Owners Manual: 1969 Bon Voyage

[JMDoering]

Manual is attached. This is the manual that came with our 1969 Bon Voyage, although it is undated and may actually cover several years, or models, of Hi-Lo production. Photos of this trailer can be found in the album under the public profile for my member name.
Jim

 

[thermonieum]

1969 owners manual

thank you, it looks like everything in that manual fiits my 68. i hope i can get it repaired to the point that i can camp in it this year

 

[JMDoering]

thermonieum,

What make of stove and heater is installed in your 1968. I have the original operator's manuals for the appliances in my 1969... and will scan and post if needed.

Please post some pictures after you get her fixed up! Actually, some in-progress pics would also be cool.

Jim

 

[thermonieum]

68 traveler

my trailer doesn't have a heater but the 3 burner cook stove is a trav'ler. i couldn't believe it when i went and looked but that is the name on the stove itself. i don't know if the hilo decal has been painted over or what but the name hilo does not appear anywhere on or in the trailer.

 

[JMDoering]

My 1969 also has as a Trav'ler stove. I'll scan and post the operator/parts manual to the HTF. I also have the original sales brochure that I'll scan/post. Its a kick reading what was standard/optional equipment for this generation Hi-Lo!

BTW, with the Trav'ler stove, be sure to remove the cast iron burner grates when you're towing. Otherwise they bounce around and wreak havoc with the porcelain top of the stove (my apologies if you already knew that).


Jim

 

[thermonieum]

68 traveler

no i did not know that, i appreciate everything, thank you so much. i need all the help i can get. it doesnt even have a refrig. but its such a cute camper. the side walls are so bad i cant open it up yet. but i can get in it lowered. i guess i could use it for a teardrop style til i get it repaired.

 

[JMDoering]

the side walls are so bad i cant open it up yet.

What are you seeing happening with the walls that is keeping the top from raising? Curious minds would like to know.

Jim

 

[thermonieum]

traveler

the bottom board from the door to the front, on the bottom of the top half is at the top of the bottom half, i can see it in the window. when i feel under the bottom part of the top it is hollow (no wood in there only the thin metal. it did raise like that the last time it was up, but i wont chance it again until the weather breaks and i can take the metal off and fix the wood. the last time it was lowered it made a terrible scraping noise, that is what made me start looking around and feeling for wood everywhere.that sounds really confusing but after reading it a few times slowly, it is correct.

 

[Mark-HILO]

Can anyone tell me what make,model, and year this camper is?

 

[RichR]

It is a Hi-Lo, probably early 1960's, model ?

 

[JMDoering]

Mark,

Hard to tell just from photos, but I'd say its no older than a 1968 or 69. Through 1967 or 68, Hi-Lo trailer doors opened top outward, bottom inward (yeah, it was kind of inconvenient). In the photo, both upper and lower doors are opening outward. About the same time, Hi-Lo stopped putting black aluminum on either side of the end windows, and I notice this trailer has the black. I've never seen one with black on the upper side panels (but that's not saying they were never made that way). Is it possible those panels were originally gold colored?

It has some of the exterior features our 1967 had, and also some that our 1969 has. Kind of a blend of the two... so my guess is that its a 1968.

Hope this helps zero it in for you! Thanks for the cool pics!

Jim

 

[Mark-HILO]

I am thinking about restoring it....any information would be greatly appreciated. It has hydrolic brakes that are not working and will not pass DOT until they are fixed,are there parts available out there?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[JMDoering]

Hi Mark,

Fair warning, your probably not going to like this answer.

I finally gave up on our hydraulic surge brakes. They worked okay for the first several years, and then NEVER really worked after that. Unfortunately, I never did figure out why. Over the years I replaced virtually all the components, including the brake lines. We took the trailer to two different Hi-Lo dealerships to get the system working properly. No luck.

On travel trailers, you just don't find surge brakes any more, and parts are getting difficult to find. Its probably safe to say that all travel trailers made today use electric brakes. About ten years ago I decided on a final solution: I had electric brakes installed. It wasn't cheap, as we had to replace the axles to get the correct wheels with electric brakes.

It was worth it to me! Every time I stop I feel those brakes kick in and know I'm safe.... The first 30 years I owned the trailer I was always nervous about stopping short if needed and was probably lucky that we never had a collision.

Jim

 

[retiredcamper47]

I believe U-Haul trailers still use surge brakes. At least the last one I rented had surge brakes. But again, U-Hauls are not travel trailers.

 

[JMDoering]

Mark,

Here's a more optimistic answer than my last one.

Tonight I asked a couple of my Lodge Brothers about the availability of surge brake parts. They recommended going to a marine supplier, or boat store that sells heavier boat trailers. Apparently bigger boat trailers also (in addition to U-Hauls) still use hydraulic surge brakes, electric brakes being problematic when submerged in water. Makes sense. So a boat dealer may be the outfit who can fix your brakes!

The surge brake assembly on our 1969 Hi-Lo was made by Atwood, and I think they're are still around. I'll leave it to you to find out if they still support 40+ year old products! I also learned (at Lodge) that some boat trailer surge brake actuator assemblies have to be manually pinned (so the brakes don't lock up) before you can back up. I don't remember ever having to do that with our Hi-Lo when the surge brakes still worked.

Good luck with this,
Jim

 

[Mark-HILO]

This is going to be a summer project......we are in Minnesota and burried in snow, Thanks for all the answers and I will keep you posted.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Mark-HILO]

Tire size and bolt pattern

Can anyone help me out with wheel size and bolt pattern for this HiLo....I did find out it is a 1967.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[JMDoering]

Mark,

Both our 1967 and 1969 Hi-Lo's had/have five bolt wheels. I can't write definitively about the 1967 tire size, but check out Page 16 of the 1969 Owners Manual I put in the HTF Library (at the top of this thread). There is a chart for several Hi-Lo models of that era. I doubt there was any change from 67 to 69, but at least you've got a starting point.

The chart breaks it down into model numbers. As they are now, Hi-Lo Model numbers of that time started out with trailer length. So a Model 209, was the 20' long model in design year 1969. The chart shows a different tire size for each model. It sounds like you're not sure what model you have, so be advised that Hi-Lo measured trailer length from ball socket to rear bumper, unlike other brand lines. (I'm guessing you are new to Hi-Lo trailers, so please forgive if you already knew all this.)

If this is your first trailer, and you therefore have never bought trailer tires before, in my opinion using tires designed for trailers (ST prefix) are a must. Please don't make the mistake of using car tires. Just asking for trouble! (Again, if you are an experienced trailer owner/user, please don't be upset with my assumptions).

Jim

 

[Mark-HILO]

Jim,

Thanks for all of the information, I am new to HiLo trailors and any information is apreciated.......my parents bought this trailor several years ago while they were building there lake home.


The trailor has been siting for approx 5 years on a piece of hunting property in northern Minnesota, when the snow melts I will be going up there to try and bring it back for restoration.....I think the lower part of the trailor measures 12ft in length and the upper half 15ft.....so the entire length would be approx 18 or 19ft total.....any geusstamates as to the model would be helpfull.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[JMDoering]

Mark,

To determine the model number, you need to measure the the distance between the hitch ball socket and the back edge of the rear bumper. If it rounds to 18 feet, then you have a Model 187. So when you head up to the hunting camp this spring, be sure to take a tape measure!

Jim