This last weekend we spent our first night in our Winnebago Minnie Plus 27BHSS.  It is highly advised that for your first adventure in a new RV that you driveway camp or head to a campground that is not very far from home.  This first adventure is known as a shakedown trip and it intended for you to find things that are not working properly.  For our Shakeout, we headed to Jordanelle State Park.  Its a campground that we are familiar with and this time of year we can nab a full hookup site without a reservation.

The idea of a shakeout is that if you find bad stuff or forget something, you aren’t far from home.  This is especially important for first-time RVers that will likely forget a bunch of stuff and maybe didn’t look the rig over very much when they purchased it.

During the delivery process, it is great to be able to walk through and check the function of all the major appliances.  There are many guides online that will help you with the inspection process.  My favorite is Tom Boles New Trailer Owner Pre Delivery Inspection.  Now with all major stuff tested its time to spend the night and dig a bit deeper into the use and operation of your rig.   Here are a few things to focus on while you are in your shakeout:

• Run the heater and AC for longer periods of time and ideally have them cycle on their own.
  • We found that our bedroom gets overly hot when the heater is on so before our next trip we will be working to adjust that.
• Run water everywhere (sinks, showers, toilet, etc.) and check for leaks
• Use the awning
• Use the TV and Radio – We thought there was a Bluetooth issue but were able to get it resolved
• Tank monitoring and dumping
• Organization – Everything has a place, so you need to figure out where that is
• It is also a good time to get familiar with some of your manuals and regular maintenance requirements
• Keep a list of things you need and want as well as any repairs that need to be done

It is not uncommon to have some items that need to be adjusted.  RVs, unlike cars, are made mostly by hand in a much smaller quantity.  That being said, I am happy to report that our Winnebago, for the most part, is clean.  We do have a few warranty items that we need to have addressed but there is nothing major that we have seen as of yet.  Next up will be a multi-night trip farther from home.