Black Series HQ Tips, Tricks, and Learning.....
- Thread starter kevin_j
- Start date
JumpJ
Adventurer
Fix Found- The Thermatic 3 way under the fridge was fried. Surprised given we've only use the camper once so far. Apparently these have a habit of failing. Has anyone else found a lot of rust on the bolts on their unit? I live in Colorado-Black Series have asked us to bring it in to a service center-just about every bolt below the door line is covered in rust on 2020?
Selling my 2020 HQ15. This thing has been absolutely amazing but we want to upsize and go to the HQ19. I’ve owned this for a little under a year and have used it approx. 25 nights. Everything works as it did from the factory and my best estimate of mileage is 1500
Only modifications are as follows.
Replaced all 4 stock tires with BFG All Terrain KO2 (E-rated) tires.
Replaced stock solar controller with Victron MPPT 100/30
Removed the out door shower and replaced it with a quick disconnect water out and a city water connection in.
Installed waste water dump tube holder
Replaced polly block hitch with a cruise master DO35 https://cruisemaster.com.au/cruisemaster-do35/
Added a 2 inch memory foam mattress topper to the bed.
The only problems to speak of were a bad wheel bearing seal that contaminated the brakes on the passenger side and a blown tire. Black Series replaced both wheel hub and brake assemblies and I’ve not had an issue since. They also sent me a new wheel and BFG replaced the tire.
I’m asking 40K and I’m located in Phoenix Arizona. Willing to deliver within a days drive as long as you let me sleep in it for a night when I get it to where it’s going. Believe it or not I don't have any pics of the interior but I assure you its as clean as the day we brought it home. Actually, probably cleaner. If anybody is interested shoot me an message with your phone number or email and I'll send some pics.
Only modifications are as follows.
Replaced all 4 stock tires with BFG All Terrain KO2 (E-rated) tires.
Replaced stock solar controller with Victron MPPT 100/30
Removed the out door shower and replaced it with a quick disconnect water out and a city water connection in.
Installed waste water dump tube holder
Replaced polly block hitch with a cruise master DO35 https://cruisemaster.com.au/cruisemaster-do35/
Added a 2 inch memory foam mattress topper to the bed.
The only problems to speak of were a bad wheel bearing seal that contaminated the brakes on the passenger side and a blown tire. Black Series replaced both wheel hub and brake assemblies and I’ve not had an issue since. They also sent me a new wheel and BFG replaced the tire.
I’m asking 40K and I’m located in Phoenix Arizona. Willing to deliver within a days drive as long as you let me sleep in it for a night when I get it to where it’s going. Believe it or not I don't have any pics of the interior but I assure you its as clean as the day we brought it home. Actually, probably cleaner. If anybody is interested shoot me an message with your phone number or email and I'll send some pics.
Gyptucky Steve
New member
interested In looking at pics. Steve 970-471-4582
Update from a 2018 HQ15 owner: I've decided to take the plunge and bring my camper to RVs of America in mid-August to have them do their winter insulation package (see the details at https://www.rvsofamerica.com/black-series-modifications/). When I bought my camper there was no guidance on how to fully winterize it, so the following year I found the places I'd missed because they developed leaks: a line by the toilet, the tempering valve under the indoor sink, and a line in the indoor shower. And, for whatever reason, we always seem to head up into the mountains and it's almost always cold where we're at, so heating and insulation have been an area we've wanted to improve on from day one. I've never even used the A/C! Literally our first night bringing the camper back from Los Angeles we discovered that our thermostat, mounted right above the heater compartment, was getting heat that travelled up the wall. I woke up several times that night to turn up the heat, and by morning the thermostat was all the way up and it was still only 50° inside. (Black Series has relocated the thermostats further down the wall since then, and that fixes the problem.)
Anyways, the winter insulation package is a big chunk of change and quite a bit of driving back and forth to get the work done, but I drew a tag for late season mule deer this year so we need it to work without freezing up on us. And, clearly I need an easier way of winterizing it because I did such a bad job before! The RVs of America's package is everything I was looking at doing, and to have an enthusiastic dealer who's willing to do the work is a nice change. (I don't know about y'all, but around my parts if you don't buy your camper from the dealer they generally aren't willing to service it, especially an "exotic" like a Black Series.) While the camper is there I'll have them add a third solar panel, and that should help keep my three 100Ah Battle Born batteries fully charged. I think at that point I'll have enough power to be able to run the 120V circuits from the batteries and not have to fire up the generator to use the TV or reheat some food in the microwave.
Anyways, the winter insulation package is a big chunk of change and quite a bit of driving back and forth to get the work done, but I drew a tag for late season mule deer this year so we need it to work without freezing up on us. And, clearly I need an easier way of winterizing it because I did such a bad job before! The RVs of America's package is everything I was looking at doing, and to have an enthusiastic dealer who's willing to do the work is a nice change. (I don't know about y'all, but around my parts if you don't buy your camper from the dealer they generally aren't willing to service it, especially an "exotic" like a Black Series.) While the camper is there I'll have them add a third solar panel, and that should help keep my three 100Ah Battle Born batteries fully charged. I think at that point I'll have enough power to be able to run the 120V circuits from the batteries and not have to fire up the generator to use the TV or reheat some food in the microwave.
Bikepedals, if you read the youtube comments a lot of people point out what you said, the Nissan is probably over its max. Calicamper, the tow person (Matt) doesn't know these trailers so he's being conservative, and therefore not use the back recovery points. Last thing he wants to do is rip a customer trailer into two piecesAnother thing that you could do if this ever happens to you, is to unhook the trailer, get the car out (somehow) and then pull the trailer out backwards. If you do that, make sure you lower your jockey wheel all the way, so it is as strong as possible. If you leave it up, much higher chance it'll snap.
Just combing through all the posts. I would not disconnect the trailer in mud and try and pull it around, if it doesn't work you are in all sorts of trouble trying to reconnect it in mud.
Cool, you won't regret it! What temps do you expect to hit? Since you have a 2018, do you have the outside little faucet up front close to the handbrake? If so, I would consider removing that whole line, that will be your weak spot for freezing after the winter package is done! Are you also getting the water re-circulation system installed? One more tip. The battery compartment has two vents to the outside. You should plug those up with insulation. That is especially important as the Battle born batteries will stop charging once they reach 25F (measured by an internal temp sensor by the BMS). You can still draw power out of them if they are that cold, or colder, just not charge them.
Temps will typically drop into the mid-20's overnight, so nothing too extreme, but it'll be nice to preserve propane with some extra floor insulation. (I hope the floor won't get so danged cold, too, as I hate wearing shoes inside!)
Heh, I forgot about that faucet, but yes, I have one on my drawbar. Good idea to remove it! RVs of America's winterization package includes recirculation pumps.
I plugged those battery compartment vents as soon as I put my first Battle Born battery in there! I bought a sheet of foil-backed hard foam insulation and made a little sandwich out of two discs so there's foil facing inside and out, and the sandwich is thick enough to compress just a bit when pushed in place. I then used foil duct tape to keep them in place. Probably the easiest mod to do, and IMHO really you don't even need those vents with the OEM batteries since they're sealed units.
Junkyardrules
New member
Great question! I apologize for the late response. I’ve been working like crazy with the current pandemic and haven’t checked in lately.
My 2019 Raptor tows the HQ15 with no issues. The rear end will sag (even with a WDH) but not enough to make me uncomfortable. I wouldn’t recommend towing without a WDH. At least with the Raptor. The suspension is soft which is by design from the factory.
Last week, I took the trailer from Vegas back to RV’s of America for some additional mods and maintained 70-75mph without any issues. I passed several triple trailer Semi trucks going up steep hills and didn’t have any wind buffeting or “white knuckle” experiences. Driving the I-15 between NV and UT is always an interesting experience. I was routinely passed by diesel 3/4 ton trucks attached to triple axle 5th wheels traveling at 80-85mph.
My gas mileage suffered which is to be expected. I think I probably got 8 or 9mpg average. Fully loaded, the HQ15 is much heavier than a comparable U.S. built travel trailer. I do wish they designed the HQ15 with 2 axles (Trailing arms). I think the trailer would be better off-road and be more stable on-road. At some point, I might move up to the HQ19 and a diesel truck. Watching the HQ15 and HQ19 off road in Moab (RV’s of America YouTube series) was an eye-opening experience.
Let me know if that answers your question.
On a side note, we stayed 1 night in Hurricane, UT and visited Matt and Ed from Winder Towing. If you haven’t seen his YouTube channel “Matt’s off road recovery”, I’d highly recommend it. I don’t know Matt personally, but he was kind enough to spend an hour chatting with my wife and I. He’s a class act and a genuinely kind person.
Junkyardrules
New member
drhappy
New member
THANKS!!!!!