Salem 31BKIS

yourguide · 03-04-2014, 12:52 AM

Just ordered my first new TT. The 31BKIS, haven't even stepped foot inside one, no local dealers have it. The place tells me it's about a week away from arriving from the factory.
My wife and I fell in love with the unique floor-plan and all the extra space for our large extended family.
I'm a newbie at this, but love to learn and have been watching youtube videos non stop on the required accessories I'll need for our maiden voyage at the end of this month.
Just wanted to introduce myself and say "Hi"!
...Dan

BiigDaddy · 03-04-2014, 04:23 AM

Welcome Dan!! I know the anxiety...The wife, 5 kids and myself traveled 2 1/2 hours to take a peek at a Rockwood 8327ss. We had to battle snowbanks, ice, and freezing cold just to take a peek as no dealer anywhere closer had that rig. We took a leap of faith without really spending quality time crawling around the trailer and ordered one! You'll really love the FR Forum here, as the info and people are truly great! Welcome!

Wiscampsin · 03-04-2014, 10:07 AM

Welcome from Wisconsin and congrats on your new Salem 31BKIS. For basic accessories start with a 25' or 50' white water hose, water pressure regulator, good quality dump hose,
25' 30 AMP extension cord, wheel chocks, small throw rug to place outside to help keep the dirt out. You should consider putting roof vent covers on so you can keep them open in the rain for fresh air.

Great Laker · 03-04-2014, 07:03 PM

Welcome and enjoy your new TT.

Ida Ratherbe Camping · 03-04-2014, 07:09 PM

Welcome and enjoy your new Salem. We really love ours...

yourguide · 03-05-2014, 08:19 PM

Thanks for the warm welcome and the accessory suggestions.
I've been ordering away on amazon to get all the stuff I'll need.
...Dan

yourguide · 03-09-2014, 09:34 PM

ITS HERE.. ITS FINALLY HERE!
I got to pick up my Salem today.. And spent the rest of the day stocking all the stuff we bought on Amazon into it.
I have a few questions that I will start new threads for, if I can't figure them out via search or online.
...Dan

hos · 03-12-2014, 12:28 AM

Amazon with prime can be a very ugly (and expensive) thing when stocking a new trailer! I still have sticker shock and I think the ups man thought we were nuts. It was kind of embarrassing! But fun!

carellifamily · 03-12-2014, 04:02 PM

I just bought the leftover 2013 31bkis for my family and I as well. We are first time TT owners too. Maybe we can exchange first timer mistake stories together as well as some tips

Great Laker · 03-12-2014, 08:16 PM

Congrats on your new trailer

**Terier** · 03-12-2014, 09:39 PM

Congrats on your new Salem! Stocking the RV can be a budget buster but the good news is that it doesn't all have to be brought all at once, depending on your camping style of course. I brought a lot of stuff and ended up returning a good deal of it (unused items) for a refund. Got to say taking delivery of the new RV and stocking it up is a good feeling.

Happy camping!

yourguide · 03-13-2014, 12:26 PM

Carellifamily: sounds great. So far I noticed a couple of screws sticking out a little that I have tightened down. Also the black stripping that borders the bottom of the galley slideout (the kitchen) needs to be reattached in a couple places. I'm going to try some super glue maybe? Or maybe someone can point in a better direction? The other sections look like they have a white colored adhesive or perhaps caulk holding them on.

yourguide · 03-19-2014, 11:18 AM

I asked in the tech talk section and a kind soul pointed me towards weather stripping adhesive from an auto parts store.

Looks like it's done the trick.

carellifamily · 03-19-2014, 02:42 PM

great! Thanks for the update.

yourguide · 03-21-2014, 01:23 AM

Perhaps also of interest to you.. If you don't already know about it (I didn't until I read it in these forums)
Forest River offers an extended warranty for $150 to the orig purchaser of all new units.
That gives you another yr of warranty.
I think I'm going to jump in on that and send them a check.

carellifamily · 03-21-2014, 07:40 AM

Thanks again yourguide. When I purchased my unit the dealer told me there is a 2 yr warranty on the trailer itself and some of the components inside (microwave,etc) have different length of warranty. He also stated he is taking care of me as far as not starting my warranty from the purchase date but rather upon delivery to me (coming up in 31 days now!! so excited). What were you told was the man warranty?

yourguide · 03-21-2014, 09:34 AM

I bought mine over the internet... no local dealer could even get close to the price....
The dealership I purchased from did not mention more than a 1yr warranty.... and when I asked about how some dealerships offered the 2nd year they told me that wasn't even possible since its between Forest River and the owner.

So it sounds like you have a great dealer... that's awesome for you.... I'm going to go ahead and purchase the additional year and then see if my local dealer (Even though I didn't buy from them... and local is still over 1hr from me) will be good about servicing my unit.

carellifamily · 03-22-2014, 05:47 PM

I have a great dealer. The sales manager is actually a very good family friend. I keep getting information about the Good sam warranty and roadside assistance plans and debating them as well. Good luck!

P.S. We have already booked 8 trips for this season!

yourguide · 03-22-2014, 08:34 PM

8 trips! Awesome!
Our maiden voyage will be next weekend. I went ahead and tested the water systems on our Salem today. Everything worked great... Though a word of warning... Be sure you have someone nearby the sinks or at least take the stoppers out first... The outdoor kitchen sink was open and had the stopper in it.... I caught it just in time.
I then frantically screamed at my wife to check all the sinks on the inside (island sink and bathroom) but they were all off thank goodness.

I ran both hot and cold until all the air was out of the lines... I checked the valve on the hot water heater to make sure it had water coming out... Which it did. And then I switched the electric water heater on. It's the outside switch near the unit behind the white metal door.

It all worked perfectly. I'm really glad to have the electric water heater... It will really save on gas over other units and still give us the option of gas when we don't have electric.

I'm super excited about next weekend now!
We had about 10 people in and out and around the RV today and I have to say I was totally surprised at how much room we still had to move around. I really love the floor plan of this unit!

I have a 32 inch TV in the main area and a 24 inch TV in the kids bunk room.

They enjoyed watching Netflix and playing today while I was testing all the things out.

I ordered a little unit off of Amazon that will let me attach a hard drive to it so I can rip all their movies to hard drive and then have them ready for them to watch on their TV without needing DVD or Wi-Fi.

I will post my experience with it for others who may be interested in ditching their DVDS once I get it in.

bodzcampers · 03-22-2014, 08:48 PM

Congrats and Enjoy!

Can we see pictures?
Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaase?!

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