Questions for more experienced A frame campers

[slbryan]

Newbie to A frame camping here. We owned a travel trailer and went with the A frame so we could store it in the garage and tow it easier. We just purchased our Flaggstaff T21tbHW and took it on our first trip. The trip was what I thought it would be, a learning curve. Made lists of things I forgot and things I don't need. I have just a few questions for others.


1) When setting up the camper it had rained on the way to the campsite and the roof had standing water on it. When we opened it to set up the some of the standing water poured into the inside of the camper. Is this a design flaw or just something that happens with this type of camper? Is there a remedy to the situation?


2) Is it expected to have some outside light coming in at the top of the roof where the roof panels meet and the 4 corner sides also has light from the outside. No water intrusion noted yet. I do worry about bugs though. One corner had a significant gap I could pass my fingers through when opened. Is this a warranty issue?


3) I have the model with 2 twins with storage under the beds. I have made multiple attempts to modify the storage lid as to make it easier to lift or stay lifted. I attempted hinges, which the only way I could succeed was to only have 3 sides of the plywood sitting on the frame, and as this has to carry weight felt like that was not a good idea. Second I tried struts...well i installed them, the lid would not shut..they were only 30lb struts...any advise would be helpful.


I am sure I will have more questions with upcoming trips but these are the main concerns now. Thank you in advance.

[pgandw]

Been on a 10 day camping trip with our A-frame, so couldn't respond fully sooner.

1. Standing water on the roof - hard to believe if camper was/is moving during trailering and setup. If roof is latched down too tight, you might have water piled up against the seal where rear roof goes under front roof. You want roof line straight and level when folded.

• When hitched for trailering are you substantially nose low? A-frames should be trailered close to level. A-frame and tow vehicle will ride much better if close to level.
• Raise tongue to drain any standing water before setup. I automatically do this because I have a WDH to deal with the near 500lb tongue weight on my A-frame. Raise the tongue to remove the bars, lower the tongue to unhitch, than set tongue for level when camping.
• I do occasionally have an issue with standing water on forward roof against dormer hinge seal when folding down after/during a rain. Helps a lot if the camper is level side-to-side, so rain goes down side, and not onto folded side panels. I also have towels at the ready when folding down. I then use the large dish towels to pad where starboard side panel rests on port side panel window frame, and over door window frame.
• Also waiting to fold until after hitching up will drain any standing water through the tongue up/down, and moving off leveling blocks. I have done this when I needed to.
• Stabilizers are last thing to go down when setting up, and first thing to go up when hooking up/folding down. There is plenty of tongue weight to support one person in rear of camper without stabilizers, even 2 if you don't go all the way to the back.

2. Every A-frame I know has these gaps. They have never leaked for me. Some fix it with rubber gasket material, I haven't.

3. I have the twin bed model where the center can be filled in for a single king? bed. We use a modified twin bed where the center is partially filled to allow standing access and rear drawer access. Under the port bed is the Cool Cat, water pump, water filter, and a drawer for limited storage. Not a lot of extra space. Under the starboard bed is storage that we access from the outside door. If absolutely necessary, we use the inside door at the forward end of the bed.

Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2022 Hyundai Palisade

[Kirk E]

Welcome to the forum. I’m a newbie as well. On your point 2 about gaps. if you can pass your fingers through I would defiantly treat that as a warranty issue. Sounds excessive.

I’m my case I bought my 2020 T12RBST used so no warranty. I discovered the front roof panel is slightly misaligned. When it closes the inside surface of one side has scratched away the anodized coating on the outside of the rear panel. No good way to adjust this. So I push the front panel sideways while closing it so it lines up.

[Heydehi]

We've have a Forest River A-Frame since 2014, with the current model being the 2020 T21TBHWSE. We've never had water coming in while towing until our last trip three weeks ago when we were hit by a really heavy downpour. When we got home the floor between the refrigerator and door was wet, which surprised us. I know the roof gaskets are aging so that's on my agenda to replace once I track down a good replacement. I'm sure big box home improvement stores will not be the answer.

Another comment, on roof alignment. We always use a six foot pole, like a closet clothes rod, with a U hook on the end to help lift the inside roof panel and make sure it aligns properly in the upper panel slot. There too we are seeing some slight gaps which I know come from gasket seal issues.

To own is to maintain. The great thing is that it's so easy with an A-Frame.

[Heydehi]

I've added hinges to the inside top plywood panels of all four storage units and have had no problems. I put the removable adhesive hooks to the walls right above them when opened and secure them with straps screwed to the underside of the panels. This has worked great for me. Forest River should make something like this a standard feature.