New DynaMax Isata 3 owners

[mlbrowninoh]

Wife and I are buying a 2018 Isata 3 as our fist motor home. In great condition, looking forward to hitting the road on some adventures this year! What are some tips from the community for add ons or ideas to get the most use out of our new to us rig?

[kenandterry]

Congrats on your Isata purchase.

There’ll be others along shortly, in the meantime you’ll need
1. Pen
2. Paper
3. Credit card

[milkman55]

The minimum items you need depend on what you are getting with the RV. If it’s from a dealer, you are probably getting the bare minimum equipment. Sometimes if you buy from someone who is getting out of RVing, you get more necessary equipment.

In my opinion, the minimum things you need to have are -

1. 30 amp Surge Protector - Portable
2. Water pressure regulator - several options
3. Sewer hose - I use two 15 ft separate sections that can be joined
4. 25 ft food grade water hose

This would just get your basic connections. The RV should come with a 30 amp power cord. The rest just depends on what the prior owner left behind.

How do you plan to store the RV when you are not camping?

[mlbrowninoh]

Thanks. We'll have to look into some of those items. We are getting it from a dealer. Storage is to be outside in a secured RV and boat storage lot near our house. Unfortunately don't have room at the house right now. Any opinions on getting a cover for it? I've seem mixed opinions on them.

[milkman55]

What state are you located? I think the covers may be more trouble than they are worth. We have always stored ours indoors and plugged into power.

If you have solar panels (most do), then you will want to turn the battery disconnect off and let the solar maintain the batteries.

If you will click on the “User CP” at the top of the forum and add your location that would be helpful in responding more accurately. Also in the signature section, but the year, model and floor plan so we can also be better responding.

Welcome aboard the Dynamax family.

[mlbrowninoh]

We're in the Cincinnati OH area. Does have solar, so was planning to turn off the batteries while it was in storage. Would like to find a place to keep it indoors, but going to need to start with outside for now.

[milkman55]

My only concern would be snow buildup on the roof. The plant in Elkhart gets a lot of snow and they have lots of units outside. I might try and knock the snow off the roof periodically.

[Barch]

Welcome to the forum. I have never before disagreed with milkman55, but if you have to store outside in Ohio for the winter, I would invest in a good quality cover.
The solar will partially maintain your coach batteries’ charge level, but may not provide optimal storage voltage all the time for your coach batteries. I believe your BIM (Battery isolation manager) may allow limited charging of your chassis battery as well if the solar provides sufficient charging of your coach batteries (not sure about this as I don’t have solar). Agree that the best solution is to store undercover and on shore power. I would check the battery voltages monthly. You can buy an inexpensive 12 volt cigarette lighter plug that displays the voltage of the chassis battery so it is easy to check. Hope this helps!! Have fun.

[mlbrowninoh]

Thanks! I would prefer indoor storage a am still exploring options. Luckily we don’t get a lot of bad winter weather in the Cincinnati area but would like it inside if possible.

[dr911]

Originally Posted by mlbrowninoh

Wife and I are buying a 2018 Isata 3 as our fist motor home. In great condition, looking forward to hitting the road on some adventures this year! What are some tips from the community for add ons or ideas to get the most use out of our new to us rig?

Welcome to the Dynamax family from Dayton, Oh. We have a 2017 Isata 3 24RW and some additional items to consider are leveling blocks if your unit doesn't come with the hydraulic levelers. Ours has the electric stabilizers to limit movement when walking around inside, but we need the yellow "lego" like blocks to level it. Another handy item is the "stinky slinky", which is an expanding bridge like structure to support your sewer hose so it drains well. A 25' garden hose will be needed for back-flushing the black tank. If you don't have one I'd get a tool kit in a plastic case from Harbor Freight to take care of minor repairs on trips. While at Harbor Freight buy a couple of boxes of the blue latex gloves to wear while you're hooking up your sewer hose and draining the black tank. There are more things that are nice to have, but these along with those already suggested will be a good start.

[PenJoe]

The water pressure regulator has already been mentioned, but here is a link.
The 90 degree elbow hose connector is cheap. It relieves the pressure on the hose fittings and the hose from kinking.

We tried what we thought was a quality cover for our Sunseeker. We had it in a storage area between two large RVs. We used all the straps to secure it. Then we got a call from the storage manager. The cover had completely blown off the RV. There were rips in the cover and at the fasteners. It was replaced under warranty.

Covers are difficult and dangerous to put on. Even a small breeze can kite the cover and trying to hang on is not prudent. There is one other problem with covers. It provides rodents easy access to the roof and the AC unit can be their penthouse suite. A good quality wax will work as well as a cover.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-Pressur...s%2C228&sr=8-6


https://www.amazon.com/Camco-Degree-...s%2C204&sr=8-3

[TINSEAST]

Order the battery operated LED puck lights that are motion operated. Put them inside your cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom. They really help. Walmart 6 for about $25. We have a 2018 Isata 3 and love it. Have been across the country and back amongst many other places. One of the best advices I got from this group when we started was this. “Pack what you think you need, after a couple camping trips take out all the stuff you didn’t use. I was worried about storage space when we first started, now I have extra space. ENJOY!

[halla]

Welcome from Akron, OH. The only thing to watch out for with the cover is the wind/dust etc... can scratch the paint on the rig in the wind etc.... our custom painter has told us to never cover anything, even in the garage. Keep on the lookout for indoor storage if you can, nothing beats that.

[mlbrowninoh]

Thanks everyone for all the ideas! Definitely a lot to look at. I’m sure we’ll have fun with it.

[Riverbend]

A couple things we've found helpful are seatback pockets for odds and ends. I bought ours from WeatherTech. And a small foam pad like for gardeners. I'm on my knee or knees often and that thing is appreciated. It was a gift from another RV couple, and a very useful one.

[mlmay12]

Originally Posted by mlbrowninoh

Wife and I are buying a 2018 Isata 3 as our fist motor home. In great condition, looking forward to hitting the road on some adventures this year! What are some tips from the community for add ons or ideas to get the most use out of our new to us rig?

Congrats, I would check to see if it comes with the stick on silver windshield and cab window covers. If not you can buy aftermarket ones. Makes the cab area dark and helps keep the inside private. Leveling blocks are a must, maybe two sets of 10. I have a temperature station (TempMinder) with two sending units that I put in the Fridge and Freezer on velcro to monitor both of them. Hold open extender for Cabinet above Fridge for easy access. And plenty more, enjoy your Isata, they are awesome.

[mlbrowninoh]

Originally Posted by Riverbend

A couple things we've found helpful are seatback pockets for odds and ends. I bought ours from WeatherTech. And a small foam pad like for gardeners. I'm on my knee or knees often and that thing is appreciated. It was a gift from another RV couple, and a very useful one.

Good idea. I had thought of getting the weather tech front floor mat. With the way my wife hikes, may need them to make a custom one for the rear.

[Riverbend]

Originally Posted by mlbrowninoh

Good idea. I had thought of getting the weather tech front floor mat. With the way my wife hikes, may need them to make a custom one for the rear.

We have that floor mat and it's a great help. Their cup phone holder is great, as well. The MB chassis doesn't accommodate phones or coffee cups very well, but there are ways to work around it.

[Barch]

Probably the most important upgrade I did was the installation of the Dually valve extenders and the TST tire pressure monitors. See attached pic. The extenders make putting air in your tires and checking the air pressure so much easier. In addition they are essential if you want to install external pressure and temperature monitors. Although not essential, I have been really happy with the Lithium upgrade. Very useful if you camp off grid a lot.

[mlbrowninoh]

Originally Posted by Barch

Probably the most important upgrade I did was the installation of the Dually valve extenders and the TST tire pressure monitors. See attached pic. The extenders make putting air in your tires and checking the air pressure so much easier. In addition they are essential if you want to install external pressure and temperature monitors. Although not essential, I have been really happy with the Lithium upgrade. Very useful if you camp off grid a lot.

I was thinking about the lithium upgrade. Wife doesn't like the RV parks and I'm sure we'll be doing several off the grid stops. Will look into that for sure.