Hello. Not really new to the trailer life, but new to the "new" trailer life. We have always had campers from the 60's, which are pretty great for what they are, so this 2005 is quite awesome in it's presence. (to me anyways, lol) We are full timers for almost a year now, and travel from North to South for the seasons. We bought this trailer in February. A couple of questions about this particular model if anyone has one or knows anything- For reference, it is out of warranty.
1- The shower seems to be poorly sealed so it leaks water onto the floor, from under the glass wall part. The sealant that was around the inside bottom of the shower (from the factory) was peeling away. We removed the old stuff & resealed it with the recommended silicone sealant, but it only lasted a week before it started peeling away again. We pre cleaned and let it dry for a few days before doing it, as per instructions by service dept of a local dealer. Any suggestions on what we did wrong, or maybe another kind of sealant that works better? (The service dept couldn't answer this for some reason. They said they could do it for a nice fee though...)
2- Another thing happened when we were towing, and blew a tire. The entire fender skirt was destroyed by the tire flapping. We were at about 55MPH, maybe less since we were cresting a long hill, and took less than 3/4 mile to get off the road and stopped after it blew. The insulation underneath was ripped out, the copper tubing that runs along that area was bent, and the wiring for the marker light was severed, but luckily it was just for the one marker lite. After a month of waiting, we just finally got the new skirt from FR, and have to rewire the lite to make it work. The copper tubing was easy to straighten, and not much fuss. We will be adding some insulation to the area where it is gone also. Anyone else have this happen, and is there anything else we should check before putting the skirt and such back on?
3- One last thing, it has 2 doors, and the rear door is our main entrance, so this seems odd- The front door seems to have a good seal, opens easily, and closes nice and tight, but in a good rain storm, it leaks water at the top of the door like we have the door open. Water runs down the inside of the door/window, and I have been lucky to catch it before it soaks the carpet, and put towels down to collect water. There is a "gutter" from the factory over the top, and that seems to be moving the water away from the door. The roof/ceiling is not leaking either. We can't figure out why it is leaking like this. Should we just put a new door seal on and see what happens, or is there another solution? We have used a hose to try and replicate the problem, but can't get it to leak that way. Only when it rains does it do this. Any ideas??? Should we take it in for the smoke test? I am very baffled by this one.
As far as overall quality goes, it seems good, but for the cost of the thing, should be a little better. We bought it lightly used from a couple who didn't have enough truck to tow it, and felt it was cheaper for them to get a smaller trailer rather than a bigger truck. They bought it new, used it 3 times, and stored it in their rv shed until we took delivery. There is no rust or anything like that, and we have been pretty regular with cleaning and checking everything as needed. Most of the other components seem to be fine as of now. We like the spaciousness, and that it is a lot like a small house with all of the amenities it has.
Anyway, I apologize for the long tedious post, and any suggestions and all help are greatly appreciated!
1- The shower seems to be poorly sealed so it leaks water onto the floor, from under the glass wall part. The sealant that was around the inside bottom of the shower (from the factory) was peeling away. We removed the old stuff & resealed it with the recommended silicone sealant, but it only lasted a week before it started peeling away again. We pre cleaned and let it dry for a few days before doing it, as per instructions by service dept of a local dealer. Any suggestions on what we did wrong, or maybe another kind of sealant that works better? (The service dept couldn't answer this for some reason. They said they could do it for a nice fee though...)
2- Another thing happened when we were towing, and blew a tire. The entire fender skirt was destroyed by the tire flapping. We were at about 55MPH, maybe less since we were cresting a long hill, and took less than 3/4 mile to get off the road and stopped after it blew. The insulation underneath was ripped out, the copper tubing that runs along that area was bent, and the wiring for the marker light was severed, but luckily it was just for the one marker lite. After a month of waiting, we just finally got the new skirt from FR, and have to rewire the lite to make it work. The copper tubing was easy to straighten, and not much fuss. We will be adding some insulation to the area where it is gone also. Anyone else have this happen, and is there anything else we should check before putting the skirt and such back on?
3- One last thing, it has 2 doors, and the rear door is our main entrance, so this seems odd- The front door seems to have a good seal, opens easily, and closes nice and tight, but in a good rain storm, it leaks water at the top of the door like we have the door open. Water runs down the inside of the door/window, and I have been lucky to catch it before it soaks the carpet, and put towels down to collect water. There is a "gutter" from the factory over the top, and that seems to be moving the water away from the door. The roof/ceiling is not leaking either. We can't figure out why it is leaking like this. Should we just put a new door seal on and see what happens, or is there another solution? We have used a hose to try and replicate the problem, but can't get it to leak that way. Only when it rains does it do this. Any ideas??? Should we take it in for the smoke test? I am very baffled by this one.
As far as overall quality goes, it seems good, but for the cost of the thing, should be a little better. We bought it lightly used from a couple who didn't have enough truck to tow it, and felt it was cheaper for them to get a smaller trailer rather than a bigger truck. They bought it new, used it 3 times, and stored it in their rv shed until we took delivery. There is no rust or anything like that, and we have been pretty regular with cleaning and checking everything as needed. Most of the other components seem to be fine as of now. We like the spaciousness, and that it is a lot like a small house with all of the amenities it has.
Anyway, I apologize for the long tedious post, and any suggestions and all help are greatly appreciated!
