BlackJeep22's Concord 300 DS Newbee Questions

[wahoonc]

Get it fixed yet? Y'all been quiet... must not be camping!

Aaron

[DaGrinch]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Get it fixed yet? Y'all been quiet... must not be camping!

Aaron

I was wondering the same thing, Aaron.

[BlackJeep22]

Sorry guys. Nope, we aren't camping. As you know, we were GONE (camping, sort of) for 2 months, and we've been trying to get our place back in shape... weeds/trees trimmed/pressure washing, etc...
So, The Concord. I took my furnace switch down to an RV repair place, figuring I needed a new switch. They tested it out and said it was fine. I've read tons of threads on this and thought, OK I'll blow out the board and see what happens. I threw water everywhere... briefly. Must have had some puddles underneath. I reinstalled the switch, turned on the propane, and set the thermostat up pretty high. The fan came on, the furnace ignited, but shut off after a few seconds. It did this several times, so I decided to just be patient... put it back in storage and try it again in a few days. Yesterday, I went over and fired up the furnace, it started on the first attempt and ran about 5-10 minutes until I finally shut it off.
So... The moral of the story is, be careful when washing. I obviously got the control board wet, although it looked dry. I've read where blue painters tape is a good idea to temporarily block any potential water from coming in. Thanks for worrying about me. LOL!!!!

[DaGrinch]

See, that's what happens when you travel off to get away from things for months at a time! You then have to stay home and do the "chores". DW has some kid, who is related to someone she works with, mow our lawn. I have a guy who comes and takes our trees down when I get tired of cleaning leaves (and when I need firewood!). So, where am I now? Raystown Lake, PA...where we have seen the sun all of maybe 2 hrs! Been here since Thursday. If I didn't know any better, I would think I were in the Great PNW! Heck, even mom was bragging about all the sun she was having in Tacoma and how warm it is. We've got your weather and she's got ours! And I have a sneaky suspicion I'll be breaking camp in the rain tomorrow.

[BlackJeep22]

Originally Posted by DaGrinch

See, that's what happens when you travel off to get away from things for months at a time! You then have to stay home and do the "chores". DW has some kid, who is related to someone she works with, mow our lawn. I have a guy who comes and takes our trees down when I get tired of cleaning leaves (and when I need firewood!). So, where am I now? Raystown Lake, PA...where we have seen the sun all of maybe 2 hrs! Been here since Thursday. If I didn't know any better, I would think I were in the Great PNW! Heck, even mom was bragging about all the sun she was having in Tacoma and how warm it is. We've got your weather and she's got ours! And I have a sneaky suspicion I'll be breaking camp in the rain tomorrow.

Bummer Larry. The weather people HERE say this is the warmest (actually HOT) Memorial Day weekend in like 40 years. Had to fire up my sprinkler system last week. That's always an adventure, usually something needs to be repaired. Not this year, must be good Karma. Enjoy the remainder of your weekend. 👍

[DaGrinch]

Originally Posted by BlackJeep22

Bummer Larry. The weather people HERE say this is the warmest (actually HOT) Memorial Day weekend in like 40 years. Had to fire up my sprinkler system last week. That's always an adventure, usually something needs to be repaired. Not this year, must be good Karma. Enjoy the remainder of your weekend. 👍

It's all good, Steve. Just getting away for the first camp of the year has been great. Our three girls have done real well considering they have never gone camping before, or probably been around this many people.

While it may be raining, it's cozy in the Sunseeker. DW is reading her Kindle, I've got about 3 fingers of good Kentucky Bourbon sitting next to me and the hounds are all laying about pretending to be asleep. Life is good.

[BlackJeep22]

Originally Posted by DaGrinch

It's all good, Steve. Just getting away for the first camp of the year has been great. Our three girls have done real well considering they have never gone camping before, or probably been around this many people.

While it may be raining, it's cozy in the Sunseeker. DW is reading her Kindle, I've got about 3 fingers of good Kentucky Bourbon sitting next to me and the hounds are all laying about pretending to be asleep. Life is good.

Right on buddy!

[BlackJeep22]

It's with mixed emotions that I tell you all... We've had such fun with & living in the Concord... that we traded UP today. We are now proud owners of a 2011 36qsh Tiffin Phaeton. Many thanks to my mentors Aaron & John & Larry. I intend to stay involved here as well. So... To all of my brothers out there... THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP... and, SAFE TRAVELS.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by BlackJeep22

It's with mixed emotions that I tell you all... We've had such fun with & living in the Concord... that we traded UP today. We are now proud owners of a 2011 36qsh Tiffin Phaeton. Many thanks to my mentors Aaron & John & Larry. I intend to stay involved here as well. So... To all of my brothers out there... THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP... and, SAFE TRAVELS.
Attachment 143252Attachment 143253

Wow! Congratulations! Don't forget about us "little" people... [emoji6]

Aaron[emoji41]

[BlackJeep22]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Wow! Congratulations! Don't forget about us "little" people... [emoji6]

Aaron[emoji41]

HaHa, that will never happen Aaron. I want to thank you personally for ALL the help and mentoring you've given to me over this past year. Now, the new learning curve begins.
Ironically... if you remember... I didn't get any manuals with my Concord. This Tiffin came with 20 pounds of manuals. [emoji12]

[DaGrinch]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Wow! Congratulations! Don't forget about us "little" people... [emoji6]

Aaron[emoji41]

I second that!
What's funny is my DW just asked me yesterday what length motor home I would be comfortable driving. Hmm... Not sure what she has in mind.... Or where the heck she would get the money for something bigger! [emoji15]

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by DaGrinch

I second that!
What's funny is my DW just asked me yesterday what length motor home I would be comfortable driving. Hmm... Not sure what she has in mind.... Or where the heck she would get the money for something bigger! [emoji15]

I have a Class A CDL with multiple endorsements... so there isn't much I can't/won't drive.

The sticking point is what SHE will drive. The E-450 is about as big as she is willing to go. We had a F350 Crew Cab Dually that she drove on a regular basis so the E-450 feels pretty similar. I looked at a couple of Super C's on the Freightliner chassis but that was a no go for her.

We don't plan to do any really long term living in the Concord, our game plan once we retire is to head out for up to 6 weeks at a time max, then come back to home base for a while before we head out again. Probably because we have both spent most of our lives traveling for work. I work heavy construction all over the country and she has been a Flight Attendant for 35 years. There are lots of places we want to see, but coming home is always a good thing.

Aaron

[DaGrinch]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

I have a Class A CDL with multiple endorsements... so there isn't much I can't/won't drive.

The sticking point is what SHE will drive. The E-450 is about as big as she is willing to go. We had a F350 Crew Cab Dually that she drove on a regular basis so the E-450 feels pretty similar. I looked at a couple of Super C's on the Freightliner chassis but that was a no go for her.

We don't plan to do any really long term living in the Concord, our game plan once we retire is to head out for up to 6 weeks at a time max, then come back to home base for a while before we head out again. Probably because we have both spent most of our lives traveling for work. I work heavy construction all over the country and she has been a Flight Attendant for 35 years. There are lots of places we want to see, but coming home is always a good thing.

Aaron

Heck, my wife won't even pull the 12' utility trailer, much less drive the Sunseeker. And I expressed that very thought to her. Before I retired, I occasionally drove our department's mobile command post which was a factory modified 36' Class A Winnebago, do I'm comfortable with that length. Never had a need for a CDL.
I have to admit, though, that new ride of Steve's is a beauty!

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[DaGrinch]

Hey Steve... Gotta ask... In your email the other day you said you were in Alabama. Now, if I remember correctly, the Tiffin plant 🚆is in the South. Hmm.... You had been looking at this unit, hadn't you?🤔

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[BlackJeep22]

Originally Posted by DaGrinch

Hey Steve... Gotta ask... In your email the other day you said you were in Alabama. Now, if I remember correctly, the Tiffin plant 🚆is in the South. Hmm.... You had been looking at this unit, hadn't you?🤔

Sent from my SHIELD Tablet K1 using Forest River Forums mobile app

Hey Larry... If I said Alabama, I meant Arkansas. We are in Little Rock. As you know we did 2 months in Arizona over the winter. The Concord (and my wife and I) did fine. On REALLY hot days, that one AC unit didn't work very good. We liked Yuma, and the people at the RV Resort so much, we booked 4 months for this coming winter.

I started looking at Class A DPs in March. Actually drove a couple while in Tuscon. I found they weren't as scary as they looked. So.... my research began. 4 months later, I found this 36' - 7" Tiffin Phaeton in Little Rock. It was the cheapest one for this age that I had seen on either RV Trader or RVT. The salesman told me it was the cleanest, sweetest Phaeton that he had seen. It had less than 12K miles. Supposedly kept in a climate controlled building. I told him what I would be trading in, and he offered me $80K. I only paid $88.5K. So, I put $500 down on it and loaded up the Concord. Figured if he was lieing, or we didn't like it... it would just be a summer vacation in the Concord. It's BEAUTIFUL. They are made in Red Bay, AL. That's 284 miles from here, so we're heading there on Wednesday to have some factory recalls addressed. Then... Who knows where we'll go. I have a guy mowing my lawn... so we may be out a couple more weeks.

[pashooter]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

...We don't plan to do any really long term living in the Concord, our game plan once we retire is to head out for up to 6 weeks at a time max, then come back to home base for a while before we head out again. Probably because we have both spent most of our lives traveling for work. I work heavy construction all over the country and she has been a Flight Attendant for 35 years. There are lots of places we want to see, but coming home is always a good thing.

Aaron

Don't wait too long to retire and start living those dreams. I did. :-(

[BlackJeep22]

Nothing to see here! [emoji12]
Had a little wiring issue this morning, all good now.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by pashooter

Don't wait too long to retire and start living those dreams. I did. :-(

Trying not to! The original game plan was for me to retire at 55 while she cut back on hours and kept working a light schedule to keep up our insurance. When the airlines went bankrupt in 2004 it pretty well killed her retirement plan, she got pennies on the dollar. So we both kept working. We are probably about 3-4 years out from being to the point where we can cut back on the full time work and start enjoying things more. Fortunately both our current companies will allow flexible scheduling and lighter schedules, we will see if that is still the case in a few more years.

Aaron

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by BlackJeep22

Hey Larry... If I said Alabama, I meant Arkansas. We are in Little Rock. As you know we did 2 months in Arizona over the winter. The Concord (and my wife and I) did fine. On REALLY hot days, that one AC unit didn't work very good. We liked Yuma, and the people at the RV Resort so much, we booked 4 months for this coming winter.

I started looking at Class A DPs in March. Actually drove a couple while in Tuscon. I found they weren't as scary as they looked. So.... my research began. 4 months later, I found this 36' - 7" Tiffin Phaeton in Little Rock. It was the cheapest one for this age that I had seen on either RV Trader or RVT. The salesman told me it was the cleanest, sweetest Phaeton that he had seen. It had less than 12K miles. Supposedly kept in a climate controlled building. I told him what I would be trading in, and he offered me $80K. I only paid $88.5K. So, I put $500 down on it and loaded up the Concord. Figured if he was lieing, or we didn't like it... it would just be a summer vacation in the Concord. It's BEAUTIFUL. They are made in Red Bay, AL. That's 284 miles from here, so we're heading there on Wednesday to have some factory recalls addressed. Then... Who knows where we'll go. I have a guy mowing my lawn... so we may be out a couple more weeks.

Tiffin is good stuff. A couple of relatives on my wife's side of the family have an Allegro Bus, they had a couple of issues, we called the factory and they helped walk us through the trouble shooting and sent the parts we needed to repair the issue. They bought used, but I don't think the previous owners took good care of it from what I was seeing. But then again I am OCD when it comes to taking care of my things.

Aaron

[DaGrinch]

I best not let the wife read your post! She'll be looking for an "A" for sure! 🎊
I pretty much need to stay working full time for about 2 years to build up what SS I'm going to get. We didn't pay into it at the old job. Then I can cut back or fully retire.... Depends on what the wife has talked me into for RV's. She's got another 6-7 years to go before she can retire, plus she's carrying the insurance for now. ⏳
Your Phaeton looks great.... And it sounds like you got a great deal. You did say AR in your email... I just had a semi-senior moment. But, like I said, I knew the Tiffin plant was in AL! 😀