Tips appreciated- getting my Georgetown!

landofdixie · 09-30-2009, 12:55 PM

I am going to pick up my new 2009 Georgetown model 378 on Friday. Very excited. Any tips on what to look for / ask when doing the walkthrough?
Thanks

jaxfl · 09-30-2009, 02:09 PM

Make them operate everything...I mean everything. The heater, stove, oven, Miro, water pumb, AC, jacks, cameras, septic tank sensors, gennie, and anything else that can be turned on, turned off, pushed, turned, pulled.

**KyDan** · 09-30-2009, 03:06 PM

Take your camera and take pictures or VIDEO as they show you
how to operate everything and show you every valve, drain,
switch or electronic device.
Take notes if you can't do video.
Spend a night in it ASAP.
Consider spending a night in their parking lot if it's a long drive
to your place.
You will think of things they didn't cover!
Don't be bashful.
It's your money!!
Good luck and welcome to the forum.

ronhanson · 09-30-2009, 04:21 PM

Check the sticker on the hitch rating. It is supposed to be 5000#.
Mine had a #3500lb on it. Make them swap it out if it is.

NWJeeper · 09-30-2009, 10:48 PM

Everything said here is great advice. Also on the 378 DO NOT put anything electronic or subject to damage because of high heat in the cubby hole above the fireplace. It gets really hot in there and can fry stuff quick. We also noticed that the rear TV was mounted flat to the wall and being that it's LCD could not be seen while laying in bed. Poor design on FRs part there. Also know that the leveling system will not work WITHOUT the parking brake set and the engine running, the slides and awning won't work WITH the engine running. So, level the rig first then shut the engine off to open the slides and awning. Seems simple enough but it's stuff we didn't know when we first took delivery on ours.

landofdixie · 10-01-2009, 12:56 PM

THANKS ALL! you folks are great! I have been reading this forum and it is truly awesome

cfsoistman · 10-05-2009, 06:17 AM

Congrats on the new GT 378. I'm sure you'll really enjoy it. One thing I caution everyone to check is the cord connection inside the box in the rear compartment. Do so with the cord unplugged. Check the connections of each wire in the lugs inside the box. Our neutral wire was not completely tight resulting in the wire as well as the lug frying. Had it not shown on our Xantrex Invertor Control Panel that we added, we would have never known there was any problem.

khager · 10-06-2009, 07:44 PM

Yes keep an eye on your tires, and if you suspect the alignment is off have it checked. I just bought a new Georgetown in May 09. Drove it home and took a few short trips and had about 1300 miles on it. Checked the air several times always at 80 psi. Then I left for a one month trip to CA, when I got back as I was checking the tires I noticed the left front had about half the tread as the others, which I verified with calipers. This is at 5800 miles now. The right front had some wear on the inside edge. Took it to an alignment shop and the toe was off quite a bit, camber also off. I went ahead and swapped the LF with the new spare I had bought 2 months earlier for $330. After further research I found this is quite common. Lesson learned even with a brand new rig, have the alignment checked. $150 well spent. Dealer said no way FR will pay for alignment with 5800 miles on rig, but it takes a while to notice the wear, although I wasn't checking for wear, I just noticed it because it became obvious.

TulsaSteve · 10-06-2009, 08:56 PM

Have them show you the valve to let water into/ or bypass the hot water tank.

Let's say you don't find that valve, and you get cold water from the hot taps so you fiddle with the tank and turn on the electric heating element which immediately burns up because the tank is empty...

Happened to "a friend"... :-)

TulsaSteve · 10-06-2009, 08:59 PM

Something else I did.. (warning I'm a very detailed oriented type of guy)

My 370XL came with literally dozens of manuals.

I took an evening and read them all looking for maintenance items and things to add to my various checklists.

I keep the manuals in the RV, but use my checklists 99% of time.

NWJeeper · 10-07-2009, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khager

Yes keep an eye on your tires, and if you suspect the alignment is off have it checked. I just bought a new Georgetown in May 09. Drove it home and took a few short trips and had about 1300 miles on it. Checked the air several times always at 80 psi. Then I left for a one month trip to CA, when I got back as I was checking the tires I noticed the left front had about half the tread as the others, which I verified with calipers. This is at 5800 miles now. The right front had some wear on the inside edge. Took it to an alignment shop and the toe was off quite a bit, camber also off. I went ahead and swapped the LF with the new spare I had bought 2 months earlier for $330. After further research I found this is quite common. Lesson learned even with a brand new rig, have the alignment checked. $150 well spent. Dealer said no way FR will pay for alignment with 5800 miles on rig, but it takes a while to notice the wear, although I wasn't checking for wear, I just noticed it because it became obvious.

Also happend to us, didn't notice until to late and just spent close to $900 on new tires, took RV home and parked it in the garage, won't drive it again until I can afford the front end alignment. Also know that for large Class A RVs you can't just take it to any shop for an alignment, they have to be set up for large rigs.

TulsaSteve · 10-07-2009, 01:43 PM

80 lbs?

My 370XL specifies 90lbs. I'm on the 22.5 rims, so that may be the difference.

NWJeeper · 10-07-2009, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TulsaSteve

80 lbs?

My 370XL specifies 90lbs. I'm on the 22.5 rims, so that may be the difference.

Pressure should be adjusted due to the weight of the rig. Assuming a proper front end alignment tire pressure being incorrect will cause uneven wear either in the middle of the tire (over inflated) or outsides of the tire (under inflated) Wear such as we had was from the inside of the tire inward on both indicating that the camber of the suspension is set wrong. Many find that with a light load reducing tire pressure results in a smoother ride. The pressure recommendation on the side of the tire is the maximum inflation for a fully loaded rig.

Since FR will only address alignment issues on their coaches for the first 90 days as we found out, I would highly suggest that a owner of a new coach should have the front end alignment checked by a competent shop immediately. Consider it a cheaper insurance policy against a $900 tire bill a year down the road.

landofdixie · 10-07-2009, 09:24 PM

will do

Snowbird · 10-13-2009, 07:52 PM

Just took delivery of my 2010 378 and have travelled 1500 miles in the last 2 weeks. This info is good to know. I think I better check mine out.

NWJeeper · 10-13-2009, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowbird

Just took delivery of my 2010 378 and have travelled 1500 miles in the last 2 weeks. This info is good to know. I think I better check mine out.

Snowbird,

A friend of ours recently returned home from his vacation and related a conversation he had with the camper next to him. Seems this gentleman has owned 5 new RVs in 3 years and he says that the first stop for him is an alignment shop to have the front end re-aligned. Since most manufactureres will only cover the cost in the first 90 days he submits a claim to them right away for the cost. Says he has never had a manufacturer refuse to pay yet. Wished I had known this when our Georgetown was new. Might have saved me $900

Congrats on the new rig too, enjoy it as we have ours.

JDickson · 10-23-2009, 11:23 PM

The 378XL is great Motorhome. My wife and I love ours, it's 2008
Replaceed ans added a few things already. Added spray hose in toilet area.
Added 22" LCD TV COMBO in bedroom, the Weastinghouse 19" was not easy to watch laying in bed. My wife likes to have air flow across her while sleeping, so I added a 12V fan. Also put lights in toilet area on light switch and the list goes on.
None of this has anything to do with yours, it's just a friendly note to let you know that I know alot about the 378 XL and if you ever have a problem or want to know how something works I can probably help. There is still a lot I'm learning and a lot I don't know, in which case I just ask all the many brilliant minds here at this wonderful website for us.
Congradulation on your new Purchase and may you be as Happy with yours as we are with ours.
Joe & Jeannette

byransues · 12-29-2009, 09:33 PM

JDickson,

Thanks for the info about the light in the toliet room and the tv in the bedroom. The wife and I just bought our 378XL about a month ago and have only used it once ( saving up cash and time off for a long run in the summer ). We had noticed that the light in the toilet seemed real dim and a pain to turn on and off if you are vertically challegend.

Travel on,

Bryan & Sue

kvtaylor · 12-31-2009, 04:18 PM

By now you have your new Gerogetown all checked out. A lot was mentioned and is good advise. We also have a 2008 Georgetown 378 and also went thru re-aligning the front wheels. It was found when my dealer added the safe-T stablizer on it when it was new. Forest River paid for it. Ours has 18000 miles on it and the tires are running true. Also, the cabinet below the TV does get hot with the Fireplace is on high. We added a plastic cutting board in the cabinet and then added a VHS/DVD player/recorder in there. The plastic cutting board deflects the heat and saves the electronics. I also added a few holes for ventilation behind the TV for the heat to disapate.

You may also like: