First things First with a new RV.
Let me preface with: Some are better than others.
With that said, all of the Makes and Models of all RV’s available need an inspection (New and Used) within the first few weeks of your purchase. Regardless of whether you buy new or used I cannot stress enough the importance of getting a real picture of the condition of your RV. Hopefully a Pre-Purchase or Pre-Sale inspection was done by a true craftsman. Unfortunately, often times this is not the case. The inspection is not as complete or accurate as it could be and leaves out important information.
The other day one of my training tech’s said , “it seems there are more ways an RV can leak than there are RV’s”. Think about it for a sec. There are so many different types of RV’s with their own specific types of preventative maintenance and design requirements. With all the variants of just skylight styles and fitments, did the one who inspected it before you bought the RV really have the experience or understanding of all the RV systems?
I am grieved every time we meet a disappointed RV owner who was sold an RV without a real understanding of its engineered usages and now they are saddled with major issues. Brand new RV’s are not immune. Some of the older models actually have stronger boxes than many built today. The dealers can get so busy selling them that their service department may not be able to do a full inspection, or maybe they bought theirs from a roadside individual. Either way, there can be many unseen, unknown issues that have brought them to this point.
The normal way for an RV dealer to have the new or used unit inspected and the punch list of faults developed is with the newest people on the team. The Pre-Delivery Inspection, PDI, is the first level of certification. There is a great deal of information learned to be a Level 1 or PDI Tech. A comprehensive overview of all things RV are learned over the course of a week or two. A test is passed to demonstrate a basic understanding of RV systems and we have ourselves the person responsible for determining the condition of Your Next RV: The ones who have the least amount of experience with an RV.
The service department of all RV dealerships are stressed just to keep them moving through the system. A full inspection is 4-6 hours for even a basic RV style. The most commonly unchecked is also the most detrimental to the RV. The water proofing. The roofs, and sidewalls, the slides, doors, and windows, water heaters, furnaces, and power/water inlets; all of these things and more will allow water to enter and begin to damage/destroy the box of the RV. Protect yourself: get a real condition report for your RV. It is not possible, except by blind luck, to make good decisions with bad information.
Our Trouble Free RV® customers are provided a true and complete condition report. With this together we can develop a proper maintenance program just for them to have a better version of what ever RV they have. The Trouble Free RV® adding value to your recreation in every way.
