Dutchmen Aerolite

Yet again, a long time has passed since a post was published. Some day, our kids will get older and they will keep this stuff fresh. We've moved on and are now spending a lot of time split between our new Dutchmen Aerolite 319BHS, a future house under construction, family, and travels when I'm not cramming for another test (yes...back to school).

We have learned a lot about campers recently. Most importantly, if you've enjoyed time in a 5th wheel, don't downgrade to a travel trailer. They do not have the weight capacity, ceiling height, great towing and most importantly...STORAGE!!!

That being said, the Aerolite was nice if you're not spending much time in it. We got a good deal on a previous year model at VOGT RV. The experience was great, and I would definitely return if they have something we are looking for in the future.

As nice of a very short-term camper as our Aerolite is, it is incredibly disappointing to see more electrical neglect from an RV manufacturer. Yet again, the severe lack of any quality control, inspection, qualified electricians, or any effort spent on ensuring the electrical system is safe in something that families will spend time in is appalling. Here are a few photos.

This was fantastic!!! (sarcasm) The panel was actually worse than the cyclone.

Showing over-torqued termination.

Another view showing over-torqued termination.

Why did I look here? The GFI circuit kept tripping when both A/Cs were running. The breakers were pretty hot so I checked to see what the issue was and the photos you see are what I found. So, how would you fix this? To start, you would balance the load (shift some of the circuits to the right side). This would reduce the heating. The best way to fix this would probably be to rewire it. Who knows what disaster is lurking behind the walls and under the floors. I'm not a big fan of more regulation, but this kind of negligence is why codes are developed. I would like to see RV manufacturers start applying code requirements to their assembly lines on a voluntary basis. At least fork out a few dollars and pay for a real electrician or two to supervise the installation.

I would say that I'd like to get rid of this and replace it with something else, but I imagine that all manufacturers are the same since we saw poor installation (especially electrical) in our Heartland Cyclone.


Enough of that... Have a great day!