This has led me to try a slightly different lifestyle where I use the Big Horn as a semi-permanent residence and a smaller RV for road trips. After looking at a number of travel trailers, I chose the Forest River R-Pod RP-189 which at 20'4" in length and an unloaded weight of 2792 pounds can be towed by my Jeep and will fit in small sites such as those found in older state parks...
Now for the bad news. Due to the short supply of RP-189s, I had to travel to Upland, California to buy one from The RV Spa dealership. My first disappointment was the transporter requirement for titling and registering a RV out-of-state which cost me an additional $520.
Next, although I was told I would receive the Manufacturer's Statement of Origin (MSO) along with a 90 day permit at the time of purchase, it turned out I will not get the MSO for another two weeks and instead of a 90 day permit, I got a one trip permit (had I titled the vehicle in CA, I would have received everything immediately). The problem with this is it will now take 4-6 weeks for the State of South Dakota to send me the plates and registration I need to be completely legal and that is if the dealer does what they say they will do. Based on my experience to date, I am not holding my breath.
Lastly, the air conditioner in my new unit ran for about five minutes this morning before shutting down. I checked the circuit breakers and fuses to no avail and then called several RV dealers in the Las Vegas area. Due to the current heat wave, the earliest appointment I could get was over two weeks away.
I was able to get a mobile RV repairman out this afternoon, who told me he could do the work under the manufacturer's warranty. After he arrived, he quickly found that the Dometic thermostat was bad and had to be replaced which solved the problem. Unfortunately, when he called Dometic, he was put on hold for about 20 minutes before being cut off and on the call back got a message that they were closed for the day. I had to write a check for $325. Hopefully, I can get Dometic to reimburse me for the full amount but based on past warranty claims experience, it will probably be a long, drawn out affair.
Between California's weird regulations and poor customer service from the dealership and Dometic, it has been a very frustrating couple of days. I like to think it will only get better from here on out.
Next, although I was told I would receive the Manufacturer's Statement of Origin (MSO) along with a 90 day permit at the time of purchase, it turned out I will not get the MSO for another two weeks and instead of a 90 day permit, I got a one trip permit (had I titled the vehicle in CA, I would have received everything immediately). The problem with this is it will now take 4-6 weeks for the State of South Dakota to send me the plates and registration I need to be completely legal and that is if the dealer does what they say they will do. Based on my experience to date, I am not holding my breath.
Lastly, the air conditioner in my new unit ran for about five minutes this morning before shutting down. I checked the circuit breakers and fuses to no avail and then called several RV dealers in the Las Vegas area. Due to the current heat wave, the earliest appointment I could get was over two weeks away.
I was able to get a mobile RV repairman out this afternoon, who told me he could do the work under the manufacturer's warranty. After he arrived, he quickly found that the Dometic thermostat was bad and had to be replaced which solved the problem. Unfortunately, when he called Dometic, he was put on hold for about 20 minutes before being cut off and on the call back got a message that they were closed for the day. I had to write a check for $325. Hopefully, I can get Dometic to reimburse me for the full amount but based on past warranty claims experience, it will probably be a long, drawn out affair.
Between California's weird regulations and poor customer service from the dealership and Dometic, it has been a very frustrating couple of days. I like to think it will only get better from here on out.
2 comments:
We are out for the first time in our 2018 Rpod 189. I don’t guess our generator is strong enough to run the air conditioner because it shuts down when we turn the air conditioner on. Now none of the electrical outlets will work, even without the air conditioner turned on. Any suggestions?
You need a minimum of 3500 watts to run the A/C. I have two Honda 2000 watt generators that I run in parallel that work well for that purpose. Check the GFCI outlet in the bathroom to see if the circuit breaker has been tripped. I would also look at the fuses and circuit breakers in the box on the right just as you enter the RV.
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