2016 Passport 2890RL

[Tbos]

Originally Posted by PhilDeb

Yep, just wondering what your ball height was since I cannot find any info and the trailer wont be here for another month.



Just putting stuff together and wanted to have the hitch the right height.



I'm still struggling with not having a manual for the trailer. I would think that on page 6 it would have the preferred height for optimal chassis and axle geometry.



I've spent a lifetime making things to spec and not having specs is blowing my mind.



I'm used to control arm angles and camber/caster and steering axis inclination!

When you pick up the trailer the dealer should set everything up for you on the hitch. He should let you be there and write down the measurements. Since each TT and TV are a little different the setup will be close to others but unique to your rigs. As you load it you may have to adjust some. If you have the original measurements you can always reset to that if needed. It's a learning process we all go through. Have fun.

[PhilDeb]

Thanks gents! I don't want to be "that" guy but I know I'll probably ask too many questions and get kicked for digging too deep into something but until then, thanks for the info.

Now, if my trailer would get here! It never took Wile E Coyote long to get the stuff he ordered. I wonder if I can get a tracking number.

Just kidding!

[Mike484]

Originally Posted by Tbos

When you pick up the trailer the dealer should set everything up for you on the hitch. He should let you be there and write down the measurements. Since each TT and TV are a little different the setup will be close to others but unique to your rigs. As you load it you may have to adjust some. If you have the original measurements you can always reset to that if needed. It's a learning process we all go through. Have fun.

My dealer had no part of it, said it was a liability issue. One of the disappointments I had, treated us like gold until the deal was complete, then parked the trailer outside the fence and said "its all yours" and did not want to assist in hooking it up to our truck.

And yes, its a learning process, you really dont know until you pull it, surely you will have to make some adjustments.

[Tbos]

Mike484,
Wow, I've never heard of a dealer doing that. The first TT I bought the dealer sold and set up the hitch for me. The second TT I bought I wrote it into the deal. No hitch setup no deal. Fortunately it sounds like you were able to do it yourself. I think I'd steer clear of that dealer from now on.

[B-O-B'03]

Originally Posted by Mike484

My dealer had no part of it, said it was a liability issue. One of the disappointments I had, treated us like gold until the deal was complete, then parked the trailer outside the fence and said "its all yours" and did not want to assist in hooking it up to our truck.
...

My dealer had his tech set the hitch up, that was included in the deal, while I was signing the paperwork.

After that they showed me how to hook and un-hook it all, explained adjusting the WD links, the friction sway control, the brake controller gain and sent me on my way.

Overall, an excellent experience.

-Brian

[Mike484]

That was one disappointment, the other was that I made two offers, one was just with TT&L, out the door price; the other was TT&L, complete camp ready, and out the door price. They took the complete camp ready and I agreed and sent the down payment. Then when we got there they passed off the "basic" kit. I told them that's not right, the deal was camp ready, not "basic" kit and then I still have to buy things to be camp ready. They played stupid and said they didn't know what I was referring to but yet they give you a list of "items needed before your first time use". I'm not talking about personal things, but when they provide you with a list of what you need to be camp ready, then try to play stupid like they don't understand what your asking for, it's a little frustraighting. I did have them add some items, but not everything on THEIR OWN LIST. I blamed myself for this because I should have made them put it in writing. Just was surprised about how well they treated us and all the promises made before we signed the dotted line then the complete change in attitude once the sell was made.

Our salesman was good, but had his hands tied on what he could do and the guy that did our walk through did an excellent job. A couple in the service department where wonderful to deal with. The sales mangers are the ones that don't seem to give a hoot about anything except making the sell, then off to the next potential customer (which by the way, none of them would talk to us, we had to deal through our salesman or the finance guy to get any questions answered, keeping their distance from the customer).

Don't get me wrong, some of the people we dealt with, I will deal with in the future, but for the most part, I'll deal with another store (probably camping world) for my after purchase needs.

[Mike484]

Our first trip was just a weekend to Galveston just to try out the RV and learn how to use it.

One problem we had was how much movement the trailer had, wife kept telling me to sit my butt down. I installed a set of BAL stabilizing bars to the back of the trailer after the trip.

We just got back from our first long haul and 10 night stay. Traveled from Houston to Florida and back. The BAL stabilizer bars made a world of difference they are very easy to use and well worth the $75 I paid for them and the 30 minutes it took to install them. I have purchased another set but I'm still thinking about where I ant to install them.

We did find some minor issues that I will be taking it back to the dealer for repairs. The shower leaked water onto the floor from under one of the walls ( a little caulk will fix that). One night we had the antennae up and it was raining, wife woke up in the middle of the night and found a small puddle, we cleaned it up and lowered the antennae, the floor was dry in the morning, probably just a seal that needs to be replaced. One of the curtains had the screws that hold down the bottom bracket pull out from the wall, could only find one screw so it was probably not properly installed at the factory. On the rear door we couldn't use the dead bolt, I removed the plate on the frame so we could use the dead bolt, from outside, you could see the door was not level at all, set it up 4 times during the week, every time you could see the tilt in the door so I don't beleive it was because we were I level, the door needs to be reset. The downspouts on ach corner of the trailer, one of them had water running under it and down the side of the trailer rather than through it and away from the trailer, got a ladder and tried to push it into place, so much silicone caulk, it wouldn't move, guess the assembler at the factory just figured he could fix it with a ton a caulk.

And that is it, everything else was just fine. I will have them inspect the roof while it is in the shop since we took it a little over 2100 miles and across the crappy Louisiana I-10 interstate twice.

[Tbos]

Sounds like a good trip. Glad all the issues are minor. Hopefully you'll be able to get them fixed with no problems.

[mfifield01]

Nice report.

Do you have any pics of the BAL stabilizer install? I'm curious about the drill points on the frame.

[Mike484]

Damn, I keep forgetting to take pictures, Ill have to get some to post.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by Mike484

Our first trip was just a weekend to Galveston just to try out the RV and learn how to use it.

One problem we had was how much movement the trailer had, wife kept telling me to sit my butt down. I installed a set of BAL stabilizing bars to the back of the trailer after the trip.

We just got back from our first long haul and 10 night stay. Traveled from Houston to Florida and back. The BAL stabilizer bars made a world of difference they are very easy to use and well worth the $75 I paid for them and the 30 minutes it took to install them. I have purchased another set but I'm still thinking about where I ant to install them.

We did find some minor issues that I will be taking it back to the dealer for repairs. The shower leaked water onto the floor from under one of the walls ( a little caulk will fix that). One night we had the antennae up and it was raining, wife woke up in the middle of the night and found a small puddle, we cleaned it up and lowered the antennae, the floor was dry in the morning, probably just a seal that needs to be replaced. One of the curtains had the screws that hold down the bottom bracket pull out from the wall, could only find one screw so it was probably not properly installed at the factory. On the rear door we couldn't use the dead bolt, I removed the plate on the frame so we could use the dead bolt, from outside, you could see the door was not level at all, set it up 4 times during the week, every time you could see the tilt in the door so I don't beleive it was because we were I level, the door needs to be reset. The downspouts on ach corner of the trailer, one of them had water running under it and down the side of the trailer rather than through it and away from the trailer, got a ladder and tried to push it into place, so much silicone caulk, it wouldn't move, guess the assembler at the factory just figured he could fix it with a ton a caulk.

And that is it, everything else was just fine. I will have them inspect the roof while it is in the shop since we took it a little over 2100 miles and across the crappy Louisiana I-10 interstate twice.

One thing to check in regard to the water on the floor... the A/C vent will condense in high humidity especially in rain... Had it happen to us several times..

[Mike484]

Originally Posted by Javi

One thing to check in regard to the water on the floor... the A/C vent will condense in high humidity especially in rain... Had it happen to us several times..

But the A/C was not on that night.

[PhilDeb]

We picked ours up today.

Anything else you have added besides the stabilizer bars on the corner jacks?

We had our grandson with us when we picked it up, I could see the look in his eye when he saw the floor vents. Now I'm picturing myself digging in the floor for lost Legos.

Might have to put screen or something under the vent grill.

[Mike484]

Hope you enjoy it, we are having a blast with ours, we love it.

All I added so far was the stabilizer bars and a TV in the bedroom. Oh, and a mattress topper, couldn't hardly sleep on the bed the first weekend we used it, the topper made a world of difference. I want to add a slide cover and eventually an electric jack. The jack doesn't mean much to me yet, I put a drop foot on it so I don't have to raise or lower it much, not really a big deal.

[PhilDeb]

We had them add the electric tongue jack when we ordered it. And the aluminum wheels.

We got it home last night and I spent the day cleaning sawdust and removing extra silicone and other messy stuff.

The walk through we received was dismal.

I am impressed by some things and then shake my head at some others. Like the $4 screen door with 28 cent latches that barely grab the door frame on the trailer.

Just who works at the Keystone plant? Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder? It looks like they turned a 4 year old loose with the staple gun. WOW! I'm going to be using some wood cover up and then maybe some whiteout on the ceiling.

It smells like a mix of PVC glue and an old lady. It was nice enough to have the windows open today so that helped quite a bit.

Why didn't they put two more drawers above the two in the cabinet under the sink? There is room for them. I might add them.

Then order the same doors as above the sink and mount them on the ends of the dinette benches.

[Festus2]

Originally Posted by PhilDeb

Just who works at the Keystone plant? Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder? It looks like they turned a 4 year old loose with the staple gun. WOW! I'm going to be using some wood cover up and then maybe some whiteout on the ceiling.

.

If you are referring to "spotty discoloration" marks on the ceiling, I believe they are a result of the staples reacting with the wood filler used to cover up the staple holes. It almost looks like "rust". We had several marks which were in a direct straight line from one side of the unit to the other. I dabbed some Kilz on them and that seemed to "kill" the discoloration but if I look carefully at it, I can still notice it.

I haven't checked recently, but the marks have not reappeared nor have any new ones appeared. Ours is an '08 Cougar.

[Mike484]

The western edition does have doors on the ends of the dinette seats, don't understand why they didn't do it on the eastern edition. Another plus for the western over the eastern editions is the couch, western uses a stand alone couch, eastern uses a much less desirable bench type of seat and has cheap *** cushions to use as the arms. Both of these I wanted but the only way to do that was to buy from a dealer out west and pay to have it shipped here or pay an outrageous amount to get the local dealer to install these options. I just settled with the standard eastern edition.

[PhilDeb]

Why do they make two different models anyway?

If I knew that, I would have driven west and bought it.

When someone asked if we could fix their car or add this or that, I'd say, "With enough time and money, we can do anything!"

I'll use the Kilz on the ceiling. It's just a little discolored but there are a few with just the staple sticking out.

And the wall board (woodgrain) on the rear end of the dinette you can see where they tried to cover the staples and it needs another coat or something.

The screen door latches by about 2mm. I think I'll just leave the screen and door together as one unit. Otherwise I can see that breaking in the first two weeks.

On a brighter note, all equipment functions as designed!

[PhilDeb]

I installed a Progressive Industries EMS-HW30C this weekend.

Very easy install. I put it in the little table between the rear seats where the power cable comes in.

With the a/c on, it says the unit is drawing 10 amps if anyone is interested.

[Mike484]

Finally, the pics of my stabilizer bars that I was going to post long ago. Set up today out at the airport and remembered to grab some photos.