Review of Phoenix 34 RD

[bikeman911]

After the shake down trip, I had a few issues that I took it back to the dealer:
bad caulking on shower door
toilet bubbles
fridge is inconsistent
a couple minor things
I was thrilled the dealer was done a week earlier than I expected. Note: they claim nothing wrong with fridge and toilet minor bubbling is normal.

We leave for our week in the Blue Ridge mountains and things get interesting. Fridge won't stay operational on gas while traveling. When we get to our destination (8 hr trip) fridge is 58 deg and "LP" flashing. We put back on electric and starts to cool down.

The first night as we get ready to go to bed, the toilet backs up. Nothing I do will budge the clog. The next morning, I unhook everything and tow it to an RV repair shop a couple miles away. Within an hour they have unclogged it, cut the drain pipe in the basement and removed the excess pipe they left too long in the black tank. Works great now.

Just for laughs, I try running the fridge on gas one day while we were there. I worked fine, but on the return trip, same thing, flashes LP.

So it's at CW (10 min from home vs 1.5 hrs to the dealer) to look at the fridge again. Also, BT flush isn't working.

So given the start up problems, here's my feed back on the satisfaction of the camper:
Positives:
I love the floor plan.
I love the comfort of the Lazy Boy furniture
LED lights inside and out
Disappointments
I'm a little disappointed that there is not king bed option
There are no options for ceiling fans
Why is there no water filter?
The dvd hooks to the LED TV via coax cable - really? The stereo has Bluetooth, but no HDMI -
The HWH bypass is behind an access panel in the basement - that's inconvenient! Aren't most on the control panel these days?
The awning seems terribly small - we had 20' on the old camper and 15' on this one. Not only is the length lacking, but it doesn't see as wide either.

Overall, I think after we get the kinks worked out, we will love it, but Shasta could have easily put it over the top!

[Pbgbrv]

Looks like most of the posts in the Shasta section are a little old. I hope everyone didn't bail on Shasta!! I just looked at a 15 33ck fifth wheel that I am going to get unless someone talks me out of it. Now that you have had your unit awhile how are you liking it? Or not liking it?

[bikeman911]

I'm sorry I didn't keep up with this post. I am happy wth the camper. Just be prepared as you will have some issues. If your dealer is good, he'll take care of them. Besides the cosmetic stuff, here are some of mine:
Pipe from toilet to black tank too long (caused back up)
One of the wires to the 50 amp power input connector loose
Hose to fridge pinched when slide out in
Membrane on slide outs installed improperly
Handles on fridge had to be replaced
One of the joist supports was missing

Overall I think it's par for the course on quality.

Our dealer has been great. Many of the things that he could easily glossed over, he didn't and went to extra lengths to make sure we were satisfied!

Hope that helps!

[Pbgbrv]

Thanks bikeman. Any info is good. I'm getting mine private party so no dealer. Went over everything pretty good today and will be more thorough when I pick it up and swap money for title. Thanks for the reply

[actadh]

Originally Posted by Pbgbrv

Looks like most of the posts in the Shasta section are a little old. I hope everyone didn't bail on Shasta!!

Didn't bail on Shasta. Just enjoying my rig and looking forward to camping this season. Hoping for a warm weekend to clean and re-gear for the first trip.

[bikeman911]

Pbgbrv, did you get the 33ck?

[Pbgbrv]

Originally Posted by bikeman911

Pbgbrv, did you get the 33ck?

Bikeman911. I did. Picking it up Saturday. Looked at a few reviews. Some good...some not. Looked it over real good the other day trying to find something wrong a just couldn't. I'm sure there will be issues but hopefully nothing major.

[Buckymaster]

We bought a '17 33CK May of last year. This is our 3rd trailer we owned. We have had only minor issues. Many of your "bugs" are probably already worked out by the previous owner. Here's what we had:
1) Bypass valve to water pump - used to pump antifreeze through system -was installed backwards. Pump couldn't suck from 1gallon jug. Flipped the valve works fine.
2) Kitchen sink drains were installed with the gaskets in the wrong order causing water to stand/puddle in the sink. Drain was a 1/16" higher than the bottom of the sink. Reinstalled in correct order. Works fine now.
3)Support for drawer runners in the kitchen island came loose. Only one screw was in the back support for all drawers. Jacked up board and reattached with more screws. Make sure your screws are the correct length.
4) Center support under bed only had one screw on each end of the board and broke loose. Reinstalled with additional support.
5) Gap for refrigerator gas igniter was too narrow. Fridge wouldn't light. Re-gapped to factory spec.
6) One window was installed with a mounting screw in the track. Window could not be opened. Pulled screw and reinstalled outside of track.
7) Track for shower door wasn't caulked properly in small areas. Water ran on bathroom floor. Minor sealing repair.
8) Installer left shipping screw in DVD player. Couldn't play DVD's. Had to pull DVD player out and remove the labeled screw.
9) Galley and waste water drain valves (both grey)were labeled backwards. Thankfully the Black valved was labeled correctly.
--- We have only the single air conditioner. in 100 degree weather unit only dropped to 85 with air on full. We were in full sun --
--- SAW DUST Everywhere. Continues dropping out of all cracks and crevices as we bound down the road. We dust and vacuum at every stop. Slowing down a bit now.---
---Very please with fit and finish.
In the end we are very please with the 5th wheel. At this time, we would buy this one again.

[Pbgbrv]

Originally Posted by Buckymaster

We bought a '17 33CK May of last year. This is our 3rd trailer we owned. We have had only minor issues. Many of your "bugs" are probably already worked out by the previous owner. Here's what we had:

1) Bypass valve to water pump - used to pump antifreeze through system -was installed backwards. Pump couldn't suck from 1gallon jug. Flipped the valve works fine.

2) Kitchen sink drains were installed with the gaskets in the wrong order causing water to stand/puddle in the sink. Drain was a 1/16" higher than the bottom of the sink. Reinstalled in correct order. Works fine now.

3)Support for drawer runners in the kitchen island came loose. Only one screw was in the back support for all drawers. Jacked up board and reattached with more screws. Make sure your screws are the correct length.

4) Center support under bed only had one screw on each end of the board and broke loose. Reinstalled with additional support.

5) Gap for refrigerator gas igniter was too narrow. Fridge wouldn't light. Re-gapped to factory spec.

6) One window was installed with a mounting screw in the track. Window could not be opened. Pulled screw and reinstalled outside of track.

7) Track for shower door wasn't caulked properly in small areas. Water ran on bathroom floor. Minor sealing repair.

8) Installer left shipping screw in DVD player. Couldn't play DVD's. Had to pull DVD player out and remove the labeled screw.

9) Galley and waste water drain valves (both grey)were labeled backwards. Thankfully the Black valved was labeled correctly.

--- We have only the single air conditioner. in 100 degree weather unit only dropped to 85 with air on full. We were in full sun --

--- SAW DUST Everywhere. Continues dropping out of all cracks and crevices as we bound down the road. We dust and vacuum at every stop. Slowing down a bit now.---

---Very please with fit and finish.

In the end we are very please with the 5th wheel. At this time, we would buy this one again.

Thanks Buckymaster. Nice review. Looking foreword to pickings it up Saturday. Taking it to the coast weekend after next for 3days. Right on the beach. Should be a good test before we take off in June.

[Troybuilt]

Hi Bikeman911, I have had similar problems with my 2017 296 rs SP (3rd owner, bought 7/2020).
How did you resolve the Toilet bubbles and Black water rinse system?

• Toilet bubbles like the tank is not connected to the vent.
• BWT rinse just pressurizes and does not flow into BWT.
• Tank sensors off. Grey showed 2/3 after empty and dry for 1 month.
• Added to that is loose paneling
• Cable TC coax system is not interconnected to anything (using coax tester for tracing).
• Radio does not work at all.
• Dinning room slide closes with 1" gap on back side. None of the slide seem to close completely.
• Rear overhead cabinet over couch has a buckle on the underside.
• Left rear signal light is dim (bulbs checked & replaced).

On a positive note, The 5th wheel tracks well.

Please help.

[bikeman911]

The black tank issue was because the pvc from the toilet to the tank was too long. There wasn’t enough space between the pipe and the bottom of the tank to let the solids pass through. You can take a piece of pex tubing push down the toilet pipe into the tank and see if you can move some of the solids out of the way. If In fact that is your problem, you have to cut the pipe between the toilet and the tank to shorten it and install a coupler. That was my fix.

[Troybuilt]

Good news is, my BT does not back up.
But the BWT does build up pressure and bubbles come back through the toilet valve and when flushed it burbs the water in the bowl (nice splash).
I am thinking it might be the vent pipe, blocked or to long into the tank.
The other big one was the BWT flush system, does not seem to work.
Did you figure that one out?
Did you have any problems with your slides closed? Mine seem like they have a large gap 1". It almost looks like aliment or oversized gaskets.
Any info on those items would be great.
Thx