New member from Saratoga, NY HI!

[MacGyver1]

Hi Everyone! Harry and Mary Lu here!

We came across this forum while looking into upgrading from a 2010 Coachmen Mirada 32DS to a 2013 Thor Palazzo 33.2 from Camping World. We will be picking it up on Aug 2nd and have found a wealth of information on this site.
We are in the process of downsizing and getting ready for retirement in 2 years and we have just finished renovating the home base here in Saratoga, NY only a few little things left to do but the main work is complete!
While all of the renovations have been going on we have at least been able to do some trips here in the NE for some extended weekend getaways to maintain my sanity.
We are looking very much into doing a lot of traveling with the new coach! We have had a blast with our past RV’s and the Mirada was our first Class A and it has served us well, We are very pleased that we are getting a good trade in on it since we have maintained it well and everybody that see’s it thinks it is brand new.
We have always given all of our RV’s TLC and when it comes time to upgrade we have had no trouble in making a good deal.
I never use the words preventive maintenance instead I refer to controlled maintenance.
As we explore this forum I hope to share some of my experience. Well enough of my rambling since we just wanted to say HI to everyone!

[historyljc]

Hi Harry, welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your new ride.

[jpriest]

[TheArnolds]

Welcome and congrats on your new Palazzo!

[Steve N Sal]

Howdy to the two of you and welcome aboard. Hope you enjoy the site. Congrats on the new purchase and hope you really enjoy your time in it. Have a great rv-ing season.

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi Harry & Mary Lu! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you found us! Congrats on the new rig! Good luck & God bless!

[MacGyver1]

Hi Everybody,

We took delivery of our Palazzo on Aug 2nd! The new rig had 5 minor cosmetic problems which will be corrected in the next few weeks. Boy does this coach handle's great!
It took us the whole day to transfer our stuff from the old coach to the new one. We never realized how much stuff we had! We wound up staying overnight in the dealers lot. Then we did my safety setup and it got the dealers employees curious. We had taken the driver confidence course at LazyDays and have been using what we learned every time we go out with the coach. So I explained to them what I was doing with the dots and how it works. I look at it as additional reinforcement for myself. Well their service manager said he never saw any one ever do what we were doing and also said that more people should do it since it made perfect sense. When we finished our safety checks we said our goodbye's and hit the road.
We went from the dealer in Rochester, NY to the Thousand Islands up north for our shakedown trip. Everything went well for the first 3 days and on the 4th day I noticed that the large slide lower left corner was not going in all the way. It did when I checked it at the dealer and the past few nights. Well I called the dealer to report the issue and it too has been added to the list of repairs.
In the meantime I am looking for info on this slide system and any manuals so I have a better understanding and maybe handle future repairs if needed. If anybody can chime in please do!
I plan to do a writeup of our journey through the upgrade process which started this past February. Boy did I hammer the dealers and asked tons of questions. Many dealers flat out lied and I let them know and told them they are now off of the list! Well got to go for now.

Harry & Mary Lu

[Freedom65]

Thanks for the report on your experience picking up your new coach. We will be going through the same thing on the 23rd of this month. Do you have any advice for particular things to look for when accepting the coach? (It will be our first time accepting a Class A). We also plan on camping at an RV park close to the dealer for 3 or 4 days to check for anything needing attention. Would also be interested in hearing more about the safety set-up. Can you explain what that is?

[TheArnolds]

Originally Posted by Freedom65

Thanks for the report on your experience picking up your new coach. We will be going through the same thing on the 23rd of this month. Do you have any advice for particular things to look for when accepting the coach? (It will be our first time accepting a Class A). We also plan on camping at an RV park close to the dealer for 3 or 4 days to check for anything needing attention. Would also be interested in hearing more about the safety set-up. Can you explain what that is?

Congratulations on your new Palazzo! We have had ours for a little over a month and all is working well mechanically. What we have found so far was similar to our last Class A, loose screws that need some attention which could of came loose due to travel vibrations and not necessarily a factory defect. Draw/door locks that need adjusting because they come open during travel. In other words, small stuff that can be fixed when discovered. We have traveled about 1000 miles so far and we have not found anything that we need to take it back to the dealer to fix.

[MacGyver1]

Originally Posted by Freedom65

Thanks for the report on your experience picking up your new coach. We will be going through the same thing on the 23rd of this month. Do you have any advice for particular things to look for when accepting the coach? (It will be our first time accepting a Class A). We also plan on camping at an RV park close to the dealer for 3 or 4 days to check for anything needing attention. Would also be interested in hearing more about the safety set-up. Can you explain what that is?

Hi Jim,

I brought with me a checklist and several items to do the inspection. I used a list that I found at this web site. RV Inspection Checklist They have a download version in word format.
I modified my list to reflect alternate items to use and do in the inspection.
It is an excellent guide to use and modify it for your needs.

Be sure to pay close attention to the slides and all seals. Even with my close inspection on the slides, days later after using them and driving around one corner shifted out about 1/2 an inch.

With my safety check we we have made a check list on a dry-erase marker board. This is something that I made. I then do a walk around and check things from the top down! Things like Antenna is down all compartments closed and locked, slides and awning are all the way in and secured for travel this includes the slide lock bars. Also put a label over your slide controls saying CHECK FOR SLIDE LOCK!!! also make a label for your dash indicating your Height! Back outside check tire pressure. On my new Palazzo the front tire valves are recessed, I have read other threads complaining about that. I look at it differently the more extenders you add the more chance for a leak. I purchased a new gauge that will reach in and read it. I also added an air hose to my tools with a tire filler attachment to plug into the compressor output jack located in the gen compartment on the Palazzo. Now I never have to stop at a service station for air. Always check all lights I have the better half go outside and she looks at them and gives my the yea or nay.
I also recommend taking some sort of driver course we took ours at LazyDays and it was Great!! They also have videos on their web site. If you can't take one soon then use the video for now but DO TAKE SOME SORT OF TRAINING COURSE! I am a seasoned driver and I learned so much!
Here are the links RV Driver Confidence Course: Part 1 - Better RVing This is the start of the series. I also found this as well. Parking Your Motorhome Alone - Better RVing
Also practice parallel parking. RV Basic Training Driving an RV is easy . . . Let us show you how!
Down at the bottom is a good video on how to do it.
If you follow and preform what I described above you will not only be safe you will also impress and get lots of respect from your RV dealer.

[MacGyver1]

Originally Posted by TheArnolds

Congratulations on your new Palazzo! We have had ours for a little over a month and all is working well mechanically. What we have found so far was similar to our last Class A, loose screws that need some attention which could of came loose due to travel vibrations and not necessarily a factory defect. Draw/door locks that need adjusting because they come open during travel. In other words, small stuff that can be fixed when discovered. We have traveled about 1000 miles so far and we have not found anything that we need to take it back to the dealer to fix.

That's great! We did have the frig swing open while driving. This happened twice both times with the locking screw in place. I fixed it by sacrificing a Frisbee (I have 7 of them) and cut a circle about the size of a silver dollar and put a hole in it for the thread to pass through. That cured the door opening problem. This all happens while going through construction zones when the right tires goes over the rapid groves and makes vibrations.
At least nothing made a mess since we have retaining bars in place for the content. I will figure out some sort of long term solution with something that does not need to be threaded each time we travel, more like a swivel latch. Then the Mrs will be Happy!
Tonight I will be going over a few things getting ready for a trip to Mass this weekend. We plan to leave after work tomorrow.

[Freedom65]

Thanks Harry, Very good videos. Also liked your idea for a safety checklist. Silly question - I assume the list of items to be checked is not erasable, just the check when it is completed. I'd probably end up erasing the whole thing.

[MacGyver1]

Originally Posted by Freedom65

Thanks Harry, Very good videos. Also liked your idea for a safety checklist. Silly question - I assume the list of items to be checked is not erasable, just the check when it is completed. I'd probably end up erasing the whole thing.

Yea! I used MS Excel and made the checklist and then laminated it. I then glued it down on an old clipboard.

[TheArnolds]

Originally Posted by MacGyver1

That's great! We did have the frig swing open while driving. This happened twice both times with the locking screw in place. I fixed it by sacrificing a Frisbee (I have 7 of them) and cut a circle about the size of a silver dollar and put a hole in it for the thread to pass through. That cured the door opening problem. This all happens while going through construction zones when the right tires goes over the rapid groves and makes vibrations.
At least nothing made a mess since we have retaining bars in place for the content. I will figure out some sort of long term solution with something that does not need to be threaded each time we travel, more like a swivel latch. Then the Mrs will be Happy!
Tonight I will be going over a few things getting ready for a trip to Mass this weekend. We plan to leave after work tomorrow.

We have not had the frig door open with the locking screw installed and looking at it I do not understand how it could but I take your word that it can happen. I agree the locking screw is a pain but I am OK with it for now.