1998 Aliner Off-Road edition

[Petrolburner]

Its got a plastic shield that's holding up alright so far. I don't have any mud flaps on the truck, so that would be a good place to start.

Yes the lower behind the hitch. Gets rock pelted.

Spent two more nights in the trailer this weekend. Need to decide what route to take on batteries and get going. Had to pull a trolling motor battery from my friend's boat to run the furnace on the second night. I'm contemplating one big 12v or two big 6v golf cart batteries like the Trojan T105. I think I have the space and I want to go solar powered.

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[Colorado_Outback]

Cool, looks like a good time!

I'll be interested to see what you do with the batts as I need to address that issue on my build as well.

 

[skersfan]

Does it have the torsion axle. If so, you can raise it some by placing a 2x2 120 section under the mounting site. You will have to cut off the old perch and replace, or possibly weld in place and put a new one on top of the 2x2, that would eliminate any torch work or sawsall need. They do offer more radical angles for the drop. Being a 1998, you may need to look closely at the trailing ends, to besure they are not beginning to fail. Rubber kind of squishing out, around the main axle. Doubtful, but depends on how hard/loaded they have been ran. Normally they are over sprung from the factory. I still have trailers made in 84 running around with no evidence of failure.

Mine had the batteries in the front on the passenger side. I carried 3 110 amp hour Chairman's there. Never had a need for more. You can convert all the lights to LED's and that will give you even more time off the batteries.

Be careful with the roof. If you decide to mount anything on it, be sure to use the outside of the rail, the rest is just Styrofoam and fiberglass sheeting. No structural strength at all, unless it was set up with AC originally.

I am headed down to look at a Rockwood today, I had wanted one of the smaller ones, but most likely will end up with the regular size. I love the Chalet brand so will take a look at them for sure. I will be doing a full modification to make it serious off road ready if I buy one. I really want to build one with an aluminum upper frame, the roof is the killer on it. We will see after my trip to Oregon on that.

Also the first thing to go for me was the rear jacks. I tore them off on city streets. The rear bumper could be replaced with a 120 4x4 and the jacks like the side mount crank ups can be put on it. If you have found one with those jacks in place, you can rest assured it has not been used much or used very hard. Most I have seen, are very well taken care of. They actually have club runs with them.

 

[Petrolburner]

Mine still has the rear stabilizers in place. They aren't designed to lift or level the camper, and I wish they were. All they're good for is stabilizing. It has a steel tube rear bumper that I could mount legitimate jacks to. I'm trying to spend as little as possible on upgrades until I've used it enough to have a firm plan. I bought a $10 foot pedal switch to rig up to the water pump so you can wash your hands and turn the water on and off with your foot. Should make that 10 gallon tank last a long time with the ability to run the pump for only as many seconds as you need it.

Thanks for the reminder about mounting to the roof. A solar panel isn't very heavy but the mounting holes would probably elongate and leak sooner or later.

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[Petrolburner]

Oh and yes it does have a torsion axle, great ground clearance as is. What I really want is more suspension travel and/or shock absorption. I'm not sure how much can be gained with a different axle. Taller tires with more sidewall would help. How are all these expo trailer guys mounting Toyota wheels? Are they using adapters or finding axles with the same bolt pattern?

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[Lucy FJ55]

How are all these expo trailer guys mounting Toyota wheels? Are they using adapters or finding axles with the same bolt pattern?

Howdy Petrolburner, I ended up buying a new 3500 lb. axle with the Toy bolt pattern for our pop up. I planned to upgrade the axle and suspension when we bought our '77 Coleman Concord anyway, and this way there's no need for spacers and it has worked well so far.

Sweeeeeet A-frame.


Cheers, Carlos.

 

[Petrolburner]

What kind of boat?


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I missed this post earlier. Not sure what you're talking about though.

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[java]

I would go with the two 6V batteries if you have the space.

Larger tires and low tire pressure will help a bit, but it will still bounce. My trailer runs about 15 psi usually, there isnt a ton of weight to support, and it really helps soak up the little bumps with the tires.

 

[k9lestat]

In the initial post you said one of cons was not being able to tow a boat. I was wondering what kind of boat?

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[Petrolburner]

I don't have a boat other than my inflatable tandem kayak. I was just speaking in a general sense for now. Same thing for a snowmobile and trailer. I'd need another Rev-Arc ramp or sled deck to haul a snowmobile. Not an issue for now because I don't own a sled.

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[Curmudgeon]

When towing this long distances on very dusty roads, does the trailer end up full of dust and dirt? Or is it pretty well sealed?

JP

 

[Petrolburner]

It's pretty well sealed, haven't noticed any dust yet.

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[skersfan]

they have a ton of rubber seals, all around the top and sides. The corners do lack a little for the dust seal on the older ones. No idea on the new ones.

I would check and see what axle is under the trailer. It maybe old enough that they put the heavy axle under it. You can now buy axles down to 1300 pounds with the 45 degree drop. If the trailer is set to the correct axle you will not need any shock absorption set up. Use the air pressure in the tires.

Take some time and look at it, you Aliner dealer can order the exact axle I am pretty sure.

 

[Petrolburner]

Finally did something to the trailer. I've been researching batteries and solar and charge controllers and meters and...

Bought two 6 volt golf cart batteries from Costco last night for $88 a piece. They're big, heavy, and full of amp-hours. I tore out the old battery box and they fit in there pretty well. The previous box was vented and I'm not sure what to do yet about venting and tie downs. Suggestions welcome.

In order to make those amp-hours last longer, I switched out all the bulbs for warm white LEDs from eBay. Cheap, $10 for a set of four I think. I have two interior lights and one outside next to the step. Now I can just leave them on and not worry about the draw. They are just the right color and not obnoxiously bright like some I've seen.

I'm thinking of removing the bulky, heavy, 30 amp cord from the rig. It's the giant black one all coiled up in the top photo. I don't see myself in an RV park in order to plug in. I only plug it in at home which means I always need to use my adapter, and that's just one more thing to carry. I'm thinking about yanking it out and just using a regular extension cord instead. Is there any reason I shouldn't do that? Maybe wire up a short pig tail off the converter with a regular 3 prong plug so I can run the converter if I do end up in a park with power? That way I can put my Battery Tender Jr in the compartment and plug in right there. I can't shut the main cabin door with an extension cord running through it.

 

[Petrolburner]

The other issue I need to be aware of is weight balance. The left side of the camper has 80 pounds of water when full, 130 pounds (?) of batteries, the sink, the furnace, the fridge, the converter and CO detector all on the left side of the trailer. The right side has pretty much nothing. We use the right side wheel well compartment for sheets and blankets, and the mini seat up front has food and pots and pans in it. Nothing real heavy, all the weight is on the left side but I don't see how I could move something of significant weight from the left to the right. Batteries? Yes but that's a lot of voltage drop and then I would have to make use of the space in that compartment, and it's under the bed when it's made up.