Review of the ‘19 DX3- First 30 Nights, 10K Miles

[steverkemp]

Since purchasing our DX3 we have been on the road seeing the country. Things are starting to settle down now, so I want to share with others my experience buying and owning a DX3 37TS after 30 nights of camping. First, I want to start by thanking all of you for incredible willingness to share and answer questions along the way. You all have helped me through the “technical requirements/validation” phase of my buying process. At the end of the day, Joey Eash, who is the West Dynamax factory rep, is who helped me in all the other buying phases done and stayed with me through the process. He is a model sales rep and living proof that Dynamax is a great company with a great soul.

Ordering

I knew that production delays were a fact of life. I’ve never ordered a vehicle from the factory and had it delivered on time. After ordering and having production scheduled, the initial build completion date was 5/1. The coach didn’t ship until the middle of June. I thought 45 days was enough buffer, but it wasn’t. So, my live-in PDI started: I received the coach at 9pm the day after I was scheduled to leave on a 3 ½ week vacation with my family to the northeast. The next day I was on the road packed and ready to roll.

Initial Impressions

Getting pictures texted to me from Joey and the regular FB posts from Garrett took some surprise out of the equation of seeing it for the first time. Also, I scheduled a business trip to Chicago while the coach was in paint prep. I got to see it go through the process and I recommend that if possible, travel to Elkhart before, during, or shortly after your coach is built. They are very nice hosts and will help you feel at ease about your purchase. A plane ticket and a rental car is all you’ll be out for the confidence and satisfaction of shaking a few hands and marveling at how they build these things so efficiently.

All that being said, I was so pleased with initial quality. My expectations were met in nearly every way. There were things here and there, but they were quickly resolved. I knew it would take some time to really start seeing things that needed to be looked at for repair. More importantly, my wife was happy with the motorhome. She commented several times on the quality and the fit and finish. She’s never been thrilled with the décor of any RV, but she found the DX3 tastefully done.

Getting Packed Up

My biggest concern for my family of 6 was about having enough space for everything. I was worried about the big items fitting in basement storage (i.e. Camp Chef, Honey Pot, Coolers). I found that everything fit. I was a little bummed to see the rotocast plastic material was used. I guess it was better than what was used before, but I hate the way it sags, especially where my grill and toolbox get loaded. I do love the way the basement latches and doors work… very solid design. Getting big items up 6 stairs into the coach can take a bit of gymnastics but I felt like the hand rails and steps were solid.

The inside cabinetry was impressive. Aside from the hardwood doors all of the hardware seemed quality. All of the overhead cabinets stay open when open and stay closed when closed (thus eliminating the need for cheap plastic catches that eventually break). The soft close drawers work as they should and ultimately, I found that I had plenty of room for everything for all 6 of us.

I did manage to jam a 14-gallon Rubbermaid trash can under the sink, albeit a bit awkward to squeeze in. The fridge and freezer were plenty big, and the bathroom storage was plentiful. I do wish there were some sort of shelf guides in the vanity cabinet that could keep tall items from falling down. The 8-bedroom drawers were deep and the overhead cabinet above the bed was huge.

I hate making beds, but my wife insists we have foam toppers, mattress protectors, sheets and blankets galore for all 4 sleeping areas in the coach. There was plenty of storage for all this bedding with a big bonus being the space under the seat cushion in the trifold sofa. It was super easy to roll everything up in the foam topper and store there during the day (it’s the small things that make the biggest difference). The bed in the overhead bunk isn’t super plush so by the time we added the foam and bedding, the tv didn’t have room to go back and forth (we didn’t order the entertainment center, so the TV is on a mount in the overhead bunk area).

That made having a TV on mount pointless, so I moved the mount forward and down so that the back of the tv sits flush with the cab wall and the bottom of the tv aligns flush with the cab ceiling. What I want to design is a drawer that is mounted in the top of the cab that pulls out into the coach with the tv and then swings up in the center. Anyway, the way the tv is mounted now using the same mount from the factory is that it actually swings out from the OVHD bunk area which makes it 10x easier to make the bed and tuck in the sheets.

One thing that you often neglect to think about when packing the first time is accessibility to those cabinets with the slides in. I’m happy to report that the 37TS really shines in this area IMO. I thought we had good access on the road. It would be near flawless if the factory could squeeze out one more inch of clearance on the right-hand door of the kitchen cabinet opposite the shower wall. It catches on the slide molding detail and if that detail was trimmed ½ inch it would grant access to at least the right side of that whole cabinet.

Hitting the Road

This was my first experience driving such a large vehicle and I loved it! It was so easy to maneuver, and drivability was very good. I did scrape the hitch in my driveway, but I was expecting that. I need to still do the hitch modification to raise it a few inches. The steering was tight, and crosswinds were barely noticeable across I-80. Sometimes I would get some oversteer passing semis… but not always; nevertheless, it was manageable. The ride and comfort were great from my perspective.

The coach has plenty of power and shifts effortlessly. I feel like the sweet spot for power is between 68-76. In that range the coach just seems to go effortless down the road- even pulling long gentle grades (less than 3-4 %). The minute I fell out of that range though it seemed to take some time to get back into range, especially climbing hills. The transmission seemed to do its job well for the most part and so I just left it alone. There were occasions on steep downgrades that I downshifted, but mostly I just left it alone.

I am encountering one transmission issue that I would appreciate input to know if you’ve ever had this happen to you. In two separate cases last week while driving up a very steep grade (double-digit) the coach will downshift as it loses speed until I get to first. When it wants to upshift to first when creeping up a hill, it slips with no torque lock between 2nd and 1st and I have to catch 1st by lifting my foot off the throttle completely. It will then roughly engage into first and be fine after that.

Has anyone else had this issue? It’s with Allison right now and they don’t see any codes on it. They said there is updated calibration software that they are going to load, and I’ll test it again. If that doesn’t work, then I’m going to have to reproduce it for the tech.

I’m loving the air ride seat and got used the single armrest although it wasn’t ideal. Even the one armrest sat a bit too low for my liking, but I adapted. The cockpit took a bit to learn every switch and its location and or purpose. I installed a phone mount that Aaron Hall came across and I highly recommend that. The Kenwood integration with car play was nice.

The airhorn is loud and I’m not gonna’ lie… It’s my favorite thing. The rest of cab in terms of layout is a bit awkward. I use cruise control a lot and I was constantly having to lean forward to the dash to adjust it. I understand that there is an adaptive cruise option on the M2 and I think that should be standard just to lessen the leaning forward to dial up or down the cruise. Speaking of cruise—I actually felt like the cruise unleashed some extra horses under the hood when compared to using the pedal. I might be making it up, but I was amazed at how well it stuck to the set speed, even up moderate grades with my 7K trailer.

I do wish for steering wheel controls because reaching for the radio and cruise as I already mentioned were annoying. I also don’t love that that the Jake Brake is so far away. I would like to have that closer than say, the marker interrupter switch or the manual regen switch.

I did like the integrated dash cam into the Kenwood stereo system. It was an optional upgrade that should just be standard IMO. It always runs and even activates when parked when it senses movements. That’s nice for security and peace of mind while your sleeping. When you start the radio the next time it will alert you there were motion-based recordings.

One thing that I was missing was storage in the cab. I wish Dynamax would just build standard a center console similar to the aftermarket one people are adding. I’ll be getting one too, but I don’t love the single black color option (or the price for what it is).

One last thing I’ll mention in the cab is my wife’s perspective in the passenger seat. She liked the high height of the air ride seats from the perspective that it allowed her to rest her feet on the dash. She didn’t like it from the perspective that she was always on full display. I think we’ll solve that by tinting the cab side windows. Like me, she also found the seats satisfactory, but missed the second arm rest and wished for better lumbar support.

For my kids riding in the back they loved it on the road. Plenty of seating and access to everything. We only had one injury when I had to make a quick turn and my 9 yr old ended up upside down in the coach stair well. I can confirm that the door lock works well and doesn’t yield to 75 lbs of gravity driven downward force against it. We were emphatic about seat belts in our first MH but have given up on that. This experience had us reconsider.

Anyway, the kids had good mobility and access to plenty of seating and entertainment. I do wish for cupholders and device holders. The DX3 37TS has none and our Forester had a ton. We constantly had rolling water bottles and Ipad’s sliding onto the tile floor… which broke the screen of one of them . Anyway, more device storage could help alleviate that.

When my wife would nap in the back she did comment that the ride wasn’t as soft as in the Forester (I had adjustable air bags that I could dial in to be soft when needed). I am still going to get the CLASS liquid spring rear suspension to help soften up the ride and take care of my oversteer situation noted above.

Towing

I don’t own a vehicle that can be towed 4-down and until recently was content to pull my 18’ aluminum Sundowner car hauler with my SUV. Weighing in at about 7K lbs in total, the DX3 pulls it effortlessly and most of the time I didn’t have to think twice about it. Although my total length was about 61 feet it never felt too long. The trailer tracks so nicely behind the MH, especially in tight turns. I did find myself defaulting to driving it like I was trailering behind a normal truck and it doesn’t behave the same way. I learned how to use the tail swing to my advantage by making a really tight turn to swing the tail and pull the trailer sharply behind the tail.

The downside of course is the risk of the tail hitting something. The biggest risk for this I found is in tight situations like camp sites or parallel parking on streets. I found that it was important to avoid a parking situation where I was going to have to make a tight turn to get out of it.

I did decide that I am going to get a toad. Part of the effort was convincing my wife a new Wrangler JL was the solution. She’s onboard now and as soon as I figure out how to get one more seat added in the back I’m going to pull the trigger. I still have a lot to learn on this subject but will be glad to have the hassle of parking the trailer in overflow parking behind me.

Parking it and Relaxing

This floorplan has a TON of room. We loved how open and spacious it is after opening the opposing slides. The two sofas were plenty comfortable, and the dinette was great for my 4 boys to eat at. My wife and I used the sofa on the same side of the dinette to eat at because of the arm rest mini tables. However, we felt too far from the kids so we moved across to the other side, so we could have a better visual on the food throwing, kicking, pinching and generally bad table manners my 4 boys tend to exhibit. I wish those armrest tables were on the other sofa, too, since we sat there for meals.

Meal prep in the kitchen was great. Plenty of counter space with the extended counter lift. The Sharp microwave is awesome and our Breville toaster oven sat nicely on the counter backing the shower wall. There was plenty of under cabinet drawer space and plenty of room for several people in the kitchen.

The washer and dryer rock. We have the Spendide models and they had good capacity and the dryer was quite good. We did overload the washer a time or two and learned that made drying 10x longer than if we had done a normal size load. I did have one issue though: My wife likes these things called Shout Color Catchers which are supposed to protect colors for mixed loads ( I think it’s a scam btw). Anyway, don’t use them. They resemble a dryer sheet and after our second load one of them got caught in the filter. We got an FL1 code which meant the washer couldn’t drain.

My beef with Dynamax is that accessing the filter on the washing machine was near impossible. I ended up having to open it just enough to let the water drain into the washer basin to catch the water. However, because the basin didn’t fit just right in the space for the W/D, the factory cut it then glued/screwed it down to fit into the cabinet. Except, it doesn’t actually seal as it appears some sort of construction adhesive was used so water went everywhere, including soaking the carpet under the basin. The other thing that was a poor design decision was to attempt to put a screw into the cross bracket that holds the dryer above in. The movement during driving just bored out the hole in the plastic of the dryer panel. That leaves little plastic shards everywhere after each time we drive somewhere.

We found the beds to be fine and nothing a foam topper couldn’t make better. I love having the multiplex lighting and appreciate the ease and accessibility of turning on lights. In the bedroom however, the placement of the switch on the nightstand is a no go. I can’t tell you how many times I rolled over at night and turned on our lights, and even the master lights for every light in the coach. Please move that switch up… there’s room.
The slides worked flawlessly although I don’t understand the logic behind the lockout. Because of where the ignition is in the left side of the cab. Turning it on to operate slides was a PIA. I understand a lockout is some sort of requirement for RVIA but please come up with a better way. I found it to be counter-intuitive with pulling out the slides before leveling the coach. Anyway, something to consider. Overall though, very pleased with the slides- the motors seem strong and they are heavy duty. I do have a slight alignment issue with the gap differential between the top and bottom on the dinette slide but I’ll get the dealer to take a look at that.

The leveling jacks work well overall but they seem to hiccup if you don’t dump the rear airbags before starting the leveling process. Otherwise, it seemed to just give up. I do wish it was integrated into the app but the aftermarket BT module and app will solve that. I do wish the leveling system was a bit more robust on slopes. It seems to give up to easy when there is still plenty of room to adjust to get level manually. One other tip on leveling is to get the Snap Pads- They are so nice and made leveling so easy.

I found that automatic steps were well positioned and didn’t find a situation where they bottomed out against the ground. I did however, have to learn not to park so close to a curb because they would hit the curb when extending. Every time that would make me cringe, especially since I covered them with polished stainless covers. 

The shower is awesome. The spray head is phenomenal, and the water pressure is great--- especially with the bigger water pump Dynamax puts in all their units. I love the magnetic doors and was leak free once I did a little silicone touch up in the corner in one place. The bathroom fan does the job but man, why can’t they come up with a toilet that doesn’t streak? I’ll leave it at that. Overall, the bath is great.

Finally, the tile. I like the idea of having tile, but I have a couple of issues that I’ve got to get resolved. I have a lot of movement and flex in at least 6-8 tiles. Stepping on it sounds like sand is underneath it and it flexes and crushes the grout sand. As a result, I have a lot of broken grout and not super happy about that. It continues to pop out in good size chunks. There must be an issue with the grout or something because this can’t be right. Do any of you have movement in your tile?

One last comment on tile- I upgraded to the XL polished tile for a cost. I don’t know if it’s more noticeable on the polished, but I have over grout everywhere. It’s beyond just the thin haze, there are places near walls and edges where there is a good solid layer of grout covering pieces of tile. I was super surprised about this and while it’s not obvious in my main areas, it’s especially bad in the bathroom. I wish the person that had grouted my floor had taken more time to clean it up and finish the job completely because now it’s going to take 5x as long for me to do the same job (if I can do it at all).

The Road Ahead

Overall, I’m extremely pleased with the DX3. Dynamax is a great company to work with and I see myself buying another MH from them in the future—Maybe when they bring the Cascadia back (although I wish they would give Volvo a try). I hope my review was helpful and best wishes to all on the road ahead!

[joet19711]

Overall, I’m extremely pleased with the DX3. Dynamax is a great company to work with and I see myself buying another MH from them in the future—Maybe when they bring the Cascadia back

Great review Steve. Me too!

[bclemens]

Very nice, detailed review. I have passed this on to engineering to see if we can incorporate any tips into future builds.

Couple of notes...
Streaks....more water in the bowl. We have looked at sprayer for all models, but I am not 100% sure the porcelain ones have a sprayer option, as it is more residential.

Tile. Urethane grout is a little trickier on cleaning. Attached is a link to some Snapstone tips. The polished is tricker as the haze is more evident.

SnapStone | Grout: Grout Instructions - Installation

[steverkemp]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Very nice, detailed review. I have passed this on to engineering to see if we can incorporate any tips into future builds.

Couple of notes...
Streaks....more water in the bowl. We have looked at sprayer for all models, but I am not 100% sure the porcelain ones have a sprayer option, as it is more residential.

Tile. Urethane grout is a little trickier on cleaning. Attached is a link to some Snapstone tips. The polished is tricker as the haze is more evident.

SnapStone | Grout: Grout Instructions - Installation

Thanks for the link on the grout. Looks like a great resource.

[mookieblaylock]

Outstanding review. We've had ours since the end of January, and I think we've logged 30 - 31 nights in ours as well. Our first impressions are very much inline with those of you and your family, although I could never have written them up so well. A couple of comments from our perspective:

Steering wheel mounted cruise and radio controls would be extremely nice to have. Leaning forward isn't comfortable or entirely safe. One thing I've noticed on the cruise control is that even though it disengages with the brake (like all vehicles), you really have to get on the brake pedal to make it happen. I find that you lose too much momentum when doing this, so I tend to toggle the cruise 'on/off' switch vs. using the brake...additional leaning forward.

Regarding the feeling that 'cruise unleashed some extra horses', that's not just a feeling. These engines are derated unless cruise is enabled/set. Additionally, if you look at the HP graphs of this particular engine calibration, the HP builds almost linearly up to the peak value near 2100/2200 RPM. This is very close to where you are sitting when running 68-76 down the highway. I noticed that the engine is much more responsive around 70 than, say, 55. The 350HP/1150lb-ft calibration attains the same peak HP, but it does so around 1500-1600 RPM. As such the HP curve between 1500 and 2100 RPM is relatively flat. I believe that would make highway driving a lot more comfortable.

The wheelbase/tail swing topic gets a lot of attention on this forum. I'll take the shorter wheelbase tradeoffs any day because these rigs are super maneuverable, and, as you noted, the way the trailer tracks the coach with the large tail swing is priceless.

On the last trip we ran at least two loads through the washer and dryer (same models you have) every day for 18 straight days. Honestly, I had little faith they they were up to the task and assumed something would happen to one or both of them before we made it back. They were flawless. My only 'complaint' (if it's even that) is that the washer really shakes the coach when on the high speed spin cycle. I'm not sure if it needs to be secured a bit more or if this is more a function of how I had the jacks deployed (i.e. maybe I had too much weight still on the coach suspension vs. on the jacks themselves). Not a big deal...just something on my list to look into later on.

Turning on the incredibly hard to reach ignition in order to operate the slides really is a PIA. I have found, though, that like the one arm rest, this is something I've gotten used to over time.

Regarding the jacks, RVRandy has an excellent write up on bleeding air from the jacks if they continue to 'hiccup' on you. Ours have been silky smooth since doing that. I agree, though, the auto-level rarely works unless the site is near perfectly level to begin with.

I'm glad you mentioned the steps/curb issue, as I haven't come across it on this forum. I felt like I almost destroyed ours when I opened the side door after pulling into a rest stop one day. I leave several feet between the coach and the curb now.

We haven't noticed a lot of grout issues, but we have several 'floating' tiles and several that have cracks in them already. We bought a 12' carpet runner that we delploy once setup that masks these issues and protects the others tiles in the heavily used walkway.

I'm on the list when they bring the big rig version back as well! It seems like Dynamax is tied to Freightliner. I really like the new Cascadia design, but I'm with you 100% - a Dynamax on a class 8 Volvo chassis would be amazing!

JT

[steverkemp]

I agree on disengaging cruise and find myself doing the same thing. Thanks for validating my ‘extra horses’ theory. Sounds like I need to get the calibration done.

Thanks for the jacks tip. I’ll find that thread and give it a try.

Thanks for your feedback!!

[wfo9]

Originally Posted by mookieblaylock

Regarding the feeling that 'cruise unleashed some extra horses', that's not just a feeling. These engines are derated unless cruise is enabled/set.

I've noticed a similar feeling but have not actually explored it much. I use the cruise a lot and the power feels better, but I'm curious where you came up with the derated theory. I just assumed it's basically going full tilt on the throttle when the increase speed button is pressed where I tend to roll into it..

[mookieblaylock]

Not really a theory I don’t guess...just something I’ve come across multiple times while researching not just Dynamax rigs but most medium/heavy duty setups. I believe it was even mentioned in this forum one time...has something to do with engine/transmission protection. You only have access to the full rated HP/torque when the computers are in control.

[wfo9]

Originally Posted by mookieblaylock

Not really a theory I don’t guess...just something I’ve come across multiple times while researching not just Dynamax rigs but most medium/heavy duty setups. I believe it was even mentioned in this forum one time...has something to do with engine/transmission protection. You only have access to the full rated HP/torque when the computers are in control.

I get it... I've tuned many fly by wire engines... The ECU is clearly in full control and the throttle is no more than an input device (like a mouse or keyboard). The ECU often attempts to protect the engine, transmission, and drive-line with what is often referred to as torque management. It more or less uses the MAF, RPM, and MAP sensors to determine a calculated torque output and limit (in the case of a diesel injector pulse) based on what is about to happen. Shifts, lower gears, EGT, catalyst efficiency/temp... all typically get into torque management strategies.

BUT, I see no reason/logic that the cruise control would do anything different in terms of torque management compared to the pedal. It's just another input with the same end result...

But it does feel different. Just a little confusing and was curious if there was any actual facts or reasoning behind the perception.

Our brains are pretty wired into throttle theory. I can take an engine and calibrate the throttle response to be more sensitive (eg, 30% pedal = WOT) and just about every person will think the engine feels more powerful.. When in reality, the only thing that was changed was the throttle sensitivity... But the human perception is tricked into feeling more power... I'm guessing that is what might be going on, but have no facts to prove or disprove it yet. A little scanning should tell the story.

[caseymyers]

Great report thanks and I echo your thoughts on the Dynamax team The are a great crew.

[RV Randy]

Originally Posted by wfo9

I get it... I've tuned many fly by wire engines... The ECU is clearly in full control and the throttle is no more than an input device (like a mouse or keyboard). The ECU often attempts to protect the engine, transmission, and drive-line with what is often referred to as torque management. It more or less uses the MAF, RPM, and MAP sensors to determine a calculated torque output and limit (in the case of a diesel injector pulse) based on what is about to happen. Shifts, lower gears, EGT, catalyst efficiency/temp... all typically get into torque management strategies.

BUT, I see no reason/logic that the cruise control would do anything different in terms of torque management compared to the pedal. It's just another input with the same end result...

But it does feel different. Just a little confusing and was curious if there was any actual facts or reasoning behind the perception.

Our brains are pretty wired into throttle theory. I can take an engine and calibrate the throttle response to be more sensitive (eg, 30% pedal = WOT) and just about every person will think the engine feels more powerful.. When in reality, the only thing that was changed was the throttle sensitivity... But the human perception is tricked into feeling more power... I'm guessing that is what might be going on, but have no facts to prove or disprove it yet. A little scanning should tell the story.

X2. I have a 911 and when you push the "Sport" button it makes the car seem much peppier i.e. more power. But the Porsche manual clearly says it only re-maps the throttle configuration so it requires less pedal push to get the same result, it does not increase engine HP. But people will swear it does.

[RV Randy]

Originally Posted by mookieblaylock

Outstanding review. We've had ours since the end of January, and I think we've logged 30 - 31 nights in ours as well. Our first impressions are very much inline with those of you and your family, although I could never have written them up so well. A couple of comments from our perspective:

Steering wheel mounted cruise and radio controls would be extremely nice to have. Leaning forward isn't comfortable or entirely safe. One thing I've noticed on the cruise control is that even though it disengages with the brake (like all vehicles), you really have to get on the brake pedal to make it happen. I find that you lose too much momentum when doing this, so I tend to toggle the cruise 'on/off' switch vs. using the brake...additional leaning forward.

Regarding the feeling that 'cruise unleashed some extra horses', that's not just a feeling. These engines are derated unless cruise is enabled/set. Additionally, if you look at the HP graphs of this particular engine calibration, the HP builds almost linearly up to the peak value near 2100/2200 RPM. This is very close to where you are sitting when running 68-76 down the highway. I noticed that the engine is much more responsive around 70 than, say, 55. The 350HP/1150lb-ft calibration attains the same peak HP, but it does so around 1500-1600 RPM. As such the HP curve between 1500 and 2100 RPM is relatively flat. I believe that would make highway driving a lot more comfortable.

The wheelbase/tail swing topic gets a lot of attention on this forum. I'll take the shorter wheelbase tradeoffs any day because these rigs are super maneuverable, and, as you noted, the way the trailer tracks the coach with the large tail swing is priceless.

On the last trip we ran at least two loads through the washer and dryer (same models you have) every day for 18 straight days. Honestly, I had little faith they they were up to the task and assumed something would happen to one or both of them before we made it back. They were flawless. My only 'complaint' (if it's even that) is that the washer really shakes the coach when on the high speed spin cycle. I'm not sure if it needs to be secured a bit more or if this is more a function of how I had the jacks deployed (i.e. maybe I had too much weight still on the coach suspension vs. on the jacks themselves). Not a big deal...just something on my list to look into later on.

Turning on the incredibly hard to reach ignition in order to operate the slides really is a PIA. I have found, though, that like the one arm rest, this is something I've gotten used to over time.

Regarding the jacks, RVRandy has an excellent write up on bleeding air from the jacks if they continue to 'hiccup' on you. Ours have been silky smooth since doing that. I agree, though, the auto-level rarely works unless the site is near perfectly level to begin with.

I'm glad you mentioned the steps/curb issue, as I haven't come across it on this forum. I felt like I almost destroyed ours when I opened the side door after pulling into a rest stop one day. I leave several feet between the coach and the curb now.

We haven't noticed a lot of grout issues, but we have several 'floating' tiles and several that have cracks in them already. We bought a 12' carpet runner that we delploy once setup that masks these issues and protects the others tiles in the heavily used walkway.

I'm on the list when they bring the big rig version back as well! It seems like Dynamax is tied to Freightliner. I really like the new Cascadia design, but I'm with you 100% - a Dynamax on a class 8 Volvo chassis would be amazing!

JT

Question: You mentioned having to turn the ignition on to put out the slides, others have made the same comment. Why do you think you have to have the engine running? Its important that you have full voltage before operating the slides, but if you have access to shore power, just plug that in first. If no shore power, you can start the generator. Running the engine works too but I prefer to park the rig, shut the engine off and deploy the levelers first. Then plug in shore power and run out the slides. I've always been told its best to level the rig up first before deploying the slides, that puts less stress on the slide mechanisms.

PS - Did you ever get your rear cap damage fixed? How did that go and how expensive was it?

[mookieblaylock]

Originally Posted by RV Randy

Question: You mentioned having to turn the ignition on to put out the slides, others have made the same comment. Why do you think you have to have the engine running? Its important that you have full voltage before operating the slides, but if you have access to shore power, just plug that in first. If no shore power, you can start the generator. Running the engine works too but I prefer to park the rig, shut the engine off and deploy the levelers first. Then plug in shore power and run out the slides. I've always been told its best to level the rig up first before deploying the slides, that puts less stress on the slide mechanisms.

PS - Did you ever get your rear cap damage fixed? How did that go and how expensive was it?

Sorry...didn't mean to imply that the engine needed to be running. On mine, the slides will not go out unless the key is in the 'run' position. Based on what Brian has said, I assume that is due to the fact that the lockouts on mine are tied to the parking brake.

I've read enough on here to be terrified of operating the slides at low voltage, so I always plug in at the site prior to deploying the jacks and then the slides. The key has to be in the 'off' position to deploy the jacks, then you have to put it in the 'run' position to deploy the slides.

The cap is scheduled to be repaired this winter...we had too much planned to leave it with them on their schedule this year. Our last outing is over Thanksgiving, and we won't need it back until February for it's first trip to the SoCal desert. Hopefully that time frame works with their precious schedule. I think the final estimate was a little north of $7k.

[RV Randy]

Originally Posted by mookieblaylock

Sorry...didn't mean to imply that the engine needed to be running. On mine, the slides will not go out unless the key is in the 'run' position. Based on what Brian has said, I assume that is due to the fact that the lockouts on mine are tied to the parking brake.

I've read enough on here to be terrified of operating the slides at low voltage, so I always plug in at the site prior to deploying the jacks and then the slides. The key has to be in the 'off' position to deploy the jacks, then you have to put it in the 'run' position to deploy the slides.

The cap is scheduled to be repaired this winter...we had too much planned to leave it with them on their schedule this year. Our last outing is over Thanksgiving, and we won't need it back until February for it's first trip to the SoCal desert. Hopefully that time frame works with their precious schedule. I think the final estimate was a little north of $7k.

Seems to be different iterations how these things are configured, maybe because yours is a BH and mine is a TS. I know my ignition key does not have to be on to put the slides out, but it must be off to deploy the levelers. I learn more every day.