1996 Aerolite 21 rbh

[Capt]

My bride just bought me a 1996 Aerolite 21 rbh. Picked it up and towed it home a few days ago. Short tow, about 40 miles. That is our total lifetime experience with travel trailers. Would like to hear from anyone else who owns one of these. Due diligence for the purchase was just taking a look at it, relying on what the seller said about it, and plopping a stack of hundred dollar bills on the table.

[franktafl]

It's a pretty thing. Congrats and Welcome to the forum!

How are the tires?

[Capt]

Seller said tires are new, and that appeared to be true. Cosmetics good as it was stored inside. Said everything works. We'll see. Floor was a little a little soft.

[Thom]

The roof is the heart and soul of any RV. Get up there and inspect all of the sealant for cracks or general deterioration. A roof leak could explain what you feel in the flooring.

Welcome to the forum!

[Capt]

Will do. Thanks. Especially since Phil Swift is one of my heros.

[dsol]

There should be a date stamp on the tires. The code is four digits. First two are the week of the year and second two is the year. So 2620 would be the 26th week of 2020.

Most will tell you 5 years from manufacture is about as long as you want to go on tires but there are some opinions that the crucial time period is when they are mounted and filled with air. Some say if they are stored indoors and not inflated that they don’t really age much, but there is no debate that once installed and inflated they begin to age. This is word on a tire or tire that gets sun exposure, which is commonplace on a trailer as they tend to spend long amounts of time outdoors in the weather and can sit weeks or months without moving.

Also, on the subject of tires, there are some really low quality tires out there and blowouts can cause significant damage as they can tear apart the underside of the trailer and also damage the rim. It can be made worse because unlike a car you might not notice a blowout on a two axle trailer.

So please pay lots of attention to them, check their pressures when cold (you will likely need a pressure gauge that reads higher than the one in your car) and when you replace make sure you get tires that have the load carrying capacity needed.

I would also buy a new fresh water hose, water filter and pressure regulator for when using city water while camping.

And check your batteries too. Check water levels and resting voltage. Wait at least a couple hours after plugged in and see what they read. They should be 12.6-12.7 volts resting. Don’t be fooled by the reading the minute you stop charging. Batteries will almost always show full when you stop charging but they can drop quickly and there are few things worse than trailer batteries that go dead in the middle of the night. Heater won’t work (fan uses battery), fridge will stop cooling (propane is method of cooling but batteries are needed to work the system). And hard wired smoke and CO2 alarms can start
beeping as well.

And keep tools with you. You might need a screwdriver with a square tip for some screws in the trailer, crescent wrench, small pipe wrench, hammer, duct tape, plumbers tape, etc., fuses, extension cord, and make sure you can jack up and change a tire. Practice that before you hit the road!

Enjoy The trailer.

[Capt]

Thanks, DSOL. I will do all of that. Sometime tomorrow I'll get on the roof. RIght now I have hooked up a battery charger in the reconditioning more. Seller says "new battery" which is probably true when he bought it, but the batter had a date of March 2019 on it. What concerns me is how soft the floor is between joists. It is my intention to cut a 3/4 sheet of plywood to form fit that part of the floor that is a little suspicious. That will get me through deer season.

[dsol]

@capt, I am the last guy to give advice on leaks and flooring. I live in So Cal and could have a massive hole in my roof and even if it rained it would dry out before causing a problem!

Good luck, be patient and careful the first few times towing. Also, almost anytime we have ever had issues towing it has been at night after a long day. That is when you don’t see a curb or island or pole or rock or whatever.

Enjoy the trailer!

[aguablanco]

Some more advice. Buy new smoke and CO detectors, the current ones are probably aged out. If you don't already have a weight distribution hitch it is time to start looking for one. Get the truck and trailer weighed so you know what you are starting with. You should also test the emergency pull on the trailer brakes and inspect them while you are at it. Nothing worse than no brakes going down a grade. I would also put a near full amount of water in the black and gray tanks, drive around a bit, and then empty and flush both tanks. A "dog bone" 50 amp to 30 amp adapter is very useful in many parks. Don't forget a basic tool kit for on the road repairs, including the proper socket and breaker bar, or 4 way lug wrench, for the trailer tires. Last, sanitize the heck out of the fresh water tank and all of the lines, no telling what is in there. Hope you find RV'ing as much fun as I do.
RichH

[Yosemite Sam]

Welcome to the forum and to years of outdoor fun.

And yeah, get that weight distribution and sway control system -- even if former owner and others told you it's not necessary.

It might have saved our lives running Ito 50-mile per hour crosswind and that notorious downhill zig zag at I-80 from Donner Pass.

Check out that flooring and the source/cause.

Many happy trails.

[ccrumley75]

I have a 2000 aerolite and my radiused windows by the door broke and need it rreplaced can amyone help.me out with where to find one

[franktafl]

Originally Posted by ccrumley75

I have a 2000 aerolite and my radiused windows by the door broke and need it rreplaced can amyone help.me out with where to find one

Hope you get to read this one...

try REC PRO

https://www.recpro.com/rv-windows/

[NewbieCamper]

I also have a 1996 Aerolite 21 RBD. What size hitch ball should I have?