Initial Experiences With Our New 2011 33RSE Limited (VERY Long)

[gdbontly]

Jan & I took delivery of our new 2011 33RSE Limited on 23 Jun 10. We purchased it from Ralph & Kathy at RV Sales of New Mexico in Moriarty, NM. What a total pleasure it was dealing with everyone at this small town dealership. We spent 3 nights at the RV Sales “Campground and Resort” in order to check everything out. We only had one problem; the power supply to the Winegard satellite dish went Tango Uniform within a matter of hours after it was installed. To make a long story short, Ralph & Kathy went above and beyond to replace it before we left that Saturday morning for our first little trip.

BTW, our grand plan is to quit our jobs within the next year or two, sell our house, and live full-time in our Excel. Because of this, we weren’t willing to settle for something “on the lot”, so we ordered exactly what we wanted, then (im)patiently waited a little over 2 months to take delivery. Some of the options we ordered were the desk/flip-up dining table/folding chairs; electric heat pump; 10 cu ft refrigerator, cook top only (no conventional oven underneath); combination microwave/convection oven; disk brakes with 17.5” Load J tires (including spare); independent hydraulic leveling system (BTW, this is not an auto leveling system, and I’m not all that impressed with it—more on this later); Reel-EZ water hose; Pivot-EZ sewer hose compartment; electric “WeatherPro” awning (with wind sensor), and Glide Ride Pin Box. In order to save some money, we tried to limit some of the extras. To our surprise, we learned that several options in the 2010 models came standard in the 2011s, such as the hickory wood, thermopane windows, padded ceiling, sliding propane tank trays, and generator box, to name a few. Prior to leaving RV Sales, we had Ralph install a 50A hard-wired Surge Guard (Model 34560) power protector, as well as a Winegard Trav’ler SK-3005 DirectTV Slimeline satellite dish. The dish is the “marriage saver” model that doesn’t require you to manually find the satellites. Just push a button from the comfort of your living room and you’re watching Hi-Def Satellite TV in a matter of minutes! In hindsight, however, I should have waited until I was more familiar with the new coach before I had the satellite dish installed. I’m very disappointed in the outcome, but it’s too late to change it. Ralph gave me two option of where he could locate the control box inside the coach, both of which would make the thick black wire coming through our ceiling and into one of the galley cabinets visible. We chose the lesser of the two evils; the wire is only visible while standing in the bedroom at the top of the stairs. We later realized that there’s a 110v outlet in the upper rear cabinets, over the recliners. Installing the control box there would have been ideal, with no wires showing inside of the coach, and a very short piece on the roof. I don’t know why Ralph didn’t recommend that location, unless he didn’t know that outlet was there (perhaps it’s another new thing in the 2011 models). Also, when the wires were tied up and secured inside the cabinet, the installer (it wasn’t Ralph, I don’t remember who did the installation) ran the screw clear through our beautiful hickory cabinet and into the living room. I ended up removing the screw and did my best to patch the hole with some putty.

Regarding the hydraulic jacks, they are very abrupt. Also, the front jacks and the rear jacks move at different rates, so leveling side-to-side isn’t easy. Also, due to the short amount of travel, side-to-side leveling is very limited. This can be solved by placing blocks underneath the feet, which I plan to do in the future.

Okay, so back to the story. We pulled out of Moriarty on Saturday the 26th, and headed west to Arizona. We took our time since this was our first experience towing a 5th wheel (or anything near this size and weight, for that matter). To our surprise, it towed like a dream! Jan even took over the wheel for about an hour and did just fine. I had a real concern about our truck’s ability to handle it. I haven’t weighed the entire rig yet, but I know we must be right up against (if not a little over) the 23,000 GCWR of our 2003 Dodge 3500 DWR 4WD Quad Cab. The only modifications I made to the truck include an ATS 5-Star Torque Converter, ATS Valve Body, and ATS Co-Pilot Transmission Controller. The Co-Pilot allows me to lock up the torque converter in all 4 gears, which made it possible for me to install an exhaust brake (which I did, and I love it). Anyway, we arrived in Glendale (outside of Phoenix) Sunday evening in preparation of our appointment with D&R Family RV (623-842-1265) to have our solar system installed. The week prior, we purchased all of the components (via telephone) from RV Solar Electric in Scottsdale (www.rvsolarelectric.com). I’ve dealt with this company before and didn’t even bother shopping elsewhere. Their prices are reasonable. But most importantly, their customer service is top notch! These guys know what they are doing and are willing to spend as much time with you on the phone answering any of your questions. They refer most all of their installations to Ron Wicklund at D&R (drfamrv@q.com). All of the components were shipped from Scottsdale to Glendale well prior to our arrival. We pulled up at D&R just before they opened and Ron & Chris were immediately ready for us. They installed two 135 watt solar panels on the roof, a 35A charge controller, four 6-volt golf cart batteries (all are located in the generator box up front, enclosed in battery boxes, and vented to the exterior), a 2000 watt Magnum ME-2012 inverter (located in the “old” battery compartment), a Magnum MBK battery monitoring system, and Magnum ME-RC digital meter/remote. The inverter powers the whole house, except for the 2nd A/C circuit, the washer/dryer circuit (although we didn’t opt for the washer/dryer option), and the electric water heater. Ron also installed a 100A automatic switch and an additional 50A male plug in the generator compartment, which I can use to plug into shore power, or a generator (if I choose to install one at a later time). It was a lot of work and it took them all day to complete the job; they do outstanding work! They were extremely professional, they let us watch what they were doing (no signs that said we couldn’t be in the area due to insurance restrictions), and they answered all of our questions throughout the day.

As soon as we returned home, we found a suitable location to park the coach that would allow us to “hook up” to all of the necessary utilities. That location was near the septic clean-out (our sewer connection) and a faucet (city water). All I had to do was to run an electric circuit. To save a little money, I chose to run a 30A circuit, which works fine since we only have one A/C on the coach. I know I can’t run the A/C, electric water heater, and microwave all at the same time with just a 30A hookup, but we don’t normally do that anyway.

We spent the next several evenings after work moving stuff from our stick & brick house (the “big house”) to the Excel (the “little house”) and have been living in it ever since. We only go into the “big house” to do laundry and to take care of the cats. We both love our new home! It took nearly a year of planning, research, and looking at what felt like hundreds of makes, models, and floor plans of various 5th wheels, but we have no doubt whatsoever that we made the perfect decision!

[MakinSmoke]

Congratulations! I can hear your smiles. Hope you enjoy it just that much!

[ExcelRVGuy]

Glen & Jan,

Welcome to the family! We have tried very hard to build our coaches to meet the high standards of people just like you.

How refreshing to read your story! We know you had many brands from which to choose and are proud you chose Excel for your RV home.

Congratulations, and thanks for your vote of confidence.


Bryan Tillett
President

[BookIIRoadtrash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdbontly Regarding the hydraulic jacks, they are very abrupt. Also, the front jacks and the rear jacks move at different rates, so leveling side-to-side isn’t easy. Also, due to the short amount of travel, side-to-side leveling is very limited. This can be solved by placing blocks underneath the feet, which I plan to do in the future.

Congratulations on your new home!!!!!
I level the side to side with my front jacks only, after I get it level I then run each of the back jacks individually until they make contact with the ground. After the back jacks are on dirt I then run them together to raise the rig to level or lower the fronts, which ever it needs to go. Again enjoy!!!!

[rockintom]

Glenn and Jan,

Congrats as well! Sounds like you guys got all the Gee-Gaws!!! I'm with B2 on the way we set up our rig with the hydraulics. Enjoy my friends! rockin'

[Workshop]

Congratulations also. Hope you enjoy your unit as much as we have enjoyed ours. But in a different way. Sounds as if you are. The cats must be missing you already!

workhorse

[janieD]

On the abruptness of the start to the front levelers, ask Rockin about that. We had issues with ours and there is a part in there. You can ask Rockin what it is but after talking to him and then our dealer talking to Curtis at Excel they took that part off and now they work like a dream. We have a 2010 but it could be the same problem. They did say they were going to change that at the factory now because they've had so many troubles with it.

[rockintom]

Glenn,

I apparently missed your comments on your hydraulic jack issue. When our unit was in dealer inventory, Ralph at RV Sales noticed the different speeds of the jacks. While I wasn't there to see exactly what he was describing.....he got a hold of Curtis and was told to remove a "timing relay or circuit board" and the system started working as designed, however the jacks are abrupt when first energized. After having the very slow electric jacks and slide, there was quite a learning curve....now after using them for 7 months it is an easy set up.

As with the old electric, I get the coach close to level side to side with shims under the tires, then drop the jacks down to were they just touch the ground. Lift the front jacks up at the same time, adjusting for the slight difference in speed from side to side. After you get the truck out from under the coach, then set the front jacks to be just slightly higher than level (adjusting the front jacks to tweek the side to side difference to be level). NOW, drop the rear jacks one at a time to just touch the ground. Then I energized the rear at the same time just to stabilize and lift the rear just slightly. You are done. I have my levels inside the roadside propane box for easy and quick view to set up.

I do have an issue with the front roadside jack slowly looses it's charge, as the trailer drops a little after setting still in about 4-5 days. When I notice the bathroom door drifting open....I run outside an tap my roadside front leg back up to level........I don't see any hydraulic (ATF) external leak, so I imagine it's a solenoid or check valve leaking internally. rockin'

[gdbontly]

Tom,

Thanks for the information. Very helpful. I'll be out of town this coming week, but will check with Ralph when we return. Thanks again!

[Bruce and Jenna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockintom [snipped] As with the old electric, I get the coach close to level side to side with shims under the tires, [snipped] rockin'

Whaa??
You have hydraulic jacks and still use blocks under the tires?

Been using mine for three years now and have never blocked the tires. [Maybe that's why your tires wore out. ] Occasionally I need blocks under the jacks if the lot is uneven.

Do others block their tires with the hydraulic jacks? We don't want to start Glenn off on the wrong jack.

BTW Glenn - I have a buncha options on 33RSE too. Those jacks are the last one I would give up.

[rockintom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce and Jenna Whaa?? You have hydraulic jacks and still use blocks under the tires? Been using mine for three years now and have never blocked the tires. [Maybe that's why your tires wore out. ] Occasionally I need blocks under the jacks if the lot is uneven. Do others block their tires with the hydraulic jacks? We don't want to start Glenn off on the wrong jack. BTW Glenn - I have a buncha options on 33RSE too. Those jacks are the last one I would give up.

Bruce,

As I mentioned, I like to get the rig fairly close to level side to side and then tweak with the front jacks to finish it out if necessary. If it's too far off....then it flexes the frame and many of the doors and the like don't like to open and close correctly....my thought is.....why have anymore stress on the frame then needed?

I could probably agree with you if we had the fairly new "level up" by Lippert that uses 6 jacks. They supposedly can lift all 4 wheels off the ground and be rock solid....I don't feel comfortable doing that with our system.

Anyone else feel the way I do? Please speak up. PI folks....what say you? I tend to be a goofy on some of these things.....but then again.....so does Bruce!!!! rockin'

[BookIIRoadtrash]

I vote with Bruce , no wood under the tires…Dang gum it Tom, just use that hydraulic system! I can raise the tires of the rig off the ground. I borrowed a F250 to move the rig and I even raised the tires of that truck off of the ground. I figure if I need leveling wood, I do not need that space or that cg. I figure if the spaces are not close to level that the camp ground needs to supply the wood. I used to carry around close to a chord of wood for leveling , with these hydraulic down riggers life is so much more simpler.

[rockintom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookIIRoadtrash I vote with Bruce , no wood under the tires…Dang gum it Tom, just use that hydraulic system! I can raise the tires of the rig off the ground. I borrowed a F250 to move the rig and I even raised the tires of that truck off of the ground. I figure if I need leveling wood, I do not need that space or that cg. I figure if the spaces are not close to level that the camp ground needs to supply the wood. I used to carry around close to a chord of wood for leveling , with these hydraulic down riggers life is so much more simpler.

OK, I guess I'm all wet. Then, I guess you'd do the same thing with the electric jacks too? My front Fabex jacks were plenty strong, but I didn't twist the frame to get level with them either. Guess, I being too tender on my rig. Guess I'll just toughen up a bit.

Anyone else want to make "mince meat" of me? Am I the only one? Most of you know how "sensitive" I am!!! rockin'

[BookIIRoadtrash]

[QUOTE=rockintom;684865]

Anyone else want to make "mince meat" of me? Am I the only one? Most of you know how "sensitive" I am!!! rockin'[/QUOTE

Is this a poor me, poor me....so you can pour one?