Toy Hauler newbie

[ACDNate]

I'm a complete and total newbie. Never owned a TH before, infact have never owned an RV before until a week ago. I've always wanted a TH to drag with me to motorcycle race weekends so I wouldn't have to pay for the hotel room etc.

I stumbled across a deal to good to pass up last week so I jumped on it.

2002 Haulmark Elite II race trailer with factory "Escape Package"



Trailer is in overall good shape. Had a bunch of creative add ons from the previous owner that I have removed to return it closer to its original build that will work best for my needs.

All that being said I do have some questions that I need help with.

1. The battery isn't holding a charge. What do you all reccomend as a replacement for the existing house battery?


2. Two of the windows are leaking some. I found a video on youtube showing how to repair that with Butyl tape and silicone. The leak resulted in some bad paneling. The plan is to pull the paneling and replace it. I stopped at an RV shop and they recommended some stuff similar to what was in it, basically luan with a type of wallpaper on it.

I want something more water/moisture resistant. Any reccomendations?

3. It looks like my existing paneling was attached with staples and glue. Is that the correct way to re-install?

4. The existing 50amp service entrance is kind of flimsy when plugging in, is there a way to stiffen that up w/o having to tear all the cabinets out of the front of the trailer to get to it?

I'm sure I'll have more questions the farther i get into the clean up and restoration process. Thanks for any help you can provide.

[ACDNate]

Revivathread.

Have been using the camper here and there. Found a couple more issues that needed correction. The grey water tank valve wasn't working and a pipe upstream was loose.

The shower fixture was dribbling a bit. I went and bought a new fixture to swap out. Boy that was interesting. In this particular camper the fixture is about 6" higher than the kitchen cabinet behind it so the water goes through cabinet, turns 90 to vertical, then another 90 to the opening in the shower wall. I scratched my head a while then called a pro. Mobile service came out and had to pull the wall out from under the cabinet. Just enough room to reach the threads.

The A/C unit controls were kind of mangy looking and the vents were cracked up on both sides. Luckily Dometic sells a whole new panel for under $50. Swapped it out and cleaned the coils while I was at it. A/C working noticeably better since the clean.

Fridge works but not terribly well. I'll be replacing it before too long.

[mikakuja]

Nice work, looks great!!! I have to pull the front of my 05 Desert Fox apart to repair water damage as well....

[ACDNate]

thebudman wrote:
Great job- one thing however- the ramp looks a little too slick to load horses safely. You might consider putting some grit-based material to keep them from slipping when you load/unload them.

It has a few strips of grip tape but I will definitely be adding more. The "tile" is slick as snot.

[thebudman]

Great job- one thing however- the ramp looks a little too slick to load horses safely. You might consider putting some grit-based material to keep them from slipping when you load/unload them.

[ACDNate]

dougford wrote:
Dude you are doing a great job!! Keep it up!!

Thanks! Now if I could just find time to finish it up. Too many irons in the fire...

[dougford]

Dude you are doing a great job!! Keep it up!!

[ACDNate]

Ah ok that makes sense.

[Bedlam]

When attaching edge trim between walls or ceiling in a different plane, attach the trim to only one wall to allow for the trailer to flex. It will float over the other plane when it moves instead of bind and pull out the fasteners.

[ACDNate]

Bedlam wrote:
Attach the trim to only one side to allow it move when the trailer flexes.

Um? What?

[Bedlam]

Attach the trim to only one side to allow it move when the trailer flexes.

[ACDNate]

I got back to work on the toyhauler yesterday and made some good progress.

8hrs later we had this



One side bunk back up. Other side paneled but still need to scrub and re-install trim and bunk.


I've got to get some trim made for the ceiling/wall joint. There is leftover caulk that indicates at one time there was a panel along there but its long gone. I've got a friend who does sheet metal work that I'm going to get to bend up something to get it covered up.

[ACDNate]

Got rolling on repairs again this weekend

Yanked out window and water damaged ply


New ply in place and first panel of RFP in place




12' of FRP in and window sealed/reinstalled. Slow going but getting there

[ACDNate]

Thanks Bedlam. Did a good check and also compared the other 1 wire lights to make sure i got the correct wire. Good to go now, at least on that 🙂

[Bedlam]

The skin should be grounded but may not be the best ground. Since you already have a ground run, use it. Incandescent marker lights don't care about polarity while LED are functional when wired correctly. Double check which wire is really power before grounding the other one to the skin.