Community Forums

iquailhunter · 07-14-2012, 04:57 PM

Will be taking delivery of my first Motor Coach ever sometime in the next 60 days (Entegra Anthem 44DLQ from Orlando RVOne). I am so new to all of this that I have no idea what questions to ask or what to look for. ANY comments or direction would be appreciated. And yes, we are really excited.

Thanks for you input and Blessings

trackman · 07-14-2012, 05:10 PM

Just be sure to take a deep breath and a whole lot of time. When taking over the helm all captains must insure that they are recieving goods without defects. Hopefully you have made your purchase upon approval. You need to have the unit hooked up to power and water and all components checked out. If it has a slide run it in and out several times making note of any odd noises or pops and cracks. The awnings get the same treatment. Hot water must work on both electric and propane if so equipped. Lights and check systems work properly. Levelers work if so equipped and all service records,owners manuals for appliances and accessories are present. Know where your drains are and how they work. I know I missed some but am sure someone will follow me with the rest

RickO · 07-14-2012, 05:10 PM

Congratulations on your new rig. They're beauties.

This is your first coach but have you had other RVs in the past? If so, it's just a matter of learning the location of things you already know about. If not, you should probably think about it in terms of the different "systems".

Either way, you'll feel like you're drinking from a fire hose.

Making a list prior to the PDI would be a good idea.

Fresh water system: How do you fill the fresh water tank? Where is the water heater? How do you select between LP, and electric for the WH?

Holding tanks: Where are they located? How do you dump? How big are they? How can you tell how full they are?

Electrical: How big is your inverter? How are the batteries charged while on shore power? While driving? Where are the fuse/breaker panels?

You get the idea.

Best of luck

Rick

777 Driver · 07-14-2012, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iquailhunter

Will be taking delivery of my first Motor Coach ever sometime in the next 60 days (Entegra Anthem 44DLQ from Orlando RVOne). I am so new to all of this that I have no idea what questions to ask or what to look for. ANY comments or direction would be appreciated. And yes, we are really excited.

The dealer from whom we purchased our first motorhome had a "campground" on his property. He had water and electric hookups. It was more for people who had maintenance appointments to "camp" the night before or after their maintenance was done. After our PDI, we camped the first night in his "campground". We found a couple of items for the dealer to take care of before we left. It also gave us several hours to check things over; keeps you from being rushed. Don't forget a pad of paper and a pen to take note of things that need to be fixed.

We then found a campground about 25 miles away to camp for four nights. More time to check things out.

Another thing that was VERY helpful for me was a .pdf file of the owner's manual that I was able to download weeks before we took delivery. I don't see a downloadable owner's manual on the Entegra website. Perhaps your dealer can get you one. Since this is your "first", there's lots to learn. A chance to read the book through a couple of times will familiarize younwith lots of good info. Don't try to "learn" it all before you get "hands on". Just get familiar with the various systems.

You'll find this forum to be a great source, too!

You're in for an adventure!

Take care,
Stu

RickO · 07-14-2012, 05:42 PM

That's great advice from Stu. Stay right there at the dealer for a night or two in order to make sure you can make everything operate properly.

Rick

tnrzryd · 07-14-2012, 09:04 PM

I would ask your salesman for a copy of the PDI checklist that they use. Additionally, checkout the checklists at RV Inspection Checklist

You can modify them to suit your purposes.

Additionally, once you get the PDI checklist from your dealer, take advantage of the experience of the members on this forum and start asking questions on any parts you don't understand. If you go into the process with some understanding of the workings, then it won't be so overwhelming.

arc one · 07-15-2012, 05:27 AM

Congrats, on your desision to purchess one of the best coaches available. Don't allow the excitment to overwhelem you.Best sugestion was to stay there over night. It is tight there and the amount of room there is not so good but you will find yourself making a list of ouestions over night and they will be very helpful the next day. Also if Robin is who you have delt with then if you did not get his phone # get it ,he is very helpful any time any day. Blessing for many days of wonder and happyness.

mccsix · 07-15-2012, 11:55 AM

Video the their instructional session.
FYI the newest RV thing is dash cameras ala the cop cars only smaller and hi-def. I just ebayed one and planning on using on a long up-coming trip to protect myself against the idiots who pull in front of you and stop/abruptly slow.
By the way PDi is term also used by Entegra if you ever go up there to get warranty work. They do what they call a PDI on your coach w/o you asking for it. they call it a Post Delivery Inspection and it will find things you were never aware of...sort of an internal feed-back on their quality control program. You'll get a copy of it

tnrzryd · 07-16-2012, 10:44 AM

I contacted my dealer and he was able to send me the actual PDI that Entegra requires each owner to sign upon delivery of their new coach. As you can see, it is very detailed and can become an excellent learning tool for people (like myself) that want to be more familiar with their new coaches prior to delivery.

Sorry but I don't know the effective date of the form but I'm told by my dealer that this is a new form and may not yet be used by all dealers. My dealer is Orlando RV which also includes Buffalo RV, Albany RV and Des Moines RV.

iquailhunter · 07-16-2012, 04:45 PM

All of y'all have been really helpful and I can't say THANK YOU enough. With Tom's post and the link that he supplied to the PDI schedule (great list by the way) I am wondering if any of you folks that have recently taken delivery would add anything to the list that Tom supplied from his dealer. Also, now that you have had your coach's for awhile is there anything that you would like to see Entegra do/add/change in the future.

Blessings

lp5151 · 07-16-2012, 11:14 PM

these new coaches are very complex, you will not be able to take it all in at time of delivery... they only go through the basics to get you rolling.. then it's up to you to use every system asap, to make sure it all works. I gaurnantee it will be weeks before you check out the coach 100%. it will also take you weeks, even months to find and test all the systems. if you get a complete set of books with your coach, it's best to start there and test each one... then there is the problem with the systems you won't get a book for.... good luck.