2013 Salem Cruise Lite - reliability?

FishingChiquita · 06-24-2013, 08:25 PM

We have a brand new 2013 TT, it's our first ever TT. Before this weekend we have taken weekend long trips to local camp grounds and have had a great time.

This past weekend we drove it 6.5 hrs to Traverse City Michigan for three nights. We had two big issues and one small one. I was wondering if our experience is the norm or not? We are disappointed at taking it back for possible warranty work after only using it for 7 nights.

1. MAJOR: water run off from a/c came down wall and all over table in the middle of the night. Turned it off immediately and after that used fan only with windows open. It almost seems like there is no water/condensation pipe or path attached to the air conditioner. From what we can see water is just pooling under the A/C unit.

2. MAJOR-ISH: Awning is not working, seems to be in permanent retract position. Only way to get it to advance it to unlock every inch or so. We gave up and left it alone.

3. MINOR: the wooden trim along one of the kitchen benches had one screw pop out and slide down the side of the bench leaving a big long scratch.

libslowmo1 · 06-24-2013, 11:10 PM

We looked at both the 195BH and 185RB settling on the 185RB. Is the AC in your TT mounted on the roof or side (above booth)? Ours is on the roof vice over the booth so we have not experienced any issues as described by your post.

Concerning the awning, our only issue has been that I pulled it out to far and I had difficulty getting the switch to move back to the retraction position. Blamed that on myself (i.e. user error)!

Trim pieces nor hardware has not been an issue with ours thus far.

We have camped only 5 nights so far but are taking a 10 day approx 700 mile round trip in July so that may present some issues since roads are not all that great where we are heading. I will keep you posted as to any issues between then and now though since we are planning 3 more weekend (2-3 day) trips between now and our big haul.

**Terier** · 06-25-2013, 02:07 AM

I have a 2011 Cruise Lite trailer and am pleased at the overall history of it. I had a little trouble with the awning but I was putting too much tension on it while retracting causing it to stop.

I do recommend making an appointment to take your TT in to service to address all three issues. Of course test out the A/C and awning when you go back to pick it up. If the problem still remains the tech can see what is happening when you are using it. I had a couple of issues with my TT that was due to user error. I haven't had any water issue with the A/C but it doesn't sound normal at all.

FishingChiquita · 06-25-2013, 07:47 AM

Thank you - I am feeling better about it. We are calling for an appointment with the dealer today to address our issues.

Our A/C is mounted in the wall above the dinette. I am sure the awning issue is also partly due to user error, we had difficulty with it the first time we used it. It took us an embarrassing amount of time to figure out how the switch worked to retract it. When it finally retracted it retracted at a dangerous speed.

**Terier** · 06-25-2013, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FishingChiquita

Thank you - I am feeling better about it. We are calling for an appointment with the dealer today to address our issues.

Our A/C is mounted in the wall above the dinette. I am sure the awning issue is also partly due to user error, we had difficulty with it the first time we used it. It took us an embarrassing amount of time to figure out how the switch worked to retract it. When it finally retracted it retracted at a dangerous speed.

I know what you mean about the retract speed and have often called it the "Mary Poppins Flight" because I would end up on my tiptoes suddenly with my hand holding onto the strap for dear life.

I am a short gal (5'2) & camp solo so I had to figure out a way to do the awning by myself. After getting a rope burn I started wearing work gloves in case the strap starts moving through my hand. Using the awning rod will prevent the rope burn but I need to hold onto the strap tightly with my hand as I move the lever to the roll up position. The awing will start to roll but I keep pressure on it while I move the strap back to the center position. Using the rod in the loop of the strap I then control the speed the awning rolls up. Controlling the speed with the rod will help prevent the awning from slamming against the trailer.

Sounds like you have a second person to help so this task will be easier than my method. The person holding the strap should find using the rod easier to control the speed.

FishingChiquita · 06-25-2013, 05:31 PM

Thank you for the tips Terier - we actually did not know what would happen when we finally figured out how to retract it. We are so lucky no one was standing in its path!

But having one person (probably my husband) hold on to the strap and the other person flip the switch I could see how that would help control the severe pull back motion.

**Terier** · 06-25-2013, 05:50 PM

Using two people - Have the strap in towards the center of the awning when the lever is flipped.

The reason I need to apply pressure after flipping the lever is so that I can move the strap back to center. Even with the rod I can't reach the lever and keep the strap in the middle.

ChooChooMan74 · 06-25-2013, 05:54 PM

I have read elsewhere of issues with the residential AC units in these lightweight campers. Not sure if it was your type or not. And, can't remember if there was a fix for it. IICR, maybe leveling it slightly off so that the AC side is down allowed it to drain?

wifeytojosh · 07-07-2013, 05:00 PM

We have a 20ft cruise lite. We bought it in 2011 and on our first trip our a/c also froze up. We has to turn it off for a while and it was fine after turning it back on. Try not having it on high all the time. I think the condensation run off is normal you just can't place anything in its path.

I disagree and feel you should take it in for warranty repair. We chose to do all of our warranty repairs 14 days prior to the one year cut-off but all was paid for. So you could wait until right before your warranty is up to address all the issues. Ours needed a new stereo because one of the kids pulled on the aux cord and somehow messed up the input jack so the dealer put in a whole new stereo. They will also inspect it and offer any repairs that need to be done. Good luck.

**Terier** · 07-08-2013, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wifeytojosh

We have a 20ft cruise lite. We bought it in 2011 and on our first trip our a/c also froze up. We has to turn it off for a while and it was fine after turning it back on. Try not having it on high all the time. I think the condensation run off is normal you just can't place anything in its path.

I disagree and feel you should take it in for warranty repair. We chose to do all of our warranty repairs 14 days prior to the one year cut-off but all was paid for. So you could wait until right before your warranty is up to address all the issues. Ours needed a new stereo because one of the kids pulled on the aux cord and somehow messed up the input jack so the dealer put in a whole new stereo. They will also inspect it and offer any repairs that need to be done. Good luck.

A little confused.... I might be missing something but what is it that you disagree about?

Glad that waiting until the end of the warranty period works for you. I can see the value of having several things fixed at the same time. However, personally I would be nervous about not having much wiggle room to work with especially if its an issue that presented itself right after delivery. But then my sister thinks I worry about things too much.

.

jawga · 08-24-2013, 10:33 PM

Did you all ever find out what was causing the water problem with the ac? we have water on the table after driving like it is sloshing around under the wall mount ac.

FishingChiquita · 08-25-2013, 08:57 AM

I think there was a pipe for the runoff missing or something was out of alignment. We took it on a trip immediately after the warranty repairs and all of our issues were resolved. It was 90+ degrees and we had the A/C on high all weekend and we had no water issues.

The awning worked great, and being prepared with one person holding the strap and one person flipping the strip made it super easy to retract.

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