Taking delivery on Monday any special to look for?

Cpap · 01-18-2019, 01:08 PM

Hi everyone, if all goes as planned I will be taking delivery of a new 2019 Outback 330RL and am wondering if there is anything specific to Keystone or Outbacks I should look for.

This is our 5th camper but 1st Keystone product. We've had Rockwood pop-up, Surveyor hybrid and 3 Jayco TTs so I am fairly experienced with campers but am open to any inputs.

Thanks, Collin

Tbos · 01-18-2019, 07:03 PM

Welcome to the forum from Southern MD. Enjoy.

ajk170 · 01-18-2019, 07:09 PM

Collin- congrats, the 330RL is a nice coach! Sounds like you have a lot more experience than we do- we have 2015 316RL that we bought new back in 2015 and have loved it ever since. WE just helped my inlaws pick-out and purchase their first 5th wheel (2018 Alpine FK). They traded in their Class A for the Alpine and the TV. Some of things that I saw when they did the walk around with the dealer - while they had it plugged in, they did not have it hooked to water and we didn't ask them to hook it up to a water so we could test everything properly. They point here, the dealer installed a washer and dryer but did a terrible job because once we left we spent the night on the road and when we hooked up to water we had a flood. Turns out that the washer connections were not connected properly. Had to undo and uninstall to fix properly. The Dealer credited them back their installation money but it could have been avoided had we thought to ask for water to be hooked up to test fixtures, drains etc and check for leaks. The other thing we learned from our 316RL was the hot water heater bypass location if it's not readily seen on the 330RL (which it probably is). The other thing with my inlaws Alpine- the remotes and Keystone bag of manuals. Their dealer initially said they didn't get it with the coach and Keystone would have to send it to them but we complained and they found a packet and remotes. Our 316RL never came with it (e didn't even notice) because it had remotes and 6months later a whole new packet showed up in the mail. My sister in-law purchased a different brand 5th wheel from a huge dealer in Tampa, FL and that dealer had them spend two nights insight getting to know their RV and they would make adjustments as they were discovered. I thought that was really nice.
Good Luck and Enjoy your new camper!

ctbruce · 01-19-2019, 06:53 AM

Do a thorough PDI and dont sign anything until you are satisfied. The dealer should not only demonstrate how each component works but show you each component working. Welcome.

ken56 · 01-19-2019, 07:24 AM

Getting a new RV is an emotional experience and people are excited and just want to get it home. As stated, don't be impatient, don't sign the paperwork until after the PDI and you are happy with the condition of the rig. Expect to spend 2-3 hours or more on it. Have it hooked up to water and shore power. Have them rewinterize if necessary at their expense. Have them show you where the water heater bypass valves are, charge the water pump and leave it on (with faucets closed) and listen for it to cycle, if it does there is a leak. It may take a while for it to do that so do other things while listening. Get on the roof if it has a ladder. Look at the sealant on the seams around everything. Do the same thing on the ground all around the rig. Look closely for separations.

This is an intensive process and it takes time and a keen eye. Make notes on things that need repaired if there are any. Make them fix those things and come back to sign the paperwork, do not do it until the unit is to your liking. The dealer will not like this but once you sign the papers you own it and you will go into the que of warranty work and you are no longer a priority to them. They want to sell that unit. You want a unit that is road ready.

It's hard to remove the emotion out of getting a shiny new trailer but it might save you a lot of problems later.

smithfrh · 01-19-2019, 08:08 AM

Welcome,congrats on the new rv find a pdi checklist on line and print it to have with you. Carry a flashlight small mechanics mirror have them fill all of the tanks Start on the roof and work your way to the underside. Check plumbing and all electrical outlets, check everything.

**JRTJH** · 01-19-2019, 08:40 AM

No need to go far searching for a PDI checklist. You can download one in the "Keystone Questions" section of this forum. It's the first thread in the section.

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums...ead.php?t=5129

ajk170 · 02-04-2019, 07:29 PM

Cpap- any update on the buying and delivery process? Did you end up using the PDI like John recommended? Thanks!

Cpap · 02-05-2019, 02:20 PM

I used the checklist and found quite a few minor things...it was very helpful as was the knowledge I've gained since my last camper purchase. I felt very prepared and confident...thanks. The whole deal was quite a mess caused by an honest mistake by our salesman...long story but we ended up making the deal.

The biggest thing was they were going to sell me a hitch with 1200 lb tongue weight rating for a camper with 1100 lb brochure tongue weight. Needless to say I made them get me a 1400 lb hitch. They told me that 1200 was the biggest hitch they stocked and was what they sold with all their big TTs. Thanks God I knew better.

ajk170 · 02-05-2019, 08:45 PM

Cpap- That's good to hear that you were diligent on getting them to give you the right equipment! I think it can be hard to push the dealer around esp. since everybody wants to be nice and being aggressive normally doesn't get a person where they really want to be at the end of a deal. But there's a way to be firm without being a jerk about it. The DW and I went with the inlays when they picked up their new Alpine last month and I got to see what aggressive and confrontational looked like. In the end we all thought they got the better end of the deal until our first night on the road back from Shreveport outside Dallas at 8 o'clock at night in 30 degree weather as we were setting up and we found there was a leak. I was too tired to trouble shoot so that night and then again north of Midland TX until we got back to El Paso we had no water. Turns out karma decided that the install of the washer and dryer that caused a lot of the hate and discontent towards the Techs at Shreveport would bit us them in the butt and the hard-line approach didn't serve them as well as we all thought since they didn't install the washer correctly and required me to take it all apart and redo the install... I too learned something from that experience... everybody serves as an example, even if it's as a bad one! Glad to hear it worked out, hope you and the fam are happy with the deal!
-Andy

Cpap · 02-07-2019, 01:40 PM

Yeah, it's tough doing business sometimes. Thankfully it didn't take aggression to make it right, just persistence.

It's funny you mention washer and dryer because some of the floor plans for my 330RL showed washer and dryer prep standard but it wasn't in my camper as I expected. Thankfully that wasn't a big deal for us anyhow so I didn't fight that battle. Evidently Keystone changed the standard features between the 2018 and 2019 models and didn't change the advertising properly or expediently...lots of confusion.

MarkEHansen · 02-07-2019, 02:05 PM

Sometimes they do that mid-year within the same camper as well. Our 2019 brochure said one thing, but our 2019 trailer has something else. When we asked them about it, they said our trailer was from the "older" 2019 line before they made the change reflected in the brochure

- And they weren't interested in doing anything else about it.

66joej · 02-07-2019, 02:24 PM

We are looking at upgrading our TT. Looks like we should be happy to take whatever is offered.

MarkEHansen · 02-07-2019, 02:29 PM

Basically, yeah

If any feature is important to the purchaser, they should definitely check that their unit came with it - checking that it is listed on the brochure is not enough.

Maxpowers · 02-09-2019, 08:36 AM

We picked up our new Bullet few weeks back, January 2019 and we found the air conditioner leaked as soon as we got it home. The mounting hardware for the unit was loose and rain got in right away and leaked inside onto island.
The gaskets on big slide where the cable penetrated, the boots where not glued so they rode the cable and left a hole.
The bathroom GFI plug was coming off the wall without using it even once.
The fridge didn’t work on Auto when we plugged it in to 120v.
The fan above the stove fell down taking it home and we found on stovetop , they only used staples to fasten and one screw. The one screw missed the blocking completely so no surprises there. Turns out the fan does not exhaust outside so it’s kinda useless and really may only help to control odor.
The water froze at -5 cel even though we bought the western edition 4 season model. Now we have to remove the encasement around the frame and install heat pad on the freshwater tank and get Poly urethane Sprayed in there. The outdoor kitchen behind the counter where we found all of our pipes open to the air and not insulated.
We took it back to the dealer but they made “repairs” but we are not impressed. They just point finger at Keystone and shrug everything off.

We will have to address these things ourselves and bite our lip. Our dealer is brutal and will tell you all kinds of BS to get you to buy the rig so grab some green tape once you get it home and inspect everything and take back within 90 days or your dealer may try to charge you $$ to make repairs.

All that said can’t put a price on memories we make camping so due your due diligence and get out there and make new memories. They are truly priceless.

TLB · 02-10-2019, 12:19 PM

Take your time on the inspection. When I purchased ours it was the first travel trailer we have owned so I said so me how everything works.
No question is a dumb question, and my dealership told me if I ever have a question to give them a call and they would try to help over the phone.

Cpap · 02-16-2019, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajk170

Cpap- That's good to hear that you were diligent on getting them to give you the right equipment! I think it can be hard to push the dealer around esp. since everybody wants to be nice and being aggressive normally doesn't get a person where they really want to be at the end of a deal. But there's a way to be firm without being a jerk about it. The DW and I went with the inlays when they picked up their new Alpine last month and I got to see what aggressive and confrontational looked like. In the end we all thought they got the better end of the deal until our first night on the road back from Shreveport outside Dallas at 8 o'clock at night in 30 degree weather as we were setting up and we found there was a leak. I was too tired to trouble shoot so that night and then again north of Midland TX until we got back to El Paso we had no water. Turns out karma decided that the install of the washer and dryer that caused a lot of the hate and discontent towards the Techs at Shreveport would bit us them in the butt and the hard-line approach didn't serve them as well as we all thought since they didn't install the washer correctly and required me to take it all apart and redo the install... I too learned something from that experience... everybody serves as an example, even if it's as a bad one! Glad to hear it worked out, hope you and the fam are happy with the deal!
-Andy

Update on getting the correct hitch. I took the trailer to the scales today and found it has 1300 lbs. of tongue weight as stored without adding clothes, food etc... Good to know my persistence to get the 1400 lb. tongue weight hitch was worth it. By the time I load up to camp I will be close to 1400 lbs. and well over the 1200 lb. hitch the dealership wanted to sell me.

Cpap · 02-16-2019, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 66joej

We are looking at upgrading our TT. Looks like we should be happy to take whatever is offered.

Be careful...IDK if your truck can tow anything bigger...

It would be interesting to compare our trucks side-by-side. I often wonder how much difference there is between the 2500 and 3500s...other than the ratings.

CWtheMan · 02-16-2019, 01:16 PM

Present and past recall actions often give a picture of quality.

http://www.arfc.org/rvs/keystone/outback/recalls.aspx

Kevin74 · 02-25-2019, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken56

Have them show you where the water heater bypass valves are, charge the water pump and leave it on (with faucets closed) and listen for it to cycle, if it does there is a leak.

THIS! We just had our first camping excursion in our 34TSB and as we are new, had NO IDEA what to look for. I spent about 15hrs trying to diagnose why our hot water heater didn't work. Turns out there is a valve behind some walls in the storage compartment that should have been turned on when the camper was made ready to sell. FINALLY figured it out and was able to shower. Made the wife happy!

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