does EVERYONE do most of the work on their campers or am i the only one...

[Donna D.]

Everything we read, everything we do, everything we learn goes into our memory banks. I think it's important (to me) to know as much about my trailer as I can. If for no other reason, I'll know when someone is jerking me around.

Maybe it's because I'm a golden age female, but I remember the days of taking a car to the mechanic and getting totally ripped off. No more if I can help it. No one will ever tell me that because the brakes are squeaking they need to be greased. And yes in the good old days, those types of fixes had been suggested. Although I may never have the strength or total knowledge to "grease" the brakes, I'll know when it needs to be done.

Knowledge is power!

[Roy in TO]

My thoughts are that a shop is not always near or open. There is a good paperback on 12V by Harold Barre and a testing meter can had cheaply. Cheap insurance in my books both can be had for less than $50.

[Byron Kinnaman]

I think it's important to understand as much as possible about your trailer so, as Donna D. say, you don't get ripped off. In the mean time don't allow any work to be done until you have a written estimate which includes what work is being done. If it doesn't make sense to you, make them explain it. It if sound funny, take your trailer and get a second opinion.

My Snow Bird story for 2013...
Before we headed south I took the trailer into an RV shop had them pack the wheel bearings and adjust the brakes. AH,,, peace of mind I don't have to worry about that. The first stop, about 200 miles into the trip, feel hubs a bit warm but not bad enough to worry about. After a few more stops the hubs didn't feel any hotter. OK, all is good.
After 2.5 week stop we moved on, from Death Valley to Bullhead City. When we pulled into the campground there was a whole lota noise, metal on metal, brakes, both sound together. I couldn't keep my hand on the hubs they so hot.
Here's where a bit of knowledge comes in, I guessed that the wheel hubs were over tightened and brakes were too tight. I took the trailer to a local shop they fixed it and confirmed my suspicion.
A couple things I learned 1. The shop I took it too doesn't know how to properly adjust the wheel bearing or brakes. 2. If the hubs get warm check them often, could be a problem. 3. There are places that do good work for reasonable price. (I had the price in both cases before the work was done.)

[lpk49]

mimi-i was so lucky to find this camper used - 2yrs old with about 1500 miles on it. and paid 1/2 what it was worth.

for two yrs i did what i did with it...with no problems. it was everything i needed...which is local trips to beach and a few month long visits to friends and one 5 month stint of living in it when my house was being worked on.

nothing went wrong until i:

1. tried to switch to smaller TV without knowing the weight numbers given by both casita and the car dealers are not "real world" numbers

2. had a 6 yo battery changed out by a shop that didn't know how to hook it up correctly.

i went thru a alot of stress-all documented on here with the TV stuff. but that had nothing to do with the elec problems in the camper. that was all due to paying a shop to replace a 6 yo battery that i am sure a shop should be able to do.

donna-i agree and have been where you have been ...but there is new learning and that is what i am going thru now i guess

byron-i'm sorry you went thru that but it makes me feel better to know i am not the only one...

also your advice about the written estimate i believe is very impt. the first shop actually took the bill from me...when i went to pay it...and re-wrote it. when he came back with my credit card-a different bill with a different balance...i knew i had been taken advantage of...but honestly...all i wanted to do was get my camper out of that driveway...so i didnt argue...i just left.

now in hind sight a lot of it makes sense...but like your wheels it isnt always clear at first. it takes a while to figure it out...

[lpk49]

the drama is over. i have the camper back. on the bill it says "battery was hooked up wrong and melted wires from outlet back"

so the first shop charged me to put in new battery, did something wrong and made a mess. it cost the 2nd shop 665. to figure out what happened and fix it.

but i am "ON THE ROAD AGAIN..." and very happy.

[deryk]

Congrads Kayak.... Tug and Trailer look good together!

[Byron Kinnaman]

It's really too bad you had to go through all that.
There's a wiring convention that get people all screwed up. In automotive and most low DC voltage devices red is + and black is - . In house wiring hot is Black or some other color and white is neutral. Hot loosely relates to + and neutral loosely relates to -. In our trailers they follow the housing wiring convention where black is + and white is -.
Batteries are marked + and - or red and black or both. Confusion is the word.
Scamp puts a sticker near the battery explaining that BLACK IS POSITIVE and WHITE IS NEGATIVE. I upper case since that what Scamp uses.
Here's a suggestion for anybody that wants to have somebody else change their battery. Get a bit of red tape and some black tape. On all wires that connect to the battery put red tape on the wires connected to + terminal and black tape on the wires that connect to the - terminal. This will aid those that don't know the convention.

Kayak, I'm sorry this has to be after the fact, but it might save you problems in the future.

I'm glad you can get out and use that Casita now. The weather in your picture looks like camping weather to me. But then, I'm not picky, any weather is camping weather. Have fun.

[gmw photos]

...well K....you've been thru quite the ordeal the last few weeks with this set up. But it looks like it's come together nicely. Truck and trailer look great together. Now get out there to the beach and get some sand between your toes and relax !

[Jon Vermilye]

I have mixed feelings about taking my trailer to a RV dealer. I like to know as much about everything I own as possible, and while I sometimes find that I would be paying myself far less than minimum wage for the number of hours it took me to do something a shop could do in minutes, my time, of course, is free (retirement is wonderful!) That said, I do have a shop check my brakes & repack my wheel bearings during NY's required yearly inspection.

I have mixed experiences with RV shops. I had my refrigerator repaired under warranty by Campers World in Syracuse, NY & they left the baffle out of the heater. I didn't discover that it was missing for 3 months when another shop was making another repair. I did wonder why the refrigerator worked so poorly, and was told by the second shop that missing the baffle was dangerous enough that they would not reconnect the gas until it was fixed. On the other hand, I've great results with Seven O's RV, a much smaller chain here in upstate NY. If you do find a shop that you can depend on, treat them well - I suspect they are rare.

I have to agree with Byron - try to find out as much as possible about the trailer & its appliances as possible. Many of us stay in places that are far from a shop, and when things go "bump in the night" we will need to find a solution ourselves. I have copies of all the manuals for the appliances in my trailer and carry a fairly large collection of tools. Of course I often find that the tool I needed was the one I left at home, but I have made a number of repairs & additions while on the road.

I do consider myself "handy" - part of my job while working was inventing effects & devices for theatre productions. You would be amazed at solutions one has to come up with to deal with playwright & director created problems! If you are uncomfortable digging into your trailer, a reliable shop is even more important.

I find that reading forums is one of the best ways to learn about trailers & their foibles. I have made a number of modifications to my Escape that I learned about reading posts at the Escape & Casita forums as well as here at the Fiberglass Forum. Another great source for information & help is fiberglass rallies.

[lpk49]

thx all. it was really windy when i picked up the camper and so i had the guy show me how to put the antisway on that comes with the casita. before the camper was hitched i could feel the wind pushing the truck...when hitched up with antisway i didnt feel anything. does this make sense?

it was 20-25mph with bigger gusts. then when i parked at the beach i was on a sort of peninsula parking lot(my new avatar) and i parked in my regular spot close to the water but i was a little afraid the whole rig would get blown over so i moved to the middle of the parking lot. (i never did get blown over but the camper was shaking a lot.) i probably should have headed into the wind but then i wouldnt get the cross breeze thru the camper or the view...

byron...i do remember the first battery guy saying over and over "i hooked up the black wires and then when i hooked up the other it just sparked...and sparked..."he went on. sounded like he did it multiple times cuz he couldnt believe it was happeneing-i had told them many times "these little fiberglass campers are different" - are you sure you know how to fix them and they assured me all campers are the same and they have 30yrs experience etc etc..

when he said black wires to me it didnt mean anything...but now with your explanation it all makes sense

i want to go back to beach today but have been dealing with boring stuff at the house. hope to spend the weekend there.

carol had sent me some diagrams on wiring etc and the new shop asked for that and that is how it all got fixed...so i do understand this now.

george---yep...already got there smelling the slat air...and i saw some guy who i thought was crazy out in the channel in a kayak in that wind...with no life jacket...i saw him come back to...but almost every year we lose a few kayakers and lobstermen

jon-someone else told a horror story about shops too so i know it is not just me and my ignorence. having the right manuals available and finding a shop you can trust seem like the best plan. these guys seem pretty good and they are close enough to home and for now i dont go far from home.

[lpk49]

its a little hard to read here but clearly says :

+ POSITIVE TO BLACK WIRE
- NEGATIVE TO WHITE WIRE

[Thinh]

...I am a type of diy mostly with my very first F.G camper, a Trillium 1300, from wiring, welding, F.G body works to...painting(not yet). When I ordered electric brakes at a local store plus trailer harness, they want me to put my trailer in their shop and when I said no, I received the wire with separate 7-pin connector( which I could buy a whole set at Princess Auto for cheaper). No problemmo, when life gives me a lemon, IMO the only way to overcome hardship is...making lemonade out of it and...I did. Thru enet and in particular this forum, there are plenty of knowledged, hand-on-experienced members to help me out with positive inputs...Just share my story and the following are some photos of my works. The budget is 1,000dollars max and it was already at it's thredshold....

[Thinh]

...A few more photos to flourish the...forum: Roof vent, spare tire relocation and battery box in the back with make-shift luggage rack plus bike rack receiver...

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Roy in TO

My thoughts are that a shop is not always near or open. There is a good paperback on 12V by Harold Barre and a testing meter can had cheaply. Cheap insurance in my books both can be had for less than $50.

The last Harbor freight flyer I received had a coupon for a free (inexpensive) electrical multimeter . Reads DC volts & AC volts & ohms & DC milliamps . By no means a professional meter ( Not a true RMS & a low ohms / volt meter) but good enough to troubleshoot the 12 VDC systems in our trailers . I own a $500 Fluke meter but to me its overkill for repairing my trailer and to expensive to have stolen or lost.