New Cardinal owner here to say hello. We recently purchased a 2008 32TS. We previously owned a 2000 Holiday Rambler Alumascape 25RKS. We've run the gamut now--tents to pop-up, to midsize travel trailer to this new behemoth.
We picked it up yesterday--dealer called on Monday and asked if we could move it up from this coming Saturday--I was cool with that. Wife and I both took a vacation day to wrap it all up. I brought the Alumascape home on Tuesday night so we could empty cabinets and segregate everything into boxes for an easier transition.
We spend nearly 6 hours at the dealer yesterday--we did the walk thru, only found a couple of small 'fix-its', and then we were off to do the paperwork while the service guys did the hitch work--I added the dual cam setup due to the length of the trailer. I had used the friction bar for the Alumascape, but this one needs a more robust system, IMO.
Anyway, so we get the bills paid, spend a few bucks in the store, and finally get the rig back. A quick lesson in dual cam setup (I already studied it online and printed all the relevant stuff from the website, but it never hurts to do a hands on) and we're done.
We asked if we could park somewhere close to the Alumascape so we could transfer all our junk. They actually moved the Alumascape to a rear corner of the lot, and let me back the new one door to door with it. They pointed me to a power pole, and let us hook up so we could run the air while organizing. That was really cool--literally, LOL. Couple hours later we have all that done--well, it's put away. Last night my Wife mentioned at least 3 times with 3 different plans to redo some of the storage. I figure she'll do it 5 more times....
After about a 6 hour day, we're ready to head home. Luckily, it was a blustery day with plenty of 18 wheelers and after work commuters on I-35 for the ride home. I really wanted to feel the dual cam on a less than ideal day--and I was impressed! What a difference in stability even with the added trailer length. Much better than I expected!
We're off on the maiden voyage for the weekend--close trip, only to the Canyon Lake area for a couple days to rearrange, install a few accessories, and smile at it a lot.
We'll miss the Alumascape, and I'm sure it'll take us some time to get used to all the space in the new one--well, maybe not too long, LOL!
Sorry for the book, it was a pretty exciting day--we've always purchased used in the past, this is our first brand spankin' new RV, and we're pretty jazzed!
Joe
2003 Silverado 2500HD
2008 Forest River Cardinal 32TS
to FRF!!
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