges also were not working correctly, 2nd grey water tank leaked out the sewer pipe all weekend as it would not seal, and we had trouble getting it full of water for our first time out. We thought it was full....water was coming out of the overflow, but we ran out of water after the 2nd day over memorial day weekend. Only 1 shower taken (very conservatively) and some light dish duty...so there must have been and issue or a big air bubble in the tank? I also had to repair 3 of the dresser drawers in the master bedroom...2 of the drawer clips that hold the drawers in were mounted 1/4" off so they didn't align and the drawers wouldn't close all the way and stay there...the 3rd was missing 1/2 the clip entirely and was never even put on because there were no holes there, and the bottom was already coming off the drawer. This was our dream unit...and we went home pretty bummed after the weekend...hopefully the dealer can fix it and make it right. The service guy that did our original walk thru had mentioned they were about 4 weeks out on service...I hope they fix this before then or I am going to be steaming if I miss the first month of summer after dropping that much money!

[MightyMike]

Got a 35x12 XLR last November and had 1st chance to use it over Memorial day. Couple minor issues, but 3 important things we are going back to dealer for. Fridge makes an annoying whining noise every time it cycles on after it's cold. Front bedroom A/C unit is hellaciously loud. And the water pump won't work correctly when the fresh tank is at 1/3 full. All in all, we're happy since the last piece of junk we had from Keystone Rv was WAYYYY worse than this. Dealer was pretty accomodating, I'm taking it back this Friday and have another trip end of June they assured I'll have it back. We'll see.

[F40SPTS]

Does the 395 have hydraulic or electric motors for the slides?

[JCMINIS]

Originally Posted by Aggie Lockett

We will be pulling it with a 2011 dodge 3500 4x4 SRW. Airbags are being installed on Tuesday to help with the squat that I anticipate.

Towed with the truck yet ? What is the configuration of the truck ? Regular cab, short bed, gear ratio, etc ? I ask because my wife and I love the 395amp layout but for our 2011 dodge 3500 CCLB 4x4 SRW (3.42 gear ratio) the pin weight is WAY over. Much less the max trailer... advertised dry @ 14772 #.

[F40SPTS]

I was just pricing 2012 dodge srw 3500 cc sb 4x4. With 4:10 gears its rated to tow 16300.I think GVW is 9500?

Either unit SHOULD have the 3500 dually with tow max. The AMP units GVW are at 18K.

I'm not playing weight police, but just numbers.

[BHVRODR]

We are pulling our 395 amp with my 2005 f350 srw crew cab...pushing numbers to the max...but it doesn't squat much and it pulls great.

[BHVRODR]

Finally got our camper back yesterday...but now we are waiting for parts. One bad roller on main slide, new main slide seal, new control panel for tanks and generator, and one new window because the vacuum seal was broke. Hopefully we are problem free after they get this all fixed.

[JBJ2003]

New to forum and TH. Pick up new 2013 ThunderboltXLR395 AMP on Saturday. TV is 2009 F-350, Curt Q24 hitch. Will weigh TV tomorrow and TV and TH after delivery. I will post pics and weights once completed. Thanks to all for all the info provided here.

[JBJ2003]

Originally Posted by MightyMike

You don't say what you're towing with, but one thing I noticed while looking at them is they are really heavy. They had one at the Hershey show when I was there and we were a bit interested, but the weight on it would have left me without much cargo capacity. They really are nice rigs. We got a 35-12 in November and haven't had a chance to use it yet. Trying to put a shakedown trip together for next weekend, but I have a rather long "honey-do list" at home. Definetly taking it out before our road trip to Va. Beach in May. Had a few minor issues with our PDI, and dealer wanted me to come back to fix it. I did the repairs myself, just have to figure out how to adjust the rear screen on the garage cause it won't stay down.

Had the same problem. Was fixed at PDI. The took the cover off and adjusted the tension spring inside. Hope this helps

[JBJ2003]

Originally Posted by Aggie Lockett

Howdy,
I am new to this forum and the XLR family. We are so excited to get our new toy hauler. We are going from and open range bunkhouse to a 395 amp. What should we expect??? How do you guys like the quality of yours??? Are there any problems we should be aware of in the beginning??? I am so excited and so it seems we are getting a quality unit. I purchased it sight unseen based on what I read. I hope I made a good choice... Your thoughts???

Congratulations...what a great TH, IMHO. If you haven't done so already I would suggest you google "PDI CHECKLIST". The RV dealer I bought form just south of Waco did not provide one and the information you gain from one is great. Example, PDI checklist said to fill fresh water tank, disconnect from shore power and check water pump. After filling the fresh water tank I noticed that the digital gauge still showed empty even though water was coming out of the over flow tube. Took 10 minutes to get under neath and change the wires. Problem with the garage screen not staying down was fixed with an adjustment on the tension springs. We also had a blow out on the drivers side middle axel tire after 60 miles.. I was lucky that it happened 2 blocks from the house and going about 30 MPH. I think Forest River makes a great product and there are going to be some minor issues. TH is back at dealer now for the repairs. We traded in our 2006 Rockwood Ultra light and never had any issues with it. I even lived in it for over year. Good luck and again congrats!!

[BHVRODR]

Still waiting on parts for warranty repair....also trying to get the right tv bracket for the master bedroom that also works with the bracket outside. Anyone know the model number or part number that I need? Don't know why they put the bracket for the tv on the outside of the camper but don't give you the mount for the inside? My salesman doesn't seem to know which parts I need...he priced a kit that cost 240.00, but handed me a single pivot only mount...that doesn't work with the mount outside...and this part could only be worth 70-80 bucks. I need the one that mounts inside, extends and swivels. You can see it in the end of this video if you watch the link.

2012 XLR Thunderbolt 395AMP - YouTube

Any suggestions?

[Guest6789]

Originally Posted by F40SPTS

Does the 395 have hydraulic or electric motors for the slides?

Schwintek Electric slide system

[nbcrusers]

trying to decide between the 380 AMP and the 395 Amp models. Can those who own them give me a quick hit and miss with what they like and dislike? Thanks