biggersm
Well-known member
Hi again
Now that we are A-frame popup owners we thought we would continue the story we started at the link below:
http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,106082.60/topicseen.html
I think we will like the new A-frame but we have some concerns and questions as follow.
1. The floor is nice and warm (compared to the cold aluminum of the Livin Lite VRV we traded in). The floor looks nice from in the rig however I looked underneath the trailer and noticed that it is bare chip board (similar to our roof as seen from our attic). How long does a floor like that last? Should I take the time to craw underneath and paint that wood?
2. It looks like there are two different hub assemblies on the (all too common) Dexter axles and we have the type that actually have the grease fittings that according to the literature we read are made for boat trailers to go into the water. Not sure why they chose that over sealed bearings (maybe cost). From what we read it appears that you can push in all the new grease you want and the only thing that happens is the old grease is pushed out. Sounds like a neat idea but I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of any situation where one type of grease is incompatible with another type of grease (in case I don't fully purge the old grease)?
3. We have the standard Chinese ST tires on the rig however they clearly have 75 mph printed on the sidewall. I thought all ST tires were rated at 65 mph. It sure would be nice to travel at about 70 mph on the freeways all day. Does anyone do this?
On our way home I think we got 1-2 mpg better than we would have with the tall, double axle toyhualer we used to have. No control problems either. Now the most we will be is at 70% of tow capacity (we used to be at the 80-85% of capacity when our toyhauler had the Goldwing in the back). Although we are much shorter we are wider so I can't see directly straight back from the mirrors so we may get extender mirrors (but not really a big deal).
We are overall satisfied with the price we got for the new rig and trade in value over at Optimum RV. We tried some other dealers with better known names but Optimum gave the best deal. Their service department did a great job of getting the rig ready to include helping to modify on the spot the dual propane bottle mounts but cutting a notice on the base plate so we could get the Blue Ox sway pro cams in place. The chains don't go straight up but are good enough that we still get the benefits of sway control and weight distribution. They are semi permanent now (I could take the entire propane system apart to take the cams off but the bottle covers do a great job of also being an umbrella to the cams). The great service continued when they took the brake unit off the old trailer and mounted it on the new trailer. All of this was done as thunderstorms were in the area.
Some things we are less satisfied with include the fact that they just covered up a gouge in the cabinets with a metal plate. Also someone (either at Flagstaff or Optimum drilled a bolt into the side of one of the roof panels and then modified the side wall to accept that bolt. I'm pretty sure that was not part of the original design and when we were putting up the camper the unnecessary bolt did not like up with the hole. We also had a spider in the rig that we killed however now we have the concern their may be eggs somewhere.
Anyway, any help with the above concerns would be greatly appreciated.
Now that we are A-frame popup owners we thought we would continue the story we started at the link below:
http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,106082.60/topicseen.html
I think we will like the new A-frame but we have some concerns and questions as follow.
1. The floor is nice and warm (compared to the cold aluminum of the Livin Lite VRV we traded in). The floor looks nice from in the rig however I looked underneath the trailer and noticed that it is bare chip board (similar to our roof as seen from our attic). How long does a floor like that last? Should I take the time to craw underneath and paint that wood?
2. It looks like there are two different hub assemblies on the (all too common) Dexter axles and we have the type that actually have the grease fittings that according to the literature we read are made for boat trailers to go into the water. Not sure why they chose that over sealed bearings (maybe cost). From what we read it appears that you can push in all the new grease you want and the only thing that happens is the old grease is pushed out. Sounds like a neat idea but I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of any situation where one type of grease is incompatible with another type of grease (in case I don't fully purge the old grease)?
3. We have the standard Chinese ST tires on the rig however they clearly have 75 mph printed on the sidewall. I thought all ST tires were rated at 65 mph. It sure would be nice to travel at about 70 mph on the freeways all day. Does anyone do this?
On our way home I think we got 1-2 mpg better than we would have with the tall, double axle toyhualer we used to have. No control problems either. Now the most we will be is at 70% of tow capacity (we used to be at the 80-85% of capacity when our toyhauler had the Goldwing in the back). Although we are much shorter we are wider so I can't see directly straight back from the mirrors so we may get extender mirrors (but not really a big deal).
We are overall satisfied with the price we got for the new rig and trade in value over at Optimum RV. We tried some other dealers with better known names but Optimum gave the best deal. Their service department did a great job of getting the rig ready to include helping to modify on the spot the dual propane bottle mounts but cutting a notice on the base plate so we could get the Blue Ox sway pro cams in place. The chains don't go straight up but are good enough that we still get the benefits of sway control and weight distribution. They are semi permanent now (I could take the entire propane system apart to take the cams off but the bottle covers do a great job of also being an umbrella to the cams). The great service continued when they took the brake unit off the old trailer and mounted it on the new trailer. All of this was done as thunderstorms were in the area.
Some things we are less satisfied with include the fact that they just covered up a gouge in the cabinets with a metal plate. Also someone (either at Flagstaff or Optimum drilled a bolt into the side of one of the roof panels and then modified the side wall to accept that bolt. I'm pretty sure that was not part of the original design and when we were putting up the camper the unnecessary bolt did not like up with the hole. We also had a spider in the rig that we killed however now we have the concern their may be eggs somewhere.
Anyway, any help with the above concerns would be greatly appreciated.
