Hello from Minnesota-new member

[rcreitan]

Hello, and glad to find this owners club. We are the second owner of a 2010 X189FBS. It was parked along the highway near my home in Hugo, MN, and when we drove past it, just had to stop. We'd had a pickup topper camper and really wanted more space and a few more luxuries. Needless to say, it was love at first sight. Two days later it was parked in my driveway, and we were busy getting to know our little home on wheels. Since that time, we've taken it to Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Indiana, and all around Minnesota. Overall, I've been pleased with this camper, as its one of the few that seemed to have sufficient inside ceiling room to accommodate me at 6'4" height! There have been many annoying faults that we've largely put up with, like poor workmanship of the couch skirting, a finicky furnace, a pump that growls when you run water, and now lately, our first roof leak. That is what drove me to look on the web for answers about fixing camper roof leaks, and to how I discovered this owners group. Upon returning from a weekend at a lake, we noticed that there was a stain near the skylight in the bathroom. I got up on the roof to inspect things, and found that the caulking material used had little pinholes. It looks like ants had burrowed into the caulk, or there were air bubbles that burst out leaving a hole beneath the caulk surface. I quickly discovered these openings led straight down to the roof surface around the skylight. For now I just used window caulk and filled every void I could find, but I must say, I'm disappointed that a 3 year old camper already has the beginnings of roof water integrity issues. The other new gripe is that the stabilizer jacks really are too weak and flimsy. We've loaned the camper to the kids, and they were not so easy on the jacks as I have been. Three out of four have bent up brackets where the pad and strut connect, and one of them has a bent jack-shaft. I hope I can learn about upgrades on this site.

Still, we intend to keep on with this unit, as it does tow nicely, looks great, and fills our needs for camping well.

Best regards,
Ron and Connie in Minnesota.

 

[LJAZ]

Hi & welcome to the forum.

A couple of quick observations. It's really normal maintenance to check all of the seams annually for caulking that has pulled away or deteriorated. All of these joints are subject to a lot of flex as the trailer is towed so over time gaps will open up. If the PO didn't do it, you could be catching up on a year or two of maintenance.

As for the stabilizer jacks it almost sounds like your kids tried to used them to level the trailer. If that's the case that would explain why the got damaged as they aren't designed for that. If you install beefier ones make sure they get used properly. Trying to use them for leveling can actually cause damage to the trailer.

 

[M&M3]

Hello

It is nice to see another Minnesotan on the site.

You mentioned that the couch skirting is not the best. I am not sure how yours is constructed, but ours was a plywood affair. We removed it and made a skirting out of fabric that works much better and adds some storage space. Total cost was about $10 for materials.

On the roof chalking, there are special chalks to use on the rubber roof. I think there have been post s to this forum on that, and the current issue of "Trailer Life" has a good article on that as well.

I think some growling of the water pump is normal, but it seems worse if there is some air in the lines. It helps to run water through the system using the city water hook up to get all the air out before you switch to the pump.

 

[Dakota 1120]

Welcome to the forums. You will find lots of advise and good helpful information here.

BTW - will be visiting MN around the end of the month. We have a trip planned to Walker MN for a week. Will be checking out the scenery, the eagles and taking scenic rides.... and getting some use out of our Fun Finder.



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