Info about Starcraft Spacemaster

[jeepers]

contact starcraft directly, they can tell if they can get you the part.  they will not sell directly.  they will give you a list of dealers in your area that you can order from. 

Starcraft will need you VIN number.  In the past I have found there numbers on there web site.   

Great, thanks.

[austinado16]

Glad this all went well, both with your expectations, and the condition, and with a good seller.

I'm looking forward to seeing photos, and watching you dial it in over the next few months.

Weird that it doesn't have electric brakes.  I would have assumed otherwise based on it's size.  I wonder if when they did the bearings, they just tossed the drums and brake assemblies and installed new hubs w/ bearings instead?

[noahnsteph]

Yep, as long as it has the square plate then installing brakes is pretty straight forward. I installed brakes on our first PU myself and it only took about an hour and a 6 pack of beer for me and a buddy.    Here's the pics of the install.


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[wavery]

Yep, installing brake is easy if you have the square, 4-bolt plate on the axle. Canvas repair may also be easy. You may want to take it off and take it to a awning-maker or sail-maker to get an estimate.

I would question what the previous owner considers "New" tires. If he bought them 5-years ago and only made 1 trip, they are far from new. Trailer tires normally die from old age, seldom from wear. 6-years from the manufacturing date is about all that you can expect to get out of a set of tires.

Be sure to get the DOT code off of each tire (including spare) and check it's age:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

[wavery]

Nice looking camper but it looks like your tow vehicle's not liking it much.

I sure have a hard time believing that they built that trailer without brakes. Did you look behind the wheels to see if it has brake backing plates and/or brake drums?

Here's a good place to buy trailer brakes........ you will certainly need them.
http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Trailer_Brakes.aspx

[jeepers]

I sure have a hard time believing that they built that trailer without brakes. Did you look behind the wheels to see if it has brake backing plates and/or brake drums?

http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Trailer_Brakes.aspx

By the way, I did check. No signs what-so-ever of brakes having ever been installed. Looks like I'd better start reading up on brake installation. 

[noahnsteph]

The AC always run on 120V electricity not 220V.  I'm guessing the previous owner meant running it on a 20amp circuit.  I've run my AC on the 15amp circuit in my garage on days when it was less than 90° but it will blow the fuse when it gets much over 90° or is really humid outside.

Your Pilot is definitely sagging more than I'd care for so I'd look into some air bags to stiffen up the rear or do some more research on the Starcraft to see if it can be used with a weight distribution hitch.  Usually the big determiner is if the tongue of the trailer has a full box beam frame or if it's just a C-channel frame. I would definitely invest in some brakes as well if it doesn't have them on the trailer.

As for the tenting, you can always slap some duct tape on there for now until you get some quotes on replacements or repairs. You might find a local awning company to see if they might be able to repair them.

[wavery]

Wayne, I put that picture of the full rig on there hoping it would generate some discussion. I did my homework beforehand but was surprised as how much the back of the pilot sagged with the trailer attached. GVWR on the trailer is 2930# and I can lift the tongue (not easily, but I also don't think that I can lift anywhere near 300#) so I should be well within the book limits of 350/3500. I did use the seller's hitch/anti sway unit that was set up with drop for a full size Chevy pickup, so that's not helping the hitch drop but certainly not the only issue. Are the Pilots just that soft in the back end??? I will say that it pulled nicely. I took it easy but even without brakes I didn't feel like it was an effort to stop. In fact, it really didn't feel noticeably different than my 8' popup.

Realizing that I'm going to have to pack light, how bad is it to tow with the current configuration that you are seeing??? Most, if not all, of our camping this year will be at a favorite campground that's <30 miles away. I'm starting to consider looking into how much it would cost to store the camper at the campground and just put it on a site the weekends that we are there.

Aside from the visual towing issue, it cleaned up nicely. I think that the canvas may be toast. As you can see, most of the window panels have that rot/separation at the crease. I was hoping to get by with just the wings but also found some of the same on the slide out window, so it looks like I'm in for the full monty. Tested the fridge and that seemed to work fine on 110. Did discover a small soft spot on the lower right vertical corner of the slide out. There was a very tiny hole in the exterior (BB size) that must have let some water in. Soft but still seems sounds. I plan to seal it ASAP and althought I fully intend to watch it, I'm hoping it's not a big deal.

I have two new camper questions for this group:

1. Is it bad to run the AC when connected to 110? Seller said he was told that you should only run it when you have a 220 connection?
2. How to you switch to 12v? I have a battery and inverter, but can't find a switch. My smaller Starcraft had a 12v/110 switch. Does it switch to 12v automatically if you don't have 110? Was hoping to see if the battery was still good but I've got nothing when I unplug it.
3. Do you guys think I did OK at $1500?

I'm open to all insightful thoughts/comments.

Jim
 

You should figure on the tongue wt of the trailer being at least 12% of the GVW. That would put your TW ~350#.

The Pilot Owners Manual recommends "No WDH". Having that in mind, you need to find out if a WDH is allowed on that trailer. If you decide to go with a WDH, you may want to look into a Reese 400 single bar.

The problem is not the sag in the rear, the problem is the weight that is lifted off of the front axle. This could make panic stopping very dangerous. Looking at that pick, my bet is, if you slam on the brakes (like if traffic suddenly stopped in front of you) @ 50MPH, your front wheels may lock up and you may loose all steering control. This is particularly problematic on wet roads.

Your only options to correct that condition is a WDH or TV with a much longer WB. It's fine to say that you will only be going 30 miles each way but you know as well as I do, that may not be the case 100% of the time and it only takes one accident to really ruin your day. The other issue is the wear & tear on the TV.

There is no problem running your A/C on 110V. I assume that it is a 110V A/C unit. You cannot hook your trailer up to 220V. The plug on your trailer is a special 30amp, 110V plug. It's not a 220V plug. You can get an adapter to adapt that plug for plugging into your homes 110V 15amp outlets. The A/C should run fine off of that.

[jeepers]

Excellent info, Wayne. Points all very well taken. I know that Honda does not recommend the WDH and, realizing that the Pilot is not an optimal tow vehicle, I have serious concerns about doing expensive damage to our family truckster. As we discussed in an earlier thread, I hope to move up to a pickup within the next 12-24 months. I'm back to giving serious consideration to just renting a u-haul pickup to use as a TV on the weekend that we camp this season. Would probably run me <$75/weekend.

I was excited by the new camper but the towing situation has put a damper on my enthusiasm. I thought I was making a sound and educated decision. Live and learn, I guess.

[noahnsteph]

I believe there was a big red switch on the outside near where you lit the gas for the fridge but to be honest I never had any luck running it on 12V anyway. Besides, unless you were running it on 12V only while towing it would suck your battery dry in no time. I would just run it on gas when not plugged into an electric site and when towing I would throw a half gallon milk jug of frozen water in the fridge in case the flame went out while traveling.

[jeepers]

I believe there was a big red switch on the outside near where you lit the gas for the fridge but to be honest I never had any luck running it on 12V anyway. Besides, unless you were running it on 12V only while towing it would suck your battery dry in no time. I would just run it on gas when not plugged into an electric site and when towing I would throw a half gallon milk jug of frozen water in the fridge in case the flame went out while traveling.

I gotcha. I was actually thinking more about how to get the overhead lights to work on 12v, but you've got me wondering if the 12v switch on the back of the fridge might be the key. There's a county park right close to home but it doesn't have any hookups so it would be nice to have the overhead lights at night. I can't imagine that a fridge could last on 12v for very long. 

[austinado16]

Looks nice and the price is about right if you wind up spending a grand on Canvas. I'd call Canvas Replacements or Bear Creek Canvas and get the tenting off and in to them, for either some repair panels, or full-on replacement.  I wouldn't wait, because there's a slow-ish turn around time that will get worse as spring nears.

I'm really doubting that Starcraft built that without brakes.  There's just no way.  Starcraft has always built a fully outfitted camper, especially up in their big models like this.  If my 1,425lb (maxes at 2,100lbs) Nova came with brakes in '87, your 3,000lb model did too.

As you see in the photos posted earlier, it's an easy install. The brake assemblies come pre-built, so you just purchase the 4 bolts, nuts, and washers for each side, and bolt them right to the axle.  That's it.  The new drums come with the bearing races installed, so you just smear in fresh grease, pack both bearings in your palm (where blue nitrile mechanic's gloves), set the inner bearing in position and pound in the grease seal.  Then slide the drum onto the axle stub, set the outer bearing in position, hand tighten the axle nut, and put the cotter pin in.  Done.  The wiring is dead easy.  Each brake assembly has 2 wires.  Doesn't matter which you use......one of them goes up front to your new 7pin connector and it gets voltage from your brake controller.  The other wire from each brake assembly, just goes to ground on the frame.  You'll add a break away switch to the tongue, there's probably a hole for it already. Mounts with one 1/4x20x 1" long bolt, a couple washers, and one nylock nut.  Leave the bolt just slightly loose so the break-away switch can swivel.  The switch has 2 wires.  One gets connected to your camper battery positive.  The other one splices into the voltage feed wire for your brakes.  That's it, you're done.  All you need after that, is a Tekonsha P2 brake controller installed in the Pilot.

Regarding your tail sag:  Throw some air bags under it if there's room, or install air shocks....depending on what kind of rear suspension you have.  That'll level you out.  Make sure to run the tires on the Pilot at their max air pressure rating so that they're not all marshmallowy.  Same goes for the camper's tires.

You probably have an auto-switching converter inside the Starcraft.  When the camper is plugged into shore power, the converter powers the lights on the 12v that it makes.  When you unplug from shore power, as long as you have a fully charged 12v battery, the converter will use the battery voltage to power the lights.  If that system isn't working (didn't the seller show you all this?) make sure you don't have blown fuses, either out at the battery or on the converter, and that the battery is fully charged.

And just FYI, the 12v feature on the fridge is for towing only.  You won't be using it at any other time, and you'll only use that feature if you wire the 7pin connector on the Pilot so that pin #4 is getting voltage from the Pilot's battery/alternator.

[kcmookie]

Congrats!  That is exactly the price point I was thinking, and it sounds like you could slap some duct tape on it and call it good!  (just kidding)

I was hoping you wouldn't drop $2500 on something that age, knowing that you were going to have to invest another $1200.

[Tenttrailer]

I would not be in a rush to replace the canvas.  It looks like you can put a tempory fix on it that should hold up for a year or so.   This is your first pup? 

For the first years, I would use some canvas tape, or buy a tent repair kit that has the 8"x8" glue on patches.  I would put the tape or patches on the inside.  I know you could but these repair items on amazon

Lots of people after the first year of camping have a diffrent idea as to what the ideal trailer is for them.  After the first year, if ythis is the ideal trailer, than make the investments to make it right for you.  But for the first year have fun with it and don't sink a lote of money into it.  I found it's a lot mosr fun if you are not spending a lot of money.

[wavery]

I would not be in a rush to replace the canvas.  It looks like you can put a tempory fix on it that should hold up for a year or so.   This is your first pup? 

For the first years, I would use some canvas tape, or buy a tent repair kit that has the 8"x8" glue on patches.  I would put the tape or patches on the inside.  I know you could but these repair items on amazon

Lots of people after the first year of camping have a diffrent idea as to what the ideal trailer is for them.  After the first year, if ythis is the ideal trailer, than make the investments to make it right for you.  But for the first year have fun with it and don't sink a lote of money into it.  I found it's a lot mosr fun if you are not spending a lot of money.

I agree with this philosophy....... unless you have the smell of mold. If it smells moldy when you open the camper, get rid of the canvas, then wash all of the upholstery and curtains. Wipe down all of the hard surfaces with a 10% bleach solution. All of this is easy if you do it before you start filling the camper. 

I owned a canvas business while we were sailing around the world and did a LOT of repair work. If you can pull the canvas (Sunbrella or whatever) apart with your hands, it won't hold a stitch so resewing is out of the question. However, if the Sun -rot is confined to areas around the windows but the fabric is stronger farther out, you may get away with having new (larger) windows and window covers sewn in. Probably ~$50 a window.

I would urge you to take the bunk ends off and take them to a canvas repair shop for an estimate. They will tell you in 5 minutes whether they are salvageable or not and will give you a free estimate to repair or make new ones. If you give them a pattern, they are really easy to make. My guess would be ~$200 per end. If they are hurting for work........ ~2/3 of that.