Winterizing RV

[Usagi5678]

Finaly had a dry day to put the cover on the HiLo. Almost forgot to take the battery out. DH remembered at the last minute. The property where we park our RV has two ditches that are full of water. No more lawn mowing. Now to put the lawn mowers to bed and picnic table ect. Snow blowers go first in the shed. Winter is my least favorite season. Someday maybe to a warmer climate..snowbirding!!

 

[Usagi5678]

Had our first oops with the HiLo.

Coming back from camping we got in a construction zone with miles of orange cones. The shoulder of the road was about four inches. DH didn't get far enough over. The awning hardware took the force of the accident. Our HiLo dealer can't get parts. One part is on back order from July 2021. The large bracket that is specific to HiLo is unavailable. I will try J&R. Seems to me I remember someone that took apart a HiLo and was selling parts. DD promised me she would post a picture of the cracked and bent part. Our awning is in excellent shape. Hoping for a miracle to come up with parts.

 

[Usagi5678]

Damaged awning parts.

The force of the orange cone severely bent the bracket. It also cracked the grey hardware. Any way to bend the bracket into shape,heat?

 

[JackandJanet]

Those bracket fixtures are "pot metal" if they are like mine. When I moved up to Pine, I broke a couple of the smaller pieces on the rear support arm and I was lucky enough to find them online. This was eight years ago and I cannot recall where I found them.

I doubt heat would help in bending the big support back, and I think that's the one you are having trouble finding? It may not have been bent enough to cause metal fatigue, and you certainly aren't going to lose anything by trying to bend it back. I think I'd put it in a big vise and then use some big channel lock pliers or something similar to bend it back. I wouldn't try hitting it with a hammer to do it.

A good metal fabrication shop should be able to either make you a new one or, it might be able to repair that one too. And, they'd certainly know the best way to approach the problem.

 

[RCREYES]

The brackets are available at the link below....

http://hilotrailerparts.webs.com/

 

[Usagi5678]

Thanks Jack and RCEYES for the help.

Thanks for the advice. Sometimes DH just needs a gentle nudge to do the right thing.Tomorrow I will have him try the vice and some type of pliers to hopefully bend it back into shape. Tried a magnet on it with no adhesion. DH says it has got to be some type of alloy metal. Seems thick enough to bend back. I generally only think of J&R for parts. Wow!!$63.00 for two brackets. Plan B take it to his former place of employment and get a new one fabricated up. He was told if he every needed anything just ask. I probably would have taken a hammer and wailed on the bracket!! That is why DH is the only one to fix things. He is popular with the neighbors as Mr. fix it.

 

[Usagi5678]

Happy,Happy,Happy.

DH was able to straighten the awning bracket out. I would call it 98% good. The HiLo has it's winter cover on. Will paint the bracket and reinstall in the spring.

 

[JackandJanet]

Cool! Happy Hibernation!

- Jack

 

[Usagi5678]

I could uncover the HiLo.

The HiLo cover has a zipper door in the wrong place. I could undo the awning arm that is wrapped in bubble wrap. However, the weather is not cooperating. I can spray paint the awning bracket and pack it away until May 2022.

 

[oldcarguy]

Glad the bracket was able to be straightened - certainly less expensive then having to replace it.

Hope you don't have the same cover problem we recently experienced - 2 days prior to northern CA getting smacked with record setting rain a few days ago, we covered our 2307 C at the storage lot where we keep it. After the storm let up I checked on the trailer and - no cover. No trace of the cover.

A few feet away from our storage space, the chain link fence was obviously disturbed - fence is only about 6' high, so I suspect some homeless folks spotted the cover, decided it would be a good way to try to stay dry, climbed the fence and took off with it.

I need to cover the trailer for the winter, but before buying a replacement, I have to figure out a way to keep it from getting ripped off as well - I sure can't afford to spend $200-$300 every few weeks replacing stolen covers......

 

[Usagi5678]

Sorry your cover got stolen.

RV covers are not cheap. Years ago I was able to buy a used one for $300.00. We have had to have a canvas shop reinforce the black straps. I also picked up some ratchet straps at SAMS club. DH also uses rope tied around the middle. Saw some nice ratchet straps at Walmart. Maybe some additional rope tied underneath. The more they have to fool to free it up the better for you.

 

[oldcarguy]

Considering having a couple of small diameter (probably 1/8") marine rigging grade stainless steel cables made up with eyes swaged on the ends that are long enough to go completely around the trailer when it's down. If the cables are a relatively snug fit and padlocked, it should make it nearly impossible to get a cover off without cutting the cables.

Could be wrong, but I doubt most people who'd climb a fence to steal a trailer cover are going to be carrying the bolt cutters that would be needed to cut either the cables or the padlocks.

 

[Usagi5678]

Covering HiLo

Sounds like a good plan. We have to be careful how tight we strap down. The straps/ropes could do damage to the roof line. Couldn't remember if we lined the roof to trailer body with bubble wrap. Didn't do this. Next season DH needs to look everything over for recaulking. On some of the windows the caulk has pulled away from the windows. Easy to over look cracked caulk and end up with water damage. No NO No!!! The joys of owning a second home. Plenty of wind storms with 80MPH winds. Also snow and ice.

 

[oldcarguy]

Trick may be in getting the cables the right length - long enough not to put pressure on the cover at the edges of the roof, but short enough to be pretty much impossible to remove without removing the padlocks.

Thinking maybe the easiest way to get some adjustability in the length is to have a foot of so of 30 or 43 gauge chain swaged onto one end with an eye swaged on the other - that way a padlock can be passed through the eye and the appropriate chain link to get the cable tight enough (but not too tight).

If the cables run inboard of the stabilizer jacks front and rear on the underside and between the a/c housing and the roof vents front and rear on the roof, and they're short enough that there isn't enough slack to pull them over the roof vents or under the jacks, it shouldn't be possible to work the cables off the ends of the trailer so the cover can be removed. Probably be a good idea to put some thick plastic tubing over the cable to protect the cover at the edges of the roof, too.