First RV trip. 5 days, 2500 miles. Few issues but got me home

[gentilebrian]

We just finished our first RV trip with my wife and my 2 young daughters in our new to us 2000 33' concord class a on a workhorse chassis. Over the last 5 days from Chicago to Louisiana coast to Alabama coast then back to Chicago. First the trip is awesome and we are loving the idea of a RV but had a few road bumps along the way. Here is the issues as they happened

When we left it was 10 degrees. SOOO COLD were my feet as there is no heat down there and a cold draft was making its way in. My remedy was to disconnect one of the dash vents and point it to my feet. Problem solved.

Next stop noticed a sound coming from somewhere in the middle of the exhaust that sounded like a marble being tossed around in the exhaust. Humm.

Little ways down the road smelled burning plastic very strong. Didn't click right away what it was and was thinking maybe the car that just passed us. Then we hit a bump about a hour later and the smell is back clearly coming out of the vents that have been running on hi for last several hours. little ways down the road hit another bump and as soon as I smelled it I turned of off the vents. Waited a minute then turned the vent back on and out came a glowing ember. It was dark but I'm assuming plastic. Well that was the last time we smelled it but as the trip went on the fan when you turn it on sounds really rough but smooth's out after a few minutes.

Cruise control still doesn't work. Worked when I bought it but nada now.

right around 3am with my wife and kids sleeping I notice the marker light on the side isn't on. I try the blinker and brakes and I can see them light up. Still odd. Then a car passes me on the drivers side and I never saw it coming. Weird. Then when the next car came I noticed there was something in the way from me seeing back. THE SIDE IS FULLY OUT!!!!. Pull over and no damage done. Now I know it was in. FOR SURE was in. I'm kind of impressed that at 70mph the awning above the slide didn't rip off.

Continuing down the road a hour later I take a long off ramp to the right. Well slowly the slide starts to creep out. Only gets about 6" out this time. And on down the road we go. Once the weather warmed to above 25 degrees we didn't have a problem with it again.

Finally get down south and try the AC and nope that doesn't work. Blows maybe mildly cold air.

Drove around down south and had a blast on the beaches and playgrounds. Kids LOVE the RV!!! but then the engine light come on. Everything seems fine but the light is on. Restarting it doesn't fix it.

Finally hook the RV up to city water (I have only had it for a few weeks so no way to test this stuff in Chicago when its freezing) and flush the toilet. Cool that works but now I notice when ever I put my foot down on the flush water pours out of something. Not the dirty water thank god. Previously we were using RV antifreeze to flush with.

Later that night my wife hits the indicator lights and all look good but the black water tank says FULL... I look down in the toilet and the water looks not far below the tube. Its suppose to have like a 40 gallon tank I think so no way this is full as we have barely used it unless the toilet was leaking into it.

So off to the dump station first thing in the morning. But wait. My wife says does that back tire look low? Now I checked all the tires in Chicago and if anything down here they should be a little higher PSI. I kick it to see how flat it is and the tire isn't even seated to the rim....OK. I have a spare but no way to pull of the lug nuts...

Start it up to head to the dump station and the exhaust now sounds perfect and has ever since. The marbles are gone.

Of to the dump station. Hook everything up open the valves and the water starts to flow out. Great but sure doesn't look like the amount of water I saw on the instructional youtube video. Some water not very much water. Humm. What am I doing wrong. Its full. It looks full, its clogged. Fill the tank with more water from the toilet with water pouring onto the floor from the faulty valve water starts to come faster down the dump hose but still the water level is not dropping but at least there is some flow so that's a good sign. a little google and we decide to drive 25 miles to a tire repair shop at 30mph.

Got to the shop and the pull off the tire and cant see why it came off the rim but now tire has to be replaced and the other back tires look great but the date code is 2007. Front tires are only a year old. 2 things I have no problem spending money on. Tires and brakes. Also said I have a axle leak but I just told him to top it off. Well $800 and 4 hours later we are on our way back to Chicago...

We are making good time. Everything is going well but storming. Just getting out of the storms my wife starts to talk about maybe we should have gotten a different RV or spent a little more and got something newer when the drivers side wiper goes flying off... I think for a second and then say "Sorry marbles. Please get us home and I wont talk anymore about another RV." (btw the rv has now taken on the name of marbles based off of the earlier exhaust issues).

Ok rains over and hey the engine light is no longer on lets fine a pump station. Well non of them have the water turned on. What ever. I give up. Pour like 5 gallons of RV antifreeze in black water tank and will worry about it later.

Then the fog sets in. No wiper on drivers side I have to pull off and put on a new wiper.

Back on the road its about 4am. I tired but not like falling asleep tired. I see a flicker of light like I just closed my eyes. Weird. I don't feel that tired am I failing asleep. a little while later it happens again but this time I catch it and the dash lights flickered off and back on when I hit a bump. Wow.

Go a little while longer and hit a bump and off it goes. dash is black and staying black at 4:30am. guess its time to sleep but after a few minutes hit another small bump and they came back on.. YAY.... Going to sleep anyway.

Rest of the drive was in the day so no idea if it happened again but I did notice when it came back on some of the gages were off and had to move the needles back up so it wasn't just a bad light or something.

Finally home. Now to take a look at the tank. Figure lets put a stick in it and see how much sludge is in there and how deep the water is. Well turns out there is only a inch of water in there. Then I google it. Its not full. Its a big wide flat tank so no problems!!!. So excited because I was really not looking forward to doing anything with the black water tank.

Well that's my saga thus far. Debating on what the next move is. We have a trip planned for spring break and not sure how I feel about taking this. Everything seems to run fine now. Just that axel leak that is small, vent fan, and what ever is causing the dash to turn off.

Well anyway thanks everyone for your posts on this site. I have searched the site many times to help understand what I was buying. Clearly didn't read enough but hey. You buy used don't expect new. I am a little surprised how sloppy the wiring is. The tail lights are just wire nuts on cheap wire. its like that all over the thing. Makes me wish I got the class C so all the important stuff was wired by the factory and now not sure how I can ever step down as it would feel small.

[Mr_D]

I don't think I've ever had a trip that "exciting" since I got my first RV in 1968! Now, some trips with my parents in their TT's were that way.

[raineman]

love the pooch on the dash.

[96 Wideglide]

70 mph with drivers side slide out ! Hope nobody was sleeping on that sofa. Now that would be exciting !!

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by raineman

love the pooch on the dash.

The dash on our previous rig, with three of our Japanese Bobtails. New rigs dash is narrower and no dash tray plus we now have four of the Japanese Bobtails along with the other three we take with us.

[Crawfish39]

If you and your family had fun and you are home safe is all that matters. You'll have plenty time to make repairs before your next trip.
Thanks for sharing; happy RVing.

[Ray,IN]

Cruise control has a fuse, check for continuity. Sometimes it will appear good but still not have continuity.
Some slide mechanisms require a block to prevent them from creeping out, your owners manual should address that. If they are used, place a prominent sign near the control switch cautioning you to remove them prior to using the switch. I have hyd slide mechanism. I learned to hold the switch for a couple seconds after the slide is fully retracted. This creates pressure to hold the slide in place.

Holding tank level indicators are notoriously inaccurate, even the newer electronic non-contact units are inaccurate on occasion, it all depends on build-up on the walls.

Now you have a list for the sales dept. to correct. If your salesman doesn't want to follow-up, contact the sales manager and request the repairs. The worst they can do is tell you to hit the road, but if they are customer-oriented they might just fix everything for you, especially anything safety-related, like dash lights at night etc. Ignoring a safety issue will land them in hot water if it causes a wreck or personal harm.

[TonyDi]

Interesting story. I hope your next one is a little less exciting.

Happy Trails!!

[ga80486]

Sounds like a great trip the girls will never forget.

What kind of dog is that?

[Electra 225]

First of all 10-4 on the having fun and making it safely! Also love the pooch on the dash, and Mr D's cats, too cute!

But holy moly Brian what a story, you guys had one heck of an adventure first time out!!
I must say you really did my heart good to see that you didn't let any of those quirks and difficulties get you down in the least way. You and your family all made it what it's supposed to be. You must keep us up to speed on future adventures and work you do with your rig, love how you tell the story.

By the way, you have a fine looking rig there. The interior also looks like it was cared for well and is very nice.

Best of luck to you guys, safe travels and God speed.......keep an eye on that slide out too, got to keep that booger in place while yer rollin'!

Take care,
W.D.

[Electra 225]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

Cruise control has a fuse, check for continuity. Sometimes it will appear good but still not have continuity.
Some slide mechanisms require a block to prevent them from creeping out, your owners manual should address that. If they are used, place a prominent sign near the control switch cautioning you to remove them prior to using the switch. I have hyd slide mechanism. I learned to hold the switch for a couple seconds after the slide is fully retracted. This creates pressure to hold the slide in place.

Holding tank level indicators are notoriously inaccurate, even the newer electronic non-contact units are inaccurate on occasion, it all depends on build-up on the walls.

Now you have a list for the sales dept. to correct. If your salesman doesn't want to follow-up, contact the sales manager and request the repairs. The worst they can do is tell you to hit the road, but if they are customer-oriented they might just fix everything for you, especially anything safety-related, like dash lights at night etc. Ignoring a safety issue will land them in hot water if it causes a wreck or personal harm.

Good advice Ray, I agree.

[Arch Hoagland]

2500 miles in five days?

What was your longest driving day?

[Motor7]

Brian, that's quite the "break-in" trip....I like you attitude

[336muffin]

Wow, what a trip!