Catalina 38BH

mudshark · 03-03-2013, 10:10 PM

Hey all, first post to this site although I've been browsing around since last summer. I have a wife, 3 kids, a big black lab and whoever else decides to show up lol.

After camping for the last 20+ years in different sized tents, a 1970 Coleman tent trailer and then a 1990 Starcraft tent trailer, last summer we finally decided to purchase a 2013 Roo 19' Hybrid. It was a great trailer, and we really liked it but after about 2 months and a rainy long weekend with 5 kids we decided that as much as we liked the roo, it just was still a little too small. When I purchased, I originally planned on hauling it around but after finding a decent campground where some of our family stays we decided on parking something there full time. Something around the size of a 32BHDS.

After looking around online and a few RV shows we found a 2013 Catalina 38BH from a local dealer and for a great price. Sold! I guess this is a new layout/model for 2013 so I haven't been able to find a whole lot of customer reviews on the trailer.

For us this floorplan works awesome, there's alot of storage, nice finishes, large bathroom, more features than I can go through on here and from what I could tell on a few walkthroughs so far, the build and finish quality seems nicely done.

Just wondering if anyone has had any major issues with similar models from previous years or any comments about these trailers.

We'll miss the roo but can't wait to get moved in to the new trailer.

Cheers!

Wiscampsin · 03-03-2013, 10:33 PM

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your 2013 Catalina 38BH. Nice SG too!

mudshark · 03-03-2013, 11:00 PM

Haha thanks! Well Its not my SG but It's definitely next on my wish list. You guys have a great looking site too, nice!

Wiscampsin · 03-04-2013, 07:30 AM

I used to play one pumped thru a Vox back in the late 60's. I wish I still had it.

Rclemens0702 · 03-27-2013, 04:54 PM

Just bought our Catalina 38BH a week ago. Scheduled delivery for this friday. How do you like yours so far?

mudshark · 04-02-2013, 05:31 PM

Hey congratulations! I'm pretty new here too. My TT is parked on the dealers lot. I'm parking it on a seasonal lot which doesn't open till May 1 and they'll deliver and set it up then. Been down to visit a couple times to take some measurements and everything looks well built and finished quality wise. Ill update if there's any issues with it. Love the floor plan! Did you pick yours up yet?

Rclemens0702 · 04-02-2013, 05:54 PM

Had it delivered to family property last friday. Stayed in it friday night. Loved it. A little advice, either replace the mattress or add a pad. Because the one that comes with it is stiff as a board. Everything else was amazing. Taking the family down this saturday.

Rclemens0702 · 04-02-2013, 05:58 PM

I cant wait to get back down this Saturday.

Rclemens0702 · 04-08-2013, 09:51 AM

After a full weekend with the kids Ive found another coachman quality issue. I love the rv, but the kitchen dinette was 1/2" out of square and the tabletop kept falling through when trying to turn into a bed. My grandfather and I removed 4 screws and got it to where it was only 1/4" out of square and the top didnt fall through. Was pretty disappointed i had to "fix" a brand new rv. Im not a super picky guy and love the rv, but I hope there is nothing else major Im gonna have to fix soon.

Whatdidigetmyselfinto · 04-08-2013, 10:24 PM

Got our new 29DDS (delivered in Feb) cleaned up and ready for our first trip. Maybe in three weeks if The stars align. Got my fingers crossed that we don't find any issues like you described. Can't wait!

mudshark · 04-16-2013, 05:47 AM

I was recently at a couple local RV shows and both me and the DW never seen anything that we like better than what we have now. Should have the 38 BH delivered and set up in the next week or so. Can't wait to get out and use it.

mudshark · 04-25-2013, 04:07 AM

Well the TT went thru the shop for its PDI, everything looks good to go. The dealer delivers next week to my seasonal lot. I'm having the dealer install a multi positional TV mount in the master bedroom. Picked up a 22" 1080P TV for a decent price. The wall mount cost almost as much as the TV, tell me someone's not making a few dollars off them!

Were super excited and can't wait to get down there, pack it and get camping. I've got piles of camping stuff in my garage and basement waiting to go.

Rclemens0702 · 04-29-2013, 09:05 AM

Update on the mattress. We bought a short queen from camping world $359. HUGE improvement over the junk foam one that came with the rv. We bought a mattress topper from CW before pulling the trigger on the new mattress. It helped a little. But the new mattress(359$) with mattress topper (160$). Great investment. Slept better than at home.

mudshark · 05-10-2013, 08:34 AM

Ours was finally delivered and set up last week. Only a couple minor issues, one of the locks for the outside storage compartment needs to be changed, and the plastic handle on the gray tank needs changed. Apparently the grey (or black) handles for the waste valves just thread on. Ill pick up the parts from the dealer and fix it myself. Everything else went smooth.

Just got lumber dropped off at the house yesterday for a 24x8 deck for the camper. Building it in 2 sections so if I ever have to pull it out of there it won't be too hard. Yeah the mattress definitely sucks! We've got a decent 4" topper well try for now. It's a big relief getting it set up and ready to go after waiting months. Also thinking of pulling the bottom cabinet doors from under the TV in the main room and installing a fireplace insert. Probably wont get that in till next year though.

How's things going with yours?

mudshark · 05-20-2013, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rclemens0702

After a full weekend with the kids Ive found another coachman quality issue. I love the rv, but the kitchen dinette was 1/2" out of square and the tabletop kept falling through when trying to turn into a bed. My grandfather and I removed 4 screws and got it to where it was only 1/4" out of square and the top didnt fall through. Was pretty disappointed i had to "fix" a brand new rv. Im not a super picky guy and love the rv, but I hope there is nothing else major Im gonna have to fix soon.

Had a similar issues with the dinette in the bunk room. The seats were a little out of square not that big of a deal but they were about 1" to far apart so the table wouldn't even sit on the edges of the seats at all. Never tried the one in the kitchen yet. Temporary fix was to turn the table around the other way and lay a 4' long piece of 1X6 board to fill in the rest of the gap. Probably more of a hassle than what it's worth to get the dealer out to fix it so ill just cut to length and stain a couple pieces of oak about the same size as the ones on there for the table to rest on. Glue, clamp then screw them to make the edge a little wider on each side.

The shower worked good but eventually will upgrade the shower head to an oxygenics. They have pretty decent showers at the CG that I use most of the time anyways. A little water seeps through under the shower doors so ill just run a small bead of clear silicone. Again easy fix. Other than that no leaks.

Also another thing I noticed on the breaker panel is that the breaker marked "water heater" actually shuts the fridge off, so next time I'm down ill go thru every breaker to make sure everything is labeled properly.

Just came back from 5 nights, other than these small issues were really happy with the trailer. Yeah the mattress was pretty crappy so we picked up a 1.5" memory foam for 50 bucks, almost as good as my bed at home now.

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