# Trailer Maintanence For Big Trip!



## Cats4Nat (Jan 28, 2004)

We are putting the TT in for some work before our big west coast trip in June.

One of the things is vent covers for the TT.

They say we need the bigger MaxxAir Fan/Mate Model 900 Power Vent Cover for the bathroom vent because it is bigger. I thought all the vents were the same size. Maybe a bit higher because of fan.

Questions:

#1-Regular vent cover does not fit the bathroom?

#2-We are getting brakes, bearings, lug nuts checked.......anything else we should look into....we are estimating 8000+miles in one month.

Thanks bunches!
Sandra


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

The covers need to be "Bigger" in the size of the vent holes, not the physical dimensions. A standard cover will restrit the airflow created by your fans. You can see pictures of the different covers on campingworld's website and get an idea of the difference between them.

As for maintenance, don't forget tow vehicle maintenance! I always run synthetic oil if I'm headed over the mountains. Then I also feel better if I push the mileage between changes a little







. A good overall check of the TV should include brakes, cooling system, oil, fluid levels, etc.

Finally, have a wonderful time on the trip! We went out to the west coast last year and had a great time!


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## biga (Apr 17, 2006)

1. Unless you have or are adding a high volume fan to the bathroom, the regular MaxxAir should work fine. I would make them show you why it will not work.

2. Take a torque wrench and socket with you on your trip. If they take the wheels off the trailer, you will need to do the "break-in" tightening of the lug nuts while on the trip. I think you need to check the torque every 50 miles for the first 200 miles, then every 3000 miles after that. When we purchased our trailer, the lug loosened significantly on the first couple trips. I bought a cheap wal-mart wrench (so I would not loose my good one) to keep in the TV so it is always handy when I get ready to head out.


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## bentpixel (Sep 2, 2006)

If your having the wheels pulled make a note to torque the lugs nuts at 10, 25, and 50 miles (as per the manual) on the very first leg, then once a day after that. 
Also, someone posted a mishap from a mechanic over-torquing with air wrench. Might want to watch them do is by hand. Maybe suggest they show you how its done. (Sure you know how but why rub their fur the wrong way if they do it right the first time.







)
Might need an extra cartridge of grease for the WD bars (mine need a few squirts every 200 miles and /or once a day).

Safe Journey,
Scott


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## Cats4Nat (Jan 28, 2004)

We just got our Suburban in Aug 06 but plan to take it to the dealer in June before we leave.

We will be in Yellowstone, Teton and Mount Rushmore,...so I am guessing mountians. Havent decided on synthetic oil yet. Can you never go back to regular oil after synthetic and what is average $$ vs. standard oil change.

I will have husband watch them do the lug nuts on TT. Dont want to lose anything while going down hill!!

We also welded bike frame on frame of trailer and got Allen bike rack for TT. We will be trying to combo out on two weekends trips before 30 day West Coast adventure!!

The MaxxAir Fan only comes in white and black....I am concerned black will dim natural light we get in the bathroom where fan vent is.
Sandra


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

What the others said was good stuff. Another thing I do before we leave on a trip is to put my box of truck/trailer necessities in the back of the truck. In this box I carry:
> Grease gun with axle bearing grease
> Spare wheel bearing set (bearing, race, seal, along with wood block and 6" section of PVC pipe for driving and seating the race)
> Power steering fluid
> Brake fluid
> Transmission fluid
> 2-4 extra quarts of motor oil
> Serpentine belt
> Tire repair kit (plugs/tool/glue)
> Gallon of engine coolant (anti-freeze)
> Roll of paper shop towels
> Tire pressure gauge

I also carry a 6-gallon plastic water jug full of water, just in case a hose springs a leak and I need to limp to the next town for repairs.

This is in addition to the "First Aid Kit" for the hitch/trailer that I carry, containing ratchet, extension, sockets, specific size wrenches (for hitch adjustments), screw-drivers and torque wrench. This kit stays in the Outback. The sockets fit the wheel lug nuts and the Equalizer nuts/bolts. It will cost a little more to duplicate some of these tools (although I had duplicates of half the sockets), but this way it's easy to check the torques because I don't have to regularly sift through the larger tool box (in my truck bed) to come up with those tools when I need to.

Maybe it's overkill, but I'd rather be more prepared than not.

Just my $.02.

Mike


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## biga (Apr 17, 2006)

Cats4Nat said:


> We will be in Yellowstone, Teton and Mount Rushmore,...so I am guessing mountians. Havent decided on synthetic oil yet. Can you never go back to regular oil after synthetic and what is average $$ vs. standard oil change.


You can go back and forth, no problem. You can even mix the two. Some oil companies offer a "Synthetic Blend" that is just the two of them pre mixed.

In some of my vehicles, I developed oil leaks after switching to synthetic (it is thinner than dino oil). I switched back to dino, and the leaks went away (eventually). I won't try it in the TV as I don't want it to leak also. I think newer vehicles 2000+ have seals and gaskets that work better with synthetic.

Since I don't use synthetic, I don't pay attention to the price differences, but synth used to be about twice the price of dino, but the change interval is also longer.


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## Zymurgist (Apr 2, 2007)

Scoutr2 said:


> What the others said was good stuff. Another thing I do before we leave on a trip is to put my box of truck/trailer necessities in the back of the truck. In this box I carry:
> > Grease gun with axle bearing grease
> > Spare wheel bearing set (bearing, race, seal, along with wood block and 6" section of PVC pipe for driving and seating the race)
> > Power steering fluid
> ...


Thanks Mike, that gives me a good list to work off of getting ourselves set up.


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## Veek (Jul 2, 2006)

I run full synthetic in both of my vehicles. It costs about $25 more per oil change but you can get at least twice as many miles out of it as it doesn't break down. I have experienced no leaks by using full synthetic, either.

I was told once that you can switch at any time from regular motor oil to full synthetic but once you switch you should not switch back. I don't know if this is true but it is what I was told.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Syntetic oil has the same quoted viscosity range as standard oil (That's what the 10W30 or 5W30 means). It is acutally more stable at higher temperatures and therefore does not thin out as much as standard oil. This is why I like it for towing in the mountains, when you engine is more likely to be running near max temps. I have heard of complaints in older engines with seals drying out. Any new engine is fine with it and you can switch back and forth as much as you want in a modern engine. The price increase is probably $10-15 if you do it yourself and $20-50 if a shop does it.


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