CC Silverback 31RK delivery

[stormy2000]

well my wife and i are now proud owners of a 2015 Silverback 31RK : )

We traded our Keystone TT and got the Silverback on Saturday and were setup on a delivery site so we could transfer our things from TT to 5Wheel.

The dealership was so very friendly and everyone was so great that we had a great time.

The walk-thru was good, a little quick but he was good when we had questions and if he didn't know, he said so and did not try to BS us.

No problems on exterior of unit damage wise.

the RK is the rear kitchen unit so will start from there.

Kitchen: 2 of 3 burners did not light. fixed, connected wiring, one filament broke during the connection, and tech ordered part which arrived the next day.
Sink sprayer was stuck. fixed by tech.

Living room: remote control for fantastic fan seemed like the rain sensor knob was missing or broken. Fixed, part is not broken, switch moves.

Curtains do not pull-down all the way to the bottom, it leaves about an inch or so gap. Fixed, tech/FR tech said that is how unit leaves factory and that in time it will go down. also said that we can turn the bottom part of pull-down curtain outwards to "block," the gap.

TV. the cable connection is behind the TV on its right side and you have to be very flexible to get their. Our tv was not working right. and the tech showed us through feel, that there is a small push-type button off to the right and little low of the wall rf connector. this push-button connects tv to either air or cable. we had inadvertently pushed it to cable while using air, as we were trying to find out where the rf cable connection was.

the tv is stationary and does not come out and maneuver right or left. We also have a dish receiver connected to the TV and is pre-wired for sat. so if we do go that route, we just need get sat dish and call to setup acct with dish.

Also I found out our unit is pre-wired for rear view camera. the sales did not know this. talked to dealers tech and that we just need buy a camera which they have and i can either install myself or they will for a fee.

During the walk-thru process, the dealer said they have a policy of installing a sliding hitch on trucks with 6.5 beds or shorter. I talked to FR and dealer about this, as I was looking at the curt's hitch. In the end, it seemed that the dealer would only install the sliding hitch "pullrite superglide," on our truck.
So in the end, we agreed to have the superglide installed.

Next the dealership came back and said that with the pin wtg and rear axle weight of truck, they wanted at least a 400lb leeway, and wanted to have our truck's rear axle upgraded with heavier duty springs. Being that I wanted to be on the safe side, we agreed to the 500lb increase for our rear axle with the springs.

so they took our truck to a shop that does this process while they towed our Silverback to their campsite where we spent the day/night there and went through our paces with the Silverback to see if there were anything we could find.

Oh, I read an earlier post about someone getting only 1 12v battery in his Silverback. I have 2 6-volt batteries in mine. but I had asked for them.

so they brought our truck back with the new rear axle springs installed and a new higher rear axle wtg. the tech came by later and showed us how to hitch up our truck the superglide. during this time, we asked other questions, such as the 6 pt leveling to make sure we were comfortable with it.

so after hitching our truck to the superglide, tech said we need be dead center on lining up pin to hitch, though i had manual previous night and it said we had about 16% leeway. we were parked up a minor slant kind of, and the spacing between our truck bed and nose of Silverback was about 2 1/2 inches and he said should be about 5 inches.

Tech left and came back with tools and another tech for support and they dropped the pin box down some and we re-connected hitch to pin and we had our 5 inches. wife and I practiced ourselves (*this is our first 5th wheel), hitch/un-hitch.

It was late and looked like storm was coming so we stayed another night, and the next day, we hooked up and with a prayer or two, we moved our truck forward and whoa it worked!! haha, so we drove around the campsite and practiced parking, it was early so everyone missed the entertainment haha, but we had some trouble early on, a guy camping nearby came over and gave us some tips and after abit, we were on our way home, about a 2 hour drive.

the drive was so easy, it was like we didn't feel the Silverback behind us. we have a 2015 Silverado 2500hd 4wd cc std bed duramax. we got home before 2 hours and pulled into our campsite where our fellow campers were waiting for us. we told them if you don't see us on Sunday, we got a new 5th wheel.

so its been 8 days, and just the fireplace remote stopped working, as we are still putting things through their paces, and we were testing the controls on the fireplace and the top cover that covers the control buttons for the fireplace does not close and lock now. it seems the 2 plastic pieces which closes around the middle piece of the cover is too loose and doesn't hold it now, it goes in and slips out. wondering now what to do with that part.

we tried to connect our cable box to tv in living room, and the first day was a no-go, as my wrist and hand kept cramping up from trying to maneuver behind the tv to get too the rf cable.

2nd day and we have cable!! with patience and a beer or two, ha ha, was now relaxed to get to rf cable remove it and get all wires connected. had to remove power cord to dish receiver so that i could plug in cable box. also I had removed dish cable to connector on wall behind tv, as i had earlier thought that was the tv rf cable.
that is still unplugged as i ran out of beer and thus no longer relaxed to keep bending wrist to get it plugged back in haha.

question 1. at the command center where the water hose and stuff go in, we removed that plastic connector so we could run our water hose, black tank flush hose and rf cable wire in. there is a gap kinda big enough for a squirrel to come in he wants to not mention any spiders or stuff that wants too. what would be the most efficient thing to block that gap??

we were looking at using duct tape with a metal scrub thingie and a bounce pad with shavings of Irish spring soap inside that little area. also using anti-insect in and about perimeter of our Silverback to hopefully discourage them from coming in our unit.

question 2. we did the 6 pt leveling and wondered that since we took off lots of things in our unit and put in storage, should we re-level it again? when I pushed the power on button, the display showed level, so does that mean our unit is still level? the right tires are kinda little off the ground, we slid some wood blocks under them to keep pressure.

well thats it for that, we love our unit, had lunch with our neighbors and they loved the tour we gave them, and some are thinking of FR if they do a upgrade haha.

Also talked to dealer on my request for gen and decided to hold up on it, after the truck getting rear axle wtg, will check out things for a bit and see how it goes with wtg, will take it for re-weigh and see where we are.


thanks for input and reading!!


bill & jodi

[racer4]

Congratulations on the new 31RK! Nice write up on your experience so far.

I find it interesting that the RV dealer wanted the rear springs on your truck upgraded. I think it is a good idea, but not one I have heard of from a RV dealer. Good for them and you.

Did the truck get a new Weight Rating Sticker (showing higher weights) on the door jam?

[stormy2000]

Yes, we checked after all doing all the warranty paperwork to ensure we are covered. and we noticed that the sticker now showed our rear axle at 6390. I was looking for 6700 as our previous axle was 6200. then we checked the paperwork and it showed that the shop doing the work contacted dealer and confirmed that they was doing only 190 lbs versus the 500lbs we were told.
will contact dealer tomorrow and see why they changed the weight.

[pengle]

I cram a bunch of old white socks into the space where the hoses come up on my 29RE. I really haven't looked for anything better.


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[MIFarmer]

Weight wise, the rear axle weight rating won't exceed the tire capacity. Take your tire capacity x2 and you'll probably be close to your sticker weight.

The Level Up works off an angle sensor, so no need to recalibrate for different weight distributions. However, the dealer performs the initial calibration and may not be as precise as you'd like. There is a simple calibration you can perform though to get it closer.

Speaking of the Level Up system and angles - raise the rear jacks at least a little off the ground before you use the auto hitch height feature. Since it returns to the original angle that it was at when you hit the Auto Level button, any extra height in the rear will result in extra height in the front. My system has pretty much nailed the height since I started doing that.

[stormy2000]

well my pups have already got my socks haha.
did not know about the auto hitch height feature, they only showed me the extract, extend, and auto level. will need to get the manual out again and read up on that part and try it. thanks for the info.
and I was up all night looking at the numbers for the rear axle weights and it seemed I may not have needed that increase, though our ride home was very smooth and comfortable.


bill & jodi

[SilverbackMel]

I have a 2015 Silverback 33rl. Tow with
2008 Dodge 2500, 6.7 turbo diesel. I pulled from pick up in S FL to Atlanta mountains without spring helpers. Installed as soon as I got home. Makes a huge difference in ride. It now feels and hauls like our previous 5er. BTW, I have the Curt hitch with manual slider.
Hardly ever use slide.
Your "fix" list is fairly typical. I have 7 items that will be fixed at the rally. Already acknowledged by FR. Mine are mostly minor with 1 wiring issue.
If you do not have one, suggest you look into Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems. It should be on your priority purchase list. $3,200 damage on prior rv with 3 year old tires and 12,000 miles, inflation and tires routinely inspected was not pleasant. Cost me $1,000 deductible PLUS a new tire. Insurance does not cover wear items!

[stormy2000]

we had thought about the tire pressure mon. will research online and see what is out there and get some reviews on them. and our suspension was great riding home. they really did make a difference.

thanks for input.


bill & jodi

[birdman77]

Hi Bill and Jodi,

Welcome to 31RK ownership! I hope you enjoy your's as much as we do ours.

Ken

[stormy2000]

thanks ken, we already love it, its the best!