Buying a HiLo 29' or 31'
 

Hello, I'm glad I found this forum. - I was wondering if someone could advise us in regards to purchasing a HiLo 29' or 31'. The 29' as you may know weighs 5300lb., the 31 weighs 6100lb. Also, the larger unit is a 2000 the 29' is a 2005. I don't know if age makes a difference especially since the company closed and parts may be difficult to find. If anyone has a few tips on what we should look for we would appreciate it. We had a Dutchman lite, is was fine but our gas mileage wasn't. I'm very surprised the company is out of businiess due to the popularity of HiLo's, no sooner do you find one, it sells.
Thanks

Curious about Hi Lo Campers?
 

Ruby Mae,
I am in the same Place. I just bought a 29' Hi Lo. I have a Sportsman 19' with a slide, but it is to small and needed more room. I picked up the new (to me) trailer and pulled it 160 miles, and I was amazed at how easy it towed. The last 50 miles was after dark, and you didn't know it was behind you. I wish some of the wonderful RV'ers out there would give me some advise about cleaning the outside. It is a 2000 Hi LO 29' and the previous owner lost her mate, and the rv was not used for sometime and it needs a good polish job. I am looking for info for restoring the shine on the exterior. The interior is is excellent condition. I wish you luck on yourf question, and hope someone will respond to mine.
Have a wonderful day, and God Bless.
Grampe

2000 31' or newer 29'
 

Couple thoughts come to mind based on what I have heard and seen about the two units --
1. The newer the better. Older units will be more likely to have leaking issues, more rusty frames, tank sensors malfunctioning, upper/lower gaskets needing replaced, possibly replacing cables, Fridge issues, water heater issues, etc.
2. The 31' had a 'slide out' as opposed to a tipout in the 29'. The Slideout is a much heavier assembly. I have no knowledge of its reliability. The Tipouts are generally reliable.
3. I have heard over the years that the 'really long' Hi-Lo's often suffer some 'frame bending' -- particularly closer to the front. The 31' could have this issue. There is a fix for it, but it involves cutting a piece of the frame out on both sides to straighten it, then plating over the cutout. I have not heard of the 29' having this problem. There apparently was even a 33' Hi-Lo, but is extremely rare, and would be very susceptible to this problem. The older trailers (maybe before 2005 or 2006) have boxed frames. HI-LO since then went to I-Beam frames, which are stronger and lighter. The bigger the trailer the more important a strong frame is. For instance -- my 1508T uses the same dimension frame as the large 28' HI-LO. It is over engineered for the 15', which is a good thing. The only thing that is different is the tongue, which is much sturdier on the larger HI-LO's.

Hope that helps,
Jeff N.