Prospective Buyer: detail dimensions of 16 TBS?

[nmken]

[p]All:[/p][p]
[/p][p]I'm planning to purchase a 16TBS in the near future.  I'm trying to plan for the purchase and want to know dimensions that I'm not seeing in any documentation.  Do any of you have pointers to drawings or other more detail drawings?[/p][p]
[/p][p]The specific dimensions I'm trying to get right now are the height of the forward pass-through storage and the distance between the trailer box and dual propane tanks on the tongue.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Also if anyone knows the distance from rear tire to the hitch - I'm trying to determine what my turning radius is going to be.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I'm trying to decide if I can manage the Yamaha 2400 generator or have to stick to the Honda 2000.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Thanks for any pointers[/p][p]Ken[/p]

[charliem]

[font size="3"][font face="arial"]Ken,

Members david an livinthegoodlife have the 16TBS, maybe more. Send them Private Messages and I'm sure they can help you. Select them from the members listing menu at the top of the forum masthead and click on the send message button at the right. This will notify them a message is waiting even if they don't check the forum regularly. 
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[david]

Charlie:

You beat me by a couple of minutes replying. Ken, we are picking up the trailer tomorrow and heading out for an overnighter. I will get those measurements to you on Friday. As I understand it you want:

The opening height of the forward pass through.

The distance from the forward curved part of the trailer to the centerline of the LPG tanks. Mine is single so I will give you that dimension.

Distance from the hitch to the rear wheel of the trailer. Maybe you want the distance to the center of the two tires as that is probably the turning point, but I will get you both.

David

[dhrvcenter]

I've got a couple being delivered tomorrow.  I'll go out there with a tape measure and get the measurements.  We've been mounting a bracket over the propane tanks to hold the generator.  The 2400 Yamaha is awesome and works great.  

[david]

Here are the dimensions of our 2014 16TBS:

Pass through: 28" x 11-1/4" tall

Distance from forward curve in trailer box to centerline of single LPG tank- 13"

Distance from hitch to mid point of back wheel- 15'

Distance from hitch to mid of both wheels- 14'

Think about whether you can store the generator laying down. It is a 4 cycle and has a crankcase full of oil which can get into the valve cover, and maybe even the combustion chamber if layed on its side. Some 4 cycle outboards can only be stored on only one side.

David

[nmken]

That's great information guys I appreciate it everyone.  Dhrvcenter you suggest that we could mount the 2400 over the propane tanks with a support - I like that idea.  Are you custom fabricating this?   You're in NC which puts you too far out of my zone to buy from you unfortunately.

With the passthrough height of 11" that's smaller than the smallest 2400 dimensions 21x16.5x18 so that storage is out - have to look at some way to get it on the tongue.  Last option would be on the extended rear bumper but I'd probably opt for the smaller AC/Honda eu2000 before I did that.  So last chance is this mount over the tanks.

Any chance for a photo of what you've been putting together Dhrvcenter?

[dhrvcenter]

Hello nmken,

I think we have a 21BHS that I can get a picture of, but here is the product:  

http://www.strombergcarlson.com/cargo-storage-and-carriers/a-frame-cargo-management/

We've started stocking them at the shop because as soon as someone sees one, we wind up needing one right away.  It's not a hard install.  Takes about an hour or two.  Just a bit of tinkering.  

I'll see if I can get a picture of one on a camper to show you.

Please let me know if you have any other thoughts.

[livinthegoodlife]

nmken,

Welcome to the forum!! We have a 2014 16TBS. I see that you have already received the dimensions you were requesting.  We love our unit. It has more floor space than we thought it would have.  We have the two twin beds with the storage under one. There is no climbing over each other in the middle of the night. I am not sure I understand the concept of the king bed in that respect though. It kind of defeats the purpose of the TBS. We replaced the mattresses in our unit with 7" memory foam mattresses as most people do because the mattresses that come with the unit are uncomfortable and very thin. The idea of the king/twin is that you can flip between the two if wanted. Not sure how one would work the mattress situation with that idea. We have the wardrobe between our twin beds and I did see that with the King/Twin option you lose that to a small overhead cabinet in the 2015. I believe that the new 2015's come with the new flooring. We put in an interlocking vinyl floor over the aluminum flooring. We just came back two weeks ago from Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks and found that the camper worked out beautifully! We started out at a private campground with electric and water, but then moved to Frisco National Park Campground. As they do not have hookups, we found that the unit worked out above our expectations. The battery only lasted for three days and we just hooked up our TV to it to recharge.  We are now looking into solar panels and possibly a generator. About the only thing that you would possibly need the generator for would be the air conditioner and microwave and TV. We used none of these when at Frisco and found that what we did have was sufficient as we were getting away from it all and enjoying the outdoors.  We are so looking forward to a scheduled trip to Florida along with a few small trips in between. I hope you enjoy your unit as much as we enjoy ours!  

[nmken]

Thanks for the positive comments for your trailer.  We are pretty positive about the layout and features but have been getting somewhat concerned about the new trailer issues folks are posting here.  I'm wondering if we should plan for a 'hose down' test before we take it off the lot to ensure no leaks.  Did any of you do anything like this before driving off?

[charliem]

[font size="3"]Unfortunately (or fortunately) most rain leaks are too small to show up in a short hosing. These things seem to come with any brand, but I think less so with LL. Fixing them is a pain, but LL is good about covering them. A more revealing test would be a city water pressure test. I don't recall plumbing leaks reported here, but they are common in the industry. Seems like workers just can't remember to tighten all the fittings. Let water flow from all the faucets to clear the air and turn them off. Watch for leaks inside and outside the trailer for a few minutes. That plus a check off all appliances ad electrical things is about as good as you can do. Expect to find minor fitment issues on your first trips so keep a pad handy. Even on the CLs there is nothing perfect. Unfortunately, comes with the territory.
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[david]

You know Charlie, that is what US car makers said in the 70s & 80s about their cars when compared to the more reliable Japanese cars of that era.

History proved them wrong.

David

[livinthegoodlife]

Nothing is perfect.  Even if you have a brand new land home there are going to be issues.  You deal with them and move on. Yes, these are expensive units, but they are not all perfect.  When you do your walk thru, just take note of things you notice and tell the dealer before actually taking the unit off the lot.  We did have the chance to spend the night in our unit before taking it off the lot. We opted to not do this as we had an 8 hour drive ahead of us to try to beat a snow storm that we were heading into. We did have a leak from the roof on the way home.  It turned out that the dealer should have caulked the seams before we left.  We had no idea that the seams needed this done. We had another issue that we need checked out and called LL who advised us of a dealer about 40 minutes from us that would look into the situation.  While there they did a complete check over after we voiced concern about the leak and completely caulked all seams for us at no charge. They also noticed a cracked window that they would replace for us at no charge. They told us what window it was and for the life of me, I really had a hard time seeing where the crack was. I would never have noticed it and either would my husband. While there, we noticed that they were going to be doing a seminar on the care of campers and mobile homes including all of the elements such as all the electrical,importance of surge protectors, gray and black tanks, the sealing of all seams and what to use, tires and inflation of, care for the outside of the units, what hoses to use, how to use the dump station, and keeping the weight limits down. I highly recommend taking s seminar or two. While learning about these different things, you also meet other people that are enthusiastic about sharing their experiences and what they do in different situations (kind of like a person to person forum).  Even though we had a few problems with our unit when we first took possession of it, we wouldn't trade it for the world.  LL has a reputation and I think they deserve the respect that they have earned. We still love our unit and can't wait to take it out again!

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/2073/thread" timestamp="1405823462" author="@david"]You know Charlie, that is what US car makers said in the 70s & 80s about their cars when compared to the more reliable Japanese cars of that era.

History proved them wrong.

David[/quote][font size="3"]You're absolutely right and I keep that history in mind as a bright light ahead. Unfortunately for us we're still back in the RV 70s. When are Honda and Toyota moving to Elkhart???

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[david]

Alas, you are right. No Japanese are expected in Elkhart anytime soon. And I wouldn't expect them to ever be made in Asia and shipped over. Too small and diverse of a market and too much air to ship.

But I do remember Consumer Reports indicating 3-4 sample defects on each new car that they reviewed in the 80s. Today, almost none. The auto industry figured out how to build nearly defect free cars (GM's switch notwithstanding) mostly as a result of Japanese competition. No such competition in the RV business.

Here is a short story from the Quality movement of that era:

On an American auto assembly line, a separate station is staffed with their best auto workers to fix problems that are identified after the car comes off of the assembly line. In Japan those best workers build the car.

Ok, I  will get off my soap box. Livin Lite does build a nice RV. And FWIW, so far I haven't found any defects on mine.


David

[charliem]

[font size="3"]David,

"In Japan those best workers build the car." Interesting clip. I'm sure you remember the era of Japanese junk. 1950s to 1970s? After being rejected here, W. Edwards Deming, an American engineer, went to Japan and taught them how to build quality and efficiency into their products. As you note: "You can't inspect quality into a product". It took US manufacturers decades to learn that lesson. We seem to be at a similar 1950s  epoch with China, but Deming is gone.  

As an engineer with years of aerospce manufacturing experience I am particularly impressed with LL. I've had very few problems with my CL. Some Friday afternoon escapes and assembly oversights, but fewer than I read on other forums. I also try to distinguish LL induced problems from supplier induced problems. The good news is everything comes from there in Elkhart, similar to the way Detroit integrated. That should mean the primes can work with and pressure their suppliers, but the root Chinese manufacturing is still present in places. I think LL is concerned with their customers and their market image, but they also have the profit pressure. To those ends Thor can be a big pro or a big con. Time will tell.........................

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