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Old 03-20-2019, 04:01 PM   #1
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Solaire 317BHSK

Newbie here, so be kind

I am purchasing a Solaire UltraLite 317BHSK. Just wondering what others experiences are with this model.

Anything I should look to add on?

Any do's or dont's?

Thanks in advance.
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Old 03-25-2019, 10:52 PM   #2
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I have a 2017 317BHSK GT3.

We had a number of issues in the 1st year which resulted in it spending a total of 9 months in the shop. Including 1 trip back to the assembly plant.

That is not too discourage you. Palomino stood behind their product and got us right.

If yours has the residential refrigerator (electric only) I'd recommend adding a 2nd battery. We did a 6hr (1 way) trip and my single battery was struggling to keep up. The rear fridge does not run off the inverter (at least mine doesn't).

I'd also recommend upgrading to 30lbs propane tanks of it comes with 20s. Water heater and cooking with 2 teenagers is pretty taxing.

The bunk room should hold a 32" tv, but ours had the "stud" offset, requiring me to build an "I" frame to mount the tv mount. Maybe I got the wrong mount.

Our 1st step on the ladder is really high. I got a 4 foot extension that straps to the 1st rung.

Overall, we love the layout and the room it provides. The only other item I would like to be an option is a carrier at the rear bumper. The trailer pulls nicely behind my '06 F250 with Equalizer 4way sway/LL system.

Happy glamping!
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Old 04-08-2019, 03:17 PM   #3
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Thank you for the great feedback.

A couple f/u ?'s if you dont mind.

1. What were the issues it went back to the shop so I can evaluate before we take off the lot?

2. Does the TV in the bunk room fit without a mount? and most likely if I got a mount to deal with an offset stud. Should that work? We already have a 32" to go back there and just want to make sure it fits.

3. Any issues with the floor vents? Ours is not the GT3 package, but not base either. So you may not have those, but I have concerns about dirt and other items getting in them.

Thank you!
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Old 04-08-2019, 10:21 PM   #4
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The 1st issue was a recall for tire clearance. There wasn't enough height between the tire and wheel well. The recall would install a lift kit. The dealer found that the lift kit had been installed at the factory but the clearance was still not adequate. It was determined that the wrong axles were installed so it had to go back to Michigan. Unfortunately this happened in the middle of winter and as you may know, they use a lot of salt. That's a whole other story.

So it was gone for 3 months. When it came home, we were in the process of reloading our personals, slides out of course, and it started to rain. I'm not sure which got more wet, the ground outside or my dinette, couch and floor. Water was pouring in. Apparently to do the axles, the slides had to come out and they didn't recaulk the front slide when it went back in. Palomino overnighted me 4 tubes of each kind of caulk they use with detailed instructions on where to do it. They also extended the warranty for the slides in the event that any water damage occurred. I believe they gave me another year. We took it back to the dealer and they removed the slide checked it. They had it for 3 months as well.

The Lippert Smart Jack was another issue. They would leak and short out. The 1st time, it extended my jack to the max height which forced my rear stabilizers to self retract. Luckily they were not damaged. The 2nd time (new jack), the jack retracted itself, leaving the front stabilizers holding all the weight. Jack #3 seems to be working fine.

On both slides, there is a spring to hold up the wiring. They both broke, leaving the wires drooping while the slides are in. The front one was actually a broken screw. I drilled it out and replaced the screw. The rear slide, I need to get a new spring. It broke in half.

Stuff happens! I'm still happy with it. I think Palomino and the selling dealer did what was expected to make it right.

The rust on the frame from it going back to Michigan in the winter... [emoji34] I'm working on it.

I don't remember what model TV mount we purchased. It was $25 at Wally World. It didn't have enough of an offset to hit the stud. I'll see if I can get a picture of the frame I built tomorrow and post it. I'm sure there's a better way, but it worked.

We haven't had any issues with dirt in the floor vents. But we also keep a Dirt Devil SimpliStik onboard. $30 @ Home Depot. The cord is long enough when plugged in next to the stove to vacuum almost the entire trailer. Ours has a day bed in the bunk room and there is about a 6" piece of carpet it can't get.

Speaking of the bunk room; there is 1 floor vent for heat and 1 ceiling duct for AC. These do not supply well. We keep a small space heater onboard for the colder nights and a small box fan with the door left open for warmer nights.

There is a heat vent in the bathroom on the side of the sink cabinet. This works very well. There is no AC duct. I'm considering upgrading the exhaust fan to something a little more powerful. The bathroom gets quite warm in the Summer months.
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Old 04-08-2019, 11:02 PM   #5
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Missed part of question 2; for our TV, there was not enough room (height-wise) for the TV to go in on the foot so a mount was necessary.
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Old 04-09-2019, 01:10 PM   #6
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I used 2x4 to build an offset "I" and screwed it to the studs to hold it in place. I added Velcro strips to hold the TV during transport.Click image for larger version

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