New Member from Redmond, WA - About to take delivery of 2018 27FB Flying Cloud

[WT1J]

Hi all,

Another newbie here. My wife and I took the leap and are taking delivery of our baby in 48 hours. We already have a name picked out.

I'm almost done reading the 2018 FC manual and have been reading forums including this awesome site to get schooled up.

We're doing the dealer walkthrough Monday morning. Any tips on what to do, ask, check or watch out for?

Thanks!!

Mark

[4riveteers]

Man, have you opened up Pandora's box! Congrats on your new FC! We got ours new a year ago and still finding problems as we glamp along the way. Fortunately we have an extended warranty. We were like you, total newbies. Good that you've done some studying. Some advice we can give is don't rush the walk through and ask questions till you get your answers. Plan the whole day. There's a lot to take in, take notes, pictures or even a recording. Bring a flashlight. Look at EVERYTHING with a fine tooth comb. For example, laminate edges, proper closing of doors, open utility access panels to inspect if wiring or pipes appear intact, if cabinets line up properly. Run everything-ac, heater, heat pump, water pump, inverter, SeeLevel monitor, lights, flush toilet, run faucets and interior/exterior showers, deploy awnings, open/close entry door several times, stabilizer jacks. Try all locks with new keys. Open/close windows and their locks, skylight and vista window shades. Then look for leaks if tested water system.

Obviously we didn't list everything. You have a warranty and they exist for a reason. If you have it serviced in the future, we found it helpful to ask if we can wait while being repaired if possible. This helps if you don't live conveniently close to the dealership...or if you're like us, don't like leaving the AS out of sight. Good luck and happy travels!

[DMT]

If possible have the dealer fill all tanks (black, grey, fresh) and empty them to verify the level gauges are working.

[YippieKiYa]

Originally Posted by DMT

If possible have the dealer fill all tanks (black, grey, fresh) and empty them to verify the level gauges are working.

This suggestion is great and also sets you up to be trained how to properly drain the black and grey tanks at a dump site with something a lot cleaner to practice with than the real thing! You'll be able to connect and reconnect while actually draining so you know what to expect. Everyone here has an ugly newbie black tank story which you might be able to avoid. :-)

As others have said, run everything, open everything, look in everything, ask everything.... Make a checklist to make sure you don't forget anything.

One tip from our dealer that I've heard here before, too - spend the night on their lot and run the AS through the paces. The next morning the dealer will be in to answer the questions you've discovered through real-world use. Not the most glamorous first night, but it beats finding the issue a hundred miles from a dealer. You also get a sense of what things you'll need during a practice run.

Our dealer told us about a couple who brought a tablets. One recorded all of their notes and questions on it, and the other one videoed the training on their phone. Funny how men and women hear things differently, and how a video can change the story. Don't ask how I know, or who was validated in the review. :-)

Congrats,
Larry

[WT1J]

Wow, thank you very much all. The big day is tomorrow morning and this will be super helpful.

[Hans627]

Originally Posted by WT1J

Wow, thank you very much all. The big day is tomorrow morning and this will be super helpful.

I really liked the suggestion to video tape the things you don't think you will remember. I did the same thing and have often used the videos to refresh my memory.

It should be an exciting day for you! Wishing you the best!

[WT1J]

Hi all,

Took delivery of her. Attached a pic of my wife Kerry, and I. As you can tell we're pretty happy.

We went through everything with the dealer's technician. Really great guy. The dealership has actually been pretty amazing. I don't want to post their info here - I'm guessing there are forum rules against that. But PM me for the info - happy to share.

They had filled the tanks and we had full propane tanks and shore power connected, so we could really give everything a good checking. We found a drawer that stuck slightly, the toilet fresh water hose was leaking onto the floor and there was rust on the rear bumper.

Toilet leak was fixed by tightening the black hand turned screw to connect fresh to toilet. Verified fixed.

Drawer and bumper will be fixed by dealer.

She's still on the lot and I don't have a truck until my new F150 arrives in about 6 weeks. So they're going to lend me a F150 to tow it to my storage unit where she sleeps.

They rent F150s for towing, so we'll be taking our first trip in 2 weeks (wife literally did walkthrough and then jumped on a plane to europe for 2 weeks) once Kerry is back. We're going to head out to Leavenworth to spend a few nights as a shakedown. If you have any tips on where to stay, I'd love the advice.

I have quite a bit of work ahead of me. After shakedown, we're heading out to Colorado arriving in October some time, spending thanksgiving and then will be heading down South, destination TBD, but hoping to catch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch along the way.

That means we're in for serious winter driving and winter temps, both moving and standing still. My TODO list is currently:

1. Get second Honda EU2000i.
2. Convert both gennies to Propane.
3. Prepare exterior under trailer as best I can for cold temps.

Two projects I'm considering:

Was going to upgrade all 4 wheels to 16 inches and better tires. The dealer tech seems to think the wheels and tires on there now are awesome - sorry I don't have the details with me. So I'm considering not doing this. Any thoughts? Specifically, any tires that are amazing for winter snow/ice driving?

Next one is a big one. I'm considering a Lithium upgrade. Looking at AM Solar and installing 2 X 200AH lithium on the interior, possibly in the closet. I have budget for this and I think I have time. Thing is I'm a newbie and I'll be taking a leap of faith that I actually need this. At this point, since I haven't even taken a shakedown run yet, I'm only solving a theoretical problem. Trouble is that once I KNOW it's a problem, I'm already on the road, out in Colorado, it's no longer summer and I'm freezing my @$$ off and away from my own garage in Redmond. So I need to make a call on this quite soon. Thoughts?

That's it. This post turned into a longer post than I thought it would. Again, thanks very much all for the help. We're VERY excited.

Mark.
Edit: Forum didn't like my pic, so here's a link. http://i.imgur.com/knRQZMJ.jpg

[Lara Me]

Congrats! We have an almost identical shot of me and my son at the same place!

Get the wheels. For the money, best piece of mind to ditch the standard Marathon tires. Put an ad up on the forum classifieds and you will have them sold quickly, making your 16" rim and Michelin upgrade reasonably affordable.

The solar and AGN makes sense if you boondock but otherwise not so much.

Otherwise get the Progressive Dynamics converter upgrade to save your standard batteries.

[sncnidaho]

Originally Posted by Lara Me

Congrats! We have an almost identical shot of me and my son at the same place!

Get the wheels. For the money, best piece of mind to ditch the standard Marathon tires. Put an ad up on the forum classifieds and you will have them sold quickly, making your 16" rim and Michelin upgrade reasonably affordable.

The solar and AGN makes sense if you boondock but otherwise not so much.

Otherwise get the Progressive Dynamics converter upgrade to save your standard batteries.

They purchased a 2018.........does not have marathons; Goodyear Endurance.


Also, has improved multi-stage converter. Shouldn't "cook" the batteries.

Since you're a "noob" I would just use the trailer for a while and then determine what you "really" need before dumping unnecessary $$$. However, if it were me (just my opinion), I would be very hesitant towing a 27', $90,000+ trailer in the Rocky Mountains during winter months. Conditions can change in a matter of minutes, in which you could find yourself in a very undesirable situation............especially if you're new to towing.

Having owned 4 Airstreams (just recently purchased a 2018 myself), there are a couple of things I felt were immediately necessary: a longer poop tube storage compartment (we have a 15' Rhino sewer hose and it DOES NOT fit in the factory installed storage tube) and a surge protector (went with hardwired Progressive Dynamics). The more you use your RV, you will figure what you "REALLY" need.

[YippieKiYa]

Mark,

For propane converted Honda generators, take a look at GenConnex. The folks there have been great to work with. They provide a warranty, and you wouldn't have to screw around with doing the conversion yourself.

Larry

[DewTheDew]

I'm thinking of some of these things, too, as we just bought a 2017 27 FC today for pick up in two weeks (I bought the tow truck a couple of weeks ago!). Thank you for the walk-through tips. Is there a thread somewhere about installing a converter/surge protector?

I wish I were still in Washington state but moved out to Maryland a few years ago. There should be a ton of places for you to visit in WA (Leavenworth is probably a good start so you are on the right track!). I've always liked central Oregon, east of Prineville (the Ochocos).

Best of luck from one noob to another!

[Wconley]

Congrats on your new Airstream! We're in Renton and just returned from three days in Leavenworth at Icicle River RV where the folks are really nice and the campground peaceful. Spotty wifi which is more the norm than the exception. Good TV and if you can get a spot along the river or with a grassy site I would heartily recommend it. We then moved to Lake Wenatchee State Park which was beautiful. Their north campground is where you will go with a trailer. Highly recommended. No sewer but they have a dump station at the exit. With your 27' you should have ample capacity in gray and black to make it several days. Sites 165 and 168 are two I remember being really nice. Unfortunately I can't recommend the KOA in Leavenworth. While we were at Icicle River a couple came in from the KOA where they abondoned their reservation after one night just to get away from the park. However, we have never stayed there. Beyond Leavenworth, Lincoln Rock State Park is a great place, and one of our favorites is Beebe Bridge, both between Wenatchee and Chelan. Further afield is Lake Pearrygin out of Winthrop, or Cape Disappointment State Park in the opposite direction.

Each time you go out you will learn more about what you really need versus what you think you need. For instance, you won't need two generators until you need the A/C next summer (while boondocking) and then maybe you would prefer a Micro-Start instead. With a half-ton truck you will need to watch payload so having only one generator can be important. I would say, start slow but our first trip was 2500 miles at the beginning of December. That included two nights dry camping in the snow of Yosemite with no idea how long the batteries and tank capacities would last. If you plan to Boondock, first do it somewhere a little closer to a landing pad so you learn how long you can last. It's not fun worrying about batteries to run the furnace in the middle of the night.

And as far as towing goes, if this is new to you, just take it slow and don't hurry. Lots of great people here and in campgrounds to learn from. Have fun.

[dasams]

Originally Posted by WT1J

1. Get second Honda EU2000i.
2. Convert both gennies to Propane.

I second the note above as we have a Honda 2000 that we bought from GenConneX. Perfect for us as we have an SUV and do not carry gasoline containers.

BTW, we have installed an EasyStart and can run one AC on a single Honda. Unless we are at elevation and the power output can't quite cut it. Was the case during the eclipse as we were in, wait for it, Redmond. No AC for us but fortunately we didn't need it

Originally Posted by WT1J

Was going to upgrade all 4 wheels to 16 inches and better tires. The dealer tech seems to think the wheels and tires on there now are awesome - sorry I don't have the details with me. So I'm considering not doing this.

We took delivery of our 2018 27FB three days ago after spending a year in our 2017 25RB. That one had the Marathon tires that you were warned about (65 mph limit) but as the poster above stated, 2018 has Endurance tires that are rated to 87 mph. Day and night difference.

Enjoy your adventure, Dave

[sncnidaho]

I have to correct myself. The sewer hose storage tube on the new AiRstreams are much larger than in the past (2013). I have a 15' Rhino and it fits NO PROBLEM in the 2018 storage tube. GOOD NEWS.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

A lot of the "what you need to do" relates to how far away the dealer is. If you can head off for a weekend and easily swing past the dealer after camping, the list is a bit less intense. A 20 minute drive is less of an issue than a 7 hour round trip. You have a two year warranty so there's a lot of time to get minor items taken care of. I'd focus more on the "learning" and less on the "inspecting" unless the dealer is a long ways away.

Bob

[WA_Airstream]

We have stayed at the KOA in the past which was really busy - but had lots of families camping. We will stay at the icicle river RV park next time!