Questions on 2008 Roadtrek Popular 19

nbking wrote:
Some questions on the potential purchase of a 2008 Roadtrek Popular 19:

What brand of shocks would give me the best ride?

How would I repair a small hole in the spare tire fiberglass cover?

What would cause a refrigerator to fail to operate but start again after a lengthy ride?

Any knowledge you can pass on to me would be appreciated.

Bilstein shocks are the most recommended for Roadtreks and those who have them say the ride is dramatically improved.

A small hole in the fiberglass cover on the Continental Spare is not going to effect anything but appearance. The bracket and the chrome rim around the tire is what is holding it in place. You can put anything over the hole or fill it - as was suggested - with resin - and then cover it. I put adhesive reflectors on mine just to improve its visibility in the dark sticking out from the bumper.

The fridge works on DC, Propane, and AC. If your battery was very low to start it would not work on DC and even with Propane there might not have been enough in the battery to ignite the propane (did you have your battery switch on when starting the fridge?). As you drive the TrippLite 750 inverter/converter/charger charges the coach batteries - about to full charge in two hours - and this is a good indication that your batteries were low to start with if your fridge did not work until after a long ride.

Come see my site - linked below in my sig - all about 190s!

Put Bilstein shocks on the front and Firestone Air Bags on the rear.

The "small" hole is what size? You could put a small reflector on, to cover the hole, or fill the hole with one of many products from a hardware store, Canadian Tire, Home Depot, Home Hardware. Will you then want to match the finish? Maybe you should talk to a body shop or a boat builder. If you go that route be prepared for the whole fibreglass cover to be repainted, because their work has to match the surrounding area.

Bilstein HD shocks.
How small is the hole? You could just put a piece of duct tape on the back of the hole, and fill the hole with some tinted resin. Kind of depends on the hole size.
If you are using the fridge on DC it will drain a battery in as little as 2 hours. We need more information.

In regards to the refrigerator failing to operate, you did not say if you were trying to operate on propane, 120VAC or even 12DC. If operating on propane, it could have be something as simple as a lack of propane in the fridge gas lines when you first tried. Try operating the stove first to draw some gas and then try lighting the fridge.

The Roadtreking Facebook group is very active. You might get a better reply there...