New Member - just bought 1st TT - Wildwood Xlite 201BHXL

[OMW2SKI]

Hi all!

My wife and I just bought our first travel trailer. We ended up with a 2018 Forest River Wildwood Xlite 201BHXL. We made a deposit last weekend and will head back Saturday for PDI, finance and delivery.

Before kids, we were ardent campers - but mostly backpacking and car camping. Our family loves the outdoors and we spend a lot of time hiking, skiing, etc., but we haven't camped often enough with our children. Our oldest just turned 13 and we want to get out more before she becomes too cool to hang out with us : )

The 201BHXL seems like a good fit. It has bunks and a queen sized murphy bed. We purchased it from General RV which is a 10 minute drive from our house. We negotiated $18K OTD with 2 batteries and an e2 hitch (e2 hitch). That includes Utah's 6.85% sales tax. The unit we bought was "loaded" with an MSRP of $27,5xx. I think/hope we did okay on the price.

I ordered a BUNCH of stuff from Amazon today! For anyone interested, here are links:

Brake controller
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Brake controller wiring harness
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Leveling blocks
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Rubber wheel chocks
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wheel locks
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hitch pin lock
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Master Coupler lock
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Trailer lock
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Sewer hose kit https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Gray water tank chemical https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Black water tank chemical https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

15 amp to 30 amp dogbone adapter https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

30 amp extension cord https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Water pressure regulator https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Gray/black water rinse hose https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Drinking water hose https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Clip on towing mirrors https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Replacement fuses https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Graduated level https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Water filter https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Nitrile gloves https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Any feedback (good or bad!) on the gear I picked out? Do you guys see any glaring deficiencies?

I'm watching a lot of Youtube videos and reading a lot of forum posts about the PDI. I wanna get that right and take home a trailer in good working order!

Thanks for having me on the forum. I'm looking forward to our new hobby and being a part of these boards.

[MillMitch]

Welcome to the forum from MN.

[Flybob]

Sounds like you are excited and have been busy spending $. Look in the library section for a PDI check list and go over it well before PDI. Use a cell phone or video camera and record any portions of the equipment demos that you feel you might forget. Don't let your excitement get in the way of good judgement. Do not sign anything until everything is working. Many times when issues are discovered during PDI, the dealer will tell you " Just take it now and use it for a trip or two then bring it back and we will fix the issue and any other things you find" The problem with this is dealers are very busy with show deliveries and prepping units for spring. Once you sign the paperwork they lose their motivation to fix issues quickly. Warranty work pays less than regular work so you will be at the end of the line. As long as you haven't signed for it, they will do whatever is needed to get paid. If you can camp in your driveway for a night or two do it. Then every time you go back to the house to get something, add it to the list of things you need to get. Most of all enjoy it.

[Chief T]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum! Exciting times! I was there last summer.

For the rinse hose I got the expandable type: Super light and hardly takes any space. https://www.amazon.com/HBlife-Expand...xpandable+hose

Don't forget about a surge protector: https://www.amazon.com/Portable-RV-S...YNQQRBHYY&th=1

If you do a search, you'll find lists folks provided with required and nice-to-have items.

Safe and happy travels.

[StephenM]

Congrats on the new camper! Share some pics once you get it and get settled in.

[emjayuu]

Congratulations. We bought the same unit (2017) model last fall! Hope you will love it as much as we do so far.

[AquaMan]

Congrats on the new purchase! My older daughters are 22 & 21 and the youngest is 11. They all still like to go camping with us, even though the youngest is the only one at home!

[Wobbles]

Welcome from Southern Illinois.

PS. You may have a hole in your wallet. LOL...

[OMW2SKI]

Originally Posted by Flybob

Sounds like you are excited and have been busy spending $. Look in the library section for a PDI check list and go over it well before PDI. Use a cell phone or video camera and record any portions of the equipment demos that you feel you might forget. Don't let your excitement get in the way of good judgement. Do not sign anything until everything is working. Many times when issues are discovered during PDI, the dealer will tell you " Just take it now and use it for a trip or two then bring it back and we will fix the issue and any other things you find" The problem with this is dealers are very busy with show deliveries and prepping units for spring. Once you sign the paperwork they lose their motivation to fix issues quickly. Warranty work pays less than regular work so you will be at the end of the line. As long as you haven't signed for it, they will do whatever is needed to get paid. If you can camp in your driveway for a night or two do it. Then every time you go back to the house to get something, add it to the list of things you need to get. Most of all enjoy it.

I called the dealer yesterday and told them to plan on me squatting in the garage for hours on Saturday : ) I'm bringing along a checklist, flashlight, tools, and my father-in-law, who has some experience with travel trailers.

Originally Posted by Chief T

Congratulations and welcome to the forum! Exciting times! I was there last summer.

For the rinse hose I got the expandable type: Super light and hardly takes any space. https://www.amazon.com/HBlife-Expand...xpandable+hose

Don't forget about a surge protector: https://www.amazon.com/Portable-RV-S...YNQQRBHYY&th=1

If you do a search, you'll find lists folks provided with required and nice-to-have items.

Safe and happy travels.

I totally forgot about the surge protector. Thank you! Well, sort of... It's an expensive part to forget haha.

Originally Posted by AquaMan

Congrats on the new purchase! My older daughters are 22 & 21 and the youngest is 11. They all still like to go camping with us, even though the youngest is the only one at home!

That sounds great. We're working hard to have solid relationships with the kids. Hopefully, they won't be strangers when they're adults.