first hilo

[dmichna1]

Hi everyone !

Just wanted to tell a little about my story. First thanks to h.t.f without it I would not have found my deal , this is my first camper ever and I had my mind set on a hilo. My. Wife said I was obsessed with the thrill of the hunt but it paid off I ended up with a 19 t 50 th anniversary addition (2007) only used a handfull of times and always in the south.
I drove about 1200 mi round trip and about 25 hrs to get my hilo, unfortunately I had little time for the kids and wife to explore it as I am in dyer in and had to winterize it right away. All I can do now is plan all winter for some fun trips in the spring, I can't wait ! I will post some pics when I figure out how to put them in here. Thanks for reading
Dan

 

[sam-HILO]

New HiLo

Dan,welcome to the forum. You probably get the prize for driving the furthest to get your HiLo. Do a search for the post on how to post pictures. We are here to answer your questions. What is your tow vehicle? How did you like driving it home?

 

[RichR]

When you winterize be sure to hit all possible locations like drains, etc. Look at this thread for some discussion:http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f17/winterizing-750/

 

[dmichna1]

thanks rich for the winterizing tips its good reading i red the manual and found the bypass valves under the bench and that it had a hose to go right into your gallon jug directly to easily get fluid into the whole system. sam thanks for the welcome mat i have an 04 explorer nbx 4x4 supposed to to be able to tow 7k and it has a sport suspension when i put the camper on it it only went down 3 inches had to adjust the hitch accordingly. towing was no problem at all with load equalizers and sway control trucks went by and i barely felt it. actually with an 11 hour drive i forgot it was even there , i did buy some extended mirrors taking my wifes advice and it worked out well they were nice to have. I do have to do some caulking though i found it just starting to come up in a few places, i will be getting a lot of advice from h.t.f. lots of good reading here .

thanks, dan

 

[sam-HILO]

New HiLo owner

After I read your intro I realized you already included what your tow vehicle was. Should serve you well to tow. Maybe a brake controller and a add on Transmission cooler if you don't already have these on your tow vehicle. The extended mirrors are a great addition. We have them on our Ford F250 4x4,1997. Couldn't safely tow without them. We have an eigh ft. bed,super cab and a 25ft. 1990 Classic. The equivelant of two semi trailers. Hubby does all the driving. Yes, caulk is very important. You can use alcohol to clean with after the old caulk is scraped off. The best caulk to use is Lexell(Ace Hardwear or online). Sells for $8.00 a tube. Worth every penny. It can be applied down to 40 degrees. Another one is sikaflex A/Home Depot. I haven't used sikaflex. The next most important thing is to go carefully up on your roof and check the roof and all vents. Be proactive and coat the roof. When you get some time go through back posts on roof care. You would/could use Dicor self leveling caulk around vents,ac units. Some use Externa bond tape around roof vents,AC. Then at the edge of the externa bond tape some use dicor self leveling caulk.If your Rv is stored in a barn ect. then you can do these maintenance items in the spring. Sounds like you picked up a nice used HiLo. Take good care of it and it will take good care of you and your family.

 

[dmichna1]

Thanks so much for all the info on caulk its very helpful. Yes I did put on a brake control and it worked great and the truck came with a small trans cooler , made sure of that when I bought it. Still working on getting those pics up soon I hoope

 

[dmichna1]

tire change

I know this is a silly topic I can change a tire I was just wondering what everyone carries for a jack. I thinking about getting one of those that you put under your axel and pull up the truck to rotate the half moon jack up. Any suggestions? Thanks dan

 

[RCREYES]

I know this is a silly topic I can change a tire I was just wondering what everyone carries for a jack. I thinking about getting one of those that you put under your axel and pull up the truck to rotate the half moon jack up. Any suggestions? Thanks dan

That is an excellent choice but others have made their own with stacks of wood. Might as well save your money for something else for your Hi-Lo.

Cowboy tire changer for twin axle horse trailer

 

[davidc-HILO]

Small floor jack, behind the flat tire on the u-bolts - NOT THE AXLE - and just high enough for the tire to be off the ground. I have used the stupid scissor jack that comes with most vehicles, but it's a PITA to crank it while it's behind the tire...

Don't jack on the frame or axle tube - period. Your trailer is already resting on the suspension parts.

Always get a kick out of people that jack things up so high it looks like they will roll it over...

 

[RichR]

Always get a kick out of people that jack things up so high it looks like they will roll it over...

They do that because they can't bend over far enough to work on it otherwise.

 

[dmichna1]

Thanks for the input all info is greatly appreciated