First RV: 2023 Palazzo 33.5

[Davii]

Hello all,

Just bought a 2023 Palazzo 33.5 last week, pick up next week. I've been looking at this specific RV for about 8 months, they dropped the price again ahead of an upcoming RV show so I decided to buy.

This is my first RV purchase. I am not a total newbie, I have been on 4 rental trips with various classes and types to determine what we wanted, but am still very new.

Very excited to get out and enjoy the country, the wife and I will definitely be making use of the military bases as well, thank you in advance for any advice!

 

[Scubawise]

Congratulations
Camp and open the champagne ��

 

[MJC62]

Welcome aboard! Very nice rig!
Did the dealer suggest any accessories? Supply any? Or give you a gift card for their camp store?
There are going to be must haves to add to the RV such as dump hoses, water hoses, pressure regulators, water filters, surge protectors etc. Most of us who have owned RV's for any length of time have accumulated a substantial amount of additional must have gear we keep in the rig.
Let the shopping begin!

 

[Scubawise]

Welcome aboard! Very nice rig!
Did the dealer suggest any accessories? Supply any? Or give you a gift card for their camp store?
There are going to be must haves to add to the RV such as dump hoses, water hoses, pressure regulators, water filters, surge protectors etc. Most of us who have owned RV's for any length of time have accumulated a substantial amount of additional must have gear we keep in the rig.
Let the shopping begin!

4 years later..we are still shopping!

 

[Davii]

Welcome aboard! Very nice rig!
Did the dealer suggest any accessories? Supply any? Or give you a gift card for their camp store?
There are going to be must haves to add to the RV such as dump hoses, water hoses, pressure regulators, water filters, surge protectors etc. Most of us who have owned RV's for any length of time have accumulated a substantial amount of additional must have gear we keep in the rig.
Let the shopping begin!

They’re supplying the bare necessities (water hose, sewage line, sewage stand offs, clear elbow) and giving me a $250 gift card to their store. I’m sure I need a LOT more stuff, appreciate any advice on must haves ahead of our first trip.

 

[HMCSW]

Hello all,

Just bought a 2023 Palazzo 33.5 last week, pick up next week. I've been looking at this specific RV for about 8 months, they dropped the price again ahead of an upcoming RV show so I decided to buy.

This is my first RV purchase. I am not a total newbie, I have been on 4 rental trips with various classes and types to determine what we wanted, but am still very new.

Very excited to get out and enjoy the country, the wife and I will definitely be making use of the military bases as well, thank you in advance for any advice!

Congrats!! Our first was the ARIA. Make sure you get a long in service of how to operate everything. Our dealer went over every system. Ask as many questions you can think of.

 

[paulwadley]

Congrats on the purchase. Check to see if the coach you bought has a built in surge protection device. If it does not, I would purchase one as soon as possible. There are several brands out there to look at. Progressive Industries and Hughes Autoformers are two of the most common brands. You can either buy a portable unit of have one installed in your coach. They will protect the electrical systems inside your coach in the event of a power surge/lightening strike.

Paul

 

[HMCSW]

Congrats on the purchase. Check to see if the coach you bought has a built in surge protection device. If it does not, I would purchase one as soon as possible. There are several brands out there to look at. Progressive Industries and Hughes Autoformers are two of the most common brands. You can either buy a portable unit of have one installed in your coach. They will protect the electrical systems inside your coach in the event of a power surge/lightening strike.

Paul

The Palazzo does have the surge protection built in. The shore power protection is in the power cord compartment and is the first thing the electricity reaches. Even so we always use on at the pedestal as well.

 

[NordicVetMBA]

Hello all,

Just bought a 2023 Palazzo 33.5 last week, pick up next week. I've been looking at this specific RV for about 8 months, they dropped the price again ahead of an upcoming RV show so I decided to buy.

This is my first RV purchase. I am not a total newbie, I have been on 4 rental trips with various classes and types to determine what we wanted, but am still very new.

Very excited to get out and enjoy the country, the wife and I will definitely be making use of the military bases as well, thank you in advance for any advice!

Congrats! I have a 2017 Palazzo 35.1. Love it. (I don't like booth seating, so we love the 35.1 with the table/chairs).

 

[DogLovers]

Welcome Aboard

Welcome to the blog spot for everything Thor and congratulations on your new expensive toy. Best advise I can give after roughly 40 years of RV'ing is this. Remember Murphy's Law because eventually you will meet it. Always leave yourself extra time to be anywhere. Flats happen, stuff breaks, the dog gets sick or you get sick and sometimes you just stay up to late and need to sleep in. Things will go wrong on occasion. The winner is the guy who takes it in stride and refuses to get stressed out about it. Everyone you do business with will think you're loaded because you bought a class A. So if you want to buy anything for it, don't tell the nice folks at the store what type you have until you have already made the deal. Remember, sometimes it really is easier to call an RV repair guy rather than sit in a campground for a whole day trying to figure out what's wrong when you can't even find the blinker fluid or knute valve.

In the end just have fun no matter what.

 

[Davii]

Thank you for the advice everyone! I think my wife already has trips for the next five years planned out, she's extremely excited!

Our amazon list is growing wildly.

 

[tnedator]

Thank you for the advice everyone! I think my wife already has trips for the next five years planned out, she's extremely excited!

Our amazon list is growing wildly.

Congrats!!

As mentioned above, I strongly suggest adding a sacrificial surge protector at the pedestal. That's what I do. I have one built into my transfer switch, but if that takes a hit, it protects the coach, but I'm without power (these days I carry an extra transfer switch just in case, but still, a pain to swap).

I would suggest getting either a progressive or southwire/surgeguard pedestal mount surge protector to protector the on board one.

On sewer hoses, I personally am a fan of these. Valterra Dominator series. They are much stiffer/thicker than most others, and have very secure connections. I also like having a clear 90/45/straight piece where it hooks to the coach, along with the clear 90 where it goes in the ground. On my coach, I can leave a clear 90 hooked up permanently.

For long trips, start to built a kit of tools and spare parts. If you search on here and other forums, you will see what others carry, and part will depend on your coach. For instance, if your hot water is propane, they likely have an overheat protector, heat based fuse of sorts, if so, you want a couple of those. I carry an extra water pump, and ground block (yours might or might not use the cheap ground block known to fail). Fuses of all sizes.

A nice tool kit, and see if your panels use the square bit (maybe it's a #1 square, can't remember), but will want to make sure you have those if you need to remove a panel or three.

If you don't have an on board TPMS, get one. I personally like the new Tireminder that shows all wheels, including Toad on one screen and the screen doesn't go blank, and with one button, sees all the temps. Many on the various forums prefer TST.

Congrats on you two starting the RV adventures for real after getting a taste with the rentals.

 

[Scubawise]

Thank you for the advice everyone! I think my wife already has trips for the next five years planned out, she's extremely excited!

Our amazon list is growing wildly.

I remember getting prime card that included $200 free cash that helped rv buying

 

[n3rcn3rc]

Welcome
Recommend u get C-RV Military app to search base info

Roger retired Navy
2022 Thor Delano

 

[Davii]

Picked her up and got her home this weekend. Made a few repairs I found already, a few more to make. Nothing major, a sliding door that was missing a stop, got it fixed, needed to adjust the generator good as it was very hard to get latched. That’s it at this point…

Question: how does one get Apple CarPlay to work? It says it’s capable on the brochure but I have a different model radio than it shows in the massive bag of manuals I received.

I have an Axxera ASC419N. Doesn’t look to be CarPlay compatible but figured I’d ask since it’s on the brochure!

Here’s a few pics of her in the driveway, the wife is having a great time packing, decorating, and planning out our adventures!

 

[paulwadley]

Congrats on the purchase. Look around the radio for a connection point(USB-C) port. It maybe hard to see if it is tucked inside a cubby hole. You may have to directly attach your cell phone to it in order for the Carplay feature to work if it even has that option.

Paul

 

[Beau388]

From the Axxera ASDC419N installation instructions -
Axxera RV Nav Navigation App

Connect an APP-enabled iPhone or Android via the USB 1 slot to use navigation features


The USB C port appears to the on the side of the unit but a dongle with USB C and USB A connections. is provided.

 

[Davii]

From the Axxera ASDC419N installation instructions -
Axxera RV Nav Navigation App

Connect an APP-enabled iPhone or Android via the USB 1 slot to use navigation features


The USB C port appears to the on the side of the unit but a dongle with USB C and USB A connections. is provided.

The dongle I have doesn't have USB C on it, just two A connections. I connected to #1 and it sees the Iphone but only treats it as an Ipod. I don't see where this radio has Carplay ability despite what it says in Thor's brochure.

 

[16ACE27]

Picked her up and got her home this weekend. Made a few repairs I found already, a few more to make. Nothing major, a sliding door that was missing a stop, got it fixed, needed to adjust the generator good as it was very hard to get latched. That’s it at this point…

Question: how does one get Apple CarPlay to work? It says it’s capable on the brochure but I have a different model radio than it shows in the massive bag of manuals I received.

I have an Axxera ASC419N. Doesn’t look to be CarPlay compatible but figured I’d ask since it’s on the brochure!

Here’s a few pics of her in the driveway, the wife is having a great time packing, decorating, and planning out our adventures!

Here's your Radio Manual:
https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...176a026094c83df2632/1613590908659/ASC419N.pdf

It apparently does NOT have "carplay".
As you discovered it can play music from the USB port or Bluetooth.
It has a proprietary APP you can download for Navigation.

But I think That's the extent of its connectivity.

 

[Davii]

Here's your Radio Manual:
https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...176a026094c83df2632/1613590908659/ASC419N.pdf

It apparently does NOT have "carplay".
As you discovered it can play music from the USB port or Bluetooth.
It has a proprietary APP you can download for Navigation.

But I think That's the extent of its connectivity.

That's what I'm gathering, oh well. It looks like there was a mid-year change on the radio as the 2024 uses one that IS Carplay compatible and the manual I have is for that radio.

I'm going to contact Thor and ask, their brochure says it has that feature so... I doubt they'll do anything, but can't hurt to ask.

If I can't get Carplay I will probably wind up upgrading to the Alpine ILX-F511, I just don't know if it will still work with the turn signal cameras, I'm sure the backup cam will still work,