Starcraft Starlite 17

[ccarley]

My wife made me do it!

To go along with our Suburban, we now have a 1986 Starcraft Starlite 17. First things first, it was way too low, so we lifted it about 7 inches. That brought the tongue up to about where my drop hitch is, maybe just an inch off or so. There was also a broken lift cable, but that was super easy to fix. Still have some mold/mildew to get off the canvas, but this trailer is on the way to hitting some dirt next year. Larger tires are in the plans, and probably some undercarriage protection as well. The long tail of the Suburban really won't help towing when off-road. Shocks on the trailer look to be necessary, as it bounces around all over the place right now.

I'm thinking too, that the two rear corners will get some sort of antennas or masts or something. I can't see the trailer out of my rearview, and I can only see it in the side mirrors as it sways around behind me.

Thankfully, this unit only has an icebox (no fridge), but does have a propane (electric fired) furnace. I'm not much on accessories while camping, we don't need that much at all. I'm not sure that we even need 12 volt power...

We will be testing it this weekend, but nothing off-road.

Clay

 

[ccarley]

First shakedown (local) run went pretty well with this trailer. My wife ended up working late the afternoon we were supposed to leave, and I had been up since midnight-30 that morning.

Although the trailer is a bit on the small side (most notably the beds are a bit narrow), it's a great size for taking wherever we will want to take our Suburban. Even about fully loaded for camping, there was minimal sag in the Suburban's suspension, and it handled the trailer with ease. I'm thinking about a receiver tensioning device to get rid of the rattle of the hitch. The sound makes you think the trailer is jumping all over the place, so quieting that down will be nice. Larger tires (height and width) will certainly be nice on the fire-roads we would be traveling on in the woods.

Clay

 

[OGL]

That's one good lookin' trailer!

 

[ccarley]

Thanks, I happened to notice yours the other day as well!

I see you have larger wheels/tires; that is on my list for sure. However there may be another trip in our future before that happens. Might be able to get some cool action shots on that trip too...

Clay

 

[silvrzuki77]

Nice, Im building one right now.

 

[ccarley]

I found some fatter tires for the trailer, as I doubt I'll be able to match what's on my tow vehicle (35's). The tires on the trailer are pretty sad right now; they are in good shape, but so small and skinny.

https://www.etrailer.com/Tires-and-Wheels/Kenda/AM3H290.html

The price for tires pre-mounted isn't that bad, and those are not just wider, but slightly taller and should level out the trailer. I'm thinking that fat sidewall looks nice for helping soak up rocks etc while out in the dirt.

Slowly but surely this trailer will be coming along.

Clay

 

[silvrzuki77]

Where there is a will there is a way for 35's! Im doing it so can you!

 

[ccarley]

Been a while since I updated with additional progress. But, I have been working on the trailer from time to time, and had a chance to take it out a couple times so far this year.

35" tires will have to wait for now, however the wide shorties are working quite well. Flotation in the sand is excellent! The tongue jack's wheel, however does not float on the sand. I suppose a platform of some sort (perhaps the original spare tire) will help prevent the tongue jack from sinking in the sand.

I used the cross bars that came with the trailer to mount the Surco rack I have been holding on to for years. That was a great idea, however I don't believe I can load too much in it. The current weight carrying capacity of the trailer is fairly low, but I'll be fixing that later on. Having the rack is great though, and easily carries things like an EZ-up, cooler, or my camping box. Of course, everything is unloaded prior to lifting the roof.

Being such a small trailer, my wife had a great idea for extending the rear bed for extra room. The mattress from the front bed fits right on top of the dinette when it's down, making a more or less level, large bed in the rear. This is perfect, as we use the front bed for storage when the trailer is setup. The only catch is the furnace, which we used a bit last month while camping at the coast. The furnace outlet (and inlet) is under the dinette; when it's setup as a bed, the hot air circulates under that area, and then overheats the furnace. I'm going to be installing a duct on the side of the furnace to hopefully solve that problem, which will exit in front of the dinette.

Now for the big stuff. I haven't started this project yet, but I'm going to be extending the tongue of the trailer by at least a foot, and adding a rack for my old Yamaha Enduro. In the process we'll be beefing up the frame as well.

Some pics. Bodega Dunes:

And, Doran Park/Beach (I really wanted to put the trailer in the sand again! The sign says "All wheels on pavement" though)

I might be moving to a SLA battery in the trailer, as we recently replaced our UPS batteries at work. Very high capacity, and for free, why not? Although, with the LED lights, we had no issues with battery power.

 

[jatibb]

whats the "max" speed rating on those tires. i bought an older palomino and was working on a way to install/remove off of my flatbed trailer on 30" tires, but thinking of going back to something to just "hook up and go"
when i bought the trailer it had the 5.7x8 tires and it felt like the brakes were on at about 55mph.

 

[ccarley]

The wheel and tire combo I got from etrailer.com, to replace the 5.70X8 tires, was the "Kenda 215/60-8 Bias Trailer Tire with 8" White Wheel - 4 on 4 - Load Range C". etrailer.com says that all of the wheel & tire combos that they sell are good for 65mph. That being said, though, you need to make sure that the bearings on your spindles are greased well, maybe more often than regular. The short wheels spin faster, of course, at highway speeds than with the larger diameter tires.

I will say that I haven't really been over 55 yet, as I am still working out a vibe in my rear driveshaft. It's almost gone... but I'm not risking extended periods of high speed yet. The limit here in CA, while towing, is 55 as it is anyway.

I'm actually really happy with the tires I got on the trailer. I did need a spacer which took some time to locate (ebay had it), but it was totally worthwhile.

Clay

Edit: a pic

 

[jscusmcvet]

Like your trailer! We currently have and use a small rockwood behind our jeep. Wife loves it. I get the hankerin to modify it or replace with a more off road worthy set up all the time, but it just works for what we are doing right now. Congrats on your starcraft. I may look into the wheel and tire change you did to see what is available for mine, as I think that for now that may be all we really need. I like to see folks out using their rigs like you are. That's what it is about after all.

 

[ccarley]

Thank you, sir!

etrailer.com was a valuable resource for the wheels & tires. They have great prices, and the listings show the actual inflated size of the tires as well. I "lucked out" and my selection of wide tires are actually the same height as the originals; the good part being that I can use the original spare (and have 2 more). Nice little Rockwood there! And it looks like you are getting some good use out of it. I still can't wait to take mine someplace less, say, paved.

 

[ccarley]

I did get some stuff done to the trailer yesterday.

Furnace: the furnace was not ducted at all, and it's outlet is under the dinette. Since we use the dinette as part of the bed, when I did want to use it (for my wife), it overheated and tripped it's high limit switch. So, I added a duct towards the front of the dinette. During testing yesterday, it still gets hot under the dinette table, but the furnace didn't trip off; hopefully that takes care of it.

I also started looking at the motorcycle rack. I didn't put the bike up there yet, but might today if I have time to see how much room it will really need. I also didn't realize how bad my cell camera is until taking these shots... sorry 'bout that.

I am still planning on lengthening the tongue by at least a foot; that should help lessen the increase of the tongue weight, and help with towing as well. My Suburban doesn't care if that trailer is wagging around behind it (which happens...) so lengthening that tongue might help a bit in any case.

Oh yes; there's the solar panel there too. I was given a solar panel, of unknown origin. I wired it to a 7-way plug, and just plug it in whenever I want to. Easy to charge up in the driveway, or even while camping.

Clay

 

[jscusmcvet]

Did you do a spring over as well as the new tires/wheels?

 

[jscusmcvet]

Went ahead and ordered similar tires from etrailer this morning. Thanks for the idea.:beer: I think they will handle soft surfaces, dirt roads and the like with a littl more stability. Lucked out, as you did, the diameter is the same so I will still use a skinny for my spare.