Factory pick up: What to take with me??

[Jabber Jaw]

Dang, it seems like October is "forever away"!

Sitting here talking to "DW" about the trip. She asked, "What all do we take with us for the new Coach"?

So I replied....."I'll ask the experts"!

For those of you that have done "CPU", what all did you take with you?

Will I need a "U-Haul" trailer?

Thanks for the help, and she can see for herself,as she sometimes doesn't want to listen to me?

[oregonhiker]

First off congrats on your new coach that you are going to be picking up. As with us, it wasn't a FPU but we did drive from Oregon to Michigan a year ago to pick up a new to us 2017 MA. We did take a U-Haul trailer with us as we took a few weeks to drive home with the coach and wanted most of our normal RV items with us. The only thing we didn't take was perishable food as we would pick that up there in MI. Otherwise we were well equipped to make the return trip with anything we could think we might need. You're going to eventually load all of belongings anyway.

[johninsd]

When I went to Ohio to pick up my new Navion (from a dealer but same logistics I think) I took what I could carry on the airplane. A few tools, a folding chair, clothes, toothbrush etc. First stop when leaving the dealership was Walmart for groceries, sheets, towels, paper plates and plastic cutlery. Figured brand new rig I'd get brand new stuff, loaded the basics and drove home the long way, 3 weeks from Ohio to San Diego via Pa., Md., Va., TX etc. We've since added the dutch ovens, barbecue, etc. etc. etc. but just for the trip home I didn't need all that much. Besides there are Walmarts everywhere so what few things I did need I just picked up there. If I did it again and it was summer again I'd take a windshield cover and some Reflectix to help with the heat gain in sunny campgrounds.

[HavingABlast]

We flew in from California four days after we both retired from our careers. So traveling with a lot of stuff was not possible. Can you imagine explaining a Sanicon to a TSA agent? I prearranged with Newmar to take delivery of a few boxes of stuff and hold them for our arrival. During factory delivery week, in the late afternoons and evenings we drove to the local WalMart, Bed Bath and Beyond, Target, etc. and sort of finished outfitting our coach. We took a 7 week maiden voyage loop through Canada on our way home to California. My advice is to slowly add to your coach. See what it is that you would use before going out and purchasing a lot of neat stuff that you are likely not to use. Congratulations on your new coach!

[AbdRahim]

I like the U-Haul idea. Would not have thought of that.

[Johninar]

It depends upon what your plans are. We picked up our DS in Nappanee in June and will not get home till late October. We drove our toad and pulled a U-haul to Indiana. We brought everything we could think of. I have a couple of points.

Newmar gave us two nice folding chairs, an entrance mat and a nice 15ft slinky hose.
I had built the Sanicon to slinky adapter so it came in handy. I had brought one of our old slinky hoses. We didn't need it and gave it away. We also got two nice windbreaker type jackets. This of course may vary depending upon what model you buy.

Congrats on the new coach. Enjoy it!

[RKins]

I have not gone through a CPU but watched plenty in my time up there.

Are you driving a towable vehicle in or flying in?
Since everyone usually stays in the coach while going through the 5 days of CPU think about what you'd need to get through that first night. There is a walmart 20 miles away in Goshen, so you really don't have to bring anything with you. The Techs start at 6:00 A and leave at 2:30p so that gives you plenty time to head to Goshen and pick up sheets, towels, soap, cooking stuff (or you could just go out each night). You'll figure it out. If you don't have a towable vehicle then I guess you could drive the coach to Goshen. The walmart is on the south end of Goshen. Nice 2 lane country roads.

BUT I wouldn't waste any of the time that they offer with the tech for you to learn about your coach (you're paying for that time). You'll be camping right across the street in it, so you don't have to drive anywhere in it.

[Mapnerd]

Same situation. Week after you. Here’s what we’re planning to take with us.

• Bedsheets - the ones that come with the coach will either be in a bag or are not likely to have been washed
• Towels - Could buy at Walmart but we’re towel snobs
• Water Pressure Regulator - Newmar’s pressure is almost certainly fine, but if you plan on hooking up on the way home you’ll want this. Would be no bueno to blow your plumbing on your maiden voyage.
• Hughes Power Watchdog - Autoformer is too big to bring and TSA will probably call it a bomb, but the Watchdog should work fine until we get back home
• Molekule Air Purifier - My wife has allergies and we love this thing. She’s particularly sensitive to VOCs and that “new car smell”. A new rig is likely to have a very high concentration of VOCs breaking down and stinking up the air. This puppy has made it a non-issue for us. She can stand in a newly painted room after this has been running for a few minutes without any issues. We’re going to FEDEX it to Newmar a couple days ahead of our arrival.
• Induction pan - Test the cooktop and make sure its working. Just going to boil some water.
• DVD - Test the DVD Players
• Apple TV - If time permits, I might ask em help me hook it up in case it’s hard to get to connections
• SIM Card - Test the WiFi Ranger LTE - though I’ll certainly end up replacing it with the PepWave solution within a week. Still, it should work off the line.
• iPhone Tripod - Assuming Newmar and my tech is okay with it, I plan to video record all of my time with them for future reference.
• iPad - Note taking and general internets access
• Flashlight - For looking in crevices, engine bay, poking around in dark places, checking paint, etc.
• Jackpads

That’s all we have aside from the obvious basic toiletries, and change of clothes. Will pick up things like laundry detergent and groceries in the evenings after skool.

[WardSimmons]

For our dealer (not factory) pick-up we took a telescoping ladder. Our coach doesn’t have one so we needed one anyway. Dealers (and Newmar) aren’t permitted to allow customers to use their ladders due to insurance constraints. I just wanted to make sure everything was on the roof that was supposed to be, and that it was all connected.

[dan-nickie]

Tow bar and towing accessories for your vehicle.

[old golfer guy]

Al, we bought a M H in Florida last year, live in Calif. D. W. had to stay home because 4 legged kid just had knee surgery. I flew to Florida with carry on for clothes and 2 suit cases ( South West 2 bags are free) with sheets, pillows, slinky, plate, knife, spoon, fork, coffee press, few tools, pot and pan. Quick stop at Wally World and 5.5 days later home. so what I am trying to say it all depends on what you want to do. Are you going straight home, only on the road for a few days, then you pack everything in your car or suit cases. If a long trip is planned then a small U haul might be needed.

[Mapnerd]

Originally Posted by dan-nickie

Tow bar and towing accessories for your vehicle.

If you plan on using an AF1 and have a FL chassis, you’ll need to find an installer to add the air chuck to the rear of the coach before you can tow. Newmar woudn’t do it for me.

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by Johninar

Newmar gave us two nice folding chairs, an entrance mat and a nice 15ft slinky hose.

Wow, maybe paying for the FPU is worth it, they gave you $800 worth of freebies!

[PanJH]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

Wow, maybe paying for the FPU is worth it, they gave you $800 worth of freebies!

Plus you are paying for them to fix things that should have been caught in quality control reviews....