In two months, we will have had our Micro Lite travel trailer for three years. I still think of it as new! But even so, there has been a few things to fix as we went along. Here’s a couple of repairs we’ve done recently.
#1 – On the Edge:
Our curved shower doors have magnetic strips along the edges. That way, when the doors are shut, they are tightly closed. The problem was the plastic strip, which is attached to the edge of the doors, continually came off. Now, if it happened when I was in there, I would just pull the edgings apart, reattach half on the other side and hope it would be okay for a while.
But when Dan was in the shower, oh man. I heard so much talking I thought someone was in there with him! I wasn’t too worried though, as he sure didn’t sound very happy. Plus, how could they get in there? After all, it’s a bathroom in a travel trailer!
Well, then I remembered about the shower door edging. Yes, that’s the issue. I think I’ll take a little walk around the campground, come back in about 30 minutes. A little walk can take the edge off. Ha ha.
We did ask our dealer about it once. And for some reason, which I can’t remember, they cautioned us against gluing the edging onto the doors. With our travel trailer being new, we were wet behind our ears, so to speak, and we followed their advice – for a time. Then one day, we decided our dealer was the one who was all wet, and we had to do something.
On that day, we took some clear silicone and put dabs of it in four strategic locations in the channel of each of the edging pieces. Then we pushed the edging back onto the door, careful to align both sides, so they would match up. Our simple fix took care of this very annoying problem.
Now, in fairness, one can see the tiny dabs of silicone – if one knows where to look. But, when Dan’s in the shower, I don’t hear a thing, and I can focus on writing these exciting blog posts. Everybody wins!
#2 – The Electric Slide:
Our second repair was all our own making. Twice (while I don’t want to admit it), something got in the way when moving our slide. I don’t remember if we were putting the slide in or out. I have probably blocked the details in my mind, as a defense mechanism, so as to protect my self-image of being somewhat of a “with-it” person. After all, I can fix the edging on a shower door! Okay, how about I get back on track?
In the first collision, the slide hit a large, heavy item. Our solution, so this wouldn’t happen again, was to transport and store this heavy item in our car. Problem solved.
The second collision involved a pillow. Yes, a pillow! A pillow, which I had put on the bed’s nightstand. While we were driving, the pillow traveled down the nightstand , onto the floor, and right into the slide’s path where it wasn’t seen until later, when we had arrived at our destination, and it was too late. Too late for the slide that is; the pillow was just fine.
The bottom panel of our pantry, the front of the slide, stuck out as it had broken away from it base. The wall’s “finish” was brutally torn away from the wall. It looked terrible. Once again, we had to do something.
First, Dan and I wanted to take off the panel, permanently push the bottom section back in and somehow attach it to its base again. But, we couldn’t get the panel off. Dan tried real hard, but those screws holding the panel on would not budge.
So we went to plan B. Dan held the bottom section out while I squeezed some “Power Grip” down the opening. Then, we used a heavy weight to hold the panel in place overnight. The next morning, I removed all the pealing pieces and painted the exposed area with a brown acrylic paint, eventually giving it a second coat.
It does look much better, and like the shower door dabs of clear silicone, it’s not too noticeable. Time will tell if the bottom panel stays attached to its base.
Now, there’s one more recent repair I want to tell you about; however, that will be the subject of my next post. But I will tell you one thing: There’s still nice people in the world.
I’m sure you already knew that. But when someone you don’t even know, someone you never even met and probably never will, does something to help you out just because, – well, it makes you feel good. And grateful.
Stay tuned for details.
Chambers on the Road 
I have heard that RV’s are always having things break or go wrong. When I have read reviews of various RV models, it is frustrating that even the most expensive and well known brands get complaints and bad reviews for this problem. I am glad that your problems (that I have heard of so far) have not been too bad. And then I think some people just complain more than others.
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We are pretty happy with the quality of our Micro Lite. (Hope I did just jinx myself!) I have written about every issue we have had – with the exception of one. We had the problematic Dometic 300 toilet. This is a well known issue, and ours was replaced by our dealer under warranty. I didn’t write about it because it is kind of a yucky topic, and it is a very well known issue.
We did not purchase an extended warranty; we never do on anything we buy. However, at the time of our purchase, the dealer had an incentive for a free 84 month extended warranty. So, we do have that. I have heard horror stories about dealers and warranty work. But our dealer is a family owned business, and they have treated us right. We’ve used the warranty for a couple of things and are glad that we have it.
I think we have to expect some issues. This is a unit traveling down the road and feeling every bump. Plus, there is “user error” even when great care is taken to do everything right.
I guess it’s like a house. Stuff is gonna break! We’ve learned so much, had so much fun, and I don’t regret for a second our purchase. Thanks for reading and your comment. Enjoy your day!
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I have not even heard the story yet, and it made me feel grateful. Nice hook line. Not being a travel trailer person, the only electric slide I know about is the dance, and I never mastered it. But it still sounds like you did an innovative job…my Grandma would be proud. 🙂
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Dan and I took dancing lessons once. We never mastered it either. I thought I would eventually “get it”, but I never did. I am thinking I can’t master it because I think too much. I think Dan’s issue is his big feet. 🙂 Someday we may try again, but that may be more of a dream than reality. At least we can fix some stuff! I am glad your Grandma would be proud. Thanks for reading, and I hope you are enjoying your Sunday!
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As all of us travel trailer owners eventually learn, things break causing us to talk to ourself. So I wouldn’t’ worry too much about Dan. The soliloquy is required procedure for RV owners. Having the capability to make repairs ourselves helps to alleviate stress. We all know how darn hard it is to find someone to fix things for us. Looks like Dan and you have done a good job at that. I will look forward to reading about your latest repair. Happy days and safe travels.
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I’ve been talking to myself for as long as I can remember! It seems to help me, but I’m not really sure. 🙂 Yes, being able to fix some things ourselves is very helpful in a number of ways. Dan and I do a pretty good job together. We each have ideas of what to do. Then then one of us will tell the other why that idea won’t work. Eventually something shakes out, and we have an idea to try. I’m kind of joking, but we do do better with both of us working on the issue. Happy days, and safe travels to you, too!
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We have the same problem with the magnetic strips on our shower doors. Like you, I just push them back in place and move on. If it becomes an issue, we’ll give the silicone a try. Thanks for the tip!
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If you lived near us, I’d give you the rest of our tube of silicone. I just wish we would have done it sooner. I tried to show in the second picture how faint the silicone shows up. It can hardly be seen. Enjoy your day, and safe travels!
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Let’s face it, every time you take your rig down the road it is the equivalent of a volcano exploding in the midst of a hurricane. Sure things are going to break but there is no need to live in fear of that. When something breaks, fix it or find someone who can. The key is knowing your own limits as to what you can fix. For instance, there is no way I’ll touch anything in terms of 120 volts. Nope, last time I did that I ended up on the other side of the room! But it sounds like you two know your own limits. Throw in a healthy sense of creativity and “presto” its amazing what you can fix. As you both have demonstrated. In closing, I don’t know about others but half the fun of owning my rig is “fiddling around” with this and that. Happy travels and have a great week.
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We definitely know our limits, and I know yours are way beyond ours! I do have to say though – when we do fix something, we sure do feel happy! Hope you’re having a good week.
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Oh the woes of slides. We’ve smashed runaway tomatoes, yoga mats, and the roof vent insulator. A cupboard door handle once ripped off the decorative wood. There’s always something to fix or repair in an RV.
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Thank you for sharing! It makes me feel better. You are right; there is always something to fix or repair. Just like a house. That’s okay. It is worth it! Thanks for reading and your comment. Hope you have a good rest of the week.
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There’s always maintenance with RV’s. They need the same care and upkeep as a house. Despite this, we love our motorhome and we’re happy to do whatever needs to be done to keep her rolling smoothly and comfortably
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I agree. It’s worth it! Most things in life require upkeep – including us! Enjoy your day!
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