New Member, New Trailer, Pickup Today...

[DUX4LIFE]

Greetings all. Today we are purchasing a new 2019 287BHS. I believe I have done my research (currently up to page 147 in this forum). I have spent the last 2 weeks till 1 and 2 am reading opinions and ideas.
In the past we have owned 2 older Jaycos and 1 other camper that was from the late 60's. The Jaycos were bought as projects and served their purposes well. I am done rebuilding campers. That said I am very handy and not afraid of fixing things. I am going into this venture with the idea that I will be doing many of the repairs myself so they can be remedied quickly and to my satisfaction, I plan to use the warranty when I need to but the small things would probably be better off repaired by me.
My dealer is 1 1/2 hours away but the savings were $4000.00 cheaper than any other dealer. I have researched prices and feel that we did well. I plan to do a thorough inspection, bringing along lights, a multi-meter that also measures temp for the HVAC system, and a tester that tells me if the outlets are wired correctly. Any other suggestions? My appointment is 3 1/2 hours out but I told them that I would be early and do some checking on it myself prior. I printed out a few camper sheets for the inspection including a 10 page one that seems pretty thorough.
I have learned much from this forum and believe there is a wealth of knowledge here, Thank you for sharing. I am a little scared after reading some of the nightmares here but after being in Law Enforcement for 33 years I also realize that some things are not as bad as some people make them out to be. I also have been very lucky in most of my purchases so I am also optimistic. I am going into this expecting little help from the dealer but hope he is there for the big stuff.
DUX

[Bones1]

Good luck and take your time and ask questions.

[Stingray75]

Welcome to JOF. Remember that there’s more written about the bad experience, less about the great and nothing about expectations met. Your research should tilt you toward things to keep an eye out for and maybe a start of your DIY mod list. For someone who knows how stuff works and fix stuff when it doesn’t, you’ll most likely enjoy your new Jayco

[Midnightmoon]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new Jayco.

[justlb33]

Welcome and congrats!! Learn so much on this forum, it is great! I have a similar camper and we love it. Haven't had any major issues.

[wiscampsin]

Welcome from Wisconsin and enjoy your 2019 Jayco 287BHS.

[skids]

It looks like we have a new resident expert in the group.

[Ohiofinlander]

Welcome and Congratulations! Enjoy your new TT. Safe Travels and many memories to come I'm sure.

[DUX4LIFE]

Spent 4 hours there including the hour walk thru and paper signing. I could tell the guy that did the walk through wasn't happy with me. Wife kept rolling her eyes.
For example They wanted to do a pressure test and didn't want to put any water in the system but I insisted when we made the deal and when I got there it had water. Tested the refer and had it swap between gas and AC voltage several times. Cycled the thermostat and the AC put out 50 degree air. He said they checked all of the vents to make sure they were sealed. Furnace warmed the TT up to about 75 degrees while we were inside. Awning couldn't be opened up all of the way due to another trailer to close but seemed fine. Slider worked fine 5 times. While doing the cabinet checks I found water under the bath vanity. Loose water line at the faucet. Service tightened it up. Upon checking the roof it all looked sealed well except the front right corner. The Dicor must have had a small cavity and there was a 1/4" by 1/2" hole where the rubber met the metal. He filled that for me. I feel the need to reseal many of the outside joints as things like the refrigerator cover have the sealant starting to crack. Just minor things like that. I then had him bring out a tv and it had reception on all 3 locations. We didn't try out all of the features of the stereo but it did work.
I apologized for everything but said it was better to leave with a good feeling than to be concerned about a purchase this big.
The trip home was uneventful. The old Chevy was working to pull it 70 MPH down the interstate but there were no issues. Got it home and backed into the spot near the garage. Opened up the slide and the battery didn't have enough juice to operate the slide so we will see if the converter can charge it. Supposed to be a new interstate battery but i can tell it is a small one.
I am headed back Saturday with my son as he is buying a new camper from them also.

[JFlightRisk]

Welcome to the Forum from Western New York State! Congratulations on the new Jayco. You've been seriously thorough on your preparation for your adventures in your new rig. Not everyone does that. Since you "dodged the bullet" for 33 years, the rest of this will be a pleasant ride for you, and we're all around the Forum to help, when you need it. We look forward to your expertise, also.

[fochman]

Welcome from York County, South Carolina!

[Big1]

Welcome to the forum and congrats.

[travelingjw]

Welcome to the forum, you are correct. There is some great people and great knowledge here. My one suggestion in regard to solving issues is to gather information from others first. If the answer isn't clear always go back to the original power source, water supply, or building block. If you do methodical steps you will learn you TT inside and out and increase your trouble shooting knowledge. I learned this the hard way. I spent 3 hours on our first trip trying to solve a power issue. Called my dealer service tech and he asked me two questions. My problem was the wire inside the TT receptacle where you plug in from the pedestal had slipped out of the connection. I had spent 3 hours inside the TT tracing multiple circuits and wires...whoops! Good luck. We've had our TT 2.5 years and love it!

[DUX4LIFE]

I have spent multiple hours since it came home to see how everything works. Today I carried out the rear frame hitch I removed from my old Eagle and layed it out on the floor beneath the new camper. I will poke and prod for a week or 2 thinking about it before mounting it. I also have been geting packages in every few days as I am ordering stuff for it as we decide what we want to customize. Today was the new screen door bars and new sewer hose. Last week was the fold away entry handle and a conversion kit to make the water heater work with electric. Later this week my new television/Kebloc mount comes in and a battery meter I will mount inside.
Today I rotated the propane regulator around so the gauge faces the front and remounted it. No idea why they faced the gauge/selector towards the trailer but all of the trailers on the lot were that way. I couldn't see an advantage for it.
When I first came home with it I tried to run the slide on battery and it blew the fuse outside by the battery. While searching for the blown circuit I pulled the fuses inside and checked them. Of course I dropped a fuse into the fuseblock area so I had to pull the entire unit out to retrieve it. That gave me a good glimpse on how the power distribution block is set up from the inside. Simple to figure out. Wiring did NOT look like a rats nest from what I could see.

[Route 66 Traveler]

Originally Posted by DUX4LIFE

The trip home was uneventful. The old Chevy was working to pull it 70 MPH down the interstate but there were no issues. Got it home and backed into the spot near the garage. Opened up the slide and the battery didn't have enough juice to operate the slide so we will see if the converter can charge it.

Sounds like you had all your bases covered and did a thorough walk through. You might have gotten the slide to work if you had left the trailer plugged into the truck.

70mph sounds like you were in a hurry to get home.... The max speed for most stock RV tires is 65 mph. From experience anything over 60 will kill your MPG’s as well. Travel on........

[Siamese]

I was curious about the 70mph, too. That's cookin'.

[DUX4LIFE]

That was on the interstate, The 2 lane highways were 50-60. I usually drive slower but I wanted to see how the truck would do. It's got 253,000 miles. Original drivetrain but rebuilt front end. Mechanically great cosmetically ugly. No issues but the outside temp was cold. Trans temp 200 degrees and engine temp 210. When we go out camping I have already told everyone I will leave a day earlier so I can take my time on the drive and not push it. I honestly just wanted to see how the truck would do under a load. Milage was 9 mpg average for 80 miles loaded and 80 miles unloaded. Unloaded it gets 11 so I am happy.
Today I added a screen door bar, and roughed in a battery meter. I ran it off of the power for the stereo as it was the easiest to get to. Also started to dig out the camping stuff from my old camper and find a home for it in the new camper. New sewer hose came in. Installed the outdoor television with the Kebloc that came in and decided to get a new locking swing arm for the new living room television that arrived today. I ordered th https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1is
I have found so many mods in this forum I would like to do I will probably die before they all get completed. I think these additions are half the fun of having a camper.

[FPM III]

There should be a code on the tire with the speed rating that you can look up.

"A man's got to know his limitations." - Dirty Harry

Be Safe!

[DUX4LIFE]

Originally Posted by FPM III

There should be a code on the tire with the speed rating that you can look up.

"A man's got to know his limitations." - Dirty Harry

Be Safe!

Ok, "N" rated which is 87mph. Way faster than my truck will go. "Tire speed ratings are set by the tire manufacturers and based on testing. Note that a speed rating is an indication of the tire's maximum speed capability in ideal conditions." The "ideal conditions" are only in the testing lab, no road debris, sidewall scuffs, temperature extremes, real life events... No worries though, I retired from a stressful job of 33 years so I plan to go slow and enjoy the years I have left. I've really noticed that as I age i do things much slower. In this case I wanted to wring out any towing problems with my TV. I have always been the kind to push an item to the limit and then fix what is marginal so I have a bit of a buffer between what I am doing and what the equipment can take. I may even upgrade to 15" wheels and tires after the warranty expires if everything fits. Just saw that my sons Jayco came with them on the next level up.

[GL243]

Congrats on the new TT, and dittos on welcome to the forum. Sounds like you're handy enough to handle about anything that happens with these rolling ever-evolving "project" RVs, so my hat's off to you. I've already learned a couple things from your post that I want to take advantage of.

One question for you is how has the slide problem worked out? I had a slide noise that had to be fixed under warranty (in addition to a whole bunch of other things), but it's always worked with just the little group 24 battery the dealer provided, even when the battery was discharged a good bit. Is yours working ok now?