Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Travel Trailers: Keystone Bullet Premier

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Topic: Keystone Bullet Premier

Posted By: VirtualGarage on 02/09/11 01:20pm

Good luck with your search for info, kainen. It's sometimes annoying having to deal with having the latest technology, but it's the effort from people like you who help the rest of us who follow.

Now that I've finished my first weekend of 2011 in the Premier, I wanted to debrief my first winter RVing experience in the North Cascades, WA.

We used our RV on the weekends much later in the year than we normally do. Our last trip was mid-Nov.
There is a risk of freezing starting in October so I bought an air compressor so that I could winterize the RV more easily than using anti-freeze every weekend we went out.
Arriving on the last trip in November, when I was de-winterizing the RV for use, I forgot to turn off the hot water bypass and had the electric hot water run dry for about 30 min before I realized. Doh! I thought the electrical element was burnt out for sure. Luckily the electrical element was more robust than what I was lead to believe on the Internet and there seems to been have no damage at all and hot water heats up just as well as before on electricity.
After a couple of months of non-use and stormy weather, I had visions of falling tree branches and leaking water all over the place when I returned on Friday. That was not the case and everything was working great... except when I turned on the city water connection and heard water coming out somewhere from the back. The outside shower head handle had cracked from freezing and water was spraying out of it. No other damage was found, thank goodness.

It wasn't until Sunday when I realized that I had been winterizing the RV incorrectly, and that's how I suffered the damage. When I got the air compressor, even though I had closed the hot water tank, I didn't close up the low point drains to build up the air pressure enough to blow water out. I was very lucky not to have suffered more damage! Know I know better and I bought a $2 showerhead from Walmart to replace the outside showerhead (which we've never used, anyway).

I'm very glad it was a cheap lesson for me to learn! This past weekend should be the last time I'll need to winterize this season [emoticon]

2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali ~ 2010 Keystone Premier 31BHPR ~ Sold: 2009 Tango 289BH
ProPride 3P Hitch ~ RV Modifications ~ Gear & Accessories ~ Road Trip 2010

Posted By: RainbowsEnd on 02/09/11 02:40pm

VirtualGarage wrote:

There is a risk of freezing starting in October so I bought an air compressor so that I could winterize the RV more easily than using anti-freeze every weekend we went out.

Thanks for your report, it's still months before we can take ours out. We will camp a few times in early spring when there will be possible freezing temps. I've also thought that between our few trips to use the air compressor technique. Did you use instructions from a certain site that helped explain just what to do?

Come on spring!

EDIT: Which air compressor did you use?

* This post was edited 02/09/11 04:51pm by RainbowsEnd *

F250 Diesel Lariat
Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Posted By: VirtualGarage on 02/09/11 04:54pm

I use a 6 gal Porter Cable Pancake air compressor I bought from Amazon. In fact, it's selling now for more than $20 less than what I paid last year.

I mostly got my information from this video from Keystone RV: Winterize Your RV's Water System.

The biggest difference from the video from what I did was I had to put the plugs back on the hot water tank and the low point drains before enough air pressure built up enough to clear the water at the taps.

Also, re-watching the video, I realized that this time I used more than the max 30 psi stated in the video. In the past when I used 30 psi, I could not feel any air coming out of the taps when I opened them up. Because the adapter I bought from Camping World said max 45 psi, I used about 40 psi to blow out the pipes. This time air and water shot out just like in the video and I'm more confident that I got all the water out.

Posted By: Rass2008 on 02/09/11 10:39pm

VirtualGarage - did you haul your Premier from home over to Eastern WA? How was the drive? Did you go East from Sedro Wooley??

We do that trip every summer and are wondering how our new trailer will fair the trip this year!!

Thanks in advance!

Posted By: kainen on 02/10/11 01:41pm

Thanks Virtual, I did contact Dometic and they were no help at all, they say they will not comment on installing any after market thermostat with their AC systems, very disappointing to say the least.So needless to say I am hoping someone out there will be of some assitance as I am not sure I want to be brave and start experimenting myself and risk damaging the AC unit or furnace and then be out the $$ to get it repaired.For now I will have to satisfied with the Dometic one.

Posted By: 65ShelbyCobra on 02/10/11 01:45pm

The best thing you can do is contact someone in the HVAC business. Hopefully you know someone personally...

2011 Premier Bullet 31BHPR (Sold)
2015 Keystone 325 SRX
2008 Ford F-250 6.4L PowerStroke FX4

Posted By: soccercoach on 02/10/11 01:50pm

Hi all I am new to the forum. My wife and i just bought a 31bhpr and want to tow it with a Ford Expedition EL Limited from Columbus, Ohio to Virginia Beach this summer. Anybody see any problems with towing this unit throgh the Smokies? Thanks for the in site.

2013 Ford F150 FX4 4x4 EB V6 3.73 Max Tow Package
2008 Ford Expedition EL Limited 5.4L
2010 Keystone Bullet Premier 31BHPR
Equalizer WD Hitch

Posted By: VirtualGarage on 02/10/11 06:43pm

Rass2008 wrote:

Yes, I've gone east from Sedro Wooley but not further than Concrete, so that's all flat and smooth there. When we went to Spokane last summer we went further south through Moses Lake. Considering all the types of roads we drove on our trip, I don't think you'll have any problems with your new trailer [emoticon]

Posted By: Sarah Elizabeth on 02/10/11 07:27pm

soccercoach wrote:

We crossed the Smokies in North Carolina going to Myrtle beach, South Carolina towing the Premier 28RL with a Silverado 1500 5.3 L V8 with no problems.

Posted By: husk on 02/11/11 10:10am

I have looked at wholesaler RVDirect and another net wholesaler, and neither seem to discount Keystone..specifically the Bullet.

Does anyone know of a wholesaler for the Bullet? TIA.

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