This is my first trailer, I am a recent graduate from tent camping (I am getting too old to sleep on the ground, or too tired of it, or something.) So I am a newbie when it comes to pop-ups.
I debated (with myself and wife) a long time before getting my E3. I looked several months (over a year's worth) at both the Coleman and Fleetwood.... and bought the Fleetwood on 3/26/08..and less than two months later a buyout. It figures. Looks like my stock market talent is carrying over to major purchases also. Buy high, sell low, or buy from companies that fold 'em. heh.
So tomorrow I am taking me E3 in for a bit of warranty work. The ratchet on the crank for the top randomly fails to latch when raising the top. Any advice on that? I have had the top rapidly (relative speaking here) descend while the crank spins all by itself. (I also made the mistake of trying to catch it. I'm lucky I didn't break a finger in my hand!) I have cycled the top less than 10 times in the last two months and it started doing that after my first real trip with the trailer.
The first repair I did was caulk around the fill tube connection to the water tank. The crimp-on hose clamps didn't seal the hose to the tank nipple and water poured down the side of the tank when filling.
The gas pressure seems to be lacking to the outside fitting. If I am using the outside gas stove, and light a burner on the inside, the pressure falls enough that I have had the flame on the outside stove go out. Anyone else have that happen on a similar setup? (I switched tanks thinking one was low, its possible both are low, but as far as I can determine that are at least half full.)
Is there a trick to using the water fill on the side? Using a funnel with a flexible extension, it still seems an inordinate amount of water flows back out and is wasted. Is this normal? It is almost as if there is a blockage (such as a check valve) farther down the fill tube but I do not see anything. This could also be my inexperience with filling procedure so I am looking for advice on this one.
I also have to get the CO detector reattached. Like a good electronic instrument, it failed at 2 am. It went into "I need service" beep-long pause-beep, repeat. I thought it needed a new battery so I installed one. Nope. still beeps. Air out the trailer at 2am thinking maybe the neighbors campfire was spoofing it. Nope, still beeping. Took out the battery and pulled the ground wire off. Whatcha wanna bet that the dealer will reattach it and it doesn't beep?
Also have to get the power switch under the stove unit repaired. Apparently the little nub that depresses the switch hit it at an angle and broke it.
Gee, is there anything else? So I have had it 10 weeks, camped in it once (three nights over memorial weekend), towed it less that 300 miles, and I'm off to the dealer for service already. And now Fleetwood has been bought out. Now I'm also wondering if the extended warranty I purchased is worth the paper its published on...........
Is there a trick to using the water fill on the side? Using a funnel with a flexible extension, it still seems an inordinate amount of water flows back out and is wasted. Is this normal? It is almost as if there is a blockage (such as a check valve) farther down the fill tube but I do not see anything. This could also be my inexperience with filling procedure so I am looking for advice on this one............
This happened on my E1 when I first tried to fill it. An examination revealed that the vent tube that allows air to escape from the water tank had a kink in it. As the tank filled the back-pressure forced the water back out the opening. Replacing the vent tube fixed my filling problem.
Hang in there, it took three service visits to my dealer to get everything ironed out. Everything was covered by warranty.
The answer Ron gave is the usual cause for the back flow when filling.
As for the roof crank, it's so common the cure is in your owners manual. It's caused by over cranking when closing the trailer up. It knock the small ratchet pawl out of position and no more clickity-clickity and the roof won't hold position.
The cure is to raise the top and SLIGHTLY over crank it. That resets the pawl into it's working position.
This has been a "feature" on the Coleman/Fleetwood lift system for at least 15 years. Why they haven't redesigned the box is my guess they haven't been sued over some one getting hurt by the roof.
Stop sweating the little things, get out there and use it more. Tow it through a deep stream on some National Forest and you will forget all the problems. I have had two Evolutions, the E2 and now the E4. The furnace wouldn't work on the E2, found that out on a 24 degree weekend boondocking. The E4 so far hasn't had a problem except its missing the little cover where the shore power cable comes out. Not even worth me driving to the dealer an hour away. Go out, use it hard, find everything wrong and then take it in for service.
JCH
New TV: 2008 Dodge Ram 3500, 6.7L Cummins, 6 Speed Auto, No mods yet (but they are coming)
2008 Fleetwood Evolution E-4, Reese Round Bar Weight Distributing Hitch
Me and the Wife: Scuba Dive, Mountain Bike, Kayak, Hike
Two Dogs: Mako and Amber
As Mike mentioned, the roof/cranking issue is addressed in your owner's manual.
You'd mentioned your propane lines/fittings.....
The key with the propane tanks is to open the valve slowly....very slowly, and the safety feature won't shut down tank flow/pressure. If you open the valve too fast, you will get just a little bit of propane to one appliance, and not enough propane to operate any other propane appliance.
Take the time to read your owners manual cover to cover, as well as all of the owners manuals for your appliances - lots of good information in each and good tips and troubleshooting hints, as well as maintenance schedules.
This is a "for what it's worth" on the water. My (then) new Jayco could not be filled manually and water just came out as I poured it in. I posted a couple of times on this forum about it --- I was new to PUPs and didn't know what to look for. Finally got down on hands-and-knees and found that flexible tube leading to tank (below floor) was actually too long and was sloping upward. I had to cut a notch in the plywood it sat on (to lower it), and actually remove the tube and cut it to shorten it. That and a half dozen other issues had to be addressed. So, my perspective is that the PUP was really assembled poorly --- that may or may not be an opinion shared by others, and that you'll end up having to do a number of things to correct various issues. I finally got everything fixed.
Pup: 2007 Jayco 1206 w/slide-out + shower
surge brakes, 54w solar panel
TV: 2005 Nissan Xterra 4X4, manual trans
25 years tent camping, 4000+ miles of hiking, lots of biking
Thanks to all for the advice. I took it in today with my list of items.
On the gas pressure. The tech recommended running both tanks at the same time. He said he would check it out just to be sure. I said I'll try that next time (both tanks open).
I mentioned what was suggested here about the plugged vent hose. He said he'd check it out.
When I related my CO detector issue, he said it had to be reset every time it was used. I don't find that bit of advice in the manual. He'll have to reconnect the ground wire to verify it though.
When I related the issue with the crank, he just shrugged and wrote it down.
I also mentioned that I had two of the curtain slides that detached from the curtain. (A friend of mine related that on his first pop-up most of the slides became detached on theirs. You'd think that if that has been an issue for that many years that the manufacturers would have fixed it by now. You'd think.)
Bottom line was three weeks was the estimate. I don't plan on going out that soon anyway, so that was OK. He said they already had two warranty and 5 other repair jobs ahead of mine. My next 4wheel/camping trip is next September to Northern Utah (work, family, grandbabies occupy the weekends in between now and then).
And I verified the information in the manual. Real (stupid) guys don't read manuals. (duhhhh) So RTFM. Sure enough, the advice to overcrank a bit with the top fully raised is right there in the manual. I could have sworn that is what I did when I set it up last time. Maybe not.
Like that safety pin in the side of the hitch, that is one thing I probably won't forget again.
Anyway, thanks guys for the suggestions and advice.
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