Hi-Lo Winter Camping

[FHILO]

nope not on my 78 . just got done boondocking for 6 days & 6 nights . i had an older battery that will only charge to about 1/2 its original strength,so i bought a new one to take along as back up.turned frig on elec. 7 hours prior at home,i'm not yet capable of using it on 12 volt from my tow vehical while driving yet .so it was off for say an hour itll we got to the state forest where we were camping,then turned it onto propane & it ran for 6 days & nights perfectly.cold in fridge frozen in freezer.i also have two 20 tanks and an automatic switch over on the tanks,but it only just emptied the first one by the 7th day and we were leaving.now i was camping so cooked outside mostly but i also used the stove to cook a late night snack and or heat up coffee too.the older battery was only used to raise the camper,maybe a total of 1 hour of using the campers lights & run the blower to the wonderful furnace (it was 40 at night) and i was very comfortable ,i think it would do fine in the 30's.anyway the battery lasted right up till it was time to go and wasn't dead but would not lower the hi-lo. had to use the spare battery and we were off and running.at 1/2 charge the old battery lasted 6 nights 10 to 12 hours a night of what i would consider mild use,so my conclusion is the blower will not run the battery down in one night no way. with a new battery i should be able to run the furnace none stop day & night for at least a week.the propane 20 lb. tank ran the fridge/freezer and the furnace and in 6 days 6 nights used 1 tank,so two would make it around 12-14 days.using the camper lights in my opinion is what can easily kill even a good battery.best i can tell you there is i'm going to use a solar panel and hook it up to a fully charged battery right from the start as soon as i arrive at the site .they say that way the solar panel keeps the battery from losing any power and keeps it fully charged while in use.love that hi-lo

 

[Bruce-HILO]

There should be no gap between the top and bottom halves of the trailer. There are two possibilities - 1. The lift cables are not adjusted properly. 2. The seal is shot. Seeing how your unit is 23 years old, I would bet that the seal needs to be replaced. In the meantime, purchase lengths of water pipe insulation from any hardware store, Home Depot, Lowes, etc and push under the top to form a temporary seal. They come in 6' lengths and would have to be pulled out each time you lowered the top. Hope this helps.....................

Bob

As an alternative to replacing the seals, you can get some foam insulation with the peel off, sticky side. Stick a strip of it on the top of the underside so that when you raise the top the contact with the normal seal becomes air tight. I was taught this by a dealer's technician as the seal on my nearly new 2707T was not tight on one side.

 

[dirtfan]

Bruce, can you get a photo for us?

Thanks

As an alternative to replacing the seals, you can get some foam insulation with the peel off, sticky side. Stick a strip of it on the top of the underside so that when you raise the top the contact with the normal seal becomes air tight. I was taught this by a dealer's technician as the seal on my nearly new 2707T was not tight on one side.

 

[cav117]

that foam insulation is a GREAT idea, I will use that, if the temps down here get below the 40s again. GREAT idea!!!!. I am looking forward to seeing some of the other Hi Lo's to see both what it is supposed to look like and what some of ya'll have done to fix discrepancies.

Again Thanks.

 

[Rolff]

Bruce, can you get a photo for us?

Thanks

I posted photos at the end of page 2.

 

[boater454]

Camped in the mountains this weekend and it got down to 34. Used a samll cube ceramic electric heater. It would maintain 68 no problem at 1500 watts. Turned on the A/C's heat strip for a few minutes to warm it up to 73 in the morning. Nice and toasty warm!

 

[Bruce-HILO]

I have it stored for the winter now but even if not, it would be difficult to get a photo because the top half would cover it.

 

[Rolff]

@ Bruce - Is it any different than what I posted at the bottom of Page 2? The sticky tape tube just tore loose after raising it once. This left gritty stickum on mine.

 

[cav117]

I used some screws and washers to attach mine to the door, it looked like it would be more secure. I will be lowering it in a couple of weeks and will let you know if it worked, if so I will upload a picture on here for everyone.

Again, thanks for that idea, it is quicker and easier to get it working till I get an opportunity to tear everything apart next summer (if work eases up some)

Thanks,

 

[firemarshal]

But it's a 'dry' cold...

Probably the coldest weather I've camped in was last winter at Four Corners. Easily around 20 with a 20-30 mph wind chill. I was dry camped and fishing. The water lines froze up and stopped working after two days, and the LPG was barely giving off gas. Inside the trailer was fine, as long as I plugged up any wind gaps. I use cheap fleece throw blankets rolled length-wise and laid along the windy side of the trailer. They're easy to stow in a drawer when not being used, and can also be used for bedding covers for extra warmth. I don't run the heater constantly when I can just insulate. After all, what do you expect to get when you camp in the Winter? After going through my spare drinking water to wash, clean, flush, etc., I headed South for some warmer weather to thaw the trailer. No cold-related breaks/leaks when things thawed out.

I know that we're all looking forward to the warm season now....but I'd like to get your thoughts and experiences of winter camping in a Hi-Lo.

What was the coldest that you've camped in your hilo?
Are there any issues particular to a Hi-Lo to be aware of if taking out in the cold?

For a long time now, Hi-Lo has insulated their tanks with foam, I would imagine that would be effective to a certain degree...but is that really enough if your towing in say 25 F?

I'd appreciate your thoughts while the cold is not too distant of a memory.

 

[JMDoering]

There should be no gap between the top and bottom halves of the trailer. There are two possibilities - 1. The lift cables are not adjusted properly. 2. The seal is shot. Seeing how your unit is 23 years old, I would bet that the seal needs to be replaced. In the meantime, purchase lengths of water pipe insulation from any hardware store, Home Depot, Lowes, etc and push under the top to form a temporary seal. They come in 6' lengths and would have to be pulled out each time you lowered the top. Hope this helps.....................

Bob

Hi Bob,
Actually there is at least a third possibility. Our 2704T has properly adjusted cables, and the seal is (with the exception of a two foot section on the door side) in fair condition. I was puzzled as to why our trailer had a gap in both the front and back, all the way across. After accurately measuring, I determined both gaps leave a 3/8" gap of air between the "flange," on the lower half, and the inner edge of the gasket on the upper half. Furthermore, the gaskets on the front and back show absolutely no wear. Also, the side gaskets all seat properly against the "flange," or seating surface, previously mentioned.

Basically, I came to the conclusion that our upper half is exactly 3/4" longer than it should be, and poor factory quality control is most likely the culprit.

If you think it unlikely the factory could make such an error, go back and read the thread contributed by Jack (Jack and Janet) regarding his axle misplacement! Quality at Hi-Lo didn't always live up the their sales pitch.

My solution was to purchase two 8 foot lengths of 1/2" flexible synthetic braided rope (one for each end), that I push into the gap when needed if there is a wind, or too many bugs. Thought about foam, but the gap is small, and the rope is easy to coil and stow.

Jim

 

[retiredcamper47]

Hi Jim,

Yes, I know about factory errors. After taking delivery of our current HiLo, I went back to the factory with a legal pad size page of things to be corrected. The worst being the lower kitchen cabinets were not attached to the wall. As I said in a previous post, the QC people are the first to go whenever any company trys to down size or save money.

Bob

 

[sting32]

@ Bruce - Is it any different than what I posted at the bottom of Page 2? The sticky tape tube just tore loose after raising it once. This left gritty stickum on mine.

I think you guys are talking about "different types" of gaps... one gap is, that the rubbers dont seem to touch top of bottom half to bottom of top half (seals), at this type you could put sticky sided foam tape to top of bottom half seals, and probably bottom of where bottom of top half meets, In this example, nothing rubs (as you dont add to the sides of ribbers where they would rub up and down)

the other is that the wall(s) to far away, or worn out rubbers like I have, and placing something to seal would wear and tear when going up and down.
In this case, the foam pipe covers is what I use. as well! removed when not "up and camping".

 

[Rolff]

Thanks Sting - now I got it. Where I have mine attached it solves both issues - somewhat. It is hooked so that when the top half lowers it slides down with it and seals at the bottom. This keeps most of the dust out while traveling. I just replaved them with clean ones for about $8 and used the old ones on my greenhouse door. I don't have any in the bathroom - we close the "door" at night when it's cold. The biggest gaps we have are where it is structurely weakest near the door. I slide a tube cut to fit in at night.