Aluminum Camper Forum

I have 2014 Camplite BHS with Dexter Torque flex axles and the brakes are getting to the point of replacement. I'm looking at Dexter Made In USA 4 pack of complete pre-lubed hubs for $819.98. While TruRyde Imported parts Pro kit with Timken Bearings. Which requires installation of bearings, races, and greasing for $443.99.
Would you do Import or Domestic built brakes?
Thanks in advance. Peter

Hello, I have a LL 21BHS with factory A/C Unit. We run two small de-humidifiers and sometimes still get rather humid in the camper especially on rainy days while camping OBX NC. Any recommendations on what would help reduce the humidity? thks

Hi everyone, I wanted to show some of the 21BHS modifications that I have down over the past 2 years or more. We took out the bunks and put in a cloth covered hanging closet after I made a box for water heater and piping with a removable slide in access panel. The area next to the wall and sink plumbing and wheel well, that was under the bottom bunk, I made a box with tilt access door. I installed Ikea shelf unit on top of the box. We use cloth covered boxes to store stuff and place them on the shelf unit. Strong bungy cords keep everything tied into the shelf unit.
I finished up our Countertop replacement and leaf drop countertop this past year. I used ¾" Baltic Birch plywood. The bottom is sealed in Epoxy and top was done in varnish, but it turned to yellow. I stripped off the varnish and spayed clear lacquer. The edge was rounded off to get a nice edge.  I got new Metal triangle folding brackets for the Leaf drop countertop, which work great. The leaf countertop is much bigger than OEM and gives some nice room for food prep and washing dishes.
I also removed the OEM dinette and installed two Ikea lounge chairs. I cut down the mounting feet for the chairs to get the right height when sitting on the slide out platform. The platform is covered in carpet and has brackets and straps to hold the chairs down while camper is moving.
I made some leg rests out of black cutting boards, hinges and legs off of an Ikea single plastic seat. The leg rest is hinged to the bottom edge of the chairs. I made some faux leather cushions for leg rest. When not in use the legs fold up and leg rest drops straight down.
The side tables and center table for each chair was made out of cutting boards, cut down to fit, and cover in epoxy resin. They are great to place for a drink. 
We put a 40" TV on the kitchen counter over the sink and sound bar behind the chairs on the slide out box which makes for a nice stadium seating. The sound bar is great as we can hear it over the A/C Unit which is loud when the fan is running. At some point I would like to find a quitter unit where the fan isn't so loud. If that's even possible.
Ikea LED white strip lighting system, 110V to 12V. I installed a 110v outlet under the lower shelf, but I probably could have found a 12v circuit with an inline fuse and cut off the 110v converter. It worked out and it really made finding stuff in the cabinets easier.
Removing the dinette gave us more room and to make a larger drop leaf countertop. We can also walk to the bathroom with the slide all the way in if we need to when traveling or to get to the fridge.  It fits our needs, and we really love the Livin Lite camper. 
I did everything with skill saw and carbide tip blade to cut the aluminum, and compound miter saw. Cutting the aluminum I went slow on the cuts. It does shoot aluminum shaving everywhere, and lot of use with the shop vac.  It was a fun job and I just took my time with it all. If you have any question let me know.
Thanks for reading... 

I have had some Electrical Shore Tie connection and overheating plug issues recently. This last camping trip I noticed the shore tie plug neutral terminal had melted a little and had overheated. I disassembled the plug and I found the wire terminal spring tabs were not very tight (wide gap).  The other issue is I might not have turned the plug far enough to lock it in place and then tightened  up the screw collar. I knew I need to replace it. So I did a google search and came across a Smart Plug, a direct plug in 30amp 125v replacement shore tie. I ordered it and installed it. It was really simple. I did have to file the camper wall a little to get the receptacle to go in the hole and mount to the camper wall. The directions are well written and wire connection is well marked. Well worth the piece of mind of having a solid shore tie connection with no chance of overheating or fire. 

https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Plug-B30ASSYPB-Non-Metallic-Connector/dp/B0194H9T92/ref=pd_sim_3/142-1126831-2726033?pd_rd_w=LQjEI&pf_rd_p=6caf1c3a-a843-4189-8efc-81b67e85dc96&pf_rd_r=NDQTFZ6MZF48Z2A5VBSW&pd_rd_r=798820b3-2b1e-4886-8919-33bd0c6f9461&pd_rd_wg=pqu6n&pd_rd_i=B0194H9T92&psc=1

Good Morning, I read through the old post on painting aluminum roof. Merlin, I like the idea of the Interlux Interdeck paint. Did you use an aluminum primer before putting down the Interlux? How has the Interlux paint held up? I looked at Total Boat deck paint and it recommends using a primer on aluminum. I'm still reading about the Interlux paint primer requirements. Any advise or recommendations it appreciated.
Thanks, Peter

I'm trying to figure out why the left side of my slide out is making a loud squeaking noise when the slide goes out. It starts and stop at different sections of the slide. It does it more when it goes out than when it goes in. I have lubed it with dry lube as per MFR of slide gear and rollers several times and it stopped some but then returned. I can't see any weird wear patterns on the gear. To get to the motor I would have to pry the wood trim off the aluminum slide as it's glued on with roof caulking and it's right next to the refrigerator wall so no room to put put ones arm in to look behind the inner seal. Any recommendations or thoughts please let me know.
Thanks, Peter 

Some camping humor of K9 experience... I found this out during recent camping trip with our Beagle Lab "Lucy" she's 60 lbs, as she was sleeping with her rear facing the propane detector, she farted in the middle of the night. You guessed it the alarm went off big time. Scared the crap out of us and dog slept though it, which we were shocked. We silenced the alarm and turned off the gas, think it was a gas leak as we were tired and didn't smell anything. The next day investigated, and noticed the replacement recommendation of every 60 months was written on the front of the unit. We googled Dog farts and others have had the same issue of it setting off the alarm. Pretty funny when one thinks of it. The next camping trip we put a towel over her rear end  to hopefully reduce the chance of late night alarm. LOL....

My 21BHS has a roof leak at the center area above the left front window. The water was coming out of the area where the electrical wires run up into the ceiling and I found it was coming out of the valance center mounting hole, so it seeped into the wall too. I was going to use a putty knife and check the condition of the roof sealant, and remove an loose gray sealant. If anyone has any recommendations on how to reseal the roof let me know. I think the wall will dry out from summer heat and it's foam core so shouldn't be an issue.
Thanks. Peter

I wanted to share info on LL clearance and side light replacement as one of clearance lights had water in it and side light was cracked. I purchase new light from E-trailer as they carry Optronics Yellow clearance lights and side lights in red and yellow.  After removing the lights I notice that side lights were screwed down to tight, causing them to bend and as the plastic got older it eventually cracked.

The yellow clearance light were installed with tapered head self drilling screw. The screw head is to large and gets stuck about 1/4" up from the screw hole base. I believe this causes pressure against the lens which might have cracked the screw hole part of the lens and the screws cut threads in the base as the hole was smaller than the overall screw diameter. I suspect water got in though the screw hole as the units are completely sealed. I went to hardware store to get Philips button head  screw of the same size tread so that I wouldn't have to drill new holes. I put the screw in a electric drill, and with file mounted in vice, I shaved down the diameter of the screw head so that it would fit into the lens mounting hole and all the way to the bottom. I touched up the screw heads with some paint. I also drilled the lens mounting hole to accommodate the screw, so the threads don't cut into the lens.  Then using a plastic straw, I fished the straw and wires in though the camper wall. I mounted the lens in it's original position and using same screw holes. I used a screw driver to tighten the lens down and crush the foam sealing piece that comes with the light. (No power tools to keep from have the light go cockeyed and or torquing down to hard cracking the base). Then caulked around the light and the screw holes.

The side light I used sealing putty around the wire holes and installed them, tightening up the screw enough to hold the light, but with causing them to bend from the diamond plate ridges. Then caulked around them too.  I don't for see having any more issues.

Optronics LED Trailer Clearance or Truck Cab Light - Submersible - 15 Diodes - Triangle - Amber Lens  Item # CBL22AB

LED Clearance or Side Marker Light with Reflector - Submersible - 2 Diodes - Rectangle - Red Lens  Item # MCL40RB

I thought I would ask what's your favorite All season truck tire for 2014 Ram 1500 Sport crew cab 2x4 20" tires, for highway, city driving, maybe dirt road leading to Campground. I can't see running All terrain tires. Any thoughts are appreciated??

I found my entire TV Electrical / Antenna box had came loose from the wall after moving the camper from storage lot to driveway. So took it all apart removing trim and wood grain panels, redrilled the screw holes to fit longer screws and used plastic dryway anchors in original wall holes. Remounted and put back together. It's nice and tight and I don't think it will come loose again.

If you have a slide out on any kind on Livin-Lite I highly recommend you check the bottom edge of the wall to see if it has come loose. That's right see if it's loose and pulled away from the interior black trim. Mine moved out about 1/4" as I noticed it when I was looking for any water leaks after a really bad rain storm while the camper was in storage lot. After seeing the gap, I pushed from the outside and the wall moved from forward compartment hatch to the front wheel fender skirt. Today I removed the black trim on inside, and removed the black diamond plate on the outside.  I also removed the plastic fender trim. I found all of the screws has snapped off from vibration and the weight of the slide out flexing the bottom of the wall. When I put the slide out the gap decreased. 

The outer wall skin overlaps the 3 inch aluminum rectangular  frame channel. The outer wall had 4 screw from the forward pass through to the first Wheel. which is very few screws, one set was 24" OC which was the last two screws by slide out and first fender.  The screw were tapered head which gives absolutely no holding power compared to the button head screw. You can see the last screw sawed into the aluminum skin. I bought #12 Philips head zinc coated Button Head sheet metal screws. I used a block of wood and clamps to pull the wall up against the frame rail and drilled and screwed in the screws. I installed the new screw about 2 3/4 inches up so more of the wall skin would be clamped and not just the edge. It brought the wall back to original position and no more flexing when moving the slide in and out. Then I reinstalled the original diamond plate cover and trim on inside of the camper.  Tomorrow some marine clear caulking to seal the edge of trim like it was done at the factory. The inside wall is back to it's original position.
It was a simple and easy fix that anyone can do, so don't hesitate to investigate and DIY.  I love the fact that anything and everything can be easily fixed on my Livin-Lite.  I Hope this helps someone else and do check your walls especially around the slide outs as they put a lot of flex and pressure on the wall.

This past summer I notice a outward dimple in the middle of the entry door and a second one has appeared while the door sat in the garage the past 6 months.   I ended up ordering a new entry door from Challenger door company, OEM supplier for LL. They told me I had one of the older doors that they had issues with de-laminating & bubbling. The original door have a luan plywood glued to the aluminum outer skin with foam core, aluminum square tube frame, and white plastic glued to luan for the interior skin. It's all  glued together to the square fame and outer black door frame is glued along the edge and screwed to make the door.

Here's what I found when I disassemble the door and window. The window frame was cracked in the middle where it meets the glass, and water was leaking in, between the glass and outer frame and at the hair line crack, which I never noticed.  The glass glue was dried up and from the looks of edge of the wood it had been leaking water for a while. The water separated the sheets of wood and started the corrosion process on the aluminum skin which was spayed glued to the create the bond. Challenger door changed the MFR process on the door and went with straight aluminum azdel panels for doors (No more Wood). The new door is the same color as the camper, with out the two small pieces of brown decal. Which is understandable and okay with me. 

An easy way to check to see if you have a wood core door  is remove the door lock, you will see the luan plywood edge.  If you have a wood core door I would inspect the window frame for cracks and caulk around the window glass and the plastic frame outer edge. I would also caulk the edge of the black outer door frame. I had on section that popped right off the door as the sealant was rather light and didn't seal along the edge of the door skin and wood. 

Here's some pictures of the dismantled door and the luan was separating. There's no way to disassemble the door with out trashing the black frame, it bends to easily and they used some strong sealants to glue it in-place.  The new door looks great and matches the camper and that's what we wanted.   

The first picture is the outward bubbles, the picture with the wood chipped up and grey matter is the aluminum corrosion powder, cracked window frame.

I've been researching new tires for 21BHS which has original Vail Sport ST205/75D14, C load range. With life span of trailer tires being about 5 years.  I want to ensure I purchase a quality tire to reduce the chance of blow out and damage to trailer. So far other posts have recommended Goodyear,  Maxxis, Westlake. Goodyear has a new Endurance ST tire 14" radial, D load rating, speed rating of N=87mph, which replaces the Marathon tire.

Some of the reviews state that smaller size tires from different MFR have a reported higher failure rate, with blow outs, and tread separation. It's makes one ponder what's a good tire and the best tires for highway speeds. I usually tow at 65mph, sometimes 70mph, bias ply tires from what I read are rated for max speed of 65mph.  It's a lot of info and reviews to ponder in finding a quality tire.

Feel free to move this post or combine this with any other tire question posts. 

Speed rating in mph, J-62, K-68, L-75, M-81, N-87

Here's a site that covers the majority of trailer tire company reviews.  https://tirereviewsandmore.com/trailer-tire-reviews/

I have a Coleman two burner camp stove. and the control knobs are terrible, no fine control. I was reading reviews on Camp Chef Everest which sounds like a much nicer stove, more BTU and fine simmer control. Any thoughts and or recommendations?

I have ran into the corners of the aluminum cabinet doors and drew blood to many times, maybe it's my failing eyesight,  not opening the doors wide enough, or not paying attention. I need to Adult proof the corners. LOL... I found this mold-able glue called Sugru and it has helped put a bumper on the edge of the cabinet doors. I found wearing blue nitrile gloves helps keep it off my hands, not that it's a big deal. The Sugru is soft and pliable and it gets harder as it cures. It stuck to the door frames with out roughing up the finish, just let it cure once you like the shape.  I was going to shape better next try and then take a paint pen and touch it up to match the cabinet frame. I don't even notice the slight difference in color black it's not as shiny as aluminum frame, but that's okay.

I used some Boeshield T-9 Bicycle Lube on all cabinet hinges and that really made them swing open and close better. The Boeshield T-9 is some nice stuff and great for aluminum. It dries and leaves a thin film of paraffin wax coating on hinge pins that you can't see. This has worked for me, I thought I'd pass it on.   

https://sugru.com/about

I wasn't sure if I should post this mod or not. We got a wild idea quite some time ago of removing the bunk beds from our 21BHS as we didn't really use them for sleeping and we could better use the space.  I  reconfigured the front coat cabinet too, and made a new compartment and door using the original frame work, door frame, aluminum sheeting and  brown wood pattern foam board. We found the open shelf unit at Ikea during a camping trip to Washington DC, and gray storage boxes. It fit just right over the wheel well storage box and it didn't interfere with the window shades. The other tubular metal with cloth covered closet  fit over the hot water tank compartment and I moved the LED lights forward on the wall. I made a quick access front panel for hot water heater,  for those winter preps access. The wheel well storage door tilts outward on spring loaded cabinet hinges. It's big enough to hold paper towels and toilet paper in and around the sink drain piping.  I added a electrical out on the wall (which is wired into the outside GFI outlet, so it's GFI protected) for hair drier use and sub-woofer power supply. I wired in sound bar under the slide out window, we can hear the TV much better over the A/C Fan Noise. I still have the top bunk bed assemble and the L frame that was screwed to wall.  I ended up using the the lower bed and framing, aluminum sheeting, and wood panel to make everything and bought some aluminum L stock to make brackets to rivet the framing together as needed, while keeping as much of the welded frame work intact to make the boxes over wheel well and HW heater strong and to support the storage units. It worked out really well,  the back end of the camper feels bigger, and no more running into bunk beds. Lucy our beagle lab likes sleeping in corner under the window too.  The hardest part was getting the wood foam panels off the aluminum frame work as LL uses a double sided tape that is really sticky and strong.

Not sure why the pictures are sideways or upside down, just tilt your head or your monitor. LOL...

I decided to cut down the window valance that are by the bed on our 21BHS, as they sagged off the wall and easy to bump into them. I used a pair of automotive panel pliers to remove the valance.  I found the panel clips to be one time use. The ones used by LL broke while removing the valance.  I removed all staples, fabric, and thin foam. Marked and cut off 1/2" off the depth and length of OSB wood and MDF frame work. Then used spray glue to hold the foam to wood and reinstalled fabric using 1/4" staples and electric staple gun. I used brad nailer to mail MDF frame to OSB were it was loose. I went to Taylor Do it Center and picked up new Autobody panel clips in black and measured hole placement, and used brad nail gun to nail the clips to valance. The Dorman panel clips that I got from auto parts store were brittle and broke when I tried to use brad nail on them. LL used a thick staple gun, the brads worked for me. The results made the valance fit snug against the wall and they don't  stick out as far, making it less likely to bump into them around the bed.

I replaced the valance panel clips on the slide out window valance and that tighten up, and it sits flush against the wall, no more sagging.

I was checking my roof A/C and looked at the tank vent covers and found a screw hole filled with silicone sealant that has pulled away inside the hole no longer sealing the hole and screw area. I removed it and replaced one rusty screw and put the vent cover back on. I  used a piece of foam backer rod to fill the deep hole just shy of the top, then filled and overlayed some silicone sealant to seal off the hole.  If you don't seal it, you could have water getting into the interior part of the vent pipe lower mounting ring and inside the camper. It would be a very slow leak, but a leak none the less. I didn't think to take a picture while the cap was off.

Our 2014 21 BHS has Dometic roof top A/C and it's noisy which is understandable to a point as the fan and compressor unit is in small space. After some research I found a service Bulletin A 32-2B Jun 2012, with Kit SVC Gromment 3314471.016 dyers RV sells the kit. Has anyone tried this? I was going to pull the cover off A/C unit and get the model and serial number to see what year mine was MFR. With the A/C running on low fan we can't hear the TV unless we have it playing through the radio with it turned way up, especially when A/C compressor kicks on and you can feel the vibration of compressor. Kind thought this was normal operating procedure for roof top A/C but I wonder if some of vibration can be reduced.

Here's the links for parts and installation instructions.

http://www.dyersonline.com/dometic-a-c-grommet-and-anti-vibration-kit.html
http://www.dyersonline.com/downloadfile/download/aitfile/aitfile_id/3798/