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Old 08-25-2021, 09:31 AM   #1
1 Rivet Member
 
2022 25' International
Charlotte , North Carolina
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 19
Pre-Acceptance Punch List

As a soon-to-be owner of an International 25RBT, I'm interested in hearing about what things to look for when delivery-day finally arrives. Does anybody have a punch list of things to inspect before I accept delivery of the trailer?

I'd be especially interested in the wisdom of "things I would do differently if I knew then what I know now".
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Old 08-25-2021, 10:21 AM   #2
Half a Rivet Short
 
2017 30' Classic
2022 Interstate 24X
Carlisle , Pennsylvania
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 15,684
Hi

Delivery day is already an "overload" situation. You have a bunch of paperwork to go through and go over. There's the normal "hurry up and wait" associated with any organization. You will spend somewhere between two and three hours on a walk through of the trailer. A *ton* of stuff will be presented as part of that.

There are some really crazy things you could spend *days* going through. If you are not a trained RV tech, chances are pulling the tires to look at the brakes isn't going to do much for you. You don't know what you're looking at ....

Check each of the appliances and systems to make sure they work. If it's 98 degrees out, seeing that the heater runs may not be practical. In the summer, seeing that the A/C works is indeed practical.

Make sure all the cabinets, doors, and drawers open, close and latch properly. This includes the latches on the outside storage bins.

The bigger issue is to be sure you understand how to operate the various devices. You very much want to know how to safely hitch and unhitch the trailer. That includes leveling on a site and proper use of chocks (as well as the stabilizers).

A bit more mundane is the proper way to handle the tanks, their cleaning, and dumping. This is not the area you want to get a "surprise" in. Even dealing with the vent fans and "stink flow" is important to understand ( = open a window, don't pull the air through the black tank ....).

Little things matter. The switch on the power pole gets turned off *before* you plug in and only gets turned on after all cables are hooked up. When you tear down, the stuff inside the trailer gets turned off first. Then the switch on the pole gets turned off. Finally you start unplugging cables ...

Yes, that swerved away from "punch down" pretty quickly. You have a three year warranty. If you find issues with this or that, you have a *lot* of time to get them fixed. It's way better to focus on safety and operation details than on inspecting for loose wire nuts behind every outlet ....

Bob
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Old 08-25-2021, 11:07 AM   #3
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2022 25' International
Charlotte , North Carolina
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 19
Quote:
Originally Posted by uncle_bob View Post
Hi

Yes, that swerved away from "punch down" pretty quickly. You have a three year warranty. If you find issues with this or that, you have a *lot* of time to get them fixed. It's way better to focus on safety and operation details than on inspecting for loose wire nuts behind every outlet ....

Bob
It's all good! I appreciate the nuggets of wisdom that'll help with the experience. I read post where someone said their door didn't seal properly and the lock wouldn't engage. Another poster asked why they accepted it at delivery. That got me wondering about having a consolidated list of stuff to check before accepting.
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Old 08-26-2021, 07:56 AM   #4
Half a Rivet Short
 
2017 30' Classic
2022 Interstate 24X
Carlisle , Pennsylvania
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 15,684
Hi

Ok, let's take the door lock as an example. To do a full up check the items would be:

1) Check top lock for engagement from inside
2) Check bottom lock for engagement from inside
3) Check top lock engagement from outside
4) Check bottom lock engagement from inside
5) Check latch engagement, should be X to Y pounds force to engage
6) Check screw tension on top lock at door rim (should be Z foot pounds )
7) Check screw tension on top lock face (should be N foot pounds)
8) Check screw tension on bottom lock face. (should be K foot pounds)
9) Check all keys in top lock
10) Check all keys in bottom lock

That's just the lock on the door, we haven't made it to the screen which is kinda sorta part of the door. Is this a bit over the top? Sure it is. However if you are going to do this by a checklist *and* use that to be sure the locks are right, that's the level you get into.

If you continue at this level, you will have 10's of thousands of entries on the list. Even at a couple seconds each, by the time you read them, execute them, check them off ... you have spend days at this.

Based on years doing this sort of stuff, you will miss about 20% of the stuff on that list. You simply can't stay focused for that period of time on this stuff and not make mistakes. You aren't a trained RV tech ...There are a *ton* of papers and books on QA that back this up.

These issues are random. There is no "5 things wrong" on all trailers. What matters a lot is your dealer. His trained techs (plural) should be spending a day or two ( yes 8 to 16 hours times multiple techs ) to do a basic check of the RV. They do have a checklist, but it's a single page. It does not get into the kind of detail above or depth that some suggest *you* should get into. ( .... pull the wheels and bearings, examine them for each for issues ...).

Buying an AS should be fun. Buying ours was. You will check all the big stuff as part of the walk through. Don't turn it into several days of drudgery. You *do* have a warranty.

Indeed spending the night in the trailer "camping out" at the dealer is a really good idea. You will exercise most of the systems on the trailer. If you forget how this or that works, you can ask in the morning. If there are issues, you can go over them in the morning.

My point is that you can overcomplicate / over think this. It's a very common thing to do:

In the 5 years we have owned it, our trailer has *never* been stuck waiting for service in a dealer lot. Total time "being worked on" by anybody other than me is under a week. Even then, we lived in the trailer while it was being upgraded and taken care of. Based on conversations with a number of other owners, this is the typical case.

Do folks have horror stories? Sure they do. Are they making them up? Nope. My guess is that a 10,000 item check list would have done nothing to help in the vast majority of those cases. Stuff breaks as you roll down the road .... dealers with lousy service provide poor work on day one, just as they do a month or a year later. There are some awful dealers out there. We drive "a ways" (passing up on several closer alternatives) to get to our preferred dealers.

Bob
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Old 08-26-2021, 08:03 AM   #5
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2021 27' Globetrotter
Malibu , California
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 400
If I could go back in time I would negotiate 1-2 pre-booked service appointments. As others said, on the day of delivery you won’t find anything and I am sure they checked that the bigger appliances work.

But you will find stuff in the first 2-3 weeks so having an appointment a month out for a 2-day service is very useful. Then I would try to get a week-long service 2-3 months out, and make sure that the parts are ordered well in advance otherwise your AS will sit on the lot for weeks.
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Old 08-26-2021, 08:15 AM   #6
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2021 30' Globetrotter
Oviedo , Florida
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 1,357
On top of the obvious things (making sure the AC, furnace and other appliances work, go around and look for loose stuff in places that are hidden but still accessible. Run the water in the sinks for a while. Look under the sink and look for leaks (my kitchen P-trap was loose and leaked into the drawer below it. Open the bed compartments and see what electronics are stuffed in there. Check to make sure everything is secured. I just found my inverter was not attached to anything and had been flopping around for a few thousand miles. Run your hands along surfaces to make sure the wall panels are not delaminating. I just found that on the panel between my fridge and bathroom divider. Make sure air is actually coming out of the AC vents. Lots of documented cases of the ducting being screwed up. If you have 2 ACs make sure each one blows air thru all the vents (front and rear AC ducts are connected). Let the AC run while your doing your inspection. You should see water dripping from the wheel well on the passenger side of the trailer. If you see water dripping from the roof on the door side, one or both of the drain lines might be blocked. This may or may not be a simple fix.

The trailer is not going to be perfect. Decide what you can live with and what can be deferred to repair appointment. CMHM made a good point, negotiate at least one service appointment within the first few weeks of acceptance. That will give you time to find other things.
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Old 08-26-2021, 08:20 AM   #7
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2012 30' International
Walkerton , Virginia
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If you can stay in the trailer at the dealership for a day or two, you will be miles ahead as far as understanding how things work, and if things do not work as they should.

Take more time than you think you need.

Pat
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