TS Service Requirements

[WALT888]

Hello,

We have a 2006 40DS04 and are planning on going full time in June 08. This is our first motorhome and we are new in this lifestyle. Our first trip is going to be to the factory to have the frame braced. We have learned the hard way...cracked windshield...that this is required.

I have a couple of questions for those that are more experienced at this whole process. First of all, what service do I really need? My coach now has 10K miles and will have about 13K by the time we get to Indiana. I believe I have info on what is recommended but what is really required? And do I need to be concerned about all of the appliances and systems or is the factory really more appropriate for chassis, engine, and running gear service?

Also what is the process for getting an appointment? How far ahead do I need to make it? And do I have to figure out how much time to schedule or will the factory figure that out for me?

Thanks.........WALT

[WALT888]

Hello,

We have a 2006 40DS04 and are planning on going full time in June 08. This is our first motorhome and we are new in this lifestyle. Our first trip is going to be to the factory to have the frame braced. We have learned the hard way...cracked windshield...that this is required.

I have a couple of questions for those that are more experienced at this whole process. First of all, what service do I really need? My coach now has 10K miles and will have about 13K by the time we get to Indiana. I believe I have info on what is recommended but what is really required? And do I need to be concerned about all of the appliances and systems or is the factory really more appropriate for chassis, engine, and running gear service?

Also what is the process for getting an appointment? How far ahead do I need to make it? And do I have to figure out how much time to schedule or will the factory figure that out for me?

Thanks.........WALT

[slabman]

Hey Walt.....nice to see you over here on irv2. I would recvommend you call the TS number 866-808-9032 and ask for a sevice appointment. John Korn (sp?) was the contact last summer, but I thought someone mentioned another person does this now. Have your list of repairs ready to email/fax to him and ask him for the date you want to initiate the work. He will give you a ballpark est. of the time involved, but a lot of this takes about a full week to accomplish. I would recommend you shoot for a Monday, so you can show up Sunday before(or Sat). Just park in the adjacent camping area, hook up and enjoy meeting others who are there for the same reasons! Now don't go out on the town late 'cuz the service guys will come out to your coach between 6:30 and 7AM to boot you out and get started. You can go over your list with the service tech assigned to you and go have breakfast somewhere. Then peruse beautiful downtown Wakarusa....HA! (You'll be done with your tour by 9AM, wondering what to do next?) But there are lots of daytrips to take in the area.

I would suggest you time your trip to include the Spartan Homecoming rally up in Charlotte, Michigan in early June. This is a 4 day campout at the local fairgrounds and all day seminars on chassis workings and other info. Great technical experience and you'll come away feeling much more comfy with the workings of your rig. They serve several meals and you can meet a lot of fellow RVers as well. Then get your rig into Spartan's service shop, either before or after that rally (book early as many others will have the same idea). The service guys are the greatest and will tell you what all the service items might be for your mileage/age of your coach. They will go over a lot of service info in the seminars. One other thing...have the wife bring a GOOD, long book or something, 'cuz' she'll have little to do while you're in school. They do schedule a social evening for the two of you one night.

If things go as expected, I'd think you could do all this in 3 weeks, max.

Bob

[WALT888]

Bob,

Good to be in touch again...

Unfortunately I won't retire until June 1 and still have to sell the house, or at least get it ready to sell, before I can head east. I don't think I can get to Michigan in time. Is the Spartan Homecoming Rally an annual event?

It is still not clear to me what service that the facrory is most appropriate for. I see a lot of conversation about 'repairs' , mostly related to warranty or defects, but also some about upgrades or changes. Other than the bracing for my frame and setting the windshield what should I look for to schedule at the factory? How about preventative maintenance and appliances and ststems? What can I do myself and what should I leave to the factory? From what people are telling me the engine, running gear , and chassis can be handled better by Cummins shops and or "Coach Care" facilities. What is your experiece?

Also, I note that some people alrady have factory appointments sceduled for June or July. Do they really need to be scheduled this far in advance?

Thanks...........WALT

[slabman]

Been there, done that as far as the house is concerned. I would mention that you should think about how long you are going to stay in the house with it on the market and at what point you'll just leave and get on the road. There's not one correct answer, but we finally decided after a period of 9 months on the market that we'd take a lesser offer because the house was holding up our "dream" of becoming full-timers. This decision will greatly affect your plans. I'm thinking you will be surprised at how long all this stuff takes.

One appreoach might be as we did. Retire, get the house on the market and travel up to Indiana to get this work done. Or maybe take a couple shorter trips nearer home base just to get some experience with the rig to find out how everything works...or doesn't.

As far as scheduling with the factory, the lead time will vary. When we went last June I believe we booked a couple months in advance, but this could shorten or lengthen, depending on seasonal demand....and TS manpower availability. I'd book as far in advance as I could schedule, so I could get my choice of appointment times.

Again, I would get Spartan to do any work pertinent to their product-they will help you with just what that entails, depending on mileage, age, etc. As for the TS factory, I think there are too many items that could possibly be listed here, but I guess I would include them servicing the Hydro-Hot (if you have one). But the other items will be the things that are broken or just don't work correctly....only YOU will know that. That is why you need to use the rig as much as possible over the coming months. And remember, you don't have to get EVERYTHING done at once....as you travel you'll want to schedule annual trips back to Indiana for repair of stuff that might break and can wait. Use the local shops for "can't wait"repair items.

Yes, Coach Care and Cummins can handle a lot of engine, tranny and drivline issues. I have not been into any of these yet, so don't know just how well these guys work. My sense is it depends on which facility you go to...some may not be as good as others. Do you have a list of maintenance procedures the initial owner did? Some service items, like replacing fluids, should be done annually, even if mileage intervals haven't been reached. Greasing of the driveshaft is recommended at, I believe, 6 months, although most people probably don't do this so often. If you can't get up to the Midwest for a while, I'd go to a Coach Care facility and ask them what service items need doing right now.

Yes, Spartan does this rally annually, in June, so maybe 2009 is your year to go.

[WALT888]

Bob,

As far as the house is concerned, we are getting it ready now. As we are all aware, the direction of the real estate market is unknown right now, down less here in silicon valley than other parts of the US, but we are not at all sure where it is going. In any case I neeed to be out of this house as soon as possible because I have a second one here also to sell. The real estate sales, though, won't hold me up after June. We will hit the road whether it sells or not and let the agent and kids handle the details.

Thanks agian for the advice....I was planning on getting back to Indiana in about July and book the appointment in about May. By that time I was hoping I would have a good idea of what needed to be done. We are planning on going to the FMCA international in Pamona in February, for example, and there is a local FMCA chapter here in San Jose that has monthly outings we plan to try out. I might also be able to get to Arizona in April or May. I have about 6 weeks of vacation to use up before I retire !

WALT

[saydiver]

If the house looks good and is priced right, it will sell, especially in the Bay Area.

We close on our house in San Jose this week. Our house went on the market on a Wed in early Dec. By Tuesday after an open house on Sunday, we were looking at 5 offers with the best offer well over the list price.

[slabman]

5 offers? And over asking price? That always happens to the other guy, not me!

Anyway, congrats on the sale...Good luck with the new coach.

[WALT888]

Saydiver,
Thanks for the encouragement. As you know, the real estate market in individual areas of San Jose varies greatly. My house is in South San Jose near the intersection of Santa Thereas and Coleman. Sales in our area have been very slow and inventory is high. Over the hill in Almaden or down the road in Willow Glen the situation is much different. i noticed you are in TX. Is your house in San Jose a rental? Location? I have one of those too located off of MacLaughlin betweeen Tully and Capital Expwy.

Bob,

Me too...never get an offer like that, However I bought my first house in San Jose in 1972 with nothing down when I got my first job out of college. This house will probably sell for $750-$800 and the rental for $600-$650 so I won't complain.

WALT

[saydiver]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by WALT888:
Saydiver,
Thanks for the encouragement. As you know, the real estate market in individual areas of San Jose varies greatly. My house is in South San Jose near the intersection of Santa Thereas and Coleman. Sales in our area have been very slow and inventory is high. Over the hill in Almaden or down the road in Willow Glen the situation is much different. i noticed you are in TX. Is your house in San Jose a rental? Location? I have one of those too located off of MacLaughlin betweeen Tully and Capital Expwy.

Bob,

Me too...never get an offer like that, However I bought my first house in San Jose in 1972 with nothing down when I got my first job out of college. This house will probably sell for $750-$800 and the rental for $600-$650 so I won't complain. WALT </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

We moved to TX just before we put the house on the market. Our house, for one more day, is located just south of Almaden Lake and faces the trail. Even though we're selling it for well over list, we're still loosing a ton of money because of extensive/expensive remodeling in the four years we owned the house and the fact that we're selling it a lot sooner than we had originally thought due to us retiring six years ahead of schedule.

Sue

[WALT888]

Sue,

It's a small world.....I ride my bike everyday along that trail out to Harry Road and back. The doctor said I need to exercise and lose weight to reduce my blood pressure. Is your house the one on Cross Springs with the 'Sale Pending" sign? It sure looks nice from the outside. I too am retiring in June. HP 'retired' my wife about 18 months ago after 32 years and that moved up our retirement schedule also about 6 years. Hope to see you out on the road !

WALT

[saydiver]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by WALT888:
Sue,

It's a small world.....I ride my bike everyday along that trail out to Harry Road and back. The doctor said I need to exercise and lose weight to reduce my blood pressure. Is your house the one on Cross Springs with the 'Sale Pending" sign? It sure looks nice from the outside. I too am retiring in June. HP 'retired' my wife about 18 months ago after 32 years and that moved up our retirement schedule also about 6 years. Hope to see you out on the road !WALT </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yep, it is a small world. Your house isn't too far away. You're close on the street name. It's Crossview Court. We loved living at that location, with the trail across the street, but it's way too expensive to be retired and live there when we no longer had to be in Silicon Valley. Love those tech companies. DH retired from Apple
http://margaretyost.com/default.asp?Path=Business/Curre...ossview_Ct_95120&Sa=

Sue

[WALT888]

Sue,

That's the house I was thinking of....just didn't know the correct street name. In any case, I ride right by it every day. I come out into the street there because the trail goes under the street and walkers, especially children, tend to stop under there to look at the creek and you can't see them until the last minute. It appears the close went OK, there were people at the house last night cleaning up the garage and the sign was gone.

Good luck in Texas, keep in touch, and be sure to post a picture of the King-Aire when you get it. That is really a nice coach!

WALT

[saydiver]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by WALT888:
Sue,

That's the house I was thinking of....just didn't know the correct street name. In any case, I ride right by it every day. I come out into the street there because the trail goes under the street and walkers, especially children, tend to stop under there to look at the creek and you can't see them until the last minute. It appears the close went OK, there were people at the house last night cleaning up the garage and the sign was gone.

Good luck in Texas, keep in touch, and be sure to post a picture of the King-Aire when you get it. That is really a nice coach!
WALT </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Lots of people cut through to the street there, but I assumed it was because of the incline of the trail going under the bridge.
The closing was delayed a week, but final yesterday.
Thanks for the well wishes and good luck in selling your house.

Sue

PS. Sorry to hijacked this thread.