The cat's out of the bag! Meet Sunny 18!

EMD_Driver · 02-19-2012, 09:29 PM

We've been leaving clues and hints for two weeks and Kitty can't stand it anymore... On 2/4/12, we took a drive to New York and traded the F-311SR for Bill and Marilyn's F-344SR. What a weekend that was! We left at around 6pm on Friday and drove around 230 miles. That led us to a Lowes parking lot in Mansfield, PA. We stayed there overnight. When we stopped, we were about 50 miles from Wilkins RV. We got up Saturday at 7 and hit the road by 8. We pulled into Wilkins at 9:06, even though we had a 12:00 appointment. They already had the 344 in the shop and ready for us to look it over. They took us right back and we gave it a good look.

I found several places, where the caulking was split and would allow water intrusion in the future. I asked them to re-caulk them and they did. I checked the propane tanks and they had given us two out-dated tanks. One expired in 2011 and the other one in 2010. They didn't look all that good either. I pulled them out and set them on the floor. When I pointed them out to the tech, he said "No problem! I'll go get you two brand new tanks." He got the new tanks, purged the air from them and filled them up.

I also checked the battery and they had installed a group 24. The battery vent hose was also broken. When I let him know, he said he would put a new hose on and get a group 27 battery. Once they were done, I kept looking and saw that the landing gear feet were U-shaped. They helped me change them out, once we had the unit outside. Before we went outside, I asked him to help me test a couple things. Bill M. told me the propane detector did not work. The tech brought a small propane torch and blew gas into the detector. It worked like a charm! Once I hitched up, I asked him to help me check the operation of the breakaway switch. I started moving slowly and he pulled it.... We stopped right there! Oh... I also got a new breakaway cable.... The old one was frayed and dangerous...

When I pulled the 344 out of the shop, I immediately noticed how much heavier it was, compared to the 311! It didn't matter though, because the dually was up to the task! They already had the water heater out and had the opening covered with adhesive backed plastic. I also found a hole in the underside and to the right of the pinbox. It's a pretty big hole and Bill M. said it was not there, when they traded it in. I'll get our friend to fix that, since I'm clueless about how to do it and have it look good...

The trip up there was fairly uneventful and was night driving, until the last 50 miles (The next morning.) There was one hill that was probably a 7% grade and rose from 420ft above sea level, to 2257ft.. The dually worked hard on that one! On the trip back, that same elevation was reached, much more gradually... Probably around 4-5%

The 344 tows wonderful! It is 2ft longer than the 311 and that extra length is forward of the axles. It makes turns a bit different. I noticed very little chucking and it only occurred once in a while. I believe that most of what I felt, was due to the sliding portion of the hitch having some play in it. The drive back was very laid back.

Bill M. had tires put on the 344 two years ago. Unfortunately, he had Goodyear Marathon ST tires put on. I checked the dates and they were all 2008 tires. One from January, one from May and two from April. Needless to say, it will get LT tires on it! The ST's look good, but I don't trust them. They also allow the trailer to wiggle, a lot more than the LT's do. If Philip rolled over in the sofabed, The whole trailer would wiggle.

I took two group 24 batteries with us, since the 27 in the 311 was almost totally shot. I wired them together and hooked a 7-way receptacle to them. When we stopped for the first night, I plugged the trailer's 7-way plug to the batteries and we ran the furnace off them. I should have charged them, while we were at Wilkins. When we stopped in Harrisburg for the night, one of the truck drivers there, suggested that we leave our marker lights on. The marker lights and furnace successfully drained all three batteries! We lost the furnace around 4am.

I also had trouble from one of the 12v circuit breakers in the 344. When we stopped for the night, we lost power. I traced it to that breaker and found that the nuts on it were loose. I didn't want to trust it and bought a new one, at the truck stop we were at.

Sunday morning, we met Bill and Marylin at their house and they took us to breakfast. He couldn't get over, seeing the Sunny in front of his house again and commented about it several times. He also showed me some things to look for and gave me some hints, as well as tips. The final leg of our trip home went very well... I put Sunny close to the house and left it there for a few days.. I had some things to look at. When Sunline put in the 50AMP breaker panel, they left the front door on it. It opened from right to left and the oak door covering it, was a left to right door. When I opened the oak door, it would hit on the converter and would not open all the way. T hat made it very hard, to open the breaker panel door. I removed the converter cover, the oak door and the oak door's catch. That allowed me room, to get the breaker panel cover out. As I was pulling it out, a wire beside it started arcing! Once I made sure there was no fire, I quickly pulled the shore power. I found that Sunline had one of the 120v wires right on the corner of the breaker box. Over time, the insulation rubbed through.

Luckily, it was the wire to the optional washer/dryer and wasn't hooked up on the other end. I removed it from the breaker box and cut the scorched piece off. I'll hook it back up, sometime in the future... Maybe....

Oh yeah... Bill M. told me that the spare had a gash in it and wasn't safe.. The salesman said I could keep the 311's spare (An LT tire) and I threw it in the back of the truck. They weren't worried about getting the one off the 344, so I now have an extra 16" wheel to mount a LT on...

Side by side:

**Sunline Fan** · 02-19-2012, 09:44 PM

Gosh darn you two, out there pulling sneaky stuff on us...

Last week when I saw the fireplace thing, I wasn't sure what the deal was. I swore the 311 had a fireplace, but I was sick last week and not really sure which end was up, so I didn't think much of it. I thought you went through the converter change before too, but couldn't remember if you did a full write up, so I just thought that's what that was about. With the living room basically the same as the 311, your interior clues didn't trip me.

I guess this explains the moving of pictures and spending time out there!

Congrats! I never got to see Bill & Marilyn's up close let alone inside, so I can't wait to see it!

EMD_Driver · 02-19-2012, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunline Fan

I never got to see Bill & Marilyn's up close let alone inside, so I can't wait to see it!

Be at Buttonwood!

EMD_Driver · 02-19-2012, 09:58 PM

Here's a couple more pictures...

Look at the basement! More room and no pipes blocking the entrance on either side.

Door side access panel in the basement. Where the pump lives.. As well as a lot of pipes and ducts.

In the soon-to-be-modified Sunny pit. Soon, it will be a lot wider and hopefully covered.

Squeaky clean roof!

The new water heater we bought for the 311 was moved to the 344. It's now all hooked and wired up..

EMD_Driver · 02-19-2012, 10:28 PM

I found an interesting tidbit of info, in an old post... Kitty must think I sound like a broken record now!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanyonkitty

I sure wish I had taken pictures of ALL the stuff I took out of Sunny. Gary tells me it ALL CAN'T go back in the 320

HUM, I bet he plans to stand guard over me while I put stuff in 320

**Sunline Fan** · 02-19-2012, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EMD_Driver

I found an interesting tidbit of info, in an old post... Kitty must think I sound like a broken record now!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by EMD_Driver

Look at the basement! More room and no pipes blocking the entrance on either side.

Hmm, this isn't a good combo then...

kanyonkitty · 02-19-2012, 10:42 PM

Don't let Gary have you believing that I was the one anxious for someone to pick up on the "hints" he has posted over the past 2 weeks about our changing 5th wheels. But, Trailblazer picked up on the change the second night we owned it, as Gary posted a few pics to his water heater install. Eagle Eye Bill happen to notice a difference in the opening for the water heater. We took the WH out of the 311 and put it in the 344 as it was only a year old. Bill (Trailblazer) wouldn't say anything about the change, instead he has been "chomping at the bit" to see who would finally notice the change.

Even though the living room/kitchen are basically the same identical layout as the 311, there are some differences, 3 florescent ceiling lights in the kitchen/LR area as opposed to two in the 311, the side window is closer to the door, the slide out is 4 inches deeper, pantry is wider & taller. There is a small cabinet on the wall above the toilet. There is a nice linen/utility closet that is actually the washer/dryer closet. BUT, the REAL reason for the swap was so Gary could have a shower that he could actually stand up in and take a nice shower. I am amazed he hasn't tried it out yet !!!!! ( Well, he has gotten in the shower to make sure it suited him, but he had no water).

WOW, I better get to bed have chemo scheduled for 8 AM tomorrow, night all,

Kitty

I have to also give credit to Wilkins RV in Bath, NY as they made the purchase/transition process go very smoothly. Sunny 18 was in the heated shop while we went over & thru everything on it, and the workers were right on the ball when we did question/point out anything that we didn't like.

**Sunline Fan** · 02-19-2012, 10:46 PM

You know Kitty, I was just thinking a couple short years ago, you were so scared to get anywhere near a slide trailer. Now you're on your third with a slide and now you even have two slides!

kanyonkitty · 02-19-2012, 10:59 PM

Yea, I know Jon, but now I also have a LOT of help in keeping the Sunline in top notch condition. No way could I be doing it by myself now. Just priced out a Sunny Port, will run about 2700.00, so gotta save, save, save. That price is for a 20'wide x 36' long delivered & installed RV port.

dumplin · 02-20-2012, 02:37 AM

Congrats !!! Kitty & Gary Best of luck with Sunny 18 looks nice.

**Tweety** · 02-20-2012, 04:45 AM

So that's why you didn't have a list of mods in mind! Well congratulations!

Mellow Yellow · 02-20-2012, 06:00 AM

Very nice !! Congratulations !

**clueless campers** · 02-20-2012, 08:03 AM

Congratulations Kitty and Gary!

Last night, on "that big RV site", Kitty said "Our previous Sunline 5th wheel had plexiglass screwed to the side & rear wall by the stove. In our new to us bigger Sunline 5th wheel..."

I questioned it but didn't put two and two together

.

Trailblazer · 02-20-2012, 08:15 AM

Congrats on the purchase of the F344! It is nice to finally be able to officially congratulate both of you on on the forum. It has been fun to watch you and Gary dropping all of the hints and no one picking up on them. I'm looking forward to seeing it in person at Buttonwood.

ihsolutions · 02-20-2012, 04:10 PM

Congrats, guys! You'll love it I'm sure, like all your other Sunlines.

My only complaint is, WHERE ARE THE INSIDE PICS?? Kitty, you're the first one asking for pics when other people post, so you've got this coming. WE WANT PICS!

Jim-Bev-2363 · 02-20-2012, 04:14 PM

And what a cat it is.

EMD_Driver · 02-20-2012, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ihsolutions

Congrats, guys! You'll love it I'm sure, like all your other Sunlines.

My only complaint is, WHERE ARE THE INSIDE PICS?? Kitty, you're the first one asking for pics when other people post, so you've got this coming. WE WANT PICS!

It's still a mess, from moving and modding... Here's what we have.. From when it was clean!