Gulf Stream quality

[AmeriLite21]

We bought our AmeriLite 21MB 2 weeks ago :D . First time out was last weekend. Have been thru it checking things out and so far only a couple of minor blems. We upgraded from a Flagstaff 176LTD pop-up. It was only two years old and already some of the plastic parts were breaking :roll: . Like others have said, all brands have problems :cry: . It's how the dealer handles them that makes the real difference. So far we are very satisfied with our dealer and the AmeriLite.

[Timothy]

Welcome to the forum! Glad you like you Amerilite and hope it holds up well for you.

[ricstone]

Hello Amerilite21! we also bought the same camper about a month ago. we love ours. no problems at all so far. we are also in Missouri. i see your pulling with a Ranger. how doese it do? i pull with a 02 Explorer 4.0 with tow package 373 gears. it pulls fair but nothing to brag about. we also went from a Chalet popup to the 21MB. we have a great dealer also. Kris Willis rv in Poplar Bluff. any way have fun an if you have any trouble let me know an i will do the same for you.

[AmeriLite21]

ricstone
We no longer have the Ranger. It pulled the trailer very well the first couple of times out. First was about 200 miles with lots of north Missouri hills and the second was shorter with more of those hills. It strained a little on some of the longer hills, 3k to 3.5k rpms at 50-55 mph, but seemed to do fine the rest of the time. The last trip we had a pretty strong head wind (35-40 mph) coming home. About 30 miles out the tranny seemed to be slipping a little, but seemed to return to normal after a couple of miles. Then a couple of miles from home it started slipping a little and shifting hard. Took it to the shop and they said the tranny was shot and had to be rebuilt or replaced. I think it may have had a problem that was brought out by the hard pulling into the wind. We had been thinking of upgrading to a full size truck next year anyway. We worked out a trade on an 01 Dodge with a 360 engine. Haven't tried it out yet, but the service manager told me he pulls a 30-footer with no trouble at all.
We have been very happy with the AmeriLite so far. The queen bed is suprisingly comfortable- we are both a little over average size. The main problem we have had so far is the thin, cheap plastic black and gray water vent covers. They both broke and one was lost somewhere on the last trip. I replaced them with metal covers that should last longer than us. We want to put something on the cabinet doors over the dinette to hold them open while using the cabinets. I am going to replace the furnace thermostat with a digital one to help reduce the heat fluctuations. The temp varys as much as 10-15 degrees as the furnace cycles. And the water lines under the sink and the tub vibrate against the walls when the pump runs. Other than that we are pretty well satisfied with the trailer. We look forward to many camping trips in the coming years. I am even buying extra vacation at work to give us more camping time.
Hope your Explorer does better than the Ranger. It was a 4.0 L, 5 speed auto, with tow pkg. The sales manager at the trailer dealer said he had sold 5 or 6 AmeriLite 21's to Ranger owners and they had no problems. He wouldn't even show us anything bigger because he said the Ranger wouldn't pull them.

[ricstone]

Sorry to hear about your Ranger. my Exploder is still doing fine, we just got back from Sam A Baker state park an it pulled the Ozark foot hills fine. we went to Emmince MO. in the early Oct. to Alley Springs the hills over there was bigger but it pulled just fine. i could hold 55 going up the hills.
now for the water lines vibrating mine does it to. if you find a fix for it let me know. other than that mines is doing fine also.
OH congrats. on the new Dodge! hope you have good luck with it. im wanting a Nissan Titan. but thats wishfull thinking. anyway glad you are liking your new TT.
ric

[AmeriLite21]

I heard somewhere that the water line vibration can be solved with that foam water pipe insulation. Just cut the length you need and slide it over the line where it touches the wall. I guess I'll have all winter to do that kind of thing.
Glad to hear your Explorer is doing well. I still think the Ranger may have had a problem that was brought out by the wind. It should have pulled the 3600 lbs trailer with no problem. The Dodge is almost as big as the trailer so it should be a real good match. Will have to keep looking in the rearview mirror to make sure it is still following me.

[Abner]

ricstone
We no longer have the Ranger. It pulled the trailer very well the first couple of times out. First was about 200 miles with lots of north Missouri hills and the second was shorter with more of those hills. It strained a little on some of the longer hills, 3k to 3.5k rpms at 50-55 mph, but seemed to do fine the rest of the time. The last trip we had a pretty strong head wind (35-40 mph) coming home. About 30 miles out the tranny seemed to be slipping a little, but seemed to return to normal after a couple of miles. Then a couple of miles from home it started slipping a little and shifting hard. Took it to the shop and they said the tranny was shot and had to be rebuilt or replaced. I think it may have had a problem that was brought out by the hard pulling into the wind. We had been thinking of upgrading to a full size truck next year anyway. We worked out a trade on an 01 Dodge with a 360 engine. Haven't tried it out yet, but the service manager told me he pulls a 30-footer with no trouble at all.


Did you have a transmission cooler on your Ranger? Isn't the towing capacity on the Ranger over 5K pounds?

[ricstone]

I heard somewhere that the water line vibration can be solved with that foam water pipe insulation. Just cut the length you need and slide it over the line where it touches the wall. I guess I'll have all winter to do that kind of thing.
Glad to hear your Explorer is doing well. I still think the Ranger may have had a problem that was brought out by the wind. It should have pulled the 3600 lbs trailer with no problem. The Dodge is almost as big as the trailer so it should be a real good match. Will have to keep looking in the rearview mirror to make sure it is still following me.

I will have to give the pipe insulation a try also. i think you will like the Dodge. anyway thanks for the reply on the insulation an good luck with the Dodge.
let me know when you fix your pipes an if it worked ok. an i will do the same.
ric

[AmeriLite21]

Abner,

The Ranger had factory tow package with transmission cooler. It was tow rated for 5080 lbs. We didn't weigh the trailer, but it came out of the factory at 3334 lbs. and we only added about 250 to 300 lbs. in equipment, including two full propane tanks. We never fill the water tank until we get to the campground and empty it before we leave.
I had turned the overdrive off.

It should have been able to pull the trailer no problem. I just think there was something in the transmission waiting to happen and the hills and 35 mph wind made it happen. Just before it started slipping we were doing 55 at 2500 to 3000rpms for about 30 miles with no indication of anything.
Then the speed just started dropping and the rpms went up to 3500 to 4000. When we pulled off the 4-lane onto a 2-lane it was going normally again. Then about 25 miles later it started slipping again and shifting hard.

[AmeriLite21]

:D Haven't posted for a while. Just an update on the 07 AmeriLite. Last time was Nov 2007. Can't believe that was 8 yrs ago :shock: . During that time we have had some medical :( issues that interfered with camping. We did make one trip to a near MO State Park in 2014 :) , and two in 2015 :D . Right now the trailer has been winterized and parked for the winter. Would like to go winter camping sometime, but the wife doesn't like cold weather :wink: . Said I could solo if I wanted, but that's no fun. The trailer is holding up really well. No problems with any of the equipment, roof, siding, etc. Had to replace the tires last year due to the age of the originals and the A/C roof gasket this year. Other than some dents in the siding from a hail storm a couple of years ago it still looks like new. Interior is holding up very well, nothing broken or malfunctioning. The Dodge does a great job of towing. Sometimes I have to remember the trailer is back there. We are very happy with the AmeriLite. It fits us well.