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.

[CharlesOK]

Burl I bought a left-over Holiday Rambler SE 34SBD, with 2 slides on a Workhorse W22 chassis. It weighs almost double what the Trail-lite weighed. We decided that since we have cruised around the US for many miles in the last 16 years, that it would be nice to go back to a larger class A and drive fewer miles and sit longer in one spot. I have a nice Corolla 5 speed as a tow car and it gets 36+ around town, so not running the RV motor and using the car will even out our costs. This one won't go to the California Coast, Upper Michigan and Florida in it's first year. It's more of a condo on wheels. For anyone who has followed some of my comments, I knowingly broke several of my own buying rules, but the deal was just to good to pass up. Don't let anyone try to convince you that your B+ has not kept it's value well. Dealers here in the Oklahoma City Metro area, have the smallest supply of all motorhomes that I can recall seeing in the last 15 years. They essentially have nothing available in a small class C or B+. Diesel Pushers are still moving reasonably well, but Class A gas are not selling well. We found a floorplan that is just about perfect for the way we live, at a price I know is a bargain for a new one with full warranties, so, with 6.5% money from my local Credit Union I decided it would be a good move and my better half says she likes the idea. What more is there.

[burlmart]

Charles

With Cheeze1,Reno3, and Gene, I want to add kind wishes for your new adventures. Now I have a reason to look into the Class A Forum. You have been a great help to this newbie, and I am sure the Class A folks will soon learn of your deep RV expertise.

Charles, we recently made a week trip where we drove thru Beaver Bend SP (pretty place, but were full) and stayed at Queen Willamena SP, Petit Jean SP, and Lake Enid (Corps). All were very nice campgrounds. The wineries in Altus, AR were fun and really reminded me of Wisconsin. Decided to save Branson for another time.

Charles, can you tell us a bit more about your new rig, and how you decided on it?

[cheeze1]

Charles OK, good luck! Cant say I wouldn't like to experience a big one for awhile!

[Reno3]

Charles. We've kinda gone to the "light" side lol. We have a 38' HR Endeavor that sits in the corner of our yard to Jan when we "live" in it for 3-4 months in Florida. Rest of the year we "live" in the 211S B+. Just came back from a week in the Mountains. Towed the Vue and got a bit over 12 mpg. I can live with that.

[Gene_in_NE]

CharlesOK - First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on a new rig. We will miss your contributions. Check on us now and then. I am a firm believer in any and all sizes are just perfect, the important thing is the fun "camping". We all have changing needs as we go through life. It would be boring if we only liked one thing. We have gone from tent camping on hard ground, to tent camping on a 8" thick air mattress, to pop up camping, class A camping, class c- camping and likely will change sometime again in the future.

[CharlesOK]

To Gene and Burl and all you good folk who I have discussed the great Trail-lites with, I have gone over to the Darkside. My Trail-lite was greatfully excepted in trade on a new left-over Holiday Rambler class A. We have decided that with the gas prices, we will be driving less and sitting more, so we wanted a bit more cabin and a lot less go. I have truly enjoyed the experience with theclass B+. I just returned from three weeks in Europe, where gas at the equivelent of $6 to $8 per gallon has not stopped lots of folks from usingmuch smaller, fuel efficient motorhomes. The roads in Switzerland and Italy were full of holiday makers driving 23 to 25' Hymer coaches and names like that. The B+ is probably going to be the wave of thefuture and Monaco is building a nice product. I guess I just wanted to have one more big one before they are all gone, we will be making the 600 mile run to the Gulf coast of Texas and sitting for much longer times now. See you all on the class A forum if they will have me.

[happyjack2]

Thanks for all the responses on towing. Talked to some guys I work with at the quarry who also tow livestock and hay trailers part time and they said play in the receiver hitch and the insert with the ball would cause problems like I had ( I had slop in the insert that I borrowed to pull the u-haul.) It was long enought to reach thru the back steps but was a dual ball and pintle hitch combo and didn't fit snug. ( the ones at wally world were to short) I am going to invest in a longer bar with a ball that fits snug in the receiver and try towing again. This is the first receiver hitch I've owned. Everything I had back then were just plain frame hitches with a ball on the end.

[bobcote48]

Gene in NE, no problem, I took a good look and filled in the gap and put the trim strip back and it looks okay.

happyjack2 I pulled a 16 x 8 closed in trailer with my 235s (with the GM) and while the trailer wasn't loaded with all that much I have to say that I couldn't feel much when it was loaded or empty.

Bob

[Gene_in_NE]

bobcote48 - I feel badly about my earlier comment making the door gap sound possibly worse than it really is. I would rely on CharlesOK comment - gives me reassurance. Mine probably has a large gap as well, but it is under the trim strip.

happyjack2 - I pull a trailer almost 75% of the time loaded with a motorcycle. Have not weighed it, but suspect about 1,800 lbs total. Trailer design and loading is a little more complex than hooking, loading and going. The distance between the hitch point and the axle should be twice the distance between the wheels. I suspect that some U-Haul trailer's are intentionally not correct - they have a warning sticker on them to not exceed 45 mph. The fully loaded weight of the trailer should only have between 10-20% onto the pulling vehicle. Both of these affect the pulling vehicle. Tire pressure on your 211 will also affect your ride. Our unit had way too much tire pressure for the actual weights.

[Reno3]

Jack we tow a 05 Saturn Vue behind our 211s and other than the weight of the car haven't noticed any rough ride. Don't tow it all the time but now and then want the car to use when we arrive at our destination. In fact we plan to leave Wed for a few days up in the mountains and will tow the car. It's approx a 200 mile trip.

[happyjack2]

I have some questions about towing with the B+.

Towed a 5 x 9 U-Haul open trailer from Winchester VA to Warren PA and back this weekend with the 211 and it was very rough and choppy. I've towed a pop-up behind a car many miles in the mid-Atlantic states and flat towed a car and a SUV behind a class B across the USA before but I never had this jerky of a ride. Anybody else out there have a rough tow? The hitch geometry was level. Road conditions varied ( PA turnpike, I-99, two lane, concrete, blacktop etc with pretty much the same results. Last weekend went camping and drove about 300 miles with a good ride. I have been researching Toads but if everything else tows rough, no sense investing the money.

Also saw a B+ going westbound on PA turnpike just west of Breezewood exit at noon on Sunday. I was going eastbound towing the u-haul.

[bobcote48]

Thanks for all the comments, I did remove the trim strip to show the gap and temporary insulation I had installed. I too think the gap is a little larger than should be necessary but there is nothing on the outside that gives any appearance of being incorrectly installed.

Bob

[CharlesOK]

Hi from Austria. Couldnot let this one sit. It appears that when building these, they make the doorhole oversize somewhat. Mine had a gap somewhat smaller when new and the dealer filled it with expanding foam and installed a nice trim strip. problem is the hole has to be big enough to allow the frame to contract and expand. You will probably find the gap is smaller in the heat of summer than in the cold of winter. I would fill the gap with something that can give, cover with trim and forget about it. As long as the outside appears to be OK, no evidence of cracks or body shift, it is probably normal and a trim strip was left off at the factory. When I get home, I will check mine again.

[cheeze1]

Bobcote, I agree with Gene, this is not a wood door where we can add shims or plane down high spots. That shouldn't be. I think Trail Lite needs to be informed also

[Gene_in_NE]

bobcote48 - That gap between the door frame and the body of the coach is a puzzle. It appears that either the coach was badly constructed or some structural member has broken. If a structural member broke, there would be other evidence on the outside skin of the unit. Either way, I would want to have a R-Vision opinion on what happened. I wonder what the original owner would have to say. That information should be available to you from the seller, the dealership, or the title. It would make me wonder if the entire door and frame had been replaced. Either the frame is not the correct size or maybe the frame needs to be re-installed and centered in the rough opening.

A couple of us have visited the factory and had a decent reception. These units are built sturdily compared to a couple other factories we toured. They might miss a screw or use a staple where a screw would be better, but nothing like that.

happyjack2 - You raise an interesting question, how many of these units have been produced. I only keep a rough count of how many I have seen on these forums. EBay seems to always have 1 or 2 for sale.