Aluminum Camper Forum

Wow! That looks really nice!

For our upcoming trip in late spring, we sprang for a new sofa. The original folding sofa in the 16 TBS was never satisfactory and as the cushion aged, the bar across the bottom front became unbearable to sit on. We considered all sorts of ideas, from replacing the existing cushion, to a simple dinette setup, to a complex recliner arrangement. A new jackknife sofa from RecPro seemed to be the best overall, so we ordered the 62" without legs that will sit on a new 3/4" plywood base in the slide.

We are also replacing the original toilet that's cracked, the stereo that no longer connects via Bluetooth to our phones, and the rearview camera setup that's getting blurry. It will be a busy refurbish time this spring!

Thanks for the ideas. I'll see what we can include. One thing I appreciate is noting the use of private campgrounds. I'm still reluctant to use those, but maybe I should give them a look on our route. Every one of the worst campsites we've experienced over our 11 years of camping with our trailer have been at private campgrounds. I guess I need to be more diligent in looking at reviews!

We are planning our first time taking a major camping trip in the spring. Past extended trips have all been summer/fall, but in 2025 we'll be heading out in early May.

The rough plans are to head west from Michigan on I-70, then north on I-15, then west on I-84, then spend some time on the west coast, and then head back east to Michigan on I-90. Any ideas for things we shouldn't miss are welcome.

I know mountain passes will still be snowy in May and we'll need to avoid freezing overnight temperatures, but it will be nice to not have campgrounds closed from summer forest fires (and driving through miles of endless smoke). We are also looking forward to not having to deal with 100F degree heat that wiped up much of our trip west in August 2023. 

Good find.

The Weboost Drive models come with an omnidirectional antenna. I've screwed mine onto the outside of camper, using the short mast and mounting adapter that comes with it. I admit it was mentally hard to drill a hole in the camper for the wire! I fastened the indoor antenna to the ceiling using industrial Velcro right over the couch where we use the phones. The booster is plugged into 12V and in a cabinet.

All carriers and all current technologies are boosted. 5G is a bit complicated because real 5G is only in cities and has a very short range. What most carriers call 5G for marketing purposes is really just a slightly faster LTE and it is boosted. I don't know if real 5G is boosted, but I don't camp in cities. 

https://www.weboost.com/products/drive-reach-rv-2

As Charlie noted, you can use a directional antenna like a yagi if you want to aim at a particular cell tower with a home booster. Interestingly, if you use a directional antenna, you have to get both vertical and horizontal aiming accurate to get a signal.

WeBoost does make systems for 120V that you could move around, providing you had in/out antennas in both places. The WeBoost Drive is 12V so that would not work in your house. Lots of places sell aftermarket antennas, so it's certainly an option to move a booster. I did permanently mount both inside and outside antennas on my camper.

Before I moved to Starlink at my cabin, I had an aftermarket yagi type antenna on my own 40' tower pointed at an AT&T tower 12 miles away. It was connected to a SureCall booster and worked! 

I found that with AT&T and my iPhone, WiFi calling works well if I turn off cellular, forcing the phone to use WiFi. You might try that with Verizon, just making sure you turn cellular back on when you leave the house.

Couple of quick ideas for you....

At home, your cell phone might have a provision for using your home wifi for calling/texting/data. My Iphone does. If that's the case, it would be much better than a weak cell signal. If not, a cell booster is a good bet. I used a Surecall Fusion at home before I switched to wifi calling and it worked great to bring a weak signal inside the house. The key is the outdoor antenna as well as the booster unit transmitting the signal to the inside antenna. 

On the road, your camper and vehicle very effectively block cell signals because of all the metal. It would be worth adding a cell signal booster. In my camper, I installed WeBoost Drive Reach. It works with all carriers and makes a dramatic improvement inside. Again, the key is the outdoor antenna. It's a better solution than chasing which carriers offer a better signal at any particular campground. Verizon or AT&T towers are used by pretty much all carriers and they both offer very broad coverage now. You really won't gain much coverage advantage in choosing one over the other. Make your carrier decisions based on other factors.

The mapping site at cellmapper.net is the best I've found for showing towers and signal strength for cell carriers. The signal strengths shown on the map are updated by actual user data, so it's pretty good.

Good to see another aluminum camper.

Quote from: dlb53151 on October 05, 2024, 02:59:04 PMHas anyone replaced the shade for the kitchen window?  Would like to know of where to find one.  Thanks


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I don't think this is the right size, but the description may help with your search?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/285320896118?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-166974-028196-7&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=285320896118&targetid=2276391439863&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1019973&poi=&campaignid=21770049060&mkgroupid=172062982247&rlsatarget=pla-2276391439863&abcId=10048560&merchantid=427096570&geoid=1019973&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD_QDh91i8kEUlgQrx6wtf1k06_9-

LL used only vertical bolts on their coupler installation. Under many circumstances that places odd stress on the coupler and causes bending. An easy solution as posted by Charlie is to install 2 horizontal grade 8 bolts per his post. I did that on mine and it took only a few minutes. I use a weight distribution hitch which does add stress at the coupler.

Is the main switch by the door on?

Is the fuse for the lights bad?

Hmm..... very odd.  The original windows on a Camplite are high quality double pane. I can't see a scenario where all are cracked and all struts fail. What model and year Camplite? It would cost thousands of dollars to replace them all with original equipment quality. Prop them open with a dowel rod and seal any leaking cracks with clear RTV?

The spare comes down easy, it's putting back up that's impossible without help or a jack. Leave it underneath and if you ever need it, put the flat tire inside until you get to a tire shop.

Welcome! Your LX will work fine. You may want to add sway control like an Andersen hitch, but so long as the AHC on your LX is working well, you'll tow great. You'll need to add a trailer brake controller to your LX, but the connector for it is already under the dash. I added a Tekonsha P3 to my 2004 LC.

The welds are ok on most Camplites, but it's for sure worth a careful inspection to make sure. On a 10 year old, you'll want to inspect the roof edge caulk and rubber seals in the slide, door, and window. On my 2015 Camplite, the compartment doors and main doors were made by another company, Challenger, and the compartment doors eventually had to be replaced because they had wood in them that got wet and swelled.

I'm about to replace the toilet in mine because of cracks along the top back. I think I didn't get all the water out in the winter.

Do a complete interior and exterior light check and make sure the main power connector at the hitch is in good shape. Corrosion can be a problem sometimes.

That's about it for issues I know about. Just check all appliances and look for the date code on the tires. If the tires are over 6 years old, I'd replace them right away. Probably do the wheel bearings along with a brake check if you buy it.

And don't let any of this scare you off. These campers are amazing!  Almost any other brand would be ready to be recycled due to rust and rot and mold at 10 years of age.

My bet is on a corroded connector, either in or near the light. I've had a problem with water getting in and causing corrosion, plus LL used the clamp type connectors everywhere and those can fail. I'd pull the light and see if there is any corrosion in connectors.