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.

[TonyTiger]

No, the leak is in the front on the coach passenger door and the front seat of the dinette. The 225 and the 235 are the same layout except for the change due to the slide out. So it would be the happening somewhere between the front of the passenger door and the front dinette seat itself.
Our entrance door seems fine so far, it's rear, passenger side mounted as well.

[J___W]

Tony Tiger - Is your leak from the entrance door? We have had the entrance door worked on several times as it has always closed very hard. On one fix they took off the frame as well and did not caulk properly around the top (I guess you would call it a drip rail that is part of the door frame) it leaked really bad in the next rain. We took it back for re-caulking and has never leaked again. You have probably already checked that, but that is my only suggestion as it was strange the rain came straight down to the floor and totally missed the padding above the inside door. Guess that happened because door is curved. Anyway we are still not pleased with our door and next time will request new door and frame be installed.
On our 225 we think we get about 12 mpg on the highway. Let us know when you trace the leak.

[TonyTiger]

Great report.
What mileage are you getting?

BTW, I've noticed that the passenger side carpet is getting wet in heavy rain. The top carpet that we use as a floor mat isn't wet, so it is coming from the side, not down. The wet extends all the way back to the box storage under the front dinette seat behind the passenger seat. Anyone else see somethig like this with a Trail Lite B+? It was pretty heavy rain here Saturday we were in a campground in southern NJ about 30 minutes from Atlantic City. The news said we got 1.35 inches. I'm thinking a leak must originate at a seam of the body or a gasket around the door or hatch.

[J___W]

We bought the Trail-Lite 23ft 225 with the Chevy 8.1 V8 last August. We love it. The floor plan is great and with the V8 Vortec engine, there is loads of power. We're getting around 12 mpg.
As it seems, all motorhomes come with their own particular glitches and we've had a few....all of ours were fixed at no cost of course.
Our longest trip so far has been to Tucson. We're leaving soon for the Grand Canyon and New Mexico...about a 3 week trip.
Just waxed the body with a spray on wax from Camping World. That was an easy quick wax and looks great.
We love our B+. Happy Trails!
J & W and Jodie (terrier)
Wimberley, Texas

[TonyTiger]

Welcome back! Hope the move was uneventful and hope you are feeling well.
First time I was in San Antonio was in 1967 to enter the Air Force. The Riverwalk was a mud walk, still under construction. When I saw the Alamo, I wondered why old Santa Ana didn't take his troops around either side to the short wall! ...or they could of stood on their Trail Lites and jumped the side wall.

*This Message was edited on 29-May-03 09:04 AM by TonyTiger*

[TonyTiger]

I think you'll find that the Trail Lite 225 and 235S both solve your problems with a dry bath and shower and a passenger side exit door. Both are available with Chevy or Ford chassis. The Ford has the V-10 engine.
I traded up from a 99 StarFlyte in February for the 235S specifically for the slide and for the dry bath. If you read the posts you'll find Dario went for the 225. Obviously we thought it was worth the trade. For me a few electrical kinks had to be worked out, but for the last two trips this month it's been humming along.

[wlbjrincctx1]

What I don't like about the Trail Lite is the real entrance door, wet bath and quality issues.
The B 225 has a dry bath, side door, and the quality issues seem to be getting better as they produce more units.
Good Luck with whatever you buy.

2003 Trail-Lite B 225
Ford V-10

*This Message was edited on 26-May-03 03:37 PM by wlbjrincctx1*

[PSW]

Ellne,

We spent a year looking at these issues you mention. We opted for the BT Cruiser because of the roof, side door, and just liked the unit better. I have had Dodge and Chevy MHs before, and I must say the BT with the 450E chasis and V10 is very nice and I think we will find it really satisfactory. We decided for the 23 ft and slide, figuring for 2 feet more length we got a lot more unit. We researched all this on the Internet for a year, went to several RV shows and bought a few RV magazines with articles about these coaches. We are happy with the purchase and even drove to a dealer 200 miles away from one 4 miles from our home to get the unit we wanted! Something about territories, politics between branches of the same dealer and all that junk. Going from a 19 ft Roadtrek to a 23 ft BT Cruiser is like going from a small apartment to a big house as far as size is concerned, but the BT quality is not as good as the Roadtrek we have loved for six years. But the price is less also. Finally, we figured just go for it and enjoy!

PSW
Oklahoma City

*This Message was edited on 26-May-03 02:51 PM by PSW*

[Ellne]

I am trying to decide which way to go! I have found a Trail Lite 211S with the Chevy 8.1 engine like Daniels. I am trying to decide whether I would rather have that or a BT Cruiser with slide and Ford V10 engine.

I love to drive! I really wanted the 8.1 engine, and I will be towing sometimes, either light weight travel trailer, spare car or a boat.

What I don't like about the Trail Lite is the real entrance door, wet bath and quality issues. However, I really seldom shower in unit, usually use camp facilities unless it is really cold or rainy.

The BT Cruiser is prettier and has side entrance. What are your thoughts?

[Daniel_C_]

i've been out of pocket for a couple of weeks while I moved to San Antonio. The only new issue I am wondering about is a possible exhaust manifold leak. I have always felt that there was some extra noise under the hood, but I am starting to believe a leak is present. I had experienced similar problems with the 454 Chevy, but thought that they had corrected the problem with the new big block. Will keep you posted. I also had a thorough alignment done, and suspect that it had never been correct from the factory. The difference in handling is remarkable, and the chronic "wheel balance" problem I was experiencing was apparently the right front tire being pulled to the left, and pealing tread off the front tire as a result.

[Luap]

Have read it all and am just a confused as when I started looking at the B+. Quality seems to be an issue, however most of you seem to have had the majority of problems resolved. We (my wife and I) have finally decided to take the plunge and buy an RV. Tried to find a decent used class C, but that has proven to be harder than selecting a new one. Settled on a new 2004 21' Trail-Lite with 6.0 Chevy. Found one, but the rubber roof had two bubbles near where the roof meets the sidewall. Dealer does not seem to eager to fix this potential problem. Will try another dealer. Thanks to you all for your input.

MR. G

*This Message was edited on 22-May-03 12:52 PM by Luap*


*This Message was edited on 22-May-03 12:52 PM by Luap*

[Br-]

Dave, regarding the city water check valve, it was easy to install a new one. Make sure all of the old caulk is cleaned off good before you replace. My valve had caulk behind it as well as around it. Still can't get over the dealer here wanting $100 to do it.

[Dave_]

Bruce,

I also discovered a leak in my city water check valve (coincidence?). I will also try to repair myself.

Dave.

[JTHarley]

After taking the rig back to the dealer we found that they did not install "flexible" hose in and out of the new pump causing vibration to the wood. They also did not adjust the pressure screw located on the end of the pump to accomodate the small size of my rig vs. a big class A model. With about 700 miles on it now we could not be happier with the layout and performance but the true test will come when we take our first "real" trip in June.

[TonyTiger]

If they mounted the pump directly to wood, they may be creating an amplifier box like stereo speakers. I installed some thick scrap rubber under each leg which insulated the sound somewhat. If, however, it is the pump itself squealing then that might indicated that the bearings (or bushings) are out of alignment or that the shaft is binding for some reason. On most of the pump units made for RVs it is nearly impossible to take the load off of the motor to test for free rotation of the shaft.
A less likely source of the problem is for some metal scraping or some mineral particles to be in the actual pump assembly.
I'm not an expert on pumps, but I had some experience on my previous unit (which sounded like a muffled machine gun) with mounting noise.
There are some good people on this forum that might know more.

*This Message was edited on 07-May-03 11:29 AM by TonyTiger*