|
Check your propane lines for leaks using a solution of liquid dish washing detergent and water. I had two leaks on Forest River Wildcat.
|
|
I bought the Wildcat in November and soon noticed that my ice cream was getting soft in the freezer.
|
|
My slide out is slightly out of adjustment on my Forest River Wildcat. It needs to move forward about 1/4 of an inch. The rear edge of the floor of the slide out has rubbed a piece of metal on the frame and worn through the fabric on the edge of the slide out floor at the rear.
|
|
The Wildcat has about 1 foot of metal that extends downward from floor level. The metal 'rolls' at the lower edge underneath the camper and gives it a nice finished look. However this metal does not roll correctly on the slide out. At the vertical joint where the slide out meets the body of the camper the 'rolled' part of the metal on the slide out extends away from the body of the camper by 1-2 i
|
|
If you do nothing else to your Wildcat, fix this quickly. The 4 inch pipe is loosely supported by a thin strap that wasn't even tight on my unit. I know of at least one person who had the 4 inch pipe break loose from the black tank because of the lack of support.
|
|
The local camping that I do usually involves leaving after work and school on a Friday afternoon and arriving at a campground after dark. I have added several lights to make backing into a campsite after dark much easier.
|
|
I had trouble hooking up the Wildcat to the fifth wheel in my truck. I had to manually pivot the fifth wheel in the truck so it was level horizontally, then raise or lower the Wildcat so the king pin would slide into the fifth wheel without moving the fifth wheel out of its level position. This is a design problem. My Dad and I fixed it.
|
|
The power converter in the Wildcat does not have a 'smart' battery charger. Leaving the Wildcat hooked to 120 AC for days or weeks can overcharge the battery, evaporate the sulfuric acid and eventually ruin the battery.
|
|
While I was comparing brands of fifth wheel campers, I noticed that everyone uses the black fabric material for the underbelly. I also noticed that only about half the manufacturers placed metal over the fabric directly above the tires. I think that over time the tires will pick up enough small pebbles and grit from the road to damage or puncture the fabric. This is my fix.
|
|
The Wildcat has an electrical heating element in the hot water heater. I like having the heating element but it was a pain to use because the on/off switch is outside behind the water heater access door. Here is my 120 volt switch solution.
|
|
In addition to the metal above the tires I felt that mud flaps would provide additional protection to the fabric behind the tires.
|
|
On a popular Wildcat internet forum, someone posted that their right rear spring hanger had broken free of the frame. Several people then checked their Wildcat and found the weld joint was cracking where the spring hanger is attached to the frame.
|
|
Several people have had trouble with the Carlisle tires on their Wildcats. I had one explode while traveling about 70 mph on a busy interstate. That was interesting. I just thought it was one of those things and replaced the tire myself.
|
|
With the purchase of a new 4x4 Dodge Cummins 2500 truck my Wildcat was too high in the front. While adding metal blocks between the axles and springs to raise the Wildcat I noticed the right spring shackles looked strange. I removed them to find that they were severely worn.
|
|
The fan in the hood above my stove does not exhaust the heat outside. It simply blows the air back to the inside. This makes absolutely no sense to me. So I added an exhaust vent.
|
|
The corner trim on the front cap starts at the top, goes down the corner, under the over hang to the vertical wall under the under hang and then down the corner to the bottom of this wall. One morning after a heavy dew I noticed water dripping from the trim at the bottom corner of the vertical wall.
|
|
I recently crawled under my Wildcat and what I saw gave me weak knees. The front of the spring leaf on the left side of the rear axle was resting against the bottom of the frame. The shackles were broken. The broken edges were rusty and had probably broken sometime during our summer trip.
|
|
Before I take any trip in the Wildcat I always take it for a drag, usually to work, on the day before I leave for the trip. The purpose is to give the Wildcat a quick checkout. Are the brakes working, wheel bearings ok, tires running ok, all the lights are working, etc?
|
