Trailer Q A Stabilizer Stability. Q We recently bought a used 2. Keystone Montana 3. Our question is about stabilizing the trailer. After we lower the front feet and rear stabilizers, put the ratchet style scissor chocks between the tires and place the kingpin on the hitch, the trailer still has a wobble effect, moving back and forth when we walk inside. How can we prevent this from happeningWe even tried putting a little too much tension on the back stabilizers. Jim and Janis Mc. Cullough, Buffalo, New York. A Even with those landing legs and stabilizer jacks deployed, most of the trailer weight is still riding on its suspension and tires, so its going to shift around a bit. You can buy various braces that help provide extra fore and aft or lateral stiffness for jacks and stabilizers, and these can help a great deal with steadying your trailer when parked. Check out JTs Strong Arm as one type of trailer stabilizing product. Gelcoat Stress Crack Repair' title='Gelcoat Stress Crack Repair' />Fisheries Supply offers boat fiberglass repair kits, gelcoats, polyester resins, and mold cleaners from brands like Evercoat, MagicEzy and Dr Sails. Shop now. Likes Best ride Ive ever experienced. The boat drives itself. Has a deep V, fishes up high off the water in the front. Burns very little gas and. Even though a fiberglass shower stall usually cant flex against the framing enough to crack easily, the sharp and focused impact of a heavy object can be enough to. Jeff Johnston. Leaking Water Heater. Q Jim Sniders Winterizing Woes letter in Octobers RV Clinic about problems with his trailers leaking water heater sparked me to write. Each fall when I winterize my RV, I always bypass the water heater and drain it thoroughly. I have found that water still resides in the bottom of the tank and cannot be drained. I bought a plastic cooking baster and attached a foot long piece of clear plastic tube. Gelcoat Stress Crack Repair' title='Gelcoat Stress Crack Repair' />I suck out the remainder of the water and leave the drain plug out for the winter. I then use a paper towel to plug the drain hole, gas igniter area and other places where spiders may decide to take up winter residence. Jim Popovich, Mora, New Mexico. A It never hurts to be thorough, but that last little bit of water in the bottom of the water heater tank is far less critical than leaving any water in the lines or fittings. Inside enclosed plumbing, when the water freezes and expands, it has nowhere to go and can burst a line, for example. The bottom of the water heater tank is bowl shaped, or more accurately, cylindrical, with the wider convex side up. If any residual water freezes, it simply expands up into the open air space in the tank because theres nothing to bind or trap it in place. Your suggestion about removing the last of the water is a sound idea, though, and may help some readers who wish to do just that. Forward As some of you know I have promised VetteMan89 that I would put together a Corvette Painting 101 post. Well it s time to put up or shut up so here. Repair Products 2 Online Shop Extra Postage 3 Leather Vinyl Repair Kits 5 Fabric Upholstery Kit 6 Carpet Repair Kit 7 Vinyl Floor Tile Repair. J. J. WD Hitch Application. Q Im considering buying another trailer and need clarification on how a weight distributing WD hitch may affect the allowable hitch weight in relation to the tow vehicles hitch capacity. My Tahoe has a 1,0. Program De Antrenament De Culturism there. It has an 8,5. 00 pound towing capacity. The 3. 0 foot trailer has 6,4. With front storage and LP gas cylinders, it wouldnt take much to reach and exceed the 1,0. Two dealers told me that the WD hitch will compensate and spread the load, and that it would be OK. But I have read in Trailer Life that hitch weight is hitch weight and should not be exceeded. Can I safely exceed the hitch weight if using a WD hitch, and if so, what would a safe guideline beNiles Toole, North Augusta, South Carolina. A You are correct, Niles. A WD hitch doesnt allow you to exceed any manufacturers towing related specifications, including hitch weight, tow rating, gvwr or gross combined weight rating gcwr. The WD hitch helps distribute the weight between the tow vehicles front and rear axles, but the weight is still there. That 8. 35 pound dry or fantasy hitch weight will rack up in a hurry, as you fill the LP gas cylinders, add cargo and, depending on the location of the tank, fresh water to the trailer. Id also keep an eye on your trailers weight, as that, too, adds up. Take the trailer to a certified public scale to learn its real world weights and go from there. J. J. End Caps Revisited. Novembers RV Clinic letters about prematurely faded and discolored Keystone end caps brought in a lot of reader comments about similar problems and other end cap issues. Here are four of them. J. J. I dont think the problem is oxidation. My son is going through the same thing with his Jayco. The end cap has dull blotches in several places, and the dealer cant seem to resolve the issue. My guess is that the RV manufacturers are all in the same general geographical area, and they all use the same vendor to manufacturer the end caps. I am familiar with the fiberglass and gelcoat process, and would bet that the problem is with the equipment used to apply the gelcoat to the mold. When the gelcoat is sprayed, there is a catalyst MEKP mixed with it at the spray gun. If the mix is not right at the gun, the end result will be small craters or dull areas in the finish. I suggest that the vendor consult with his spray equipment supplier to resolve the problem. Bill Land, Garland, Texas. I bought a new Sydney Outback by Keystone in 2. The front cap began to fade within several months of ownership. Not only do I always wax my RVs, I also store them indoors. I contacted a local body shop and was told the fading is a result of improper primer on the fiberglass. This information comes from the manager of a body shop that has been in business well over 2. I took my RV to the dealer, and the company repainted the front. Since the three letters were written by owners of 2. Keystone products, I contend that this is not an oxidation problem caused by weathering or improper care. Ken Baker, Greencastle, Pennsylvania. I had the same problem with my 2. Keystone Outback and tried everything to correct it. Finally, on my second trip to the dealer, I was told that it was a paint problem. The dealer advised me to take three pictures, and they would contact Keystone and let me know the outcome. Within two weeks, Keystone acknowledged the problem and offered to have my front cap repainted at no cost. That was done, along with placing new decals. Thank you, Keystone, for taking care of your customers. W. H. Krizmanich, Columbia, Maryland. Thank you for the information about the gelcoat chemicals, guys. Some manufacturers use outside vendors, and others have in house fiberglass facilities, and chemical problems can happen in either example. J. J. End Cap Cracking. Q Our 1. 99. 5 Skyline Nomad fifth wheel end cap has been cracking along the sides for a number of years. A little caulk kept them under control, but now we have a large crack down the middle, starting at the roof and proceeding down the center. We lived in Minnesota at the time, and the local RV dealer said it was due to contraction during the cold winters. We have moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota a little warmer, but still have concerns. My research indicates the material is ABS, so I have applied Rhino glue to the 3. Next summer we are heading back to Alaska for the seventh trip with this trailer. Any suggestions After having a wet bed, which caused us to discover the crack, I covered the crack with white duct tape, which got us home from Alaska with no problems. Don Patrick, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. A Don, the cracks occurring on your 2. RV. Fiberglass is a wonderfully useful material for RVs, but its somewhat brittle. As an RV frame flexes, it places stress on the fastening points on a fiberglass component, and sooner or later, stress cracks start to appear near those fasteners. The fact that your 2. A shop qualified to work on fiberglass would be the best place to have this repaired, as it involves filling and refinishing the cracked areas. This type of repair wont make the source of those cracks go away, but it will get your end cap looking good again for the duration.