Ordered my first ever RV, PDI Friday. What is next?

[Matdetroit]

I ordered a brand new Imagine 2600RB and the PDI is scheduled for Friday. The dealer tried to sell me on a few add-ons. I asked for a few days to decide. I have time until Friday. Here are few and I did some research on the forums, couldn't get any recent threads.

Extended warranty, they are offering Cornerstone 5 years. But what I found is, it is significantly cheaper to add at the end of 1 year for 4 years. Also looked into Good sam. Any experience with either? Are these any better in the first year compared to the manufacturer warranty?

Road side assistance - offered coachnet but I went with Good sam for half the price that included tire hazard warranty unlimited warranty etc. I also have AAA and a different assistance for TV. Not sure which one is better.

Some ceramic coating that covers outside which includes inside coverage on sofa and tables etc. Any experience on this one?

Insurance - I came across good sam and progressive. I have quotes from both. 1 is half of the other. Not sure why.

Do I need to look into any other thing that I can't get after purchase?

Thanking everyone in advance. It took me almost 4 months to make a decision on the brand and floorplan. Now I have 3 days for the rest. 😭

[TheGuy]

Congratulations! We got our 2600RB in January and while we haven't gotten to use it as much as I had hoped, we love it.

I can't answer your questions other than I went with Progressive insurance. That was a default decision for me because they insure my bike. I didn't look at Good Sam, but I might in January when it comes due again.

I didn't buy any warranties. My research indicated if a 20¢ o-ring failed and caused a flood leading to a rotten wall, they'd fix that o-ring right up for you. Your mileage may vary.

In the meantime, I'll pass along a couple things to check during your PDI --from one first time RV buyer to another.

1. I know it is summer, but fire up the furnace and make sure that all the vents are connected. At home, I found one in the bedroom was disconnected and blowing heat into the cabinets.

2. Make sure you test the speakers on the stereo. Mine were wired so that one speaker was out of phase with the other. Also make sure that your outside speakers work properly. It'll probably be hard hear because you'll likely be in a service bay.

3. Make sure the door shuts without having to be slammed or tugged. I still can't get mine to work right.

4. Extend and retract the awning at least two times or more. You want to make sure that it rolls up straight and that the arms nest neatly against the camper.

5. We didn't have a problem with it but make sure you check but the fridge runs on both propane and on electricity like it's supposed to.

6. Check the date codes on your tires to make sure they're not old. With a brand new RV I doubt it'll be a problem.

7. I took along an outlet tester and made sure that all of the outlets were wired correctly and that they all had GFI protection if they were near water.

8. Open and close every cabinet door and drawer a few times. Make sure they move freely and properly latch.

9. Test the 12v lights and water systems on the battery power as well as shore power. When we did our PDI I forgot to. Also, check for leaks...

10. Finally, if you have that retracting shower door like I have, make sure that it latches securely because ours doesn't and it will fly open at the slightest touch.


Above all, this is not the time to get starry-eyed about your adventure. We did and we missed a some things. None of it was serious, thankfully. It's just easy to get distracted by the excitement of it all. At the PDI your one job is to find every little nit-picky problem and bring it up to try and get it fixed.


I'm not trying to make it seem like we had lots of problems with ours because we really didn't nor that the dealership is bad. Our dealer was great. But, I realized when we got home there was quite a bit of stuff I didn't check as closely as I should have. Checklists are your friend at the PDI.

The last thing I'll suggest is as soon as you're comfortable towing, swing through a scale. It'll tell you if your hitch is set up correctly and if your weights are reasonable for your tow vehicle. When we did ours the hitch was a little bit light. After consulting with the forum here I waited until our first trip to see if it would settle once the camper was loaded and it did. I was just worried because I had a really bad towing experience with a rental the year before and I wanted to make sure that the hitch was set up correctly from the get-go.

I would also go back before your first big trip just to make sure that you're not overloaded or have too much/little tongue weight. We've only been on four trips, but I've kind of made a habit of getting weighed each time we depart; partly because I'm a geek and love numbers and partly because I figure if we ever get into an accident I'll have some evidence to show that we weren't overloaded. I don't know that it would do any good in court, but I'm a little paranoid and it makes me feel better.

Overall, once you get it home that's when the fun begins. Best of luck. You're getting a great trailer.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[sande005]

I ordered a brand new Imagine 2600RB and the PDI is scheduled for Friday. The dealer tried to sell me on a few add-ons. I asked for a few days to decide. I have time until Friday. Here are few and I did some research on the forums, couldn't get any recent threads.

Extended warranty, they are offering Cornerstone 5 years. But what I found is, it is significantly cheaper to add at the end of 1 year for 4 years. Also looked into Good sam. Any experience with either? Are these any better in the first year compared to the manufacturer warranty?

Road side assistance - offered coachnet but I went with Good sam for half the price that included tire hazard warranty unlimited warranty etc. I also have AAA and a different assistance for TV. Not sure which one is better.

Some ceramic coating that covers outside which includes inside coverage on sofa and tables etc. Any experience on this one?

Insurance - I came across good sam and progressive. I have quotes from both. 1 is half of the other. Not sure why.

Do I need to look into any other thing that I can't get after purchase?

Thanking everyone in advance. It took me almost 4 months to make a decision on the brand and floorplan. Now I have 3 days for the rest. ��

Extended warranty - usually only a way for the dealer to make more money. Bank the money, and only spend it if you need to.
Road Side Assistance - Coach-Net and Good Sam are the two major players, Coach-Net seems to get slightly better reviews from people that actually need to use it. AAA generally covers a lot less, for more money.
Ceramic coating - again a way to take more money, for no benefit. Worst case - bank the money, and pay someone to wash and wax your RV if you really don't want to do it yourself.
Insurance - Progressive is probably most popular. On of the few that will cover for new replacement (if you specifically select that coverage - but it will cost), rather than depreciated cost. Some complaints about their using every loophole to avoid paying. Check with your auto insurance company for possible coverage and cost.
If you do not have a place to store it, start looking at places now - they can sometimes be as hard to find as campgrounds in Florida in the winter.

[Matdetroit]

Congratulations! We got our 2600RB in January and why we haven't gotten to use it as much as I had hoped we love it.

I can't answer your questions other than I went with Progressive insurance. That was a default decision for me because they insure my bike. I didn't look at good Sam, but I might in January when it comes due again.

I didn't buy any warranties. My research indicated if a 20¢ o-ring failed and caused a flood leading to a rotten wall, they'd fix that o-ring right up for you. Your mileage may vary.

In the meantime I'll pass along a couple things to check during your PDI --from one first time RV buyer to another.

1. I know it is summer, but fire up the furnace and make sure that all the vents are connected. At home, I found one in the bedroom was disconnected and blowing heat into the cabinets.

2. Make sure you test the speakers on the stereo. Mine were wired so that one speaker was out of phase with the other. Also make sure that your outside speakers work properly. It'll probably be hard hear because you'll likely be in a service bay.

3. Make sure the door shuts without having to be slammed or tugged. I still can't get mine to work right.

4. Extend and retract the awning at least two times or more. You want to make sure that it rolls up straight and that the arms nest neatly against the camper.

5. We didn't have a problem with it but make sure you check but the fridge runs on both propane and on electricity like it's supposed to.

6. Check the date codes on your tires to make sure they're not old. With a brand new RV I doubt it'll be a problem.

7. I took along an outlet tester and made sure that all of the outlets were wired correctly and that they all had GFI protection if they were near water.

8. Open and close every cabinet door and drawer a few times. Make sure they move freely and properly latch.

9. Test the 12v lights and water systems on the battery power as well as shore power. When we did our PDI I forgot to. Also, check for leaks...

10. Finally, if you have that retracting shower door like I have, make sure that it latches securely because ours doesn't and it will fly open at the slightest touch.


Above all this is not the time to get starry-eyed about your adventure. We did and we missed a some things. None of it was serious thankfully. It's just easy to get distracted by the excitement of it all. At the PDI your one job is to find every little nitpicky problem and bring it up to try and get it fixed.


I'm not trying to make it seem like we had lots of problems with ours because we really didn't nor that the dealership is bad. Our dealer was great. But, I realized when we got home there was quite a bit of stuff I didn't check as closely as I should have. Checklists are your friend at the PDI.

The last thing I'll suggest is as soon as you're comfortable towing, swing through a scale. It'll tell you if your hitch is set up correctly and if your weights are reasonable for your tow vehicle. When we did ours the hitch was a little bit light. After consulting with the forum here I waited until our first trip to see if it would settle once the camper was loaded and it did. I was just worried because I had a really bad towing experience with a rental the year before and I wanted to make sure that the hitch was set up correctly from the get-go.

I would also go back before your first big trip just to make sure that you're not overloaded or have too much/little tongue weight. We've only been on four trips, but I've kind of made a habit of getting weighed each time we depart; partly because I'm a geek and love numbers and partly because I figure if we ever get into an accident I'll have some evidence to show that we weren't overloaded. I don't know that it would do any good in court, but I'm a little paranoid and it makes me feel better.

Overall, once you get it home that's when the fun begins. Best of luck. You're getting a great trailer.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

Wow that is a lot of information to process. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all this. I am creating a checklist with all this information and check it out while I am at the dealer. How did you check the tongue weight at the scale? I am really good with the tow capacity of the truck but I am only worried about the tongue weight which also affects the payload.

[Matdetroit]

Extended warranty - usually only a way for the dealer to make more money. Bank the money, and only spend it if you need to.
Road Side Assistance - Coach-Net and Good Sam are the two major players, Coach-Net seems to get slightly better reviews from people that actually need to use it. AAA generally covers a lot less, for more money.
Ceramic coating - again a way to take more money, for no benefit. Worst case - bank the money, and pay someone to wash and wax your RV if you really don't want to do it yourself.
Insurance - Progressive is probably most popular. On of the few that will cover for new replacement (if you specifically select that coverage - but it will cost), rather than depreciated cost. Some complaints about their using every loophole to avoid paying. Check with your auto insurance company for possible coverage and cost.
If you do not have a place to store it, start looking at places now - they can sometimes be as hard to find as campgrounds in Florida in the winter.

I am so glad I asked for a few days to decide on all the add ons. Actually what helped me is the bank. I wanted to finance through my bank and they didn't work with my dealer. So I had time to decide on these things. I am taking delivery only after I find a location to park. They will hold it for me until then. Also I didn't buy a hitch from them so I have to install the hitch by myself. Planning to do it in their parking lot :-)

[Bradnailer]

I am so glad I asked for a few days to decide on all the add ons. Actually what helped me is the bank. I wanted to finance through my bank and they didn't work with my dealer. So I had time to decide on these things. I am taking delivery only after I find a location to park. They will hold it for me until then. Also I didn't buy a hitch from them so I have to install the hitch by myself. Planning to do it in their parking lot :-)

It is fine to install the load leveling hitch yourself. Make sure the dealer has a level place you can park while you adjust the hitch. When we had a bumper pull, I carried an impact driver and all the necessary sockets and extensions to make sure the bolts and nuts were tight. Enjoy your new RV!

[TheGuy]

Wow that is a lot of information to process. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all this. I am creating a checklist with all this information and check it out while I am at the dealer. How did you check the tongue weight at the scale? I am really good with the tow capacity of the truck but I am only worried about the tongue weight which also affects the payload.

You have to go through twice --once with the trailer and once without it. The difference between the weights of the truck is your tongue weight.

There are other methods using bathroom scales and levers (check YouTube) as well as dedicated tongue weight scales. You can also get the haulgauge for like $100. It's close but not perfect and suspension mods will throw it off for some measurements.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[TheGuy]

It is fine to install the load leveling hitch yourself. Make sure the dealer has a level place you can park while you adjust the hitch. When we had a bumper pull, I carried an impact driver and all the necessary sockets and extensions to make sure the bolts and nuts were tight. Enjoy your new RV!

I completely agree it's fine to do yourself. Just make sure you have read the instructions before you start so you have a good idea of the process ahead of time. Also, make sure you tighten the ball with an impact wrench. You'll never get enough torque on it by hand. Mine was spec'd at something like 400+ ft-lbs. Some hitches have it pre-installed. That should be set unless the instructions tell you to check/re-torque it. I can't imagine they would, though.

[Buckskin]

One thing I would do is turn on furnace and make sure it works but also take paper towel and hold in front of each vent to make sure you have air flow. We had one of ours that duct hose was torn loose and another where it had big tear. If you can pull wooden panel and look at air handler for torn hoses. Ours didn't have duct tube going through floor to heat basement; it was just hanging from air handler.
Our 2018 Imagine never went back to dealer for any repairs; I was able to do all repairs myself in less time than it would take to hook up camper and drive to dealer. GD was good about sending me replacement parts; fireplace, stereo, city water valve(it was good but before they sent me water pump they wanted me to replace it first for fresh water tank overfilling problem), water pump, etc.
Enjoy new camper and buy you tire monitoring system!!!!!!! We use TireTraker brand with lifetime warranty owned by Progressive Ind. Get you a Progressive Industries surge protector with lifetime warranty, already replaced ours once for free. We us ladder to carry our 35 gal dump tank(use ladder chair rack(keeps it from sliding down ladder going down road) and ratchet straps); get 4 wheel one - tried 2 wheel type and they are hard to handle on dirt or sand. Clear plastic bins work great inside cargo area; I have 4; 2 on each side stacked together with little wasted space on top. 17" Blackstone Grille hooked to low pressure port on camper is best cooking tool you will find, easy to clean after use. Search forum for connections and how to setup. We use 1 burner Coleman stove for boiling water.

[Matdetroit]

One thing I would do is turn on furnace and make sure it works but also take paper towel and hold in front of each vent to make sure you have air flow. We had one of ours that duct hose was torn loose and another where it had big tear. If you can pull wooden panel and look at air handler for torn hoses. Ours didn't have duct tube going through floor to heat basement; it was just hanging from air handler.
Our 2018 Imagine never went back to dealer for any repairs; I was able to do all repairs myself in less time than it would take to hook up camper and drive to dealer. GD was good about sending me replacement parts; fireplace, stereo, city water valve(it was good but before they sent me water pump they wanted me to replace it first for fresh water tank overfilling problem), water pump, etc.
Enjoy new camper and buy you tire monitoring system!!!!!!! We use TireTraker brand with lifetime warranty owned by Progressive Ind. Get you a Progressive Industries surge protector with lifetime warranty, already replaced ours once for free. We us ladder to carry our 35 gal dump tank(use ladder chair rack(keeps it from sliding down ladder going down road) and ratchet straps); get 4 wheel one - tried 2 wheel type and they are hard to handle on dirt or sand. Clear plastic bins work great inside cargo area; I have 4; 2 on each side stacked together with little wasted space on top. 17" Blackstone Grille hooked to low pressure port on camper is best cooking tool you will find, easy to clean after use. Search forum for connections and how to setup. We use 1 burner Coleman stove for boiling water.

What is 35 gallon dump tank for? Sorry, am I supposed to know this? Never camped before.

I am already looking into a portable grill. Thanks for the suggestion. Do you fit that in the drop storage?