Anyone else out there enjoying their 13' Livn Lite TT? Thought I'd start a thread specific to the 13 footers. Just to get the ball rolling. I know they don't make them any more so that makes us special ;)
I love pulling into a camping park with my 13 BHB and setting up beside a Grey Hound Bus size camper. We hear everything from can you sleep in that, to "how cute".
Have any of you changed to 14 inch tires , yes I understand it would involve a lift kit.
It's just my wife and I, and the dog. It's offers all the convieniences, easy to maneuver, easy to store, super easy to tow. Our 13 QBB is perfect for us. If we were purchasing today, we would get the 14 footer. A little bigger, not much heaver and still a single axle.
I personally think the trailer looks better with-out a lift kit and with the 13" tires. I know a lot of people might disagree but unless you're going off road a lot, I just don't see the need for bigger tires and wheels...they're round, they roll, they weigh less than the 14" tires and still get the job done. I'll also ad that they're still a lot bigger than the little tires I had on my pop ups and boat trailers and those worked just fine over the years as long as you kept your bearings packed.
I love my 13QBB and use it at a seasonal camp site! I am the seasonal camper with the smallest trailer!
Why not. Tiny houses are becoming very popular :D
After having owned everything from a high-end diesel pusher to a 8' pop-up, the 13QBB is by far the best camper I've had. It does everything we need it to do, and towing it is about as stress-free as you can get. I do wish it had a larger dry bath, but since we mostly boondock, it really doesn't make much difference.
Yes, it's "just right" for us too. I was lucky I was able to purchase one before they stopped producing them. A perfect fit just in between the 11' and the 14'. The 14' has the dry bath but is about 2.5' longer and of course heavier to tow. At first I thought the wet bath would be problematic, but we are adapting quite well. All the convenience without the headaches. I've added numerous upgrades to ours. I was able to get a lot of ideas from touring some Airstream trailers and listening to some of the things others have done to their Livin Lites on the old board. Most of my upgrades look like they were installed from the factory, although in many cases the factory doesn't even offer them as options. I was very surprised how little you get with an Airstream considering they're almost twice the cost of a Livn Lite.
Has anyone tried a propane inverter generator in their camper? We love our QB13 but if we don't get an electric site the battery isn't enough to run the fridge. We are considering a generator but not sure and we heard the inverter type is the quietest.
Not propane but these are incredibly quiet.
http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/Honda-EU2000IA1-Portable-Generator/p8519.html?gclid=CKv6vryY-tECFdU7gQodbusMpw
Thanks! However, the issue is when we don't have electrical access.
We love out 13RDB with tip-out! We have 2 teens and 2 small dogs and are only able to get away for a couple days at a time with school, sports and work. We find this camper is the perfect size for us. We, too, get the comments... Last time was a group of Airstream owners who all walked over to see it because "there is no way we could all fit". They left quite impressed. lol Our last trip was spent in pouring rain, snuggled up watching movies and listening to the "sizzling bacon" sound of the roof. Memories. Love it.
The most amazing part of that story is that you can actually get your teenagers to go camping with you. ;)
We have a 2011 13 RDB and the fridge runs on propane when we frequently dry camp. Doesn't your fridge also?
So, my wife and I picked up our new 2016 13QBB yesterday. It's our first time buying an RV of any kind, and I would rate my experience at Camping World as so-so.
As I expected, I knew most of what we went over in the walk-through from months of pre-purchase research. I did get answers to my questions, and I learned a thing or two, but importantly, I was able to go through the trailer pretty thoroughly.
A couple mysteries, tho- things that don't match up with the published specs.
15 inch wheels. Thought they were 13's on this model. Not complaining, tho.
Dexter 4400 lb axle. Is this the normal size? Pretty sturdy for a lite-weight roller like the 13QBB. The sticker claims a 4576 GVWR and a max cargo of 1675 with a GAWR of 3000. Again, the axle itself says 4400. Weird.
It has the aluminum roof and floor, and the old, laminate counter tops.
Champagne color. It's beautiful, it's what we've been hunting for, and miraculously, it was only 40 miles from my house. I traveled 1100 miles to find my perfect Jeep, and I was prepared to do the same for the right trailer. We really lucked out with this one.
HOWEVER- when I struck the deal and put money down last week, I told my sales guy that I would install my own brake controller. Later on, I emailed him to say that I would prefer a dealer install for the BC. He never responded directly to that email, but he notified me that he received it. When we arrived yesterday, I inquired about it and it was "being looked into" or whatever. As things moved along- walk through, financing, etc. I asked a couple more times. Well, then I'm told, "Good news! It's light enough, the guys said you don't need a brake controller!"
No, no, no. I am Mr. "First-time-towing-super-anal-safety-nervous-guy" and now I'm being told even if I wanted one, they can't install it today and oh by the way, you're all hitched up, parked out front, don't let the door hit ya on the way out.
Well- I went out and then had to ask for a hitch demonstration before I pulled off. Hello? Never done this before. Any tips? Sheesh.
So then, I ask the nice guy showing me the hitch (different guy- but all the techs I met were knowledgeable and courteous) if he thinks I'm good with no BC, (and I was asking just to get home- job one is to install my own now).
He says, "yeah I'm sure you'll be fine, but- it's illegal. Don't get stopped." Sheesh man- if I get pulled over, will I be able to actually, you know, STOP?
Well, I got it home, it towed easier than I thought and it stopped pretty good. After a BC, it will be smooth sailing.
One last thing- during my crash course in backing it up (at home), I crushed the 7-way cable in the hitch. I didn't notice until I was parked, so I unplugged it and pulled the battery. I have already ordered a replacement, and I won't have any trouble installing it. Just hope I didn't damage the system. The cord was shredded and definitely crossed up some signals. My Jeep has a marker and tail light out now, so I'll need to look at that too. Hope it's a fuse or two at best.
Thanks for "listening!" I appreciate all the help I've gained from this and the old forum.
Now, if it would stop snowing and warm up another 30 or 40 degrees!
John (and Janet)
John:
My personal rule of thumb (and I think it matches some state's laws) is that if the trailer weighs 1/2 or less of the TV then you will be ok without trailer brakes. So if your Jeep is a Cherokee then you were pretty close. But I agree with you, install a brake controller.
Your sales person was a total jerk!!!
They are pretty easy to install yourself. All plug and play. All new trucks and SUVs have a trailer brake cable and connector, usually just to the left of the steering wheel underneath the dash. Unwind it and pull it out and plug it in to the controller. Drill a couple of holes low on the dash to mount the controller and you should be done. I would use a Tekonsha Prodigy P3. eTrailer or Amazon has them for about $120.
So you say that you smashed the 7 pin cable. I assume that was while backing to hitch up so that your TV wasn't hooked up as yet. This is how I think that the wiring is done: From the trailer's connector the main power from the TV goes to the battery and than aft to the converter. There is no fuse (not good) at the battery but maybe there is one at the converter. So you probably didn't blow the non existent fuse. The other wires are for lights and brakes and are powered by the TV and if it wasn't hooked up there would have been no current flow so no problems. If your TV was hooked up then it may have blown the fuse that supplies charging power to the battery.
But all in all you should be ok. If you DIY, just buy a 7 pin connector and cable and disconnect each wire in the junction box mounted on the frame and wire the new cable to it, keeping the colors the same.
David
Thanks for the response David.,
It's a 2000 Cherokee. Not plug and play. I added the tow package myself last fall to prep for this. Hitch, wiring harness, tranny cooler, upgraded rear leafs, etc. etc. I have a wire for the brakes that runs back to the hitch, but I still have to run power, ground, and brake pedal wire. Still won't take me more than an hour or so.
When I smashed the cable, I was parking the trailer, and it was hooked up and fully powered when it happened. My Jeep has a tail light and a front marker light out, so I'm sure a fuse went kaput somewhere. I don't know if any lights are out on the trailer, cause I yanked it when I saw the damage. My replacement cable comes Tuesday (along with my brake controller -got a Tekonsha P2- I like the bigger display), I'll hook it up and test everything when I get it all installed. Hoping for no problems in the TT, or at worst a fuse or two. Fingers crossed.
Thanks again!
John
Thinking of selling our 2016 13 BHB. Took 5 trips in it last year.
We are thinking of getting a Hymler AKTIV instead.
Best place to sell our Livin Lite 13?
I'm not sure of the best place to sell it, but I do know that I inquired from a couple of dealers last year about trading my 2016 13QBB in for a larger unit and was offered about $15,000. I found the offers insulting! Ironically when one of the dealers was pitching me on a newer larger unit, he was quick to tell me how well they hold their value :-\
Yes, we are thinking about a Hymer RV and the salesperson offered me 10-13k...just wow...
Didn't know what a Hymer was till I looked on their website. Now I want one too! How much?
We didn't want to install a brake box in our SUV so we purchased this wireless brake controller and have been extremely happy with it. We mounted the box on the tongue/frame with zinc screws and just plug in the wireless box into the auxiliary outlet in the car when we tow it (and throw it in the glovebox when we don't use it.)
https://www.etrailer.com/Brake-Controller/Tekonsha/90250.html
So we're thinking of selling our 2016 13QBB and moving up to a 2018 16DBS. Wife wants more room. I'm happy with what I have, easy to tow and stow, but, happy wife, happy life. Looks like they've made some changes this year, like drawers in the kitchen. She's excited about that. Actually looked at a 20' Airstream Sport which is the same size as the Camp Lite 16. We were shocked SHOCKED! at the outrageous prices they're asking and getting. And, they don't even have as many options as our Livin Lite. Did you know that you can't even get a power awning on an Airstream..$65,000. and no power awning!
We're looking at a 2012 BHB13. We have a few questions & would appreciate any help or advice. Where do you find replacement windows? Also, hubs wants to change out to an off-road tire because we haul to the deer lease down some rough dirt roads. Anyone with experience in this?
If anyone has pics of the upgrades you've done inside, I'd love to see them! Thanks. Hope to join the Camplite ranks soon!!!
rab0325: The windows are made by a division of Dometic. A call to Dometic should point you in the right direction. We have 2012 13QBB which we love. As originally purchased it came with the jackknife sofa. We soon learned that you can not open the bathroom door very far when the sofa is deployed. Given that at any one time we may have one grandkid with us we are just finishing converting the jackknife sofa layout to a dinette layout. It will still sleep one when set up as bed (36 inches wide) and the dinette just makes for more livable space for our purposes.
As well as vacation travel we use our 13QBB as our "base camp" for hunting, fishing and cross-country ski trips. We have been happily surprised on the ground clearance. The sewer discharge piping is tucked up fairly high to the frame and we have yet to "drag" bottom or tear of the sewer pipes. We are usually on unmaintained grid roads in Iowa, Montana, and Saskatchewan. So not having any problem we have never bothered with an "off road" lift kit which is what I think you will need if you go to an off road tire.
When shopping for a used Camplite look at the cargo door hatches for "bubbling", Challenger Door - Livin Lite's door vendor had an issue with the aluminum skin on some of the doors corroding (yes aluminum will corrode if subject to exposure to the correct atmosphere and dissimilar metallic substances). Any other questions that we may help you with just ask.
We did purchase the 13BHB, and we're already loving it. Thank you for the heads up on the cargo door issues. Doesn't seem to be one our problems. Our entry door has a slight rise to it below the window, but I think it's from rough handling. The side windows continue to be an issue, but we hope to have a solution soon. Once the acrylic is replaced on our broken window, we still need to find the cylinders for two others and then decide what to do about shades. The day/night shades aren't the strongest and a couple of them are ripped. I think we may end up going to a curtain of some sort. We're also buying new foam cushions as ours were pretty worn. All in all, we're still excited about finding this classic camper. We love the size, the weight, the aluminum construction, and the ease of pulling. (Hubs made a u-turn in the middle of the street in a residential neighborhood while pulling with our LJ Jeep! It was great!!!!)
I have a 2011 13' bhb, purchased new 6 years ago and it is still an enjoyment to go camping in with my dog. This summer I replaced the two 4"waste pipe outlets on the roof with the galvanize ones, they will not deteriorate like the plastic ones. Also replaced the two crank up roof vents and new tires. This is the most repairs that I have had to do. It's built to last.
Graham:
Huge pictures like yours at 3.7 Mb don't display well. Edit them down to a max of 500 Kb.
David
I loved my 2013 QBB travel trailer (16 ft) until the axle came off - thankfully not on the highway.
Many of these trailers are DEFECTIVE - why Livin Lite went out of business and Good F'ing Riddance.
HAVE YOUR AXLES and FRAME checked by a qualified mechanic.
You could save you life as well as others.
Cheers.
And F'you Livin Lite for putting my life and others in danger.