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Old 08-29-2007, 02:53 PM   #1
tgrucelski
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Plymouth
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M.O.C. #7552
Crunched for time...

Greetings all,

I am rather crunched for time here - as in I should have joined this forum sooner.

Been contemplating this for several months now and finally made the decision to pull the trigger last Thursday based on upcoming work. One of the dealers I had been to back in June was able to set me up with a fresh-off-the-line '08 3400. Taking delivery tomorrow, no I'm not just scared, more like petrified. I've downloaded the PDI checklist I found here and while most of it is common sense, it's just alot of ground to cover, esp. for a newbie. I consider myself to be above average mechanically inclined or whatever you want to call it, knowing how things are supposed to work etc., but never thought to ask if the dealer has full hookup capability (plumbing-wise) to test everything down to the last detail but I will certainly ask.

Question is what is the bare minimum time I ought to spend before signing off on this? I did stop by the dealer late this afternoon (after having hitch installed - still absorbing that) to take a looksee and one of the salesmen had told me typically a couple of hours total. Will take a hard copy of the PDI checklist with me for sure but I was just curious how much time the rest of you have spent on this, ie. has the majority done the dry-run overnight at a campground close to the dealer before signing?

Thanks in advance for any respones, I will followup with a proper introduction and perhaps a new username (provided the admin allows it) to reflect wife and our 1yr. old daughter.

Thanks in advance,

tgrucelski
 
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Old 08-29-2007, 03:30 PM   #2
bsmeaton
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Congratulations - and welcome to the Forum!

First I recommend that you relax and enjoy the time. I would look at it like this:

The Dealer knows the coach is warrantied, and they only have interest in showing you how it works and collecting the money. PDI most likely means nothing to them, as they have already looked it over and are anxious to move on to the next customer.

From your perspective - you are going to miss some items. Just remember the Dealer is obligated to fix anything that goes wrong and will fix it whether you find it at delivery or months down the road. Things that would cause me to refuse taking delivery of a unit would be major flaws that I know the Dealer would be incapable of fixing properly. These type of things would include damage, flaws, poor assembly. If you believe it would require a trip to the factory to get a proper fix, refuse the unit and let the Dealer work it out with Keystone while you pick out another 3400.

Enjoy!
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Old 08-29-2007, 03:34 PM   #3
unfinished91
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It can take as long or as short a time as you want. It is not uncommon to spend one or two nights in it before you sign the papers(at the dealer). We spent 3 nights in ours at the dealer checking things out and transferring belongings to our new trailer. Even with this length of time there were still things that I didn't remember till weeks later.
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Old 08-29-2007, 03:42 PM   #4
richfaa
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We spent 4 full hours on the PDI.Do not leave the lot or sign anything till you are satisfied that the camper is in good working order. be prepared to walk away if you find a major flaw. It is your money.
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Old 08-29-2007, 03:44 PM   #5
Mrs. CountryGuy
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We crawled all over ours, under ours, on ours, in the closets, on our hands and knees and on anything we could stand on.

We were at dealer for 8 hours, and left, came back a week later and they had most of the stuff fixed. Most were minor repairs.

Take along a digital recorder or video camera, record EVERYTHING that is said by that salesman or whomever does the PDI with you.

Hint: the valve to pull the galley water is hidden and is something that comes up here at MOC a LOT!!! Ask to be shown the 3rd handle. It is NOT in the convenience center, it is usually under, near the tires, close to where your kitchen is on that particular unit.

And, as said here before: Enjoy the experience! and the new Montana.
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Old 08-29-2007, 05:15 PM   #6
Charlie
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We spent about four hours on our PDI. Major problem that we discovered was a leak in the propane system that took two days to locate and repair before we accepted. As Brad said.... there will be things that you will miss and find later, but that is why you have a year. Make sure the major things are working properly. Enjoy the excitement of a new trailer!!!!!
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Old 08-29-2007, 06:39 PM   #7
Montana Sky
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I spent two hours on my own going over both of my Montana's before the actual PDI. The dealer has always done their own prep before I even saw the rig, then did another PDI with me on day of delivery. My PDI's with the dealership took less than 3 hours.

The PDI list on the MOC is very in depth, but remember it is not the bible. Do what makes you feel comfortable before leaving the shop.
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Old 08-30-2007, 03:10 AM   #8
Mudchief
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Congratulations on your new unit. Don't get caught up in the PDI. Just enjoy the excitement of your new unit. I have purchased 2 new Montana's and my PDI consisted of making sure I knew how to operate everything. I then took them on a short shake down trip and enjoyed them. At the same time I looked for things that were wrong and needed to be fixed under warranty. Lucky me I never found anything wrong that required me to have to take them back.
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Old 08-30-2007, 06:58 AM   #9
simonsrf
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Congratulations on buying a very fine unit.

We found that the PDI was a pretty good start, but we did not know enough about the unit to be able to ask good questions.

Take a deep breath, ask the obvious questions on how it works, and then look to your good friends on the MOC to fill in the gaps.

And most of all, make your repair lists, your stupid questions list....and slow down and enjoy, relax.
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Old 08-30-2007, 08:37 AM   #10
Verle and Sue
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I'll be honest, we signed the papers before we even saw our actual unit, BUT, we had had a very good experience with this dealership and all the employees. Walnut Ridge also has a campground and gives 2 free nights for the purpose of letting you get to know your rig and check it all out. We found a couple of items which they came over to the campsite and fixed on the spot. We tried almost everything (using the PDI from MOC) while at that campsite and left completely satisfied. The only thing we have found a problem with since is, although our entertainment center appears to play DVDs and CDs correctly, after playing an audiobook for a couple of hours it starts skipping. When we tested it, we only played a couple of minutes to be sure it all worked, so we didn't catch this problem in those first few days. So, I'll second everybody's suggestion to relax and enjoy the unit, we sure are, oh, and welcome to MOC. MOC is great about answering questions and giving advice and suggestions. Sue and Verle C
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Old 08-30-2007, 09:09 AM   #11
rldriver
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We took about 4 hours on our Big Sky from a dealer that we trust and have been good to us. I had sent a copy of the PDI to them a week early so they could go over it before we got there. They said they did.

Just make sure you understand how things operate and that they work, as said before enjoy the ride you "will" need to take it back in a month or two to get some items brought up to your satisfaction.

Enjoy the best RV that is made...

Dick
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Old 08-30-2007, 09:29 AM   #12
tcorbitt
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When we purchased ours, we also had a hitch installed by the dealer. We purchased on a weekend, the following Wednesday they installed the hitch (took about 2 hours), during which time, I ran through the PDI list. This was before they prep'd the 5th.

They took marked up list, fixed everything on it when they prep'd the unit. The following Saturday morning, we went to take delivery and DW ran through the entire list again (another two hours). This worked great for us as everything I was able to find they fixed before we took delivery, and then DW found another few items I didn't notice on her own. We then took a short 3 day trip, dropped if off on the way back for the other 3-4 items (one was an ordered part, the darn rechargable flashlight), they fixed everything... That was 18 months ago and the last time we were at the dealer. About 5-6 other items needed repair since then, which they sent a tech to our home to complete the repairs..

Good luck and enjoy..
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Old 02-02-2008, 03:24 PM   #13
Tiffensdad
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Welcome to the forum. Like others have said, enjoy the excitement on the new rig. If you have a good dealer you should have no problems getting anything you miss fixed. When you do your PDI, spend some quiet time with the rig, without reps from the dealership. When we did ours, it was on 3 seperate days, 3 - 4 hours each day, about 4 days apart. 1st day I looked at all the major items and listed any problems, second day it was check the repairs on the previous items and look at all the minor items and list problems. The 3rd day was delivery day. All repairs were checked, then we went through the operation of the unit with the service tech. We signed paperwork after this walkabout. We did a final check of the rig, caught a couple of items that we missed at first and those were fixed on the spot while we transfered our stuff from the old rig.
Take your time, get to know where everything is and that it all is in good shape and most of all enjoy the experience.
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Old 02-03-2008, 05:04 AM   #14
bsmeaton
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I think if you look at the Date of that post there JD, you'll find he was pickin er up the next day and that was 6 months ago!

He's already a seasoned Monty owner by now
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Old 02-03-2008, 06:01 AM   #15
Fire5er
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We went with our friends one weekend and spent 6 hours going through the PDI on their 3400RL, and then the very next weekend we went back and did the same thing on our 3400RL. I fully agree with those that say relax and enjoy, but also don't sign or give them the check until you are satisfied that everything works right. Our dealer has been great to work with, but we have heard some very scary stories. Good luck and let us know how your PDI goes.
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