Cameo F35SB3 Shakedown

[Abnmarine]

We finally were able to use our new RV and decided to go to Williamsburg, VA for a 4 day weekend. It was only a two hour drive from where we live.

The new Dodge 3500 diesel pulled it nicely. Earlier I had swapped the exhaust and installed a tuner. Saw 14 mpg towing the Cameo. Plenty of torque and just set the cruise at 65 and enjoyed the drive.

Pulled into our camp site and started to setup. The Bigfoot hydraulic jacks made leveling a snap. Required pushing one button and it did the rest. I still might invest into a pin jack to help stop the movement when inside.

The F35SB3 has the perfect floorplan for our needs. The fit and finish was spot on. The temps dipped to 40 and the furnace kept us toasty. We did also use a ceramic heater to reduce the propane usage.

Plenty of counter space in the kitchen. We also have the island option. The sofa and theatre seating loveseat were comfortable. Enjoyed watching the LCD TV with surround. The sofa had a air mattress that kept my daughter comfortable at night.

Plenty of room in the bathroom. The ceramic toilet is a nice touch. The shower is large enough and the wife likes the seat.

Bedroom is nicely done. Plenty of room to walk around the bed. We have a ton of closet space too. We chose not to get a washer/dryer combo and just use the space for storage.

We moved all of our things to the new RV and still have a lot of available storage left. Really enjoy the rear basement storage too.

We found a couple of minor fixes needed to be done but nothing serious. Overall we are more than happy and love the coach.

[diandtom]

I hope you enjoy your new Cameo. We got ours last Jan. and I think we have lived in it for over four months this year. We have had a few problems but Carriage has been good in helping us get it fixed. Be sure to check the seals at the top of the slides they are suppose to touch the top. They got some seals that were too short. (ours was one of them) We had a problems with the off door and door slide going in too high. If you have this problem it will tear the white seals at touch the sides when in. We just got ours back a week ago and hope no more problems, We have been from the east coast of North Carolina to Oregon and back with our so not to bad for the miles and as bad as the roads were. We hope to get many more years out of this rig.
Tom

[Ray,IN]

Before investing in a pin stabilizer, search our fourms for past threads about them. Then make your decision. I bought a BAL stabilizer that fits between the trailer wheels. It removed nearly all front to back movement. When we bought our new 5er it would not fit between the tires so I made my own. I used treated 4X4 wood scraps to make two tapered blocks that are 3" at the narrow end and 6" at the wide end. I drilled a 3/8 hole through both to accept a 20" length of all-thread. Used galvanized nuts to hold the bottom block tight, and one nut on top to tighten the blocks. It works just as well as the $40 BAL wheel chock did, and cost about $3 to make.

[Abnmarine]

Tom, I'll have to check the seals. I just dropped it off at the dealership to have a few minor things fixed. This was our last trip of the year so we aren't in any hurry to pick it up. Glad to hear that yours is holding up well.

I wanted to do some research on the king pin jacks. I've heard both sides on it working/not working.

[diandtom]

The slide problems and the seal problem. There was a lot that got out of the factory with these problems. Check the Carriage forum. I had a guy that been in the RV repair business for a long time and he does not like the way the slide is made, with no lip across the top. This was one of the reasons I bought the Cameo. My old Arctic Fox I had to climb up on the roof and sweep it off, when parked up trees. I put awnings over the slides and had problems with them also. The RV guy here claims the seals across the top is going to cause problems. I found a 2002 Carriage on Ebay and the slides tops where the same as the new ones.