New to forum and new owner - Page 2

cw3jason · 03-25-2014, 08:58 AM

Well regardless, wood, aluminum, steel. Im still pretty sure mine is an all metal cage welded together, but anyway, the roof is not considered walk-on. You can get on the roof for maintenance. I have been on mine multiple times, including everytime I sweep off the slideouts before closing them up. I did recently add a slide topper, so hopefully I wont have to go up every trip.

st.rodder2 · 03-25-2014, 10:01 AM

Hi All, I also just call CR and can confirm what Lloyd states. The roof is not a walk on roof. He told me that they use a thin piece of plywood on the roof and it won't withstand too much of a load. I laughed at him and asked what should I do when it snows.. He said if there is more than a foot of snow that I should clean it off..

He said to put a piece of plywood w/carpet backing on the roof before walking on it. I also asked him about covering the trailer during the winter and the website states not to use a cover. He said to cover the A/C unit only. I asked how do I get to the unit if I can't walk on the roof

. This is begining to make me wonder if I should cancel my order.. but the wife and I really like the layout. I guess I'll have to hope for the best.

John

cw3jason · 03-25-2014, 10:14 AM

John,
please don't worry about the roof. It is stronger than you think. Crossroads has to cover their butts. I also live in CT. and our roof handled everything this winter had to offer. Heavy wet snow and all. Get the trailer you like. You will love it :-)

st.rodder2 · 03-25-2014, 10:58 AM

Thanks Jason... I just hope everything turns out well when we get the trailer. Normally I'm not too worried about small warranty issues, I'll do most repairs myself. And if it's something major the RV tech at the campground can handle warranty claims. What dealer did you get yours from? Which CG's do you frequent most in CT?
John

cw3jason · 03-25-2014, 11:07 AM

I picked mine up from Maine. Bought it at the Springfield RV camping show last year. There was alot of little things I also fixed myself. Make sure you fo a good PDI. Missed caulking and stripped or broken screws were the biggest issues. In CT. I have camped at Brailey and Charlie Brown. I have also towed as far south as North Carolina and as far North as Maine with this trailer. It pulls like a dream. Feel free to ask any other questions

st.rodder2 · 03-25-2014, 11:30 AM

I ordered mine from Hi-Way Campers in CT. Drove up to Maine last Friday to look at a Cruiser 315RL and Avalanche 295RL. Wife didn't care for either bedroom floorplans so drove back to CT and looked at the SF32RL again. Got the options we wanted and for the price we wanted. We do the spring and fall at Lone Oaks then move around for the summer months. We've been to Charlie Brown's and love it there. We try to get there once a year. We've also been to Maine a few times and to Myrtle Beach. Last year we did all the Great Lakes starting at Lake Erie then up the IL/WI side of Lake Michigan to Lake Superior in the UP. Came back down to Mackinaw Island and continued through MI to OH before heading home. Hope to run into you some day. Happy camping.

Gcross1468 · 03-25-2014, 12:16 PM

We have the 2013 SF32RL and I walk on my roof to clean it all the time and I weigh in at 245 lbs. In fact our dealer told us during our walkthrough, that I could walk anywhere on the roof with no issues. My wife immediately asked him point blank, "you mean my husband, at 245 lbs can walk anywhere up there?". He again said, anywhere. I've never notices any soft spots or problems besides it gets really slippery when wet! This may have changed from 2013 to 2014 but this is my experience. Take it for what you will. Oh, and welcome to the forum! I of course love your choice in campers : ). The only problems we've ever had with ours is the Sansui television not coming on after switching from shore power to battery and back again. We found that unplugging the TV and not plugging it in again until your hooked up solved the problem. Here's a few other "learned the hard way" things.
1. Re-caulk around the sink and faucet on the island. We found it wasn't done very well at the factory and leads to water leaking down inside the island.
2. Always make sure you are as close to PERFECTLY level as possible. The slides are very sensitive and the door to the bedroom will hit the over head hallway light if you're not level.
3. Remember not to have anything on top of the shelf where your TV is (above the fireplace in ours) when swinging the TV to the outside....Ooopss! There went my drink. Spilled it all over inside. Rookie mistake I guess, but a pain in the but to clean up!
4. You'll see in other parts of this forum a MOD to the rear stabilizer jack switch. It encloses the switch to keep it out of the elements. If Crossroads hasn't done this on the 2014's then I suggest you do it right away. It will save you a lot of frustration later down the road.
5. The galley grey tank handle on the 2013 is up underneath the camper so far that you literally have to get underneath it in order to reach it. Make up some kind of extension handle so you can reach up there and pull as well as push it back into place. Nobody likes to get on their hands and knees at a dump station!
6. While you have it at home or on some nice clean spot, crawl under the back end on the door side of your camper and look right behind where your slide comes out. There are 2 or 3 electrical boxes there. Make sure they are fastened to the frame of the camper and that there is plenty of cord to extend out when you use your slide. Ours were all free hanging under there and when I went to fix them to the frame, the cord was too short. Our dealer fixed this for us but again, saves headaches later.
7. Finally, you should have the 2 LP gas connectors for your outside burner and your portable grill. They should have little plastic plugs in them from the factory which is nice but that won't protect the pull back sleeve action. Cover them with a plastic sandwich bag and rubber band before traveling. We didn't and now ours are pretty hard to operate when trying to connect the hose.

I hope these will help you out and make your new camper as enjoyable as possible! Check back here often as there are ALOT of good people with some really fantastic ideas and experiences. I can't begin to tell you how helpful this place has been for me!

cw3jason · 03-25-2014, 12:45 PM

Good points Gcross
I had the same problem with the television. I now leave it unplugged until hooked up at the campground and ready to use.

cw3jason · 03-25-2014, 12:48 PM

John,
we will be at Charlie Brown the first weekend in May with the Dog and Trailer group. It is our annual Spring Fling weekend. Your welcome to join us. All brands of trailers are welcome.

Rattlepated · 03-25-2014, 01:01 PM

Welcome! Enjoy the new camper.

st.rodder2 · 03-25-2014, 01:12 PM

Thanks Gcross1468 for the tips. I take it that the TV is 12V and will drain the battery when stored. Is it easy to get to the plug? I am thinking of leaving the factory TV facing outside and putting a little larger one in the living room area. Already figured out the mod for extending the drain valve handles (did this on the old trailer). Wife wants to change the bedroom door to a folding door. Only need the door when having company. I'm sure I'll come up with other little mods to make life easier.

Thanks for the invite Jason. Unfortunately we are at Lone Oaks till Memorial Day. Maybe we'll run in to each other sometime soon.

Gcross1468 · 03-25-2014, 01:19 PM

The plug is pretty easy if you open the outside panel first. This allows you to swivel the TV 90 degrees and the plug is right above, just to the left of center. You can do it without opening the outer panel but then it's more a "feel" thing than actually seeing what you're doing.
We also upgraded a TV. The one in our bedroom is now a 40" LED LCD. The wall mount in there allows enough movement to move left or right when opening the closet doors.

**mark5w** · 03-25-2014, 02:33 PM

Welcome to forum and as you can see, this is a good place for good advice.

Coopers_dad · 03-25-2014, 06:24 PM

When I asked my dealer if I could walk on the roof he said yes but only for maintance. They suggested 4x4 plywood with carpet on one side to help spread out the load. He said that ladders are going away for liability reasons, I guess a few too many people have gone over the edge.

Enjoy your trailer I love the design of those.

LeBo · 03-25-2014, 07:37 PM

Welcome aboard and now where in the same boat. That's a good thing!

Tim D · 03-25-2014, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by st.rodder2

Thanks Gcross1468 for the tips. I take it that the TV is 12V and will drain the battery when stored.

TV is not 12V. TV is 110. It will not work unless plugged into shore power or generator.

cw3jason · 03-26-2014, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim D

TV is not 12V. TV is 110. It will not work unless plugged into shore power or generator.

Correct. TV is AC only. The Sansui tv just doesnt like something about the trailer being pluged in and unpluged. I dont know if there is a surge or what. It forces you to have to reset the tv. The work around is to leave the tv unpluged until your ready to use it. I hope that makes sense.

st.rodder2 · 03-26-2014, 06:43 AM

Thanks. Doesn't make sense but it is what it is. I'll have to deal with it.

Gcross1468 -- Do you have the second A/C unit in front. Did you order it that way or was it added later? Reason for asking is we are concerned that the bedroom will not cool enough with only one A/C vent up there. I did order the 50 amp/2nd A/C prep package just in case.

Does anyone have any comment on how the A/C unit in the SF32RL does at keeping the camper cool?

Gcross1468 · 03-26-2014, 07:51 AM

We did have the 2nd A/C unit installed as it came with the prep package and we knew we would be moving to Alabama. The single unit would NOT keep the entire camper cool enough in higher temps. We found this out while still camping in the Northeast. It actually got up in the low 90's while we were in Maine and the bedroom was very warm! The A/C ran constantly but it just couldn't maintain a nice cool temp all over by itself.

Gcross1468 · 03-26-2014, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by st.rodder2

Thanks. Doesn't make sense but it is what it is. I'll have to deal with it.

Gcross1468 -- Do you have the second A/C unit in front. Did you order it that way or was it added later? Reason for asking is we are concerned that the bedroom will not cool enough with only one A/C vent up there. I did order the 50 amp/2nd A/C prep package just in case.

Does anyone have any comment on how the A/C unit in the SF32RL does at keeping the camper cool?

Oh, I forgot to mention that we came from Vermont. I had been working for General Dynamics up there and decided that 18 years of cold, snowy, nasty weather was enough for me. I'm originally from Georgia and wanted to get back down this way so, Sweet Home Alabama!!!

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