We ordered a Camplite 16TBS about a month ago and are eagerly awaiting its build. We visited the factory and had a good tour on a stormy day in Indiana a couple of weeks ago. We've got some great ideas from this forum already and look forward to contributing as we gain some experience.
Welcome, Merlin. Funpilot and I ordered ours to be made at the factory and the wait seems to take about 6 weeks to complete the manufacture. That does not include delivering the camper to the dealer, or the time the dealer takes to check the camper out before letting you take delivery. I asked my dealer to let me know when he was notified by the factory as to a completion date. My camper is scheduled to be completed on Sept. 16.
If the factory stays on schedule, yours should be completed in about 2 weeks. I am occupying the waiting time by shopping for items to go into my new camper.
I hope the wait for yours is short!
Having leaky window problems on 2014 24' Toy hauler. Anybody else out there with the same issue? One window was repositioned as the frame wasn't covering the hole but 4 out of the 6 windows still leaking.
Call Don (Warranty) at Livin Lite. You may need to have them replaced or resealed.
Merlin, Welcome.. we have a 2014 TBS and love it! Hope you enjoy yours!!!
We picked up our Camplite 16TBS today and towed it 100 miles home. It took 8 weeks from order to pick up. We have high hopes for the long term, with back-burner plans that have been simmering for years to head to all 3 ocean coasts in the appropriate camping seasons. Our Camplite seems solid and generally well made and we're looking forward to "moving in" and doing some customization to make it ours. First up are some comfortable mattresses! The dealer did a good job of showing us how things worked. However, we are struggling a bit to have a good first impression since there were some things that caught our attention as we looked it over more carefully in our driveway at home.
I spent an hour replacing 2 long runs of caulk (6 feet total) over the door and over the slide-out that had caulk from the factory just sitting loose on the surface. I think they didn't clean the surface before caulking in those areas. It required a ladder to see the problem, but that should have been caught in an inspection.
My wife spent the same amount of time vacuuming up aluminum sawdust and drilling debris. It's everywhere and she's about half done. It's especially thick in areas behind removable access panels. Livin Lite needs to get attachments for their saws and drills to a central vacuum system at the factory.
There are 2 small puddles of water from an as yet unidentified source on the vinyl floor between the twin beds. Since the trailer hasn't seen rain yet (that we know of), I wonder if it's plumbing. I'll be disassembling some of the bed in the next few days to track that down.
In the front there is a major buckle in the roof and something seems to be poking up the aluminum skin from underneath. It can't been seen without a ladder, but it sure looks like they buckled the roof skin putting it on and used it anyway instead of getting a new piece. That's one place I'll always avoid walking because if it buckles back it may leak at the joint with the front.
The sofa bed (not the jack-knife sofa) in the slide was missing any center support for the mattress when we made it into a bed. We knew about this issue from other forum posts and sure enough, it was a problem on ours. We accepted the unit anyway, because we need it as a sofa, not a bed. However the dealer has called Livin Lite to see if they have figured out a solution yet. We are not holding our breath.
The most serious problem was not Livin Lite's . The service person at the dealership who hooked up the trailer hitch didn't get the receiver ball all the way in the hitch. The guy said he had 32 years of experience so I didn't double-check the set up. And I was not familiar with how the Camplite hitch should look on the receiver anyway. As we left the dealership, the first bump in the road popped the trailer off the tow vehicle with a big bang. We dragged the trailer by its safety chains with the powerlift post scraping along the road (no wheel on it) about 100 feet before we could safely stop. I put the trailer back on and we went back to the dealer to check for damage and the cause. Things seemed ok there and we made it home without further problems. However, when we got home and looked more closely I could see the powerlift post was damaged and some things seemed bent and loose. I'll check it out further and then take it to a closer RV dealer for a complete hitch inspection.
So, after a 2 month wait we are home safely with a nice trailer and many adventures in mind. I suspect our experience will be like others and once the initial bugs and problems are worked out and cleaned up, we'll have years of fun.
Merlin, I am glad to hear that you have your new trailer. I am paying attention to the issues you mention, and plan to take a good look at my trailer when I take delivery next week. The problems with the aluminum shavings seem to be in every trailer Livin Lite turns out. I am planning to spend some time ridding my trailer of dust and shavings.
I hope you get your trailer sorted out shortly so that we can read about your trips in your future posts.
I had the same issues with the shavings also. One thing that happened because of that was interesting though. One day I noticed that one of the lights above the bed was flickering and then it was not responding to the switch all the time. Sometimes it would be on and sometimes off when controlling it by the switch on the light itself. I took it down from the ceiling and found enough metal shavings had dropped into the fixture from the mounting hole in the ceiling that it had bridged the switch and caused a short circuit. After pulling the trailer around a few times it all just settled to the lowest spot. A simple clean out with a vacuum and all was well.
[quote source="/post/4038/thread" timestamp="1412305818" author="@sandroad"]There are 2 small puddles of water from an as yet unidentified source on the vinyl floor between the twin beds. Since the trailer hasn't seen rain yet (that we know of), I wonder if it's plumbing. I'll be disassembling some of the bed in the next few days to track that down.
[/quote]You should still investigate, but I'll bet that it's toilet water that sloshed out while you were driving. The porcelain toilet seems to be worse than most and if there's any excess water in the bowl it will splash out. Several of us have had the same thing. Next time flush everything except a tiny bit to keep the seal wet and see if your problem goes away.
Sorry to hear about your trailer jumping off the hitch. We all had a moment like that when we first started, so let's hope that you just had yours early and it will be smooth [strike]sailing[/strike] camping from here. :)
Check out the blooper thread and hopefully you won't feel so bad: http://livinlite.proboards.com/thread/397/first-camping-trip-bloopers
Tinkeringtechie said:
Sorry to hear about your trailer jumping off the hitch. We all had a moment like that when we first started, so let's hope that you just had yours early and it will be smooth [strike]sailing[/strike] camping from here. :)
Check out the blooper thread and hopefully you won't feel so bad: http://livinlite.proboards.com/thread/397/first-camping-trip-bloopers[/quote]
Oh no! Say it ain't so!!!
[quote source="/post/4042/thread" timestamp="1412341177" author="@tinkeringtechie"][quote source="/post/4038/thread" timestamp="1412305818" author="@sandroad"]There are 2 small puddles of water from an as yet unidentified source on the vinyl floor between the twin beds. Since the trailer hasn't seen rain yet (that we know of), I wonder if it's plumbing. I'll be disassembling some of the bed in the next few days to track that down.
[/quote]You should still investigate, but I'll bet that it's toilet water that sloshed out while you were driving. The porcelain toilet seems to be worse than most and if there's any excess water in the bowl it will splash out. Several of us have had the same thing. Next time flush everything except a tiny bit to keep the seal wet and see if your problem goes away.
Sorry to hear about your trailer jumping off the hitch. We all had a moment like that when we first started, so let's hope that you just had yours early and it will be smooth [strike]sailing[/strike] camping from here. :)
Check out the blooper thread and hopefully you won't feel so bad: http://livinlite.proboards.com/thread/397/first-camping-trip-bloopers[/quote][p]It seems to me like the porcelain bowl is pretty shallow. I've received complaints about splashage after use.[/p][p]
[/p][p]We don't leave any water in the bottom after use. What trickles through after the flush is sufficient to create a water seal.[/p][p]
[/p]
Quote from: @leslie" source="/post/4043/thread" timestamp="1412344192
Oh no! Say it ain't so!!!
Luckily none of our oopses caused any damage. Hopefully yours will be minor as well. They're fun stories to tell later :D
Welcome, Merlin!!
I hope you enjoy your 16TBS as well as we do ours! We bought new mattresses from Mattress Insider online. We had forgotten to check the sofa bed in our walk through. When we got home and were sitting on the sofa admiring our unit, it collapsed in the back. Called LivinLite and they set us up with a dealer close to our home. (We had driven 7 hours to pick our unit up from a different state)This dealer did a complete checkover and found several other issues that were quickly resolved along with the order of a new sofa bed. When it was delivered and installed, it too was missing the support in the middle. We were getting ready to leave for a trip, so decided to contact LL when we got back. We did and they sent the parts to us. We spent three hours installing them just to find that the sofa would not close with the mattress. The supports were holding the mattress from folding correctly. We uninstalled the parts and gave up as we too are probably only going to be using the sofa bed as a sofa. But, my contention is that I think LL should recall these sofas as they can't seem to get them right. For the price we paid for the units, I think that that is not too much to ask. LL has a good thing going, but some things should be changed.
We a better day today. Ordered new mattresses (thanks for the info, livinthegoodlife), fixed the damaged powerlift post, finished vacuuming, bought some new dog beds, measured for new speakers, and played with ideas about where to put "stuff". The last couple of days it's been raining off and on, sometimes really on. One storm dumped an inch of rain with blowing and sideways sheets of water hitting windows. Not a drop in the Camplite! I'm designing a solar system that will feed the shorepower. Eventually we'll have fully integrated solar with a combined converter/inverter, but until the warranty expires, we'll run the solar into the shorepower to keep from having any rejections with warranty claims (if needed). Now that we're past the "brand-new" phase, we'll start posting in the other threads.
Merlin,
Glad you had a better day today! And you are quite welcome for the info!! I shared an idea that I used with someone who pulled into Top Sail Hill Preserve yesterday. I was so excited to see another Camplight pull in! In the cabinet above the sink, I put a very small dishrack. On the small prongs I put our ceramic coffee mugs. To keep them from clacking together and breaking, I put the little foam things that go around a pop or beer can or bottle in between. I have silverware in the silverware holder and can put other things that I use in there as well. I found out about a week ago that the little rack that goes in the microwave flipped over is perfect for holding paper plates. Serves double duty this way as it is an odd shape and kind of bulky. I keep my plastic bowls nested inside of my plastic strainer in the microwave. They help to keep the glass turntable from bouncing and breaking when traveling. We keep our food in two bins from Hefty underneath the stove. In the cabinet under the sink, I have nested pots and pans along with a coffee pot and blender in a small basket. Underneath that cabinet, I have a basket with a few odds and ends and my electric skillet. In the cabinet above the refrigater, I used to folding shelves found at Walmart. I use four bins; two larger and two smaller to store things like foil, ziplocks, coffee filters, etc. With the shelves, I am able to utilize the space more efficiently since it is such a deep and wide cupboard. I am playing with a few other ideas, but I am rambling... Just have fun and enjoy!!
Excellent storage ideas, livinthegoodlife. I especially like what you did with the storage area over the fridge. After I get my Camplite.... what I would like to do is arrange for as many of us who can manage it, to get together so we can see firsthand all of the mods and storage ideas everybody is using.
[quote source="/post/4041/thread" timestamp="1412337420" author="@mitch"]I had the same issues with the shavings also. One thing that happened because of that was interesting though. One day I noticed that one of the lights above the bed was flickering and then it was not responding to the switch all the time. Sometimes it would be on and sometimes off when controlling it by the switch on the light itself. I took it down from the ceiling and found enough metal shavings had dropped into the fixture from the mounting hole in the ceiling that it had bridged the switch and caused a short circuit. After pulling the trailer around a few times it all just settled to the lowest spot. A simple clean out with a vacuum and all was well.
[/quote]So glad to hear your experience with the lights flickering. I'm having that issue with two fixtures and now know how to investigate. :) Thank you Mitch
I had an intermittent switch, dealer fixed it under warranty. I have no idea if it was just filings, or a bad switch. This is good to know about if you are far from the dealer, no longer under warranty, or simply don't want to leave the rig at the dealer for a few weeks waiting for service.
[quote source="/post/4177/thread" timestamp="1412822268" author="@spunk4"][quote source="/post/4041/thread" timestamp="1412337420" author="@mitch"][/quote]So glad to hear your experience with the lights flickering. I'm having that issue with two fixtures and now know how to investigate. :) Thank you Mitch[/quote][font size="3"]Another cause of flickering lights is a bad connection in the socket in the fixture itself. I've had this problem on several of my light fixtures. The cure is to remove the plastic dome and single Phillips screw and pull out and reinsert the LED panel several times. Use some contact cleaner or alcohol if you have it. This cleans the contacts in the fixture socket. Then replace the screw and dome. No more annoying flicker.
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Thanks, Charlie! Our lights have been flickering for a couple of nights now. We did not find any shavings in ours, so this might be the problem. Will try it when we get home on Sunday (even though we wish we could just keep going and going!)Currently in Florida and leaving on Saturday :(
[quote source="/post/4180/thread" timestamp="1412857440" author="@charliem"][quote source="/post/4177/thread" timestamp="1412822268" author="@spunk4"]So glad to hear your experience with the lights flickering. I'm having that issue with two fixtures and now know how to investigate. :) Thank you Mitch[/quote][font size="3"]Another cause of flickering lights is a bad connection in the socket in the fixture itself. I've had this problem on several of my light fixtures. The cure is to remove the plastic dome and single Phillips screw and pull out and reinsert the LED panel several times. Use some contact cleaner or alcohol if you have it. This cleans the contacts in the fixture socket. Then replace the screw and dome. No more annoying flicker.
[/font][/quote]Thanks CharlieM. Will try this when i get some time in the camper to mess with it.
Welcome from North GA.
Dave
21RBS
RAM 1500/HEMI
[quote source="/post/4204/thread" timestamp="1412908061" author="@spunk4"][quote source="/post/4180/thread" timestamp="1412857440" author="@charliem"][font size="3"]Another cause of flickering lights is a bad connection in the socket in the fixture itself. I've had this problem on several of my light fixtures. The cure is to remove the plastic dome and single Phillips screw and pull out and reinsert the LED panel several times. Use some contact cleaner or alcohol if you have it. This cleans the contacts in the fixture socket. Then replace the screw and dome. No more annoying flicker.
[/font][/quote]Thanks CharlieM. Will try this when i get some time in the camper to mess with it.[/quote]Another flickering light question.... I tried removing the clear covers last night, but worried I might break them. Any hints on how to get into the lights?
The cover is stiff (maybe especially when cold?), but it does pop off if you slip a thin screwdriver under the edge and pry. I had to remove one to get at the screws. Once removed, I found aluminum shavings that had shorted out the switch so that it would not turn off. I'll probably remove all the light fixtures next spring and vacuum out the shavings to avoid future problems.
[quote source="/post/5281/thread" timestamp="1416886325" author="@spunk4"][quote source="/post/4204/thread" timestamp="1412908061" author="@spunk4"]Thanks CharlieM. Will try this when i get some time in the camper to mess with it.[/quote]Another flickering light question.... I tried removing the clear covers last night, but worried I might break them. Any hints on how to get into the lights? [/quote][font size="3"]Be gentle and persistent. The lens slides sideways 1/4 inch to open. Use two hands if possible; the more thumb and finger combos the better. Once the lens slides over try to lift the far (rounded) end by placing a finger under the exposed edge. Pry it up slightly until you see the small tabs begin to disengage. It's harder to describe than to do, but it will work. I recommend NOT using a screwdriver. It's plastic and will break. It will come apart by hand.
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Ahhh...good to know about the lens removal thing. For the life of me, I couldn't get the cover to budge off those tabs with just my hands. I guess I wasn't patient enough or use enough force trying to slide it.