Cold Weather Prepping Our Isata 3 Series Dynamax

It's cold here in Tennessee. Not the butt-numbing cold of the northern states, but it's cold nonetheless. Hubby and I grew up in Michigan where we met, married and raised our kids. Eleven years ago we left Michigan and moved to Middle Tennessee, which we love. For the most part our winters are relatively mild with averages in the upper 30s to mid 40s and lots of rain.

This week however, it is cold. We woke this morning to snow flurries and temps in the teens. While the sun did come out, it really didn't warm up. Tonight it's supposed to be colder still. We're ready for it.

Monday we took our beloved Isata 3 "Izzy" to Christiana, Tennessee to A & L RV Sales for some warranty work. Hubby also had the brilliant idea to top off the propane tank while we were there. Smart man.

First, they fixed the black tank issue so it doesn't dump on us. That was the major issue. Second, they replaced the seal on the back of the bed slide. No more gaps! Third, there are two window screens that don't fit right. New ones were ordered. And finally, fourth, was the piece of trim I broke which will be ordered.

One of the best things about having an RV is having a fridge and taking your lunch with you. We stopped in Lebanon, Tennessee at an outlet mall and had our lunch there and did a little shopping while we were there. Our last stop was the gas station to top off our tank in preparation for the cold weather.

One cold weather memory I have of Michigan that really sticks out is the winter somewhere in 1996 or 1997 when we had temps of -28F. Yes, that says MINUS 28 degrees Fahrenheit. We lost power, the kids had no school and by the time the power came back on it was near 50F in the house.

This year, we are prepared for power failures with our sweet little Isata 3 series by Dynamax. Our propane tank is full and the generator works great. The bed is made and it's ready for hubby, me and our dog and cat should the need arise.

The Drain Post - Isata 3

Hubby and I are trying to avoid taking a bath in waste water when it's time to dump Izzy's waste tanks. A friend and very experienced RV-er, Carol over at Reflections from the Fence, had a solution.

First, let me remind you that our sewer pipe is 10 inches back from the side of the RV. Second, we needed an extender. On measuring, it seemed that a 5 inch extension pipe and then the twist on dump valve would be ideal. 

The first picture shows what we would expect to be our ideal configuration. Except that the valve hits the bottom of the RV. Also, the cap, after being detached from the original location fit great putting it on, but in taking it off, the valve came off too!  The bottom photo is the current configuration. I have no faith in that. The problem seems the extension. I think when it gets warm again (barely above freezing here now - where are those 60 degree days when you really need it) we will attempt to remove the extender and just attach to the sewer pipe. 

Hubby still doesn't think it will remain in place when we drive. 

Harvest Hosts Deadline

Hubby and I joined Harvest Hosts when we bought our 2018 Roadtrek Zion. We now own a Dynamax Isata 3 24 FW. While we haven't used the Harvest Hosts yet, at $49 for a year, it was a good membership and was recommended to us by a friend. Harvest Hosts is a network of wineries, farms and other businesses that will allow you to boondock on their property for a night. Of course, if you can purchase some wine or something to support that business, that would be really nice. Hubby and I plan on using them soon. They have an app that you can download for free that once you have your membership, you can locate a host close to your location.

The membership cost of $49 is increasing on January 1, 2019 to $79 a year. Anyone who is already a member will be able to renew at the original price of $49/year. Any new member who joins after December 31, 2018 will have to pay $79. So if you have an inkling you want to join, do it before January 1st.

Full disclosure: I do get $10 for everyone who uses my link at the bottom of the page. It doesn't really matter if you use my link or not. Just don't miss out!

An Upfit and a Laundry List

Finally received and installed our Elfa system for the pantry. It's not a perfect fit. For now it will work.  Not thrilled with the hinge system on our pantry and hoping we can figure something else out.

The new year is coming soon and we've made a list of items for the dealer to take a look at. One of the major things is the rubber seal that should seal the gap under the bed slide when the slide is extended. Our first clue is how cold it is in the bed. The second clue is the light that shines from outside that you can only see when the bed is in the folded position. It also explains how the bugs are getting in.

Another item on the list is actually two items. The coach exterior and screen doors. Seems you can't lock the exterior door without a body slam against it. The screen door pushes open. This is a problem when you have animals. I've already adjusted the latch as far as it will go, so the problem now belongs to the dealer.

The other major problem is the black tank seal. We went to hook up at a campground, and got dumped on. Fortunately it was only water in the tank. We've tried a seal lubricant and have yet to test it since we've only flushed water into the tanks, but not yet enough to dump them. I've been flushing the toilet and running the faucet in the bath at the same time, trying to see if they are filling at the same rate. Since both black and gray tanks are 32 gallons, it takes awhile to fill them. Next time I dump them I'll be wearing my mud boots just in case.

The last thing on the list made me wonder if we had a power supply issue. No. The LED light on the cover for the 30 amp connection is out. I used to be able to do a double check by just checking to see that the light was on. I hope this is a quick fix as I miss that little reminder.

After these items are addressed, we hope to be on the road. At least try to head somewhere a little warmer for a bit. And maybe less rainy!

Let's Talk RV Dealers or Not All Dealers Are Created Equal.

We ordered our first RV and the Tampa RV Super Show in January of this year. We went to check out all the different Bs and B+ models that we could find. So when we made our decision to order our first RV at the show, we were handed off to a dealer that had a reputation.

We actually thought we got off to a good start when we got a phone call from them once we returned home. We were advised at that time that if possible we needed to pick it up by the end of the month they notified us. Okay, we thought, we can do this.

We were early for our closing appointment. And they kept us waiting a little longer. The person who did the finance closing was pleasant enough - probably because of the money we dropped. However, she and others kept reminding us that we were a courtesy delivery. We knew when we bought that we were not going to return to Florida from Tennessee to have warranty work done. Not at that dealer. Top that off with a salesman assigned to work with us who could not remember my first name to save his life.

So, we were wary when looking for a new vehicle. The first dealer was nice enough, but we were not going to get enough from our trade to make purchasing feasible. And they were honest enough about that. The vehicle, which hubby preferred had a part that was broken on the seat in a brand new vehicle. Did the dealer do it? Was the factory that careless?

The second dealer was A & L RV Sales, in Christiana, Tennessee. We looked there last year because they had a class B vehicle that looked interesting. While there we looked at a couple of small Class C vehicles, one a Coachmen and the other a Dynamax Isata 3 series. We didn't seriously consider them because of sleeping arrangements, which probably was a mistake at the time.  This year's experience was terrific. We met our salesman, Tim DeVine who was a real pleasure to work with. They gave us a better price on the Dynamax than we were expecting and a better price on the vehicle trade. When we closed on the vehicle and given our walk through, it was a very pleasant experience. We were introduced to the Parts & Service departments and expect that we will be treated fairly and politely when we take our vehicle in for service.

One of the Reasons We Bought This Dynamax.

After a wet weekend camping in our old Class B, we really knew we were ready to move up. One of the reasons was the location of the bathroom, right across from the sliding door. It was a wet bath besides. And don't even think about having the slider open while you wanted to use it, since it was very uncomfortable for hubby.

Enter our Dynamax Isata 3 FWM. This picture was taken with the slide in. The door just beyond the fridge is the bathroom door. It opens as far with the slide in as it does with the slide out. It's very nice. It's a little more difficult to walk through to that back window due to the height of the folded bed, but due to my 5'5" height, I was able to easily pass below the TV mounted on the bedroom wall.  Our "Izzy" is a great fit. Hubs is able to get up in the middle of the night and make his way to the bathroom without any obstacles.

The other reason we wanted this particular model, was the ability to have a meal on the road. This picture was taken on our way home from taking delivery of the vehicle. Believe me, it was a lifesaver. We simply pulled off the freeway into the parking lot of an outlet center, had our lunch, ran into the outlet mall to use their facilities (no water in our tanks at the time, as we did a run through of emptying the tanks on walk-through.)

When we bought our first RV, the class B, we had no idea how it would work out for us. We genuinely thought that it would work for us. And it did on our way home from taking delivery of that vehicle in Florida. It just took a single camping trip in the rain to convince us that one was a mistake.  The next camping trip in "Izzy" was a totally new and wonderful experience.

The Pets Like It!

One of the things that we worried about before and after the purchase of our RV is whether or not the the pets would travel well in it. We spent several nights in it driveway surfing prior to the BIG ADVENTURE - aka our first camping trip with the pets. Said pets are Mouse, the gray and white cat and Champ, the Tennessee Black & Tan Mixed Breed.

While they both took rides in our old Class B RV, they'd never ridden in the Class C Dynamax Isata 3 aka Izzy.

Getting comfortable

Our first trip with them, the dog barked, whined and panted while secured in his seat. For 40 minutes. On the freeway. Not a peep out of the cat. Or she couldn't be heard above Champ's barks, whines and panting.

Once set up at the State Park campsite, however, he was fine.

Mouse and Champ promptly took up residence on our bed. Mouse also has the entire cab over area dedicated to her as her safe place when Champ gets to be too much.

What's out there?

You can see that Champ was happy keeping guard. He really enjoyed barking at everything he saw and heard. One night Mouse saw or heard a raccoon. She screeched, woke up Champ who barked like a guard dog. I'm sure he woke the neighbors, but he also scared the raccoon off.

It was rather quiet at the campground, we being one of 8 RVs camping. So there weren't a lot of people hanging around and he soon got the idea that he can't bark at everyone. The next night, when the raccoon struck again? Not a peep out of him.

This is my spot

The downside? Well, once ensconced on the bed, Champ does not want to budge. It's quite the struggle for two people and a dog for bed space. Mouse will occasionally crawl into bed with us, but is usually happy curled up on the dinette benches, the cab seats or staring out her personal windows up in the cab over area. Or sitting in the middle of one of the benches and giving you the "look" when you try to move her. She does not like us to close the shades at night, and often when trying to get to sleep you will hear her moving from window to window to get behind the shades.

On the way home, we secured Champ between the driver and passenger seats where he could be with us. We hardly knew he was there. I'm anxious to try a longer trip with them.