We ordered our 5th wheel back in 2010. After we got it was when I originally had the thought that I should have "deleted" something from our "coach" that comes standard.
Last night, we had a hailstorm visit Oklahoma City with stones as large as tennis balls. Guess who now gets to replace their bathroom skylight? I certainly wish I had thought of deleting that thing when we ordered. As it is, ours comes with a "shade" that can be closed and we always keep that shade closed anyway, so a skylight is really useless to us. We keep the shade closed so that sunlight doesn't always hit the plastic walls of the shower and cause discoloration.
So, can anyone else think of "standard" things to delete when ordering a coach built? If you can, this might be helpful to those planning on ordering one instead of buying one off of a lot somewhere.
Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Saturday 27th of April 2013 08:50:13 AM
kb0zke said
01:51 AM Apr 28, 2013
When we visited the DRV factory they mentioned that some people delete the standard granite countertops and go with the Corian on the Elites. That would seem to be a no-brainer. I just took out the television and vcr in the bedroom and the space will become a small cabinet and a drawer. A television and stereo in the basement seems to be a waste of space, weight, and money. Of course, if it was just me there wouldn't even be a television set in the coach, but Jo Ann insists that there be one up front.
Raytronx said
02:07 AM Apr 28, 2013
I would delete the outside shower. Just a bunch of extra places to get a leak for me. I second the shower skylight and bedroom, outside TV wiring.
Racerguy said
04:35 PM Apr 28, 2013
I would delete the whole house vacuum they all seem to install now.All we used after a while was the toe kick dust pan.I could see where the hose was starting to scratch the wood trim and it was actually heavier than the little upright we bought at Wal-Mart and took up the same space.
NWescapee said
12:34 AM Apr 29, 2013
I agree with the skylight even though we usually don't have to worry about hail in this part of the country, Terry - you're making me rethink plans to visit family in TX/OK, I hated those hailstorms.
We just bought a rig without an oven, we have the microwave/convection oven instead. Our previous 2 TT's had ovens and in the 7 years we had those with trips lasting anywhere from 3 days to 30 days, I probably used the ovens a total of 3 times. Now that we'll be going full time we'll see if we miss having an oven, always seemed like a wasted space when we were part timers.
Personally if I were going to order a rig, I would not want a king size bed, Olympic or Olympic Queen would give you more floor space.
I also agree with minimal TVs, ours came with 2 including one in the bedroom that will probably not be used. We've never had one in the home bedroom, why have one in the RV?
We've also removed the washer/dryer as we rarely stay at places with full hook ups and wanted the extra storage space for my husband's art supplies, tools, etc.
kb0zke said
01:13 AM Apr 29, 2013
And while we're at it, why do so many manufacturers seem to think that a nightstand on only one side of the bed is sufficient? I agree on skipping the king bed. A queen is plenty big enough for most people.
Terry and Jo said
03:13 AM Apr 29, 2013
With regards to the above, I researched for two years to prepare to order our Mobile Suites. We didn't take the central vac option, we deleted the bedroom TV, and we opted for the Queen-sized Select Comfort bed. When we went with the Queen-sized bed, DRV did put in a second nightstand, even though I didn't think to ask for one.
Good points everyone. These comments will likely give "food for thought" for other potential buyers.
Terry
TXRVr said
12:06 AM Apr 30, 2013
Terry and Jo wrote:Guess who now gets to replace their bathroom skylight? I certainly wish I had thought of deleting that thing when we ordered.
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Saturday 27th of April 2013 08:50:13 AM
I had some cracking and water leaks around the shower skylight on my MH. Rather than replace the OEM skylight, which would just end up the same way in a few years, I chose to go another route. I put a 3/8 inch piece of clear plexiglass on top of the hole and one on the bottom of it. Glued them to each side of the roof/ceiling and bolted them together thru the roof. Then I caulked the top side and added Etherbond taping. In the prcess, I removed the shade cover. It never keep the sunlight out anyway.
Lucky Mike said
12:45 AM Apr 30, 2013
On my coach the previous owner added a second tinted dome over the skylite very nicely done and protects the factory system!!
Delaine and Lindy said
12:45 AM May 3, 2013
The factory dome over shower is very cheap, and hail will damage, as noted, and the Sun does a number on the dome, and it get very brittle.. I would never have a dome over the shower again.. And highly recommend you delete the bathroom window and the window behind the TV.
We ordered our 5th wheel back in 2010. After we got it was when I originally had the thought that I should have "deleted" something from our "coach" that comes standard.
Last night, we had a hailstorm visit Oklahoma City with stones as large as tennis balls. Guess who now gets to replace their bathroom skylight? I certainly wish I had thought of deleting that thing when we ordered. As it is, ours comes with a "shade" that can be closed and we always keep that shade closed anyway, so a skylight is really useless to us. We keep the shade closed so that sunlight doesn't always hit the plastic walls of the shower and cause discoloration.
So, can anyone else think of "standard" things to delete when ordering a coach built? If you can, this might be helpful to those planning on ordering one instead of buying one off of a lot somewhere.
Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Saturday 27th of April 2013 08:50:13 AM
We just bought a rig without an oven, we have the microwave/convection oven instead. Our previous 2 TT's had ovens and in the 7 years we had those with trips lasting anywhere from 3 days to 30 days, I probably used the ovens a total of 3 times. Now that we'll be going full time we'll see if we miss having an oven, always seemed like a wasted space when we were part timers.
Personally if I were going to order a rig, I would not want a king size bed, Olympic or Olympic Queen would give you more floor space.
I also agree with minimal TVs, ours came with 2 including one in the bedroom that will probably not be used. We've never had one in the home bedroom, why have one in the RV?
We've also removed the washer/dryer as we rarely stay at places with full hook ups and wanted the extra storage space for my husband's art supplies, tools, etc.
With regards to the above, I researched for two years to prepare to order our Mobile Suites. We didn't take the central vac option, we deleted the bedroom TV, and we opted for the Queen-sized Select Comfort bed. When we went with the Queen-sized bed, DRV did put in a second nightstand, even though I didn't think to ask for one.
Good points everyone. These comments will likely give "food for thought" for other potential buyers.
Terry
I had some cracking and water leaks around the shower skylight on my MH. Rather than replace the OEM skylight, which would just end up the same way in a few years, I chose to go another route. I put a 3/8 inch piece of clear plexiglass on top of the hole and one on the bottom of it. Glued them to each side of the roof/ceiling and bolted them together thru the roof. Then I caulked the top side and added Etherbond taping. In the prcess, I removed the shade cover. It never keep the sunlight out anyway.