New Member, just got my first hilo

[khw-HILO]

Hi Folks,

Looks like a great community you have here. I just bought my first hi-lo, and I'm pretty excited about it. I was looking for a smaller vintage camper, and came across a 1970 15' hi-lo that I really fell in love with. I didn't do a very good job of checking the camper out, but I think I got lucky in a lot of areas. One thing I cannot figure out is... do I have a fridge, or an icebox? I'm suspecting an icebox, as I don't see a vent for a fridge on the outside of the camper. Any thoughts on this? Did the 1970 hi-lo's even come with an icebox? I'm excited to get it cleaned up, and start doing some mods. Thanks!

 

[khw-HILO]

So, I've been reading on the forum quite a bit, and I'm a little concerned about the brakes that may or may not be on my camper. Does anyone know how I can definitively determine if my camper has brakes? I see mention in the 1971 manual of electric vs. surge brakes? Any thoughts?

 

[RichR]

If it has surge brakes there will be a device just in back of and part of the hitch that has a brake fluid reservoir and what looks like a piston. If you have electric brakes you may see a six or seven pin electrical connector to plug into the tow vehicle. You can also look at the back side of the wheel hubs and see if there are any wires feeding through a back plate and if there appears to be brake drums like on a car. Hope that you have electric brakes.

 

[khw-HILO]

Thanks for the help! Yes, I do seem to have the electrical brakes, but it looks like they have been bypassed at some point, and now there is just a 4-pin connector (I can see where the other wires unceremoniously end). I think I've got a lot of work ahead of me to get the wiring straightened out!

 

[RichR]

You will want to have the brakes. In many states if there are brakes on the trailer they are supposed to be functioning. And if the trailer grosses at more than 3000 pounds they are required.

 

[khw-HILO]

I totally agree, I'd like to have those trailer brakes working, especially when coming down from the mountains!