Expecting my first (RV) in a few days!

[NurseDon]

I'm Don Wood. My wife (Debbie) and I are retired nurses. Since we have some time for us (and grand kids), we decided to purchase an RV and start traveling some. We are scheduled to pick up our new 2019 Vegas 25.6 on Monday in St. Augustine.

I have been reading many post for forum members that have been immensely helpful. I also stumbled upon the link to Ed Felker's Checklist and User's Guide - outstanding! Due to the information I have found, I have already called the dealer and they will install the steering stabilizer before we receive our Vegas.

Looking forward to learning a great deal, enjoying the road and meeting some of you as we go forward.

Don Wood, CRNA Emeritus
Amateur radio WB4UBK

 

[ducksface]

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f27/axis-vegas-mods-1-2-3-go-820-89.html#post205992

Tantamount only to Colonel Felker's manual, this thread is where to learn the most of an axis/vegas.

 

[paulwadley]

You should have many new adventures travelling around. If you have any questions, just ask and someone will have the answer.

 

[Mr Sunshine-THOR]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new coach and retirement!

You didn't mention alignment. You will be wise to do that asap, best done loaded like you would for travel including fresh water. You'll need to find a place that can align trucks. Call around, you might have to go to Jacksonville for that.

Checklists will be your best friend. Start with the ones in the excellent Felker manual and build from there. Happy trails!

 

[Bob Denman]

Welcome to the best RV Park on the internet!

 

[axis earl]

Congratulations. Which steering stabilizer unit are you having installed?

 

[JamieGeek]

Congratulations and welcome.

 

[NurseDon]

Congratulations. Which steering stabilizer unit are you having installed?

I am going with the Roadmaster unit. The salesman kept telling me that the Vegas doesn’t need a stabilizer, but from my readings on the forum, it should make my life behind the wheel a bit nicer.

I will have the front end alignment checked (with weight on board) before we venture out on the road.

 

[mountainsam]

Congrats on the new rig. Let us know how the shake down cruise goes.

 

[Bob Denman]

I'll bet that it's getting tough to sleep about now...
Good luck, and please let us know how it all goes!

 

[NurseDon]

It's home!!!
First, thank you all for the warm welcome. I have learned a ton of information from reading various threads on this forum.

Unlike what the salesman told me, this is not just like driving a large SUV. It took a little time to get my sight picture out the front window to be in the middle of the travel lane. Also, the steering stabilizer was a wise move. The trip home went through an agricultural area - very large area on both sides of the road with no trees to break the wind. My wife was following me home and saw me swerve and wondered what was up. Then she drove through the same gust! I shudder to think what that wind would have done without the stabilizer.

I have started my exploration of all things Vegas. Also started a list of things that the dealer will need to address or tell me more about. (Where is that Wifi Ranger located?) Also downloading many different equipment manuals that are not supplied.

My wife and I are happy and starting to plan our shakedown cruise. After that we are starting to plan a trip from Florida to Arizona and New Mexico. Again, thank you all for sharing your knowledge and experiences with RVs in general and Vegas/Axis in particular.

 

[revjeffrey]

Congratulations & Safe Travels!
......Hold on tight to that steering wheel out west.

 

[Lt Keefer]

Hope you enjoy your new toy.

 

[MJC68]

Safe travels and welcome to retirement!

 

[GVP-The Boxcar Children]

Congratulations-enjoy the journey!
GVP

 

[Bob Denman]

Glad to hear that it's home!
Now: your adventures can begin!

 

[ducksface]

Amazon sells inexpensive TPMS systems.
Make it one of your initial purchases.
I know, a trillion trillion miles of world wide history without a TPMS.
It's the best peace of mind I've ever purchased for a MotorHome.

 

[mountainsam]

TMC.com/owner-resource/ should get you all the owners manual for your rig. You will need the VIN number to get logged in.

 

[Pabs4]

Congrats and Welcome!

Welcome to this forum! My husband and I are also newbies. We purchased our first RV in March 2019. Searching topics on this forum and merely reading through posts have been invaluable for us. I truly don’t think we could have managed nearly as well as we have without the knowledge shared by these fellow owners. I hope you love your Vegas as much as my husband and I love ours!

You were so right to have a steering stabilizer installed. We did the same, even though our salesman and dealership also told us it wasn’t necessary. Our initial trip home from the dealership was tough. We had to travel I-10 from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Beaumont, Texas. Even with the stabilizer my husband was fighting the wheel due to wind and 18 wheelers. Our Vegas also pulled to the left. We immediately scheduled an appointment with our local Frame and Front End shop. They did an alignment and adjusted casters? It drove better but was then pulling to the right. I read more on this forum and we decided to have our local shop add a rear trac bar. They also adjusted things to get rid of the pull to the right. It’s like driving a completely different vehicle now! You can let go of the wheel on a smooth road and it doesn’t pull at all. Now when most 18 wheelers pass us, we hardly feel any effect.

We just returned from our final trip to our dealership in Baton Rouge to have some warranty work completed. It’s our final trip there because the traffic is horrendous in Baton Rouge. It’s really bad. We will find someplace in Texas that can do warranty work if we find the need. While driving home my husband and I were remembering how tough the initial trip home was. Just so you know, I also drive our Vegas. Every dollar we spent on stabilizing the way it drives was worth it. If it still handled the same way it did when we first brought it home, I would not be driving it. It truly made a difference.

Enjoy your new RV and don’t hesitate to ask the experienced people on this forum for help. They are awesome!!

Pam

 

[Strait331]

Don I bought a Vegas about 6 months ago and we love it. We made a lot of upgrades. Give me a call sometime at 386 262 5972 and we can compare notes over coffee. We are retiring next Spring. We live in Winding Creek in St Augustine.