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Old 06-21-2022, 06:27 AM   #1
Talon
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First Time RV Owner!

We've never owned an RV before but sold our house with nowhere to move to yet. We figured we'd stay in an RV until we find someplace.

We purchased a 2022 Keystone Fuzion 373 and still trying to figure things out.
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Old 06-21-2022, 07:04 AM   #2
Laredo Tugger
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Congrats on your new purchase. That's a big RV to get acquainted with.
Hopefully you were given a complete "tour" (PDI) around the trailer and it's operating systems. Many questions I'm sure and many answers to be found on this forum.
Not sure if your towing that beast or if you have it parked full time at one location. If you will be towing consider the quality and age of the tires. Yes it is a new trailer but the tires maybe a few years old depending on when the factory ordered them. There are manufacture dates on the tires you can check. As for quality, you can use tires ordered in bulk to satisfy the requirement of building a trailer (See: China Bombs) or you can put a quality product on those wheels and eliminate a major hazard/headache.
Also your tow vehicle should be of adequate ability for that size trailer. At 17K GVW and 3155 Pin Weight (before loading) you most definitely want the safest vehicle available dragging that thing around. A dually TV (tow vehicle) is the proper choice without question.
Good luck
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Old 06-21-2022, 07:18 AM   #3
flybouy
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I would agree with above. 17K 39' Triple axle trailer has no buisness strapped on the back of anything less than a 1 ton dually.
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Old 06-21-2022, 08:45 AM   #4
dutchmensport
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Welcome to the forums and congrats on the purchase of your new Fuzion. That's one big trailer to learn the ropes with! It sounds like you don't have any RV experience under your belt. That's a lot to learn about the camper, driving, and campgrounds or RV parks to park your camper. But, in time, you'll get it figured out.

My best advise I can give you is ... something WILL go wrong! It may be logistics in your travel, it may be a hardware item on your camper, it may be a mechanical failure on your tow vehicle, but someday, somewhere, when you don't expect it, and at the worst possible time "it" will happen.

When "it" does ... keep your cool. Think it through. There is always an answer to the situation. Don't make rash decisions and definitely don't loose your cool and blow up like an atomic bomb. Answers and solutions are there. You'll just need to find them. Be prepared for anything, and pleasantly surprised and thankful for every day when everything is going smooth.

Good luck in your travels, and don't be a stranger on these forums.
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Old 06-21-2022, 12:31 PM   #5
Roper46
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Welcome from south Georgia and congrats on your new purchase. That is a very nice RV! Reminds me of the one being towed in the GMC commercial.
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Old 06-21-2022, 03:35 PM   #6
Talon
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Fortunately this model is a dual axle. We have a Chevy 2500HD on order but it's not in yet. If we have to, we can hire someone to move it for us. We've never had a fifth wheel before either so all this is new to us. The last few years we've kept our boat in a storage unit and haul it to-and-from the marina when we put in the water but that's the biggest thing we've towed so far.
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Old 06-21-2022, 03:38 PM   #7
Talon
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Originally Posted by Roper46 View Post
Welcome from south Georgia and congrats on your new purchase. That is a very nice RV! Reminds me of the one being towed in the GMC commercial.
Thanks! Yes, it's very much like the one in the commercial. Not sure if it's the exact model. That's great you're in south Georgia. That's the area we've been concentrating our search for a new home. We want a larger property with pond(s) we can fish.
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Old 06-21-2022, 03:52 PM   #8
Talon
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Laredo Tugger View Post
Congrats on your new purchase. That's a big RV to get acquainted with.
Hopefully you were given a complete "tour" (PDI) around the trailer and it's operating systems. Many questions I'm sure and many answers to be found on this forum.
Not sure if your towing that beast or if you have it parked full time at one location. If you will be towing consider the quality and age of the tires. Yes it is a new trailer but the tires maybe a few years old depending on when the factory ordered them. There are manufacture dates on the tires you can check. As for quality, you can use tires ordered in bulk to satisfy the requirement of building a trailer (See: China Bombs) or you can put a quality product on those wheels and eliminate a major hazard/headache.
Also your tow vehicle should be of adequate ability for that size trailer. At 17K GVW and 3155 Pin Weight (before loading) you most definitely want the safest vehicle available dragging that thing around. A dually TV (tow vehicle) is the proper choice without question.
Good luck
RMc
Thanks! Some great advise. I'll have to check the tires. We had the unit towed here to Lake Cumberland at the marina where we keep our boat. We have a Chevy 2500HD on order but it's not in yet. If we have to, we can hire people to tow it for us. I think we're going to keep it here at the RV park at the marina for a lot of the time since it's so convenient to have someplace to stay when we're here.

You're right about lots of stuff to learn and things that can go wrong. We're probably on our 4th full day of staying in the RV and a couple of nights ago an inverter plug tripped and it did it again the other night. Not sure what's tripping it and it's only happened late at night. We'll probably call the dealer tomorrow to see if they have any suggestions. I thought about posting it on here as well if we can't figure it out.
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Old 06-21-2022, 04:02 PM   #9
Talon
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Originally Posted by dutchmensport View Post
Welcome to the forums and congrats on the purchase of your new Fuzion. That's one big trailer to learn the ropes with! It sounds like you don't have any RV experience under your belt. That's a lot to learn about the camper, driving, and campgrounds or RV parks to park your camper. But, in time, you'll get it figured out.

My best advise I can give you is ... something WILL go wrong! It may be logistics in your travel, it may be a hardware item on your camper, it may be a mechanical failure on your tow vehicle, but someday, somewhere, when you don't expect it, and at the worst possible time "it" will happen.

When "it" does ... keep your cool. Think it through. There is always an answer to the situation. Don't make rash decisions and definitely don't loose your cool and blow up like an atomic bomb. Answers and solutions are there. You'll just need to find them. Be prepared for anything, and pleasantly surprised and thankful for every day when everything is going smooth.

Good luck in your travels, and don't be a stranger on these forums.
Yes! It is quite the camper for our first one. LOL. We've stayed with friends in their RV camper when we've gone to hunt tests with our dogs. Although their RV is much smaller than the one we bought, we still learned a few things about RV camping in general.

You're right about things that can go wrong with equipment like this. I mentioned in another reply that this is like our 4th or 5th full day staying in the camper and a couple of nights ago an inverter plug tripped. We finally figured out we could reset it but then it happened again last night, twice. It only seems to happen late at night. Haven't figured it out yet. We'll probably call the dealer tomorrow and see if they have suggestions. I may post it here if we can't figure it out. Will have to see if it does it again tonight.
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Old 06-21-2022, 04:05 PM   #10
wiredgeorge
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Your camper has a pin weight of over 3900 lbs based on 23 percent of its gross weight (17K lbs). Add passengers, stuff in truck and hitch your load will be well over 4500 lbs. The payload on your new 3/4 ton will less than 3000 lbs. This adds up to a safety situation. Cancel your order and buy a dually. They have payloads over 4500 lbs. Sorry for the bad news but you will be overloaded by a bunch.
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Old 06-21-2022, 04:19 PM   #11
Talon
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Originally Posted by wiredgeorge View Post
Your camper has a pin weight of over 3900 lbs based on 23 percent of its gross weight (17K lbs). Add passengers, stuff in truck and hitch your load will be well over 4500 lbs. The payload on your new 3/4 ton will less than 3000 lbs. This adds up to a safety situation. Cancel your order and buy a dually. They have payloads over 4500 lbs. Sorry for the bad news but you will be overloaded by a bunch.
Thanks. We'll have to look into that more closely. If that's the case, we can have someone tow it for us or get another truck if needed. Meanwhile, we'll be here at the lake for the season until we get it figured out.
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Old 06-21-2022, 05:04 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by Talon View Post
Thanks. We'll have to look into that more closely. If that's the case, we can have someone tow it for us or get another truck if needed. Meanwhile, we'll be here at the lake for the season until we get it figured out.
Welcome to the forum

Well at least you have plenty of time to figure out the workings of your new home and think about a bigger truck. Enjoy and if you have any questions, there is lots of good information and loads of great people here.
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Old 06-22-2022, 03:40 AM   #13
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Welcome from northern MN.
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Old 07-03-2022, 07:32 AM   #14
Mikelff
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Originally Posted by Talon View Post
Fortunately this model is a dual axle. We have a Chevy 2500HD on order but it's not in yet. If we have to, we can hire someone to move it for us. We've never had a fifth wheel before either so all this is new to us. The last few years we've kept our boat in a storage unit and haul it to-and-from the marina when we put in the water but that's the biggest thing we've towed so far.
I have to agree with the other folks about your tow vehicle. You will be over weight with a 2500, no doubt. I made that mistake, so cancel that truck order and make it a 3500. I went with a 4 wheel truck, not a dually, and have NO problems towing my 41’ 5er. I’ve towed it in some strong wind and was not a problem for me. LOTS to learn about your rig, tires, suspension, appliances, slide outs, etc. Spend some time and read through some of these topics on the forum, especially tires. They will help a lot. Congrats on your new rig and enjoy!
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Old 07-03-2022, 08:17 AM   #15
Dkentaz65
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First time RVer

We had an F350 SRW and our rig is 13k gvw. After pulling it through the wonderful roads of California, my wife and I sold it and bought a F350DRW. Payload capacity is 5.4k and towing is upper 20s. Best decision we made as you feel much more secure. I can’t even imagine what your rig will do to your 2500. You should also know that insurance or your truck warranty may not cover any damage since your over it’s towing capacity. So I agree with everyone here on this topic.

In terms of full timing it, know what you want at a campsite (eg, wifi, fullhookups, good ratings, pull thru vs back end sites, clean facility reviews, activities, etc). We use RV life app when traveling.

Have fun, enjoy your new purchase and definitely take it out and enjoy all the wonderful sights this country has to offer!
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Old 07-03-2022, 10:01 AM   #16
Ellen
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You definitely need a much heavier truck for towing.
Enjoy your new trailer. Use the forums and YouTube to learn all abou5 everything.
We just traded in our Cougar for a Thor ACE 30.3 motor home. I’m doing the driving now and this is much easier for me, even towing a small Jeep behind it. Our first trip was on Hwy 50 from the SF Bay Area to Fallen Leaf Campground, next to Lake Tahoe. Long haul over the Sierras. The campground is BLM so no hook ups. It was gorgeous. There was a water faucet about 100 ft away. Big test for all the new systems. The batteries were worthless and needed to be replaced (covered by dealer) and the refrigerator is 12 V electric, no propane. Lots of learning! We made it! Came back over Carson Pass. Absolutely beautiful but a harder drive.
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Old 07-03-2022, 04:45 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by dutchmensport View Post
Welcome to the forums and congrats on the purchase of your new Fuzion. That's one big trailer to learn the ropes with! It sounds like you don't have any RV experience under your belt. That's a lot to learn about the camper, driving, and campgrounds or RV parks to park your camper. But, in time, you'll get it figured out.

My best advise I can give you is ... something WILL go wrong! It may be logistics in your travel, it may be a hardware item on your camper, it may be a mechanical failure on your tow vehicle, but someday, somewhere, when you don't expect it, and at the worst possible time "it" will happen.

When "it" does ... keep your cool. Think it through. There is always an answer to the situation. Don't make rash decisions and definitely don't loose your cool and blow up like an atomic bomb. Answers and solutions are there. You'll just need to find them. Be prepared for anything, and pleasantly surprised and thankful for every day when everything is going smooth.

Good luck in your travels, and don't be a stranger on these forums.
When we were full timing from 88 to 94, and stationary in parks, we never had this much RV drama in our lives. The AC went out and the water heater was our major repairs. Seems like everytime i hook up its bust out another thousand bucks. I actually enjoy the 1-2 hour parks from home more if a breakdown occurs. If you have dogs, sorry they cant ride in the tow truck, or the same applies having more then two in your party. Seems like no repair businesses are available to you when you breakdown on either a Saturday or Sunday.
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