Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Class C Motorhomes: B+ motorhomes

Print | Close

Topic: B+ motorhomes

Posted By: Daniel C. on 02/23/10 10:18am

It is heartwarming to hear from all you guys! My reasons for getting a new motorhome was the 130K+ miles I had put on the old one. I considered a couple of Trail Lites on EBAY, but got this one for 29K one year ago, with 27K miles. I drive 20-25K miles a year, so will probably keep this one for about 3 more years. I DO NOT like the fit and finish, but do like the E450 chassis - no alignment problems like the traditional A frame front end Chevy. I would prever teh 8.1 chevy as it got 10 mpg, and I now get 8, but very much like the 5 speed auto. I did buy the Good Sam warranty, and it has served me well with many of my repairs. I had mentioned elsewhere, that I am considering getting a class 4/5 hitch, because I am pretty confident I can tow my 33' trailer with little trouble (heavier chassis, and relatively short distance from rear axel to rear bumper). I do have a nagging vibration in the driveline. I first noticed it when I was driving home to Texas from Seattle (where I bought it). Replaced the U Joints, but they cracked the harmonic balancer on the drive shaft, so I had to have it balanced, and it has never been completely smooth. I am afraid that the harmonic balancer is essential for that shaft, but hate to spend the price to completely replace it (about 1500). Plan to have it balanced again and see if I can advise the shop to balance it at the RPM that averages 65 mph. I suspect that they will never get it completely right, because the balancers are static, and I vaguely remember forces changing when the rig is in forward motion, not to mention the change in size (slight) as the shaft warms up(?). I'll try to be a little better in updates in the future.
Dan

Dan
2006 Lexington 235S; 6.8L Ford E450,
2005 30RLS Outback Sydney Edition,
2007 Jeep Compass
2009 Mini Cooper S

Posted By: burlmart on 02/23/10 02:19pm

From your thread about the cabover cap...Sure glad to see you got that cap separation fixed and at such a reasonable price, too.

You sure put miles on an RV!

2005 Trail Lite 213 B-Plus w/ 6.0 Chevy

Posted By: cheeze1 on 02/23/10 04:33pm

Daniel, always great to hear from you.
Gang, I'm pleased to report that our first LONG trip was a great success! We traveled from home to South Florida via Smithfield KOA,NC, and Lake Harmony RV in Townsend, Ga. Both nice places. Return was via St Augustine Beach KOA, Barnyard Park in Lexington, SC,(large flea market next door) and Walnut Hills KOA in Staunton, Va. (Great glassblowing studio there). I can attest to the fact that Virginia, DC, and Maryland got slammed with snow. Walnut hills only had about 10 sites open and tho' accessible, they were still dicey. My neighbor with a fiver slid trying to get in and his pickup had to be pulled out by a tractor.
The 213 performed beautifully, our reconstruction is really comfortable and we only have a few 'things' to add to make it even moreso. The engine ran like a top the whole time with no oil usage. Even the tires started out at 65 lbs and stayed that way the whole trip. Our 'on road' avg. speed according to the Garmin was 62 mph with bursts to 75 and long stretches at 70. I have no idea what the gas mileage was!! ;( duh!) **After downloading the log from the Garmin turns out we averaged 13 mpg.
I'm seriously thinking of going to a truck tire place and having curved, easy access airfill valves installed in the rear, the present ones are a pita and the inners are almost impossible to reach.
I'm going to wait for warmer weather to do the foglights and some other mods. I do want to do something about the bathroom door so my knees are not jammed up against it at 'certain' times.
btw, the accordion pleat shower curtain from Camping World is great.
I'm also going to replace as many plated screws as possible with stainless, especially the clearance lights and ladder. We need some kind of clock for the interior, I'm thinking digital or a battery analog mounted on a wall or door, from a place like ClockIt or Merrits.
ok, I think that's all for now....

* This post was edited 02/25/10 07:08am by cheeze1 *

Chas Morristown, NJ
Trail Lite
">

Posted By: CorgiThreePal on 03/07/10 08:51pm

I just wanted to thank this forum for solving my noise problem. We listened to a whistle all the way from the southeast to San Francisco and back. We tried all types of fixes to the door until I read a note here from a person who said they solved their noise problem by affixing a baffle on the front arm of their awning. Just to be sure, we used the 'tried and true' duct tape fix, covering the small hole at the top of the awning arm and for extra measure, taping everything for about two feet down the arm. Blessed silence on a recent trip to Florida. Now we will attempt an easily removed yet permanent fix. I read all posts and thank all of you for your many suggestions.

Posted By: Gene in NE on 03/07/10 11:20pm

cheeze1 wrote:

...After downloading the log from the Garmin turns out we averaged 13 mpg...I'm seriously thinking of going to a truck tire place and having curved, easy access airfill valves installed in the rear, the present ones are a pita and the inners are almost impossible to reach...We need some kind of clock for the interior, I'm thinking digital or a battery analog mounted on a wall or door, from a place like ClockIt or Merrits...

Great average gas mileage, we have a true 12.1 MPG since we bought our unit. I think you have the newer 6.0 liter engine (more power and more efficient). The steel curved valve stems are outstanding. We looked around a bit and found a battery operated digital that fits nicely between the overhead cabinets above the dinette. It includes a thermometer, alarm, and backlight button for reading the clock at nighttime.

CorgiThreePal wrote:

I just wanted to thank this forum for solving my noise problem...I read all posts and thank all of you for your many suggestions.

All I can add is that you are very dedicated to read all 244 or so pages. You can "subscribe" to this topic and then will see if any new postings have occurred.

2002 Trail-Lite Model 211-S w/5.7 Chevy (click View Profile)
Gene

Posted By: cheeze1 on 03/08/10 01:01am

Gene, I would love to know where/which digital clock you got. We do have the 6 liter engine and it's a gem. I have many times thought about having a Chevy Express with that engine for a daily driver. Only trouble is traction.

Posted By: Gene in NE on 03/14/10 03:58pm

cheeze1 - My wife remembers buying our digital clock at JCPenney's. I doubt they stock items like that on a regular basis. I'm guessing it was a gift item only for the Christmas season. Tried finding something like it on the internet close, but no luck. I'll get over to the RV in the next few weeks and take a picture and see the brand name. The snow is almost melted. Also need to copy the R-Vision owners pamphlet for another person on this forum.

There have been several postings about how that 6.0 liter Chevy can give the Ford V-10 tough competition in a drag race and always beat it in fuel economy.

Posted By: gkreutzer on 03/26/10 02:54pm

Time for new tires. I was thinking of putting Michelin LTX M/S2 on but nearest size to present LT225/75/16 D's is LT245/75/16 E. Just wondering how these might fit on duals on rear. There seems to be a good amount of space between the duallies now. Anyone have experience with this size tires on rear? [emoticon]

Thanks, Gary

2003 Trail-Lite 211 B-Plus LE
Chev. 6.0L Vortex

It's more than a motorhome,
It's a car I can go to the bathroom in.
– Homer Simpson

Posted By: Orion_42 on 03/26/10 03:09pm

Just completed a 4-week 7500 mile maiden voyage (yes we're nuts) in our fully refurbished 2001 M211 Trail Lite B+. Went from New England to Fla to San Diego and back. 2/3 of the trip was just the two of us and we found the RV to be perfect for us. The other 1/3 was three people and a dog and it got a little crowded. Plenty of storage, power, and relaxing to drive. No problems whatsoever on the whole trip. On the leg from San Diego to Mass, we were towing a Toyota Yaris on a dolly.

Got some good lessons in V8 torque. Going over the mountains of Southern Cal, with car in tow, I found that the Chevy 5.7 could hold 70 mph nicely, but if I entered the climb below that speed (and RPM), speed would bleed off slowly. Lots more torque at higher RPM.

Overall love the unit. Looking forward to our next extended trip this summer to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

----------------------
2001 Trail Lite B+ 211

Posted By: cheeze1 on 03/26/10 04:40pm

Orion, that is some MAIDEN VOYAGE! Where you going next...across Siberia?
btw, did you paint the coach yet? I would love to know more details...it took 4 weeks. My sister is in Monterey, so I would have less miles than you, but I don't want it to be a marathon. It really is perfect for two people isnt it??

Gary, I'm not an authority on my tires yet...tho' I like tires..( I know, seems weird.) Anyway, from your post it looks like you are considering a tire that is 2 sizes smaller. Am I correct in that? If so, I would do some more research.
OOPS!! I totally read that wrong. Can you get specs on the cross section? According to Discount Tire, a 'plus zero' size would be 265's.

Print | Close