Looking at a new 2017 Dutchmen Aspen Trail 2790BHS (stick and tin). I walked around the trailer and liked some of the features, but realised it was missing a few things, and I wanted your input to see if these are big deals.1. No electric tongue jack.2. No water heater bypass. 3. No black water flush inlet.4. Roof is rubber with walk on joints.It does have:1. Small outside kitchen. 2. 15000 BTU a/c (ducted) with quick cool feature.3. Covered and insulated underbelly.4. Two gray water tanks.There is a cable hookup for the tv's, but the technician was unsure if this would hook up to satellite, like Dish. He said there should be a decal stating it will and I did not see one. Will it? Also, I did not see a switch on the refrigerator to switch from electric to propane. The technician said it's automatic. If you're not hooked up to electric, it will automatically run off propane, and when you hook up, it starts running off electric. Is this true or BS?TT shopping is exhausting, and your help is appreciated.

1. No electric tongue jack.No big deal - I bought mine on Amazon and installed it myself2. No water heater bypass. I have one and never used it - again no big deal3. No black water flush inlet.I've never had one - so I don't miss it.... I usually fill my black tank with 5 galls of water before leaving, let it swish around on the drive to campsite and empty it when I get at the camground4. Roof is rubber with walk on joints.I've had 3 campers with rubber roofs - never had a problem - just remember to maintain it every year or two.

Please do yourself and us a big favor. Quit looking new. Shopping and buying new as a first RV can be a recipe for disaster. Being hugh depreciating assets, and knowing around 50% of first time buyers will stop RVing within the first 3 years it just makes poor sense to throw your hard earned money away. Instead, look for a 5 year old gently used RV. At 5 years everything should still be in good shape, warranty items will have been fixed, and someone else has eaten about 50% of the original price in depreciation.Also please remember what may be a minor inconvience for a weekend can become a major issue for a week or more. So pick what you like best and are comfortable with. Best advise I can offer, get rid of the salesman and go play house for a half hour or so. Pretend to make a meal, take a shower, use the toilet. Well you get the odea.

want better features look at a higher end trailer. You cannot buy a 30k trailer for 15k

Totally agree with Donn. Dont buy first trailer new because once you get one you will come up with a more refined idea of what you want. Then you'll trade in your new TT and take a huge hit on depreciation.Also nothing wrong with a rubber roof (I prefer them) and you don't have much choice anyway.Black tank sprayer is very nice to have but you can stick a wand down the toilet and do a better job. (I have the flusher and still use a wand).

newman fulltimer wrote:want better features look at a higher end trailer. You cannot buy a 30k trailer for 15kExactly. That's why I'm asking others, that may not have these features, if it's that big of a deal for them.

Buying my first TT, and I have a few questions | Good Sam Community

Terryallan
Explorer II
Nov 23, 2017
JWP127 wrote:
And what are your thoughts on a heat pump? Will LP suffice? I live in Texas and won't be camping in -1095644 degree weather too often, but we will winter camp at times. Will I burn thru LP tanks and my wallet, or is it manageable?

A nice OIL FILLED radiator heater will warm the camper up great if you have electricity. I use one
JWP127
Explorer
Nov 23, 2017
And what are your thoughts on a heat pump? Will LP suffice? I live in Texas and won't be camping in -1095644 degree weather too often, but we will winter camp at times. Will I burn thru LP tanks and my wallet, or is it manageable?
JWP127
Explorer
Nov 23, 2017
bikendan wrote:
JWP127 wrote:
I called the salesman back. He confirmed there is no satellite hookup. And he was wrong, there is a hot water bypass.

In your first post, you said "technician" and now you say "saleman".

Which was he, cause if it was a salesman, its easier to understand his ignorance.

Yes, the tech originally said there was no HW heater bypass. I called the salesman back today and he asked the tech again and he said there was in fact a bypass. Believe me, I will make sure myself if I decide to get this camper. I have trust issues with people.
Terryallan
Explorer II
Nov 23, 2017
drsteve wrote:
bikendan wrote:
Terryallan wrote:
A first for me. I've never seen a TT with out a water heater bypass. Don't sound like a good plan. But IF you never use antifreeze. Not a big thing.

As for the electric jack. They are easily added, and you could prolly get one in the deal if they want to sell.

most of us have rubber roofs, Few have black tank washouts

totally agree.

never heard of any RV that had a water heater but no bypass. so i doubt if the RV tech knew what he was talking about.

i picked up a refurb electric jack on Ebay for $90. still working after 11 years.

I've owned a few RVs, and my most recent one is the first one ever that came from the factory with a bypass installed.

I have owned a couple as well, and winterized more. All of them came with a WH bypass. None I did actually came with a winterizing kit / hose to drop into the antifreeze bottle though.
drsteve
Explorer
Nov 23, 2017
bikendan wrote:
Terryallan wrote:
A first for me. I've never seen a TT with out a water heater bypass. Don't sound like a good plan. But IF you never use antifreeze. Not a big thing.

As for the electric jack. They are easily added, and you could prolly get one in the deal if they want to sell.

most of us have rubber roofs, Few have black tank washouts

totally agree.

never heard of any RV that had a water heater but no bypass. so i doubt if the RV tech knew what he was talking about.

i picked up a refurb electric jack on Ebay for $90. still working after 11 years.

I've owned a few RVs, and my most recent one is the first one ever that came from the factory with a bypass installed.
bikendan
Explorer
Nov 22, 2017
JWP127 wrote:
I called the salesman back. He confirmed there is no satellite hookup. And he was wrong, there is a hot water bypass.

In your first post, you said "technician" and now you say "saleman".

Which was he, cause if it was a salesman, its easier to understand his ignorance.
JWP127
Explorer
Nov 22, 2017
I called the salesman back. He confirmed there is no satellite hookup. And he was wrong, there is a hot water bypass.
DrewE
Explorer II
Nov 22, 2017
Satellite probably would not work as-is, though there are plenty of variations in systems. It has to do with the type of coax cable used and where the splitters and junctions are in the motorhome.

Most RV fridges automatically switch between electric and propane. Often there is a button to force propane when on electric; on mine it's labeled gas/auto.

(Personally, when I go camping, watching TV is fairly low on my list of things to do!)
tinstartrvlr
Explorer
Nov 22, 2017
My TT came with all those items.

Electric tongue jack: Nice, but not a priority for me. The old fashioned way takes a bit longer, and always works, battery or not.

Water heater bypass: Never used it.

Black tank flush: No. They will randomly leak at the vacuum breaker and usually will send water to places you don't want it to be. I use a flush wand that goes down the toilet.

Rubber roof: Walk on mine all the time and no issues. As said earlier, be sure to take good care of it.

Of the things you do have, all good, except maybe the kitchen. Make sure you will actually use it. My first TT had one and I found that I rarely used it and ultimately it became a storage bin more than a kitchen.

X2 on buying used. Warranty work is just a PITA; let someone else deal with the warranty problems and take the equity hit. In hindsight, I wish I had gone that route.

Good luck in your search.
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Nov 22, 2017
The camper should come with a dedicated coax connector on the outside of the camper that's identified as "Satellite TV". When we had DirectTV, when I plugged into this, it didn't work. I ended up having to put the cord from our Tailgater through the window.

Your Satellite signal will get lost if you plug it into the outside cable or antenna jack. Once the signal hits the power booster, it won't work. That's why manufacturers started putting in a second jack just for satellite service.

The coax wire you use on your satellite system may not match what runs through the camper either. This is something you probably won't know until after you get the camper. But, you can always stick the wire through the window and hook it directly into the satellite receiver box. That's what we did.

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