# First Walk-Through For Used 2011 Outback 250Rs



## BluegrassRV (Aug 14, 2012)

Hello all, first post. Wife and I bought our first RV, 2011 Outback 250RS Used (gently) from Holman RV in Batavia, OH (Cincinnati). Tomorrow morning is our walk-through inspection and overview on how everything works. The only advice the technician had for us on the phone was to "bring your thinking caps."

So I was hoping some of you RV Vets would have some advice on what potential problems we should be looking for that the dealer might be able to fix now before it becomes a problem later... and also what questions we should ask that might make our tutorial a better experience.

Sorry if this topic has already been covered elsewhere, I searched but didnt find anything.

Very excited to have found this forum dedicated to our brand of RV!


----------



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Congrats on the pending Outback...









As far as "thinking cap" goes, click on the link in my signature below and when the page opens, scroll to toward the bottom and then open the "Pre Delivery Inspection" file. This is 4 pages of information to go over at the RV dealers site BEFORE you buy. Should take you about 4 hours to complete. Wear comfortable clothes that you don't mind getting dirty, as you will be crawling under/on top of the RV.


----------



## hautevue (Mar 8, 2009)

Print out the Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) list from Oregon_Camper. It's great. We bought our TT from Holman in the spring of 2009 and they were 100% cooperative and went over everything in the PDI.

Allow 3 - 4 hours, and leave the kids at home. They will get bored to tears and distract you and DW. If you have to have the kids, Holman can arrange a sitter for the PDI hours. Well worth the $50-$60 bucks or so to get them out of your hair.

Bring pads of paper and extra pens. You and DW should each have a flashlight. Wear old clothes so you can lie down on the floor as the tech is explaining things under the TT. DW should wear slacks or jeans or some such so she can lie down or climb ladders without flashing the assembled multitudes!

Holman will allow you to stay overnight after the PDI, "Up against the fence!" if you ask. In our case, they offered. That way you stay there (no motel bills!), and can try all the goodies out overnight. "Up against the fence" is where they park you. It has 30a power but no water. They will put a lot of fresh water in the tank for you and the propane tanks were filled, so we had hot water for a shower as well as electricity. My DW made fresh coffee the next morning--we'd brought a coffee maker for motel stays on the way to Cin. from Baltimore and back.

You can cook but we chose not to. Too much hassle with cooking utensils, plates, etc. etc. We went out to eat at a nearby chain restaurant--you just have to be back by a time certain (9 pm?) because they lock the fence and you can't get in or out. And we found a "hidden" problem--the microwave door latch was not working right. The next morning the tech pulled the original microwave out and put in a new one (we'd bought new). Easy and fast fix. That's the advantage of staying overnight in the TT. And if you have your kids with you, they'll LOVE it! Their first big adventure.

Good luck and welcome to the Outbackers site.


----------



## BluegrassRV (Aug 14, 2012)

Wow, great advice all around. I have printed the PDI walkthrough document and i will follow it.

We also bought a new Center Line Torsion Weight Distribution Hitch and Active Sway Control System. That is supposed to be installed by the time the walk-through begins. Any recommendations on inspecting the hitch and sway control system?

Thanks again!


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

BluegrassRV said:


> Wow, great advice all around. I have printed the PDI walkthrough document and i will follow it.
> 
> We also bought a new Center Line Torsion Weight Distribution Hitch and Active Sway Control System. That is supposed to be installed by the time the walk-through begins. Any recommendations on inspecting the hitch and sway control system?
> 
> Thanks again!


Plan on redoing it yourself once you get the trailer. Most are no set up correctly from the dealer as the trailers are not loaded the way they will be when you go camping.


----------



## tilly67 (Aug 15, 2012)

Great Pre Delivery Checklist, I wish I would have had this with me three weeks ago when we went to pick up our 2011 Outback 250RS. We bought private party from the original owners and he was very thorough on the walk through, however the checklist would have been a great addition.

We are preparing to camp with our Outback this weekend so I am furiously going over all things I can possibly check. I noticed yesterday that the black plastic under the rear slide was sagging a little on the inside front right corner. Under further review the manufacturer only glued this section on since it's inside the camper, the same sheathing is held on by white moldings that protrude outside. Have a quick look under the bed in the front, you will see what I am talking about, it's a black plastic sheet that runs to the back of the slide out. The glue was breaking loose on ours. It's glued and clamped right now.

The first day we brought it home we enjoyed a night of driveway camping, acclimating our dog to the new camper. We were laying in the bed, and neither reading light on the bed would work. I checked all switches, bulbs, etc and couldn't figure it out. As it turns out there is a small power connector on the lower right side of the bed slide out that needs to be plugged in for those lights to work. Most importantly however is that you UNPLUG it before bringing the slide in or you will rip it out of the wall and possibly damage it.

My purchase included a Equalizer Hitch that came off a Chevy Tahoe. I own a Chevy Avalanche so the setup was quite similar. As the other poster mentioned, make sure you double check it once you have it home and loaded up. The Equalizer seems to be a good fit for my truck, after all it was part of the deal!

We can't wait to head out on Friday. I'm glad to have found this forum.

Happy Camping!
Corey


----------



## BluegrassRV (Aug 14, 2012)

tilly67 said:


> ...We are preparing to camp with our Outback this weekend so I am furiously going over all things I can possibly check. I noticed yesterday that the black plastic under the rear slide was sagging a little on the inside front right corner. Under further review the manufacturer only glued this section on since it's inside the camper, the same sheathing is held on by white moldings that protrude outside. Have a quick look under the bed in the front, you will see what I am talking about, it's a black plastic sheet that runs to the back of the slide out. The glue was breaking loose on ours. It's glued and clamped right now.
> 
> The first day we brought it home we enjoyed a night of driveway camping, acclimating our dog to the new camper. We were laying in the bed, and neither reading light on the bed would work. I checked all switches, bulbs, etc and couldn't figure it out. As it turns out there is a small power connector on the lower right side of the bed slide out that needs to be plugged in for those lights to work. Most importantly however is that you UNPLUG it before bringing the slide in or you will rip it out of the wall and possibly damage it....


Corey, I have printed out what you wrote and will make sure to review it during the inspection. Thanks for the advice on the rear slide plug!


----------

