What should I look for during TM inspection?

Two more days and I go pick up my new (to me) TM!!  . It is a 2 2001 2720. I am so exited!! The dealer has promised a thorough inspection and a three hour "course" on how it all works. Being absolutely new to RVs I am a little nervous I won't ask the right questions. I would appreciate any advice!  
- What should I ask?
- What should I check for?
Thank you, you are all so nice.

Welcome to our RVing "family."  My guess is a 3 hour course on how it works will be thorough, but here are some of my thoughts.  My major suggestion is that you take along your camcorder and videotape the entire walk through.  It had been over 20 years since I helped out with my parent's RV, so I wanted a videotape to fall back on once I left the dealership.  Also, the service manager took out the unit with me, and let me drive it a bit on the city streets, and also adjusted the brakes for me at that time so they had the right delay.  A good dealer will take you out for a spin with the unit so he or she can let you get the feel of towing something.  

Even though I am the "strong, silent type," when the dealer offered to take me out for practice, I knew it was definitely not the time to play it cool, and I really appreciated their advice on making turns and using the mirrors, etc.  

Finally, make sure they take you through everything, including how to use the refrigerator on AC, 12v and gas (the only one that requires any real intelligence is the gas), lighting the stove and oven, lighting the hot water heater on gas, and charging the toilet.  I would also strongly recommend them letting you completely open and close the unit with their supervision, and put up and adjust the awning as well.  I would also ask their advice on hitching up the unit, and adjusting the weight distributing parts to get the load proper on the tow vehicle.

Also, any questions I okay to ask when you’re new to RVing.  Even if the dealer is so crass enough to chuckle at something you ask, (they probably won’t be) don’t let that bother you -- you’re putting a lot of money into this unit, and the last thing you want to do is have any questions unanswered once you have picked up the unit.  You may also wish to ask them at the end “Is there anything I’ve forgotten to ask you that you think I should know about?”  

Having said all of this, operating and using a Trailmanor is not rocket science, and I have no doubt that with a thorough walk through and tape record of it, you’ll do fine.  

Let us know on the board how everything went, and good luck!

[Civil_War_Buff]

F.J. and Ellen make some very good points here. I know that when we did our walkthrough, there is SO MUCH information that you are trying to absorb....it's easy to forget something. I found that the easiest mistakes to make are in the order that things are to be done...a video would allow you view and review as many times as necessary until you felt comfortable.
If you can't video, take lots of notes that can be turned into a checklists.

One thing that we didn't check at the walkthrough that I wish I had is the outside shower...check it for pressure and leaks.

Most of all, enjoy your new home on wheels...after all it IS part of the family now. 8)

Okay.  Can someone tell me why these ’ in my responses are all about?  They show up a lot and I wonder if somehow we can't put quotation marks in our replies.

It's really annoying, as it makes it look as though I can't spell!

[Civil_War_Buff]

Okay. Can someone tell me why these ’ in my responses are all about? They show up a lot and I wonder if somehow we can't put quotation marks in our replies.

It's really annoying, as it makes it look as though I can't spell!

Oh, you weren't doing that on purpose?? In my case I can't spell.

It might have to do with your font settings in your tools, options, general, fonts, etc. see what they are and make sure it's Times Roman Courier New.

Larry

Civil War Buff kinda touched on it, but one thing to take note of during your walkthrough is the sequence of things as far as setting up, and taking it down. There is a certain order to do things, and a checklist will help greatly. (lol, anyone close their unit to find they forgot to unplug it from the service like myself?) Another good source of info on this as it's been talked about a great deal in here already is to put "inspection" in the search engine and see what comes up in past posts. Hope this helps!


[glow=red,2,300]Happytrails.......[/glow]

Couple of thoughts:

Make sure the door catches properly and well. On our new 2001 2720SL it didn't and had to be worked on.

See if you can get a hose and spray all over the camper, around windows, along any edges. Ours had a minor leak and had to be recaulked around a window.

Maybe the dealer could fire up the furnace to get propane in the system and then check all over the gas lines and tanks for leaks.

Maybe you could put water in the tank, turn on the pump to pressurize the system, and check all over for leaks.

If you have one, make sure the hanging cabinet is level. Ours wasn't.

Have fun!!!!!

Phil