200MBLE PDI this week!

[BaltimoreMark]

Bought my first RV at the RV Show in Timonium MD last month: A new 2016 Surveyor 200MBLE. I do my Pre Delivery Inspection this Tuesday. I bought a new 2013 Ford 150 SuperCrew 4X4 with 6.5 bed to pull it. V6 ecoboost.
We are excited to move from camping to RVing. Getting ready to retire is 2 years, so shorter trips this year and next.

Any tips on going thru the PDI? I've printed out some check lists.

Mark

[Coolharts]

Awesome!!! You are buying an almost 2 year old camper, try to negotiate a fresh set of tires.

Check all furniture carefully, tug and pull on stuff, check everything, divide out the chores. Climb on the roof, crawl underneath and make sure there is a checklist.

[jcnolen]

We just bought same model. At the PDI, make sure the dealer fills the fresh water tank and checks all the plumbing including the water pump and water heater. Check for leaks under trailer!! We just found a leak in our fresh water tank when we sanitized it. Had to take back to dealer to fix this morning. Not sure how long it will take to fix once they find where it's leaking. Will be putting off trip planned for next week.

[Philos3]

Go through the list one by one, preferable a month earlier (obviously you waited until the last moment), so you can identify which items you need tools, knowledge, or experience to perform. You may need to hire an inspector, mechanic, chassis guy, suspension guy, or service provider to assist.

Some would argue this is only important for a used unit, but that is really not true, especially for motorhomes with more potential issues. I have read quite a few posts regarding new units with severe problems that a professional would have uncovered.

Units that have been sitting at the dealership often have "used" new unit issues with, for example, the tires, batteries, chassis rust, fluids, rubber and, sealants (like the sealants on the roof). Look carefully for evidence of a leak. Dealerships often just let these units go unmaintained until the unit is sold then they do a quick polish up.

Smile, talk nicely, but verify, verify, verify.

Ask for evidence of ongoing maintenance based on time....yes time sitting at the dealership. Regular battery maintenance, roof inspections, water damage inspections, etc. etc.

[BaltimoreMark]

Originally Posted by jcnolen

We just bought same model. At the PDI, make sure the dealer fills the fresh water tank and checks all the plumbing including the water pump and water heater. Check for leaks under trailer!! We just found a leak in our fresh water tank when we sanitized it. Had to take back to dealer to fix this morning. Not sure how long it will take to fix once they find where it's leaking. Will be putting off trip planned for next week.

Thanks! I have my list ready.

[BaltimoreMark]

Originally Posted by Philos3

Go through the list one by one, preferable a month earlier (obviously you waited until the last moment), so you can identify which items you need tools, knowledge, or experience to perform. You may need to hire an inspector, mechanic, chassis guy, suspension guy, or service provider to assist.

Some would argue this is only important for a used unit, but that is really not true, especially for motorhomes with more potential issues. I have read quite a few posts regarding new units with severe problems that a professional would have uncovered.

Units that have been sitting at the dealership often have "used" new unit issues with, for example, the tires, batteries, chassis rust, fluids, rubber and, sealants (like the sealants on the roof). Look carefully for evidence of a leak. Dealerships often just let these units go unmaintained until the unit is sold then they do a quick polish up.

Smile, talk nicely, but verify, verify, verify.

Ask for evidence of ongoing maintenance based on time....yes time sitting at the dealership. Regular battery maintenance, roof inspections, water damage inspections, etc. etc.

Thanks, I have been downloading pdi lists and getting ready.

[BaileyGoesCamping]

Congratulations!
We just went through PDI yesterday! It went great, but we did find 4 things that they needed to fix right away. You really need to be picky, they are giving you a tour of the trailer, but they will not pick out things that need to be fixed for you. At least, ours didn't. These were our issues:
1. The cap on one side of the bumper was missing.
2. A screw in the window at the top bunk missed the hole to hold the window, so alignment was completely off.
3. A wand was missing on one of the mini blinds
4. Passanger side wheel well was missing a screw.

As for the tour, my husband listened to everything, tried everything and I took video with my phone on the more complicated items that he was demonstrating. I took notes on everything else. I video taped the demo of the water heater, awning tips (ours is manual), the black and grey water tank info, the water pump info, etc.
Good luck!

[BaltimoreMark]

Thanks. As a rookie, I'm watching you tube videos galore.

[Harris85]

Congratulations! Enjoy!