Columbus Palomino 385BH

[mustang]

Mine arrived last week. The quality is good and I did not find too many things that were issues. It had not been dealer prepped yet so that would have taken care of most of what I found.
I did have them move the jack knife sofe back 2-3 inches in the bunk area as it rubs on the bifold door when it is in the down position and the door will quickly tear a hole in the corner of the sofa. There is a fill in cushion that will not fit now so I will have to get one made now to fit from the Columbus supplier. In my opinion, That could have been seen as an issue at the factory and changed and needs to be as it will less expensive than warrenty issues with the sofa corner tearing due to a design issue.

The 2nd thing is I do not want the mattress pad in the bunk area to rest directly on the floor. They ordered parts from Columbus to build up the bed 12" off the floor hinged to the inside wall of the outside kitchen. It will have fold out legs to support the other side. That will look like it was built that way and not look like it was an after thought. There will be an adult sleeping on this so it will need to be built with quality and care.

Other than that, most all looks good and I will pick up at the end of this week and start living in it 3-4 nights a week.

Good luck to all.

[Costanzo5]

Are they doing all these repairs for free. Or is there a charge to you to fix it. Mine should be in next week and want to know so I have some ammunition when I pick it up.

[plein air artist]

What is covered and not covered by the Forest River Warrantee as well as the Extended Warrantees. With all of the talk on this blog about problems with the 320s, I am wondering. We have a unit on order.

[amxpress]

With all of the talk on this blog about problems with the 320s, I am wondering.

The problems mentioned are minor and can be experienced by any RV manufacturer.
I bought a Jayco TT years ago and had a list of problems the dealer had to correct.
Columbus is a new line, but have responded to the concerns I have seen on the Forum.
Any TT or fiver you buy will likely have items that must be taken care of by the dealer, though most of them will be minor.
What you also have to remember is all the GOOD stuff said about the Columbus. We love ours.
You'll love your new Columbus, really.

[plein air artist]

anxpress

We are eagerly looking forward to getting ours.

Can anyone yield any insight into what is covered by the Extended Warrantee?

[plein air artist]

Surge Protection for Columbus fifth wheel

What level of surge protection is recommended and used by members of this forum for a Columbus 5th wheel.

[redfinaddict]

My vote is for Sure Gaurd 50amp. It has allready saved my bacon once.

[plein air artist]

I have my 385. Love it. However, I would like to replace the hitch pins on the bike rack with lockable ones. Over the years I have had problems with the clips coming out and allowing the hitch pins to come out. The best solution I have found is a hitch pin with a lock. However, the hitch pins on the bike rack are 3/4" diameter. I have so far had no luck finding lockable 3/4" diameter hitch pins.

Does anyone know of a resource?

[fice]

Very first time Rver's and our very first trailer is the Columbus 385. Question about A/C's. We have had our BH385 for about a week. We are in Oklahoma and temps are running about 100-103 in the afternoons. Both A/C's on with fans running on high and the temp in our trailer is running between 85-90 until after the sun goes down and then it will cool down in the trailer at night. It appears to me the A/C's cannot keep up with 100 degree temperature's. Is anyone else having similar problems? Wondering if my units are working correctly. Both units are also very loud and vibrating the whole trailer. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[plein air artist]

We have used our camper's AC in temperatures similar to what you are facing. Cooling has not been a problem. The only issue that we have had is that when the AC is running it is very load. Load enough to inhibit a conversation in the family area. I don't know if this is normal or not.

We have not experience the vibration issue. I would suggest discussing these issues with your dealer.

Heading out next week for a week in SW GA. Average temps in the high 90's to low 100's with high humidity. Summer in the south.

[Chaps]

Originally Posted by amxpress

The problems mentioned are minor and can be experienced by any RV manufactuerer.
I bought a Jayco TT years ago and had a list of problems the dealer had to correct.
Columbus is a new line, but have responded to the concerns I have seen on the Forum.
Any TT or fiver you buy will likely have items that must be taken care of by the dealer, though most of them will be minor.
What you also have to remember is all the GOOD stuff said about the Columbus. We love ours.
You'll love your new Columbus, really.

Our 320RS won't be ready for delivery for another month & I have not purchased the hitch yet. How often do you find the manual slider hitch necessary/helpful?
Thanks for your prior answers to my ?s

Mark

[amxpress]

I have a 6 1/2' bed with a manual slider. I have used it a couple of times with my previous trailer, though I really didn't need to. I've yet to use it with my Columbus and find I can turn sharper with it.
I believe it is better to have a slider and not need it than need it and not have it.

[Costanzo5]

So we got our 385 and found quite a few deficiencies with it. I was kinda disappointed that a trailer of this cost would not have had better quality control before it left the factory. I am however pleasantly surprised with the speed that these problems are being dealt with by Palomino. I made a call today as well and found that the bunkhouse ladder which was not supplied in the first run of trailers is now standard. Kinda disappointed by this fact and am trying to get a ladder for ourselves. Has anyone else out there had any major issues they can let me know about.

Also one more question I have is has anyone bought one of the Splendide washer/dryer combos. And if so how are the quality of those units.

[plein air artist]

We have the washer and dryer as a stack. Worked well the first time out. Does put a lot of water in the grey tank. Didn't use it the last time as we were not on a full hook up.

We have some issues after the last trip to be addressed by our dealer:
AC too loud. Camper too hot even with AC running (camping in South GA on a 30 amp.)

TV reception issues. None of the outside connections work nor does the Antennae. I suspect internal wiring problem.

Problems with the sensors reading incorrectly. Even with the Geo Method.

These and a couple of others will be addressed by our dealer.

Our next trip is to the ocean. We will definitely have 50 amp and full hook ups. We will also carry a couple of fans. Had two last week which was the only thing that made sleeping tolerable with the heat. AC ran constantly but not adequately. Couldn't run the bedroom AC (30 amp.)

[amxpress]

TV reception issues. None of the outside connections work nor does the Antennae. I suspect internal wiring problem.

Remove the antenna power booster wall plate behind the TV. Check and confirm that all 4 coax cables are connected. Some early models had a problem with the cable end coming off. I had the same problem and found the roof antenna coax was not connected.

[Camper Couple]

We are having ours looked at for the T.V. Reception in bedroom is not coming in. There is no cable or tv reception in basement outside. We are hoping all this gets fixed without a bunch of hassles.

[Cflmom]

We just ordered our 385. Still waiting for an approximate delivery date....

Question for all who already own one....Where do you put your coffee maker? Are there plugins in the pullout pantry for such things?

[plein air artist]

Regarding the coffee maker. My wife put ours on the dining table. I will be making a custom drop down shelf between the counter and the tv in September..

[redfinaddict]

Unless it's raining, my coffee all ways gets cooked outside on the propane stove in an old fashioned percolator. Usually alongside bacon, followed by the potatoes with onions and hot peppers and then eggs. Wakes the whole camp up. Damn! Think I'm hungry all the sudden. He he!

[Cflmom]

Originally Posted by redfinaddict

Unless it's raining, my coffee all ways gets cooked outside on the propane stove in an old fashioned percolator. Usually alongside bacon, followed by the potatoes with onions and hot peppers and then eggs. Wakes the whole camp up. Damn! Think I'm hungry all the sudden. He he!

Hee! Hee! Me too!