Upgrading from Tent in Wisconsin

[jj88trc1217]

Hi,

I have put money down on a Heritage Glen 300BH. Just had a baby and decided a tent would not work for us this summer.

I have an appointment for DPI on 3/14/14. The coordinator said it should take an hour which concerns me that it will not be thorough enough for a first time RV owner. I printed the DPI list in the library and gave it to her and she responded that it's a bit overkill. My concern is that this dealership made me sign a document stating that any warranty work, I would be charged for their travel time. The unit will be parked at a permanent site. The other issue is during the DPI, the unit will still be winterized and the dealership said we would need to de-winterize.

I also read the threads on the Dometic 300 toilet defect. The RV has this model. I asked the dealership to replace it right away with the 310 and they were not very receptive and even rude about it. The coordinator stated that just because a handful of people had an issue did not mean ours was defective. The service guys stated that they are on this forum and do not see the thread on it and that none of them state that they are getting replaced for free. I am not sure how they could not see the thread as it is the first sticky under plumbing with 13 pages of comments and numerous comments about free replacements.

There is some conversion part that costs $20 that will help with winterizing the vehicle which they will not include and quoted $130 - $190 to install. Does this seem reasonable? I am spending $30K on a new unit and the dealership wants to nickel and dime me for items that I would expect to be included. After buying a brand new unit, who wants to put a lot more money into it?

I am getting a bit frustrated with the whole process and should be excited about the RV. This dealer is a large one. Is it too big to offer good customer service?

Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

New to RVing

[doodler]

Welcome to the forums. Personally I don't think the PDI list is overkill. It will be a lot going on and the list will help you not miss something. Would hate to miss something, find it later and dealer say I did it and not fix it under warranty.

On the dometic 300, certain serial numbers are affected. You would have to check serial number on that.

IMO a good dealer will take as much time as you need to do the PDI.

[SKnight]

Originally Posted by doodler

Welcome to the forums. Personally I don't think the PDI list is overkill. It will be a lot going on and the list will help you not miss something. Would hate to miss something, find it later and dealer say I did it and not fix it under warranty.

On the dometic 300, certain serial numbers are affected. You would have to check serial number on that.

IMO a good dealer will take as much time as you need to do the PDI.

I concur. I've been part of this world 12 years and my PDI still took over an hour to perform, simply because I was checking everything. To be shown how, then check it would have taken two hours.

You're buying it, they owe you a good demo. If they decline, then you decline. They need you far more than you need them.

Unfortunately, the toilet is likely a lost cause. Unless it's broke or there's a recall the dealer won't get paid for it.

Dewinterizing is easy. Flip the water heater bypass valve (if equipped) to the normal position, engage pump or city water, run each faucet until clear.

Welcome and have fun once you get it!

[Triguy]

Welcome from another Wisconsinite! Where you from?

Overkill it is not. But, maybe this might be a solution.

What they might be worried about is the time their tech spends with you, so here's what I would do. Let them know you will take your time and that is non-negotiable. The tech can take you through the walk through and do their schtick while you learn, take notes and check off items they cover. When done, tell him you will complete your inspection on your own and would appreciate that he be around for questions if needed.

Truthfully, much of this inspection is done by you anyway so this approach works fine.

If they cannot test because of the cold or will not test all systems and their warranty will require a charge for travel to fix any items that would have been caught at their shop, then list those items and give them a copy with the understanding any problem with those items will not require a travel fee if a warranty visit is needed. Water system, such as the WH, PEX plumbing leaks, pump, filter, faucets, shower, etc will truthfully be hard to test unless they are willing to dewinterize and winterize again for you. Seems to me that would be a great opportunity to show you those processes, but I get it they are busy.

I see their perspective, but you are the customer. They should be willing to accept that they owe you a free service trip for those items they cannot check now. It's not your fault its cold.

[LittlePM]

Take your time, you are spending a lot of money, they should show you everything, you might want to record your walk thru, there is alot to learn, and you will not remember everything.

We were buying our first MH (we only picked it up a week ago today). We told them on a Monday that we wanted to buy it, that Saturday we were going in to sign papers, I told my hubby that before we signed anything we were going on a road test, and we were going to go thru the whole thing again. We test drove it, that went very well we came back, I told the guy with us that I want to see how to level it and to put the slides out the pack it back up, that is what we did, it was a good thing that we did. After playing with the slides, leveling we looking in all the basement storage again and low and behold there was hydraulic fluid, they had to order a new part.

Like SKnight said, they need you more then you need them.

[Wiscampsin]

Welcome from another SE Wisconsinite and a big congrats on your Heritage Glen 300BH. We bought our 4th (current) camper from the same dealer we bought our 3rd camper from. After we placed our order and signing the papers I gave them a copy our PDI list and the salesperson gave me a copy of theirs. Surprisingly they were very similar. When we came to do the PDI the service tech knew we were familiar with the onboard systems (he did the PDI on our 3rd camper) but said he was going to do the PDI as if we knew nothing. I wasn't offended one bit and was glad he was taking that approach. Said if there was anything we didn't fully understand stop him and he would gladly go over it again. Took about 2 hours and he went over everything, even how to fully inflate and deflate the air sofa mattress. Our unit was dewinterized and hooked up to their water. He and I looked everywhere for any leaks. They even sprayed water on the roof to check around the skylight and roof vents for leaks. Checked all LP appliances, AC, etc, etc, etc. He even had a small plug in device that checked each 120 v outlet to be sure all were working correctly. Now you probably understand why we'd buy from them again. Anyway my point is IMHO an hour isn't enough time. Do not let them rush you through it. I scheduled our PDI during the week so there wasn't any shortage of time like there would likely be on a Saturday.

I don't understand why a $30K Heritage Glen would need a $20 part to help with winterizing .

Seeing as it's still too darn cold to camp here ask the dealer to store it on their lot until it's warm enough to do a PDI on the water system. Do your PDI on the 14th as planned. That way if there is anything that needs to be fixed there's time to do it. You said your unit will be parked at a permanent site. Most in Wisconsin don't open till April, roads aren't plowed, and don't turn the water on until danger of frost is past so there's really no hurry.

I know your excited, as you should be, but don't let your dealer rush this. And do not sign any paperwork until you are 100% totally completely satisfied. Mind if I ask who your dealer is? PM me if you'd rather not post in on this thread. And where is your permanent site located? We are on a seasonal site west of Montello.

We've got a saying around here, 'pics or it didn't happen' so post some when you can. Good luck and happy camping!

[jj88trc1217]

Thank you for all of the helpful responses. I will request more time with the PDI or let them know I will need more time before signing.

As of the toilet, from the sticky, it sounds like everyone has had good experience dealing with Dometic with little questions and upgrade sent next day once the problem was told to them (one person had 2 toilets, only one was stinky, but Dometic sent 2 upgrades right away). It sounds like they should have been recalled. It would have been nice if the dealership would have just called them, gave the serial number and fixed the problem prior to PDI instead the dealership made us look stupid for the request. They said Dometic will be there on Saturday, so we will discuss directly with them.

I will put on pics once I take ownership.

[jj88trc1217]

Originally Posted by Wiscampsin

I don't understand why a $30K Heritage Glen would need a $20 part to help with winterizing .

A winterize converter for the water heater? New to this, so the technical terms or reasoning is a bit gray to me.

[SKnight]

Originally Posted by jj88trc1217

A winterize converter for the water heater? New to this, so the technical terms or reasoning is a bit gray to me.

I'm not familiar with your unit, but it's one of two things. Either a water heater bypass kit (Allows you to fill the water system with antifreeze, but bypass the water heater. You drain the heater, so it doesn't need antifreeze.) or an antifreeze injection kit. I can't imagine it doesn't have a water heater bypass so I'm assuming it's the injection kit. If that's the case it's a worthwhile investment.

I made one for my old TT, I'm hoping the factory one on my Sierra works as well.

[Wayne & Kimmy]

Welcome to the world of RV'ing, even if it's still early ! We went from tenting to RV just last year, so I understand your concerns as a "newbie" - heck, I guess I am still a newbie in some respects!

Anyhow, I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments expressed here by others. You will want to take as much time as you need on the PDI. There is a lot to learn about these rigs, and you don't want to be rushed. You will be looking at possible flaws/problems with the unit (hard to identify without much frame of reference - I know from my limited experience) while trying to learn all about the rig and the various processes in general. Mine took around 2 hours and probably should have been longer.

If the dealer is being that difficult and unyielding already, you may want to think long and hard before committing to them, IMO (no offense intended). You may find them equally difficult to deal with after the sale and when you really need some help, because then they already have your business. I know it is exciting and you can't wait to get a rig, but you may want to consider other dealers as well. They might change their tune if they know it is not a done deal, and you may benefit in the end.

I will say that you have come to the right place for answers though. The Forum is a great resource for questions and advice, from hundreds of nice people who are WAY smarter at this stuff than I am. You can browse for an issue on prior posts or ask a new question, and you will find results and answers all around.

I wish you luck with your decision and purchase, and hope that you will be RV'ing as soon as you possibly can!

[Wayne & Kimmy]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention - if you can, record the PDI. I used my iPod to record most if not all of ours and referred to that video many times my first few times out as a complete newbie. There will be so much info you will learn during that PDI , and having the ability to relive rather than remember will pay dividends!

[oconomowoc]

We are picking up our new, and first, TT from Lake Mills on March 22. Very excited. So far the dealer has been great and very helpful to us.

[jj88trc1217]

Update: - The service department was so much nicer today! We talked to Dometic and they are sending the upgraded toilet to the dealership early next week and the dealer will install it after we finalize paperwork. As for the PDI, I am going to do as Triguy suggested and mark off the items as they explain them and then continue the inspection by myself prior to signing paperwork. It's a big purchase and I just want to peace of mind.

[Wiscampsin]

Good to hear that Dometic and your dealer are taking care of you.