New Wolf Pup issues and questions

[evesdropper]

First time camper owner and nearly new 2021 Wolf Pup 16pfbl. 2nd Owner so no warranty. PO used it one weekend, decided campers were not for them and listed it for sale.

Ran into all sorts of issues on our first trip. Interested to hear if I resolved them correctly or if I should even worry.

Also: The 16PFBL has a 5100lb axle. Lippert says its a 5200lb model rated down to 5100lb. The brake drums are from a 6000lb axle however.

1. Passenger side brake did not appear to be engaging. temp on drivers side drum was always around 140-150F when I checked during the trip stops. Passenger side was never higher than the tire/rim temp, 100F or so.
Fix: Clicked out the star wheel close to 10 clicks before the tire was hard to turn. Backed off 5. Readjusted drivers side to match.

2. The hub was not greased properly. The bearings on both sides had very little grease in them. the center of the hub was bare cast iron. The seal was running dry and left a black mark on the spindle surface. The little grease that was in the bearings was nearly black. Red everywhere else.
Fix: Figured that if I was this far in, replacing the bearings and races was not a crazy idea. National or Timkin Part# 15123/15245, 25580/25520. National dbl-lip with spring seal # 412920(Nitrile) or 412920V (Viton). Outer bearing race is blind. No access from the rear to drive it out. I am not a welder but I do have a milling machine. Milled two access slots behind the race and done. Cleared the spindle grease zerk and filled the hub centers with grease. installed and then pumped grease until it started to push out the front.

3. Stabilizer jacks were fastened with 1/4" self-tapping screws and crooked.
Fix: Drilled them all to 3/8", installed bolts with washers and nylon stop nuts.

4. All body fastening nuts were slightly loose.
Fix: Tightened them all. Probably will replace the flange nuts with fender washers and nylon stop nuts. Maybe even some locktite.

5. Freshwater tank vent is open to the air and not plumbed to the vent by the fill port. Mine vent screen was filled with silicone even. could only fill the tank about 2/3 full.
Fix: Ran a 1/2" ID hose from the tank vent elbow to the vent by the fill port. re-foamed the hole in the floor.

6. Murphy bed 2x2 frame was not fastened tightly.
Fix: Added flat "L" and "T" pieces across all intersections. Huge difference.

7. Subwoofer was not working
Fix: + and - wires were backwards at the radio.

8. Lippert Unity X1 "OneControl" looks like it was wired by a drunk on Friday at 4pm. Need some advice on how to tackle this one. It has one screw attaching it loosely to the wall and the rats nest of wires you see in the photo.

 

[rsdata]

Well, so far it looks as if you are your own best RV mechanic... so far job well done.

The electronic unit can be fastened properly to the wall, then with a pair of wire cutter/stripers you can cut the excess wires and crimp new connectors on the ends... just take your time.

 

[evesdropper]

The electronic unit can be fastened properly to the wall, then with a pair of wire cutter/stripers you can cut the excess wires and crimp new connectors on the ends... just take your time.

Do they all look like that? If I had a warranty, this would have been back at the dealer immediately. I cant think of any excuse for that kind of workmanship.

Also just now replaced the WFCO WF8955-PEC converter with a Progressive Dynamics PD4655VL. The WFCO charging performance on my 2xGC2 batteries was abysmal.

 

[rsdata]

Do they all look like that? If I had a warranty, this would have been back at the dealer immediately. I cant think of any excuse for that kind of workmanship.

It's called piece work... more pieces more pay... does it work? If so, then it can't be a warranty repair. It is normally hidden therefore anything goes... not what the consumer wants to see, but what the consumer is willing to pay for.

As I said previously, you have had your share of repairs all done well it seems... Most of us owners do what we can to "clean-up" factory mis-workmanship.

 

[Newbie Pup Owner]

Upgrades and preventive maintenance & poor quality

2021 18RJBBL manufactured 6/20.

-no issues with wheel bearings or grease, torques lugs, jacked and added grease to fitting while turning wheel.

-added nylocks to body mount bolts

-remounted OneControl box ,zip tied wires, rewired radio to make zone 1 & 2 work

-added 1/2 vent hose to water fill

-reinforced bed frame with Simpson L strong ties

-bought fuses, 12 gauge wire, and fuse holder for 12 V furrion/no issues yet.

-added solar plug connector to batteries

-add 2nd group 27 battery

-found supplier for toy hauler door screen that did not come with trailer.

-changed locks on side storage cabiner

-bought premium dormero 3 in mattress topper

- wash, lnspect, and seal a few places in rubber roof.

-roof vent exhaust fan cover, reinforce sewer drain fitting mount, lisence -late bracket, etc

Common issues with cheap travel trailer easily solved or upgraded.

With sewer tote, suitcase panel, generator, truck tow vehicle upgrade, etc now+55k spent on Truck & Trailer

 

[rjb16fq77]

So welcome to the club. I did my own warranty repair on a loose seam on a wall panel plus I keep finding poor quality workmanship to correct. The last one was to take out most of the loops in the propane lines and move the exterior bbq connection from the drivers side to the passenger side and run the lines up in the frame crossmembers,install protective sleeves and clips to hold the lines securely in place.If I could figure out how to get the lense of the ceiling lights without breaking I would like to clean out the sawdust and crap you see when you turn on the lights. (help please)I now have 2 trips on the shock absorbers I installed. They really help stabilize the trailer in cross winds and bumpy roads. A very worth while modification I think.Have Fun Rob

 

[evesdropper]

So welcome to the club. I did my own warranty repair on a loose seam on a wall panel plus I keep finding poor quality workmanship to correct. The last one was to take out most of the loops in the propane lines and move the exterior bbq connection from the drivers side to the passenger side and run the lines up in the frame crossmembers,install protective sleeves and clips to hold the lines securely in place.If I could figure out how to get the lense of the ceiling lights without breaking I would like to clean out the sawdust and crap you see when you turn on the lights. (help please)I now have 2 trips on the shock absorbers I installed. They really help stabilize the trailer in cross winds and bumpy roads. A very worth while modification I think.Have Fun Rob

I would be interested to know what sleeves you put on the LPG lines. Also, what shock kit you installed. The Equalizer WDH did a great job on our first trip but I plan to use many more county parks and they are all gravel road access only. Shocks may help tame the washboard effect.

 

[Boomerweps]

Don’t know if the heavy duty axle is part of the Black Label or just Adventure package. Standard Wolf Pup axle is 3500#. So you have a lot more Load Capacity than most Wolf Pups.
Great catch on the bearings. Yes, the self adjusting drum brakes have to ride on or make contact with the drum to adjust them selves. Apparently your one side did not.
Unless the PO did a detailed cleaning, you will find sawdust and metal shavings in all the hidden away areas.
You will find much wasted space behind most of the face panels. Plus they slap in interior panels at goofy angles to hide wiring and such. Much storage space can be gained by properly refitting those.
Those overhead LED lights have pop on or snap in covers. A scraper or large blade flat screwdriver can pop them off.

 

[evesdropper]

Don’t know if the heavy duty axle is part of the Black Label or just Adventure package. Standard Wolf Pup axle is 3500#. So you have a lot more Load Capacity than most Wolf Pups.
Great catch on the bearings. Yes, the self adjusting drum brakes have to ride on or make contact with the drum to adjust them selves. Apparently your one side did not.
Unless the PO did a detailed cleaning, you will find sawdust and metal shavings in all the hidden away areas.
You will find much wasted space behind most of the face panels. Plus they slap in interior panels at goofy angles to hide wiring and such. Much storage space can be gained by properly refitting those.
Those overhead LED lights have pop on or snap in covers. A scraper or large blade flat screwdriver can pop them off.

The higher capacity axle is due to the weight of the 16pf. It has a slide out. GVWR is 4999lbs. I have 15" rims but it is not the Adventure Package. As far as I can tell, that package would have only added different rims and LT tires to my model. Same 5100lb axle. At some point, I may upgrade that axle to a heavier capacity one. The label says max 940 lbs of cargo. It does not take much to hit that mark with a wife and kids on a week long trip. It will be an opportunity to relocate it under the springs as well.

Yes. sawdust and metal shavings behind every panel I have opened. Even in the lights. Those led covers just rotate counter-clockwise and drop off. I cleaned them all out last night.

 

[Newbie Pup Owner]

Can Shock absorbers added to single axle wolf pup

3 in Lippert shock kit may not fit between tire and frame.

Road master kit available for mounting inside.

Trying to improve bouncing , sway ok with Blue Ox Sway Pro.

Complicated by 3 in overslung 5200 lb axle.

Opinions of waste of time/money or would help?

Picture of axle spring setup I have.

 

[Jimbo K.]

-add 2nd group 27 battery

Where did you put it?

 

[Newbie Pup Owner]

2nd battery

I cut the ends of the existing box, and a group 24 box , and then two group 27’s fit with 1/2 maybe to spare, did same to case tops.

A debate on where to hookup the parallel leads is on going. The leads are so short I see no problem with how I have it.

Cables, self threading screws, battery all from Wal-Mart,They may have a group 24 case.

 

[Newbie Pup Owner]

3 in Lippert shock kit may not fit between tire and frame.

Road master kit available for mounting inside.

Trying to improve bouncing , sway ok with Blue Ox Sway Pro.

Complicated by 3 in overslung 5200 lb axle.

Opinions of waste of time/money or would help?

Picture of axle spring setup I have.

Amazon had 3in Lippert kit with the straight shocks on sale for $112, so I’m going to try to mount it on inside when it comes.

 

[Jimbo K.]

Thanks, Newbie, I appreciate it, especially the pics. I hadn't measured it, but for future battery upgrade planning I've assumed I couldn't fit two group 27 batteries on the tongue. Proving yet again what happens when one ass-u-me-s. I've been thinking two 6V golf cart batteries, but now I'll have to reconsider that when time comes.

 

[jesus_man]

Interested in the shock kit as well. ND has some crazy strong winds, so having something to combat that would be awesome!

I'd really love to add a second axle. Just something to help take the shock from hitting bumps, even just dips in the road while driving around the neighborhood... I just don't know how possible that is without major modifications.

I suppose I better check my brakes, bearings, and fresh tank vent...

 

[evesdropper]

The Black Label versions have 15x6.0 aluminum rims and 15" tires. CastleRock 225/75-15. I did some rough measuring and I am not sure I have the minimum 4" clearance between tire and I-beam flange. Its pretty tight. The roadmaster kit looks good but it is a tandem axle kit so maybe someone wants to go half with me on it.

My next problem discovered is absolutely no radio reception. Even close stations don't come in. Not even AM stations. I did some poking around and I think the antenna is connected properly. The amplify button on the cable jack does nothing but turn on the green light on the jack plate. I was thinking I would just start at the radio and work backwards to the antenna. Hopefully its just a bad rg6 connector on the coax. The "cable" input on the jack is not even connected. Campground cable hookups are not going to happen unless I sort that out also.

I seem to have the common complaints with the radio. HDMI doesn't do anything that I can tell. Speakers are wired in series instead of to the separate outputs. Zones are backwards (1 is outside, 2 is inside). Not sure how I will fish wire though the sidewalls of the trailer.

 

[knight1fox3]

My next problem discovered is absolutely no radio reception. Even close stations don't come in. Not even AM stations. I did some poking around and I think the antenna is connected properly. The amplify button on the cable jack does nothing but turn on the green light on the jack plate. I was thinking I would just start at the radio and work backwards to the antenna. Hopefully its just a bad rg6 connector on the coax. The "cable" input on the jack is not even connected. Campground cable hookups are not going to happen unless I sort that out also.

Just curious and asking the obvious for which you already likely tried. But have you tried manually tuning to a known station in your area and still nothing comes through? I noticed the auto-search for radio stations often doesn't work well. The cable amplifier toggling was something that really improved reception in our 2019 16BHS. If nothing else, agree to check the physical antenna/cable connections.

I seem to have the common complaints with the radio. HDMI doesn't do anything that I can tell. Speakers are wired in series instead of to the separate outputs. Zones are backwards (1 is outside, 2 is inside). Not sure how I will fish wire though the sidewalls of the trailer.

I'm still experimenting with how the HDMI feature should function. Using a ROKU stick connected to the base unit didn't seem to distribute the A/V signal to any of the other HDMI ports. But this may have been due to not enough aux. power for the ROKU using a nearby USB port. I am going to test with a DVD player next to see how that responds. The series/parallel speaker issue is annoying. But for the zones, you could possibly swap those at the base unit as an alternative.

 

[rjb16fq77]

Regarding shocks for single axel trailers. I believe Lippert make a single axel kit. I made my own shock brackets and mounted them inside the frame rails at a 15 degree slope inward at the top.Looking at my trailer I believe there would just be enough room to install on the out side. You might want to make a mock up shock out of wood say 1.5" X 2" and about 16 " long.Try it in behind the wheel and see what you have for room.I guess I will have to make up drawings for mine sometime for the do it yourselfers. The total cost for the shocks , fasteners and steel was less than $70.00 for my 2020 -16fq and I am very pleased how they preform.Hope that helps Rob

 

[evesdropper]

Just curious and asking the obvious for which you already likely tried. But have you tried manually tuning to a known station in your area and still nothing comes through? I noticed the auto-search for radio stations often doesn't work well. The cable amplifier toggling was something that really improved reception in our 2019 16BHS. If nothing else, agree to check the physical antenna/cable connections.

Yep. First thing I tried. Strong local FM and AM stations first. You can barely hear them through that static. I pulled the antenna from the radio and it made no change for better or worse. I am going to get a crimper and new rg6 ends. I cant possibly make it any worse.

I'm still experimenting with how the HDMI feature should function. Using a ROKU stick connected to the base unit didn't seem to distribute the A/V signal to any of the other HDMI ports. But this may have been due to not enough aux. power for the ROKU using a nearby USB port. I am going to test with a DVD player next to see how that responds. The series/parallel speaker issue is annoying. But for the zones, you could possibly swap those at the base unit as an alternative.

I am going to flip the zone connections behind the radio. that is easy enough. not sure how to pull speaker wire. I may end up using the existing wire between outdoor speakers to pull my fish tape through. Worst case, I guess I will have a single speaker instead of two mono speakers.

As I read your response, I guess I should not be to hasty on the HDMI port. If my coax has bad connector crimps and the radio doesnt work, maybe that will resolve as I work through the radio reception issue. I will post my results.

 

[evesdropper]

Regarding shocks for single axel trailers. I believe Lippert make a single axel kit. I made my own shock brackets and mounted them inside the frame rails at a 15 degree slope inward at the top.Looking at my trailer I believe there would just be enough room to install on the out side. You might want to make a mock up shock out of wood say 1.5" X 2" and about 16 " long.Try it in behind the wheel and see what you have for room.I guess I will have to make up drawings for mine sometime for the do it yourselfers. The total cost for the shocks , fasteners and steel was less than $70.00 for my 2020 -16fq and I am very pleased how they preform.Hope that helps Rob

Thanks. The Lippert kit says it needs 4" for outboard install. I will mock it up and see if that is true. A question on Etrailer had a response from the tech that said Lippert approved inboard installation if you just flipped the brackets side-side. At $114 from Amazon, I figured it was worth a try. I will post results.

The install manual also says I have to flip the axle. That will be an adventure as well.