Howe, Indiana/fulltiming in the southwest, slide out problem

[berghild]

Well, here we are in Howe...tomorrow is when we move to Paul Cross's shop. they take the rig in for repairs from 8 to 5 on friday. I hope it's a little earlier so we can head for our sfavorite Elks Lodge in New Castle, In. and get there in time for dinner!
It's a little disconcertin to see that we are the 4th DRV unit in this park. With the shop and the DRV factory about 3 miles away, I can only presume that they are here for work to be done. Maybe I will get to meet some of them this evening.
To the fellow that wondered why we would any of us would buy another DRV unit.....well we love our rig. Every year they seem to do better....and I see that some of the rigs and floor plans are things I wanted to get done or had done when we ordered our rig.
I feel like we all are the guinea pigs in the years since DRV started up. I wish we weren't though. but if I could afford it and was younger, I would buy another DRV.
I love my home. I only wish we were more techno savvy to fix some things ourselves . Roadworthy (sp?) is our favorite forum guru. but I can't keep up with his improvements and admit I don't even understand most of them!
It's too bad that they (DRV) doesn't read this forum on a daily basis.

[berghild]

and it's important to remember that these are homes on wheels....getting beat up by pot holes in rv parks and back roads, the awful Interstate system and some of the time the toll roads...we have been everywhere with every kind of road so some stuff could be our fault but the main problems that we are having come directly from DRV.

[porkchop]

We were in Howe yesterday. There were 2 DRV's parked in their lot and 3 across the road at Cruiser's parking lot. We all, and around 10 other people were there to tour the factory. If you've never done it, it's well worth the time. Every Tuesday AM at 08:30.
Sure answered a lot of my questions about how and why things are done the way they are. They will pretty much do anything you want. There were a dozen or more units being built with all sorts of modifications.
I'm no longer worried about my batt insulation falling down while I drive down the road. And I can not for the life of me figure out how 1 got out of there with no insulation in several areas. They will answer ANY question that anyone asks. And explain how and why.
I was compleately impressed. I asked at the end to talk to a customer service man to get a few questions regarding a few problems I was having. They put me with "Jimmy". He came into our unit and answered my questions and offered some advice on lots of things I did not even ask. He looked under my unit and was not very impressed with the job of using duct tape to tape the underbelly together after a repairman had opened it up a while back.
He said "We can't have one of our units going down the road looking like that!"
When we left he had given me a roll of Eternabond, 2 tubes of caulk and an assortment of other things and more technical maintenance advice than I could digest. All for free. That is customer service.
I spent almost 4 hours there looking in, under and over everything I could. Every employee would take time with me when I asked a question.
The tour guide (sorry, I do not remember his name) brought up Paul Cross's company and several I was not fimiliar with. He said they all got their start working for DRV and they were more than happy to recommend their shops for any work to be done. Pretty strong recomendation.
Before any one asks again, NO. I do not work for DRV or any dealer. Neither does anyone in my family. Nor anyone I know. I am a retired truck driver and electrical engineer from Nebraska. I am 61 years old, have been married for 44 years to the same saint. (You do the math) With 3 daughters, 9 grands and 2 great grands. We both retired 4 years ago. Still own the farm and feed yard. Figured it was time to let the kids do the work while we traveled.
Hope this enough to prove me innocent. Just a satisfied customer.

[berghild]

another rig just pulled into this campground..5 DRVs they must have appointments at DRV. when i called in april they said they were taking appointments in October....I already had commitments for October...and I'm not very predictable anyway...... So I am very lucky that Paul has sqeezed us in. I hope they can work some solutions in.
IF that guy at the factory saw our roof....well every seam is sealed with
tht eternabond stuff...really ugly. I did hear that some manufacturers are using that stuff on every seam Prior to adding the "skin". That sounds like a good idea. Cyndy

[RGordon]

Question for Porkchop! What keeps the insulation from settling down when travelling down the road? You said you were not worried any longer. I tend to believe that my insulation is not good at the top of the walls. If the wait time for factory service is 6 months out, sounds to me like they are having more issues than people are letting on. Hope I never need their service.

[wingnut60]

I would expect the appointment lead time would depend on how in depth the work is to be. I asked last Aug about getting in and they had an opening on 9/30 for me.

[Cheif 2]

Berghild,
I think I am right down the road from you. I have the 38RL3 with the International tow vehicle. Will be out most of the day in Goshen and Elkhart getting my day/night shades repaired, but hope to speak with you later. Yes, I will be going in on Monday to the factory for the long list of needed repairs primarily from just traveling down the road, but some from poor design.
Gary

[berghild]

hi i thought i saw your wife go into the trailer last night when i was walking the dog. we are hoping to stay here until 2:30 to be at the shop by three. we will spend the night there and i supposed we will have to pull out tomorrow by 5. sorry we will miss you.
hope all goes well for you at the factory.
Cyndy and howard

[berghild]

i mis-spoke (is that really a word?) last night. when I called in April they said the were booking for July. Since I had to be on the East coast by June 15th that wouldn't work for me. He went on to say if I wanted to book for Fall to call (someone's name that I don't remember) because he knew they were booking for September and maybe even October. He also stated that The Fall was booking fast because of people stopping by here on their way South for the Winter.

[hitchup]

We're heading this weekend to Howe. Paul Cross is squeezing us in for repairs and upgrades next week.

Only four items were DRV mostly minor errors, missing shoe mold and pantry wall popping out. Plus - check on miswire of Power Mgm System and check to see if we forgot to add Foam behind upper part of fridge which had a recall. Also, having annual maintenance on equipment to keep up warranty.

The other items are wear and tear on slide awnings and a few upgrades including the desk/dinette they are putting into the 2011's.

I don't believe it's a negative that you see so many Suites in the area. But that they have sold so MANY Suites in the last 7 years and over time, eventually everyone needs work on them. We've never used a dealer and would prefer to go to the Experts on Suites. We love our Suite, too and are maintaining it so it will give us many many more years on the Road.

We need to call about the Factory Tour, too. Enjoyed the one in 2008 and enjoy seeing the whole process up close.

[berghild]

holy mackerel........a desk dinette....i have the dinette booth but have always wished it could be a desk too! i will have to check that out! Cyndy

[hitchup]

Go thru the Fac Tour and you should see one in the MS or ES.
It's not actually a working desk like we wanted. We didn't have time to design one ourselves, but it will be attached to the wall vs the residential desk we were using.
Our desk drawer kept opening up during travel even with a lock. So decided this will work for us better. I just need to figure out what to put our file folders in, since there are no file drawers.

Vickie

[bstark]

David has described what I believe to be the single biggest reason why so many rigs are appearing at DRV and other service areas in and around Howe: - The various dealers, for the most part, are just not up to snuff on making some of the repairs required from time to time on these units.

As porkchop explained in his post; most of the DRV 'authorized' or 'recommended' service facilities in that area have been started up by ex-employees with a variety of experience actually building them and are well versed in the way they were assembled.

Most of the dealers, on the other hand, have too much capital investment in other (lesser) types of trailers to maintain the skill sets needed to have cabinetry work, for example, done without it looking like a rabid beaver needed his breakfast in a hurry.

That location is simply rife with RV component suppliers up to and including the suspension systems under your rig and when you show up at a place like Trailair to have anything you suspect may not be correct with your trailers suspension looked at, you will be treated accordingly at that location as well. Dale Fenton (Trailair) owns a DRV product and considers them a "family" group.

For most of us who've owned these things for a while; the problems with them are no more daunting than for any other major purchase and certainly no more prevelant than ANY other RV. They require maintenance on a regular basis as does any other item with wheels under it and the best place to get that done is near where they are built as a scheduled run south from the northland as a snowbird or perhaps as a run to their location as a bit of a holiday trip in it's own right. Lot's to see and do around Shipshewanna and Middllebury if you've never been there before with the larger areas around Goshen and Elkhart supplying anything you could desire.

There's no need for the trip to the factory area to be a PITA if you approach it with the correct mindset.

[high cotton]

We were at the factory today to have a second a/c installed. Fly (Shane Huff) was our tech and did a fine job and answered our questions. We received our '10 32 ' in March and it has been great. Before the Mobile Suite, we had had an Excel for 10 years. We have been full time rvs for 10 years and you have to have a very well built unit for it not to fall apart on the highways. My husband keeps an eye on all the maintenance that is needed. We have been pleased with DRV and their response to any questions that we have had. We called for an appointment about 6 weeks ahead and had no problem getting in. This is their busy season with owners moving from the north to the south. So far we like what we have and hope to keep it gong for many years.

[porkchop]

Gordon, They spray the walls with a glue of some sort and then push the insulation into it. It is a batt insulation, but not fiberglass. I'm not sure what it is made out of, but it almost felt like a wool product. They said it has a higher R rating than fiberglass but no formaldihide products in it. They admit that the aluminum framing has a zero R factor. It is actually a conductor. That may be why the top part of the walls feel different than the lower parts. More aluminum up high due to the framing of the walls and roof plates. The interior wall covering has a vapor barrier on both sides to stop the flow of moisture either way. That's 1 of the reasons why sometimes the inside windows will fog up when running the furnace. We always crack a window on the down wind side if possible. It makes for a slightly more comfortable atmosphere.
Their service area is not that large. Seems to be just several doors plus what they can do outside. They really could add on here and offer quicker service. That would really shorten the wait period.

[berghild]

we visited the factory yesterday too. we saw the desk dinette ooooI want one but not this trip. the new windows look nice too. we are at apul's so i have. cyndy to hurry and get this rig ready

[Motor31]

Porkchop,

Unless they glue every single fiber in the batting it will still settle, especially being driven down the road through road vibration. Those fibers that are glued, stay in place unless they break. Those held in place by friction against the other fibers will still move over time.

Aluminum IS a temperature conductor however the difference between the top cabinets and bottom is not the presence of aluminum in the roof but the settling of the batting in the walls.

Did they bother to explain who did their R value analysis? How do they take into account the effect of windows and doors in the wall R factor?

[The View 5046]

I have been to the Drv factory several times. I also know for sure there is no RV made that is energy efficent and if you think they are you haven't spent much time in a RV. There are some better than others, Drv being one of them. Thats why RV's have wheels, go were its warm in the winter and were its cooler in the summer. An if you aren't satisfied with you RV get rid of it and get another one. Drv isn't the only factory that is available, go to others and you will see the difference. GBY....

[porkchop]

Who did the analysis on your house? Or does your house not have wood or windows in it? The builders still claim an R factor equilivant to the value of the insulation installed, don't they. If you think the insulation being glued in and sandwiched between the wall panels still can settle you probably beleive in the tooth fairy and other such. Have you examined the type of insulation in question? Remember, it's not fiberglass.

[porkchop]

I guess the only way we will ever settle this is to find a volunteer any cut a wall open. The walls in my unit feel the same, top to bottom. Maybe you have one of the mystery ones with no insulation?