Greetings Hi Lo comrades - New to me 2292L - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

itswhatido · 04-24-2015, 09:21 PM

First post on the forum and thanks all for the useful information posted here.

Retired in East Texas in the Piney Woods near Palestine, TX 75803.

Weighed our "new to us" 1992 2292L 22' Hi Lo the other day before heading out to Inks Lake State Park northwest of Austin. Tipped the accurate scales at 4520. Wow! Wasn't expecting that. Holding tanks were not empty, nor were they full. Fresh water tank was about 50%.

Passed inspection with new 205x75x15 tires and a bit of tinkering with the clearance and license plate lights. Most everything else is original and works.

Met the seller from Pensacola for the transaction in New Orleans and towed it about 450 miles home to East Texas behind a Toyota Tacoma with Firestone Ride Rite air bags. Our Inks Lake trip was also about 450 miles without any major issues behind a 94 GMC 3/4 diesel. Pulled it with our bumper hitches, but have a Reese WD hitch I will rig up soon.

Used about two cartridges of silicone chalk to seal up the top edge seams and to go around the door and windows.

Have some soft spots on the top inside. Not bad, but not good.

So, Howdy from Texas, we dig the Hi Lo, and the adventure begins!

If anyone has ideas why our 2292L weighs 4520 instead of the 3600-3900 we were expecting, we would appreciate your input.

JackandJanet · 04-24-2015, 10:41 PM

Hi and welcome!

If you look through the forums, you'll find that my 1707T weighs more than it's supposed to also. So much, in fact, that it hits the max gross weight limit just by filling the fresh water tank, and with nothing else extra inside except bedding, a few dishes, some pots & pans, a few propane bottles and an extra battery.

I think the weights given in the brochures are somewhat lower than actual to promote sales. Of course, this was when HiLos were being manufactured, but those specs live on.

You may want to determine your tongue weight. Since the trailer weighs more, it is probably more too. DO use a WDH!

- Jack

hilltool · 04-25-2015, 04:05 PM

Also- those brochure weights do not include extras. Extras include stabalizer jacks, awnings, air conditioners, extra batteries. In my case, extra cabinets inside. It adds up quicker than you would think.

sam · 04-26-2015, 12:17 AM

itswhatido Welcome glad the forum is helpful for you. I cringed when I read that you had used silicone caulk around your windows. It is the wrong product to use as it provides no Uv protection. Lexel caulk or sikaflex would be more advisible. If you have soft spots on the interior ceiling it could be an indication of roof leeks. I would get up on the roof and do a serious inspection. Roofs need to be recoated and resealed along the edges and at the end caps. Dicor makes special caulks for this. Check for cracked caulk around roof vents and the AC unit. I'm just trying to point you in the right direction with the correct products for maintenance/repairs. May you have many great HiLo adventures.

itswhatido · 04-28-2015, 03:11 AM

Thanks all for your helpful replies.

First - The weight

Brochure reads "Axle weight=3445" and "Hitch weight=520".

When we originally weighed our 2292L with holding tanks and fresh water tank approx 50% full, we tipped the scales at 4520 pounds which surprised us. Here is a list of the optional equipment our unit has:

Dual sink covers
Dometic A/C
Swing away bunk
Power hitch jack
AM/FM Cassette Radio
TV Antenna
Rear sun shade
Optional overhead cabinets
Aftermarket BAL type stabilizing jacks

Today we dumped and flushed the holding tanks and the fresh water tank. Empty now. Then we had the original propane tanks re-certified, updated the valves, and had them both filled. We inspected all of the storage areas to be sure that there was not anything extra on-board.

Went back to the scales. Trailer weight = 4520 pounds. Exactly what it weighed when we checked it 10 days ago. What are the chances of that? LOL. Tongue weight = 780 pounds. Wow again! Nothing behind the axles of the TV.

Focusing this week on getting our Reese weight distributing hitch rigged up and determining the fine adjustments for each of our towing vehicles. A 2007 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner 4.0L with Firestone Ride-Rite air bags and a 1994 GMC 2500 with 6.5L turbo diesel and the heavy duty suspension.

That should get us "safe" side of towing.

Second - Soft Spots in the top section

Need to clarify that the ceiling itself has no soft spots or stains. On the interior sides of the top section:

Above the entry door
Base of the entry door itself
Below the window just above the sink
Near the corner of the shower

And, the exterior upper hinge connection above the rear sunshade is soft.

Inspection of the seals on the roof penetrations look OK.

Third - Roof edge and window chalk, Penetration seals

Thanks for the tip on the correct sealants to use. I will be removing my silicone chalk job as well as the built up deposits from previous sealant applications. Then will apply the correct sealants for the roof edge, front and rear end caps, and windows as recommended.

Have some dark discoloration on the aluminum roof in places. Previous penetration sealant applications have surface cracks but do not appear to be leaking.

Would appreciate some guidance on this. Have had pretty good experiences with white elastomeric roof coatings on other RV trailers. Your thoughts on the effectiveness, practicality, and durability for this application please. Will search the forum for technicalities. Value your opinions and general experiences with HiLo's.

Can live with the discoloration if the elastomeric options are not wise. Then will prep and freshen up the sealant for the roof penetrations.

Finally, we are hoping that further inspection of the sides of the interior top section soft spots will reveal that we have isolated the leaks even if I used the wrong silicone sealant. Also that spot repairs to the interior soft areas will be viable options once we take a serious look. Keeping our fingers crossed.

JackandJanet · 04-28-2015, 09:29 AM

Interesting! Your tongue weight is a bit over 15% of the total trailer weight, which is slightly high. Possibly, filling your propane tanks compensated for the emptying of the fresh water tank to get you back to the original trailer weight.

Personally, I'm not at all surprised by the trailer weight. I DO think the tongue weight is higher than I would have expected. But, mine was too, until I had the axle moved forward by 3 inches.

Regardless, that tongue weight may put more weight on the axles of your Tacoma than it is rated for. I think I'd stick with the GMC as a tow vehicle.

If you don't have a rubber roof, I can't think of a better roof coating than the white elastomeric. Here in Arizona, we apply that stuff to our home's roofs, and it does an excellent job of protecting them and reflecting heat. In another post, I said I applied it to the exposed surface of the rolled up awning on the trailer (two coats) and I've also done the same thing to a large, south-facing awning on my house. It's a great fabric protector, but, it is not breathable, so I would not put it on a fabric trailer cover.

I'm sorry I can't help you with the "soft spots". I've not had that problem in my trailer, but, I HAVE replaced sections of fascia board on homes that were damaged by moisture. In some cases, digging out the soft area and applying all-purpose Bondo seemed to be a workable solution too. As long as you can secure the new pieces properly and if the old portions are secure, I wouldn't think there would be a problem.

- Jack

hilltool · 04-28-2015, 12:13 PM

WEll- the axles MAY be off as jack said. if so, it was a common problem as my toungue weight is also quite high. In my case- I have two group 27 batteries up front which does not help matters.

Do a search for aluminum roof pinholes or some such thing. There are a couple of threads on electrolysis issues with the aluminum roofs which may be of interest. Some extensive descriptions on issues and how folks repaired them. Good luck.

Rick

itswhatido · 06-30-2015, 03:54 PM

Couple more Texas State Park runs under our belt. Another 1000 miles or so. Shakedown continues. No new major discoveries. The rear lift cables are a little low compared to the front. Will research that on the forum. Moving up to an "E" load range on the tires. Had Class C new tires put on when we got it. 50 PSI max. Due to the unexpected extra total weight we did discover, we are moving up to Class E tires with 80 PSI max to reduce some rolling resistance. Got all of the external leaks fixed.

Question for Jack and Janet: When you relocated your axles, about what percentage of tongue weight was reduced?

Saw a grey water transfer pump to the black water tank setup that looks useful. Considering installing that as we must be dirty birds and fill the grey water tank promptly.

JackandJanet · 06-30-2015, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itswhatido

...<snip>...
Question for Jack and Janet: When you relocated your axles, about what percentage of tongue weight was reduced? ...<snip>...

I had my axle (my trailer has a single axle) moved forward by 3 inches. I also had the frame raised on the axle by 1 1/2 inches. The resulting clearance allowed me to mount the next larger size tires with a larger weight rating.

It reduced my tongue weight with a full fresh water tank by 10%, or from 630# down to 570#, measured with a Sherline tongue weight scale. The new weight is 15% of the max gross weight of the trailer - which I think I'm at with a full fresh water tank. I generally travel with the tank almost empty. At the tank empty trailer weight (3500#) the tongue weight is about 400#, or about 11.4% of the trailer weight.

If you can stand it, here's a link to the thread I started when I discovered my trailer and tongue weight was heavier than it was supposed to be: http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f19/...verloaded-412/

- Jack

Treeclimber · 06-30-2015, 05:37 PM

Itswhatido, please pass on the info for the transfer pump as my DSO and I only do #1 in the black tank, but fill the grey pretty fast like you. I'd truly like to incorporate THAT system soon.

Treeclimber

JackandJanet · 07-01-2015, 01:00 AM

We fill the grey tank fairly quickly too, but my solution is to put a fairly deep plastic dishpan under the drain and then fill it with grey water to make sure any campfire we have is "out, dead out" before turning in to sleep at night.

Keeps the danger of forest fires down and controls the volume of water in the tank too. By the next evening, the firepit is dry enough to start a new fire.

- Jack

itswhatido · 03-21-2016, 10:58 PM

Well folks, getting back into the swing of things. Wife and I each had some health hiccups which have kept us on the sidelines these last 9 months, but pleased to say that we are getting back to the HiLo projects we had scheduled as we convalesce from our most recent health care adventures. We figure that the HiLo will factor in nicely to our revised itineraries. Thanks in advance for your kind wishes and encouragement.

lisakjcowgirl2016 · 02-01-2017, 10:42 PM

I noticed your comment about silicone caulk. Before joining the forum I did just that. I purchased silicone from Walmart and low and behold their is still leaks. After reading this forum I have purchased a RV Caulking. but I know have all this old caulking on the camper. Any idea how to remove it or can I just put the correct caulking on top of it?

Thanking you in advance

sam · 02-01-2017, 11:10 PM

You will have to remove all old caulking. Carefully with a plastic scraper. A tedious job. Then use Lexal caulk or sikaflex. Lexal calk is about nine dollars a tube and can be purchased at ACE Hardware or on the net. Sikaflex can hopefully be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes. For anything on the roof you would use a Dicor self leveling product from an RV place.

sam · 02-01-2017, 11:14 PM

On my HiLo the source of my leaks was from the windows. I took out all my windows and re did them with butyl tape and Lexal caulk. Any where you have a penetration on the roof can be a source of a leak. You tube has a tutorial on how to do the window reseal.

sam · 02-01-2017, 11:26 PM

Glad your health problems are behind you. Feb.13th is my left knee replacement. Then I need to have my shoulder scoped. Hopefully i can wait until the fall as it is my left shoulder/arm. DH is have a bit of lazer surgery to both eyes and extensive dental work. I feel that all windows need to be taken out and resealed. I wouldn't see the need to adress soft spots in the walls if you can live with them. Water was coming in our HiLo because of leaky windows and it trashed some walls. If you are not sure about anything ask us for advice. Many of us have had to do extensive repairs. I personaly love my 1990 25ft. Classic. It has been old faithful for us. We take care of it and it takes care of us. We also tow with a 1997 f250 4x4 8ft. bed with a fiber glass cap on it. Post pictures of any problem areas and we will help you.

Hersbird · 02-02-2017, 01:21 PM

As far as tounge weight goes, the 10-15% is minimum not a magic range. The more it has the straighter it will tow. Where more begins to be a problem is if you are now overloading the TV ratings, in hitch, tires, suspension, etc or even the aframe on the camper. 5000 pounds really isn't that much so going extra tounge weight will just prevent sway even more and take more load off the weaker trailer tires and bearings. If you had a 10,000 pound camper you would have to keep it in the 10-15% range or you would be over ratings. A 1200 pound tounge limit on even heavy duty pickups is common, although I have seen some as high as 2400 pounds.

lisakjcowgirl2016 · 02-03-2017, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam

On my HiLo the source of my leaks was from the windows. I took out all my windows and re did them with butyl tape and Lexal caulk. Any where you have a penetration on the roof can be a source of a leak. You tube has a tutorial on how to do the window reseal.

would I need to use the butyl tape and then put the Caulking around there?

lisakjcowgirl2016 · 02-03-2017, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam

You will have to remove all old caulking. Carefully with a plastic scraper. A tedious job. Then use Lexal caulk or sikaflex. Lexal calk is about nine dollars a tube and can be purchased at ACE Hardware or on the net. Sikaflex can hopefully be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes. For anything on the roof you would use a Dicor self leveling product from an RV place.

i was able to use a blow dryer (saw this on youtube) to remove the wrong silicone caulking that I had put along the side roof seem. On removing the silicone that I had put up there, I was able to see where the original caulking had broken aloose or had holes along the seam. I removed that as well. Guess was some of the areas that was allowing water to leak down the side wall. I purchased these items and hope I have gotten the right items. RV Silicone, RV Roof Repair Tape and RV Roof Leak Stopper. I was told to apply the silicone along all the side seams and around windows. Use the tape to apply along the side seams (roof) and around the escape vent. Apply the Leak Stopper (Tar) along every seam on the top of the RV, around all item on top Satelite, AC etc. Any advice would be appreciated prior to me doing these steps.

JackandJanet · 02-03-2017, 04:14 PM

Lisa - I don't know anything about the items you bought. Like Sam, I highly recommend Lexel caulk, which I've bought at ACE hardware, and/or, Eternabond tape, which I purchased online. Eternabond seems to be waterproof, and it adheres forever (I used it to mount my solar panels on the roof of my Hi-Lo).

What you have may certainly work, but I'd stick with products that forum members recommend.

- Jack