Aluminum Camper Forum

Quote from: alazear on June 07, 2018, 07:30:48 AM
Thanks mojospeople,

My wife and I own too many bikes for our own good, but we do love it.  We are definitely concerned about theft as you guys are.  I've decided to make sure our insurance is up to date and go use them anyway...  Maybe being a 26 + 29" wheel bikes they will be less desirable to steal, but I doubt it.  A cordless angle grinder w/a cheap diamond blade will go through most any lock rapidly.  We'll see.

As for hitch mount bike racks, I've seen 2 I'd buy.  The Kuat, which we own and the One Up, which my buddy has.  But there are many choices out there, most of which are way too loose in the hitch mount for my taste.

Cool! We too have more bikes than we should but always need at least one more each! Hubs works in the industry now so it's too tempting! We own the camper to travel and ride. Hopefully staying at epic trailhead campgrounds or close by. Not as worried about theft as we hate road grime in the bikes. I think with a basic cable lock when you're out of sight you're good. Thieves don't know anything about our bikes...they just see something easy to steal whether it's worth $50 or $5000. We've owned about every type of rack and currently have a 1UP on my car. The great thing about it is, even though the bikes travel inside the camper, we still need the rack when we arrive at our destination. The 1Up folds small enough to fit in the forward bin. Seriously amazing! So when we arrive and unhitch, the bike rack comes out and goes on the car. Works really well.
Coming up yet this year: Brown County Indiana, Cuyuna Minnesota, Fruita Colorado. Hopefully Bentonville Arkansas and Marquette Michigan too but not solid yet.

Nice bike and rack! Will be interested in how the new hitch performs although I can't convince my husband to let our bikes ride outside so ours travel inside the camper. It works well but it prevents us from being able to use the inside of the camper while on the road unless we want to unload them. We have managed to fit two mountain bikes in the aisle (front wheels off) and two road bikes on the bed though.

Hey Grampa.....did you finish this mod yet? I'm thinking of starting it. Tired of not getting good cooling from the fridge in hot weather and hot weather arrived early this year for us. Last weekend camping in lower Michigan was near 100 degrees. Unreal!

I was reading the installation instructions in my manual and it clearly says that if you install the fridge with wall vents that fans are needed. It seems more a failure of the camper manufacturer not adding fans for this type of installation.

Anyway, I do have a question for you and others who have done this mod. In the video you link below there is a ton of room between the fins and the vent cover. However on my 2017 16TBS there is almost no room between them. I'm almost certain there isn't room to mount the fans on the vent cover. What was yours like? Has anyone else run into that? I'm going to have to come up with another mounting option I think.

Agree with Steve and perform the same procedure as Captain. I've now done 5 or 6 winterizings and it gets easier and so far all have been successful.

And to Steve's point - on our first LL I installed an Andersen anti-sway hitch. Did a darned good (if long) job of it too. When we bought new I had the dealer install one. I don't like their install. I don't think it's quite right and pretty sure I could have done it better in 3 times the time less the cost of labor.

Ok, we're tired of the too short, cheapo factory sewer hose and looking for opinions on what to replace it with. Depending on the length of hose we may also have to replace the storage tube. What do you all like?

Updated my post with attachments.

OK, so upon review, the covers are not wood/particle but a really heavy plastic of some sort about 3/8' or 1/2" thick I'd guess. That's good news and makes more sense. They sit inside the frame  I'm not sure though if I can safely put screws in this material or if it will crack.

If I can screw into this material, I think it could be piano hinged although from below in the "closed" hinge position and lifting the cover would open the hinge. Here are pictures of what I have to work with.

Also, I realize that I kind of hijacked this thread even though the topics are related. i can start a new one if that is more appropriate.

Hmmm, interesting. I see that your lids appear to be framed (around azdel?). My covers are some sort of particle/pressed board that sits in the base - not framed up. Will have to get a picture. I'm not sure it will hold up to the forces of being hinged with the weight of our heavy mattress on top. I might have to come up with a way to frame them to help dissipate the load. 

Quote from: mojospeople on November 24, 2017, 01:42:58 AM

Quote from: Merlin on November 23, 2017, 07:19:52 PM
Super easy mod. I bought the long hinges called piano hinges at the hardware store and hinged the compartment lids. I used simple SS self-threading screws, but with a pilot hole and did about every 4 hole in the hinges. Instead of a gas strut, I went cheap and use a wood dowel rod to hold the lids up. Now that gbpack has listed the struts that work, I think I'll add one of the those to each lid to ease the lifting. I have photos posted in the forum archives that I'll go find if you need them.

I was thinking you had done the hinges. I'll find that post for reference. I think it will make a good winter project.

Hey Merlin, I went looking for the archive post and found the post but not the pictures. I'm about ready to start this project and if you can find those pictures it would help me a lot! Thanks!

I'm not sure how many others here have had an original all aluminum design and a newer design but we have. I was drawn to the aluminum camper for all the reasons everyone mentions starting with lightweight since we were hauling with a crossover suv and/or a minivan (tow capacity ~3500lbs).

We bought a used 2012 13RDB in 2014 and camped in it for 2 seasons. Loved it and decided to move up to a 16TBS and ended up with the 2017. This means we moved from an aluminum floor and roof to composite and rubber as well as the wood faced cabinets. So far we have been happy with the newer camper although as mentioned, it gained weight compared to its all aluminum predecessor (we have a better TV now though). The composite floor is great but either way we used throw rugs. I'm not a huge fan of the wood cabinets but mostly just on aesthetics. I kind of liked the industrial look of the aluminum cabinets. I don't really have an opinion on the roof yet. We haven't had problems with either type.

Quality issues - the 2012 was in great shape when we bought it and we didn't have any quality problems with it. However, the smooth aluminum azdel has a tendency to scratch easily. The newer textured stuff holds up better cosmetically I think. The 2017 had to go back for one warranty issue right away - the shower pan was leaking and found that the drain was loose. But hey, we have an aluminum trailer so no worries, right? In both campers I haven't found any luan. The storage areas under the beds/couches have all been azdel over aluminum.

Find a used one you like and buy it. You'll be happy with it!

Quote from: Merlin on January 29, 2018, 07:38:47 PM

Quote from: tco2612 on January 29, 2018, 03:35:11 PM
I camp at Lake Superior and Blind Sucker Camp Ground in the spring and fall my wife and I are hooked at camping in this area of the UP.We also like Copper Harbor and porcupine mountain.

You like some nice places! One of the other members on here mountain bikes at Copper Harbor. See my message to you about property!

I might resemble that last remark! We're actually in Marquette right now for a long weekend of fat biking the groomed trails up here. No camping this time - rented a cabin and it's awesome! Hope to get back up here to camp later this summer. With any luck we'll split the time between Marquette and Copper Harbor. Heaven on earth!

Congrats on the new TV. I'll carry on the VW tradition albeit with a gas SUV for you Grandpa K. Like you, I have so far resisted the jump to a truck since I don't want one for a daily driver. The parking spots at work are tiny and the walk from the outer lot to my desk is probably 1/3 to 1/2 mile in often crappy weather. After one season with the Touareg and 16TBS I am very happy with my choice. I'm sure it would be easier to tow with a full size pu but the VW does a respectable job even up in the mountains and the midwest wind. With help from some members here I spent a lot of time last year figuring out my tow weights and loads. So glad I did because it gives me the confidence to know that we're traveling safe. Can't wait to get it back out this spring!

I finally remembered to double check my hitch height and I was off. It is closer to 22". Glad you got it home!

Oh my, I'm so sorry for your loss.  That is devastating.

Quote from: ADR on December 11, 2017, 11:45:54 PM

Quote from: mojospeople on December 11, 2017, 11:37:28 PM
Our 2017 16 TBS, single axle, ball height is about 24". Hope that helps.
How exciting that you're ready to pick up your camper!

Wow 24" is really high.   Do you happen to have the offroad package?

No offroad package. It is quite a bit higher than our old 13 RDB but it has the larger 15" wheels too.
I just measured my hitch height and the height of the rise on our Andersen hitch. Tomorrow when it's daylight I'll go out to the camper and double check it there but I think 24" is pretty close.