Salem Cruise Lite 171RBXL review

[pwnickell]

My wife and I pick ours up tomorrow. Very excited! We've upgraded it with a pretty powerful inverter 2 6V Deep Cycle Batteries and a portable solar panel to accommodate extensive boondocking.

[CedarCreekWoody]

Originally Posted by pwnickell

My wife and I pick ours up tomorrow. Very excited! We've upgraded it with a pretty powerful inverter 2 6V Deep Cycle Batteries and a portable solar panel to accommodate extensive boondocking.

You will love it! If you are going to be carrying a full fresh water tank while boondocking you might to consider upgrading the tank support. It is fairly easy to do on that model. You don't have to remove anything, just fabricate a crossmember out of 1 1/2 inches angle iron and slide it underneath the rear support (forward support is already made that way). I have a separate thread on it if you wish to read it.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...de-129346.html

[flosmith]

Originally Posted by Briorick

I, and another forum member ( alarge1 ), had the same issue with our 1 step heights on our 171RBXL's. So we opted to install the 2 stepper from etrailer. The fit is exact, and it made for a smoother transition into the TT. You will definitely like the 2 stepper should you decide to upgrade. Much easier on the legs.

Took about 30 minutes in all to uninstall old / install new. Best with 2 people, but can be done alone, as it is a bit bulky.



Here is the link to the replacement step we installed should you want to check it out.





https://www.etrailer.com/RV_and_Camp.../LC341500.html

Well, we got the 2-step suggested. Installation was 2 people; 3 1/2 hours (in Texas heat in late July) with much hammering, pushing, and finally a trip to Home Depot to replace a nut that disappeared.
Seems our step frame was welded a few hairs too narrow for these new steps. They are now on, and look great. The remaining problem is that the top of the step frame is now bent (torque from the tight fit) to the point that it does not permit the steps to come down without quite a rigamarole of finagling.

Unless someone has an alternative suggestion, I'm buying a hacksaw next.

Next time, I'm letting/MAKING the dealer deal with this install.

Still appreciate the info, details & encouragement from y'all on the topic!
You are the BEST!

[Briorick]

Originally Posted by flosmith

Well, we got the 2-step suggested. Installation was 2 people; 3 1/2 hours (in Texas heat in late July) with much hammering, pushing, and finally a trip to Home Depot to replace a nut that disappeared.
Seems our step frame was welded a few hairs too narrow for these new steps. They are now on, and look great. The remaining problem is that the top of the step frame is now bent (torque from the tight fit) to the point that it does not permit the steps to come down without quite a rigamarole of finagling.

Unless someone has an alternative suggestion, I'm buying a hacksaw next.

Next time, I'm letting/MAKING the dealer deal with this install.

Still appreciate the info, details & encouragement from y'all on the topic!
You are the BEST!

WOW.......sorry to hear your step replacement gave you so much trouble. And in this heat, no doubt! UGH!!!!

Our step frame was also a smidgeon tight, and it took a little maneuvering to get it into place, but worked effortlessly afterwards. I'm trying to think of "Why" your step is not folding easier. Can you send pics so we can see how you have it installed? Maybe then we can be of more help.


edit : I have attached the picture ( courtesy of Alarge1 ) of the step after it was installed to show you how it should look. My apologies for the side ways look. I couldn't get it to straighten.

[alarge1]

Originally Posted by Briorick

WOW.......sorry to hear your step replacement gave you so much trouble. And in this heat, no doubt! UGH!!!!

Our step frame was also a smidgeon tight, and it took a little maneuvering to get it into place, but worked effortlessly afterwards. I'm trying to think of "Why" your step is not folding easier. Can you send pics so we can see how you have it installed? Maybe then we can be of more help.


edit : I have attached the picture ( courtesy of Alarge1 ) of the step after it was installed to show you how it should look. My apologies for the side ways look. I couldn't get it to straighten.

Wow ... so sorry for the problem. I had installed the steps BRIORICK mentioned first and had no problems so I recommended them to him. It was just a smidge tight but not THAT much. In fact I installed it all by myself in about 30 minutes (and that was taking a beer break too).

[flosmith]

Originally Posted by alarge1

Wow ... so sorry for the problem. I had installed the steps BRIORICK mentioned first and had no problems so I recommended them to him. It was just a smidge tight but not THAT much. In fact I installed it all by myself in about 30 minutes (and that was taking a beer break too).

Thank you, Alarge1. I think I found your review of the steps on etrailer as well. I'm actually waiting to hear from etrailer. I think they sent me a different step than I'd ordered, I am certain it was a return, and I KNOW it was already bent when we removed it from the box!

I WISH we'd taken a beer break! We each had a Gatorade, and we were at least in the shade at the storage place, so very thankful for those things!

I'll let y'all know how this plays out with etrailer. I'm betting etrailer is going to help us quite a bit. So I haven't bought a hack saw yet!

[flosmith]

These are pics of the steps we installed. I hope you can see the top bar is bent down, blocking the step from deploying without a lot of excess finagling.
I have talked to etrailer.com, and they are reviewing these pics to determine a solution.

[alarge1]

Wow ... that's a pretty good bend too !!! I am sure etrailer will get it worked out. They are a great company to work with.

[Briorick]

Not sure why the bend occurred, but you did a wonderful install. They do look nice. Once you get this corrected you will love the new steps.

[flosmith]

Originally Posted by Briorick

Not sure why the bend occurred, but you did a wonderful install. They do look nice. Once you get this corrected you will love the new steps.

Thanks, BrioRick. The unit came out of the box bent. But the steps still cleared - barely. After the install, the bend was exacerbated to what you see here.

Etrailer is researching the situation & might decide to send a new step unit.

[OLDNAVY]

Originally Posted by alarge1

Wow ... that's a pretty good bend too !!! I am sure etrailer will get it worked out. They are a great company to work with.

Not to hijack the thread, but I thought etrailer was a good company also. I ordered truck towing mirrors from them and they are wrong. When contacted to return them, they charged me over $13 to return because I ordered them online, even though i followed their instructions. So, no more etrailer for me!

[flosmith]

Originally Posted by OLDNAVY

Not to hijack the thread, but I thought etrailer was a good company also. I ordered truck towing mirrors from them and they are wrong. When contacted to return them, they charged me over $13 to return because I ordered them online, even though i followed their instructions. So, no more etrailer for me!

I fear we already hijacked the thread! Sorry!
And very sorry to hear of your less than favorable experience with etrailer. My jury is still out; I have promises, but so far, no action. We'll see.

[flosmith]

New steps arrived; no hassle involved. Installed yesterday. Applied a little hitch grease to help with the snug fit. Now I love our 171RBXL and the double steps!

[alarge1]

Awesome !!! Glad it all worked out for you !

[S and D]

We love our 171! It's been perfect for the two of us. The single step started out ok. My husband has a knee replacement so when we saw the two step posted by Briorick and alarge 1 we thought we found the perfect solution. We talked with etrailer everyone thought it would fit. Unfortunately our mounting brackets are set at 25 and the step brackets measure 25 1/4. We think the trailers mounting brackets are set wrong but can't convince our dealership to help us out. We'd appreciate any suggestions! Thanks
Sorry for taking this thread even further off the track

[Briorick]

Originally Posted by S and D

Unfortunately our mounting brackets are set at 25 and the step brackets measure 25 1/4. We think the trailers mounting brackets are set wrong but can't convince our dealership to help us out. We'd appreciate any suggestions! Thanks
Sorry for taking this thread even further off the track

What you're experiencing is the same as I, and the others here, experienced, regarding the snug fit. Yes, my replacement steps were a tad bit off, a 1/4" as well, and required a little bit of persuasion to line up the bolt holes. They are definitely a "snug fit". Mine also had a little flair in the step bracket afterwards due to the 1/4" offset. But once bolted they were fine. Just give them a couple of good smacks and they will line up to the bolt holes.

[flosmith]

Originally Posted by S and D

We love our 171! It's been perfect for the two of us. The single step started out ok. My husband has a knee replacement so when we saw the two step posted by Briorick and alarge 1 we thought we found the perfect solution. We talked with etrailer everyone thought it would fit. Unfortunately our mounting brackets are set at 25 and the step brackets measure 25 1/4. We think the trailers mounting brackets are set wrong but can't convince our dealership to help us out. We'd appreciate any suggestions! Thanks
Sorry for taking this thread even further off the track

We had the same situation, exacerbated by the fact that the double step received from etrailer was bent on arrival. They replaced the damaged steps, and the new ones, while a snug fit, went on much more easily with the added assistance of HITCH BALL GREASE! Still snug, but absolutely manageable! See pics above. I can't imagine doing it with less than 2 people, though.
Once you get them installed, you will love them! DH has 2 knee replacements and I have a bad hip from age 14. Double step is our new Best Friend!

Lubrication & determination/stubbornness are your friends in the meantime.

Good Luck & keep us posted!

[S and D]

Thanks for the suggestions Briorick and flosmith! We'll give it another try!

[S and D]

We did it!! I have pictures but need to figure out how to post them.... but then ours looks the same as previously posted.
It took some determination and definitely being stubborn! We love them. Thanks again!

[Briorick]

Originally Posted by S and D

We did it!! I have pictures but need to figure out how to post them.... but then ours looks the same as previously posted.
It took some determination and definitely being stubborn! We love them. Thanks again!

EXCELLENT!!!!! It's amazing what we can accomplish with a little gentle "persuasion" and "ball grease". LOL.

Your photos are going to make perfect keepsake memories for your camping album. Go out and ENJOY!