New owner of a 2001 Towlite

[sam-HILO]

Getting ready for camping.

Ron seems like you have a pretty good handle on thigs. I looked over my packing list and will throw out a few items for consideration. Lighter for your stove and maybe matches for the campfire. Take along your cell phone chargers.Extra fld. for your truck and spare light bulbs. Air mattress for beds that have cracks in them. Camera and or camcorder. Paper and pen to write down needed items for the next trip. Lawn chairs,flashlight. Swim suits/beach towels. Some reading material,sunglasses,sunscreen,hats,multipurpose cleaner. Some microrags,lots of paper towels.Trash bags, Flip flops for the shower house and maybe water shoes. Note to self: camcorders can be ruined if left in extreme heat or cold(ask me how I know.) Liquid soap/hand washing/showering. Sanitizer. A bucket,we use them to tote everything to the shower house. Wash clothes and towels Some for the kitchen. Small dishpan to wash and rinse dishes at the picnic table,2. Clothes line and clothes pins. Table cloth. Small cooler for travel/drinks. Bug spray for your skin. Some type of spray lubricant and of course duct tape. Small mats for feet wiping both inside and outside of the trailer.Umbrella and or lt. wt. rain poncho. I'm sure others will think of other must have items.

 

[hilltool]

I'm confused

My manual says I have "30 amp" service and the trailer comes equipped with a 30 amp power cord. Ron says he has a "60 amp plug" . Where does the 60 amp come from? Were some models of the era equipped with 60 amp- and if so- where would 60 amp be available to someone?

Rick

 

[jcurtis95]

hilltool,

I'm sure Ron meant 50 AMP Cord rather than 60. The 50-amp provides a 2nd 110v feed and is for a 2nd AC Unit. I didn't know that Hi Lo had units with 2 air conditioners and I believe Ron said his unit was a Tow Lite which should not require anything but 30 amp service. When/if Ron reads this post, he might look at this site and compare his 60 amp connection to this 50 amp connection.

Roy's RVing - Electrical

I'll bet they are the same if he does indeed have a 50 amp connector. Should it happen to be, I would think that it was probably changed out by the previous owner for reasons unknown unless Ron's unit does have a 2nd AC unit.

I believe the difference in a 4-prong 50 amp versus a 4-prong 60 amp receptacle is that the bottom [Neutral] takes a horizontal prong on the 60 amp service and a vertical prong on the 50-amp service.

Confusing isn't it?

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

 

[sam-HILO]

Items on sale at camping world.

In a previous post you mentioned the need to visit camping World for some additional electrical items/adapters. Just received a lg. sale flyer with to many tempting items on sale. Possibly the flyer is listed on their web site. Note to self: drool and restrain self!!

 

[hilltool]

Jerry

That is a nice and handy link. Thanks for posting it.

Rick

 

[rgcronk]

I love this forum! First you show me how much I don't know, then you don't hold it against me.

You are all correct: I do not have a 50 or 60 amp plug; it is a 30 amp plug with a step down adapter to 15 amps. I had not examined the trailer plug, but just plugged into the already-connected adapter to hook up at the house. The guy I bought it from said it was a 60 amp--or maybe I just misunderstood him. He had owned the trailer only a couple of years, having bought it from a man who babied it, to the point of tucking it in at night, the way it looks. I don't believe that my seller used it much at all, so he may not have known the actual trailer wiring or plug. Thanks, Jerry, for the link to Roy's RVing; I added it to my favorites list.

I am still in the chase to head east to Iowa and Illinois from Washington State next Tuesday, trying to follow-up on the suggestions you all have given me. I thought I would pack the bearings tonight after work, but things didn't go quite as anticipated. The bearing covers are plastic, rather than metal as I have worked with before. Rather than just knock or pry the covers off, I decided to do a little research first--plastic can be pretty unforgiving. Can anyone tell me what I am dealing with regarding the plastic covers? It looks like I will have to pull the wheels before I pull the hubs--I don't see a way in with the wheel on. I was sure hoping to avoid pulling the wheels and hubs separately.

I have read many of the threads on this forum regarding appliance function, etc., trying to get ahead of anything unexpected. Of course, the unexpected is what you don't expect, so it is like chasing your own tail. Fortunately, I will have the wireless-enabled iPad, so in an emergency, I can holler for help.

I expect to work this week, take Friday-Sunday off, then work Monday, before heading out on Tuesday of next week. I usually work from 8 AM until 7-7:30 PM, so don't have much evening--I can't complain to the boss, since that is me. I am already several years past "retirement," whatever that is, but I figure it is easier to keep a job than find a job. Anyway, I am down to the crunch: 6 days and counting.

As I said before, I have one more trip to Camping World before we leave, so any suggestions are welcome. Sam, thanks for the heads up on the Camping World sale. Thanks to all for your collective wisdom.

Ron

 

[jcurtis95]

Ron,

Re: "The bearing covers are plastic, rather than metal as I have worked with before. Rather than just knock or pry the covers off, I decided to do a little research first--plastic can be pretty unforgiving. Can anyone tell me what I am dealing with regarding the plastic covers? It looks like I will have to pull the wheels before I pull the hubs--I don't see a way in with the wheel on. I was sure hoping to avoid pulling the wheels and hubs separately".

I'm wondering about your axle covers. Are they soft-rubber rather than plastic? Could they be covers for "Grease Buddies"? If you bought the RV locally, the previous owner may have added grease buddies due to the incessantly wet climes there. Grease buddies allow you to add grease without pulling the hubs and as I recall, they did have soft rubber 'dirt covers'. The grease buddies themselves are a replacement for the metal covers. When you remove the rubber/plastic cover, you might find a grease Zerk there for adding grease if my guess is correct.

If that is the case, I would strongly suggest you go ahead and remove the hubs and clean the old grease off and replace with a fresh bearing grease. The grease buddies are good for adding a little grease occasionally but should not be relied upon to get back into the rear bearing. If it has been used as the sole method for greasing your bearings, I would suspect you may find a lot of hardened grease on the axle and rear bearing.

Greasing the bearings is a dirty but important part of RV maintenance. While grease buddies may extend the maintenance interval, they do not compensate for the good old "hands on" method.

Good luck and safe journey on your trip. I hope you enjoy your well deserved retirement.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

 

[JIM L-HILO]

Hi Ron
If your wheel/axle is like mine the plastic cover is just a dust cover and you do have to remove the wheel which holds the dust cover in place. You will then find the metal end cap on the axle.

 

[rgcronk]

Ron,

Re: "The bearing covers are plastic, rather than metal as I have worked with before. Rather than just knock or pry the covers off, I decided to do a little research first--plastic can be pretty unforgiving. Can anyone tell me what I am dealing with regarding the plastic covers? It looks like I will have to pull the wheels before I pull the hubs--I don't see a way in with the wheel on. I was sure hoping to avoid pulling the wheels and hubs separately".

I'm wondering about your axle covers. Are they soft-rubber rather than plastic? Could they be covers for "Grease Buddies"? If you bought the RV locally, the previous owner may have added grease buddies due to the incessantly wet climes there. Grease buddies allow you to add grease without pulling the hubs and as I recall, they did have soft rubber 'dirt covers'. The grease buddies themselves are a replacement for the metal covers. When you remove the rubber/plastic cover, you might find a grease Zerk there for adding grease if my guess is correct.

If that is the case, I would strongly suggest you go ahead and remove the hubs and clean the old grease off and replace with a fresh bearing grease. The grease buddies are good for adding a little grease occasionally but should not be relied upon to get back into the rear bearing. If it has been used as the sole method for greasing your bearings, I would suspect you may find a lot of hardened grease on the axle and rear bearing.

Greasing the bearings is a dirty but important part of RV maintenance. While grease buddies may extend the maintenance interval, they do not compensate for the good old "hands on" method.

Good luck and safe journey on your trip. I hope you enjoy your well deserved retirement.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

Jerry--

I put off greasing the bearings because I hoped I might have the EZ Lube or Bearing Buddy system, and thought it would be quick work. But it doesn't look like that is the case. It may be that once I pull the axle cap that I might find a zerk fitting under there, but the caps do not fit any description, picture, or video I have seen on the web. I used to do all of my own vehicle maintenance, and have greased many a bearing along the way, but this cap has me stumped. It is a black, solid hard plastic cap without a port for a zerk fitting, so if there is one there, it is under the cap. There is no obvious pry spot for a screwdriver, and since it is hard plastic, I hesitate to drive anything into apparent cracks. It looks like the only way in is to remove the wheel, then pry at the junction where the cap joins the hub.

The best description I can give is of a black plastic elongated dome, maybe 4-inches long, shaped like a round-bottom drinking glass. I have poked and scraped with my fingernail at any apparent seam, hoping to discover a soft port/inlet like the EZ Lube, but no luck. Because the caps are so different, I suspect I will find some sort of lube assist system under there, but it looks like I will have to pull the wheels to find out.

Thanks for your quick reply. Incidentally, although I am far past "retirement age," I am not retiring just yet; we are just taking a couple of weeks off. This is my first 2 week vacation in 30 years. Who says that working for yourself doesn't have benefits!

Thanks again,

Ron

 

[rgcronk]

Hi Ron
If your wheel/axle is like mine the plastic cover is just a dust cover and you do have to remove the wheel which holds the dust cover in place. You will then find the metal end cap on the axle.

Jim--

I just saw your reply. I suspect you hit the nail on the head. Thanks.

Ron

 

[RichR]

Hi Ron
If your wheel/axle is like mine the plastic cover is just a dust cover and you do have to remove the wheel which holds the dust cover in place. You will then find the metal end cap on the axle.

I second that. Our 1705T had those covers as well.

 

[rgcronk]

Hello All--

A bit of an update. Thanks to your input, I decided to put off the wheel bearings until tomorrow when I have more time. In the process of crawling around inspecting the axles and wheels, I discovered that my tires have a 2009 manufacture date, rather than 2006 as I thought at first. Most likely the bearings were repacked when the tires were put on, and according to the seller, he didn't use the trailer much. I probably could put off the repacking to a later time, but I want to be certain, so I'll do it.

When I asked the seller whether the refrigerator worked in all modes, he kind of side-stepped the answer by saying that he only used propane, even when on-the-road. I didn't press him about it, but now see why he moved past that point: the 12 volt mode doesn't work. If I can't fix it in time to leave on Tuesday, I will just have to load up on dry ice before we leave, use propane when we stop, and fix it when we get home. I'm not sure I will have time to re-wire anything, so I hope I find an easy-fix problem.

We are down to the final few days. Will stop by Camping World tomorrow for the final needs, then do the final prep before we head out. You all have been so helpful, I don't know what I would have done without you--stumbled around banging into stuff, I suspect.

Ron

 

[hilltool]

Ron

I don't how you know it doesn't work---but if it makes you feel any better I'm not sure mine works, either. I've only used it while driving, once, and it did not seem to hold a decent cold temperature. There are a bunch of threads on this issue- and one problem is people forgetting about it, leaving their vehicle for a bit, and coming back to find their trailer and vehicle batterey dead because it draws so much DC. I haven't tried running diagnostics on mine, yet, and I don't know how I would go about it if I did.

I like to carry a cooler for on the road, anyway,----ice is cheap and I use one of those Coleman ultimate 5 day coolers---I just don't drain the water and keep stuff that gets soggy in tupperware type containers. I keep it to bag every couple of days that way. But dry ice works, too.

Hope you have a good trip. The heat is moving back in this weekend in southern WI-----so stay cool and take it easy.

Rick

 

[retiredcamper47]

Ron,

Maybe you'll luck out and it will only be a bad fuse. Don't know what model fridge you have, but check out the back of it for a black plastic box. This would be covering the power board. Pull the cover off and check the 12v fuses on the board. Hope this helps.

Bob

 

[sam-HILO]

12 volt not working?

Have your trailer level then run your ref .on propane at your home for two days.You will have all your food cold from your ref.at home and your freezer. Transfer food to HiLo ref. shut your propane off and your food will still be cold when you arrive at your destination. Level trailer and put ref. on propane. I too have the igloo five day cooler and it really does keep things cool as advertised. The lid is very thick with insulation. Got mine at sams club. I think that any store that sells coolers would have them.

 

[rgcronk]

Today was a good day! Well, every day can be a good day, I guess, but today was exceptional. Started out pulling the wheels and hubs to pack the bearings--turned out to be unnecessary. The previous owner said he didn't do a thing to the trailer, but the owner before that was meticulous, and today I saw the evidence. The bearings and grease were pristine. I cut my work short on that project and moved on to the next one.

I decided to track down the cause of the non-running refrigerator on 12v, so crawled around on my belly looking at fuses, pulled off the outside vent and inspected wiring and the fuse, all to no avail: found nothing out of order. Then I decided to try the 12v setting again and just let it run while I was running errands and working on other projects. Much to my amazement, when I returned in the late afternoon, the refrigerator was cold and the freezer registered 0 degrees. Outstanding!

Then I turned on the propane and checked the stove; again perfect. I decided to wait to test the propane mode of the refrigerator until it had warmed up, so I can see what it can do. I'll test the water heater and furnace at the same time.

We made our final trip to Camping World for the plug adapters and the odds n' ends we need. The little tatooed girl behind the counter knows us by name by now, and wants to sell us the Sam's Club trip insurance. I told her I had AAA Premium, but she is convinced Sam's Club is better. Anyone have any ideas on this subject? I could buy Sam's Club as a backup, since it has unlimited towing, but not sure how the rest matches up. Anyone done a comparison between AAA and Sam's Club?

Then, this evening my oldest son dropped by for dinner, and asked if I needed to go to Harbor Freight for anything. Did I? You bet! So off we went. As he said when I was complaining about the money I was spending, "Dad, you're helping stimulate the economy." We all know the economy needs help, so I am happy to do my patriotic part. It is truly amazing how much of that stuff I needed. Well, just doing my part.

We are nearly ready for blastoff, and everything is coming together nicely. I can't imagine how I would have gotten everything done without you all. Thanks!

Ron

 

[sam-HILO]

Maiden Voyage

Have a wonderful Maiden Voyage. You will be just fine,relax and enjoy. Good sam has a road service plan(which is from what I read is good) then they sell a trip interruption service. This is if you have a medical emergency and end up in the hospital and have to be stabilized,airflighted to a hospital closer to your home. They would get a pro. driver to bring your rig home and fly your wife home. I don'tthink you need this. The odds are slim.

 

[garyk52]

rgcronk, I know this is short notice, but I haven't read anything about having wheel chocks for you wheels. Forgive if I missed it while reading 6 pages of posts. If you have time and don't have chocks get your sons to make you something like this. Homemade Wheel Chocks

 

[rgcronk]

Thanks for all your replies. Gary, I'll have to wait on those fancy wheel chocks; instead I have the Camping World yellow plastic variety. I like your's better.

Well, the countdown is at 1, and the clock is ticking. We expect to hit the road tomorrow and point the nose east. It has been 33 years since I last crossed country towing a trailer. In that case, the tongue snapped as we pulled off the freeway in Seattle.

We have done everything we could think of, plus all of your suggestions. I am astounded by the amount of stuff we have loaded in the back of the pickup. I am starting to wonder whether we will have room to bring back the furniture we are going there for! Christine said she doubted that the wagon trains heading west spent more effort preparing for the trip than we have. In the olden days, when we crossed back and forth on a whim, it seemed the only preparation was "Let's go to Seattle. Okay!"

Now that everything is loaded, I will make a final adjustment on the weight distributing hitch before we hit the road, and hopefully, things will work the way they are designed.

Again, many thanks for your generous help. I will try to post updates as we head east, depending upon the vagaries of the highway.

Ron

 

[rgcronk]

Houston, we have ignition--we have lift-off--we have attained orbit.

The trailer has performed amazingly well. We ran into a bodacious thunder, lightning, and gulley-washer rain storm just west of Butte, MT, that forced us off the road for a few minutes. When I checked for damage from the wind or leaks from the rain, I found a little water puddled inside under the front window and the front window shield screws has worked out on one side. I'm not sure what to do about the screws--maybe I'll stop in an RV place and see what they can do. Any suggestions?

Not a bad first day. We made 620 miles, averaging 60 MPH--Pretty astounding! The Allstays Camp & RV iPad app has been really useful. I can't imagine how we could have gone from complete dunderheads to trailer travelers in two weeks without you. Thanks.

Ron