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Old 12-29-2014, 11:40 AM   #1
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1982 17 1/2' trailer New to me

Hi everyone I decided to buy this instead of getting an apt with the upcoming divorce so me (age 55) & the 'kids' aka crippled hens will be living in this...now I am so new to this I have yet to understand just what I got myself into as I am used to a no electric plain box type camper....I will have tons of questions before I get to hit the road so bear with some of the silly ones I might have. big question for now is I plan to build cabinets where the front seat & upper bunk is, I will be using 1x2's & light weight paneling like material to keep the weigh down....now my question is with the weight of things going in the trailer(ie pans ect) can the front be more heavy in total weight than the back end which will have my bed & the upper bunk will have sliding doors as a cabinet for clothes,bedding so the weight will not be as great as in the front......Now will that cause problems with the handling of it or put too much weight on the hitch area? any suggestions will be extremely helpful to this old woman.......Michele'
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Old 12-30-2014, 07:49 AM   #2
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You may want to ask the tow vehicle if it can handle the tong weight first. If it's too heavy in the front or rear it can effect the trailer handling some thing in the 12-15% range is about right for tong weight. Things mount up fast it does not take long to go overboard with weight. I hope you are planing on going south it will be cold in a camper in Mass. and you'll go through a lot of propane.
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Old 12-31-2014, 09:44 AM   #3
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Michele,

Welcome to SOC.

Please feel free to ask away on questions.

Is your trailer the RD or the FD? You may want to go to the "Files" tab at the top of the page and then click on then "brochures" tab, then go to page "3" and then click on the "1982 travel trailer button" (it is the top of the 3 '82 brochures). Click "download" and you will have some info as to the weight of the trailer and tongue/hitch weight loads, as shipped from the Sunline factory.....back in the day.

What tow vehicle do you have? Pictures showing the hitch hook-up is helpful. Many people have the hitch to high or to low, etc.

Is you trailer winterized at this moment or are you living in it? If you are living in it, is there a electrical hook-up being used? How are you handling the waste generated?

As you can see, we can and will be asking as many or more questions than you, this is normal.

Please post, we are here to do the best we can to help and share our experiences...."Good, Bad and the Ugly".....as well as the beautiful. I just had to do a play on words....sorry.
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Old 01-13-2015, 09:07 AM   #4
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good cold morning to y'all....info on my trailer its a 175RD...took me a bit to find all the wonderful info y'all have & a big help to me....now I will be going off to AZ & hopefully buy a couple of acres & go back to living a off grid life but this time with a few solar panels & a composting toilet...thats the reason for the solar panel to run its fan plus any small fan in the hot heat......I do have a propane stove & small frig that are already in the trailer & will use them some of the time when it hits winter as the area I am going to is the county Prescott is in & they do have a bit of snow at times....not sure yet if the heater works as too cold to go out & try it...ha!......I will be traveling to see folks/family on the way in KY,TX & MO & just want to make sure I don't add things ie cabinets in the wrong areas for the weight to be even but with all I have read I am slowly learning...thank you for the anwsers & it has helped me to understand balance/weight better. have a great day & I will talk at y'all later
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Old 01-13-2015, 10:40 AM   #5
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Stay in touch and good luck with your adventure.
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Old 01-13-2015, 05:49 PM   #6
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The camper heater will keep you warm and if it only gets to freezing at night you should be all right with any thing water as long as the day time temp are above freezing. The heater fan is a energy hog left to it's own devices it will flatten a battery in a couple of days with out a recharge. Just keep an eye on the propane the heater is pretty hard on propane.
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Old 01-19-2015, 09:04 AM   #7
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to answer your questions, No I am not living it as of now & it is parked in the driveway......so i take it the heater is propane, does that mean the air conditioner is as well?......I am not sure if I will keep the air conditioner as it is something I really will never use & prefer to have the roof space for more solar panels later on.....Now does anyone now what the best solar panels are to use for my small trailer? I can't afford the big expensive ones but want something that can run the fan to the compostig toilet & occassionally a fan in the window other than that it really won't be used that I can think of...I will have no TV, computer ect & can use my walkman for music...an ideals will be greatly helpful
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Old 01-19-2015, 04:00 PM   #8
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Yes your heater is propane your AC is electric. If you remove the AC it will leave a 14X14" hole in your roof that can be corrected with a 14X14 vent hatch it is some thing you really need to have any way. I would buy some thing like a Fantastic fan vent it works very well and there would be not need for a window fan it will ventilate the entire camper and they do well with a 100 watts of solar. Solar at this point is advancing rapidly I would contact a local co. that does solar and ask questions, your biggest issue will be mounting them on the roof. I have no ideal about your composting toilet in your case the fan should be 12 volt dc it's some thing you need to look into other wise things start to get a little more complicated. If it is a 120 volt (house hold voltage) you will need more parts to go along with your solar/camper system as the system operates on 12 volts DC. Where are you going to park? The question is is there any power there? When the sun does not shine for a few days you will have to relay on just your batteries for the lights fan etc.
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Old 01-26-2015, 12:26 PM   #9
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thanks for the info...now i will be buying a few acres in AZ & be totally off grid & having my water trucked into a big tank on my property.....the solar is for the minor things like the composting toilet that runs a 1.7 amp in a 24 hour period on a solar panel/12 volt. I like the idea of the fantastic fan for the removal of the air conditioner so i will definitely look into that.....i do plan to invest in a small generator for when the times come there is a bit of snow or really cold so I can run the heater....the heater is from 1982 so I am worried about using it so I will tear it out as I gut out other things & add a newer low watt one that can be used with the generator or maybe find a newer safer propane heater...not sure at the moment which I will decide......the solar panels will not be added until I am in AZ & have bought my land then I will attach the solar panel (s) (on the trailor)until I decide what I need to also build, the the solar could possibly be on one of the out buildings later on......I am thinking about a 165 watt solar panel for what I need it for.......but I can also add more later once I get to where I plan to live/settle.....
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Old 01-26-2015, 06:11 PM   #10
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I can run my camper with a 100 watt panel during the summer this of course is not running a heater and the sun is high in the sky. Get what you can afford I would shoot for 200 watts or better. Replace all your lights with LED's and try to run your water pump as little as possible. Does the toilet vent use 1.7 amps a day? That's not much power it must be a tiny fan but if it draws 1.7 amp that can amount to a lot of watts on a given day like 500 if it runs all the time. Also is it a 12 volt fan? If you don't want the AC just remove it and sell it on Creg's list probably get enough for it to buy the Fantastic Fan. You may want to invest in another battery also or one much larger one I would look for some thing in the 200 amp range. I run 2 batteries and can go about 5 days with out a recharge with one 100 watt panel I can run the fan on low and give the batteries a charge but not a lot more.
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Old 02-10-2015, 08:49 AM   #11
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There will be no lights in the trailer nor any water so am removing the water pump ect....when I say I am living off grid it is more the pioneer way than what most think of as off grid.......the company who makes the compost toilet says it can run on a 10 watt solar panel so I am sure the 165 watt I am wanting should do the trick for my needs.....I do plan to have at least 2 12 volt batteries so I always have a backup if needed.......the tiny fan in the composting toilet runs off solar but on cloudy days need to make sure I have enough electricity to run it...the fan is mainly to move the air a bit so the moss & human waste can decompose & to move the smell out thur the pipe to the outside.....also the fan uses only 1.7 amps in a 24 hour period......I am taking so many things out of the trailer so thank you for the idea of using craigslist....everything in the bathroom, frig, water tanks & air conditioner are being removed so hope to sell them as they are all original to the 1982 trailer.....
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Old 02-10-2015, 06:56 PM   #12
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I don't mean to throw a little water on your 1.7 amp per 24 hour fan just trying to make sure you have enough battery. Amp are rated per hour as are watts so 1.7 amps per 24 hours is about .07 amps or 7/100 amps that is a tiny motor. Small computer style motors (some thing that would fit in a pipe) are about .3 amps so 7.2 amps per 24 hours yes a 10 watt solar panel would power it as long as the sun was shining. From the sound of things you'er power demand will be next to nothing so that is not some thing to worry about. Like I said 200 watts would do it for all your needs fan and all.
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Old 03-09-2015, 09:23 AM   #13
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good morning everyone....got a question....the roof is kind of looking like a gator hide & I am sure its never been tended to...what do you recommend I use on it...I did notice a small bit of water damage around all the screws in the ceiling so I know there must be leaks & would like to stop that asap.......is there a treatment that will seal the leaks but also give the roof a good/better protection that will be needed out in the desert of
AZ?.......
also I know that the brake have never been changed so what do y'all recommend as a good brake system for the double axle R175?
finally gettin some sunny warmer days up here in MA but the camper is still in at least 4 ft of snow around it...thank goodness I tarped it but am hoping not to have much mold in there when I am able to get into it.....have a great day...oh & Mainah thank you for all your info its a great help as I have never done solar I have just lived completely off grid...so your imput is important.......
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Old 03-09-2015, 03:45 PM   #14
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It's not smooth (sort of bumpy) and it's aluminum. If there are leaks it most likely where some thing comes through it, stink pipes, A/C if it has one, and vents. The camper should all ready have brakes you are going to need a controller for the tow vehicle and wiring. It would not be a bad to have a look at the brakes and the wheel bearings come spring any way. The inside of campers are high humidity the screw heads do rust they are untreated steel. Look for staining that would be a sign of a leak or soft spots.
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Old 04-03-2015, 11:01 AM   #15
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good afternoon, well I checked for leaks & so on & found quite a few, some around screws & the roof vents but also one that is large in the bathroom ceiling that looks like its been there a long time as the stain is quite brown, it is within 5 inchs of the ceiling vent area so it could be a leak from the ceiling vent...now I also have what looks like spider web cracks on the roof metal as well......so my question is what is the best way to seal the whole roof, I would rather do the whole thing than patch meal it as once I am on the road I do not want to worry about a leak hitting me & having to go deal with it....nor the extra cost whereas now I can do the cost..so any helpful suggestions on sealants?..thanks ahead & have a great day
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