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04-29-2017, 09:13 PM #1
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We got to meet our new 376TH today.
Those of you who have been following my So Close but so very far away thread know that we got the truck fixed and have moved to Durango where we will pick up our new 376TH. Because of our delays the dealer had to schedule other folks in the shop, understandable, after all we are the ones that have rescheduled 3 times.
So Monday is the big PDI day. Lot's of check lists, they are good enough to put it into the shop and pull belly pans so I can check for some stuff. Grease on brakes is still a question to be answered. We arrived a few days early and decided to stop by the dealership to see if we could get at least a glimpse of it before PDI. The dealership already had it in the shop ready for us early Monday morning. The salesman was great, took us back to the shop, slid the slides out and turned on the lights. Told us to have fun, let him know if we had any questions.
So I typed up my first impressions. This occurred over a two hour period. 1pm to 3pm. I apologize for the long read and the randomness of it all. This thing is a bit overwhelming upon initial introduction.
First impressions
Oh my god what have we done!
It’s so big!
It’s gorgeous!
The water management system has really confusing valve patterns, what does each valve actually do and why to they have to be set the way they are.
I like the metal water box, conducts heat, and it has an outlet to plug a little heater into.
The slide through compartments are kind of small.
Love the long compartment on driver side, great for ski’s, fishing poles, brushes, etc. Probably have to build a PVC rack to put things on.
Stairs are a little week, have to save my stair support.
The little control panel in the cabinet is pretty cool. It’s going to take time to learn how to bypass it when it doesn’t function.
Barbara looks real funny while she is trying to decide where to put everything in the kitchen. I see lots of home improvement projects in my future.
Bathrooms kind of small. Funny they didn’t install the toilet paper holder, where will it go? It’s kind of squishy in here.
Is this a good mattress? Doesn’t appear to be anything special.
Bedroom TV has got to go, We can put up hooks to hang clothes on. No room for a shelf.
There is an electrical outlet on the floor by the kitchen table. Odd, but has potential.
Bathroom is kind of squishy, we’ll never get both of us in there at the same time. More storage space than I remember.
I am so glad they put a sliding door on the bathroom, I remember a swinging door.
Who picks out these bedspreads, white, are you kidding me. The dogs will like the fuzzy part.
They have straps to tie down the chairs in the kitchen so they don’t bounce around. I’ll have to re-inforce the bottoms of the chair drawers like I did on the old 5th wheel. Staples just don’t hold.
Barbara is looking for the under table drawers we saw some were, not here. Cool mechanism to slide the table out to make it bigger, I wonder is there is a leaf to put in the gap.
I am so glad Barbara is in charge of the kitchen. More storage than I remember, but in different locations. This will a good test of our marriage.
It’s funny the things we obsess over. We have a portable mid sized room heater we paid over $100 for. It will not fit, period. I reminded Barbara that we checked the box that said heat pump, it’s got a mid sized room heater built into the airconditioners somewhere. We had a debate on where it might be.
There are three major power management system built into the cabinet by the door. How did they run the wires to them? The techs had the panels off ready for one of my inspections. Holy Cow! My first thought was some of my old electrician buddies would be in cardiac arrest looking at how it is wired. Second thought was as we bounce down some of the rough roads that wiring array is going to come loose. Big mission, get those wires supported so they don’t bounce/torque against the connectors.
I really like the pinched connectors they used instead of the old twist on one. Look more solid.
How wonderful, someone has introduced the bus bar concept, all of the grounds are tied onto a bus bar instead of a big bundle nutted together. Extra points on that call.
There is a big hole behind the panel behind some kitchen drawers. Obviously cut out by a saw. Why? Nothing running through it. It’s ok, that hole will allow more internal heat to circulate around the backside of the water connections to keep them from freezing.
It’s got a WFCO 9800 converter. Hope it’s better than the WFCO converters I have had. Good news is there is plenty of room for a better/bigger replacement. Bad news is it’s covered up with a gazillion random wires and will take a contortionist to maneuver around.
The lighting around the TV is really cool. The TV slidy uppy/downy thing is really cool. How does it work. Nice, pretty solid screw drive system that looks pretty solid. I am a little concerned about the bracket used to hold the TV in place, great for a wall that doesn’t bounce up and down. Probably be ok as it is over the truck and not on the real bouncy end of the RV.
Barbara wants to take one couch out and put in a rack for ski boots and climbing gear. Looked at that. The couch is made specifically to fit. Doesn’t have legs. Built in components. Won’t be hard to take out. But it will take some modification to turn it into a couch we could sell to someone. Interesting how they had custom couches built around the step up on the slide that holds the slide mechanisms. I wonder what that big spring and wire do?
OH MY GOD! They have an actual owners manual and a wiring diagram. “Absolute Luxury Toy Hauler”. That’s impressive.
How are you going to keep that spray nozzle connection from freezing?
Damn, looks like grease on a wheel. I’ll have to talk to the service manager about it. I hate to take the time to repack the hubs but may be necessary.
Outside kitchen doesn’t really work for us, have to convert it to something useful. Keep the little fridge for beer? Hmmm. Love the propane connection for the stove that we will get rid of. Great for plugging in the grill. Stove is history.
This paint looks like it will be easy to care for, just some poly spray and wipe.
Back lit control panel, master light on, pretty cool all the lights come on. I’ll have to download the app and see how it works.
Compared to the size of this beast the suspension “looks” inadequate. Only time will tell.
Replace the stems for the TPMS or not. They are shorter than the ones I tore up on my old rig with the TPMS sensors. They have rubber bases. In a hurry, I will deal with it later.
I’ll be damned, it’s not as wide as our old rig. 14’ instead of 15’ with the slides out.
Why do they stick the power cord adapter straight out. Lots of side pressure on that connector, those cords are heavy, particularly 4 feet up. Glad I already got my 90 degree dogbone.
Sewer pipe well behind last wheel. Good, less chance of road debris. Will have to remember to get extra heat tape next winter to keep all that exposed pipe from freezing.
I think the sewer pipe holder may be too short. Sure it will hold a standard one, but so many places have the sewer connection out in the back 40 I have to carry two sewer hoses. Looks like another summer project.
Big washers around the dump handles, on thing off my check list.
Door latch is mis-aligned, very minor. Probably do it myself.
Those are a lot of manuals, I guess I better get started reading them.
= = = = = = = = =
This was just our first real walk through of a 376TH. We are a little worried we bit off more than we should have. Only time will tell. I am not looking forward to hauling this thing over Wolf's Creek Pass next week. That will be a grand test.
I'll have plenty of time tomorrow to read manuals. Monday will be the big day.
I don't see any greater revelations, most of the next part will be routine, I hope. I am not planning on doing a blow by blow, pretty boring, so I will only post significant things that come up.
Dallas
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04-29-2017, 09:22 PM #2
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Glad you finally got it! Have fun!
Alan
2015 380TH RVD2
2014 F350 DRW 6.7L
2012 Honda GW1800Alan and Kathleen
2015 Momentum 380TH (RVD2)
2014 Ford F350 Dually (Stormtrooper)
2012 Honda Goldwing Navi/ABS (Land Speeder)
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04-30-2017, 04:12 AM #3
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Dallas,
Thanks for taking the time to write up your observations. I for one do not find them boring but rather insightful.
Regards,
Kevin2015 Ram Laramie 3500 4x4 LB Dually Crew Cab
6.7L I6 Cummins Turbo Diesel Engine 5th wheel Prep
68RFE Transmission Auto Level Rear Air Suspension 3.73 gears
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04-30-2017, 04:53 AM #4
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We're happy to hear you have your truck back but also had time to meet your new home! Quite a list of observations, good write up..the one that surprised me the most was you got a wiring diagram!!! That's something I did not think GD would do. Have fun breaking in the motor and enjoy your new home come Monday.
Marcy & Gary
2014 Grand Design - Reflection 303RLS
2022 GMC 3500 Denali Duramax Longbed SRW
2015 GMC Denali 3500 - Retired
2003 F350 - retired
Michigan
We're in trouble now, the dog are bloggin'!
https://3dogsandatrailer.wordpress.com/
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04-30-2017, 07:52 AM #5
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That's great Dallas. Good write up. Glad you got it.
Red
I'll be curious to hear about Wolf Creek Pass. That's the biggest pass we have done with our current setup...2015 Duramax and Momentum 380. We did it in July with road construction (down to one lane) and I had to watch engine temp. Mine usually runs 209 degrees but it was up to 225 @ 25 mph nearing the crest, it red lines @ 260 transmission was @ 220. I know I had a safety margin but when things go wrong the needle climbs fast. And yes, I was everybody's favorite RV'er with the stack of cars behind me. I had down shifted to keep the RPM's up but don't remember the specifics. I will tell you there are many pull outs on the climb if needed.Location - Wherever the road takes us...Full-timers
2015 Momentum 380
2019 Ram Dually
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04-30-2017, 09:04 AM #6
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Thanks Red, I am not particularly looking forward to it. In aviation there is a phenomena known as "automatic rough". Somewhere around the point of no return you will swear that the engine isn't running right. Can't put you finger on the problem, gauges all look good. But you just feel there is something not right. I am experiencing that with the new engine. Gauges all good, shifts at the proper times, RPM's in normal range, not using oil. WHAT'S THAT NOISE? Oh, it just a change in road material.
Now add another 5000 pounds and tackle one of the most notorious passes in Colorado. I will do all I know to keep from overheating. Gear down early, take is easy, use the pullouts to let people pass and cool down, turn the A/C off and the heater on, hook up the Chihuahua's to help pull, and watch the gauges like a hawk.
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04-30-2017, 09:44 AM #7
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Gawd that thing's big! You don't get the size perspective looking at the GD website. When you see someone standing next to one.....now that's a different story.
Thanks for the picture,
Kevin2015 Ram Laramie 3500 4x4 LB Dually Crew Cab
6.7L I6 Cummins Turbo Diesel Engine 5th wheel Prep
68RFE Transmission Auto Level Rear Air Suspension 3.73 gears
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04-30-2017, 10:01 AM #8
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Jerry & Linda
Emma & Abby our Mini Golden Doodles & JR our Amazon Parrot
2017 Reflection 337RLS, Build Date 01/2017, Titan Disk Brakes, Goodyear G614s 235/85/16 G Rated tires
2022 F-450 King Ranch Ultimate, 4,868 lb Payload, Bedrug Bedliner, Andersen Ultimate II Aluminum 5th wheel hitch
http://visitedstatesmap.com/image/FLGANCSCsm.jpg
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04-30-2017, 10:18 AM #9
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04-30-2017, 10:28 AM #10
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Dallas, glad you are finally getting into it! I know out of that long list where to put the tp holder is probably not at the top, but since you listed it...Is there a convenient under sink door that you can reach? Screwing it inside of a sink door keeps it out of the way, but easy to access.
Again, congratulations! Looks great!Steve & Sue (pups:Sky & Sierra) Gardnerville, Nv
2017 Refelection 297RSTS
2017 Ford 350 CC 4x4 Lariat Superduty 6.7, Long Bed
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