Fly and drive tool kit, picking our new to us CA 23A

[sachilles]

So my wife, son and myself fly to Dulles on Monday. We are scheduled to look over the 23a we reserved for purchase at Cruise America in Manassas.

It is potentially our first motorhome purchase. I plan to look it over very well before we agree to buy it/walk away.
If purchased, we will drive it back to Vermont which is about a 10+ drive. We intend to drive half the distance, camp at a Walmart and finish the rest off the next day. We have the whole week if needed, so we won't rush out of the dealer.

I'm trying to figure out what I bring in my luggage to help aid in inspection of the rig, and what is wise to bring with me to drive it home. There is a harbor freight tool, walmart and most of civilization to purchase stuff on site if it makes more sense than putting in my luggage.

I plan on purchasing a bottle jack, and 4 way lug wrench(anyone know the lug size off the top of your head) at harbor freight, as those will live in the motorhome. Might buy a cheapo tool kit to live in the motorhome as well. Buy some pillows locally.

I plan to bring from home.
Phillips and regular screwdriver.
multi bit screw driver.
Short pry bar.
LED drop light
Head lamp
debating bringing my impact gun and few sockets.
Breaker bar
OBD2 tool
vice grips
Sleeping bags
Shop rags
Print copy of the rental manual
Socket set/ratchet
Pyrometer
Voltmeter
adjustable wrench, large and small.
Air pressure gauge
Mini air compressor.
mini jump pack
AC and DC phone chargers/batteries

We have two free bags per person on the airline. So we have the capacity to bring stuff.
I'm of the mind that if I bring it, I won't need it.

What else?

Thank you.

[RambleOnNW]

How many of those tools do you plan to keep in your rig full-time vs. keep at home. If you were planning on buying duplicate sets of tools anyway just buy them on the road, much easier than packing. We have 2 sets of sleeping bags even, a set in the rig and a set at home for emergencies.

[Photomike]

One thing that I put in my RV the second it was bought was a Bluetooth hands free set for my phone. That went in before the plates went on. It is portable and as I get calls for my business that was important to take with me.

Don't forget your cell phone charger! Nothing worse than a breakdown with a dead cellphone or two.

[AJR]

Have CA put on an awning if it does not have one.

[travisc]

Might consider a leather man and a mega pro screwdriver these are some of my favorite tools,

[IAMICHABOD]

It sounds like you have got it covered and I can't add to what everyone else has suggested.
All I can say is good luck and safe travels,when you get it all done please come back here or the Rental Thread and share it all with us,I am sure that your thoughts and suggestions will be very helpful to others that are thinking of doing the same.

Have a Great time.

[sachilles]

All good thoughts.
Not everything is for a break down, some is for pre purchase inspection. Pyrometer is to check temp on brakes to see if anything is hung up, and it's not audible. Also to make sure fridge, A/C or other things are working. Easy to get baseline. I have it, it's light.
I do get the harbor freight mailer, so I'm covered there.
We do want to check the battlefield, may even pass through gettysburg on our trip back.
If any major issues present themselves that can be corrected by the dealer in a day or so, we plan to hit DC and the national mall. Lots of good history to see as time allows.
I'm hopeful that this all a non event.
Insurance is covered, as we have the vin on the RV, and forwarded to our insurer. It's set to activate, and we can change it up if needed. They do have coverage for 14 days if we failed to notify them of a purchase.
Hokie Dave, thank you for the offer.

[Hokie-Dave]

If planning on hitting Harbor Freight make sure you sign up ahead of time for their fliers and text coupons. They send out every Friday a 20% off coupon as well as multiple coupons for free small stuff with any purchase. I live less than 2 miles from the Cruise America you are going to, feel free to PM me if you need a tool you don't have while in town.

If you are looking to kill time and like to hike or enjoy Civil War history, you are within 5 miles of Manassas Battlefield.

dave

[path1]

1st Congrats. Our 03 Majestic has had very minor problems.

Before you buy...
When we got ours, they said I couldn't borrow/use their ladder to look at the roof because of their liability reasons. On a test drive I found a truck loading dock and backed into it, height of loading dock gave me enough of a boost up to get on roof to inspect.

After buying RV for ride home...
-First chance get some extra keys made.
-Pick up 3 gallon water jug. Don't let jug touch anything and pour into toilet along with couple soap pods. The 10 hour drive with soap pods bouncing around will help you later.
- Refill jug to use as drinking water on way home till you sanitize entire water system yourself.

Extra stuff I carry...
Spare COP (cool over plug) and spare injector, along with spare fuel filter and fuel pressure gauge. And those little tools to remove fuel filter. My tools are in a case like this (and very litttle noise from bouncing around) https://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Mechanics-36220-Newest-Version/dp/B00F1WPCEG (get the size that will fit where you want it store it)

ON your list...way to much stuff IMO. But everybody does it differently. What ever you are comfortable with, is my answer. Paper towels, to be use as rags. Pick up couple cheap led lights. Impact wrench, really? How would a pyro gauge help you broken down along side the road? I do carry a temp IR gun 20 bucks at Harbor frieght is my pyro gauge. Doubles for checking other temps also (Dutch oven cooking, finding the darn cat at night, etc)

AC and DC phone chargers/batteries...Careful not to over load. Years ago CA had small amp fuses because renters plug in about everything you can think of and common to pull to much elec.

Generator...when pre-tripping, open up compartment then start and look for any gas leaks first time firing it up.

After you get home...download service manuals on every item you have and put on desk top. Should also give you a start on maint. check list/schedule.

The odds of anything going wrong are very slim IMO.

I have 7 business days to add vehicles on my insurance policy, don't know about others. Might be worth checkiing into.

Don't know how much their warranty is anymore but their Extended warranty I would not buy. Their price is almost 1/2 of what re-powering would be. I (we) bought one because wife really wanted it. Reading bewteen the lines, doesn't cover much, (like most of them) Of course nothing went wrong with ours. So maybe your statement "I'm of the mind that if I bring it, I won't need it." proved true as in we didn't need it.
Lots of trips and lots of fun.

[sachilles]

dicknellen wrote:
I would buy some bedding and other necessary items to camp with and stay in a RV park close to or at the dealer lot for a night or two. We did this when we purchased out of state.

This will be a game time decision. It will be based on when I'm done with my pre-purchase inspection. No desire to drive over night or anything, and no rush.
However, if we are confident we'll push as far as PA on the day we drive it off the lot.

[dicknellen]

I would buy some bedding and other necessary items to camp with and stay in a RV park close to or at the dealer lot for a night or two. We did this when we purchased out of state.

[sachilles]

It does have a spare. CA equips them but not with the equipment to change them, as they expect you to call roadside assistance.
I'll need the new bottle jack for it, as I don't have anything at home that has a capacity for a Class C. Since I don't have a harbor freight near home....it's a good excuse to visit. Yes dear, it's for the motorhome.

We plan to bring sleeping bags, and buy pillows locally. It comes with TP and drop ins. We do plan to shop for other random interior comfort items for the trip. We'll have our toiletries and such. We'll be sure to get some road trip snacks/beverages. We even have a few travel books so we can hit some road side attractions along the way.

Thanks for help everyone.
If it goes to plan, we spend only one night in the RV on our journey home.
We'll likely spend a few more nights "camping" in our driveway to help us discover what we need.

[sachilles]

Duct tape, electrical tape, bungee cords...and maybe a ratchet strap or two. Added to the list thank you.
Hope to not need the tools, but if nothing else, my 9 year old son will enjoy them.
He's turning in to decent wrench himself. We work on his racing go kart together, and he helps me with my race car. He even helped me strip an entire car to the bare shell this winter. Small hands can be really helpful!!
We enjoy this sort of stuff, but I'm not afraid to point and pay if it makes sense.
Again, it's about being prepared. Seems unwise with the nature of these things not to be prepared no matter how good it is when you leave the lot, even if it was new.

[DutchmenSport]

If you will be using the camper to drive home and you plan on staying in it, you will need, the most important things first: Toilet Paper! Bedding! Dishes, and beer! (you get the idea). More than likely, the camper will be adequate. As stated above, Cruise America services their own fleet and I can't imagine them sending out a broken down unit, even if selling it.

What is more important are all the amenities you'll need for your journey home and any anticipated camping along the way. As stated above, about the only "tool" you'll need is a Robertson head screw driver. Whatever you purchase along the way home, will stay in the camper. So, it's not money lost. But I think you should focus on keeping the family comfortable with personal hygiene items, bedding, and food preparation. And those things you should buy once you get there.

Here again, a good credit card and lots of cash will help you more than anything. Besides, if a tire needs changing, does the unit even come with a spare? So there ya go. You'll need to take it a tire shop anyway! So why the lung nut tool? (get the idea).

[j-d]

Congratulations and Enjoy! Hopefully it'll be as advertised. People seen to do pretty well with CA units.

Electrical Tape, Repair Tape (like Duck/Duct/Gorilla) and a couple Bungee Cords.