So lets talk about the Delta 294RK and the shake down results. First just a bit about the trailer! There’s almost nothing not to like about the Delta 294RK. From the Azdel construction, the pex plumbing throughout (except at the water pump), the solid surface countertops, and the outdoor kitchen. Then there is just the layout which combines the best features of all the trailers we have owned in the past.

  1. It has the kitchen of the 2008 Coachmen 288FKS. More storage than you could ever want or need.
  2. The outdoor kitchen of the 2015 Jayco 27RBOK. I never thought I’d use it but ended up loving it.
  3. The large living area of the 2017 2950RL Imagine
  4. A rack and pinion slide of all our previous trailers for the large bump out vs. the schwintek slide system. There is an exact slide on the opposite side for the fireplace. It goes without saying that I was never a real fan of the schwintek system.

Also, this trailer has an outdoor TV. However, the hook ups are questionable. More about that in a later video.

Needless to say, we really love this trailer and traded in the Imagine. The Imagine has been a great trailer, and it sold after only one day on the dealer’s lot. That’s because after almost eight years it still looks brand new. It also includes many extras that likely helped close the sale.

So, let’s talk about the new Delta 294RK.

We brought it home and I had forgotten just how much work it is to move things from one trailer to the other. Not just the regular everyday items, but moving the satellite equipment, TPMS, and the LevelMate Pro, and the Marcell Unit with all the s-pucks. Well, moving them over is one thing, but it’s the mounting and hooking things up that becomes very time consuming. In addition, the level mate pro had to had to go through the entire set up procedure again.

One thing I didn’t expect the day before out shake-down trip to Lake Whitney State Park was the change in forecast. The night before the trip the temperature in north Texas was expected to drop to somewhere between 32 to 28 degrees. The Delta has a Contoure on-demand water heater. This heater has freeze protection when it has power. This applies whether the water is connected or not. It also applies if the unit has no water in the lines. Once the temperature gets below a certain point, the heater turns on for a few seconds to make sure the lines do not freeze. As a result, there was no worry about the water heater.

I did worry about the water lines. So, I turned on the furnace to run at 60 degrees. Unfortunately, that is the lowest temperature setting on the furnace. When I work up the next morning at about 4:00AM I looked at my Marcell unit, the temp in the trailer was 45 degrees. So I went outside and I just could not get it to restart. After some quick on-line searching, I found that I would need to shut the 12-volt power off for the furnace to reset. After I did that, the furnace worked great. I’m going to assume that there may have been some air in the line that caused the failure to ignite.

Early Morning – Lake Whitney State Park

Alright, so now we have made it to Lake Whitney, and I’ll start by saying I am really very happy with how the trailer performed. There were a few things that cropped up, so let’s go through them one by one:

  1. The toilet has a ring of antifreeze around the base. We wiped that up easily, and between us and the dealership made the “assumption” that it may have been slop from the winterization process that the trailer went through prior to our purchase. However, when we got home, we found more. Now, of course I could pull the toilet myself and check under it to see what’s going on, but it is under warranty, so I’ll let the dealership deal with it.
  2. I went over the roof with a fine tooth comb at the dealership, however I did find a screw coming up in one spot on the roof when we were getting ready to leave the campground. That will need to be addressed somehow.
  3. The backsplash has an area to the left of the cooktop, that is no longer attached to the wall. It’s not a big deal and I doubt anyone but me (I have issues) would notice it.
  4. The number of stickers that are placed on the inside and outside of the trailer is ridiculous. Why alliance felt this was necessary is a mystery to me. Removing the sticker above the couch caused the woodgrain paper underneath to rip. Most of these stickers are poor quality and are peeling off anyway. So, Alliance if you read this, just put a feature sheet in each unit and tape it to the countertop. We don’t need a sticker that says, “Large Slide Out”, etc.
  5. Alliance – don’t put two magnets on the trash drawer, it’s almost impossible to open.
  6. The wiring at the outdoor TV is a mystery but more about all of that in another post.

So, how did it perform over all? Flawlessly. The Furrion fridge worked great, although it is a bit noisy. These are noises that are probably considered normal. The old propane/electric model in the Imagine made noise too. I’m not really worried about this at all.

The furrion AC Chill Cube in the “Dump” mode works well, but the using the air ducts for AC is substandard. The furnace was great, no complaints there. I will say that it is warmer in the bedroom than the living area but the furnace is located beneath the bedroom closet so that is to be expected.

The on-demand water heater will take some getting used to. I would highly recommend getting an oxygenic faucet for the shower. I had no problem using the stock faucet, but if you have a wife that has thick, long hair, there will be complaining.

Also, I understand that Alliance doesn’t want to print owner’s manuals as part of an environmental paper saving imitative. Guess what? No one is going to easily be able to go through the delta owner’s manual on an iPhone or tablet. I printed my owner’s manual via Amazon, and now I have a decent hard copy to take with me. I will say that the information in the manual is too generic to be helpful when it comes to the TV wiring. More about that in a later post.

Another thing I don’t like is Alliance’s customer support model. You must submit any issue in writing with pictures, and they have two days to respond.If they don’t respond, then you, as the consumer must remind them. I’ve never encountered this model before. In contrast to Grand Design’s past approach, you could call a rep and resolve your issue in a single phone call. The problem with this Alliance Customer Service model is the iterative process that goes back and forth multiple times to get resolution – I am not a fan. That said, other manufacturers might handle it the same way.

Remember, there really is not a perfect travel trailer, or a perfect manufacturer. However, you can minimize issues by doing your research. Overall, I am very happy with the Delta travel trailer. Keep in mind we have a year left on the warranty, so a lot can happen in a year. You only need to search our forum for the story on the “Wedding Trip” of 2008 to see all the issues that shook out on the imagine during the warranty period. Fingers crossed that this year will go better.

Lastly for anyone that may be curious on how Eva took to the new trailer – she did great and it only took her a few minutes to feel completely at home in the new trailer. She loves camping probably as much as swimming in the pool. Yes, she loves her Lamby!