New to the Hi Lo Community!

[Allie22333]

Hi All! We are new to the Hi Lo community and have our very own 1969 189R to thank for it! We are new to owning our own camper/ trailer, but my husband and I both enjoyed camping while growing up. We have big ideas and hope to fix up this gem so we can make memories with our 2 kiddos! We love to travel and be outdoors, and exploring new places and things is always exciting!

We aren't really sure where to start but we are so lucky that there were only 2 previous owners and that our hi lo has lived in the same neighborhood its whole life! We have all the original documents, manuals, warranty information, title, brochures, build sheet, and even the original envelope stamped and dated in 1970 that the title came in!

She looks like she has been taken care of and so loved over the years, but we want to make sure we keep her looking (and more importantly functioning) alive and well for many more.

Any words of wisdom for these newbies?! I have so many questions and am having a relatively hard time finding answers for the year of our hi lo. Naturally, with young'uns we are concerned with safety so other than looking into the tires, brakes, fluids, electric, etc. any suggestions on where to start?!

(of course I want to jump into cosmetic things like finding an awning, repairing paneling where needed, new cushion covers, etc. but my husband is probably right that those are the last things we need to do )

Pictures attached...I hope...

 

[Treeclimber]

Welcome to the forum, Allie. Hubby might be right (this time). Take a little while and "discover" your new rig. If you jump in and do cosmetic changes, you might end up re-doing them later. Have a little fun finding out everything about your unit, then you'll know what needs updating and then you can go crazy updating everything! You have a gem there, enjoy it to the max.
Tree

 

[piperjim]

Welcome and congrats! We're a pretty friendly group, so ask your questions and somebody will come back pretty quickly.....unless we're all out enjoying our own Hi-Lo!!

 

[KnottyRig]

Isn't that a neat little fella! And all that “provenance” too!

 

[Allie22333]

Thank You all for the warm welcome! I'm sure I will posting all kinds of questions here soon. We are anxious to get out and get camping (as I'm sure you all are too!) so I am happy to patiently wait for any feedback! In the meantime back to cleaning...ugh.

One mystery to us is the interior lights...none of them work. All of the outlets, running lights, brake lights, turn signals, and water pump work (we have not attempted to turn the fridge on yet..) but we cannot seem to figure this out. It doesn't appear to be the bulbs that are the issue, and to be honest I am quite the DIYer but electricity and gas are two things I am ALWAYS hesitant about (the two things that make everything in this camper work of course!). Any thoughts? Thank you all!! -Max & Allie

 

[piperjim]

You state that you have the original manual. It should have a section on the electrical system that will help you understand how the system is set up. For instance, my manual states "Your Hi-Lo is equipped with a 12-volt DC electrical system. This system supplies voltage to operate the 12 volt hydraulic lift motor, interior lights, fans, radio, water pump, furnace, monitor system and other 12 volt appliances."

Now that I know my interior lights run off the 12 volt system, I'd open the Power Converter and look for a bad fuse on the 12 volt side. If the fuses are all good, I'd check for a bad ground. If all this is Greek, any RV shop can take care of the problem.

 

[sam-HILO]

Welcome to the forum

Do a search for back posts. We have several owners on the forum that have HiLos of your vintage. Looks like your treasure is in good shape. Our forum members are very good at answering questions.