Unfortunately a travel trailer in general needs a fair amount of preventative maintenance and attention. The biggest reason is that the trailer and everything in it is going down the road and continuously experiencing a series of minor and sometimes major earthquakes depending on the road’s traveled. Some little electrical or electronic piece may come loose and poof, uhoh furnace, water heater, water pump, air conditioner suddenly doesn’t work. Of course you don’t realize any of it until you’ve leveled and in your camp spot ready to unwind. Not saying all of these instances are going to happen but at one time or another some of them will. NOW, that being said, there’s lots of help on various camping forums and I would start with the site that is specific to your particular brand. Read all that you can and prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It’s all a learning curve and if you and your wife adopt the same adventurous attitude you can cope with anything that happens! Signed BTDT
Well, they got it in the shop, pulled slide out...and it's worse than I thought......stud ends had rot as well. Insulation was wet with mildew...so now, they will pull sides off, fix studs and replace insulation and vinyl on floor. They said they would use Advantech for the floor, which is great... Another 8 hrs of labor...... They think walls/roof was leaking... Anybody want to by a good camper...... Just kidding...maybe...
On a good note...we hauled 18 tons on gravel Friday and spread it for the carport area... First 2 loads were a wee bit heavy... 6.3 tons 6.7 tons 5 tons Had to scoop some off with the tractor and spread it along the string and wall, raked it level... Still wouldn't dump, so used the ramps to get tractor up to where we could pull rock towards back of trailer Using the spreader gate now... Tractor did a fine job leveling it out... Got the area covered, packing it down...
I feel bad for you guys. Unfortunately this is more the norm than not with traditionally constructed campers.
Feel bad for y'all Jeff. Unfortunately campers and boats seem to require a regular infusion of to keep them happy and functioning.
Nice work Jeff and Carol...as is the Norm for you two!! Sorry to hear about the camper issues, get her fixed, put it behind you and enjoy your new toy!
Jeff, really sorry that y’all are experiencing this expensive repair on your first trailer. Hopefully you can get the unpleasant parts done and behind you with many enjoyable trips in the future
if you don't have slide toppers on it, get them. If it's prepped for them already, it isn't hard to install a topper with another person. About 15-30 minute job. I started a new job inspecting/working on TT/5th wheels. Already saw one slide come out completely and they had to repair what you listed. Had to install a new bulb seal on another that was leaking due to a very small drip. Damage was done already though. That one had a slide top on it even. I recommended to do more work but was brushed off. Some delamination and softness in a corner, owners are going with it for now. If it didn't have that slide top I'm sure the damage probably would have been worst.
Well, the camper port was rescheduled for Thursday, which wound up being a good, dry day. Crew showed up about 7:30AM. After some discussion about mounting it on the wall... they unloaded parts and got to work It has double beams on base and walls We screwed base to wall with 8 & 14" screws Putting the metal on the gable ends... They said with 14' and taller buildings, they usually used a lift. I asked why the company didn't schedule one... So we used the tractor to help move the sections into place. I could pick up middle while they guided the legs, lift up about 8 or so feet... Then they walked it up into place... Once all sections were in place, they got them plumbed and level... Getting the roof purloins put on... Fun crew to be around... Putting the siding on... Sides done, starting on the roof... Last piece of the roof They wanted to work till it was finished, so out came the lights Last piece of siding going on Trimming the edge flush, grinder made a cool pic... They finished up about 10:30 PM We picked up a few pieces of metal and screws this morning they missed in the dark last night. They did a great job. They were chattering like squirrels on meth......but it was nice to meet them, one guy was from Honduras, another from Belize. Showed them pictures of cruises where we had been to their countries. One guy had worked for some of the cruise tour operators. Daytime view from the house From the road...
