New to me Hi Lo Camper Observations

[Arti-HILO]

We have spent the last week cleaning up the camper we just purchased with some pleasant surprises and some not so good finds.

Roof air rattled a lot if you turned it on.. Found Mud Daubers in the fan unbalancing the fan blade, Cleaned it up and discovered the we have the heat module installed in the Ac, It has been hot enough that we can't really check out the heat part however the A C unit works well. It is the Low Profile model.

After a good cleaning the LP Furnace now lights and runs nice.

Refrigerator works on AC and Battery, Tried the LP function and we had fire everywhere except the in the Burner. Burner assembly was full of Asian Beetles and everything is rusted and the tube that feeds lp to the burner is rusted.

Went to light the water heater and no go.
Pulled the Pilot assembly and cleaned it up as well as the burner tube that was full of Asian Beetles, Burns with nice blue flame now, however when it gets warm water runs out of the heater tube where burner goes in. I suspect that a crack opens up when hot and the tank is leaking.

No leaks in the plumbing and the water pump works.
Black Tank had a leak where the drain pipe enters a bit of Seal All glue will fix that.
This appears to be a well thought out camper with components that are of good quality.

For an older unit that has set for the last 4 years it isn't in bad shape.

All in all very happy with the camper We will be taking it on our first outing this Thursday.
Best to all.

 

[wdsniderman]

On that Black Tank outlet crack: My repair man fastened a metal strap from a bolt on the drain up to the trailer frame. This will prevent bouncing of the pipes during travel which is probably what caused it to start cracking.

 

[DeLana]

Arti, what year is your Hi-Lo and what model and length like a Classic or Towlite? My husband, Beach, and I just returned this month from J & R in Mount Vernon, Ohio to have our 2009 Classic 2509 checked over by Jim and Rob since it has hit the 10 year Birthday mark; we bought it new from the factory in 2009, and over the years we have never had any problems, just routine tire replacement and a couple of new batteries. Jim and Rob did take out and reseal two windows toward the front sides, put a new seal around the a/c, and replaced the trim work on the bottom edge of the top half of the unit; when we would drive in a hard rain, the old trim would not 100 percent prevent water from wicking up under the trim, thus overtime water rotted a small amount of wood between the aluminum frame. After replacing the wood with treated wood, they installed a new type of trim which will guarantee no water will penetrate the bottom edge of the upper half. I feel like we drove 1,500 miles round trip from the Charleston, SC area to give our Hi-Lo a spa treatment and facelift; Jim and Rob checked everything with a fine tooth comb and said it should be good for at least ten more years. If you have any problems, please call them and may be able to help you on the phone, but also the trip is worth it if I only have to travel 1,500 miles to see them every 10 years.

Dee

 

[Arti-HILO]

On that Black Tank outlet crack: My repair man fastened a metal strap from a bolt on the drain up to the trailer frame. This will prevent bouncing of the pipes during travel which is probably what caused it to start cracking.

I used a piece of Metal strapping with the pre punched holes in it, It is amazing how solid it made it.

 

[Arti-HILO]

Dee Tillotson

The camper is a 2000 17 ft TowLite which makes it about 20 years old.
We purchased it with the expectation that the appliances would need to be refurbished or replaced at some point. All in all no real disappointments.

Thanks for the heads up on the repair shop in Ohio, That would be about 700 miles one way for us. This camper came from Madison Wi (Jerry's) which is still in business and only 300 miles from us.
I will likely replace the water heater with an on demand lp heater, as far as the refrigerator we will likely use it as is or replace it with a small dorm type of cooler.

The camper is fairly leak free having a small amount of water damage in the area of the door and the back window, I resealed the areas in the roof with dicor so it will last for a few more years.

I have a fairly strong background in repairs having worked as a carpenter when I was younger and ending up owning a Heating/Cooling business until retirement 2 years ago.
Nice meeting you.

 

[Usagi5678]

Welcome to the forum.

You have been given some good advice by our experienced members. We recommend that after five or six years that you take out all windows and reseal with butyl tape and Lexel caulk. Utube has a video on how to do this. It is good that you are handy as our units require lots of maintenance. I refer to it as our expensive hobby. Have a wonderful maiden voyage.

 

[Arti-HILO]

You have been given some good advice by our experienced members. We recommend that after five or six years that you take out all windows and reseal with butyl tape and Lexel caulk. Utube has a video on how to do this. It is good that you are handy as our units require lots of maintenance. I refer to it as our expensive hobby. Have a wonderful maiden voyage.

Water and lack of use seems to age campers quickly.
Resealing everything is on the to do list. I have repaired the bottom of the upper entry door, At this point there is a small leak above the sink that will need to be addressed.

I had taken the trim across the back off and resealed it however after a heave rain the cabinet above the sink is damp.
Leaving today for the first outing looks like everything is working good enough for the couple of days we will be gone.
Best

 

[DeLana]

Arti, nice meeting you, too. I found your Hi-Lo in the library of this forum. If you want to see the brochure (but it is one year difference 1977), go to the bottom of the forum's home page, click on library, and then click on subsection brochures. The brochure gives you an idea of what your Hi-Lo looked like new and a few photos of the internals and what materials were used.

 

[wdsniderman]

I used a piece of Metal strapping with the pre punched holes in it, It is amazing how solid it made it.

Yes. It makes it rock solid.

 

[On The Road Again-HILO]

I also had a leak above the sink in the 2200TL egress window. Reset the window but the leak remained. Redid the gasket between the window sash & the egress frame. Better but still leaked. Leak fixed by putting a light bead of caulk between the window sash & the egress frame. I will have to really push if I need to egress through that window.