2016 16BHS Questions After First Trip

2016Pup · 04-15-2019, 12:22 PM

Hi All,

We just took our newly acquired 2016 16BHS on our first trip and have a few "discoveries" that we wondered if any other owners have dealt with and what the "fix" is......

1) Water discovered on floor under bed in very front center to right of trailer. Could not trace to any of the water lines on the left side under the bed. The water was not there when we packed and left, drove to the grounds, filled up the fresh water tank, parked in our spot/leveled/stabilized, then discovered when unpacking. Anyone had this same thing occur or know what the cause could be?

2) Trailer sway side to side in windy conditions at campsite. Obviously there is only so much you can do to stop a 10+ foot wall from swaying in the wind but are there any upgrades you have done to help stability side to side? Upgraded scissor jacks, sway bar system, etc.?

3) Trailer sway side to side in windy conditions when driving. Once again, obviously the trailer is going to sway but it was pulling the truck with it a bit more than I like. I do not need weight distribution as any less tongue weight causes a front to back rocking/bouncing....but is there some kind of sway control hitch that could help that does not have load distribution functions?

4) Shower curtain coverage. We could not get it to completely cover wall-to-wall to keep water from splashing out to the toilet area. Has anyone come up with an idea to "pull" the curtain further around the shower and attach it somehow?

Thanks for any and all help/comments/suggestions!

Boomerweps · 04-15-2019, 06:15 PM

1. I wrap paper towels around each water pipe joint in any suspect area. Or lay them in suspect areas. Make sure the access door to the underbed storage is sealing well and not warped against the seal.

2. I block my stabilizers so they are at their strongest, unscrewed down to a near square. If you stretch them out too far, they start to lose their steadines. I usually add an extra screw jack stabilizer under the left rear frame? Due to interference with the black tank, that rear side stabilizer is moved forward a bit. THAT helps a lot to cut down on bounce when anyone goes to the rear to the bathroom or move in the bunks.

3. I tow with a Husky Centerline WDH and have had NO highway sway. You can get a seperate friction anti-sway bar, even at Harbor Freight. You need to add a little platform under your ball that allows adding the small sway bar ball.
A WDH should use lever action to somewhat make the TV & TT one long length and get rid of porpoising. This was my first WDH and what a difference.

4. We replaced the plastic shower curtain immediately with a fabric one. Haven't had any leakage problems. After a couple outings, replaced the factory shower head with the Oxygenics one. HUGE improvement in spray. Saw them in the Wal-Mart RV section recently, got mine via Amazon.

SeaDog · 04-15-2019, 06:51 PM

to stop the rocking of the rig while camped from wind of people moving around I installed the "steadyfast system" and X-Chocks my rig is rock solid

**bikendan** · 04-15-2019, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaDog

to stop the rocking of the rig while camped from wind of people moving around I installed the "steadyfast system" and X-Chocks my rig is rock solid

The OP's TT is a single axle, so x-chocks are useless.
And have yet to see anyone install a Steady-fast system on a single axle trailer.

jeffnick · 04-15-2019, 07:48 PM

My Wolf Pup drained water from the roof thru the cabinets first time out. We think it was from snow on the roof that melted into the a/c opening and didn't come inside until we were on the road. No problems since.

Anti sway here:
https://72land-n-sea.blogspot.com/20...-sway.html?m=1

SeaDog · 04-15-2019, 07:51 PM

I was reading to fast and didn't pick up on that thanks.

2016Pup · 04-16-2019, 07:45 AM

Wow, thanks for all the feedback everyone! I really appreciate all the help.

1) I think I will wait and see if it happens again, maybe it was a fluke first time trip thing
2) I will be sure to block the stabilizers so they are not extended too far. I also plan to add two more stabilizers near the rear bumper to help with the sway in the back of the camper (seemed to be worse than the front)
3) I will definitely look into the sway control that attaches to a regular ball hitch. Unfortunately I have a fancy height adjustable ball hitch so I will have to get a regular one to get this to work....
4) I like the idea of a fabric curtain and also the panels jeffnick made. I think these will help out a bunch.

I have a few projects I have completed and plan to complete this weekend. I will post a new "build" thread with some pics. For now, here are some pics camping this past weekend on Lake Erie

jeffnick · 04-16-2019, 09:39 AM

You can find the panels at Home Depot or Lowes.

2016Pup · 04-16-2019, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffnick

You can find the panels at Home Depot or Lowes.

Awesome, thank you!

Boomerweps · 04-16-2019, 01:07 PM

You can find those shower corners on Amazon and elsewhere, probably WalMart if you look.

Do not place your additional stabilizers under the bumper, not strongly welded. Place them under the frame rails. Yup, the right rear stabilizer is near the rear corner but the left rear is 3.5-4' from the rear, closer to the wheel than the rear. This causes, IMHO, a springboard effect at the bunks and even when moving in the bathroom.

After you have put initial tension on your stabilizers, give them an extra half or full turn to set them. Then depending on how it feels when I get moving in the TT in the morning, I'll put another turn or so on the stabilizers if the TT settled a bit into the ground.

Stupid lesson learned on the 16BHS with MorRyde steps for me: after initially leveling the TT using blocks under the wheels, MAKE SURE you open the door and check the steps deployment BEFORE disconnecting from the TV. Yes, you need to disconnect to level fore & aft using the tongue jack. But IF the site is unlevel, especially uphill on the door side, the steps may not have enough space to drop so that the hinge is flat enough for the door to open and close with the steps out. I've had where the step bottom adjusters can't go in enough. Once at a campsite, once when the TT sunk into my yard pushing open form plastic leveling blocks into the dirt.

Second tip: ALWAYS have some wood or solid platforms for soft ground. Just saw a Utube video where a guy essentially said you can never have too much wood blocking. He said figure out how much you think you'll need, then add some more. And then add a bit more. Yes, it adds some weight. But you'll be glad you have it

Boomerweps · 04-16-2019, 01:13 PM

Wanted to mention:
Please check out your CP in the green bar after you sign in. You can add a signature line. It is really handy to have your TV and TT listed for people to see when you make various posts and replies. It helps when composing replies to have a reference point. Thanks.

2016Pup · 04-16-2019, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boomerweps

Wanted to mention:
Please check out your CP in the green bar after you sign in. You can add a signature line. It is really handy to have your TV and TT listed for people to see when you make various posts and replies. It helps when composing replies to have a reference point. Thanks.

Thanks for all the help! On my 16 the rear stabilizer jacks on both sides are right behind the tires. So I think putting some at the furthest point back on the frame will help a lot to stabilize the rear.

Most sites we go to have concrete or asphalt pads so wooden blocks aren't usually necessary. However, I do carry 4 of the "building blocks" leveling blocks to put one under each stabilizer jack and a 4x4 to go under the tongue jack.

My signature should be up now

Boomerweps · 04-16-2019, 03:45 PM

Thanks for posting that signature, it'll keep things clearer in the future

I guess somebody originally decided symmetrical stabilizer placement was better and later figured out not so good with those rear stabilizers leaving the tail end completely unsupported. Mine on the rear left, if symmetrical with the right, would screw up into and/or rub against the black tank, a recipe for disaster;(
I definitely strongly recommend placing stabilizers under the rear on the frame near the bumper/waste hose storage. Without would be extremely bouncy. Without the one I place under the bunks, I could feel the whole TT bounce when my grandson would roll over or get in or out of his bunk at night when I was in the forward master bed, enough to be annoying ;(

jeffnick · 04-16-2019, 05:03 PM

Wow, y'all are very sensitive to a little trailer wobble. Me, not so much. We lived on a sailboat for 3 years and like the motion. I never put my jacks down for a night or two and don't carry any wood...but most of our overnight stays are at Walmart.
https://72land-n-sea.blogspot.com/20...ntry-2017.html

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