New to LITE HOUSE, GRAND CAMP travel

[richard Trafton]

Hello:

Just bought a LITE HOUSE, (fresh out of the box-used once).

-How do they pull, (travel)?
-Do you have Sway Bar?
-Do you have Trailer Brakes?

It's all original, so plan to keep it that way, EXCEPT for possible AC,
Micro, (which I'll set on top of stove), and larger solar, (60 watt)

Does it's height cause any problems?

Is the propane furnace adequate?

Any info/ suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

with kindest regards,
Richard

[glamourpets]

Based on the traffic in this community, the Lite House is one of the less common fiberglass rigs out there. Welcome!

Sway bars usually just mask bigger problems. I suggest that if you do have sway issues, try balancing the load inside your trailer first.

With regards to brakes, check the specs for your tow vehicle. Some tow vehicles require them. I am in the process of replacing the axle on my Boler 13, partly because brakes are required for my Subaru.

[Robin G]

Congratulations and Welcome to the forum!



Lite house are cute lil trailers. And like most molded glass travel trailers they pull rather easy.

You don't say what your towing it with. So the pro's and cons of sway bars and brakes would be better discussed with more info. But will say, I recommend both!


Again, Congrats! Pic's are always nice. There are a few other lite house owners around. But because the Lite House is molded fiberglass your gonna be fine here on fiberglassrv.com !

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by richard Trafton

Hello:

Just bought a LITE HOUSE, (fresh out of the box-used once).

-How do they pull, (travel)?
-Do you have Sway Bar?
-Do you have Trailer Brakes?

It's all original, so plan to keep it that way, EXCEPT for possible AC,
Micro, (which I'll set on top of stove), and larger solar, (60 watt)

Does it's height cause any problems?

Is the propane furnace adequate?

Any info/ suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

with kindest regards,
Richard

I would suggest that you use the trailer a couple times before worrying too much about it.

AC and Microwave ovens are only good when you have electric hookups.

I use propane for stove, furnace, fridge. Depending on the weather I can go for up to month (30 days)+ without needing to refill.

Brakes probably aren't needed unless you're towing with a very small car. Brakes can be expensive if your axle isn't set up for brakes. In that case a new axle would be required.

Anti-sway bars are a poor crutch and often will mask problems until it's too late.

Solar, depending on how long you plan on camping at a time, more than a week in one place, solar might be an advantage. I have a 65 Watt panel and use it to recharge the battery after about 3 or 4 days in one place. I noticed that you mentioned 60Watt solar in the same sentence as A/C and micro. I hope doesn't mean you think you can power A/C and a Mircowave oven off your battery and a 60 Watt solar panel, because it won't work.

Height? Not sure what you're asking here. But, it's probably not a problem.

When I bought my Scamp I looked Lite House. They're smaller and lighter than my Scamp. I hope you enjoy it as much as we've enjoyed our Scamp.

[Otters]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

I have a 65 Watt panel and use it to recharge the battery after about 3 or 4 days in one place.

Byron,
What kind of solar set-up do you have? Is the 65 Watt adequate for you 13' or would you go bigger if you had it to do over? Thanks for any info you can provide. There's so much on this forum about differenet brands/types/sizes, I'm really perplexed.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Otters

Byron,
What kind of solar set-up do you have? Is the 65 Watt adequate for you 13' or would you go bigger if you had it to do over? Thanks for any info you can provide. There's so much on this forum about differenet brands/types/sizes, I'm really perplexed.

The 65 Watt works great for us. Bigger would not necessarily be better.
The first thing I did was to reduce the usage by, 1. Installing CCFL lights, later changing all other lights to LED. 2. No other electrical devices except the furnace fan.

Technical stuff...
Battery charge currents are generally a product of how far the battery has discharged. My battery charge current is maxed at about 4 amps. If connect a standard smart charger I will usually settle to a charging current of about the same or less, depending on the charge state of the battery. Therefore anything bigger would not be any better since I'm already near the maximum charge current. I use a 74 amp hour deep cycle battery on the trailer.

I also use the same 65 Watt panel to charge my amateur radio battery, which is a 50 amp hour gelcell.

If it's really really cold, (below freezing) I probably need to charge the house battery every other day. If it's warm and I don't use the furnace I can go for almost a month with charging the house battery.

One more thing, I built a frame so I can stand the panel up and move it around to follow the sun. That way I don't have to park the trailer in the sun and can also easily charge the radio battery.

You only need a solar panel if you're either is very cold weather, or staying a long time in one place. Much of the time we move often enough the tow recharges the batter and don't have to bother. Again it all depends on the biggest usage, the furnace.

Description of my solar system.
Panel = Kyocera 65Watt panel. (T65W I think)
Charge Controller = Don't remember brand, but it's a 6 amp controller.
25' of twin 10 gauge wire with Anderson Power Pole connectors.
Batteries each with at least one 18" twin 10 gauge wire with Anderson Power Pole connectors.
Home built stand up frame which also holds the charge controller.
two 2x4s and a piece of plywood covered with carpeting. This is used as a pocket to slide the panel into in back of the pickup and allows stuff to be stacked on top of it. There's full canopy over the bed and a "Bed Rug" in the bed of the truck. The panel slide in and out very easily.

[Otters]

Thanks Byron for all the good info. I think I've got it and understand what you're saying. I'm also changing out to LED lights, and I'm even trying to do without a heater if I can. I've invested in really good sleeping bags and I'm a fare weather camper anyway, being on the CA coast. I would like to use my little video player plugged into 12V receptical, and will stay out for several days at a time. If you have any pictures of your stand you made, I'd love to see them. BTW, my hub is a ham too!

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Otters

Thanks Byron for all the good info. I think I've got it and understand what you're saying. I'm also changing out to LED lights, and I'm even trying to do without a heater if I can. I've invested in really good sleeping bags and I'm a fare weather camper anyway, being on the CA coast. I would like to use my little video player plugged into 12V receptical, and will stay out for several days at a time. If you have any pictures of your stand you made, I'd love to see them. BTW, my hub is a ham too!

I'll should be able to get some pictures tomorrow.

[Eddie Longest]

Richard
The tires on the Lighthouse are low profile tires like the ones used on older pop up campers. Check yours out closely since everything is orig. They are not normally stocked by most tire stores and when you find the size, the load limit and ply rating may not be not what you need. They can be ordered with no problem but you don't want to have tire issues on the road with that size tire.
Eddie

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Otters

Thanks Byron for all the good info. I think I've got it and understand what you're saying. I'm also changing out to LED lights, and I'm even trying to do without a heater if I can. I've invested in really good sleeping bags and I'm a fare weather camper anyway, being on the CA coast. I would like to use my little video player plugged into 12V receptical, and will stay out for several days at a time. If you have any pictures of your stand you made, I'd love to see them. BTW, my hub is a ham too!

Here's some pictures for you.