2020 Pinnacle 36FBTS

[Sodapopman]

Well we pulled the trigger today and are going to trade in our 2015 Columbus 320RS on a new Pinnacle 36 FBTS. We pick it up a week from today. Always makes me nervous buying a new RV when the one we had I had all the bugs worked out. Anyway, We pulled the trigger. Who has this unit and are there any pointers that anyone can give me. I’m a little nervous about the fridge running on an inverter instead of gas and electric which we had. Always ran it on gas when traveling. Still looking to get a new hitch and air bags for my truck. Really hate leaving the Columbus forum but I’m sure that I can get a lot of information from all of you on this forum also. Thanks

[Joan617]

Hey congrats on the new rig! We love our Pinnacle.


I can't speak to the 36 FBTS floor plan but can comment on the fridge. While I have no experience with dual fuel fridges, our Whirlpool Fridge has been great. Remember that the fridge is running off the inverter which is running off the truck while you are towing. And remember that warranty or not, we can get the fridge repaired anywhere.


There have been some comments about the aftermarket door closure latch failing and allowing the fridge to open in transit, but we have not experienced problems with this.



Oh, and finding the water valve to turn on the ice-maker and water fill to the fridge is something of a right of passage for new Pinnacle owners. Kind of like finding Big-Foot.



Good luck, keep us posted and ask questions.


Angus

[RipinSC]

X2 on the residential frig. You will love it. We have traveled 8 plus hours and everything works fine. Make sure your tow vehicle is wired to help charge the batteries.

[DrSmart]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the new Pinnacle. We're also new to a residential fridge. So far we're very happy with it.
Our 2020 North Point has electric auto leveling and I noticed the later half of 2019 Jayco has gone to hydraulic auto leveling on the Pinnacle and North Point. What system came on yours?

[Poppyof5]

Our 2018 fbts has a rv frig that runs on LP or elec. never worry about it getting warm on long hauls or power outage. Not a fan of the worlds heaviest barn doors with completely useless lower plastic guides screwed into 16th (maybe) of an inch backing board ( found my bedroom door laying on the bed after a long haul on I10 into California)

With that said we love ours. 2nd toilet has saved our marriage i am sure and it is alot better when the grandkids come to visit.

Stay safe enjoy the journey.

[Poppyof5]

One more thing. Be sure you physically check as many water connections as you can. Found one of my cleaning connections dripping on my furnace.

[AKRUEBBE]

Congratulations! You will love the Pinnacle and the residential fridge. Would not have an RV fridge.

[robkelly]

Congratulations and welcome!

We love the residential fridge. Our longest travel day has been 13 hours, but no problems at all with the fridge. Granted I’m running 4 6V deep-cycle batteries, but when we arrived I still had ~12V juice in them.

[Sodapopman]

Thanks, When I do the PDI i will ask where the water valve is for the Ice Maker.

[Big1]

Oh yeah congrats and welcome to the forum, I want to see it when you get it. I love getting a new rv, I've been looking at the Pinnacle, not to buy of course I just like looking at all of them.

[DonaandDon]

Congrats on the new rig. I have found that a close working relationship with Jayco (or the manufacture of item that is in question) and the dealers service writer is a good thing. Keep a log, name, phone number, date, RA numbers. I had "Kyle" at Gerard contact my dealer with the RA# to replace our tankless after the dealer said three times nothing was found wrong (of course).

Our NP came with one 12 deep cycle battery, installed during prep and of course I had to pay for it too. Residential fridge require a minimum of two, so we opt to buy the same battery at the trailer shop down the road. Not sure why the manufacture requires two and the dealer only installs one but for the price I'm glad they didn't.

Prior to install of the 2nd battery, we traveled about 6hours and the low battery charge alarm was beeping when we entered the RV at the destination. After the 2nd installed battery we have had no prob. The inverter works great and the dual batteries last. Our inverter powers everything that's runs off AC in our rig. One day while at the dump station I heard the furnace running. Yep the inverter will power that too.

We had the dual washer and dryer installed after the first year of ownership. After the first day of washing/drying, I opted for a tripod (had a little wiggle). It works great but required a modification. I had to remove the lower support brace and installed chains on the tripod. This will allow the tripod to lower enough to fit under the kingpost every time. A simple padlock allows you to adjust links.

Additionally, I do not lower the front landing gear to touch the ground prior to disconnecting the truck (never ever), I just push the button and let the (mine is electric) Feet lower. I found one day to have the tripod fit under the kingpost, the front of the RV had to be higher, this required the front landing gear legs to be pinned adjusted and this required the auto leveling to lift the tires almost off the ground. Then I noticed the appliance slide was dragging. RV Force told me that it might be due to positive frame camber. Then decided to install chains on the tripod, this allowed the front to lower and kept the tires on the ground, and the appliance slide has worked great ever since.

Good luck on that new rig.

[wiscampsin]

Congrats and enjoy your new Pinnacle 36 FBTS.

[2naEagle]

Looking forward to lots of pictures.

[klassic]

Originally Posted by DonaandDon

Congrats on the new rig. I have found that a close working relationship with Jayco (or the manufacture of item that is in question) and the dealers service writer is a good thing. Keep a log, name, phone number, date, RA numbers. I had "Kyle" at Gerard contact my dealer with the RA# to replace our tankless after the dealer said three times nothing was found wrong (of course).

Our NP came with one 12 deep cycle battery, installed during prep and of course I had to pay for it too. Residential fridge require a minimum of two, so we opt to buy the same battery at the trailer shop down the road. Not sure why the manufacture requires two and the dealer only installs one but for the price I'm glad they didn't.

Prior to install of the 2nd battery, we traveled about 6hours and the low battery charge alarm was beeping when we entered the RV at the destination. After the 2nd installed battery we have had no prob. The inverter works great and the dual batteries last. Our inverter powers everything that's runs off AC in our rig. One day while at the dump station I heard the furnace running. Yep the inverter will power that too.

We had the dual washer and dryer installed after the first year of ownership. After the first day of washing/drying, I opted for a tripod (had a little wiggle). It works great but required a modification. I had to remove the lower support brace and installed chains on the tripod. This will allow the tripod to lower enough to fit under the kingpost every time. A simple padlock allows you to adjust links.

Additionally, I do not lower the front landing gear to touch the ground prior to disconnecting the truck (never ever), I just push the button and let the (mine is electric) Feet lower. I found one day to have the tripod fit under the kingpost, the front of the RV had to be higher, this required the front landing gear legs to be pinned adjusted and this required the auto leveling to lift the tires almost off the ground. Then I noticed the appliance slide was dragging. RV Force told me that it might be due to positive frame camber. Then decided to install chains on the tripod, this allowed the front to lower and kept the tires on the ground, and the appliance slide has worked great ever since.

Good luck on that new rig.

Not a good idea to run your front landing gear to the ground without extending.
The more you travel the threaded rod inside the leg..the more grease you take off the threads and sooner or later (for me and 4 others in this group) it was sooner.
The threads will strip out of the block the rod travels though. And potentially leave you stranded. For me, it was in my driveway..pretty scary seeing a 40 foot trailer lunge to one side complete with a BANG!

Anyway.. I have new front jacks now and I could tell there has been no upgrade to them by Lippert. But now hydraulic leveling is going on the 2020’s so I guess they realized they have a problem. This is a way to eliminate it.

Also, the inverter doesn’t run the furnace...furnace is simply 12v.

[Lowmiler]

Originally Posted by klassic

But now hydraulic leveling is going on the 2020’s so I guess they realized they have a problem.

It seems to actually be a 2020.5 “upgrade”. On North Points, if the body color is white, it has hydraulic leveling.

I think this was just a way to look equal to Montana, since they are the market leader. Not because hydraulic is necessarily better, of course it has its own shortcomings.

[Motorhommie]

LOL, true on that water to the ice maker secret locations! Jeez

[Motorhommie]

Reading a couple threads here, ours has electric 6 point levelers, a gas/electric refridge and notice the computer monitor software! Ours has ONECONTROL and the 2020 Pinnacles are supposed to have the BMPRO hotspot modem. Which does yours have?

[Stingray75]

Congrats on the FBTS. We’ve had ours since March and as full-timers, love the floor plan. Keep a close watch on every water connection that has a PEX clamp holding rubber hoses to plastic “T’s”. The first one we found leaking was under the sink in the 1/2 bath - the next was in the basement behind the water panel. We also found a leak in the washer/dryer closet. It was in the wall so not immediately apparent until the carpet was damp. This one was a simple tightening of the fitting preceded by a not so simple removal of the shelves and inner closet panel. Hope the dealer installed at least 2 group 27 batteries to keep the residential fridge happy.

[Motorhommie]

LOL! our 2020 Pinnacle had a loose connection too under the sink. Nothing a little plumbers teflon tape on the threads couldn't fix. (Why don't they have that ALREADY on all male water threaded connections???)

[Stingray75]

Assemblers with greater grip strength would be another solution. ��