I just got a HiLo 22T and although there is a lot to do to get it ready to go camping I look forward to using this new to me trailer. I live in Lakewood, CA and mostly go to RV campgrounds. My last trailer was a Hybrid and I am glad to have all hard sides again, although it will be trough to get used to the small refrigerator. About my self I am married and retired from the Post Office. I do drive uber and ubereats part time. I am a Navy Vet. I am both a father and grandfather.

Oldcamper, Welcome to the forum! Nice to have you. This is the place for any questions you have about the Hi Lo trailer. With a little time and experience, you'll do just fine. If you haven't already, I'd suggest you go to the reference library and click on "Hi Lo Owners Manual", first post is a group of videos about the Hi Lo systems. Good info there.
Again, welcome
Tree

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Treeclimber
2703 Tow Lite
2002 Escalade
Bonita Springs, Fl. &
Andrews, NC

You have joined a great group of friendly helpful HiLo owners. We are here to answer any questions you may have.

hello oldcamper, i myself have a 2208T and my neighbor bought the same . where in long beach right by you. Bellflower/spring area

f4mnect, hello and to the rest hello also. Nice to know you are in the area, I live near Pioneer and Del Amo. Do you guys go often when we are not in lockdown? How is the 2208T different from the 2200T? Right now my trailer is in the shop, new awning, door window was falling, the roof needed new sealing and I am having the roof vents covered so I can keep them open all the time and not worry about flapping or rain. I would love to know more about the trailer.

OldCamper - the model number indicates length and year.

So a 2208 is a 22’ (measured from hitch ball to tail), manufactured in ‘08. 2200 then is a 22’ from 2000. Not sure what the T means.

"T" means "Towlite", as opposed to "Classic" or some other model name.

- Jack

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Hi-Lo 1707T - Tire Minder TPMS on Tow Vehicle and Trailer, 300W Solar Battery Charger, Equal-i-zer WDH, Progressive Dynamics Converter, Fan-Tastic Fan, LiFePO4 battery 12V DC Electrical System
2014 F150 Platinum 4x4 3.5L EcoBoost SCrew

Oh, that’s right Jack!

Do the FunLites get an “F”?

Your question MAY have been in jest, but that was an older model. A quick search showed me some had an "L", "Q", "RL", "FL", "FLD", "FLL", suffix and possibly others. They may not have used the "T" or "C" suffixes then. *shrug*

- Jack

Lol, it was an unintentional jest, but I see it now that you point it out!

Yea, I’ve been through the brochures and see some of those indicators, but can only guess at a couple.

Welcome Oldcamper,
You didn’t mention what your TV was so my message could be a mute point. We had a 1999 22T which we towed as far north as Fairbanks, AK and east to Alberta, Canada. In our travels we had the 3-way refrigerator running off of the trailer batteries and more often than not when we pulled into a campground the trailer batteries were dead. What I learned from this forum was a lot of factory wiring on a TV with a tow package was not large enough to keep the trailer batteries charged. After changing the wiring on our 2005 Tundra, the dead trailer batteries were no longer a problem.

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Fantastic Wife
2005 Toyota Tundra V-8 4.7L
2705T Tow Lite
1999 21T Tow Lite

Gary, well for a long tow would you say putting the Refrigerator on gas while driving would be the better way to go? On all my last trailers I always had the Ref. on gas as I was driving and never had a problem in my 20+ years of towing. By the way I tow with a 2016 Tundra.

I am not alone when I say you should not tow your Hi-Lo with the gas on. I know with conventional trailers, numerous people tow with the gas on, but with a Hi-Lo, when towing, the air space inside the trailer is confined and your chances of a fire are much greater than that of a conventional trailer.

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Fantastic Wife
2005 Toyota Tundra V-8 4.7L
2705T Tow Lite
1999 21T Tow Lite

The fridge is directly vented, and if properly installed, the gas area is sealed from the interior. Otherwise you’d get a draft from the outside through that space. And maybe the propane venting into the living space. Less than ideal (if nothing else moisture buildup from the propane combustion, worst case if the combustion is incomplete you’d get CO leaking into the living space).

I just recently removed a fridge as part of maintenance (on a very poorly maintained 1982)- it was well sealed, and very well ventilated to the outside, much more than it needs, in my opinion (and I’d say that’s a good safety factor). Hilo put a low and hi vent, to generate convection. The fridge enclosure was sealed from the rest of the interior space, with good sealant around the propane lines, plumbing and electrical. It was a bit of work to clean up the sealant.

Not sure how a reduced air space *increases* a risk for fire, nevermind that the unit is externally ventilated. Do you turn it off while you sleep?

Additionally, every stat I’ve read shows a much greater risk of fire due to wiring, and DC is far more likely to start a fire than AC, in my opinion (the current levels are very high, and it’s always on - I’ve seen DC weld a wrench to ground in under 2 seconds). Are batteries disconnected while towing to prevent fires?

There *is* an argument for using electric while towing, because, well, propane uses an open flame to heat the refrigerant.

*I* don’t have a problem running propane while towing. Is there a slight risk increase while doing it? Sure, open flame, potential damage to fridge if you stop and leave it unlevel somewhere (but unlevel would apply to running it on electric too). The biggest argument against it I’ve heard has been “what if you pull into a gas station and ignite gas vapors?”. Well, if that happens, *anything* would’ve ignited those gas vapors, like a catalytic converter from a car already there. Gas is unbelievably volatile.

That said, I intend to upgrade my 7-pin to ensure I can run sufficient power to charge the batteries and run the fridge. Why not - I need to be able to charge the batteries while towing anyway, this covers both concerns.

Yes, I agree with RatsNest on this. The only real problem with running the fridge on propane with the top down is the lack of ventilation can cause a heat buildup if you are stopped for a long time. If the flame goes out, the gas will automatically be shutoff too, so there's no "gas buildup". You get the same heat buildup running on DC power, so the owner's manual recommends you not run the refrigerator at all for more than one hour with the top down and stationary.

I suppose there MIGHT be a slight fire hazard if you are running the fridge on propane while you are stopped and fueling your tow vehicle, since gasoline vapors are indeed VERY flammable. But, the trailer is quite a ways from the refueling hose and your TV's fuel tank inlet, so I can't really see a huge chance of gasoline vapor buildup near the fridge. Another vehicle pulling into the gas station would seem to present an even greater hazard I'd think.

Anyway, those are my thoughts, and I tow with my fridge running on DC power too.

- Jack