1st Question for the bouncy trailer

[steelpony5555]

First of all it appears the steps do not have a latch to lock them in the closed position. My question is since they don't latch has anyone ever had their steps open up on boucey roads. And for any 3000RK owners..... Our last trailer was a rear kitchen also, but it seems our new Montana really bounces stuff around. We have been down the same road with our Alpenlite several times and never broke a single glass or dish. We made one trip with the Montana and broke a bunch of stuff. We know how to pack our stuff so that it don't break but that didn't help this time because stuff really got bounced around, including one of the door shelves in the frig coming off the door. Is this normal for our trailers or is there something wrong here. Oh, and no I was not haulin butt, mostly 55-60 mph on Interstate.

[jimcol]

Many on this form have reported steps opening on bumpy roads. Some have drilled holes and put a pin or bolt to secure the steps. Another common cure seems to be a bungy cord which is what I use. We have the same model you do and yes the rear kitchen seems to get bouncy. Linda uses a lot of the none slip shelf liner between all her dishes. We have had some "dish" casualties and a couple of times cabinets have opened on their own. We now bungy most of the cabinet doors and insure the two doors on the refrig are closed tight. I can't say if what you experienced is normal because I probably haven't been down the same roads you have. Just relating our experience. How does the length of the 3000RK compare to your Alpenlite? The further those rear cabinets are from the axles the more severe the whip. Jim

[Trailer Trash 2]

My steps have opened while on the road. I use a 2 inch Pony spring clamp that works for me another way is us a bungie cord and start on the back of one side raound to the other side back. that works good too.

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

We have a rear kitchen, too, and things get bounced around a lot, even on flat roads while driving at a reasonable speed. I use the non-slip rubber liners between plates, bowls, cups, saucers, etc., but that doesn't help much. I bungy every cabinet that's possible to bungee, and on the ones that can't be secured that way, I use duct tape strips to keep them closed while on the road.

I'm very jealous of my friends with center kitchens because they seem to be able to travel with things riding just fine on their kitchen counters. I can't even leave the sink covers in because they bounce out and hit the floor. Leaving anything on the countertops is a recipe for disaster.

Still, I love the room in the rig that our rear kitchen affords, so I'll continue to put up with the inconvenience (mainly having to totally reorganize the entire kitchen once we arrive at our destination) of the design because the extra space in our living area is wonderful.

Carolyn

[The Oldguard]

Steelpony5555, here is my fix

"STEPS"

[DarMar]

We always bungee those steps and all cupboard doors. One never know when we are going to run in to a rough patch of road, especially worse in the spring. On many roads, even with our center kitchen, things can get tossed around pretty good.

[HOOK]

So far, so good in our 3455sa. You might consider tire pressure. Larry

[sreigle]

Yes, ours opened on California roads. Three times. Nowhere else, though.

We did the same as OldGuard. The holes are already there. Didn't have to drill at all. I copied it from him or someone who had posted it here.

[steelpony5555]

Ok thanks I guess it is just the nature of the beast. I guess I will continue to use the bungy cord on the steps cause I already didn't trust them lol. My Alpenlite never bounced stuff around as bad as bringing home the Montana and we never broke any dishes I can think of in the 3 years we had it. The Montana is about 2 feet longer in the rear so that may make it more severe. We already had the felt cushions for the dishes and the spring rods to keep stuff tight. We didn't have any cabinet doors come open cause I made all the childlocks as tight as I could by adjusting them and bending the male end open. The tire pressure was dead on and the trailer didn't go anywhere so the shocks should still be good. Could there be a difference in LT tires to ST tires affecting the bounce? We also love the rear kitchen so we will continue to whip it into shape..Thanks

PS William I like the pin idea you got so we'll probably do something like that in the future Thanks

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Consider, equa-flex. And, air pins or hitches.

Inside I do what others have already suggested and that you are doing, velcro strip the doors shut, and shelf liner stuff (I use the solid kind) cut to fit between dishes.

[sfretts]

Hi,

One thing we found was the amount of water in the fresh tank determines our ride for the most part. We have the center kitchen but if the tank is low or empty, we bounce all over the place. I usually fill it at least 1/4 to 1/2 full. Pulled away with steps down, but never had them come down on the road.

[sreigle]

A small piece of the non-skid shelf lining material between stacked breakables works extremely well. Vicki's been doing that for years, including when we had the rear kitchen 3295RK. We broke one dish prior to that time but since then the only thing we've broken is one dish that fell out of a cabinet when we opened the door and shattered when it hit the edge of the counter. That's the only casualty. The non-skid material doesn't have to be very big. Just big enough to make contact with both pieces.

[steelpony5555]

That is another thing I was going to experiment with is the water in the tanks. We had a TT that if it was filled the poor thing was all over the road lol. I did not have but maybe 5 gal of water in the tank coming home so that will be next to fill it at least half full. My Alpenlite always had around 30-50 gal in it. But then the thing of spliting tanks comes into play. But the next time out I will fill it at least half to 3/4 full and see how it goes.

As far as dishes we found these thick felt pads made for dishes of all places at a dollar store. They came in various sizes and have enough for service of 8. But they are very thick and have worked great. I must say we did not break any dishes we only broke a couple of coffee cups and glasses.

[WeBeFulltime]

We have had no problems with things moving around or getting broken in our 3585SA which is a rear kitchen. Love this floorplan!

[DQDick]

We are firm believers that the China Bomb tires ride rough, particularly when fully inflated. Since we got the G614's we inflate them to 100#s and the ride seems to be much easier.

[grampachet]

After having these same problems we found these solutions... We use a wire rack for the plates and bowls, the kind where the dishes stand on edge. This solved that problem.
For the doors I cut a piece of paneling in the shape of an E that fits through the door handles and notches slip down on the handles. This works very well to prevent the doors from opening.
I also learned to stay off I-5 through Seattle and use the 405 instead.
We will give these solutions a good test next month as we go down 101 to Disneyland then around somewhere that the sun is shining.

[CamillaMichael]

No problem with steps coming out while towing....

[Bob & Lee]

I have cut short peices of that pipe foam cover and slide it thru the handles, skid proof shelf paper so far ok
Bob

[mtheo]

WE have had the steps come down on real windy days. But I alway have a bungie cord across the top of the stepps and when I think I'm going to need it I just drop it down a little and sotp that, already had holes in the sides of the steps.

We learned early not to keep glass dishes in rear cabnits, we us side cabnits for glassware., less bounce.
Also I have always had air ride in my truck and addded a 5th airborne. Now smooth riding. Love the floor plan.

[Trailer Trash 2]

quote:Originally posted by The Oldguard

Steelpony5555, here is my fix

"STEPS"

I'm going to go with Oldguard idea, thanks for the better way idea.