Buying my first TT, and I have a few questions

[JWP127]

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.

[Terryallan]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

I called the salesman back. He confirmed there is no satellite hookup. And he was wrong, there is a hot water bypass.

[DrewE]

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]

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]

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.

[Larry-D]

For satellite hookup. You need a straight shot from the receiver to your dish. The "cable" input on the trailer's exterior probably goes to the antenna amplifier/switch so its probably not going to work. Very easy to install a dedicated cable from the exterior to the TV's location. Use a few connectors as possible for better signal strength.

I agree with no electric tongue jack needed but it's a lot of turning to raise or lower. Never used the water heater bypass in the three TTs we've had. Drain everything, blow out the lines and pour pink antifreeze in the sink traps, toilet and shower drain. No problems in many years.

[coolmom42]

JWP127 wrote:

coolmom42 wrote:
You do want a water heater bypass, unless you live somewhere that you don't need to winterize. Otherwise you will have to fill the water heater with antifreeze, before you get any antifreeze in the hot water lines. Aside from being a big waste of antifreeze, it's a PITA to get OUT of the water heater in the spring.

I thought so too until he showed me that you can drain the hot water heater, by removing a cap, and then opening up all the faucets and blow air into the pipes. Does this sound correct?

Well you have to hook up an air compressor and set the pressure correctly. Many people here do this, but I have never felt that it would positively get all the water out. It's also not clear to me how it gets the water out of the pump, and it doesn't work at all on the city water inlet valve, which also needs some antifreeze.

If you pump the antifreeze through, you can see it coming out of all the faucets, and be sure that water is displaced from the lines.

[JWP127]

Thank you everyone for your input. The salesman seemed genuine enough, but he's still a salesman...

What about the satellite hookup and the auto fridge? Any thoughts?

[DutchmenSport]

1. No electric tongue jack.
Not a big deal. I've had 3 TT's, each one bigger than the previous. None came with an electric tongue jack. My last camper was quite heavy, and I'm getting older. Before I took delivery of the camper, I had the dealer install an electric tongue jack. As part of the deal, I paid up-front for the jack, and they installed it, no charge. I also had roof vent covers installed too. I paid upfront for them, and they did not charge for installation. The electric jack is really much nicer than the hand crank on my 2 previous campers. But replacing the manual for an electric is really not a big deal.


2. No water heater bypass.
I have a very hard time believing there is no water heater bypass. If Thor Industries is now going THIS cheap, something is really wrong with the industry! Really wrong. Check again, I think you'll find the bypass. More than likely, it's only 1 valve with a built in check-valve on the water out side.

Still, if there really is none, minor plumbing, no problem. Check with your dealer and if you are really sold on this camper, make it a deal breaker and have them install a by-pass.

3. No black water flush inlet.
My first 2 trailers never had one. My current one does. I use it sometimes, when I have time at dump stations and no one is waiting behind me. And I use it at home when I winterize. But both my black and grey join at one outlet, so I picked up a Flush King (clear section with a valve) and use it to back-flush the grey into the black. And this cleans out the black so well, the flusher is really not needed. I also have a wand that attaches to the end of a garden hose. Pushing that down the toilet and turning on the water, actually does a better job than the built in flusher.


4. Roof is rubber with walk on joints.
About 99% of RV roof's are rubber. Take care of it and it will be no problem. Rubber is no problem. It's more important to check the calking seams to recalk when needed.

I would not let any of these stop me from getting the camper, if this is the one I'm really interest in.

About points above:

I prefer new over used, simply because I don't want to inherit someone else's problem that they've hidden. Bought a house once where the previous owner hid some massive problems that weren't found until after we moved in! I learned my lesson then!

New gives you the warranty, and you know the history of your camper from day 1.

It is true, after about 3 years, first time owners will trade their first camper. We traded our first one after less than 2 years. But the second one we kept 8 years, and now we are starting year 5 with our 3rd one.

If you like the camper, get it! It might be end up being THE perfect one for you, getting it right the FIRST time. Don't let those of use who changed our minds after a couple years sway you here. Hum! All of us who now warn about trading after 2-3 years wouldn't listen to the same warning either. AND WE ALL LIVED THROUGH IT ANYWAY!

Just don't buy on compulsion. Think it all through. And yes! Sit inside the camper with all the slides in and make sure you can function (access beds, kitchen area, and bathroom).

A wise old preacher told me when I wanted to marry the (wrong) girl, but I was so much 'in-love' I couldn't see the fire because of all the smoke! He said, "Put your heart in the deep freeze, and your head in the oven!" It took me a while to figure out what that meant. I never married the girl. It took another 3 years, but I did find the right one then!