B+ motorhomes

If the Flex-Mend tape sticks to metal, I think that would be a better way to fix the underside problem. The Dicor non-sag caulk is still a bit runny, and working overhead with it is not the easiest thing. But I got er done and time will tell.

Rolin wrote:
Currently looking at a 2005 Kodiak VXL2200 with a slide because I want a motorhome that is narrower (8ft or less), not as tall, that gets better gas mileage (hoping for an average of 12mpg) and will work well for us as we get older and mobility is not as great. Bigger is nice and more comfortable when parked, but we like to travel and hope to find something that is easier to drive in traffic and park.

Some Bigfoot and Born Free units also seem to be in our price range.

Sleeping on a jack knife sofa doesn't sound too attractive, but maybe that can be replaced with something better.

Any recommendations or things to look out for with Kodiak?

I can't tell you enough how easy these small MHs are to drive! I think my Trail Lite is just over 8', not under, but it is still remarkably easy. Most of the owners here report 11-12 MPG depending on speed.

Born Free is on our someday dream short list. I don't know if you have looked at Phoenix Cruisers, but they are well made and have satisfied owners.

Many people replace the sofa with a fixed bed. Nice foam mattresses can be purchased online for reasonable prices. It's fairly simple woodwork for any carpenter. Build a wood box in place, with a removable or hinged top, stain and seal it, put the mattress on the top. This is in my immediate plans. Get some good firm couch pillows to build up a lounging position for watching TV. Or hinge one third of the wooden top near the head to tilt up like a lounge chair, with a simple prop underneath, and use a two piece mattress. That's my plan.

Orion_42 wrote:
Snowman, thanks for all the great info and shots. That heads-up no the underside trim is a good one as I've got the same problem!
By the way, it looks like you've got two loose bolts on your upper awning brackets.

Not anymore! :) I also cleaned up inside the awning mounts the best I could, and pushed a load of caulk up above the bolts.

I'm glad it is helping to post the info. These units are all about the same age in that 2001-2007 time frame so I was hoping to provide info that can head off future issues. While it has seemed like a lot of work to me, each major recaulking job has been roughly a half day job.

-Cleaning the front and rear roof seams and putting Eternabond on them.
-Cleaning the Dicor caulk and applying new stuff over the cracks (which were not bad, really).
-Carefully slicing out the wrong caulk from the roof side seams and replacing it with Dicor non-sag.
-Cleaning and caulking those underside situations.

So, four half-days, one to two tubes each of the two Dicor products, a some lacquer thinner and rubbing alcohol for cleaning, 20 feet of EB tape. Less than a hundred bucks and it's ready for the long haul, I hope.

BTW the EB job was mostly preventative. It did go over some gaps towards the sides. I've put EB tape on 3 RVs now, on the front and rear seams. Yes, it's good stuff. But I also think that if a person keeps Dicor in good shape on those seams, the EB is not needed. I did not remove the old Dicor where the tape was going. I cleaned it and put the EB over it, then put Dicor along the tape edges where the tape did not fully span the Dicor. Removing all that Dicor is just way too much work, plus it is still doing its job. Removing it takes away a line of defense. I already had 4" tape but 6" would have been much better. It would have completely spanned all the Dicor and probably not made me feel the need to lay caulk along its edges.

I've got a somewhat bum knee, and all the ladder climbing plus kneeling is killing me! I have been on the roof so many times I couldn't count. I hope I don't have to go up there again for a long time! :)

Rolin wrote:
Currently looking at a 2005 Kodiak VXL2200 with a slide because I want a motorhome that is narrower (8ft or less), not as tall, that gets better gas mileage (hoping for an average of 12mpg) and will work well for us as we get older and mobility is not as great. Bigger is nice and more comfortable when parked, but we like to travel and hope to find something that is easier to drive in traffic and park.

Some Bigfoot and Born Free units also seem to be in our price range.

Sleeping on a jack knife sofa doesn't sound too attractive, but maybe that can be replaced with something better.

Any recommendations or things to look out for with Kodiak?

Good morning. Here is a picture of our VXL2200. For the exact reasons you mentioned we love our little rig and have put a whack of miles on it, over 30,000 of them in Mexico. We bought it with 90000 km and have around double that now. Ours doesn't have a slide as it is a 2001. Yes the Jackknife bed takes some getting used. The fiberglass roof is great and ours is covered in solar panels.

By the way if it looks like it is being towed by our A class', it is. It has more than a few miles being towed on it as well.

Snowman, thanks for all the great info and shots. That heads-up no the underside trim is a good one as I've got the same problem!
By the way, it looks like you've got two loose bolts on your upper awning brackets.

Currently looking at a 2005 Kodiak VXL2200 with a slide because I want a motorhome that is narrower (8ft or less), not as tall, that gets better gas mileage (hoping for an average of 12mpg) and will work well for us as we get older and mobility is not as great. Bigger is nice and more comfortable when parked, but we like to travel and hope to find something that is easier to drive in traffic and park.

Some Bigfoot and Born Free units also seem to be in our price range.

Sleeping on a jack knife sofa doesn't sound too attractive, but maybe that can be replaced with something better.

Any recommendations or things to look out for with Kodiak?

I found another thing, I hope it is only a problem on my coach and no one else's. There is a painted aluminum channel that makes the bottom edge on the exterior wall panels. Under the chassis, that channel is supposed to hold in place the black plastic sheeting that protects the inward sides of the wall panels where they hang down below the frame.

Underneath the sheeting is the same paneling you see inside the coach.

Well my assembler did not get the sheeting under the channel in quite a few spots. Resulting in a path for water to get into the wall panel when driving in the rain. For most of the problem areas, the sheet is still adhering to the paneling except for the bottom edge of the sheet, less than an inch. Nevertheless I have to seal it. The right way would be to remove the channels and reinstall them, but they are super tight.

Almost nothing adheres to polyethylene. That's why they make glue containers out of it. :) But since Dicor sticks to TPO and it is a close cousin to PE, I figured I would try it. I cleaned a spot and stuck a blob of the non-sag Dicor to it. Dicor stays soft for a long time but it did seem to stick very well. Today I cleaned up all the suspect areas with lacquer thinner and will seal them with the Dicor. If that doesn't hold up, there is a tape made for the poly under-RV sheeting. The tape is called Flex-Mend. Whether it sticks to metal, I dunno. I hope the Dicor holds.

I did a little bit of it today as a trial. The sheeting has taken a set with a curled up edge and kept pulling away from the dicor. I used masking tape to hold it down tight on the dicor and we will see how it goes.

One spot was really bad, the sheeting was able to pull completely away. This is the back driver's side corner in the following photo. The plywood was actually soft. I'm real glad I caught this before it got any worse.

This weekend I got the roof side seams done. Thought you might be interested in some photos "before".


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Same location after caulk removal. That is mud under the caulk:

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A better look at the mud:

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The other end before caulk removal:

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I got them cleaned up and put Dicor non-sag caulk in there. I'm glad that is done!

I had to go back and edit two posts about the radio hookup. It is not hooked up under the seat. Something is, with a red wire, in conjunction with the Kwikee step IGN signal. But it's not the radio.

The radio play mode (red wire on radio) is powered off a brown chassis wire behind the radio. It came from a 4 wire plug, which now has only 3 wires remaining: Red/white, black, and white. The red/white is always hot. The radio does draw power whenever it is available, even if the radio is not turned on. The clock and all the feature messages are displayed.

One way to have the radio available at all times, but with power management, would be to wire an on-off switch from the red/white chassis wire, and feed the radio from the switch. Then use that switch instead of the radio switch.

Alternatively, the (non-GM?) power mirrors run in the ACC mode. A person could track that supply wire down inside the cab. If R-Vision added the mirrors, it probably isn't fused, lol.

Snowman9000 - My unit is already winterized and in storage, but my recollection is that my 2002 radio is also a Blaupunkt. We are not fervent radio listeners, so not sure but believe that the ignition key has to be in the on position - not in accessory.

As to the keys/tools for radio removal, I think the automotive electronic shops have those just laying around and probably would give you a pair. They are always swapping some fancy radio for the factory ones. I watched them slide these flat pieces on either side of the radio and then slide the whole radio out of it's housing.