Freebies for new RV?

[FullTimeTim]

Hey guys,

I've tried searching for an answer, but perhaps I am not putting in the correct keywords. Anywho, my new home should be showing up at the dealer this week and I was wondering. Do they hook you up with anything, such as a starter kit? I would like to start shopping for must have accessories and am curious if the dealer/manufacturer provide you with anything.

I appreciate the help!

Thanks!

[Outbackmel]

They generally provide you stuff to get you started. Order and have bee protector screens placed over outside vents. Inexpensive. Also vent covers are a must unless you buy power roof exhaust fans with rail sensors. Make sure your drinking water hose is long enough! Also I have the Rhino sewer hose and it is great, but, at a few places I have needed an extension.
When you are 25 miles from any stores, not the time to consider.

[howard]

I think every dealer we've purchased from has given us a "starter kit" with some basics such as a roll of TP, some toilet chemicals, 25' of inexpensive drinking water hose etc. It is enough to get you through your first weekend camping, maybe. I'd recommend you keep the stuff "for an emergency." Go buy 2-25' length's of good drinking water hose, TP, chemicals, extra section of sewer hose, etc. Wal-Mart usually has a pretty good assortment of the most commonly purchased necessities at reasonable prices. Camping World usually has the rest.

[TopV]

Recently pick up my hideout 26RLS from Camping World and recived no starting kit. Was told i could remove all items from trade in.

[outwest]

Congrats on the new rig!

If you're new to RVing, one tip - use Scott single ply toilet paper. It's cheaper than the RV-specific toilet paper. If you use better toilet paper it'll clog things up because it won't break down as fast as Scott brand.

[FullTimeTim]

Thanks guys! I spoke to the salesperson I've been dealing with and they said we're getting a starter kit that has some sewer hose, a water hose, and a few other things.

I went out and bought some of that expensive RV toilet paper, only to find out the next day that a lot of people use Scott single ply.

Scotts TP is pretty reliable from my experience. I've topped a lot of trees in my friends' front yards with that stuff. It's strong!

[outwest]

Don't feel bad, many of us (myself included) have bought that expensive RV paper at least once. And you're right, Scott TP does do well in trees

Few more tips, just in case -

keep black tank valve closed except when dumping. Otherwise the liquids will drain out and the solids will stay in tank, eventually leading to a lot of muck that you have to try to get out (fill tank, dump tank, fill tank, dump tank, over and over - not fun). When my father was alive I never could convince him about that and he was always fussing about the build up *shaking head*

I like to close grey valve shortly before dumping the black (such as same day but before shower). That way it prevents sewage from going into grey tank and I can use the grey water to rinse the sewer hose.

Not sure what sort of sewer hose storage your rig comes with. The Vantage trailer's sewer hose storage doesn't have room for the attachments to stay affixed to the hose. What I do is use a plastic tub to put sewer hose in and put that in storage compartment.

Everyone has their own preference on black tank chemicals. I like the Aqua Chem with formaldehyde, but to each their own.

Again, congrats on the new rig & happy camping!

[dandjh1958]

It's funny-when I bought my pop-up, they gave me a starter package of a sewer line, TP, Black tank chems and a electrical adapter to go from 50amp to 30 amp (dog bone style with a big nice handle).

Our popup didn't have a black or gray water tank. Nor do we have 50 amps within the PUP. The dealer said to use the items for the next upgrade or use as bartering for other camping needs at the campgrounds.

Gave the 50 to 30 amp adapter to a fellow camping who showed up in this HUGE beast of a trailer and only had 30 and 15 amp hook up at the pole. His wife was yelling at him for about 10 minutes about how she hated camping. I wandered over and offered him the adapter. He was so happy!! He bought over some beer and bbq pork later which was great!!

When we bought our 2012 Hideout, the dealer gave of a paper list of things we would probably need and they could sell us if we wanted to get it before we took delivery.
We passed on them supplying the items but it was a good list and we already had the sewer hose and water hoses from the Popup.

Happy Camping!

[theeyres]

Get the starter kit and have fun. If we tell you what to buy now, you won't need or want half the stuff. You will need more, for sure, but the fun is figuring out what you want or need and then going shopping.

[danjentravels]

No matter how much you try dealing with them when purchasing the only thing I ever get for free seems to be the max air vent covers and the special one for the fantastic fan. I know its not much but we just purchased and I told them I wanted them free or I would deal elsewhere.our dealer stopped giving the starter kit which we still had anyways and yes dont go buyong that expensiive tp as its a cash grab. Good luck on your purchase. Something else to consider is trying to get them to throw in a trailer cover

[Steve S]

I never got a starter kit, they gave me a pre-paid card for in store shopping which has come in very handy. Also everytime I shop there I think I get 7% off as I bought from them.

[HappyCamperMN]

Originally Posted by Steve S

I never got a starter kit, they gave me a pre-paid card for in store shopping which has come in very handy. Also everytime I shop there I think I get 7% off as I bought from them.

That's a unique and IMO great approach. Good for the customer, you get to choose what you want / what you need rather than whatever they decide to toss into their starter kit. Good for the dealer, you'll be coming back in to spend down your gift card.

[Donkey teeth]

We have been going to the local RV lot in town for the past few years looking at the inventory. Each time the sales rep said a $50 credit to their store when you buy from them....well, this year we finally purchased a TT. I asked about the $50 credit...Not so much!

He said they recently stopped giving the credit....c'mon really? I find that hard to believe that they would lose money. You go into the store, and there are a ton of things to buy and you would still end up spending $150-200.

Personally, I think it demonstrates poor customer service. I will be buying my accessories online or at another store.

[Festus2]

Too bad. It's unfortunate that a dealer wouldn't give you $50 in credit as a token of their appreciation for buying from them. And $50 is a mighty small "token". Because of his short-sightedness and lack of business acumen, he has lost a customer, who over the course of a few years, might have spent hundreds of dollars at his dealership.
I think I might be tempted to drop the manager/owner an email and/or a phone call letting him know that he lost a potential customer because of his "cheapness". Yes, too bad.

[Blinky 13]

:Just bought a 272 Bullet got the salesman to throw in 2- 6v batteries& boxes an eq hitch , & rv matt, he went for it no harm in asking !!! Forgot about a solar panel Silly me

[EVMIII]

I'm scheduled to do my PDI and hopefully pick up my new Alpine on Saturday. Our dealer gives a $100 store credit for starter kit type items. I fully expect to spend several times that. (He did include the hitch also). Good luck.

[monica4patience]

With our first pop-up we received an RVQ and an add-a-room. Never used the add-a-room and traded it with the pop-up. the RVQ finally died after 4 summers of use.

Traded the pop-up for a used Outback. Got a great trade-in; almost what we paid for the camper.

Traded the Outback a few weeks ago for a new Passport. Got another great deal on the trade-in. Cost us less per year than what we paid to rent a pop-up for a week many years ago. Can't say they threw anything free into the trade, but we were very satisfied. The dealer we used is known for their customer service. We had a few things added before we took delivery: vent covers, grab bar for inside entry door.

I was browsing the catalog and decided we needed a water filter inside because I was tired of the Brita pitcher leaking all over the counter. I called customer service at 4:55 on the Friday before Memorial Day. Salesman cautioned me against what I was considering; plus it wasn't in stock. Made 2 recommendations for something that he thought we'd be happier with. He made the arrangements to have it installed. Phone conversation lasted well past the 5:00 closing time. Now that's real customer service!! We're very happy with everything.

[murphysranch]

We too were offered a $25 credit if we ignored the starter kit and shopped in their store. Worked out for us.

[monica4patience]

I forgot....our membership was extended for one year and we got a 10% discount on our purchases for one day. That's quite a bit of savings. Plus they did drop the price on our new unit and increased the trade-in too. All-in-all, not a bad deal.

[Catfish37]

We just bought a new Passport this past spring. The dealer threw in the automatic tongue jack and the air shocks on the bed. They did away with the starter kit but gave us a $100 in store credit.