New to Alpine

[SQLShaw]

My wife and I just bought a Alpine 3555 RL and so far we love the rig. There was only a few questions that I am still working around, but my biggest one is: I have been told by a few people, but I am just floored at this. Is there no owner's manual for these? I have all the appliances and such. But nothing on the rig itself, things like slide maintenance, hooking up satellite, or even something as simple as here is the location of the light switches.

Thanks,
--SQLShaw

[therink]

I believe you are correct. Mine did come with a Keystone non-model specific manual. The manual contained more warning disclaimers than any helpful information. I had to figure it all myself. Good luck with the new Alpine.

[SQLShaw]

Thanks for the answer Steve. We just sold our 2008 Outback. We were happy with it, but just wanted something we could go full time in.

[cathcartww]

You can download the generic Keystone O&M from the Keystone web site, but as said, it really doesn't have much specific information.

[sandy43]

Generic manual from Keystone is what you get. You can get tons of info from this forum reference just about anything pertaining to your Alpine. You got a really good unit and I wouldn't trade mine for most others out there. Got a question, ask it. Someone will answer it the best they can, might even throw a little BS on the side.

[Festus2]

SQLShaw -
The previous posters are quite right. Keystone does not provide Owner's Manuals that are specific to each and every model. If you have a 2013 Alpine and I have a 2013 Cougar, the manuals are identical. You should have received most of the manuals for the fridge, stove, furnace, A/C, and other similar items. Any other missing manuals, you will have to download from the manufacturer's websites.

Hooking up the satellite? There are too many posts and threads to mention about this topic. Some have figured it out at the get go. Some have asked here and finally got it to work after considerable help from fellow members. Others are still tearing their hair out if they have any left! What can I tell you to make you feel better? How about "Don't sweat the small stuff?" Not a good idea?

Welcome to the forum and to the world of Keystone. And don't believe Sandy's BS comment. We are an extremely focused and helpful group and if you do a forum search, you will not find any "BS".

[azlee56]

awwe darn Festus, I like the joking around on here (I think that is what Sandy means as BS). As far as answers if they know it, oh yeah they are quite good on here. I was wondering the other day if most had gone through these problems and got them worked out and that is where they got their wisdom!? Gladly they share it though.

[geo]

SQLShaw -

Drop down to the "Repairs and Maintenance" section and ask the question, "How do I lubricated the tank valve seals?"! :D

Nope, no BS there!

Ron

[Festus2]

SQLShaw -
Please ignore Geo's above post. He's just trying to stir the "pot" and besides, he has spent far too much time poking around in his Alpine underbelly and has, I firmly believe, become overcome with noxious gases leaking from a faulty tank valve seal. He hasn't been making much sense of late.

Warning: If you do ask that question, you could receive an infraction or a temporary ban from at least one of the forum Moderators.

[Jim_VaBeach]

My wife and I just bought a Alpine 3555 RL and so far we love the rig. There was only a few questions that I am still working around, but my biggest one is: I have been told by a few people, but I am just floored at this. Is there no owner's manual for these? I have all the appliances and such. But nothing on the rig itself, things like slide maintenance, hooking up satellite, or even something as simple as here is the location of the light switches.

Thanks,
--SQLShaw

We have a 2011 alpine 3555 RL . Awesome floor plan, we love it

[sandy43]

Festus, sorry about the BS statement. All done in humor. Comic relief is what I call it.

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

SQLShaw -

Drop down to the "Repairs and Maintenance" section and ask the question, "How do I lubricated the tank valve seals?"! :D

Nope, no BS there!

Ron

Hard enough for me to fit in the tiny 'room with no view', let alone tryin' to stuff a bovine in there !!! :eek: :rolleyes:

hankaye

[geo]

Aw! Just having a bit of fun! "bouncey:

Ron

[billstuart]

We have a 2012 Alpine 3555RL and love it, too. Like you, I was shocked to discover that the owner's manual is an almost useless generic POS.

I have one tip for you that probably applies to all or most RL models. When extenting or retracting your slides, be sure your recliners are properly stowed. The slides barely clear them and if one of them catches on a moving slide you can do some damage if you don't realize it's caught and you keep the slide moving. I usually visually verify proper clearance while my DW operates the switch. Our dealer's service manager also mentioned that they've seen cabinets torn out because an open cabinet door caught on a moving slide. A quick look as soon as you can get to the rear of the rig and when you begin to retract could save you a pile of cash and a pain in the keester.

Happy trails,

[SQLShaw]

Thanks everyone for the tips. We are facing a few challenges, but I think we can work through them. I have to admit that I am really surprised that with the investment that is made into these rigs that there isn't an owners manual. the only motivation I can see around not doing one is the cost. But it is what it is.

I was also surprised that the forum moderators jumped in on the discussion, I am not sure what I said or someone else said that might have flagged this thread. I found the welcome from everyone to be awesome, and I even think that I understood the humor in the replies. Maybe there is something there I missed, but no matter. Hope everyone has a great weekend, and is enjoying their rigs.

--SQLShaw

[jsmith948]

Welcome to the forum!

I think you may have missed that the moderator was having a little fun also"bouncey:

[mikell]

Living in an LPINE 3649 RL the only thing I can complain about is it's too nice for what we needed

[8LVISE]

:wlcm: SQLShaw to the Alpine forums. We have a 2012 3555RL and love it as well. The tip regarding retracting and extending the slides and the recliners is absolutely correct. Most of the tips and useful info I have gotten came from the very kind and astute members of the forum who do their best to help. A few more tips that I have gleaned from this forum:
The hanging sconces over your kitchen sink will blow the 15 amp fuse if they get loose and swing. Just tighten the thumb screw near the ceiling and all will be well.
We found that our grey 1 and black tanks were mislabeled at the valves and so relabeled them appropriately. This is surprisingly common.
Make sure your fan light is off when you retract your slides for the lounge area or the blades will hit the slides when in. The rocker switch is easy to hit at the control panel. As a fail-safe, I leave the light on and use the rocker to turn off instead of the pull chain to make sure if hit accidently the light will let me know before the blades get going.
The fridge takes FOREVER to cool (about 10-12 hours to go from 60 to 40 degrees) and we have learned to expect that. Some suggestions have included putting a bag of ice in the freezer, but we haven't found it that helpful. We are not able to turn fridge on before any trips as rig is stored at a distance from home.
Some well-placed adhesive silicon bumpers helps to avoid wear on doors in bedroom and bathroom where it runs into dresser or opposite door.
Hope these help! Do keep up with the forum. I do a search here first if I have any questions and usually find the answer.
Best of luck with your new rig!

[Jim_VaBeach]

My Dealer instructed me to use the lp gas mode when starting up the frig.then shift to electricity. I have not timed it though. We store the unit ten days then put it on site for a month, then repeat this every month, same campground. We then spend weekends in the camper. I also run the gas water heater initially, then shift to electric. Not an original idea but it keeps everything exercised regularly. Going to run the furnace a few minutes this weekend also, even though it is going to be in the 90's. Hopefully the spiders and mud daubers stay away!
PS I also put a battery operated fan, $20, in the fridge to circulate air also recommended by my dealer

[smitty082261]

My wife and I are looking at the Alpine 3555RL. I sold a Carriage Cameo a couple of years ago and have heard good things about Keystone Alpine. I want to know what current owners think of thier Alpine, good and bad

Thanks
Bruce

[KyCamper]

We have a 2012 Alpine 3450RL......and really like it. The only thing we really gave up in this unit was the linen closet that we had in our Outback Sydney 321FRL. Solved that problem by buying a canvas, hanging 6 shelf sweater organizer that could be converted into a side by side 3 shelf unit....got it at Bed,Bath & Beyond. We hung the organizer in the closet area where the washer/dryer hookup is located.....just roll your towels up and place them on the shelves. IMO there is not enough linen storage in the bathroom area of this unit. Customer service at Keystone can be good or bad....depending on what you are asking them. Our best advice is to ask a question on this forum and you'll get a lot of good answers and just go from there. Also, if you camp someplace where there is someone with another Alpine, go up introduce yourself, and see what they have to say. You get a lot of good information from other owners who by trial and error have figured things out for themselves and are willing to share info....the manuals are pretty generic and not much help.

[SQLShaw]

Hi Bruce,

We love it......

There are a few minor things that we were not expecting.

We did not plan for 2 drains for the black and gray. Its not a big deal justed needed a Y

The fridge is louder than other rigs.

The Air Mattress we had, lasted 2 days, if that. I am about ready to create a new post on that.

[alpine 1]

we have a2012 350re and had no problems set's up in no time and pulls like a dream fridge Gert's cold in 3-4 hr and all the pluming is grate we fined it to be the one for us keystone did a grate job on the alpine"bouncey:

[KyCamper]

I have to agree..our refrig on the 3450RL is really noisy and takes a long time to cool down. Also, access to the second grey tank back behind the wheels is difficult to get to when the slide is in and you go to dump. The service center where we bought the RV said they could add an access door on the side where you can get to the lever a little more easy....for a nominal charge...less than $100 for parts and labor. This is a design flaw that Keystone needs to address in future models. Wouldn't it be nice if they PAID to have it modified on units already sold?

[smitty082261]

I will have to look at this, did not notice it when I was walking it down. We take delivery this coming Tuesday and really looking forward to getting it. It took a lot of negotiating to get a decent price.

[Outbackmel]

:eek:Yes, it is SLOOOOOOOW. Once you have that thing on gas, electric or automatic; DO NOT OPEN THE DOORS FOR A MINIMUM OF 8 HOURS. I learned this the hard way. Wife kept opening the door ever hour or so "is it cool yet?" set us back 2-3 hours each time.

Our RV is only 1 year old and we had it serviced. Since I left it at the dealership, we emptied the refer/freezer and defrosted. Took sooooo long to re cool, I became concerned and called the RV dealership. They told me highly unlikely any refer issue, just takes what seems forever when you have all your food packed and iced in coolers on a 100 degree day!

We finally went to the store, bought MORE ICE ( about the same cost as diesel fuel ) went to bed and said the heck with it. Next morning, refer ice cold and working properly.

Patience seems to be the key. Unfortunately, we have little of that. "bouncey:

[SQLShaw]

I agree with the Fridge Outback Mel. But all the rigs I have owned, have been like that.

[Philip and Candy]

Sad but true! We puchased a 2014 Alpine 3535RL and yup no maintenance manual. Just came with the manual that tells you thinks like what a "black tank" is.....big help! We bought little stickers that we could write on to label the switches....

[frankyb01]

We have a 2011 3540RL. We live in it full time and absolutely love it. Concurr on the uselessness of the owners manual. Figuring out where all the switches were and what they did was like being on a scavenger hunt. The only reason I knew that I had a second gray water tank for the kitchen was because there was a third guage in the control panel so I got curious and went hunting. They sure don't make it obvious where it is. Aside from that, the only major issue I have had so far was getting the air conditioner to work properly. Original owner bought it new and had it delivered to him by dealer. Left it stored in his driveway for two years then decided he wasn't going to use it and put it up for sale. Consequently I'm uncovering all the nit-noy issues that would normally have gotten sent back to the dealer. The problem with the air conditioning was typical poor workmanship at the factory. Initially I wasn't getting any cold air. The only thing separating the output air and return air halfs of the air ducting under the A/C was a single piece of HVAC tape, and the air pressure folded it over so that the air was circulating directly back to the evaporator and freezing it up. I fixed that by adding a lot more tape which got me some cooling air but the air flow out of the ceiling vents was almost non existant. The I went to replace a light bulb in one of the ceiling fixures and found I had more air flow coming from the light fixture than I did out of the vents. I ended up removing the A/C unit from the roof to gain access to the entire airbox and found absolutely nothing was sealed. I spent about an hour and almost a complete roll of HVAC tape taping and sealing everycorner, edge, and joint. I also placed a thin piece of solid foam insulation in the bottom which has stopped the condensation problem I was having on the ceiling inside the camper directly underneath the A/C. Now I have lots of air flow from the ceiling vents like I would expect, and none coming out of the light fixtures. I agree with some of the other posts I've read lately. Keystone should pay us for the hours we spend fixing there screw-ups.