Aluminum Camper Forum

Merlin's advice above is excellent. I went with EternaBond Tape to hopefully be once and done.  You will still need to thoroughly clean before applying and a weighted roller to apply it. Wow, is it sticky, so be careful! It is suppose to last 18-35 years exposed to the elements. I put mine on the perimeter, around AC, vents, etc 3 years ago and still looks new. If I remember correctly, it was considerably more pricey than Dicor.

Merlin, thanks for the reply.  We also have been much more diligent with weight distribution on these much longer trips when we are carrying a moderate percentage more weight.  We had our tongue weighed and try to stay around 15% or so on the hitch and initially weighted everything in the rear tool box and redistributed as needed. We were about 18% with full fresh water, so we backed that off a little. Lighter inside items stay in the shower while in route. That perfect teeter totter with 15% forward is a little more challenging with the rear deck.

Also, a friend of mine with his Camplite 14DB double axle, just notified me he is running the 185s.  Do you or anybody else reading, have a good source for online purchase?  I have been using Discount Tire Direct, but they are higher than others on line now and when I ordered a spare it was 3 years old (new) because they claim they no longer have access to date codes. The wireless TireMinder TPMS sounds like a great addition I will check into. Thanks.

Been a while, hope all of you fellow Campliters are doing well! New update with the Tuson with over 10K miles of use:

Highly recommended for anyone experiencing sway. On our 8400 mile round trip to Glacier , Banff, Vancouver Island, and points in between, then another trip to the Smokies, then Florida, we experienced no sway.  On our way to Glacier in a Kansas campground, I forgot to connect the Sway Bar and we lost it. Several miles up the road, we did notice just a little slight wiggle with gusty winds and passing 18 wheelers. I pulled over to tighten the sway bar and realized it was missing.  Tuson highly recommends a friction sway bar or other sway control for normal minor sway.  We were very pleased with the towing results after realizing it was missing. We called ahead to Omaha and we locate only two in the whole city. We stopped at one and purchased a Reese identical to ours.  We called back to the Kansas campground, and they found ours near the entrance and mailed it home. Very nice people!

Tuson shines for moderate to dangerous sways. When this occurs, the trailer immediately corrects straight behind the tow vehicle. No side to side at all.  We are going to be visiting the Blue Ridge Parkway then out West to Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, the National Parks in Utah for our next few trips. Glacier , Banff, and Vancouver Island were wonderful.  Getting Reservations are still a nightmare!

We are going to need some new tires soon.  Thinking about moving to the Maxxis M8008 185/80R13's from the current Maxxis M8008 175/80R13's for an approximate 9/16" height difference for a little slower rotation and wear.  Has anyone done this, and does it make much of a difference?

I believe I have got it fixed. Researched online and it said remove it and turn upside down for a couple of hours and then each side for a while to allow it to burp to allow the ammonia and water to flow freely in the lines again. Reinstalled about an hour ago and it is starting to cool.

We have a Dometic RM2554 3-Way Refrigerator that has stopped working. Control panel in front works. Propane, DC, and AC works and comes on. I took a multimeter and check the 2 glass fuses and the 30 amp slotted fuse and all good.  It is getting AC and DC power to the control board in back.  There appears to be no ammonia leaks.  The hot side is getting hot, but cold side is not getting cold. Attached is a picture of the back of ours.  Is there any pressure switch, or valve that can be reset, or anything else I am missing?  Thanks in advance!

We bought the Andersen Hitch to get ready for our long trip.  I installed per instructions with a 1 1/2" higher than level as instructed and went light on the tightening of the chains. I lowered the jack but it did nothing but stayed 1 1/2' high.  Called Andersen and they said lower the ball which leveled it but still no weight transfer to TV.  Took it out to see what it will do test drive, no weight in front (no propane, nothing under bed, no water etc, and back box weight full) and it minded its manners with little to no wag, and would handle one reasonably harsh avoidance manner, but had to back off immediately on the second one.  (I was on a wide, safe deserted road).

I went to a nearby campsite and filled up the water tank, loaded the stuff back under the bed, and completely unloaded the box on back. Did the same tests and it did a little better doing a modest secondary avoidance. But all in all not really much better than the sway bar. Recovery from a harsh sway at speeds was really not comfortably there. Several pictures back and for and long calls with Andersen and many adjustments to chain tension and it's really not much better. Did notice the trailer has some yaw on curves with the hitch (not going fast, but enough to feel roll in opposite direction that I didn't feel before). Will take curves a little slower.  Also felt every bump the trailer hits, which I think we could get used to, but not preferred.

Summary, Andersen help minorly with drivability sway but not severe sway so we returned it.  I got on the Internet and started googling "Still have sway problems with Andersen" and noticed the people in general having the most issues are us with the lighter aluminum and fiberglass trailers and then I came across two different proactive sway controllers. The first was GPS controlled and the second was Tuson.  We bought the Tuson and I installed it and it works great. Wow, Proactive sway control makes all the difference in the world! I could throw the TV into a hard serve and the trailer would immediately go back to center, to easily make a second evasive move if necessary.  It works by applying the brakes only on one side or the other to counteract the moderate or harsh sway. They recommend still using the sway bar for light sway.  They work well together.

I spoke with technical support for some time with pictures for us to figure it out on a Camplite because it must mount on the center line, but there is a 3" square support beam there. We decided on the battery tool box because of the stout angle iron bracket on the bottom, but also I had to add one to the top for stiffness and no flex.  This worked well.  He also commented they are getting lots of request for these on very lightweight aluminum and fiberglass campers that are misbehaving.

The other good news is this test with our full load in the back box but about 45 pounds lighter.  I had a full water tank with the new braces and a 33 pound iron Olympic weight front center under the bed and configured as loaded for the trip. I only put it on the ball with safety chains, no sway control bar only for this test, or no load distribution (which we don't need or use) for testing and with the rebalance it had no sway, properly loaded with all that extra weight up front. then I purposefully tried made it sway, and I could not. I could see the little light signaling that it was controlling it. It is amazing how fast the trailer lines up behind the TV. Finally under control and very satisfied!

Nice, well done!

I would use Eternabond Tape if you can find in a width narrow enough.  Possibly could cut to width also, but extremly sticky.

Didn't notice until recently how severely rusted the driver's side rear jack was. Guess it was acting as the anode for the whole trailer. That, and the step. Didn't notice the step because it had rusted badly under the paint. Anyway thought about replacing the jack, but it was thick enough metal to retore. Treated with Naval Jelly and Rust-oleum Primer and Paint, and painted the rest of the jacks in good shape while I was at it. Strip the step and repainted as well.

Here's mine.  Made out of steel so they were able to be bent into shape instead of cut and weld. The one I took off to get measurements for fabrication was cracked and had to be repaired. Everyone please check for safety. We will go with a full tank now, only did a half tank before.

Update on our flooring.  We found these self stick carpet squares at Lowe's for 70% off. I remove the old tiles, cleaned the floor and old tiles and reinstalled and cut out the air pockets where they had expanded over the years and applied the new stick on carpet squares. We were apprehensive how well they would stick, but did well.

As a side note, us Camplite owners are a fortunate bunch. The lady that sold us the carpet squares lost their travel trailer to a unknown leak while parked in storage and totaled it, and a friend of mine who had his brother in law go to Kentucky to get a new one for them to live in after the Louisiana Hurricane, because none was available locally, lost it to leaky rot just after two years. A lot of junk out there!

Sorry gzelna for the late reply, I don't log in all that often. The rear deck came from the factory that way and I believe they are not on newer models because of sway. It is built to carry a substantial amount of weight. I have removed about 50 pounds of gear that will be going to the back of the tow vehicle. Picture our trailers as a teeter totter, and the more weight you put on the back, the less it weighs in the front. That is bad.  Read Merlin's and I discussion of mine being a theoretical single axle and know the problem would disappear. All your TW is good balance and won't cause sway. I added a 33lb olympic barbell weight in front storage and just posted about adding additional support brackets to our water tank to carry it full.  Also, soon will order an Andersen hitch.

I'm not a fan of WDH, and this is the first trailer I ever had sway. WDH is a means of letting undersize vehicles tow heavy weights and why travel trailers have their wheels in the middle back instead of all the way to the back like a tractor trailer, to reduce tongue weight on light duty vehicles so they can tow heavier trailers.

attached is the picture of the factory rear deck without the box.   

Very nice addition!

We added two steel brackets to ours to be able to safely carry it full, to put more weight to the front and also boondocking more. The bracket I took off to model for the fabrication of the other two, was cracked and had to be repaired.

This was a post I did on the one I installed years ago.  Still working great, and the company sent me a notice a couple months ago of having them on sale. It wasn't cheap, but as a EE "generally" wired beats wireless for reliability, quality signal, and durability.

Like GleamB, I used a wired system for the many advantages.  I too, added a backup camera to the tow vehicle since it would be easier to do while running the trailer wires.  Make sure whatever you buy, it can stand up to continuous duty.  Many cheap backup cameras are only meant for momentary use. It was time consuming, but not that hard except for a large hole for cabling through the firewall properly sealed. Night and day difference having that camera back there.  This is the one I used:

https://www.rearviewsafety.com/safety-solutions/two-2-camera-backup-system-with-trailer-tow-quick-connect-disconnect-kit-model-rvs-776614-213.html

See all my details and pictures in this old post below:

2015 Livinlite 21 BHS owner in Ottawa Canada
Started by Poncherelly, June 12, 2015, 03:06:50 PM



 

As we our preparing for our 2 mo. longest trip ever, we are running into the same issues. Split seconds count on the dates you need!  We have had some successes and some compromises, and many more to do in British Columbia which has a shorter window. Have dates marked on the calendar and alarms set on the phone. We just got fiber Internet to the home and it helps.  We would have liked a little larger camper, but went with the 16' (22' actual) so we could get in the smaller sites in the older State and National Park campgrounds which helps some.  We also noticed that the free BLM sites were getting crowded and limited too.  Also found our enroute commercial sites very high too.  Almost the same as some semi decent hotels such as a Microtel and thinking of that as an option.

I'm seeing and hearing the problem is new RV's are being produced and sold quickly and you can see many massive RV Sales lots along the interstates but no new campgrounds are being built or expanded. No more winging it and going when and where you please without planning. I read about making Florida reservations next Winter and it said planning to the second, months or years in advance is the only way and you better like it and get used to it, or go without. What bothers us is arriving at our campsite and seeing the reserved units unfilled  and nobody be able to use it for a night or two. Seems like they reserve for just in case we want to go. Also, wondering if bots are reserving similar to concert tickets for resale.

Best wishes for success on everybody's camping reservations!