Any Sage PDI Advice? (Pick up our 22MLE on May 4)

[ATCDave]

Hello folks,

Well, our XLS 22 MLE came in to the dealer yesterday after about a 31/2 month wait. We took a quick look - our Pom Skyler approves! Anyway, the dealer is down the tubes busy, so the prep and PDI will have to wait until May 4.
Do any GD veterans have any sage advice going into the PDI? I've already found a glitch in the cursory look yesterday - a missing black tank T-handle, nothing big I know.

Looking forward to out first trip in mid-May with our new TT!

-Dave

[NB Canada]

I chose a 15 min PDI. Everything worked out


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

[Ynot4me2]

Best advise, is take your time, ask questions and verify and test everything. Doors, drawers, windows, furnace.....

[livinthelife]

Best advise, is take your time, ask questions and verify and test everything. Doors, drawers, windows, furnace.....

Agreed. Check EVERY. THING. Do outlets work? Do all doors/windows/drawers open and close? Do the burners on the stove light? Does fridge run as it's supposed to (propane/electric/12V)? Do the recliners work (heat/massage/foot rest)? Does the toilet flush? Make sure water works - both hooked up and with pump.

[RV Sailor]

Take a checklist
Don’t be rushed

[ATCDave]

Thanks all for great advice. I've already told the dealer that I will do their PDI walkthrough, but told them I'll need an extra 2-3 hours on my own to go through every system without the time pressure of a tech hanging around and needing to get back to work.
I purposely scheduled the PDI for a nice quiet mid-week morning.

-Dave

[wudwork]

Dave, few thoughts about PDI.

1. At PDI, you have dealers attention. That will be very difficult to get later, especially if you have have problems. Not all dealers are like this, but.....
2. My first trailer the factory did not install the U piece in shower p-trap. Shower water dropped onto clorpolast and did not come out till enough water weighed down the cloroplast. In subsequent trailers, we turned on faucets and flushed toilets repeatedly. At worst, you can dump the tanks into a 5-gallon bucket and dispose at dealer; it should only be white water. Its good to see all those parts are working and check how hard is it to pull tank valve handles.
3. If you have them install the hitch, make sure you know the size/rating of ball they use. Insist on 12k lb rating.


HTH, Tom

Hello folks,

Well, our XLS 22 MLE came in to the dealer yesterday after about a 31/2 month wait. We took a quick look - our Pom Skyler approves! Anyway, the dealer is down the tubes busy, so the prep and PDI will have to wait until May 4.
Do any GD veterans have any sage advice going into the PDI? I've already found a glitch in the cursory look yesterday - a missing black tank T-handle, nothing big I know.

Looking forward to out first trip in mid-May with our new TT!

-Dave

[ATCDave]

Dave, few thoughts about PDI.
1. At PDI, you have dealers attention. That will be very difficult to get later, especially if you have have problems. Not all dealers are like this, but.....
2. My first trailer the factory did not install the U piece in shower p-trap. Shower water dropped onto clorpolast and did not come out till enough water weighed down the cloroplast. In subsequent trailers, we turned on faucets and flushed toilets repeatedly. At worst, you can dump the tanks into a 5-gallon bucket and dispose at dealer; it should only be white water. Its good to see all those parts are working and check how hard is it to pull tank valve handles.
3. If you have them install the hitch, make sure you know the size/rating of ball they use. Insist on 12k lb rating.

HTH, Tom

Wow, that must have been a shock seeing water pouring out of the bottom of your new rig!

Anyway, I've ordered an Equal-i-zer WDH (they recommended the cheapo alternative that has been panned in several reviews that I've seen) , and I'm studying up on how to install/adjust it. For some reason, I'm getting the feeling that they may try to cut some corners as busy as they are at the dealer...

Dave

[wudwork]

About installing a WDH; take a look at instructions; they will say "now take your handy 1-7/8" ??? deep impact socket and torque it down to 700 ftlbs. Thats to get the ball on. Yes you can do this with Home Depot wrenches (sold next to trailer hitch stuff) but be warned, the ball is not same wrench size as nut. There are several resellers on Amazon that carry this other long arm wrench. Now how do you torque to 700+ ftlbs ? Oh, and then the instructions say "find a spot that is as near level as possible for the length of trailer and truck together. Thats around 50 ft of level. I decided to have dealer do that install during my PDI. Despite that, 2 years later we hear a subtle knock when first braking while towing. Yup, sure enough, the nut on the ball had 2 threads in contact (around 20 threads were not touching the ball shaft threads). Nice eye opener that was when trying to find appropriate tools roadside. Can I say I was lucky ? there was a boating marina very close by and he had a few very rusted long-arm wrenches that got me tightened up till I got home then local trailer guy impacted with all his gun had in it.

About the water draining on chloroplast. I can handle a missing part, but now the bottom is all wet so I could not discover any other possible water leaks (there were none). PDI can be very stressful if the sales guy is there as he prods things along too fast.

Good luck, education is difficult/frustrating to obtain, but well worth the effort.

Tom

Wow, that must have been a shock seeing water pouring out of the bottom of your new rig!

Anyway, I've ordered an Equal-i-zer WDH (they recommended the cheapo alternative that has been panned in several reviews that I've seen) , and I'm studying up on how to install/adjust it. For some reason, I'm getting the feeling that they may try to cut some corners as busy as they are at the dealer...

Dave

[Fsalmy]

One suggestion is hiring a NRVIA certified inspector. That way, you can concentrate on learning about your rv rather than trying to do both. I did our PDI and had an extensive check list, but still missed things like no grease in the wet bolts, a torn slide seal on top corner, etc.