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!

An Arkansas Adventure

We just spent the weekend at JFK, an Army Corps of Engineers park near Heber Springs, AR. What a great time! We headed down Thursday afternoon and made it just in time to set up before dark. Thankfully, I did not take advice from a young woman that gave a great dissertation when we asked where Greers Ferry Dam was. After a long pause, there was much discussion of what sounded to be the slowest way to never make it to the dam. I felt like I was in a Bacardi and Cola commercial.

I was anxious to try out our 50-amp adapter and use both A/C’s. After backing in to the site, I was ready to give it a try. I pulled it out, plugged it in and with a click, the breakers were on. Well, one was on. Apparently the disclaimer “will not work with GFI receptacles” was quite accurate. I would like to see the wiring diagram for this contraption, but apparently you can’t use one leg of the adapter. There is a possibility that I have a bad adapter, but I’m going to wait to bad mouth the adapter too much until I get a chance to test it on a non-GFI circuit. Unfortunately, that has been the standard on circuits that have the potential to be exposed to the water for quite some time. With more and more campground renovations, it will be harder to find a place where it works.

So, with the temperature in the low 90’s at 8:00pm, I did the next best thing. I had started the generator prior to leaving to test it out and found that it didn’t power anything. I had already blocked the owner’s manual by retracting the slides and didn’t care to discover that the generator wasn’t hooked up like the water heater. So, with Katie’s reassurance, we hitched and hit the road.

I now found myself hoping that this was not another water heater incident. I fired up the generator and quickly found where the breakers were located. Now, if I could just figure out how to get the cover off. You won’t find this information in the Cummins Onan owner’s manual. I guess it’s more tribal knowledge that would be nice to get during a walkthrough, or even better…to be included in the manual. After searching with limited lighting, ok, no lighting; I finally got the courage to pull hard enough to break something or to get the cover off. It turned out that was just how you get it off. No fancy latches, just a good yank and it popped right off.

Hooray! The breakers are in the off position. I quickly switched them on and ran inside anticipating a blinking light on the microwave. Alas, the generator was connected. We ran both A/C’s for about 40 minutes and figured quiet hours were either at 9:00pm or 10:00pm and didn’t want to chance it.

Off to the greatest helper to campers…Wal Mart! I figured they would have a 30-50 amp adapter and I was more hopeful than Katie that it would work. We picked up a few other things and headed back. It was after 11:00pm when we returned. I hooked it up and crossed my fingers. It worked! $70 adapter – 0, $18 adapter – 1.

So, how much equipment on a 240Volt, 50 amp service (2x50 amp at 120 Volts) can you run with 120 V 30 amp supply? That is a question that we never answered. I know you can run the following: 1 – A/C, 1 – R/V reefer, 1 – 9 cu ft fridge, 1 – 12 cup coffee maker, a converter and a bunch of 12 Volt DC lighting and stereo and water pump, 1 – 32” LCD TV, and 1 – Blu Ray player. I don’t know how close we were to the limit, but I imagine we couldn’t add much more. We made sure we turned off the A/C when running the vacuum, just in case.

Other than that we had a great time. We spent some time swimming in the lake. We got plenty of laughs and waves when we went for a stroll in our tandem bike with the kids behind in the trailer. If I were to do it over again, we’d stay at the Dam Site to be closer to the lake. We decided that between May and October, the Dam Site would be best so we could take the kids and the dogs (and ourselves) to the lake regularly to swim and not need to drive. It also has 50 amp hookups. During the months where the water is too cold to swim, we’d stay at JFK to be close to the fishing. I also learned to not leave my scuba gear at home. We camped right next to a group that was seeking treasure at a nearby favorite cliff jumping area.

Of course, I can’t speak for Katie, the kids or dogs for the day I spent on the river catching a monster Rainbow Trout, but I think they had fun that day too. I know we can’t wait to go again.

All in all, it was great trip and I’m looking forward to going back. I highly recommend both the Dam Site and JFK parks.

- Steve