Made 1st payment and time to rebuild trailer.

[rattleNsmoke]

Way cool. Thanks for sharing!

[Brian41]

Good progress yesterday..rain was coming and had to get it watertight by the end of day. Installed the original pin box to check flex and I am happy to say I reached my goal of 1/2" flex

[mud yapster]

Way cool!!! Really nice work it should last forever now. How about a pic of the boats

[Brian41]

These 3 are mine.

[mud yapster]

Originally Posted by Brian41

These 3 are mine.

Awsome boats thanks for sharing

[youroo]

There is No better Sound than (Smoke on the Water)!! Youroo!!

[Iwannacamp]

OK... I will say it.... You are the kind of guy that chaps me... lol

Good job.. great explanation... perfect results

Maybe one day I will finish something I start.

Ohhh... and by the way... More that about 50 MPH on the water is toooo fast. My bass boat will run about 65MPH and that's to fast JMHO

[harderd]

Nice job!

[Brian41]

Getting there....made a new piece of Filon for the underside of pin box area. I glued 2 strips of aluminum to the backer panel so the screws for the nose would have something to bite. Cutting the reliefs in the backer panel for the curved section with a razor knife wore me out. New LED lights and rear electric stabilizers will be here tomorrow between those and some trim work to finish we will be ready for another trip. I did give a it test ride around the block today and I am very pleased with the results.

[Brian41]

Missed a step, insulation and wiring done. I also changed out the 14 gauge + and - main wires that feed from the truck to 8 gauge.

[Ida Ratherbe Camping]

Very Impressive, keep up the good work.

[Brian41]

Going to the Marvac RV show today in Novi Mi....better bring my blinders and only look at accessories. Wife wants a coach but I already own about 30 engines and don't need another one to feed.

[Brian41]

Well that did not go very well!!!!!!! We found a trailer we could not live without and guess what.........General RV the company we bought this unit from offered us $21,000.00 for it when I have given them close to $40,000.00 for the trailer and parts bought for it through them in the last 2 months, this does not include the past month of labor making it better than new. When I bought this unit they promised to give me back what I paid for it if I bought a new unit within the first year. Liars and crooks thats all they are.

[Iwannacamp]

It's sad when people lie/take advantage of other people. That's why attorneys have jobs. Honest hand-shake business is fading fast....it's all legal Mumbo Jumbo nowadays.


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[Brian41]

I would rather buy 10 more trailers from General RV than deal with any lawyer. I am a firm believer in the joke that goes "what do call an RV full of lawyers going off the side of a cliff" answer "a good start". In 56 years of life and 36 years of business I have hired 3 lawyers that took my $ and did nothing for me on open and shut easy cases. I have since defended myself in all other matters winning every time.

[Brian41]

Remade and installed the generator door (self inflicted wound) with only the trim and upper lights on front left to do today. Next week we are taking it up north with the kids to see a cottage on Lake Charlevoix my mother bought and to Silver lake to rent a 4 seater side by side for the day to see if we want to purchase one in the future.

[Brian41]

Took it up to Mackinaw City Michigan (800+ mile trip) over the weekend and there is zero movement in pin box and everything worked as it should.

I am happy to say that the addition of the Lippert auto level system and Tri-Glide pin box were worth every penny and will not own another RV without them. With that said this unit is for sale and I am custom ordering a new Dutchmen Voltage, Heartland Cyclone or the new Tesla by Ever Green. I am leaning towards the 3814 (14' garage) Tesla but I want the bigger 18 foot garage offered by Voltage and Cyclone. I feel that Ever Green makes the best frame (in house) and uses much better materials throughout the RV.

[Brian41]

During the last month I have been to the RV show and several dealers looking at all the 5th wheel Toy haulers on the market and only found 1 that had a frame system I would even consider that being an Tesla built by Ever Green. The problem is they do not make a model I would be interested in buying (bigger garage area) I like the 3818 Voltage and the 4018 Cyclone but both WILL have frame issues like mine DID so I will turn my Forest River All American into the RV of my dreams. Plans are to remove the entire roof to get rid of all the vents, A/C unit and the rest of the clutter up there only leaving the 2 skylights, put an underbelly heat pump for A/C and heat but keep the propane heater for backup and below 30 degrees. Cut the back of the garage area off and add 6.5 feet to it making it the legal limit for towing. As for the roof I will get rid of all the garbage materials used in all RV construction and use marine grade materials with nothing sticking up which will lower my overall height from 13'+ to 11' 9" so I can store it in my building without raising the roof or putting on an addition. The interior will also go through some changes including getting rid of the sofa/bed and dinning/bed area and replacing them with a custom reclining 4 theater seat set up seen in most newer units and adding a 2 queen bed set up the comes down from the ceiling in the garage area. This unit has a 10" I-beam frame that I will add a 2X6 1/4" wall tube frame the entire length and an additional axle bringing my GVWR up to just under 25,000 lbs. Then finish it off with a new vinyl wrap.

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by Brian41

During the last month I have been to the RV show and several dealers looking at all the 5th wheel Toy haulers on the market and only found 1 that had a frame system I would even consider that being an Tesla built by Ever Green. The problem is they do not make a model I would be interested in buying (bigger garage area) I like the 3818 Voltage and the 4018 Cyclone but both WILL have frame issues like mine DID so I will turn my Forest River All American into the RV of my dreams. Plans are to remove the entire roof to get rid of all the vents, A/C unit and the rest of the clutter up there only leaving the 2 skylights, put an underbelly heat pump for A/C and heat but keep the propane heater for backup and below 30 degrees. Cut the back of the garage area off and add 6.5 feet to it making it the legal limit for towing. As for the roof I will get rid of all the garbage materials used in all RV construction and use marine grade materials with nothing sticking up which will lower my overall height from 13'+ to 11' 9" so I can store it in my building without raising the roof or putting on an addition. The interior will also go through some changes including getting rid of the sofa/bed and dinning/bed area and replacing them with a custom reclining 4 theater seat set up seen in most newer units and adding a 2 queen bed set up the comes down from the ceiling in the garage area. This unit has a 10" I-beam frame that I will add a 2X6 1/4" wall tube frame the entire length and an additional axle bringing my GVWR up to just under 25,000 lbs. Then finish it off with a new vinyl wrap.

Mmmm. Go get um tiger... You da man!!


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[4x4FF]

That's quite an undertaking and from what I've read, you have the skill and ability to pull it off. Just curious though, have you checked with one of the 'custom' builders?? They aren't cheap but then again what you plan on doing isn't cheap either.

Steve