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View Full Version : First trip in the 28RDB "hotel on wheels"


vampress_me
05-12-2014, 06:43 AM
Last Tuesday I got our Companion hitch put in the truck, Wednesday picked up the camper from the dealer (holy cow, we own a camper!), and Friday after school went for our first trip. We only went about 3.5 hrs from home, but found a wonderful little campground.

For a first trip, it was great. Everything worked in the camper that we tried (after reading posts, I was a little scared). The only head scratcher is the electric portion of the water heater having the outside switch and the inside switch - weird, but we did know that at least. It stayed dry inside even though it rained Saturday afternoon/night. Whew! And, I figured out a few modifications that are headed our way - SmartTile backsplash, new shortened cupboard door so can have shoe storage by door, shelves in the closet by the bed, remodeling sheets to stay on the kids bunks better, and of course LED lights we've ordered. We also have a fairly short list of things we forgot on this trip, first of which is chairs for by the fire at night.

To wrap up the weekend, no accidents emptying the black tank even though I was videoing DH with my phone just in case... :)

nano
05-12-2014, 08:39 AM
Congrats on the new camper and a successful first trip! We're heading out for our first trip of the year this Thursday and I'm very excited, even though the lake is still covered with ice. Lol.

Kristi
05-12-2014, 11:44 AM
Always great to here about a great trip! Hoping there are many more in your future. Enjoy!

Uncledavey
05-14-2014, 07:57 PM
Last Tuesday I got our Companion hitch put in the truck, Wednesday picked up the camper from the dealer (holy cow, we own a camper!), and Friday after school went for our first trip. We only went about 3.5 hrs from home, but found a wonderful little campground.

For a first trip, it was great. Everything worked in the camper that we tried (after reading posts, I was a little scared). The only head scratcher is the electric portion of the water heater having the outside switch and the inside switch - weird, but we did know that at least. It stayed dry inside even though it rained Saturday afternoon/night. Whew! And, I figured out a few modifications that are headed our way - SmartTile backsplash, new shortened cupboard door so can have shoe storage by door, shelves in the closet by the bed, remodeling sheets to stay on the kids bunks better, and of course LED lights we've ordered. We also have a fairly short list of things we forgot on this trip, first of which is chairs for by the fire at night.

To wrap up the weekend, no accidents emptying the black tank even though I was videoing DH with my phone just in case... :)

Awesome! Congrats. We have the same model and will be taking our first trip next weekend (if you don't include the three day trip to get it home). Question for you...does your bathroom to bedroom sliding door close flush against the slide out? I posted about this last week but no one else has the same model. Just curious.

theeyres
05-14-2014, 08:01 PM
Glad to hear all went well. You are going to love the lifestyle. Don't know what Smart Tile is, but if it's heavy, just be sure to watch your weight. ENJOY!

vampress_me
05-15-2014, 06:53 PM
Awesome! Congrats. We have the same model and will be taking our first trip next weekend (if you don't include the three day trip to get it home). Question for you...does your bathroom to bedroom sliding door close flush against the slide out? I posted about this last week but no one else has the same model. Just curious.

Yes and no. It closes tight against the upper trim piece that is about 6" high above the closet/ linen doors and runs the whole length of the slide out, but that trim piece sticks out about 1.5" from the face frame of the closet, so it doesn't close tight against the face frame below the trim. So, we too have a gap from the bathroom into the bedroom the whole distance below the 6" tall trim piece to the floor. I was debating adding a trim piece of my own on the face frame to fill in the gap, but then realized the bathroom sliding door is offset from that vertical stile of the face frame and lines up more with the hinges of the closet door. So that wouldn't work. And, then also decided since we are the ones that sleep in the bedroom, I wasn't going to worry too much. But it is a design aspect that makes you go "huh?".

vampress_me
05-15-2014, 07:06 PM
Uncledavey,

I just went looking at your post and photo. Our trim looks just like yours. Also, I got to pick ours from the three 28RDB that our dealer had onsite, and all of them had the same trim. If your dealer comes up with a fix or something, please let me know, I'm curious now too.

Uncledavey
05-15-2014, 07:11 PM
Yes and no. It closes tight against the upper trim piece that is about 6" high above the closet/ linen doors and runs the whole length of the slide out, but that trim piece sticks out about 1.5" from the face frame of the closet, so it doesn't close tight against the face frame below the trim. So, we too have a gap from the bathroom into the bedroom the whole distance below the 6" tall trim piece to the floor. I was debating adding a trim piece of my own on the face frame to fill in the gap, but then realized the bathroom sliding door is offset from that vertical stile of the face frame and lines up more with the hinges of the closet door. So that wouldn't work. And, then also decided since we are the ones that sleep in the bedroom, I wasn't going to worry too much. But it is a design aspect that makes you go "huh?".

Ditto. Kinda makes you scratch your head. If you look on the website for this model the pictures show something different. What's odd on ours is that the door doesn't align well with the flat spot on the face of the molding on top of the slide out.

vampress_me
05-15-2014, 07:54 PM
Ours doesn't line up perfectly either. I figured who ever built it probably reads a tape measure like my mom (the tape has "tick marks" and it doesn't matter if it's a 1/16 "tick" or an 1/4 "tick", they're just "ticks" - drives an anal engineer (me!) nuts, but I love her).

I also think the photos on Keystone's website are for an older model (or photoshopped). The counter extension in the photos show the one that hooks on with an extra leg instead of the hinged one we have (and the other ones on the lot had), the backsplash wallpaper in the kitchen is the same strip like by the couch while in ours it is a tile/ basket weave wallpaper, the kitchen upper cabinets are different, the bedside table is different, and then of course the bedroom slide trim is completely different. Me personally, I love all the changes that ours has compared to the Keystone photos, except maybe the door trim. But, I'm so happy to have a bathroom and shower instead of an outhouse like when we would tent camp long ago, I don't mind. :)

Uncledavey
05-15-2014, 08:48 PM
Ours doesn't line up perfectly either. I figured who ever built it probably reads a tape measure like my mom (the tape has "tick marks" and it doesn't matter if it's a 1/16 "tick" or an 1/4 "tick", they're just "ticks" - drives an anal engineer (me!) nuts, but I love her).

I also think the photos on Keystone's website are for an older model (or photoshopped). The counter extension in the photos show the one that hooks on with an extra leg instead of the hinged one we have (and the other ones on the lot had), the backsplash wallpaper in the kitchen is the same strip like by the couch while in ours it is a tile/ basket weave wallpaper, the kitchen upper cabinets are different, the bedside table is different, and then of course the bedroom slide trim is completely different. Me personally, I love all the changes that ours has compared to the Keystone photos, except maybe the door trim. But, I'm so happy to have a bathroom and shower instead of an outhouse like when we would tent camp long ago, I don't mind. :)

I think you hit the nail on the head in your previous post...it just makes you wonder, "huh?" Lol

2016Xlite28RBD
05-10-2015, 04:53 PM
Do you happen to have the sizes of the two rear bunks? Ours is on order so I have no way to get the sizes! We are hoping to have all the extras oh hand so we can take a short shakedown trip when it arrives.

Thanks,

Cody

vampress_me
05-10-2015, 07:11 PM
Cody,

I will go out tomorrow morning and measure them for you.

I know I bought full-size bed sheets for them from Target last spring. The fitted bottom sheet is a little too narrow by about 2-3 inches when comparing the "pocket" of the sheet to the actual width of the mattress, but it still works for the kids. And honestly, I don't know if that's because I bought inexpensive sheets, or if it's the bed. So, I'll let you know tomorrow!

I hope you enjoy yours as much as we love ours! We checked out new campers this spring at the camper show, and kept saying we like our 28RDB better than any other floorplan we saw.

bsmith0404
05-10-2015, 09:08 PM
This doesn't fix your problem, but may make you feel better about the design flaw until you can figure out a fix. I recently delivered a TT to a dealership and the entertainment center had a double door cabinet to house the tv. There was a center brace for the doors to close/latch to, as most double door cabinets have if they're not designed to be an entertainment center. IMO, having a brace right in the center of your viewing area of your tv screen would be much more irritating than a small gap in the bathroom door. Now every time you look at the gap in your bathroom door, just think, at least we don't have a cabinet brace down the center of our tv :)

larry337
05-10-2015, 09:24 PM
This doesn't fix your problem, but may make you feel better about the design flaw until you can figure out a fix. I recently delivered a TT to a dealership and the entertainment center had a double door cabinet to house the tv. There was a center brace for the doors to close/latch to, as most double door cabinets have if they're not designed to be an entertainment center. IMO, having a brace right in the center of your viewing area of your tv screen would be much more irritating than a small gap in the bathroom door. Now every time you look at the gap in your bathroom door, just think, at least we don't have a cabinet brace down the center of our tv :)

Wow! That's all I can say lol! Speechless!

vampress_me
05-11-2015, 06:34 AM
So, hopefully there's an attachment here that shows the bunk measurements. This was easier to show since the bunk has the diagonal corner. This is the wall to wall dimensions. The mattress is an inch or so smaller.

Brent, I cannot believe how someone could have missed the fact a TV was in that cabinet. Oops!?! And, if the center stile was there, how did they even get a TV into the cabinet? A new flexible type of TV? Or is this the new dual TV feature so you can watch 2 TV channels at once on 2 TVs - one each side of the stile.

After having our camper and using it all last summer, the gap between the bedroom door and the bathroom is no big deal. It's just one of those things that looks a little funny if you are contemplating life while sitting on the throne. :) I'd rather have that gap than a larger under the door gap on the main bathroom door, which I've seen in other campers.

notanlines
05-11-2015, 07:51 AM
Vampress, I also pondered over the large gap under some of the doors until I finally figured out that they were there for the furnace and AC return air.....

jaitken0016
05-12-2015, 06:07 AM
Congrats on a successful new trip. A trailer from the dealer is never perfect. It also takes fidgeting and mods to make it yours and a home away from home.

bsmith0404
05-12-2015, 06:12 AM
Lynette, you're thinking old school, lol. Flat screens are easy to fit in around the center style.