B+ motorhomes

[Daniel_C_]

I just bought a Trail Lite B+ 211s with 8.1 Chevy
engine. This is my fifth motorhome (others range
from an old 20' Vagabond, and three Winnegagos, from 19 to 32'. This vehicle is fantastic. I am
using it as a mobile office (and sneaking in a fun
journey from time to time). It gets about 9.5mpg
and I believe I could pull a bus behind it if I wanted! I paid low $40's which is about what I had expected to pay for a five or six year old Chinook with a nicer interior, but fewer features
(slide). I am delighted thus far.

[burlmart]

I guess there is a thin bead of something semi-translucent along the roof seam after all - my eyes ain't so good, even with a magnifying glass.

When I first went up there w/ Dicor years back, I convinced myself there was no caulk on the roof seams and never put any except near the front and rear cap ends.

[burlmart]

I cannot remember for sure if anyone here has definitively told me TPO or EPDM, but some brochure and maybe some 'most like;y's' did point to TPO.

I am gonna go look at that roof seam.

[Snowman9000]

burlmart wrote:


I am pretty sure that on ours, where the rubber roof (is it EPDM or TPO - it has never been verified to me) goes under the two horizontal seam moldings along the top of the sidewalls, there is no caulk, and none is needed.

I say none is needed as a Camping World roofing guy explainded this at a Louisiana Good Sam Samboree Tech session on (EPDM or TPO?) roofs. I think I remember this, and it made sense to me at the time he explained it.

Maybe someone other than TL put those beads of caulk . Maybe you can ignore them and not risk a roof membrane tear.

Burl, I thought it was EDPM but your question made me look again to be sure. Turns out it is TPO, I had their characteristics mixed up. I will edit my earlier post! This would point me to the Dicor product, then.

Here is a quick article on the differences

(I think Markopolo, who once had a TL and posted here about it, is named Mark Polk. Wonder if he is the author?)

I don't buy the CW guy's take on it. For one thing, there are screws holding the molding in place. Any water getting behind the molding can get into the body via those screws and cause delam.

I don't know, but mine sure looks to be factory applied. It's part of every seam construction from the fender flares to the rear cap components, to over the windows and the roof side moldings. The beads of caulk are pretty slim, though.

Citrus cleaner/degreaser does a decent job of getting the stuff off, but it is not to be used on the roof.

[burlmart]

Snowman

From another forum,

Snowman9000 wrote:
A friend of mine is looking for a van that is tall enough for him to stand completely erect in, and it has to have 4 captains chairs and a sofa installed in it. No camping gear whatsoever. He is probably 6'3" tall, I'm guessing.

It should also be finished inside, not a shell like a cargo van. I told him Sportsmobile could probably make up a Sprinter like that, but what other options are there? Actually it seems pretty simple, given a tall enough van. Would a "conversion van" be tall enough?

burlmart wrote:
Turtletop and Born Free make special needs rigs. Not sure, but is the regular Sprinter only 6 ft inside? Maybe the larger one that Winnebago Era uses is taller inside

I am 6-3 and my head rubs the ceiling of Sprinters, but maybe in the big ones (3500 chassis) the inner height is better.

[burlmart]

gkreutzer wrote:
I have a problem a mechanic says is prevalent among Chevy Express 3500 based RV's and wonder if anyone else has encountered it.

The smell of gasoline in RV house started as whiffs occasionally on short trips...

Thanx, Gary

Have not noticed gasoline smells.

Snowman9000 wrote:
I'm still working like mad on my TL, taking care of manufacturing shortcomings and 7 years of deferred maintenance.

I have started cleaning and inspecting the caulking used at the seams to see where I have to touch it up or re-do it. I did find one thing that you all should be aware of. They used something like this on all the body seams and protrusions, except the roof:

http://www.geocelusa.com/oem-mfg-housingrv.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&produc...

Maybe they used that exact product, even.

Well the problem is that they used it on the two seams where the EDPM roof meets the upper side molding. And the product doesn't adhere to EDPM. Read the description at the product page.

I am pretty sure that on ours, where the rubber roof (is it EPDM or TPO - it has never been verified to me) goes under the two horizontal seam moldings along the top of the sidewalls, there is no caulk, and none is needed.

I say none is needed as a Camping World roofing guy explainded this at a Louisiana Good Sam Samboree Tech session on (EPDM or TPO?) roofs. I think I remember this, and it made sense to me at the time he explained it.

Maybe someone other than TL put those beads of caulk . Maybe you can ignore them and not risk a roof membrane tear.

[Gene_in_NE]

gkreutzer wrote:
I have a problem a mechanic says is prevalent among Chevy Express 3500 based RV's and wonder if anyone else has encountered it. Sounds a little like he was a Ford person 😉

The smell of gasoline in RV house started as whiffs occasionally on short trips. During yesterday’s trip up valley the strong smell of gasoline set off the Propane Detector several times. There is no sign of leakage under or around the RV, and no odor up in the engine compartment. I crawled under the gas tank and traced the gasoline fill-tube up as far as I could reach toward the tank and touched a loose bracket or fitting near the end (felt a hole I assume held a bolt), but couldn’t see or feel anything more. I suspect the junction of the gasoline fill-tube and the gas tank is the culprit. The stop and go traffic may have gotten the gasoline sloshing around enough to spill out while moving but nothing showing up underneath when stopped.

I imagine I’ll have to empty and drop the gas tank unless someone knows a tricky way to fix that junction I can’t see. Thanx, Gary

I have read enough of these postings to conclude it really does not have much to do with Ford or Chevy or Dodge. There have been mentions of problems with the connector hose between the nozzle on the gas tank and the fill location. Usually, the complaint has been a kink causing very slow filling. I would try using a camera to take pictures of the area where you can't get your head up to see. Then I would buy a very inexpensive siphon bulb with hose to siphon the gas from the tank before dropping it. Something like this at Harbor freight. I might attempt locating the hose to tank location from the inside of the RV. Mine would be under the couch, maybe a access hole from inside might help. Ours has not been a problem.

[Snowman9000]

I'm still working like mad on my TL, taking care of manufacturing shortcomings and 7 years of deferred maintenance.

I have started cleaning and inspecting the caulking used at the seams to see where I have to touch it up or re-do it. I did find one thing that you all should be aware of. They used something like this on all the body seams and protrusions, except the roof:

http://www.geocelusa.com/oem-mfg-housingrv.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&produc...

Maybe they used that exact product, even.

Well the problem is that they used it on the two seams where the TPO roof meets the upper side molding. According to the description at the product page, it doesn't adhere to EDPM but it doesn't mention TPO. Mine is not adhering.

How do I know what they used? Well, it looks and feels exactly like what is on my Crossroads trailer, and the Crossroads service manager told me that is what it is. In any event, whatever they used is not adhering to the roof at those two seams. It looks like it is, but it isn't. It is simply cured up against the roof membrane. If you stick a fingernail behind it, you will see for yourself.

What should be used is something like this, in the non-sag version

From what I have read at the Geocel and Dicor sites, I think I have to remove the old stuff before putting down the right stuff. Since it is not stuck to the roof, the problem is the opposite edge where it is really stuck to the aluminum. I've fought caulk removal before. It's not fun but it can be done without damaging anything if I'm careful.

Just something to look into. YMMV!

[TyroneandGladys]

Snowman9000 wrote:
Thanks folks, that is interesting. Ours makes a drumming type vibration which I can feel coming through the floor. Our mutt is a nervous one and she is not going to like it.

Similar complaint in another forum and it turned out the air filter cover was not positioned correctly.

[gkreutzer]

I have a problem a mechanic says is prevalent among Chevy Express 3500 based RV's and wonder if anyone else has encountered it.

The smell of gasoline in RV house started as whiffs occasionally on short trips. During yesterday’s trip up valley the strong smell of gasoline set off the Propane Detector several times. There is no sign of leakage under or around the RV, and no odor up in the engine compartment. I crawled under the gas tank and traced the gasoline fill-tube up as far as I could reach toward the tank and touched a loose bracket or fitting near the end (felt a hole I assume held a bolt), but couldn’t see or feel anything more. I suspect the junction of the gasoline fill-tube and the gas tank is the culprit. The stop and go traffic may have gotten the gasoline sloshing around enough to spill out while moving but nothing showing up underneath when stopped.

I imagine I’ll have to empty and drop the gas tank unless someone knows a tricky way to fix that junction I can’t see. Thanx, Gary

[Snowman9000]

RV er wrote:
The on and off switch on my RV in
the same location are for my heated side mirrors.

I bet that is what it is, thanks!
I could go out right now and check, because we have frost this AM.
😞

[RV_er1]

The on and off switch on my RV in
the same location are for my heated side mirrors.

[Gene_in_NE]

I don't have that on/off switch - sounds like a prior owner's idea for something.

Another topic ??
We were heading North on Interstate 29 and met a Trail-Lite looked to be a Model 211 (had a rear door) heading South near St Joseph, MO. That was last Sunday about 10:00am.

[Snowman9000]

What is the on/off switch on the upper front section of the driver's door?

[Orion_42]

I'd check for any cabling, fuel lines, exhaust pipe which may not be properly isolated that may be hitting frame or floor.

[Snowman9000]

Thanks folks, that is interesting. Ours makes a drumming type vibration which I can feel coming through the floor. Our mutt is a nervous one and she is not going to like it.