WE BOUGHT A NEW CARDINAL 31RK!!!!!!!!!!!!

[markj]

Ok folks--I'm one of you! Last Saturday we bought the 31RK. It was a demo model, so we got a reduced price, free hitch, airborne pin box, battery. They're preparing it now. We close & do PDI on the 16th!

Any suggestions you have for me on the PDI would be appreciated. I have a PDI suggested by a rv.net member.

We're planning a trip to Baja, Alaska & around the USA in the next 3-4 years. So I'm also considering the suspension upgrades. If anyone has suggestions there? I hear trailair or equivalent suspensions can really reduce bouncing in the 5er. I'm quite concerned about our rough roads today--especially Alaska!

Anyway, I'll be around to talk. In fact, I love to type (retired typing teacher) and communicate with people with similar interests! Mark

[romantraveler]

Congratulations on your new fiver. The one thing I would suggest is a change of tires if they are from China. Can save you a lot of greif down the road. I run Michelin xps ribs on mine.

Have a great time.

RT

[Luizianna]

Hey Mark!! Congratulations and Welcome to the "nest" as some say!! Keep us posted on how your pdi goes and let us see some pics!! Also tell us alllll about your rv adventures. Be sure and check out the club flag! It sure would look purty flyin high above the Redbird!

[Shields]

Common problems..
Insure that satellite and tv hookups are correct.
Make sure the pan underneath hass all the screws and that they go into something other than air.
Make sure the drain pipes are properly supported.
Ask for a termination valve at the waste outlet. Makes life much easier.
If you have the dining table with extension, make them put a snap closure on the extension. It bounces open on the road.
Make sure the clock is secure on the wall. Ours fell.
Have them install, or you can, an accumulator on the water pump. Much quieter and more consistent pressure for the shower.
Have them wire the front jacks direct to the battery with its own fuse, and have spare fuses.
Hatch door by the entrance will open into the awning bracket, they must put a bumper on or there will be a hole in the door quickly.
Get some good leveling blocks to take along. Wherever we park the bed is always downhill!
Heat it up and air out the formaldehyde from the building materials. It bugs you for a while.
The kitchen cabinets have no dividers and dishes slide back and forth. Find some restraints to pot in there. I made 1/4" baltic birch dividers, some use sticky materials on the shelves.
Make sure ALL hinges and drawers are adjusted properly. Drawers are to drop into a locking slot...some don't work so well
Check the pantry for secure shelves. Ours were pretty slintzyly built. It should have more shelf support for the food you put there, especially on the trailer side. I cut 1/2" x 2" side posts to go between each shelf on both sides from floor to the top shelf. Front support is fine, but if you anticipate rough roads reinforce them.
I used foam spray to insulate holes in bottom of the pantry where all the electrical cutouts are. big air leaks there.
Our drawer slides were screwed to the back of the trailer, however, the guy doing it was in a hurry. Most of the screws were laying on the floor.
And a built-in vacuum is very nice.
For cold weather, put an insulation blanket under the bed on the plywood. Makes your bottomside warmer while sleeping.
Buy a small electric heater for the bedroom area for cold weather, more effective than propane, and if on hookups cheaper.


THat is enough for now. Nothing big, but stuff we encountered in the first year that you may as well be forewarned about.

[Don Wilson]

Mark,
Congrats on the new fiver!!!!!!!!!!

Ditto on the tires!

Two main things to check out are the air conditioner(s) and the furnace. Turn on the furnace and heat up the trailer and then turn on the AC and cool it off.

They should have the hot water heater on and check to make sure you have hot water at all faucets including the shower. Turn on your cold water faucets as well and While they are running check under the cabinet for any leaks in the supply lines and drains. Then check the underbelly for leaks in your supply lines.

If your trailer has a thermostatic controlled fantastic fan make sure they explain the operation of it, both auto and manual.

You should also have them show where the water heater bypass valve is in case you need to winterize you will not use excessive antifreeze. Also have them point out your drain lines for the hot water heater and fresh water tank.

They will show you how to use your awnings. This can be very important when you camp in an area with winds as you will need to be able to roll it up, at times in a hurry! I would suggets you and your wife roll it out and roll it back up a couple of times yourself so you will be familiar with its operation. It is better to do this while someone can show you rather than trying to figure it out on your own in the middle of high winds.

The day and night blinds are somewhat of a pain. They need to be raised and lowered evenly or they will catch and the slats come out on one end and sometimes tear the fabric.

Several members have suggested taking a DVD and playing it to make sure the system works and also take a CD for the sound systems. I have heard of several problems with Concertone units.

These are a few of the things my wife and I thought of. There are going to be more and the members of this website are wonderful with the information they provide!!

If you have a video camera you may want to video the operations as your PDI guy does his walk through.

Don

[campswithcritters]

Welcome Mark and congrats on the rig! As everybody says "tires", especially for high mileage plans such as yours. Be sure to get a quality tire with suitable load rating, I chose Michelin XPS ribs as many others have. As far as suspension, after more than 25K miles pulling this one around, the stock suspension is not that bad. Having said that, I have an appointment to have Mor-Ryde independant suspension installed on mine. My main reason for selecting Mor-Ryde was that they also can upgrade the unit to disc brakes at the same time. My rig is heavy as we full-time in it and I want the fade resistant extra braking power offered with discs. I am also increasing axle capacity at the same visit, not because I plan on going over limits, just to have a stronger axle. See ya on the road somewhere!

[Luizianna]

When Don mentioned day/night shades I thought of something...have the tech loosen the tension in them to make them easier to go up and down. When ours was really tight my DH tore two of ours trying to get them up or down. When they were replaced I had the tech loosen the tension in all of the day/night shades.

As I said in another post...take a movie with you and check out the surround sound to make sure it is working properly.

Let us know how it goies!!

[bop11]

markj,
We took a video camera with us during our PDI. We have went back and watched several things a couple of times especially hitching and unhitching. When we bought our Bird we were very green at using a fifth wheel.
We are very happy with our 30TS and the only problems we've had are; they replaced the Concertone which the tech found to be defective before the PDI and a limit switch on the furnace.
Welcome to the club and as I'm sure you allready know you can get alot of valuable information here and the great thing is no one will criticize you for asking.

[Luizianna]

markj,
Welcome to the club and as I'm sure you allready know you can get alot of valuable information here and the great thing is no one will criticize you for asking.

Thank you bop11, that is one of the nicest things anyone could say about this club!

[markj]

WOW! You guys are great! I printed your suggestions, will retype my PDI with your suggestions in mind. My son will accompany me on Friday so I'll have him video tape. And I have a 19" TV for the bedroom I'll take along, also a DVD/CD too. thanks again.

Several of your suggestions probably involve areas not covered by the PDI--like reinforcements, wiring the jacks, etc. I have a trusted RV tech (the dealer for the cardinal is 50 miles away) here locally that I'll have do some of the items mentioned.

Oh say BIG question: My 31RK cupboards where they are double cupboards came together and hit each other when closing. I mentioned that in my pre-PDI problem list. The salesman said they will do that if it's not level. But, a friend I've met who just bought my model said his do not. Does anyone have that problem when you're unlevel or otherwise?

Again, I feel part of the group already. DW retires in 2 years (teacher also) so we'll mainly use it in the summers until then. Mark

[Shields]

Ours didn't, but now do. Have them readjust as they did ours. I think a lot of "settling" goes on and the MDF they are built of moves some.

Dealer rewired my jacks for me because the connector came loose from its crimp connector, which he said they always do.

So tug on the wire connectors and make sure theyt are all firm and tight.

Al

[campswithcritters]

Oh say BIG question: My 31RK cupboards where they are double cupboards came together and hit each other when closing. I mentioned that in my pre-PDI problem list. The salesman said they will do that if it's not level. But, a friend I've met who just bought my model said his do not. Does anyone have that problem when you're unlevel or otherwise?
Mark

Mark, That salesman is full of it......None of my cabinet doors do anything different dependent on trailer level or any other factors. If it has not been fixed just kindly ask that he show you by leveling it up, that will prove him wrong. This is my second 5th wheel and 4th camper, if a cabinet door doesn't fit it will never fit until repositioned properly.

[Don Wilson]

Markj,

I just thought of one more thing. Make sure they show you the handles to dump your holding tanks. My trailer has two handles in the under belly storage area and one in the wheel well in front of the tire.

The reason I suggest this is I knew I had three holding tanks but because I could only find two valves I assumed the gray water and galley tanks were connected and only had one valve. The galley tank set partially full for several weeks until someone on the site talked about where the third handle was located.

I have seen several new trailers that have a spin off port where the galley handle is located, but my 2004 WBLX doesn't.

Don