stationaryfullt
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Re: Considering moving to Grand Design Reflection 307MKS
I ended up countering with $37,000 plus my trade and them installing slide toppers over the slides. I didn't bother with the dishwasher since that's something I can do myself relatively easily. Hopefully they'll accept the offer and I can make this work.575Views0likes0CommentsRe: Considering moving to Grand Design Reflection 307MKS
Effectively, he was offering it for $41,00 after the trade-in, but I knew it sounded high. As I was trying to get out of there, he grabbed his buddy to try out the "salesman Jedi mind tricks" to get me to buy on the spot, which included giving me another $1,000 for my trade-in. I knew it was still high and I wasn't ready to buy anyway, so I walked out. Would countering with $35,000, adding the slide toppers and dishwasher, plus my trade-in be a good move? At retail prices, 3 slide toppers plus installation should come close to 2 grand. A dishwasher installed would be another $500 or so. Of course, their cost for parts and labor would be lower, but would probably not count towards a loss in commission, which of course the number the salesman is looking for.575Views0likes0CommentsRe: Considering moving to Grand Design Reflection 307MKS
I do mostly stay put, but once or twice a year I'd like to go out for a trip. My current trailer is a travel trailer. I'm moving up to a 5er because I was already technically overweight pulling my Jayco with my Suburban, which meant I couldn't add any slide-outs.575Views0likes0CommentsConsidering moving to Grand Design Reflection 307MKS
I've had a 2008 Jayco Eagle 328RLS now for 8 years and have it completely paid off. Since it's getting a bit long in the tooth in terms of impending major appliance failures, as evidenced by the fridge dying, I decided to start looking for a replacement. Last week I stopped by a local RV dealer and came across the Grand Design Reflection 307MKS. Being a fulltimer with a full desktop PC, I immediately fell in love with it. It ticks all the boxes in terms of: Having a nice size built-in desk Plenty of kitchen counter space Being light enough to be towed by my 1989 Chevy Dually Under 35 feet long When I spoke to the salesperson is where I started to not be pleased. The dealer was claiming a $62,000 base price, and that he "talked his manager down to" $49,000 and can give me $7,500 for my existing camper. I feel like it's still a little high. I'm hoping I can negotiate having them install slide toppers/awnings over all the slides and putting a dishwasher in the island, but am I asking too much, or not enough? Honestly, I paid asking price for my 1-year old Jayco when I bought it used from a different dealer. I probably could have negotiated it down lower, but I was naive then... Thanks for any help and suggestions offered!4.3KViews0likes15CommentsRe: Inverter technology RV air conditioner
Ol'Soldier wrote: I have seen one posting on the internet where a TT owner installed a 110 volt mini ductless A/C unit. Don't know if he updated his posting as to how it performed. I installed a 12,000 BTU Pioneer 110 volt mini ductless in my double garage (480 SQ FT). It is quiet and very efficient in the uninsulated garage. My TT has a 13,500 btu Coleman Mach which is too noisy. Although it cools well, the RV industry once again needs to get their collective act(a$$) together and do better. My garage unit also has a heat pump but is only good down to the 40'sish. I know Pioneer has a cooling unit which mounts on the ceiling instead of on the wall like most of their mini ductless do. My mini ductless uses about 9 amps and runs off a regular 15 amp household service and it is not the only item on that circuit. Would be nice to replace that RV A/C unit with the Pioneer unit. This could be a good idea, just don't see much experience with mini ductless units in the U.S. and the RV industry appears to have no experience with them. Might be a good experiment!!!!! I've also seen the ceiling mount units on the web. The issue is it still uses the "standard form-factor" outside unit. About the only place it could be mounted would be off the front or rear wall of the camper, and while it would probably work, wouldn't be visually pleasant. You'd also have to figure out how to route the freon lines. I also hadn't thought about the condensate line that runs off the inside unit, but I imagine that could also be piped away. I'm not certain how that's handled with the ceiling mount units.2.2KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Inverter technology RV air conditioner
Bummer. I have a 12K BTU split a/c with heat pump in my shop that I estimate costs less than $20 a month to keep the room at 75 degrees. I was doubtful about the inverter technology split units until I bought it instead of a window shaker. Now I'm totally sold on them. But then again, still no smart thermostat compatibility. I have to use a remote to control it.2.2KViews0likes0CommentsInverter technology RV air conditioner
To start off, NO, I am NOT asking if I can run my air conditioner off of an inverter and batteries. The compressor on the air conditioner on my camper is starting to sound like it's getting old (those nasty groans when the compressor starts up) and so I've had my mind on what to replace it with if it bites the dust. It still does the job well. The current a/c is a Coleman-Mach 15k BTU roof unit. The hot new craze in household a/c units has been inverter technology that are more power efficient and less of a hard start. Is there a 15k rooftop a/c unit that utilizes inverter technology and has a nice SEER rating? Since I do have to pay the electric bill, I'm willing to spend a little more cash up front for a nice power-efficient unit that will save me in the long run. Bonus points for a lightweight unit and/or a unit that is compatible with one of the popular smart thermostats. (Ecobee, Nest, Honeywell, etc) Thanks in advance for any suggestions.5.1KViews0likes6CommentsRe: Weight calculations-2008 Jayco Eagle and 1991 Suburban
opnspaces wrote: stationaryfulltimer wrote: Referring to the GM Restoration Kit data for my model year truck, they state the GCWR for the 5.7L engine with 4.10 gears at 13,500. I'm curious about the GM restoration kit, I'm not familiar with it. Is it a website? Also I think you have a 2,200 lb tongue weight. I don't think you can count the WD bars to move the weight off the receiver because all the force still goes through the receiver. When I got it, I had to call an 800 number to have them mail me the packet. It appears that now they're all available on-demand at the GM Heritage website. Here's the link I found: https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits.html Note that the years covered varies based on the model of the vehicle. Here's the link to the kit for my specific truck: https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits/Suburban/1991-Chevrolet-Suburban.pdf487Views0likes0CommentsRe: Weight calculations-2008 Jayco Eagle and 1991 Suburban
I'll try to upload some pictures tonight. Visually, the truck looks hideous because it still has the original paint job that's failed. I'm going to be getting it painted in a couple months when the weather warms up. The truck looks pretty boring... just like any other 3/4 ton Suburban would look. Are there any specific shots that want to be seen?166Views0likes0CommentsRe: Weight calculations-2008 Jayco Eagle and 1991 Suburban
In terms of the receiver hitch, I'm as good as I have been able to find. So, I'm going to have to live within the 1200# tongue weight. I searched the PullRite website for a hitch to match my application, and the oldest they go back is 1995. I run into this issue all the time because as far as any aftermarket truck parts go, trucks older than 2000 don't exist any more. It's a shame... In terms of custom work, I hit that point a LONG time ago. Everything was custom to put the parts I used on the truck. A quick rundown of the truck is a GM 14-bolt 1-ton axle and drum brakes off a 2000 Chevy K3500, front suspension and disc brakes off a 1980 C20 pickup, master brake cylinder off a 1998 GMC C3500, custom heavy-duty driveshaft with 1350 u-joints, and some more stuff I don't recall off-hand. It's a frankenstein of heavy-duty parts to make a good half-ton Suburban body worthy of hauling 10,000 pounds. The tires are Michelin LTX/MS 235/85/R16 load range E tires aired to the 80 psi maximum. That wasn't the source of the sway. The trailer tires are Goodyear Marathons load range D aired to 65 psi. Referring to the GM Restoration Kit data for my model year truck, they state the GCWR for the 5.7L engine with 4.10 gears at 13,500. So in that respect, I am over the GCWR. If I were to step up to 4.56 gears, my GCWR would move up to 15,000. The GCWR rating for the 7.4L engine with 4.10 gears is 16,000. However, the limiting factor based on engine size is the transmission backing it up. On my 700R4 transmission, I have a deep pan with integrated cooler, a 22K BTU external cooler, and tow in the recommended drive position to lock out overdrive. I don't have any slippage in the transmission and the ATF temperature never exceeds 175F when towing the camper. So, I don't know how to call that one... I'm doing the best with what I have and what I like. The new trucks are both not appealing to me, and the $40K+ price tag is also out of my range.166Views0likes0Comments
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