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Old 05-20-2015, 04:32 PM   #1
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Port Charlotte Florida
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First Trip with Our new to us Bounder

When we sold our Pace Arrow last fall the plan was not to buy until this Spring. Two weeks after selling the PA we had a Bounder that had everything we wanted, and more.

We headed out for Key West Sunday the 10th and returned the 17th. The thing drove like a dream, no wandering, no excessive engine noise, very smooth.

I was very concerned about the Norcold 1200 refrigerator and based on observations while in storage I had added a fan and set the OEM fans to turn on at a lower temperature. With the unit set on 9 (coldest) it held temp at 38 to 44 degrees with the doors not being opened and closed. This appeared to be the on / off of the thermostat, I had a very sensitive thermo-couple device which I could read without opening the doors. The food was of course not seeing this much swing, had I embedded the TC in a piece of food it would likely have maintained 40 / 42. For now the Norcold gets passing marks. The ice maker filled the bucket 2/3 each day.

Nervous about the Vacuum toilet, much rather have a drop through. Had a couple of minor water leaks, clear not waste, managed to fix the problems in short order. I just feel it is DUMB to have a unit like that with the eventual maintenance and the noise of use especially at night. I guess they have to use these because the toilet is outside the frame rails,

This is my first time for slides (3), and levelers. The driver side slide is the type that needs to raise to retract. It really grunts and makes me "pucker" sometimes. The other 2 work well, I did find an old thread yesterday about this very problem so I need to check a motor number and possibly a lift block mod. The levelers sometimes go crazy when I start the engine to retract the slides, could be my procedure, going to have to work through this.

DW is happy happy happy with the washer / dryer. Happy wife happy life .

All in all, DW and I really like this unit. I read this forum every day and I was really happy with my previous Fleetwood product so Fleetwood was my #1 target with Winnebago as #2.

Sidebar:
If you are in the Lower Keys stop at Mangrove MaMa's milemarker 20, old Florida Dining absolutely delicious. If you get "PattyWacker" as a server you are living right.
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Old 05-21-2015, 12:52 PM   #2
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You made a good choice! Don't worry about any of the items you mentioned. My 14's main slide has given the motor a workout since new and never failed. The vacuum toilet works great too. Enjoy!
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Old 05-21-2015, 02:24 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mojoracing View Post
You made a good choice! Don't worry about any of the items you mentioned. My 14's main slide has given the motor a workout since new and never failed. The vacuum toilet works great too. Enjoy!
Thanks for the encouraging words. I feel a lot better after getting this first trip (aka honeymoon) under my belt. I had a replacement plan set to go if the Norcold was inadequate. The other items can be worked around, toilet still a wild card. This forum and the internet in general are such powerful tools when you do get jammed up. Makes you wonder how we got by, guess the answer is; things were just simpler.

Brock
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Old 05-21-2015, 06:36 PM   #4
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Congrats on the Bounder and I'm glad your first trip went well. We have owned our Bounder for over 3 years and no significant problems to speak of. I have always hated that stupid VacuFlush but so far it has not been a problem.

I will caution you that if you travel to higher elevations (over 8,000'), you may experience longer than normal vacuum pump reset time on the VacuFlush. We noted that in Colorado last year. The toilet will operate fine, it just takes longer for the pump to pull the vacuum. It was freaking me out for a while, haha.

I hope you enjoy many happy miles in your new Bounder! Since you have owned Fleetwood, you probably already know that Fleetwood Customer Service is excellent should you have questions or need schematics, plumbing diagrams, etc.
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Old 05-21-2015, 06:37 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brockx View Post
When we sold our Pace Arrow last fall the plan was not to buy until this Spring. Two weeks after selling the PA we had a Bounder that had everything we wanted, and more.

We headed out for Key West Sunday the 10th and returned the 17th. The thing drove like a dream, no wandering, no excessive engine noise, very smooth.

I was very concerned about the Norcold 1200 refrigerator and based on observations while in storage I had added a fan and set the OEM fans to turn on at a lower temperature. With the unit set on 9 (coldest) it held temp at 38 to 44 degrees with the doors not being opened and closed. This appeared to be the on / off of the thermostat, I had a very sensitive thermo-couple device which I could read without opening the doors. The food was of course not seeing this much swing, had I embedded the TC in a piece of food it would likely have maintained 40 / 42. For now the Norcold gets passing marks. The ice maker filled the bucket 2/3 each day.

Nervous about the Vacuum toilet, much rather have a drop through. Had a couple of minor water leaks, clear not waste, managed to fix the problems in short order. I just feel it is DUMB to have a unit like that with the eventual maintenance and the noise of use especially at night. I guess they have to use these because the toilet is outside the frame rails,

This is my first time for slides (3), and levelers. The driver side slide is the type that needs to raise to retract. It really grunts and makes me "pucker" sometimes. The other 2 work well, I did find an old thread yesterday about this very problem so I need to check a motor number and possibly a lift block mod. The levelers sometimes go crazy when I start the engine to retract the slides, could be my procedure, going to have to work through this.

DW is happy happy happy with the washer / dryer. Happy wife happy life .

All in all, DW and I really like this unit. I read this forum every day and I was really happy with my previous Fleetwood product so Fleetwood was my #1 target with Winnebago as #2.

Sidebar:
If you are in the Lower Keys stop at Mangrove MaMa's milemarker 20, old Florida Dining absolutely delicious. If you get "PattyWacker" as a server you are living right.
Great choice!! Love the bounders.
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Old 05-22-2015, 05:27 AM   #6
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welcome to the form. I think that I am the only one that has had problems with the vacuum flush system. It seems to be fixed now. But really like the two bath arrangement. We really like the coach.
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