I could find a project in an empty closet. Can't sit still even at 70. I'm not sure if being mechaniclly inclined is a gift or a curse. I'll rest when I'm dead.
Being mechanical is a blessing! Much easier to keep busy and has the added bonus of being able to fix all that breaks!
Life is good in the Keys. 81* today and went for a long [4 hr] boat ride in the inflatable. DW loves to explore the small nook and cranny waterways off the beaten path. Little motor runs about 6-7 hours off 3 gallons of gas at about 25 mph. Love it!
Ken, did you get your extra FWT installed and working?
If you would when you get the chance, sent me a pix of your load levelers and their mounts on the trailer. I may need to raise mine a slot or two to add more weight to the front of my truck. If you raise the attachment platforms, does that not transfer weight to the TV's front wheels? Having a mind fart here. Happens when you get old...a lot.
__________________ Aviator Wright Flyer #1919
Army Pathfinder Vietnam, 3 tours
DAV, MOPH, VFW, NRA, 1stCav. ABN
Nice picture! Sun, water and palm trees! I would post a picture here but gray skies, dirty snow and barren trees would only make everyone depressed! Trying to make the best of it though. Going skiing this afternoon for a few hours. Have a night pass at a nearby ski hill. I did get the rear FW tank installed and plumbed. Just have to wait for spring so I can fill it and check operation. I'm not sure about shifting the weight. I have had my Reese 12,000# chain type WDH set the same for 15 years and never had an issue.
I raised my hitch 2" to get some weight off the front tire of the Aviator as they looked like they were squatting more than the rear. The front two tires were the first to go both times I've had the blowouts.
Also, I'm getting dim signals from oncoming traffic which tells me the front is raised now. Didn't happen before. I have nothing to compare with on the height of the arm flanges on the trailer.
__________________ Aviator Wright Flyer #1919
Army Pathfinder Vietnam, 3 tours
DAV, MOPH, VFW, NRA, 1stCav. ABN
KenHwy61
Here are pix of the current set up. Not sure if I should raise the bar flanges on the trailer, or not. It did, however, take some of the weight off the front tires of the unit. They don't squat as much as they did and they run cooler with less pressure increase. They [tires] are running around 78-90 psi and ambient temp to 105 max so far. All well within the parameters of the tires.
__________________ Aviator Wright Flyer #1919
Army Pathfinder Vietnam, 3 tours
DAV, MOPH, VFW, NRA, 1stCav. ABN
I'm not sure on adjusting yours either. On my Reese, the trailer portion is not adjustable. You adjust the tension by how many chain links use. Maybe someone with your style of hitch will chime in.
I do recall that when I first got my Aviator they told me I would have to take off the hitch brackets to open the hood. Fortunately, they were wrong. All it took was a little adjusting of the hood mounts to make it open properly!
Ken. If you blow up the pix, you will see I had to cut off the tops of both mounts to get the hood open. I still have to lift up on the hood to clear the mounts.
When we get home, I'm raising the mounts one bolt hole and trimming off the tops of the mounts again. It's difficult already to get the WDbars up high enough to put them on the flanges. I have a tool that came with the unit to pry the bars on. Guess I should start using it.
Just trying to get as much weight as possible to the TV's front wheels as the tongue weight is over 1,400 lbs and I carry a 90lb outboard motor, three spare tires and 50 gallons of fuel in the bed. My truck works for a living and it does well. I DO HAVE "Super Springs" installed to help out. Just trying to tweak the load as much as possible.
__________________ Aviator Wright Flyer #1919
Army Pathfinder Vietnam, 3 tours
DAV, MOPH, VFW, NRA, 1stCav. ABN
I see what you mean about cutting the tops off. Mine only sit up about an inch so I they fit fine. I do have to lift up the hood as I open it but it does clear. I have to use a leverage bar with mine or I could never get enough tension on the spring bars to have any real effect. Maybe you just need to use the pry bar and crank it tight!
Wicked1
They only made 70 units [I think] and they have long sold those. You might try trading sites to see if you can find a used one. Noe and then one will pop-up. They are worth paying extra for as they are unique and well built and I believe will last a long, long time. I'm stilling "learning" my unit and have made a lot of mods including 600 watts of solar power, 5,000/10,000 watt inverter and a huge battery bank.
The fireplace is all you need to heat it even down to freezing temps as the insulation is mostly slab styrofoam and plenty of it.
It tows great even though the tongue weight is heavy. My tow truck is a Silverado 2500HD Duramax/Allison with a 50 gal aux tank/toolbox in the bed. I have no trouble hauling it from one end of the Blue Ridge Parkway to the other.
If you are lucky enough to find one, expect to pay well for it as it will be a classic.
__________________ Aviator Wright Flyer #1919
Army Pathfinder Vietnam, 3 tours
DAV, MOPH, VFW, NRA, 1stCav. ABN
Wicked 1,
That is correct they only made 70 or 71 of these units. the wright flyer is the 34' which includes the the tow bar. the electra is smaller. The Wright Flyer has the dinette in the panoramic glass window area. the Electra has the bedroom in the window area. Beware on the white Aviator. They where made two years ago with fake windows and spare parts. The true aviators have custom paint and truly a beautiful unit. We camped in Yellowstone when it was 20 degrees and had to get up and turn off the fireplace. These aviators are truly a all weather TT! They have had some issues with certain these but if you can weather thru it and do the repairs or have them done it is a fantastic classic TT. They are a jaw stopper unit.
We pull ours with a F250. No problems towing. NO REGRETS!
Well said Eddie and Carol! Last I saw there was a WF for sale in Oregon. Looking forward to seeing pictures of your new paint job Carol. There was another unit repainted and it looks awesome. I found a picture of it. It looks little different than the original colors. I also posted some more pictures of my underbelly project. I added R16 insulation to the entire the frame parameter which was just empty space. I also installed an underbelly heating system by mounting a 4" exhaust fan through the utility closet floor. I then wired in a thermostat that turns on the fan when the basement reaches 35*. It blows warm air from the coach until the basement reaches 40.
Well said Eddie and Carol! Last I saw there was a WF for sale in Oregon. Looking forward to seeing pictures of your new paint job Carol. There was another unit repainted and it looks awesome. I found a picture of it. It looks little different than the original colors. I also posted some more pictures of my underbelly project. I added R16 insulation to the entire the frame parameter which was just empty space. I also installed an underbelly heating system by mounting a 4" exhaust fan through the utility closet floor. I then wired in a thermostat that turns on the fan when the basement reaches 35*. It blows warm air from the coach until the basement reaches 40.
Yes I saw that one that was repainted differently! He had the same issues I had with the Paint chipping. The Painter that painted his is repainting mine. I believe He paid a little extra for his because with changing paint was a little more involved. We left ours original! Plus it did not cost any extra $$$$! These babies will be a classic one day! You and BlackHat have really done some nest upgrades on your units! Hopefully one day we can all get a Aviator Rally going! Even if it is a small Camp out! Our units are truly unique!
I wonder why they only made so few of them, they really look cool and I would love to get one but need to find a floor plan that works, looking to go from my Roo hybrid to a 25-31' travel trailer with the right layout for GF soon to be DW and I and out dog
They made so few because they didn't sell well. Listing at 90k during a recession wasn't a recipe for success. There were only two floor plans made. The 29ft front bedroom Electra and the 34ft rear bedroom Wright-Flyer
Ah yeah 90K is a bit rough for a TT, but have to see one up close so far in 3 years of Glamping I have not, with nearly 20 yrs of tent camping never even noticed them
They only made them for the 2013 model year so that's why you haven't seen one. Like all rvs, the list price was grossly inflated with most selling between 45-65K and the few used selling around 40K. Still expensive but they are a very solid trailer and really are built to last a lifetime. The roof is one piece solid fiberglass, the framing aluminum, and the floor is 2" thick composite. The structure is basically rot-proof. Not an overly large trailer for the price as most similarly priced luxury 5er's are much bigger so it failed to catch on with the full-timer market. What it was really made for was to compete with Airstream. Been very happy with mine.
Ah yeah 90K is a bit rough for a TT, but have to see one up close so far in 3 years of Glamping I have not, with nearly 20 yrs of tent camping never even noticed them
2014 F150 FX4 Crew 4X4 EB
2015 Roo 23IKSS
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Wicked1,
There are two in the RV trader Wright flyer listed around 34,000.
The electra a little more. We love our wright flyer. We believe the price line will go up because they are a limited type of camper and only made one year. It is the best all weather camper. Just bad timing on the economy. Like I said beware of the white Aviator that the camping community calls the Mutt. Because it has a faux front window and made of spare parts. That one its about 22,000. Also one in the Rv Trader. My personal opinion. We went from a tent to pop-up to hybrid to the Aviator. Love the Aviator. You can also go to some Rv's shows and check them out. Where do you live? Maybe you can find someone that owns one and you can go check theirs out in personal jut see if it is worth driving out to purchase one. That is what we did.We flew out to Oregan to check it out, then we drove to Oregon to pick ours up from Alabama. And OH! You will need a new truck. The wright Flyer should not be pulled by anything less than a 2500 series truck. Really needs a heavy duty truck. The Electra you can get by with a 1500 series
truck. We have a friend that has a Electra that he pulls with his 1500 series truck but he wishes his truck was bigger. These campers are tongue heavy. But pull like a dream.
Aviator Wright Flyer #1919
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