# New Outback Owner



## OPKSclan

Great website! Full of great information.

We just traded in our 2000 21' Aero Cub "pop out" for a new 2004 28-BHS Outback. Couldn't be happier. What a beautiful interior and a plentiful list of standard equipment.

We are a family of 5 with a 10, 8 & 4 year old. Haven't had a chance to camp in it yet, but did set it up in the driveway and tested all of the systems without a hitch, exept for tripping the 15amp garage recepticle breaker when I turned the air conditioner on. (I new that would happen). The fit and finish is way above par.

We're going to take a "break-in" trip close to home to make sure everything functions properly before we take a 10 day trip thru the Colorado Rockies in July.

Here is some info on my tow vehicle:
2002 Chevrolet Suburban Z71 4X4
Vortec 5300 V8
w/ Tow/Haul Mode


----------



## NDJollyMon

Welcome to OUTBACKERS!







Glad you like your OUTBACK!


----------



## Twins Make 4

Welcome aboard...This is a great site for Outback info. Stay Tuned.

Happy Outbacking.


----------



## Y-Guy

Welcome aboard and keep us posted about your maiden voyage too!


----------



## CamperDC

Hello Smith Clan,

Your plan for a short break-in trip is a good one. This will allow you to get most everything buttoned up for your long trip. Of course every trip we make I find something else I need to get, fix or do.

Hope your Outback provides the memories ours is.

Have fun


----------



## California Jim

Welcome aboard!

We love our 28BHS and just got back from a 1000 mile 1 week trip to Yosemite. The floor plan of the 28BHS is so wide open that we never feel cramped inside, and everybody has their space if needed. It's a very nice unit and I expect you and the family will be well pleased. Happy Trails


----------



## OPKSclan

Thank you all for your kind reception. I am looking forward to utilizing Outbackers.com as a valuable resource. I hope to be able to contribute some good advice that will help other campers.


----------



## summergames84

A big welcome to the Smith clan! action


----------



## borntorv

Welcome to the Smiths,

Congrats on getting the Outback and a 28BHS to boot. We attended my niece's wedding this past weekend and to save a few bucks (like $500







) we took the Outback and the whole family slept in it. That made five big guys, the Mrs. and my nine year-old daughter. It wasn't palatial but we all slept comfortably and had a good time sharing the weekend.

Hope you find the unit to be as flexible as it has for us,

Greg


----------



## hurricaneplumber

Welcome!!!!! Great choice, I have not had any major problems with mine.

Happy Camping.......

Enjoy it

Kevin


----------



## mjwencl

Well to Outbackers! Nice to have you here! You'll find our group very informative, fun, and nice to converse with! action

Have a great summer camping in the new rig! sunny

Cheers!
Michael


----------



## horsesense

Hi All,
My family and I just picked up our 2004 21RS. Were dying to get out with it. Have res. for a couple places along the central coast of Ca. for a couple of weeks in Aug. We cant wait to meet other outbackers. C-ya!!


----------



## OPKSclan

Just got back from our breakin trip with our new 28-BHS. We went an hour North of our Kansas City home to Smithville Lake, Missouri. Everything worked great







. Slide out slid out, A/C, water heater, everything except the bathroom exhaust fan worked flawlessly. The exhaust fan was blowing when it should have been sucking. I am assuming it is wired wrong and blowing into the bathroom instead of exhausting. Any easy/quick fix? I don't want to take it into the dealer for such a small problem.

We camped at an electric only site. Hauled potable water in. Plumbing system worked wonderfully. The only gripe I had was the size of the grey water holding tank. We max'd out on Saturday night. Any way to replace it with a larger capacity tank? Any other suggestions?

After reading many forums on towing weights, I was concerned about my setup. I have an '02 5.3L/3.73 ratio Suburban. I took the loaded vehicles to a scale and my Gross Combined Vehicle Weight was 11,760 lbs (minus 2 kids, wife and dog) with my Pro Eagle WDH and sway bar setup. The max on the Burb is 13,000 lbs. I figured with the rest of the family in, I am about 800 to 900lbs under my GCVW. I know I am pushing it, but the Burb worked very well, other than a couple of standing starts at the bottom of very steep hills. I am sure in a couple of years we will upgrade to a 3/4 ton diesel, but for now the 5.3L V8 will have to do. I kind of enjoyed making the many minute throttle adjustments in third gear and tow/mode to keep the RPM's at the most efficient levels without hitting a high revving downshift into second. I was able to keep up with traffic nicely.

Now that our breakin trip is successfully behind us, we are looking forward to our 8 day trip through the Colorado Rockies the end of this month. Nothing like punishing the old Suburban in the heat of July and August at extreme altitudes. If we can make it through this, I will never have a worry about my setup. I am going to have a transmission tempreture gauge installed however. That's all we would need to have happen is the transmission going out on some switchback. I will be planning my routes very carefully to avoid any extreme grades just to be sure.

Thanks for reading my post. Happy Outbacking!!!!!!!

Dan


----------



## California Jim

Congrats Dan on the maiden voyage, and glad your system worked well. As to your fan direction simply reverse the wires and it will spin the correct way. This repair is not that uncommon.


----------



## Y-Guy

Dan we carry a 10 gallon blue tote tank with wheels, so we can dump grey water without taking the camper down. You can get various sizes, 5-20+

Congrats on the first trip out.


----------

