5,000 mile review of my Isata 5 36DS

[Rrzasa]

Well, we turned over 5,000 miles on our 36DS this past weekend (in 8 weeks). Here is a short review of it so far:

1. We have averaged about 11.4 MPG for the first 5,000 miles. I typically drive about 3 miles over the posted speed limit. Great considering my old Airstream averaged about 8.5 MPG.

2. The power of the Cummins is fantastic, it just powers up hills like nothing. The steepest grade was 9% in western PA. I blew by a trucker one day and when he caught up to me at the next rest stop, he came over and asked me "What the heck you have in that RV? I usually blow by RV's going up hills but you left me in the dust" He proceeded to look over the whole RV and said that if he was in the market for an RV, this would be the one.

3. The sticker on the driver's door sill says the tire pressures should be 95 PSI. I checked my tires and the front two were at 95 PSI but the back ones were at 85 PSI. So now they are all at 95 PSI and it rides a little harsher but it's best to have the pressures at the recommended pressures. It would be nice if there were valve extenders on the two inside tires, they are a bear to access, with the gauge and with the air nozzle.

4. The lack of an armrest is still an issue for me, after 35 years of driving with my right hand, it is taking some time to getting used to driving with my left hand. That and the fact that my right arm now hangs down like a gorilla while driving. Not too comfortable to say the least. I contacted a local truck service center and they are pricing me out a set of air ride seats that have built in armrests and we'll consider changing out the seats if the price is affordable.

5. We average between 17-21 flushes of the toilet (combination of 1/2 and full flushes) before the red light illuminates on the flush controller. Funny thing is when the light is red, when I check the display in the plumbing basement compartment, it shows the black tank as on 50% full. Any ideas why?

6. We replaced the stock shower head with a sample of an Oxyginetics shower head that Brian sent us and it makes a world of difference with lower water pressures we find at most camp grounds (30 PSI or less). The flow and pressure is so strong that water bounces off me and over the shower stall. Now my wife has no problems getting all the shampoo out of her hair.

7. It would have been nice if there was a shelf in the glass door cabinet over the sink. We stick our Kuerig Coffee maker in there while travelling but there is about a foot of wasted space above it that could be used.

8. I have not noticed any major rattles or squeaks while driving down the road, there are a couple of small rattles (the TV over the cab rattled but we shove a pillow behind it and that rattle is gone. The other rattle may be a little harder to get rid of. The crank out window above the drivers seat rattles when there is a crosswind. I make sure that it is cranked tight but the top of the window rattles in and out to the point that I can see the outside through the gap. Not sure how to solve this issue. Any suggestions?

9. I am considering removing the rear view mirror on the windshield and replacing it with a wireless backup camera so I can see behind me and to keep an eye on my eBikes mounted on the rear hitch. I have no idea why there is a mirror there in the first place.

10. We added a couple of tension bars in the fridge and we loop the bungee cord around both handles before we connect it to the bottom loop. No more problem of the fridge opening up when we turn hard to the right anymore.

We get so many people that ask about our coach and want to see inside it. Everyone that sees it loves it. I already have two friends that want to buy it from us when we upgrade to a Grand Sport in 2020.

Brian, you should be proud of yourself and your team at Dynamax - you have made a great coach and we look forward to putting many more miles on it.

Congratulations on a job well done.

[bclemens]

I've passed this along to the team.

Always good to hear real world mileage. Always a guess for us.

4. We're working on an armrest. We'd look at aftermarket seats...maybe we can option them, but they tend to be expensive an in some cases not as comfortable as the OEM seat. They design that seat for their cab.

5. The tank sensors are separate from the toilet sensor. I think I posted a picture of them before...tank ones are black. Toilet is red maybe? In any event, they are install on the "shallow side" of the tank. being about 1.25" wide they don't give use a lot of room to space them out. They can be repositioned if need be...3M tape.

6. good to hear. I tested them myself, but like the one we were already running. HOWEVER, that was at my house. Not on low pressure, which I think is where the Oxygenic shines. Might need to add those to the product list.

7. noted. I actually did this at home with a wire rack...took me forever to find it. All my bread was getting smooshed.

8. We can ask the window supplier on this.

9. so are we (PS. comes stock from Ram. They don't give us a delete option because they have the "emergency button" on there)

10. We've got something working on this too.

Thanks for the kind words and the great review.

[FOURWHL]

Sounds like a happy 5,000 miles.

We've had the same experience with tours. Haven't had a single outing where somebody didnt come up, start asking questions and eventually end up taking a tour. I should start handing out cards and ask for a commission! All been fun though, just got to make sure the bed is made at all times!

[kaulick]

We have had the same experience too. Every RV Park we have pulled into people come over and want to talk about our ISATA 5 and see inside. I feel like I am a salesman for Dynamax, but do enjoy showing it off.

On the rear view camera. I am not sure if Dynamax used the pre-wiring that is used for a rear view camera on a normal truck bed, but I found this PDF with instructions on using existing wiring to install a back up or bed view camera. It also says you can turn the camera on anytime while driving while holding the back button for 2 seconds.