New owner of a 2001 Towlite

I was hoping to post tonight that I was ensconced in a campsite in Adel, Iowa, waiting for tomorrow to poke around central Iowa historic sites. Instead I am 100 miles from my goal, at a rest stop along the freeway. Essentially 1850 miles in three days of driving--and Christine and I are still talking to each other!

A testimony to the HiLo's durability is the fact that we have had little to deal with along the way. The 12 volt mode of the refrigerator has not worked, but I half expected that; the propane mode works well, so we have had no problems a bag of ice couldn't handle. I will rewire the 12 volt when we get home.

I had mentioned earlier that the front window rock shield had worked out a couple of screws on one side in a Montana deluge. I patched that with some epoxy putty, which worked well until we encountered constant angled headwinds in S. Dakota. I knew things were wrong when I saw the shield flopping up and down like a bird with a broken wing. We stopped in a rest stop in 110 degree temperatures--yes 110 degrees--to try to reattach the bottom mounting screws, but to no avail. The screws has been torn out of the skin by the constant buffeting winds. We ended up holding the shield in place with bungee cords, and so far so good: it has been holding. Another fix for when we get home.

We have had very little trouble leveling or setting up our TowLite. Mostly I have followed the tips I got from this forum, and things, so far, have worked.

After poking around Iowa a bit, we'll head on to Illinois for a couple of days, then point the nose west.

Observations for those who are contemplating a similar trip:

Right now, temperatures have run from 102 in Montana and Wyoming, and 110 in S. Dakota.

In Wyoming, all roads go uphill.

In S. Dakota, all winds are headwinds.

In Minnesota, I discovered where they coined the term "washboard road." We about beat our brains out driving I-90 eastbound. I remembered a trick a Scottish truck driver had taught me on the rough roads of Northern Scotland: lean forward so that your butt and back are going the same direction, otherwise you beat yourself up. I am amazed the HiLo wasn't bounced into orbit.

A final note: we spent last night in a RV park in Sundance, WY, and as I returned to my parking spot, I saw a couple looking my rig over. As I got closer, I heard the man explain to his wife, "Yeah, that's one of those pop up campers." I was too tired to converse, or I mIght has explained the difference to them.

Ron

May get some rain around here this weekend. Beat the heat and go home through wi, minn, then North Dakota On another note- I'm trying to imagine what you attached the ends of the bungee cords to keep the stone guard closed. Vertical, horizontal ??? Might be an interesting thing to know sometime.

Rick

Rick,

The way I bungeed the stone guard was to angle the bungee hooks into the aluminum channel the top of the guard is attached to, then stretch the other end under the lower body to attach to the frame. The hooks have to be metal because the channel is too narrow to fit a plastic hook into (I tried). If the bungees are pulled tight enough, they won't move or work themselves around. You just have to remember to detach them from the frame when you raise the top, or something will have to give ...

The trailer is showing the buggy effects and road grime of 2000 miles; will have to wait until I get home to clean it up. Today was a balmy 93 degrees in America's bread basket. We wandered around woefully sagging farm towns and old pioneer cemeteries and churches today--without the trailer. My Dodge truck is covered in super fine Iowa gravel road dust; it looks like it had a cream colored paint job.

I am ever amazed by the productivity and tenacity of the old time pioneers. You see the effects of their labor in the land and the legacy they left. Makes me feel like a piker.

Tonight we are parked in a beautiful county park just outside of Adel, Iowa. We have the A/C going, just had a cup o' joe, and are feeling some of the pleasure of being HiLo owners. Then I remember we have another +/- 3000 miles to go and I wonder just what I was thinking when we left home.

Ron

Brake squeal

Hello All--

We are in northern Illinois, finishing up our short visit today, expect to head west tomorrow--2500 miles and counting.

I noticed as we were driving through one of the small towns on an IL State highway that my trailer brakes are squealing. Had not noticed it previously; I suppose because we have done mostly freeway driving. I have read the forum section on HiLo brakes, and understand that we have conventional brake shoes, and if we have a complete failure we likely will be able to get a fix.

But I am wondering whether anyone has gone through the squealing brake thing with their trailers, and if so, what should I look for to avoid complete meltdown? I am not inclined to do much about a squeal, but on the other hand I would like to avoid brake failure in the middle of nowhere.

What do you recommend? Once I am on the freeways again I don't anticipate a lot of brake use. On the other hand, If this works like car shoe brakes, I have a good bit of use before I have to replace the shoes. Does anyone know whether the shoes are riveted on, or bonded?

I am getting a bit of groaning from my sway control/equalizer hitch, but that is metal sliding on metal and likely needs a bit of grease--I'll do that before we head out.

Overall the trailer has worked well through about 2500 miles. Some odds and ends, the rock shield working loose, the 12 volt refrigerator, have been problems, but no real reason to complain. I am not looking forward to the temperatures on the way back after 110 through SD; I am checking weather forecasts to look for the coolest route, but nothing looks too good.

Ron

I don't know what kind of sway control you have but many should not be greased. Mine makes noise every time after I get in a rain storm, it is the non greaseable kind.
Don't know what is causing your brake squeal, but if everything looked good when you checked the wheel bearings then it too might be the result of the shoes getting wet.
You trailer axles should be Dexter and any RV dealer can get brake parts and repair.

On the brake squeal. Could be your shoes are getting thin, could be that superfine dust has a built up a bit in the drum and has become imbedded in the friction material. It might just require a blow out but I would be inclined to pull atleast one wheel and have a look and the shoes.

Squealing Brake Shoes

Ron,

My first concern on the brake squeal is that you may be getting down really close to the metal. If that happens and is not addressed soon, the metal will dig into your drums and you may have to have the drums turned. I would recommend pulling one wheel and then refer to this post: http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f24/brake-shoe-replacement-1490/ If the brake lining is 1/16" or less, they will need replacement.

When you scroll down to my post, you will note that when I examined my brake shoes, I felt they needed replacing and purchased a set of 4. I later determined that the linings still had 1/8" [2/16] thickness and didn't need replacing yet so I put the new ones on the shelf until they are needed. If perchance your axle is the same as mine, you may find the Dexter original equipment shoes at NAPA, that is where I found mine.

I am attaching some pics of a set of new Dexter OE shoes, As you can see on the shoes, they are bonded; not riveted. If your shoes have gotten worn to less than 1/16" thickness, I would recommend you bite the bullet and replace them since you have such a long distance still ahead of you. New replacement shoes have only 3/16" liner thickness.

Good Luck and God Speed.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

Thanks for your replies regarding my brakes squealing. I decided to blow the brakes out, then drive on local roads up through central Wisconsin to connect with I 94 at Baraboo, WI (Hilltool knows where I am talking about). I figured slow going and frequent stops would tell me the story, and it looks like the problem has gone away. There was a little noise initially,but I haven't heard a squeal in the last few hundred miles. We just pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot in Jamestown, ND, for the night, and didn't hear a peep--650 miles later!

Amazing variety of weather getting here: 97 degrees in western WI and much of Minnesota, then 75 degree at Fargo, ND, and 77 in Jamestown; a little rain and overcast. Excellent travel weather. After studying the projected temps on the I 80 route, we decided to follow Hilltool's advice and take the northern route, instead. I'll take temps in the 70's over 100's any day!

We have not seen a single HiLo in 3,000 + miles of wandering. Have seen a couple Trail Manors, in fact today one came near to running me off the road near Eau Claire, WI. He was zooming in and out of traffic like he had a go cart. I was relieved when he finally took an off ramp.

We couldn't be more pleased with the ease of handling of our 19 foot TowLite. I will confess that I have a heavy foot, and the 75 MPH speed limit in most of the northern tier states is a real temptation. The TowLite tracks like a dream, no swaying, rock solid.

If any of you are thinking of doing a long trip, I would highly recommend the Allstays Camp & RV app for the iPad & iPhone. It has been indispensable on this jaunt; everything from rest stop rules in each state, locations of service businesses, including the Wal-Mart we are staying at tonight, food, gas, GPS locator with distances to locations, and even more! I also got 6 or 8 other apps, but they largely duplicate the Allstays app, and not as good--I rarely use them. The only downside is that it takes a bit of figuring out to get the best from it. And only five bucks; a real deal.

We are on the final run to home, and we can feel the pull, maybe 1500 miles. Again, thanks for all your help.

Ron

Homeward Bound!

I suspect we have just completed the next to last leg of our long road trip. We pulled into Butte, MT, an hour ago, had a leisurely dinner, and am now sipping on a cup of very good coffee. Speaking of coffee, it never fails to amaze me how uninterested the people in the Heartland are about coffee, compared especially to the Northwest, the birthplace of Starbucks. In WA State there is a drive through kiosk for espresso on nearly every corner (only slightly exaggerating). In fact there are four kiosks within 6 blocks of my house, and I live in a semi-rural area. In a lot of Midwest diners you get brown-colored water for coffee.

We really pushed hard today--my HiLo got a real workout. First it was getting bludgeoned by the wind in western ND and eastern MT, then it was the hard, hard climb up the Continental Divide, followed by the winding and too-fast descent down the other side. If anyone wonders whether the HiLo can do 80MPH on a road of switchbacks, the answer is yes. At best we have gotten 10-11 MPG;today we got 8 MPG. We will probably push on home tomorrow, about 620 miles.

The trailer has been faultless, and coupled with the Equalizer hitch has been a dream to pull. Only trouble is, bracket creep is occurring--we are 19 feet now; surely 25 feet is better.

Ron

Well

You made it out of here just in time. 100 deg yesterday, just the 80s today, but high 90s return tomorrow. Glad to hear the trip went pretty well. Now- hopefully, you get to spend some time camping in the Cascades and along the coast- The "bracket creep" is interesting. Travelling on the road and living in an RV is a different deal, I suspect, than camping and living"out of an RV". If I was living "in the RV" all the time I suspect my 22footer with no tip out would start to feel awfully spartan. But in a campground, or boon docking, I'm living out and around it, in which case, the size is perfect for us and much more convenient than a tent (though I still carry one "just in case") But to each his/her own. Plenty of larger rigs on the forum,thats for sure. Stay safe. ---And sorry about the coffee-----thats why I carry my own and a backpacking stove and a drip single cup filter.

Rick

O Joy!

Greetings to All!

We are back in WA State, the TowLite is safely parked in my front yard and after unloading the rig and a day of rest, I am beginning to consider the fixes necessary to repair the damages, and some “improvements” to overcome deficiencies.

We decided to push on to WA from Butte, MT, rather than dally along the way, and made it home around 4 PM yesterday, after 10 hours and 620 miles of hard driving: mountains in MT, winds in eastern WA, the long climb up the Columbia River gorge, then the Cascade mountains in WA, only to be capped by rush hour traffic on I-5 coming into Tacoma, WA, where we came to a full stop, then creeping and crawling 10 miles until we could get off the freeway (I was told the Puget Sound freeway traffic is the 4th worst in the nation—not a bragging point). But, “O Joy!” as Meriweather Lewis said when he spied the Pacific Ocean, we are home.

Somewhere along the way the brake squeal came back, perhaps on the long descents down the mountains, and I am suspicious of problems there. I see black deposits on the left rear wheel around the hub, which makes me think of carbon from overheating. I’ll pull that wheel tomorrow and take a look-see. Before I am done, I will probably pull all the wheels and hubs to evaluate the effects of 4,400 miles in 8 days (including 2-1/2 days not moving).

Then I will find a solution to the wind damaged rock shield. Although the two lower mounting brackets are undamaged, the screws were literally torn out of the skin by the buffeting angled head winds in SD. Doing a bungee “field fix” in 110 degree temperatures was no picnic. I will probably do an epoxy putty patch of the holes, sand the patch down smooth, and then if I am able to find a pair of oversized brackets, remount the shield in new holes. We’ll see what the conditions require.

After experiencing the inadequate cooling of the frig in DC mode, I will likely rewire with a larger gauge wire as detailed in this forum, and put in the circulating fan mod discussed in one of the threads—was it the Sushidog mod? Plus an internal circulating fan and probably a remote temperature monitor. That should take care of that, although I have a slight suspicion that the super-hot temperatures across the Heartland may have contributed to the refrigerator deficiency.

It is hard to believe that just 2-1/2 weeks ago on impulse I bought my 1901 TowLite, and going from a complete untutored Newbee, have just completed a 4,400 + mile run with minimal problems. I have made several runs cross country in several different rigs, but rarely, maybe never, with so few problems. I love seeing America, I love visiting local diners and stores and chatting with local folks: it gives me hope for our country, when all the news seems bad-bad-bad. I told Christine, after talking with an Iowa librarian, “We’re gonna be okay.”

I could not have done the trip without you all, and I am very grateful. I will let this thread die, now that I am home, but will chime in on the appropriate thread as I begin fixing things. Thank you for your kindness and indulgence in getting me up to speed and seeing me through the adventure.

Ron

Ron,

Carol and I are so glad that you made that very long trip with no major problems. I enjoyed so much reading of your progress and stops along the way. There is only one thing that bothers me about your last post. That being, your last comment:

" I will let this thread die, now that I am home".

We enjoy so much your contributions to the forum, please do not 'rest on your laurels'. Please keep posting on the forum for you have so much to offer.

Rest up... then keep in touch with the forum.

God Bless.

Jerry & Carol Curtis
2406T
Fredericksburg, TX

Ron, I second the Curtis's post . Keep in touch.

That said- I'm curious about a product that may help you which you are in a unique position to try....and I am not. So- i would like to live vicariously through your experimentations.

I have mentioned it before- but there is an epoxy product made by WEST SYSTEMS called G-FLEX which is flexible and waterproof and very easy to work with. WEST SYSTEMS is well known for epoxy and fiberglass applications and the products are used extensively in the marine industry.
given your location they should be as easy to obtain as a good cup of coffee.

I have used the G Glex on gel coat, fiberglass, and metal repairs. I am wondering if it might not work on the polyethelene end cap on your HI-lo for filing the holes where the rock guard was attached----where you could fill them and then re-drill. There would be prep work involved to get the plastic prepped ----but not much. Possibly acetone and a bit of sanding. Anyway- google it and see what you think. I don't have any holes in mine, yet, otherwise I would give it a go.

Glad you are back safe and sound. later

Rick

Still Here!

Jerry and Carol, thank you for your kind thoughts. Mostly, I am concerned that I don't become a nuisance with my constant questions.

As you may be able to tell from my posts, I really like to wander and explore out of the way places. Christine and I started out wandering when we lived in southern Illinois and I asked her if she wanted to go with me to look for some wild bamboo to build some fishing rods . After trekking through the woods and hills, getting covered in ticks, and finally building the fishing poles, I had to take her fishing (I'm a romantic guy).

Since then we have wandered all over the place. Our latest trip was the longest road trip we have taken in 30 years, although we have flown hither and yon a few times. Mostly, we visit small towns and out-of-the-way places in WA State. I particularly like old pioneer and native American historic places, and we expect the HiLo to fit right in with our wanderings. It is small enough to tag along in most places, yet, as Hilltool has well said, we will be "living out" of the trailer, and not "in." Christine has let me know that she prefers better quarters than a tent, and the trailer should work.

I am about to head out to Camping World to find an improvement on the plastic wedge wheel chocks we have been using. When we arrived home on Wednesday, maybe we were a bit road weary and didn't block and chock as well as we should have, as I jacked up the tongue jack the trailer suddenly shifted and nearly slipped off the jack blocks--it was hanging by an edge of the jack foot. Fortunately, I was able to prevent it from dropping entirely, got it back on the hitch, and re-chocked the wheels, but recognize that I need a little better insurance than the plastic wedges. I like the looks of the Fastway ONEstep system. Any suggestions?

Hilltool, thanks for suggesting the G-Flex product. I got on their website, and it looks like the product is for repairing plastics. My endcap appears to be made from aluminum, not plastic. At least that was my impression when I was scrambling to do a temporary fix and get out of the oppressive SD heat. You say you have used the product for metal, so maybe I missed that part on the website. I will look again.

Considering how fast and far we drove, and in such a short time, I suspect that as I go over the trailer I will find problems that are not currently obvious. I will let you all know what I find.

Ron

Oops!

Rick, it looks like the end cap of the trailer is plastic, not aluminum. You obviously know more about the construction of the HiLo than I do. You say it is plastic, it is likely plastic. Maybe the G-Flex you mentioned will work after all.

An interesting discovery: today, after reading Hilltool's post, I went out to examine the end cap and rock shield more thoroughly. Much to my surprise, up under the rock shield, I discovered four additional holes in the end cap--2 on each end--plugged with four square-drive stainless steel screws.

My deduction is that the original rock shield was replaced for some reason. If my experience is any indicator, the previous owner probably left the propane tank cover setting on the tongue while lowering the top. Luckily, in my case, I heard the noise, stopped to investigate and prevented any damage. But I can see how easy it would be to cause damage, either to the rock shield or the propane cover. I wondered why my rock shield is plain white and doesn't have graphics on it like the other HiLo's. The answer: it isn't the original part.

Now I am left to wonder whether the original rock shield brackets were attached to the end cap skin differently than the replacement. As I examine the stripped-out holes, I see nothing to drive a screw into other than the skin, and it doesn't look to be more than 1/8 inch thick. It is easy to understand how heavy winds could whip-saw the shield and tear out the screws. Is there a screw backing to give a more solid bite on the original?

I am off to a local RV parts store to see whether they have the wheel chocks I want. If not I will make one more trip to Camping World. I probably should buy stock in the company.

Again, thanks for all your help.

Ron

Ron

If you can- take a couple of pictures and upload them so we can see what you are talking about. If you go down to "manage attachments" below where you respond to posts you will see prompts for uploading photos. My shield is hinged at the top and attaches to the end cap in the indentation where the front window sits. I was thinking you had somehow ripped the hinge out of the end cap and the g-\flex might be a way to fill in holes and then re-drill them. But, I'm not sure what you have at this point----and i am far from being an expert on this anyway.

If you screw up the pictures DAbbler can fix em.

Rick

Rock Shield

As requested, I have attached some pictures of the rock shield and the bracket holes. The first picture shows the trailer with the rock shield looking pretty normal. The close ups are of the right bracket and the holes in the end cap where the screws ripped out. I had to cut a groove in the broken screw to get it out. The last picture is of the left side. It looks like there are a total of 6 holes on each side. Obviously there has been more damage than I first thought. Looks like I have a project ahead of me. I will confess that I did not lift the rock shield when I bought the trailer. I'm not sure I would have thought much about it even if I had.

Any recommendations for repairs would be appreciated.

Ron

While I am at it, and since Rick gave me the courage to try adding a picture, I will include a picture of the black deposits on the left rear wheel I mentioned in an earlier post. I still haven't pulled it to look inside, but it doesn't look encouraging. I'm not sure I want to see what is in there.

Ron

rgcronk said:

I am off to a local RV parts store to see whether they have the wheel chocks I want. If not I will make one more trip to Camping World. I probably should buy stock in the company.

Click to expand...

Ron,
Here is a link to some rubber wheel chocks that I bought at harbor freight which so far have worked fine. If you watch their ads you can get a coupon and if I remember I think I got them for like $5 each. Also harbor freight has a selection of camping items that is usually priced lower than camping world.
http://www.harborfreight.com/solid-rubber-wheel-chock-96479.html

rgcronk, that wheel pic looks like someone painted the black center piece and it ran down the wheel, but I can't really tell from the pic. Pull the wheel there might not be anything wrong.