# New Addition To Our Family!



## folsom_five (Jan 10, 2008)

IT'S OFFICIAL! We are the proud owners of a new 2008 31rqs.









We purchased our "baby" from Holman RV in Ohio, and had a great experience with their dealership. We are in California so everything was done over the phone and through mail.

We decided to meet a driver 1/2 way to pick it up. We decided on Colorado since DW brother lives there. It was a good excuse to make a trip out there for a visit. We planned on meeting the driver at my BIL house on Saturday morning. Everything "seemed" like it was going to work out perfectly.

We left last Thursday afternoon, and headed out on I-80... We got as far as Reno, NV and got a call from the driver... "OK, we're in Colorado, can we drop the trailer off now?". WHAT? 2 days early? I guess they left earlier than planned... It would have been nice if they let US know that, BEFORE they arrived in Colorado. Well, luckily we were able to got hold of my BIL and he found a place to stick the TT for a couple of days until we could arrive.

Of course Mother Nature didn't want to play nice either. We wake up Friday morning (in SLC, UT) to find out that I-80 is closed in WY due to snow and high winds. So we head south to I-70... That is closed in Vail, CO due to avalanche control, but we figured by the time we made it down to Vail it would be opened back up. It was open, but traffic was horrible. Chains were required on all commercial trucks, so everyone was driving at a snail's pace. It probably took us ~2hours to go 5 miles. It was 8pm and about 8 degrees, so the roads were a little icy. We finally made it to BIL house, but didn't get to checkout our Outback until the next morning.

Saturday morning was beautiful in Littleton, CO. The sun was shinning, the temps were pleasant. We set out to check on our baby. Everything looked good. Only a few minor issues that we noticed. This is one of the problems of not being able to do a PDI before delivery. There were a few things that would have been taken care of, if a PDI were completed.

I spent the next few hours getting my Equalizer installed and setup properly. It took a bit of extra time because I had to move some of the wiring that they attach to the inside of the A-frame. You would think that the manufacturer would account for some of the different hitch configurations when they are attaching wiring/screws to the frame. Only had to move the 2 "short blocks" about 2 inches back, and then had to figure out how to remove one of the screws that either the manufacturer or the dealer had broken off.

The next problem was the brakes!! They didn't want to engage properly. Was it the TT brake wiring, or was it my brake controller? My controller worked just fine with my last TT, which was used just a week earlier. They would sometimes engage, and sometimes not. They worked most of the time, so I figured I would just leave extra room in front of me on the drive home.

We leave CO on Sunday morning, with a High Wind Advisory through most of WY. I took it slow and was very impressed with how well the Equalizer handled the trailer with the winds. They were forecasting 25-30 mph winds with 50+ mph gusts. It was a stressful several hours, but the TV & TT did great!

Stopped in SLC, UT on Sunday night, and then drove the rest of the way home on Monday. It was a long drive, but I just wanted to get home and take a break from driving.

Tuesday we cleaned the TT up, was able to de-winterize it (not needed in sunny CA







). Unfortunately while going through the de-winterization process, I found out that my fresh water tank leaks!







NOT happy about that one. I would have to take most of the covering off of the underside to figure out where it is leaking from. I guess a trip to the local dealer is in order (I hope they are not too angry with me for not buying it from them).

Only a few other minor issues will need to be dealt with to get my TT in tip-top shape.

Taking her out for a test run on 2/23. Just for the night, and just the DW and I.

Unfortunately we didn't take many pix while on the road. I will be taking more this weekend, and posting them soon.

Looking forward to our camping season! We already have 6 trips planned and looking forward to each one.









I'm already thinking about all of the mods I want to do. Just need to figure out where to start.









OK, I think I have rambled on enough. Sorry for the long post, but I am just excited about our new baby.

Greg


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## nonny (Aug 14, 2005)

WOW! You're a brave soul taking that TT through WY with those winds! Glad you made it home safe and sound. Congratulations on the new OB. I hope you find your leak soon.


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## Piecemaker (Nov 15, 2007)

Congrats on the new tt and glad to hear you had a safe trip back.









Brian


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## fl_diesel (Feb 15, 2006)

Congrats on the new TT, it's big isn't it? I had the same issue with the circuit breakers mounted to the frame, i had forgotten about that. One would think that Holman knows the TT is going far away and they would give the trailer a thorough inspection (and approptiate fix) before sending it thousands of miles away. I would be pretty angry about the tank leak that should have been caught!

Well you will get through the minor issues and enjoying camping soon enough...

Enjoy!


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## MaeJae (May 12, 2005)

WoW!!!
I bet you needed a C-section for that birth!!!
That's a big baby!

CONGRATULATIONS!

MaeJae


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## folsom_five (Jan 10, 2008)

fl_diesel said:


> Congrats on the new TT, it's big isn't it? I had the same issue with the circuit breakers mounted to the frame, i had forgotten about that. One would think that Holman knows the TT is going far away and they would give the trailer a thorough inspection (and approptiate fix) before sending it thousands of miles away. I would be pretty angry about the tank leak that should have been caught!
> 
> Well you will get through the minor issues and enjoying camping soon enough...
> 
> Enjoy!


In Holman's defense, the TT was winterized, so it would have been hard for them to catch the tank leak. I would assume that there would be some quality control at Keystone and it would have been caught there.

It is definately a LONG combination... 35' TT + 20' TV = 55' total length. That is a lot of trailer to be pulling, but it does great!

Holman's inspection could have been a lot better. I don't know what (if anything) they found/fixed, but there were items that were easily noticable when I 1st walked into it. Hopefully I won't have issues trying to get them resolved.


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## Fanatical1 (Jan 9, 2006)

Greg,

Congrats on the new Outback! Sounds like you had quite the trip! We had some really bad weather around Ohio the past week or so.
Good thing you met them half way the way. I had trouble just driving a car in this mess and would not have wanted to be pulling the
TT!

I love the 31RQS! Great choice....

Let's see some pictures of that monster.

Mark


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Congrats on the new Outback. I'm sure You're going to LOVE it.
















That is one SWEEEEEET Outback! Love the 31RQS layout.


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## Tyvekcat (Aug 28, 2007)

Congrats on the new Outback. But you just got to love those Equalizer hitches !
Every time I read about someone's experience with an Equalizer hitch, in real world situations(Like wind), I really feel good that I lucked into a Equalizer. Safety First. That thing is rock solid. It has worked great on the two trucks I have used it with. 
Good Choice Greg !


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

You're gonna love that TT! We sure enjoy ours.

Now pulling ours with a long bed Silverado 3500. Wow, that's long! But I like it.

Enjoy your new rig.

Mark


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## folsom_five (Jan 10, 2008)

OK, so I'm a little slow on figuring out this image in the post thing, how do I get it to display larger?

This is a pix DW took after I got it all hooked up. There will be more pix in my gallery soon.


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