Recent 36FBTS owners - Page 2

rnj · 05-16-2015, 06:16 AM

the new fbts with paint finally arrived going to see it today!

rnj · 05-16-2015, 06:31 PM

just saw our 36fbts its great sure glad we went with the full paint!

TexasRT · 05-17-2015, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rnj

just saw our 36fbts its great sure glad we went with the full paint!

Congrats, bet it looks awesome

violinini · 05-17-2015, 01:36 PM

Looking forward to seeing the pictures. By the what options did you get?

rnj · 05-20-2015, 10:13 AM

we are picking ours up today!

TexasRT · 05-20-2015, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rnj

we are picking ours up today!

Congrats, take your time and check everything possible on any source available. You'll be glad you did.

Good luck

violinini · 05-27-2015, 11:04 PM

What options are you getting on your FBTS? Geny? Tires? Awnings? Toppers?
Let me know what options are worth the money. Thanks,

TexasRT · 05-28-2015, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by violinini

What options are you getting on your FBTS? Geny? Tires? Awnings? Toppers?
Let me know what options are worth the money. Thanks,

We got every option except the full body paint and rear camera. I personally didn't see the need to spend the $$$. You do save a lot of money adding the options when you place the order versus trying to add them later.

Below are our options and I'm glad we got each one.

2nd 15K btu in bedroom - works great, air can be dumped or vented.

5500kw Onan genset - our other unit had one, I would not be without one.

Thermal Pane windows - a must, noticeable difference from standard windows. We get direct sun on the front door side in the morning, it's amazing how much heat these windows stop.

Full linoleum in living area - we like less carpet.

Fireplace - it's a neat feature, extra heat source will be good in the winter also.

Heat Pump on main a/c unit - puts out good heat, will be handy in the winter.

Theatre Seating - basically dual recliners, their comfortable.

Blackout Shades in bedroom - Jayco would not do it so our dealer ordered them and did it for us, I understand they are now standard on the 16's.

2nd power awning - nice to have

Slide Toppers - nice to have

Cargo Reciever

If we did it again I would get it all.
Hope this helps with your decision, good luck.

violinini · 05-28-2015, 07:18 AM

TexasRT,
Thank you. We are thinking alike on everything except for the HeatPump. I assume with this option you can still turn on the gas heat if you want, is that correct? Also, the heat with this option, comes from the A/C vents, which are in the ceiling, right? Vice the floor vents for the heater. Our experience in living in Indiana that heat is better coming from the floor vents. I guess if we were camping in a warm climate, to take the chill out at night, it would not matter. Curious, why did you not opt for the rear camera? Are you full-timing? That looks like a great option for helping in backing the RV in those hard to back places. Thanks again for your suggestions. Really appreciate the confirmation on my thinking on this.

TexasRT · 05-28-2015, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by violinini

TexasRT,
Thank you. We are thinking alike on everything except for the HeatPump. I assume with this option you can still turn on the gas heat if you want, is that correct? Also, the heat with this option, comes from the A/C vents, which are in the ceiling, right? Vice the floor vents for the heater. Our experience in living in Indiana that heat is better coming from the floor vents. I guess if we were camping in a warm climate, to take the chill out at night, it would not matter. Curious, why did you not opt for the rear camera? Are you full-timing? That looks like a great option for helping in backing the RV in those hard to back places. Thanks again for your suggestions. Really appreciate the confirmation on my thinking on this.

Violinini
Yes, when the heat pump is on the heat comes from the central a/c vents. When we tested the heat pump on our walk thru, it was obviously putting out some good heat, granted it was not cold outside. The heat pump is good to a certain temp and it was explained to us that the operation will automatically switch to the furnace when it cannot keep up with the heat demand. I have not tried this yet so I can't verify that.
Someone else may be able to jump in and confirm that operation.

No we're not fulltiming, but that's a nice thought, (lol). We leave our unit in an RV park on a lake pretty much year round, it's our "weekend house".

I personally just didn't feel like I needed the camera, we didn't have one on our other unit and I pulled it all over the US on vacations over the last 10yrs and never needed it. I also have navigation in my truck already and really didn't care to have another device in there. It's all about personal preference, if you are considering it and can spend the money then do it up front.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

violinini · 05-28-2015, 10:05 AM

Thank you so much for your helpful thoughts. LoL on the camera. I did have a question about the generator. When it is on, and due to the bath being in the front, how much do you hear the generator when you are in the bedroom? Living Room? I assume that this model is much more noise friendly than having your bedroom right above the generator. Your thoughts?

TexasRT · 05-28-2015, 11:01 AM

You can't really hear it at all in the living room, and barely if any in the bedroom.
Our other unit had the bedroom right over the genset compartment and it was just a low hum.

violinini · 05-28-2015, 12:04 PM

That's great to know. Thank you.

violinini · 05-28-2015, 12:09 PM

One more question. I assume that you have opted for the Residential refrigerator. When we rented a fifth wheel we had the elec/gas option on the refrigerator and we never had to worry that it would not be working if we did not have power. I guess this is really now a moot point with the geny, but wanted to know if you had any thoughts one way or the other. Have you ever had an occasion when the refrig ran down the battery?

TexasRT · 05-28-2015, 12:54 PM

The only time I ran the fridge on the inverter for any length of time was the 6hr drive back after we picked it up. My truck was charging the TT batteries also. I've never had a need to run it straight off the batteries only, our tech at the dealer told me it should run at least 2 days off just the battery/inverter power.
We also have dual batteries. That's the reason I like having a genset, everything should always be covered.

violinini · 05-28-2015, 12:58 PM

Agreed! thank you,

TexasRT · 05-28-2015, 01:02 PM

Anytime.
Hope it helps with your decision making, good luck and keep us posted.

violinini · 05-28-2015, 01:51 PM

Will Do! You have extremely helpful. Hope to meet you out camping sometime.

philfishes · 06-25-2015, 01:50 PM

The kitchen faucet will fall into the open position.
We to fixed with a rubber band.
Only wet floor once..

bethcb · 06-25-2015, 04:49 PM

We just finished being on the road for 2 months in our new 36FBTS. Picked it up in Indiana, drove down to Florida and then back home to Southern California. Its now in service for warranty work. The layout is awesome and we are really enjoying the huge bathroom and the washer/dryer. We did not put in a generator, but opted for solar panels and 4 six volt batteries which seems to be working great with the refer, but haven't put it to a 3-5 day dry camping test yet. Our door lock had to be replaced as well as the bedroom AC unit. We had some issues with the 6 point leveling, as the middle stabilizers were unreliable. When we took it to the dealer, they worked. Glad that it is under a 2 year warranty! I think we did very well in ordering the options we chose and so far there is nothing we would have changed. We opted for the queen size bed instead of the king size and it gives us more room to make the bed and also has 2 nightstands. Love the theater seating, very comfy.
Ready to pick it up a dealer and head out again soon.

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