elindley01
New member
Thanks so much for the insight. Those cushions are MIA on mine. I will reach out to the dealer. Thanks!
Black Series HQ Tips, Tricks, and Learning.....
- Thread starter kevin_j
- Start date
Thanks so much for the insight. Those cushions are MIA on mine. I will reach out to the dealer. Thanks!
Thanks for that, that helps!!
Bikepals
Member
Another mod that I think some are going to like. Got this idea from watching a RV of America video which showed a HQ19 that had a drop leg foot inserted into the bottom of the jockey wheel. I talk to this person yesterday for some time. His name is John and he is the distributor for McHitch. I purchased a 4.5 McHitch yesterday from John (yet another Mod I'm going to do). If you are interested in purchasing one also I will give you his contact information. He "built" his foot from scratch. You can purchase the one I have off of Amazon and it works great. It fits inside the jockey wheel with very little play. I let the jockey will rest on the pin and did not drill any holes, and I think this is the way I will use it. This gives me a lot more range to jack up the front of the trailer. I ran into a situation on my first camping trip with the HQ15 where I could not get the front of the trailer high enough. This will solve that problem. See pics below.
The part is LIBRA Jack Drop Leg Foot Pad for 2" Standard Trailer Camper Jacks -26026. The link -
The part is LIBRA Jack Drop Leg Foot Pad for 2" Standard Trailer Camper Jacks -26026. The link -
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mvbeggs
Adventurer
I just picked up my HQ-19 this past Monday.
When doing the pre-delivery inspection, I noticed the front trailer jack wasn't tall enough to level the trailer on the shop's floor. I was a bit surprised, to say the least. I can count on one hand the number of times I've setup my trailers on a level surface.
Bikepals
Member
John not only is using the foot extension but also lowered the jockey wheel with angle brackets. See episode 6 - 7 mile jeep trail , it is towards the end of the video.
Great, thanks for the tip. Ordered one! How far does the pin stick out to the other side when you have it inserted in the bottom of the jockey wheel? Don't want the wheel to slip off the pin. Guess it would be pretty easy to get a longer pin if needed.
Yes he did. Probably a more important mod for a HQ17/19 as they are sitting higher than the HQ12/15.
Bikepals
Member
The pin sticks out about a 1/2 inch on the other side well beyond the jockey wheel edge.
Bikepals
Member
CHECK YOUR POLYBLOCK HITCH BOLTS!
I was looking at the polyblock hitch yesterday getting ready for the McHitch installation. I was looking at the bolts and noticed one of them was loose. I checked all 4 bolts and found another one loose. I don’t mean a little loose, I could turn them with my fingers! I am asking tech at the dealership for the torque spec now. CHECK YOUR BOLTS!
I was looking at the polyblock hitch yesterday getting ready for the McHitch installation. I was looking at the bolts and noticed one of them was loose. I checked all 4 bolts and found another one loose. I don’t mean a little loose, I could turn them with my fingers! I am asking tech at the dealership for the torque spec now. CHECK YOUR BOLTS!
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Raspy
Active member
I just finished installing an MPPT solar controller and monitor on my HQ19. The first mod I did was to install a recirculating hot water system. This helps with freeze protection, reduces water usage and makes the shower easier to use. I installed a McHitch, which is incredibly strong and lowers the connection height by about 5 1/2 inches on the HQ19 by mounting it under the hitch plate instead of on top. It is also much easier to connect to with the truck. I discovered my wheels were out of alignment, so I adjusted them at home. This is not too hard to do, once you see what has to be done. My jack was lowered by making two brackets to mount it below the frame rail, instead of clamping around it. These are made from 2" X 2" X 1/4" angle iron. I built a foot with leg that slips up into the jockey wheel post and extends the jack farther, while making it more stable. It is held in and the height adjusted with a tractor pin cross drilled through the jack leg. I then installed a set of #6 wires from the truck battery back to an Anderson plug on the rear bumper, where I plug in when I connect the seven pin plug. This sends about 50 amps to the trailer while driving and quickly charges the batteries. I also removed the tempering valve and simplified the plumbing to gain that whole cabinet for storage. Then I installed a shore water connection so I can simply connect to city water if hookups are available. This is a relatively easy mod and is freeze proof. I then added a waste hose storage tube made from a 5" PVC fence post, cut to about 65" long. These are available at Lowes. This mounts with hose clamps to the center frame rail right behind the parking brake handle. The waste hose is held in with a cross pin and simply slides out toward the front. I then installed a cell phone booster. This has a mast that sits in a 2 1/2" schedule 40 electrical conduit piece that sits vertically on the spare tire rack and is U bolted in place. The mast drops right in when in use and stores in the pass through storage for travelling. The amplifier and inside antenna sit in the TV antenna cabinet above the driver's side window, ahead of the galley, where there is a 120 volt plug that is powered by the inverter. Perfect! I made a new TV bracket that is stronger than the stock one and locks the TV in place for rough road travel. and finally, I upgraded my propane tanks to 30 pound tanks. Be careful about opening the door when the awning is deployed! The door will scrape against it with a sharp corner likely to cut it! I put a small piece of rubber hose on the corner of the door, but am about to install a wheel up there to run against the awning material. The saga continues with more upgrades on the way.
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Raspy
Active member
If any of you have the blinking tail light problem, my friend Paul has discovered the answer and I have fixed mine. It is caused by "Inductive coupling", where the brake controller sends a periodic voltage down the trailer brake wires to test them, about twice per second. This induces a voltage in the tail light circuit because the wires are not shielded and they run next to each other. This induced voltage fires the LED tail lights in a twice per second blink that looks like the emergency flashers are on. The fix is to run a new brake wire from the tongue junction box, back the the brake plug on the font axle. I ran both a positive and negative, #12 in EMT conduit along the drivers side frame rail. I used a piece of #12 PVC jacketed exterior extension cord with fine stranded wire. This fixed it.
Raspy
Active member
Two things about the inverter:
The first one is that mine was mounted with four tiny screws that pulled out on a trip of about 100 miles into Death valley on unpaved roads. This allowed th einverter to walk around in it's area under the dinette seat. The fix is to put six 1/4" x 1" long lag bolts into the floor. Watch where you put them as you can easily hit one of the cross members and they will not go all the way in.
The second one is that mine quit working. It would run it's fan, but not charge. Black Series authorized the fix and i took it to Aims in Reno. They fixed in about an hour and the tech told me to be careful not to unplug the trailer while there is a heavy load on one of the inverter plugs. One of my inverter plugs is in the dinette area and I was running an electric heater from that plug while connected to shore power. I must have unplugged the trailer while working on it and while the heater was on. BTW, the charger will not charge the batteries if the inverter is off. If you leave it off while unplugged, be sure to turn it back on when you plug in again.
The first one is that mine was mounted with four tiny screws that pulled out on a trip of about 100 miles into Death valley on unpaved roads. This allowed th einverter to walk around in it's area under the dinette seat. The fix is to put six 1/4" x 1" long lag bolts into the floor. Watch where you put them as you can easily hit one of the cross members and they will not go all the way in.
The second one is that mine quit working. It would run it's fan, but not charge. Black Series authorized the fix and i took it to Aims in Reno. They fixed in about an hour and the tech told me to be careful not to unplug the trailer while there is a heavy load on one of the inverter plugs. One of my inverter plugs is in the dinette area and I was running an electric heater from that plug while connected to shore power. I must have unplugged the trailer while working on it and while the heater was on. BTW, the charger will not charge the batteries if the inverter is off. If you leave it off while unplugged, be sure to turn it back on when you plug in again.
Raspy
Active member
Adding solar.
I have upgraded to an MPPT controller, and put in a 50 amp model so I can add more panels. The new ones are not up yet, but I've got them. I matched the size and output of the two 150 watt panels with two Newpowa 150 watt panels.
The wires coming down from the roof are fine stranded #6, so I plan to run all the panels in parallel to minimize losses from partial shading.
The controller also has a monitor that I mounted next to the electrical panel door, on the fridge cabinet, facing the sink.
Meanwhile, I've been making electric coffee (very decadent), with my new little Mr Coffee 5 cup coffee maker, that sits on the dinette table and plugs into the inverter plug on the wall. It draws 650 watts for six minutes to make a pot of coffee. I want to see if the existing 300 watt system can keep up, before I install the other two panels. I like it because clean-up requires vey little water and it is so easy to use, besides making great coffee. They are available at Walmart for $17.88 and have clocks to auto start in the morning. It also keeps the coffee hot for about an hour. All this seems so ordinary for home use, but it is special in a trailer. Sitting there at the dinette in the morning, looking out across the desert, with a pot of coffee right there on the table, as I write, look at maps, and get ready for that day's adventure, is fun. "Camping" in a Black Series trailer, is more accurately described as living in a mobile luxury apartment.
I have upgraded to an MPPT controller, and put in a 50 amp model so I can add more panels. The new ones are not up yet, but I've got them. I matched the size and output of the two 150 watt panels with two Newpowa 150 watt panels.
The wires coming down from the roof are fine stranded #6, so I plan to run all the panels in parallel to minimize losses from partial shading.
The controller also has a monitor that I mounted next to the electrical panel door, on the fridge cabinet, facing the sink.
Meanwhile, I've been making electric coffee (very decadent), with my new little Mr Coffee 5 cup coffee maker, that sits on the dinette table and plugs into the inverter plug on the wall. It draws 650 watts for six minutes to make a pot of coffee. I want to see if the existing 300 watt system can keep up, before I install the other two panels. I like it because clean-up requires vey little water and it is so easy to use, besides making great coffee. They are available at Walmart for $17.88 and have clocks to auto start in the morning. It also keeps the coffee hot for about an hour. All this seems so ordinary for home use, but it is special in a trailer. Sitting there at the dinette in the morning, looking out across the desert, with a pot of coffee right there on the table, as I write, look at maps, and get ready for that day's adventure, is fun. "Camping" in a Black Series trailer, is more accurately described as living in a mobile luxury apartment.
Robbrown27
New member
Hello all! New guy here too.
I too have the tail light flashing problem. I’m def going to give it a try.
Where did you guys order your mchitch setups from? RV America will order me on for around $600 ?
Keep the good info and great mod ideas coming!
Thanks,
Rob
I too have the tail light flashing problem. I’m def going to give it a try.
Where did you guys order your mchitch setups from? RV America will order me on for around $600 ?
Keep the good info and great mod ideas coming!
Thanks,
Rob
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