New Roadtrek Owner - couple questions

[alex668]

So after months of deliberation and deciding whether to do a custom build or go for a Roadtrek I finally took the plunge and bought a RT SS Agile - primarily because of a) the warranty, b)the volt start (I have a couple dogs) c) I negotiated a pretty sweet deal for exactly the package I wanted. I get it next month and am super excited to hit the road!

Any feedback or heads ups y'all can give me would be much appreciated. Also any suggestions on things I need to buy that don't come with the new RT (such as hoses/cables, water filter for filling fresh water tank, leak detectors, etc.) would also be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[mkguitar]

if you don't know how to fill or dump the tanks etc.

youtube is your friend.

I have bought rv stuff at walmart, campingworld, amazon and from mom and pops- prices can vary, shop around when you have time on your side.

my first trial runs were...in our driveway- figuring out how all teh systems worked, scratching my head reading the manuals etc.

then a couple of overnights, then a week and some campgrounds, dry camping ( leo carillo SP - which is now getting power) boondocking etc.

We now have some 3,4 and 5 weeks trips behind us, we have confidence in our van and figure we are getting the best out of it- but it took some studying up, forums, & campers.


Try to figure out a support system for the chassis- who will do the oil changes and lube the steering gear and air filter and all that routine stuff.
Before something breaks- find out if the local MB dealer has a lift, or will you be using freightliner or a dodge dealer ( some of whom will have sprinter expertise).

figure out in advance where you will get next set of tires- I use costco. ( we have a chev) who ever you use has to be able to get correct size tires and be able willing to put them on- we want $700 not $1500

I do my own stuff- but a new vehicle they do it if they are paying for it- if I'm paying I do the work and keep records to keep the warranty in force.





congrats- Mike

[ponti33602]

Couple quick thoughts. Just bought a 30 amp female to 50 amp male adapter for the rare occasion that is the only hookup available. A 30 to 15 was included when we took delivery last week on ours. ($12 eBay)

My wife bought shelf liners. ($25)

Will be adding a water filter. Think I picked out Everpure EF-1500 (spelling). I will hook to the sink faucet and the canister will go in the cabinet below the microwave. Planning this for our first mini trip in March. ($300 for initial system)



Bought MB floor liner/mats from a dealer on eBay. $84 bucks delivered. About half off msrp. Maybe not as nice a weather tech but half off. Got them yesterday and am very pleased with them.

My wife bought a bunch of packing cubes off ebags to efficiently pack and store clothes. ($80)

Car/Clothes rod from BB and Beyond to hang clothes to dry. Fits over existing car hangers near front seats ($20)

Bought a 150w inverter to put in the tv cabinet. Can power small things without needing your inverter on like the tv, dvd, i-stuff chargers. ($18 Amazon)

Bought shoe containers/bins (6) to hold sneakers/hiking boots to be stored out back under seats from The Container Store ($15)

Will be buying...think we narrowed down to "The Larry Chair". ($60 Amazon and others). These get great reviews and fold quite small. These will also go in the back behind the shoe bins.

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...jw4rwc0l_e_p14

Most of this stuff was pretty inexpensive. Will learn more over next few weeks.

Congrats!!


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[gregmchugh]

A good place to connect with a lot of Roadtrek owners is on the Roadtrek & Hymer Owners Group on Facebook if you are on Facebook.

[ManWonder]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

A good place to connect with a lot of Roadtrek owners is on the Roadtrek & Hymer Owners Group on Facebook if you are on Facebook.

As a newbie Roadtreker I did this a week ago and it is amazing... I have solved puzzles within minutes of posting a question. Definitely the way to go for a Roadtrek owner. I rarely used my Facebook account in the past but this has changed as of late.

[alex668]

Thanks for the great feedback so far - much appreciated!

Ponti - do you have a link to the inverter you bought?

[mkguitar]

small inverter- try to get stuff which is 12 VDC native- like you phone chargers.

inverting DC to AC...then plugging in your phone charger to convert your AC to DC again...causes waste x 2.
a 12 native charger will stay at dc and just reduce the 12 VDC to 5VDC- which is what your phone/ipad wants

some ( many) tv's are 12 volt native- so run fine off the battery and lower total consumption that dc-ac- ac-dc conversions as with the phone/ipad scenario above.
and will accept a usb stick storing movies so that a 120 VAC dvd player isn;t required ( and many in vehicle dvd players are 12 vdc anyway)

most computer makers offer a DC charger- rather than use the same ac/dc charger you have at home

new vehicle should have quality LED lights- if not easy to convert to low consumption.

stay DC as much as you can as you will have better ( longer) ability to go offline, and you'll have fewer converting devices laying around.

as for inverter IF you need one calculate your load and see what your needs are- otherwise you may be buying 1,2 or 3 invertors until you are sized right.

mike

[ponti33602]

Originally Posted by alex668

Thanks for the great feedback so far - much appreciated!

Ponti - do you have a link to the inverter you bought?

Miss-spoke........this was an eBay item......a bit more than I paid.

BESTEK 150W Dual DC 12V AC 110V Outlet Car Power Inverter 2 USB Port Car Adapter | eBay

A member on the FB Owners group suggested this model to me and said works great for him. Nice and small and appears well-built....haven't tried myself.

[booster]

Originally Posted by ponti33602

Miss-spoke........this was an eBay item......a bit more than I paid.

BESTEK 150W Dual DC 12V AC 110V Outlet Car Power Inverter 2 USB Port Car Adapter | eBay

A member on the FB Owners group suggested this model to me and said works great for him. Nice and small and appears well-built....haven't tried myself.

Specs don't seem to list the idling current anywhere, did the literature that came with it say anything?

[ponti33602]

Originally Posted by booster

Specs don't seem to list the idling current anywhere, did the literature that came with it say anything?

Didn't look yet. Again, a guy on the FB RT Owners group said he used this model and I "trusted" him and bought one.

Does this tell you anything? On Amazon site too. Where I grabbed this......

[booster]

I did see that, but it doesn't seem to say.

[ponti33602]

Originally Posted by booster

I did see that, but it doesn't seem to say.

Will see what is in the box when we plug it in this weekend. She says, wash, wax, vacuum and add all the stuff into it.

[alex668]

Thanks for the details Ponti. Looks like your Agile is fairly new as well - keep in touch and if you come across any issues let me know - I'll do the same and perhaps avoid potential issues down the road. By the way - I'm looking for a back hitch rack for a light motorcycle (gonna take my xt250 on the road with me) - have you done any research into any that work with the continental spare tire? I'm thinking I'm going to have to remove it.

[ponti33602]

Originally Posted by alex668

Thanks for the details Ponti. Looks like your Agile is fairly new as well - keep in touch and if you come across any issues let me know - I'll do the same and perhaps avoid potential issues down the road. By the way - I'm looking for a back hitch rack for a light motorcycle (gonna take my xt250 on the road with me) - have you done any research into any that work with the continental spare tire? I'm thinking I'm going to have to remove it.

New. I haven't backed it out of our parking space since we drove it back last weekend. Folks in the condo taking bets I can't.

Tomorrow will be the first day of use as our primary and travel vehicle.

Will do. stay in-touch.

.


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[obgraham]

Is that your "other" car parked next to it?

[ponti33602]

Originally Posted by obgraham

Is that your "other" car parked next to it?

There is a Bucs player that has. McLaren. Makes that Lambo look like a Porsche.


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[alex668]

Wow - you actually have the identical set up that I got - Charcoal/Ebony, Diesel Alde, Induction, 300/400 etc.

I am clueless when it comes to electric so I'm confused about this extra Bestek inverter you have for small wares. Can't I just plug in iphone, macbook, etc into either the outlets with the main inverter on or the 12v (cigarette lighter style) plugs with the inverter off? What's the objective or solve with having the additional little inverter?

Thanks

[ponti33602]

Originally Posted by alex668

Wow - you actually have the identical set up that I got - Charcoal/Ebony, Diesel Alde, Induction, 300/400 etc.

I am clueless when it comes to electric so I'm confused about this extra Bestek inverter you have for small wares. Can't I just plug in iphone, macbook, etc into either the outlets with the main inverter on or the 12v (cigarette lighter style) plugs with the inverter off? What's the objective or solve with having the additional little inverter?

Thanks

I was told to plug in the tv and DVD player and then you can watch without the. big inverters being on.



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