Joining The Cool Crowd

[tangoparson]

I guess it's official now. Wife and i just closed on a 2013 36rl. Beat the dealer out of new G range goodyears and an automatic slider so we are still waiting on those to come in before we pick it up.

I paid more than I planned but this one had most of the upgrades I would have done anyway. Full paint, G tires, disc brakes, satellite, dual batteries, toppers. The list is pretty long.



Anyone know the history on this beast? Supposedly a couple from Wisconsin that traded for a DRV in Oklahoma. Not that a dealer would ever lie to me. Lol.

I only got this picture and one other so far. All the others are pirated off the dealers website. I might post some of them later.

Live just north of Dallas and trying to get positioned to go full time in a few years. We have previously owned a Toyhauler for our matching motorcycles so we aren't total nubes to trailering and camping but this is our first foray into the lap of luxury.

Tango

[bergeman]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum. I recommend that you read as many of the entries on this forum as you can. It will give you a great insight on your new RV. I am in Dallas but currently in my Redwood up in Wisconsin Dells for the month.

What is an automatic slider?

[tangoparson]

Originally Posted by bergeman

Congratulations and welcome to the forum. I recommend that you read as many of the entries on this forum as you can. It will give you a great insight on your new RV. I am in Dallas but currently in my Redwood up in Wisconsin Dells for the month.

What is an automatic slider?

Thanks. I have been lurking for a few months while I searched for the just right one.

And sorry, I meant a hitch that slides back automatically in turns because I have been known to have brain fade occasionally. Figured you guys could read my mind like my wife does.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[atom ant]

Beautiful coach and floorplan! Reminds me of the one we had.

[830hvacman]

Congrats and Welcome.
Sounds like you already have some of the upgrades others have recommended and that I have done to mine. This forum has a ton of good and useful information and suggestions - done by those of us who benefit from them..

Good Luck and Safe Travels!

If you ever get to SW Tex, (Lake Amistad Area) Let me know..

[johnboytoo]

Congrats... and hope it works out for you !!!

We too are in the DFW area - closer to Mansfield, and if you need any other pieces/parts/upgrades, let me know have a garage full of them that I won't need

[spindrift]

Glad to have you on board. It's a head turner for sure.

[mhs4771]

If you're getting a Slider Hitch, sounds like you're already starting off on the wrong foot, or should I say TV, unless you're talking Mega Cab Ram Dually.
RLs are known for being Pin heavy, our '12 RL had approx 4K pin and 17K total, which puts you in Dually country. If you've been reading much you should have already about a few Members who started with a SRW TV with an RL and soon traded for a Dually.
We loved our RL, but the MB floor plans fits our use better.

[bergeman]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

Congrats... and hope it works out for you !!!

We too are in the DFW area - closer to Mansfield, and if you need any other pieces/parts/upgrades, let me know have a garage full of them that I won't need

We are neighbors, South Arlington, Kids went to Mansfield School district.

[RCAircraft]

Originally Posted by tangoparson

I guess it's official now. Wife and i just closed on a 2013 36rl. Beat the dealer out of new G range goodyears and an automatic slider so we are still waiting on those to come in before we pick it up.

I paid more than I planned but this one had most of the upgrades I would have done anyway. Full paint, G tires, disc brakes, satellite, dual batteries, toppers. The list is pretty long.



Anyone know the history on this beast? Supposedly a couple from Wisconsin that traded for a DRV in Oklahoma. Not that a dealer would ever lie to me. Lol.

I only got this picture and one other so far. All the others are pirated off the dealers website. I might post some of them later.

Live just north of Dallas and trying to get positioned to go full time in a few years. We have previously owned a Toyhauler for our matching motorcycles so we aren't total nubes to trailering and camping but this is our first foray into the lap of luxury.

Tango

Congratulations on your Redwood. We really have enjoyed our 2013 RL. Very few minor repairs by Redwood and then under Good Sam extended warranty. The major failure on our list was the slide/hydraulic pump DC motor. One power lead at the motor was loose damaging the brush holder and commutator bars. I op'ed to upgrade the entire hydraulic system with latest and greatest LCI system. The slides and leveling times were cut in half or more. Good Sam paid for the standard motor ($900+) and I picked up the remaining $2,000 or so which included an improved DC motor.

To that loose lead - l strongly recommend that each power and contol cable/wire be checked for looseness at the terminating point AND WITHIN ANY CRIMPED ON CONNECTOR in the battery compartment and storage basement (bedroom slide controller). Tug on the wire. Many of mine pulled out of their connector. After a session of replacing and tighting many loose connections I then grabbed a handful of plastic ty-raps and formed neat wiring bundles which then were supported to remove the wiring weight off the connection point. The circuit overload devices, located on the wall just above the rear battery had most all connections being loose at the stud or within the wire connector. The battery disconnect switch also should be checked for loose connections. While on batteries the disconnect switch only disconnects some loads. I completely remove the front battery front positive terminal cables. Keep those leads separate. I use a "booty" over each end as if they touch each other the battery can drain especially if you have a gen onboard. One of those front positive leads jumpers to the rear battery positive post. A battery disconnect at the battery is on my list.

The installation of a Wingard SWM3 DirecTV satellite dish, on a supporting steel plate to protect the membrane roof was a pistol. The install only took about four hours on the roof (3-hours reading instructions and drinking coffee). The rest of the day was chasing down the coax connections, missing splitters and loose coax connectors. Thanks to many on this and another RW site I finally conquered the task. I replaced every coax connector as most were easily pulled loose.

I chucked the E-rated tires and had 17.5" H-rated tires and a TPMS added after a significant blowout and the damage it caused at 62 MPH.

The library on this site has many helpful manuals and owner insights that could help with your beautiful 36RL. Welome to our Redwood family.

[johnboytoo]

Originally Posted by bergeman

We are neighbors, South Arlington, Kids went to Mansfield School district.

Hey Neighbor !
give us a shout and come on by !

[Blenhardt]

Originally Posted by tangoparson

Thanks. I have been lurking for a few months while I searched for the just right one.

And sorry, I meant a hitch that slides back automatically in turns because I have been known to have brain fade occasionally. Figured you guys could read my mind like my wife does.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

What truck will you be using for this coach? Unless you are using a short bed truck not sure why you would need a slider hitch.

[Tom's38GK]

Hi Tango and welcome,

We too are North Texas (Denton) residents and fell into our RW 38GK last March. About the truck situation I have an older 1 ton 2x4 Dodge Dually and have found that these rigs are a whole different beast in the traveling I have done so far. My truck has a 3.70 rear end and is not near enough truck for what I feel comfortable when towing. It does great on the open road but get into a little stop and go traffic forget it. The 1st night we picked ours up we went to a park just North of Sherman and when we got on 75 hit some dips I thought we had about bought the farm. The upgrades I did to my truck were Airlift 5000's and a Trailer Saver BD3 air ride hitch. But when I return from WI this month, I will be in the market for a 4500,450 or more truck to haul this beast tamer as I call it.

Don't get us wrong on the forum here, everyone just wants to make sure we are safe and sound out there. In other words we care about each other and will go above and beyond to stress the importance of having the right combinations in 5er and tow hauler. Again welcome to the family and as I sit here this morning after a great night sleep and my second month of living in our RW I can honestly say this thing rocks and I couldn't be happier with our decision to upgrade.

Now as you start to loose the new owner fuzzy feeling you will find that you might want to check out some of the modifications that many have done on here. I have taken care of some of the issues before they became problems like re-insulate the front cap and cut down the air vents so as to get the most out of your air conditioning system. Disc brakes and suspension up grades my next project before my next 3000 mile trip in December when I return. With any luck the previous owner may have already done many of these mods based on the fact that you have disc brakes already. If so then go buy a lotto ticket because luck is on your side....

Later........
Tom N Gina

[RCAircraft]

Tom, sure agree on getting a "beast tamer" for the RW. I really messed up on my first truck, a F350 short bed and SWD. I was going by RW's "certified" scale weight, posted near the control panel. Per that weight and the truck's GCVR data I had about 3,000 pound cushion. When I had the RW weighed by Escapees it was 2,000# heavier and that was empty. A planned dishwasher, 6.5 KW gen, washer, dryer and satellite dish was going to exceed the truck's GCWR. I would have considered a 450 however the height was too much for my garage. I went with a Silverado High Country 3500 DWD Crew Cab long bed diesel. That gave me a very comfortable margin on the Silverado's GCWR rating and it fit our garage. Very expensive lesson when considering state sales taxes (8%) on two trucks not to mention depreciation. Knowing the correct weight of a loaded RV is the first data point before selecting the tow vechile.

[travelin' texans]

In my opinion any of the new big 3 trucks in the 3500/350 dually range are more than adequate to haul these "beast", mines almost 5 years old with 105k miles & handles my RW like it's not back there. Also when not towing with the 4500/450 trucks the ride would be VERY uncomfortable, mine rides relatively comfortable empty, but wouldn't want any more truck.

[tangoparson]

I appreciate all the advice and I am listening. For now I am going to use my 6.7 ford with a few mods. I will admit I am at the top of what I feel comfortable with my current truck. For the next couple of years we will just be weekending and relatively short vacations and won't be loaded all that heavy.

Once we go full time and have all our worldly possessions on board i plan on stepping up to a DRW.

Not my first rodeo and I have done my homework. After all, if I read it on the internet it has to be true. Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[tangoparson]

Howdy Tom. We really are in the same neighborhood. Prosper.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Ford truck guy]

Originally Posted by tangoparson

I appreciate all the advice and I am listening. For now I am going to use my 6.7 ford with a few mods. I will admit I am at the top of what I feel comfortable with my current truck. For the next couple of years we will just be weekending and relatively short vacations and won't be loaded all that heavy.

Once we go full time and have all our worldly possessions on board i plan on stepping up to a DRW.

Not my first rodeo and I have done my homework. After all, if I read it on the internet it has to be true. Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Our "15" Ford SRW does a great job with our 38RL.. We too are weekend warriors with 1 larger trip each year.. We have more completely empty cabinets inside than full cabinets.. My scale weights put me at my trucks MAX with no room for error.. I am fine towing like that for a while, my next truck will be a DRW..
I noticed that after we added the disc brakes and Morryde IS to the trailer the truck seamed to ride a ton better...
I am not an advocate for SRW towing, it works well with me, thats all that matters to me..

[RCAircraft]

Originally Posted by Ford truck guy

Our "15" Ford SRW does a great job with our 38RL.. We too are weekend warriors with 1 larger trip each year.. We have more completely empty cabinets inside than full cabinets.. My scale weights put me at my trucks MAX with no room for error.. I am fine towing like that for a while, my next truck will be a DRW..
I noticed that after we added the disc brakes and Morryde IS to the trailer the truck seamed to ride a ton better...
I am not an advocate for SRW towing, it works well with me, thats all that matters to me..

That is what I did with our SWD 350 until a great deal came along on the 3500 DWD Silverado. Whatever works for each of us

[atom ant]

It was the max tire pressure on our 06 F350 SRW that got us after we got on the scales with the Redwood 36RL and saw 4,380 lbs pin weight with water

I didn't care about payload, but tire load had me worried. We went to a 2008 F350 DRW (considered F450) and then a 2014 F350 DRW. They did extremely well and all the numbers were good, but even then there wasn't a lot of room left on payload. Ultimately I learned to hate the dually when not towing, but they sure were a good match for the Redwood.