New 5th Wheel Purchase- Checklist of What To Check

Take your time, make them put water in both the black and gray tanks, them make them show how they work by draining them. I did this with our new 5th wheel, the Tech almost dumped in his pants when I told him to dump them on the spot we were doing the PDI ... I told him what the problem, it's a new trailer there should not be anything in either tank ... He pulled the levers and all that came out was clear water, he smiled and said "an that's how they work" I thank you and smiled ...

I also ask for a creeper to look under the trailer, Tech stated I had been the 1st person he had known that had ask for such, I said if I am paying 50k for a 5th wheel trailer I'm going to make sure it will go down the road and not fall apart :)

Follow the links to the PDI's OP's have listed, print them out and check them off completely, above all don't let them put you off, make them fix everything before you sign anything. Again make them fix any problems before signing anything, I can't say it enough, Once you pull off the lot it may take weeks and even months for you to get an appointment to have something repaired under warranty this time of the year .....

Last but not least, they will try to sell you extra warranties, you can get better after market warranties than what they offer most all the time. Don't believe that you can take your trailer to any dealer that sells the same brand, this is just BS, you can read volumes on this site about such, it's not going to happen ....

Good luck

Here is a link to a post on the Keystone forums that has a PDI inspection form.

Link

Just make sure everything is fixed before you sign papers and hand over money. It's much easier to get things fixed if you have some leverage.

This is a good site for multiple areas of research and suggestions. Here's a link to their "Check Lists" page. ChangingGears.com

Try searching "PDI Checklist"

Spend a few hours nitpicking it with a fine tooth comb before driving it home. Ask the dealer to fill the water tank, propane tank etc and run everything through it's paces. Fridge, water heater etc. Get up on the roof and inspect the sealants. Crawl under the camper and inspect the belly pan. Ask the dealer if you can spend the night in it at the dealership or see if there is a local park to spend a couple nights in.

70 miles really isn't that far.