Picked up new 19FBPR Friday.

[Greysquirrel]

On Friday went down to Concord NC and picked up our new 19BPR and towed it the 125 miles to our home in Hendersonville NC without any problems, in fact it towed so well on a flat stretch, no traffic took hands of wheel and tracked straight and true.
On Sunday we loaded all the stuff we had in our previous camper with the exception of clothes and food and have so much storage room left that if we loaded it all up my old 14year old MBML 320 would be straining to pull it up the grades we have to go to get home from any direction, our town is on a plateau so no matter which way we go we have to up or down a 6 or 8 degree grade.
So far so good can't wait for our first trip in the spring. The only thing that bothers me is that it has TowMax tires, but as it is a light trailer I may have nothing to worry about, but there are an awful lot of negative posts on the internet about blowouts.

[Festus2]

to the forum. There are plenty of experienced RVers here who, if you have any questions or problems, would be glad to help you out in any way they can. Perhaps after a year or two you might want to consider replacing the TowMax tires with ones that are stronger and more reliable.
There are plenty of threads and posts here about other, higher-rated tires which can be found be using the forum's search feature.

[Jane and Russ]

We are also looking at the Premier 19FBPR, but also considering the 22ft. Let us know how you like the 19.

[Greysquirrel]

Originally Posted by Jane and Russ

We are also looking at the Premier 19FBPR, but also considering the 22ft. Let us know how you like the 19.

We looked at the 22 also but don't really need the outside kitchen and don't care for the bulkhead at the bottom of the bed for the TV. As there is only two of us and do not anticipate have anyone traveling with us privacy is not a concern. But outside of that the two trailers are about the same. Also the outside kitchen adds more weight which we are trying to avoid.

[MISailor]

Greysquirrel,

Welcome from another 19FBPR owner. Your reasons for picking the 19 over the 22 are exaclty the same as ours (didn't need the OS kitchen, didn't care for how the entertainment console brakes up the openness of the coach).

I'm in the process of adding big drawers under the dinette seats and a couple of doors under the queen bed to increase ease of access to all that wonderful storage. I'll post pics in the spring when I'm done.

What are you towing with?

[Jane and Russ]

Originally Posted by MISailor

Greysquirrel,

Welcome from another 19FBPR owner. Your reasons for picking the 19 over the 22 are exaclty the same as ours (didn't need the OS kitchen, didn't care for how the entertainment console brakes up the openness of the coach).

I'm in the process of adding big drawers under the dinette seats and a couple of doors under the queen bed to increase ease of access to all that wonderful storage. I'll post pics in the spring when I'm done.

What are you towing with?

Do you find that the TV is too far away to watch from the bed in the 19FBPR?

[MISailor]

Originally Posted by Jane and Russ

Do you find that the TV is too far away to watch from the bed in the 19FBPR?

Nope, not at all. It may be an issue in older units with the 22" TV, but I have no problems watching our 26" TV from the bed. The main reason I like the TV arrangement in the 19FBPR is that it can be viewed from the bed and dinette at the same time. The same cannot be said for the TV positioned in between the bed and the dinette.

[Jane and Russ]

Originally Posted by MISailor

Nope, not at all. It may be an issue in older units with the 22" TV, but I have no problems watching our 26" TV from the bed. The main reason I like the TV arrangement in the 19FBPR is that it can be viewed from the bed and dinette at the same time. The same cannot be said for the TV positioned in between the bed and the dinette.

When the TV is in the console at the end of the bed, doesn't it swivel to face either side?

[fishin technician]

A second congrats from another 19FBPR owner. The 22' model would have been a little much for my TV. I'm wasn't aware of problems with the Towmax tires, will keep an eye on them. I've logged 5 trips, around 700 miles thus far with no problems. I check the tire pressure before every trip. Best of luck, I'm sure you will love your new toy. I've had several compliments on mine!

@MISailor. Please send pics once you've added the drawers and doors under the bed. I'm considering the same, especially under the bed.

[MISailor]

Originally Posted by Jane and Russ

When the TV is in the console at the end of the bed, doesn't it swivel to face either side?

Yes, it does swivel but it is an either or situation. You either watch from bed OR the dinette. We often have one of us sitting at the dinette while the other is reclining on the bed so the TV on the wall works better for us.

[Jane and Russ]

Originally Posted by MISailor

Yes, it does swivel but it is an either or situation. You either watch from bed OR the dinette. We often have one of us sitting at the dinette while the other is reclining on the bed so the TV on the wall works better for us.

Now I get it!

[Jane and Russ]

For those that recently bought the Premier, did you also look at the Bullet?

[MISailor]

Originally Posted by fishin technician

@MISailor. Please send pics once you've added the drawers and doors under the bed. I'm considering the same, especially under the bed.

Will do. Please know, however, that the mods won't be done until spring.

Installing the doors under the bed will be easy but the dinette drawers will be a bit more challenging. I discovered that the 23"x14" door on the cabinet above the TV in the 19FBPR was good size for the doors under the bed as 2 will fit side-by-side perfectly on the face of the bed box. The same doors also fit perfectly on the face of the dinette seat, so I've obtained 4 extra doors of that size from Keystone with hardware to match. Two of the doors will be used as drawer face boards for the dinette drawers. The other two will be used as doors under the bed. My challenge now is to find drawer slides that are 36-40" long that don't cost a fortune.

[MISailor]

Originally Posted by Jane and Russ

For those that recently bought the Premier, did you also look at the Bullet?

We did not look at the Bullet because the Premier had several upgrades that we thought were well worth the extra $$ (e.g., windows on sides of slide-out, higher ceiling, more crown on the roof, molded front cap, etc.). I don't think you will go wrong either way, it's a matter of personal preference and budget.

[fishin technician]

Originally Posted by MISailor

Will do. Please know, however, that the mods won't be done until spring.

Installing the doors under the bed will be easy but the dinette drawers will be a bit more challenging. I discovered that the 23"x14" door on the cabinet above the TV in the 19FBPR was good size for the doors under the bed as 2 will fit side-by-side perfectly on the face of the bed box. The same doors also fit perfectly on the face of the dinette seat, so I've obtained 4 extra doors of that size from Keystone with hardware to match. Two of the doors will be used as drawer face boards for the dinette drawers. The other two will be used as doors under the bed. My challenge now is to find drawer slides that are 36-40" long that don't cost a fortune.

Excellent idea. What did they charge you for the doors? I will order them also. This weekend actually, to my dismay, the door next to the microwave fell apart. 2 of the corner joints,(top left) and (bottom right) started to seperate. I removed the door and tried to glue and clamp the joint tightly. When doing so, it would seperate another. I emailed the dealer with a pic for a warranty replacement.

Although I haven't looked closely, under the bed, the hinged area will probably need to be blocked with a piece of wood. I look forward to your pics and will post some once my mod is complete. Happy Camping!

[MISailor]

Originally Posted by fishin technician

Excellent idea. What did they charge you for the doors? ........ Although I haven't looked closely, under the bed, the hinged area will probably need to be blocked with a piece of wood. I look forward to your pics and will post some once my mod is complete. Happy Camping!

You'll have to order the doors through your dealer beacuse Keystone does not sell parts directly to owners. I was quoted $178 for the 4 doors and hardware. A little pricey but worth it in my opinion to have it all match. The hinges for the doors under the bed can be screwed directly into the "corner posts" of the frame. I plan to add an internal frames around the openings (screwed to the existing structure and glued to the panel) to stablize the plywood face and to provide a place to mount the door catch.

[Greysquirrel]

Originally Posted by MISailor

Greysquirrel,

Welcome from another 19FBPR owner. Your reasons for picking the 19 over the 22 are exaclty the same as ours (didn't need the OS kitchen, didn't care for how the entertainment console brakes up the openness of the coach).

I'm in the process of adding big drawers under the dinette seats and a couple of doors under the queen bed to increase ease of access to all that wonderful storage. I'll post pics in the spring when I'm done.

What are you towing with?

My TV is a 98 MBML 320, as far as all the storage under the seats and bed don't think I am going to utilize it, going to try to keep the weight down if possible. Our last camper had four coat hooks for hanging and we kept our clothes in plastic drawers so with all the hanging closet space and cabinet
space my wife thinks she has died and gone to heaven. If we need more hanging space we will put up a closet pole in the shower area as we will probably never use it or the toilet for that matter, well my wife might at night but I know I never will as we will never be boondocking.

[Jane and Russ]

We found a 2012 19FBPR at an RV dealer about 160 miles from home. I hope we can get there to look at it soon. The price seems right. It doesn't have the full body paint, which I have discovered is a very expensive option!

[Greysquirrel]

OK, the dumbest design I've seen for a long time is the water heater plug position. The only way I got to remove was to get a socket and long extension and lift up on the gas line a little to get it on the plug and get it loose enough to remove by hand and take the socket off or it may catch on the gas line. Apparently all Atwood heaters are like this, the Suburban heaters are a piece of cake to remove the plug compared to this.
If anyone has an easier way to do this please let me know.

[theasphaltrv'er]

Greysquirrel welcome ..In reply to your Tow Max tires. Yes the majority of RVer's bad mouth ST tires. I've had both Tow max & Greenball ST's on an 07' 294RLS Cougar 8600# and have not had a problem with the tires themselves. Had problems with the mickey mouse fender supports breaking and getting into the tread and causing 2 of em to peel some of the tread off, but no tire deflation. Have 2 Tow Max & 2 Greenball's now and have pertnear 15,000 & 3 yrs on them. Original set were Duro's. Wore them out also.