Feeling like a newbie again. - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

Usagi5678 · 09-08-2019, 11:56 PM

Third trip out in our new to us 1996 26ft. Classic. A few questions. One day and night shade needs fixed. How do you get the top out. Felt around in the cupboard and it didn't seem like the screws? were run through the cabinet. Another HiLo owner seems to think the top just snaps out. Don't want to damage it. We have done the top half creep fix three times. Still unable to open one br cabinet all the way. Noticed a small crack in the br. sink drain. Top side. Nothing seems to be leaking. It would be nice to find an exact replacement as the plastic stopper would fit. Probable will research PPL Motor homes catalog when I get some time. Had to run the furnice the last three nights as it would dip down in the 40's. Still loving our HiLo as it is old faithful.

anchorwood · 09-11-2019, 12:54 AM

Hi Usagi;

The day/night shades seem to have different attachment systems depending on the year. If all that's wrong is pleats not folding the way they should, here's how I fixed mine in our 1999 Classic, and didn't have to take them down. At the end of the year, I took a spray bottle and dampened the messed up part of the blind, then carefully brought the pleats back into the correct alignment as I slowly closed the blinds. I left them closed (up) tight and the next spring, they worked perfectly again, so far for 3 years.

I live in a dry climate in SE Idaho, so I was not concerned about dampening the blind. If I were in a high humidity area, I might be very careful to limit the moisture applied so as to avoid the chance of mildew.

As to the bathroom cabinet, the one on the wall next to the wardrobe will not open if the lift cables for the trailer top section have stretched to the point the top is not lifting to the correct height. I moved the hinges up about 1/8 inch before I figured that out. Now that the cable adjustment has been done, I have lots of clearance. You can find advice on doing that elsewhere on the forum.

We love our Hi-Lo as well. It really does help to just consider that you enjoy the hobby of learning about and working on the trailer. Probably true of most RV's, but of course the Hi-Lo is a special case. Nothing else out there like them.

Good luck,

Usagi5678 · 09-11-2019, 11:37 PM

The day part of the shade is severely drooping. This is attached to the night shade. This is the second HiLo that we have owned. The first one we kept for eighteen years. I am planning on getting an apt at J&R to have the seal replaced. Yesterday,I made a list of things to ask about when we get to OHIO.

anchorwood · 09-12-2019, 12:30 AM

I wish we were close enough to Ohio to get J&R to replace the seals. We get by ok, but a little debris always creeps in when we are traveling.

I didn't realize you were a long-time Hi-Lo owner, so you probably know about as much or more than I do. I've only had ours for 4 years. I intended to have a good RV place go over it when I bought it, but when they said the soonest they could was 6 weeks out, I started doing things myself. By the time I checked the brakes and cleaned the drums, installed new tires, lubed and adjusted the cables, installed a fantastic fan, replaced the A/C shroud, put in a new converter, and did a few dozen other things I was kind of glad because now if something happens I know what's going on. Or at least where to ask for help; this forum is great!

Good luck with your tuning up the trailer.

Usagi5678 · 09-12-2019, 10:42 PM

Sam,the first three letters of every one in the family. The seals on my 1996 are the old material. Grey and now produce orange crumbles. On our old HiLo DH replaced the seals and they still let in a lot of dirt. It is impossible to raise the HiLo enough to seperate around the ref. That is unless you have a back hoe with a bucket. Would still be tricky,nerve wracking. I believe at the repair place they use a crane. The new Pbulb is superior to the old seal. Our RV place charges $110.00 an hr. So it is good to be handy. DH does what he can and pays to have the rest done. If you ever get ambitious you can find the directions on the forum for changing the seal. Looks like the former owner jacknifed a spot on the front cap. Above the orange reflector is another serious bang. Plans are to have a very good body shop in our area fix this in the fall. They were very busy this summer fixing school buses. Some were brought to them from a far distance. All in all still glad we bought this garage kept lightly used HiLo. Our body shop has to repair the bange and will repaint the entire front cap. We were advised to cover the bange with silicone caulk and smooth them out with a razor blade. Another small spot of imperfection was coated with clear nail polish. We also were told to use oven cleaner on a small yellow streak. I applied the oven cleaner to a micro rag,wiped on and rinsed off with a magic sponge. Cleaned up both end caps very well. Camping again next weekend.

Usagi5678 · 09-14-2019, 02:24 AM

Spoke with someone at J&R today. They use a forklift to seperate the halves. It takes them two days to do seal replacement. I have to take a picture of the front decals and email it in. That way when we have our apt. for repairs the decals will be ready. One of our day and night shades has a serious droop. Was informed that the shade will be removed and it has a manufacture code on it. Might be able to order another one. This will be our christmas gift to our selves.Great conversation with all my repair questions answered. Sorry didn't think to ask who I was speaking with.