TheSubaruJunkie
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Re: Upgraded to a 1994 18ft Aljo :)
Hannibal wrote: Wow! That is exactly like our first travel trailer, a 1995 Aljo 1850 Deluxe. I miss that little trailer. Yup Model 1850 just like ours :) I feel really lucky to have found this model with this floor plan. You just dont see them in this size anymore. gaymeadowsman wrote: Wow, it's hard to believe that little trailer is 24 years old! It looks great. The way my 2014 is built I can only hope it will last that long. I hope you have many years of fun with your family in you Aljo. I hear that so often! These new travel trailers you see just aren't built like they used to be. JIMNLIN wrote: Need to down size the pictures per forum recommendations. That way we don't have to scroll back and forth to read and see. I apologize for the "over sized" images. Anybody with a modern day screen set to a respectable resolution should have no problem viewing & reading the thread. I chose the larger images because its easier on the eyes than trying to view thumbnails. I hope you will be able to adjust. *edit* I can see now how viewing this thread on any mobile device would be a hassle with the large images :( I wish this forum would utilize current code which auto resizes images for mobile viewers.745Views0likes0CommentsRe: My 1984 Travel Lite 17 footer
Well everybody. Time to end this thread. I have sold this 17ft Trailer (and even sold the Sequoia).... ....But I replaced them both :) You can read more at the new thread here: https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29692985/gotomsg/29692998/p/1.cfm#29692998469Views0likes0CommentsRe: Upgraded to a 1994 18ft Aljo :)
So with our first trip only weeks away, we had to make sure our new TT was family ready! First thing first, I had to replace the old spring mattress with a new 8" memory foam mattress. And also picked up some cozy fleece flannel sheets :) Next was to make sure my youngest son felt safe sleeping in the top bunk. Our trailer has the typical dinette that converts into a twin bed, but above the dinette the cabinets fold down to create a top bunk. To keep my son from rolling out of bed at night I built a railing out of some scrap 1x4. And I also ordered a RV bunk ladder for my son to use since the trailer did not come with anything. And last thing that needed to be done was to mount a spare tire holder and bike rack on the rear bumper. I was worried about all the extra weight hanging off the bumper, but when I closely examined the bumper it appears to have been reinforced with extra angle iron. So I am pretty confident it will hold a spare & 2 mountain bikes :) That is pretty much all that was needed to be done really. After that it was time to load it up and take it out for the first trip. And a few weeks after that, we enjoyed our second trip in the TT. With our third trip coming up in a few weeks. So stay tuned for more... :)745Views0likes0CommentsUpgraded to a 1994 18ft Aljo :)
Well I took the risk last winter and sold our 17ft TT in order to spend a little more and upgrade on something newer & larger. I listed our old trailer and sold it in a matter of weeks, but ended up spending MONTHS searching for the perfect replacement. If you are interested in seeing more about my previous TT, click here: https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29331789/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1 After selling the trailer I was on the hunt for our replacement. I only had a few months before school was out and camping season began. I searched the obvious markets like craigslist and facebook but was only finding trailers MUCH larger than I was interested in, or way out of my price range. Our tow vehicle is a 2002 Toyota Sequoia, and I am searching for something smaller than the average 21ft double axle. I also need a TT that offers a top-bunk so our two young boys can have a bed of their own. After a few weeks of my initial search, I began to daydream about replacing our 2WD sequoia with a 4WD model and maybe we could find one that has a better looking interior and maybe drove smoother. It really only took me one day to find something within my budget. And after a quick discussion with the wife, she gave me the okay and before I knew it, instead of a new TT I was bringing home a second Toyota Sequoia!! :h Here they are side by side, 2WD on the left and the new 4WD on the right. I got an even better deal than I expected after a short haggle, and I had to put a quick pause on my TT search so I could sell the 2WD Sequoia, and get the funds back for the purchase of our new trailer. But it didn't take long to find a buyer and I was able to sell the old Sequoia and resume my search with cash in hand! Several weeks passed and I looked at a few different 19ft models and even contemplated picking up a 21ft at a very low price when the market was saturated with them. But I'm glad I didn't because one evening I refreshed my craigslist browser search and there she was.... the perfect TT, and the perfect price! It checked off every box I had: -18ft from hitch to bumper -dual axle with elec. brakes -top bunk for the little guy to sleep in -retractable awning -newer & larger than our old TT The guy lived a couple hours away and agree'd to meet with me in the morning, so I made sure to wake up early so I could be the first person there to see it. Just as planned, I had arrived to check out the TT at 8am and was the first person to view the trailer. I asked him to demonstrate that everything worked, and during that time his phone wouldn't stop ringing. After I was satisfied with what I saw, I made him an offer which he accepted, and I hitched up my new TT to bring it home!! Here's a picture of the new setup, about to make the 2 hour drive home. The truck & trailer made it home without much trouble. I did notice the engine temps climb higher than normal, which was concerning. But it didn't overheat (more on all this later). Once I got home, it was time to show it off to the family, and make sure they approved. Of course the family loves it, and cant wait to take it on the first trip!3.2KViews0likes8CommentsRe: My 1984 Travel Lite 17 footer
Yeah I inspected my bumper and its pretty secure. Its welded to the frame, not bolted. None of the welds are damaged or cracked and we dont suffer from rust here in Northern California. I did lean against the bike rack and it forces the suspension on the trailer to compress.... so im confident it can handle a couple aluminum mountain bikes. But I appreciate the concern :)468Views0likes0CommentsRe: My 1984 Travel Lite 17 footer
Thank you everybody for the comments. The trailer has been helping make memories for our family. Our last camping trip was near a lake with a very nice paved bike path. So I set off on craigslist to find some bikes for the wife & I. Our two boys already have bikes, and our youngest is still on training wheels. I found the perfect bikes for us but needed to find a way to carry the bikes on the trailer. So I went back to craigslist and found the perfect solution, and whats better is it was only $20!! The bike rack is made to fit on a RV bumper which is identical to the bumper on our trailer. The original owner lost half the hardware that holds the bikes to the rack, and the padding on the rack was completely worn out. So i came up with a new solution :) A cut up pool noodle zip tied to the frame should do the trick. And i have some extra long hobby grade velcro straps that will secure the bikes to the frame. The bikes need to be wedged into place over the pool noodles so they are not likely to fall off easily. The entire setup worked great. Here's a shot on our drive to camp: And a few pics of our camp site: I think we got the largest camp site at the entire campground. It backed up to the forest so we had plenty of room for the kids to run around and play. This is what its all about: And a good night picture :)468Views0likes0CommentsRe: My 1984 Travel Lite 17 footer
Here are a few shots from our first camping trip last year. We drove to Lake Tahoe and the only site that was available was a parking spot about 100ft from the highway :( My wife did not care for the spot at all and neither did I. Luckily there in Tahoe we had cellphone service and she was able to find another camp site about half an hour away, and so we set off to find it. I should have known better than to listen to google... it sent me on a dirt road that was washed out in area's and had some pretty deep ruts. After about 20 minutes on this dirt road (at an average 3mph) we found an intersection where I was able to do a three point turn. So we head back to the highway, and continue on our way to the next campground we see, which happened to be about 5 minutes from the dirt road :) We didn't need any reservations and the camp ground was near vacant. We had our choice of sites and found one that was perfect! We were pretty far from the highway, and this highway was much less traveled. It made for a much more peaceful nights rest. :)549Views0likes0CommentsRe: My 1984 Travel Lite 17 footer
westend wrote: Did you reseal the window when you were about this? Yes. The old seal was dry and brittle and just crumbled to pieces when I removed the window. I found some new butyl seal tape at home depot that I used when I re-installed the window.549Views0likes0CommentsRe: My 1984 Travel Lite 17 footer
Thanks everybody for all the kind words. We do intend on making countless memories in this camper. My two boys are 6 years old and 4 years old, and its about that time they learn a little more about the wilderness and a little less about spongebob squarepants :) The only area of the trailer that is an eye-sore is the kitchen area. Even though we do not cook, or eat, inside the trailer... we still like to spend time in there and we don't want to be looking at peeling wall paper that is dated. So I set forth, removing the old wall paper to reveal ANOTHER layer of 1970s dated wall paper! I also expected to find some dry-rot, but I didn't expect it to be this bad! Our family had another trip planned for the upcoming weekend, so I didn't have the time (or patience) to completely disassemble my trailer to replace all the rot. So I got some more insulating spray-foam and filled in all the holes so my wall would have some structure. 36 hours later.... Now its time to do something about this hideous wall I had uncovered. At first I wanted to use metal wall tiles, but apparently those tiles cost over $20ea!?!? After wandering around Home Depot for an hour looking for a solution, I found it! http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-12-in-x-24-in-Peel-and-Stick-Carrara-Marble-Vinyl-Tile-20-sq-ft-case-SS1212/206403338 Peel & Stick vinyl floor tiles! 12"x24" tiles for $1.35ea! Here we have the window removed, and the new tiles ready to go up. It was easy to cut thru these tiles with some heavy duty cutting sheers. Already its looking 1,000x better! The tile is stapled in place. Staples were placed at the top of the wall below the cabinet line, and at the bottom of the wall above the counter top. I had some ugly seams where the tiles met, and some even uglier seams where I had to cut small tile sections to fill random gaps. All of the seams and staples had to be hidden, so I picked up some "Smart Tiles" to use as a backsplash. First I had to cut every tile in half. Here we can see some of the bad seams under the corner of the window, But you would have no idea it was there after looking at the finished product! I really could not be more pleased with how this turned out. Please, nobody tell my wife what that wall looked like without wall paper! lol549Views0likes0Comments
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Prefer to camp in a travel trailer? You're not alone.Jul 03, 202544,041 Posts
