New 2019 2706WS... very pleased so far

[axleman]

After 6 months of learning, shopping and comparing, my wife and I just purchased a new 2706WS from a nearby dealer. We got a fair deal on it (30% off) and overall they were very pleasant to work with. The tech that went over it with us was knowledgeable and answered our questions satisfactorily. The tech that installed out WDH, however, did not set it up properly at all. The trailer was several inches nose down and there was not nearly enough leverage being applied by the bars. We did not notice this until the drive home, so I'll need to make some adjustments before our next trip.

The dealer put us up in their campground for the first night and we spent the whole afternoon going through the whole thing, system by system, working EVERYTHING. The only problem we found was a missing cover on one of the interior lights. Everything actually works! It even rained hard that night and we were not able to find any leaks. I was really expecting to find something that didn't work or leaked, but all is well. (I do realize that things are going to go wrong later)

Comments:

1) In spite of the nose heavy WDH set up, the trailer towed fairly well. We kept it at 60mph on the interstate. No sway at all, but the steering was a bit light which is to be expected. The brakes worked well once I got the gain set properly on the TBC.

2) The front queen mattress was surprisingly very comfortable. We may add a topper, but no plans to replace the mattress.

3) My son (11) and daughter (19) report that the bunks slept well. My 17 yr old son who is 6'3" slept on the dinette. He did not fit well on the hide-a-bed sofa.

4) The plumbing in the bath sink and kitchen sink left the water with a bad taste at first. We ran about 30-40 gallons of water through each during shakedown and it cleared up. My picky kids say the water tastes fine now.

5) We found a new use for the Shower Miser system. When connected to city water, you can use this system to fill the fresh water tank by turning on the cold water in the shower and turning the valve to recirculate. I've read about people having issues getting water into their tanks, so maybe this will help someone out there.

6) After arriving home and setting up, I discovered that our 15K A/C will start and run just fine on a 15 amp circuit from my garage. I was very much surprised by this. The highest draw I've seen from it is around 11 amps on startup and about 10 amps running. From testing it looks like we can run the A/C along with most other AC electrical loads except for the microwave and electric water heater without tripping the breaker.

7) The kitchen counter extension is pretty wobbly. I would not rely on it to support much weight.

8) The kitchen counter lacks lighting. We'll need to add some stick on LEDs under the cabinets.

9) Our Rhinoflex sewer hose won't fit in the rear bumper. Not sure what we are going to do on this yet.

10) Our family of 5 fit comfortably around the dinette.

11) For whatever reason, the dealer ordered this one with a manual tongue jack. It does have most other factory options though. I'm already not a fan of the manual jack and will be replacing it very soon.

Overall, we are very happy with our camper and look forward to using it!

[Sky1926]

Thanks for the input, eyeballing this one as well. Please keep the updates coming as you find things.

[acastillo74]

Great buy! We love our 2018 2706WS. If you haven't already, I highly recommend a weight distribution hitch. Once I put our own, the ride was a lot smoother.

I agree with the counter extension. It is a flimsy. I plan of hooking up some a more sturdy hinge system in the future.

I am surprise that you can run your AC on 15 amps. Ours requires around 18 to 20 amps/ The new models must come with a more efficient AC.

I forget what sewer hose we have, but it's not fancy and just fits in the bumper.

We find the camper pretty spacious, even with 4 kids. Have fun with yours.

[axleman]

Originally Posted by acastillo74

Great buy! We love our 2018 2706WS. If you haven't already, I highly recommend a weight distribution hitch. Once I put our own, the ride was a lot smoother.

We have a weight dist hitch and the dealer installed it while we closed the deal, but it is not adjusted correctly. I need to raise the hitch height by 3 inches or so and possibly adjust the bar tension.

I agree with the counter extension. It is a flimsy. I plan of hooking up some a more sturdy hinge system in the future.

I am surprise that you can run your AC on 15 amps. Ours requires around 18 to 20 amps/ The new models must come with a more efficient AC.

Apparently it is pretty efficient. We can run the AC and everything else other than the microwave or electric hot water heater at the same time with no issues on a 15 amp circuit.

I forget what sewer hose we have, but it's not fancy and just fits in the bumper.

I think our hoses will fit but I'll have to remove the couplings first.

We find the camper pretty spacious, even with 4 kids. Have fun with yours.

Thanks!

[axleman]

Update:

We have taken our rig out on three trips now and have had zero issues with it so far.

1) After adjusting the WDH and adding as set of Timbrens and coilover shocks to the rear of our 2013 Ecoboost, the trailer tows nicely. You know it's back there, but the truck and trailer feel like one unit.

2) So far we have always left home with a full fresh tank. I'm happy to report the tank is still where Rockwood installed it. I've had no problems filling it using the bypass in the shower.

3) We camped in a friend's driveway over July 4th weekend and hooked up to a 15 amp outlet in his garage. 15k AC started and ran fine.

4) In my driveway, the single AC unit is adequate. The camper is shaded most of the day. We have discovered that we may need to add the second unit. Full sun in southern summer is more than it can handle by itself. It has a hard time keeping the interior below 82 or so on the hottest days in full sun.

5) After reading in the forums about the performance of RV refrigerators, I was a bit concerned how ours would handle the heat of the Southeast. Ours has run continuously since May and has worked well. The freezer stays around -10 and the fridge stays between 35 and 40. I did add a small fan inside the fridge to keep the air moving in there. This creates a consistent temperature throughout the compartment. We get almost no ice buildup on the evaporator coil.

So far, so good!

[Bob.n.Denise]

Great write up. Very informative. Thanks.

We had to readjust our dealer installed WDH also. Plus they used a 12” shank instead of an 18” shank (which means the tailgate can’t be lowered while hooked to the trailer – I’m remedying that right now).

We special ordered our 2703WS with duel ACs. Can never be too cool.

We have to uncouple the 2 lengths of sewer hose in order to slide each one in opposite ends of the bumper. Pain.