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The Squishy Floor
Two months after I purchased the Camplite, I noticed that the floor was somewhat "squishy" near the door, and some discoloration was evident under the lineoleum. After crawling underneath, I discovered that the floor had been water damaged the entire length of the side of the trailer from the front to the wheel well. (Obviously not by me..) Upon notifying the Dealer, they agreed that they should have seen this during their inspeciton, and agreed to repair the floor and replace the lineoleum for NOTHING! YEAH Dealer! It took about three weeks to complete, but luckily it was the dead of winter and I wasn't camping anyway! Oh yeah, the cause: water leaking through the hinge screw holes of the trunk lid.
The Forgotten Furnace
Getting ready for spring, I opened the camper for the first time since the floor repair. "HEY! THE LINEOLEUM IS CROOKED!" Not much, but enough to notice. Oh well, weighing the options, I decided it wasn't enough to worry about - after all, it was free. I began re-stocking everything, and just to take off the chill, I cranked up the furnace.....nothing. Eventually I discovered that when the wall between the interior and the storage trunk was removed to replace the floor, evidently someone forgot that the thermostat wires ran through this wall. They didn't anymore! Back to the Dealer.... Fixed, no questions asked. Upon leaving after this repair, I asked "Why are my tires tilted inward at the top like that? Is that normal?" "Yes".
"OK, thanks."
The Bent Hitch
Arriving home after the furnace repair, I noticed that my hitch coupler was now twisted to one side about 1/2". "Hey Dealer, this wasn't like this before I brought it to you??!!!" Returned again for a new hitch, no questions asked. Also had enough time to camp that weekend as well.
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| Sorry I don't have a before, but this is the after... |
The Blowout
October, 2001: Returning from Knob Noster State Park, I reached the exit only minutes from home (after travelling 90 miles) and POW! Lost the passenger side wheel of the camper. The investigation that followed revealed (as expected): not enough pressure in the tires. Okay, my fault. I guessed at 50psi when I couldn't find the rating on the outside of the tire. When my new tires were installed, the shop informed me that the rating was on the INSIDE wall of the tire. Gee, thanks. "By the way, can you tell my why my tires are tilted inward at the top, and why are they worn out on the inside?"
"You're axle's bent. We can replace it, but it will just bend again. It's too small for the camper."
????
The Wayward Kayak
The end of the season, too late to fix the axle, my pals Jackie and Jill offered to store the camper in their humongous garage with their 36ft Travel Supreme. We parked it at the rear just underneath a kayak that was hung (by Jill and myself) from the ceiling just a few weeks prior. A week later, the Kayak had come loose from it's rigging and took a nose dive straight at the roof of the Camplite - puncturing the fiberglass roof - luckily only about an inch in diameter. A little sanding and body putty, and it was good as new. Only pink.
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| The camper has since been moved. |
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| Now resting comfortably on the floor... |
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| Pink, but fixed! |
The Axle
While watiting for spring, I became curious about the "tiny axle" and decided to do some research over the internet. I came across Tim Driver (see his website here: www.DriverGetAways.homestead.com) and an interesting article he wrote about his '98 Camplite axle problem. Long story short: A number of Camplite trailers had left the Damon plant with axles too small or installed incorrectly, Tim's and mine among them. Damon had since sold the Camplite division to Keystone RV, whose Nappanee division took them over. After contacting Damon, they offered to replace the axle free of charge, and two months later, it was done.
THANK YOU DAMON! THANK YOU AL-KO KOBER! THANK YOU HAYES AXLE! and most of all, THANK YOU TIM!
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| Can you see the bend? |
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| VERY bad alignment! |
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| Now THAT'S more like it.. |
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| After: the new axle installed! |
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