Rants

1. Problems with the sliding table.  Our Arrowhead has a sliding table-top which allows you to move it laterally to make more room for someone to slip into the LH seat (kitchen cabinet is adjacent).  Also lets you push the top away from the RH side to gain access to the toilet, although I'm not sure this was the intent. Uses a ball-bearing drawer slide mounted flat - great concept, but it doesn't slide enough to allow more than about 8" of clearance even with the corner of table knocked off.  Also, when it's extended the slide is very weak and in fact a slight amount of pressure can pop the two halves apart, sending little greasy nylon balls all over the place!  (From years of DIY projects I know most of these slides are designed to be mounted vertically - mounting them horizontally reduces the strength and probably is destined to fail because the only thing keeping them together are the balls running in their raceways)  I temporarily fixed the problem by adding a couple more ball-bearing carriers from another pair of slides I had that were the same width: more bearings = less stress on each ball. My eventual plan is to replace the slide completely with either a slide designed to be mounted flat or a pair of UHMW strips machined to dovetail together. Update 3/05: Replaced with Oak dovetailed slide. (see modifications)
   
   
2. Rubbing between awning & ridge rails. From the first trip out I noticed a growing shiny spot on the forward ridge rail way up at the peak inside the trailer.  Closer inspection when I folded down the top revealed something was rubbing against it and is wearing through the paint.  I couldn't see anything obvious sticking up in that area when the top was down; so I assumed the culprit must be a rubber seal from a window or maybe a curtain rail.  Then a few days later I noticed a corresponding mark on the factory awning rail bolted to the outside RH sidewall, and sure enough, the extremely close tolerance between the sides & top when folded is allowing them to touch! I've been laying a soft rag over the spot before lowering the top but that only seems to be polishing my now-exposed aluminum! I got the impression the factory doesn't sell a lot of these awnings so it may be they have little practical experience with this problem?  Maybe I can arrange for a trip down to Albany & let them take a look; although I doubt of there's much they can do at this point.  A lifetime supply of touch-up paint perhaps?
   
   
3. Lousy door seal. The rubber seal around the door (top half) barely makes contact with the door.  I think this is mostly caused by loose tolerances in the catch that holds the two door halves together, although the sidewall could be tipping inwards slightly due to the seals.  Anyway, in cold weather you can feel the air rushing in; so I may try to find a thicker rubber bulb seal to replace the top half.
   Update 3/29/04: Replaced with Trim-Seal. (see modifications)
   
   
4. Paint on top latches worn off. The latches that hold the top (and front storage bin) closed work great, but the paint on the edge of the "hook" is already worn off & starting to rust.  Perhaps these should have been plated or better yet SS?  Even if it was just the hook it would still be hidden by the white latch portion & preserve that monochromatic look!  I'll see if I can buy some new hooks.
   
   
5. Fridge mounted too low - rubs on carpet.  This is minor, but the fridge was probably placed right on the floor when it was installed.  If it was shimmed up 1/2" or so with some plywood or something the door would clear any carpet you might have on the floor.  Now, you have to move the rug to open the fridge.
   
   
6. Awning rail has burrs, gouges plastic welting.  The ends of the awning rail extrusion were cut at an angle to eliminate a sharp corner, but unfortunately no deburring was done to the inside of the slot the welt slips into.  Consequently the sharp edges repeatedly gouge & cut the plastic welting when you slide the awning into place, which will eventually require replacing it - not a trivial process when you consider it's sewed to the awning!  Since it's mounted flat on the wall I can't really get a rat tail file into the slot with out removing it - this could have been easily been done before it was attached!
   
   
7. Flip-up tables too small & not flush with counter. The two little auxiliary tables are a nice idea, but could have been taken a step further by building them wider & mounting so they would be flush with the adjacent countertops when flipped up.  I realize these were probably supposed to be "casual" tables for the sofa dwellers, but with the side storage compartments over the wheel housings they are really too far away for that.  I think they would be more useful as extensions to the very limited counter space! There's some leftover Wilsonart laminate from the side covers so I think a couple new tables are in my future...
   
   
8. Faucet too low & short, sink to shallow.  I addressed the faucet issue in the modifications section but the sink is still pretty shallow.  This is particularly annoying because while I was replacing the faucet I discovered quite a bit of room below the sink & above the furnace - a model 3-4" deeper could easily fit!  I'm already looking for a new sink...
   
   
9. Furnace location wastes space. On the same topic, the factory installed our furnace directly under the sink in the area typically used for a storage cabinet.  I believe this "usually" goes where the water heater is located (under the LH dinette seat) if we didn't have that option.  Unfortunately, this wastes quite a bit of valuable space - besides the 6" of extra room above the furnace I plan to fill with a deeper sink, there's also 8-9" of space below in front of the wheel housing.  (The furnace obviously must be above that to be vented outside).  See my plans to rectify this situation in coming attractions.
   
   
10. Power cord wastes space. The 110-v. shore power cable when stowed is literally stuffed into a empty compartment under the LH dinette seat from the outside.  This is not a new concept or unique to Chalet - my parent's 1967 Ideal trailer had the same goofy feature.  A more elegant solution is the detachable cable mentioned in coming attractions that's coiled & stored in less space.  For the price of these Chalets I think the factory should provide this as standard! Update 7/04: Converted to detachable. (see modifications)
    
    
11. No TV outlet near drawer cabinet. I set my TV on top of the drawer cabinet so we can watch in bed & make room on the table and I'll bet 90% of other Chalet owners do too.  Unfortunately, the only CATV/12-v. power outlet is tucked back in the LH corner of the dinette - which means you have to string wires across the table and in front of the door.  You can imagine what fun that causes when stumbling outside in the middle of the night half-asleep to "water the trees".  "Hmmm...what's this wire wrapped around my legs...and why is there a battered TV rolling down the bank into the river?".  It seems like it would have been fairly simple to install a second outlet near the drawer cabinet (or even eliminate the other one). That's what I plan to do!  Update 2/05: Moved outlet to drawer cabinet. (see modifications)
    
    
12. Some curtains too tight - can't clip shut. A few of the curtains (door & both skylights) are not quite wide enough to let you clip the edges in the retainers on the end of the rails and Velcro the middle together simultaneously.  The ends keep popping out until you finally give up & leave one side loose.  Another 1-2" of fabric would solve the problem.  I don't see a fix unless I can get some matching fabric from the factory.
    
    
13. No curtain tiebacks on skylights. It's nice to pull back the curtains in the daytime to let some light in, but those covering the skylights are not equipped with tiebacks like all the others.  The fabric in these seems thicker (UV shielding?) and is more prone to resist pushing to the sides. I've been using some ball bungees but that looks pretty hokey.  Maybe I can contact the factory & get four of the tiebacks?
    
    
14. Thermostat in awkward location.  For some unfathomable reason they mounted the furnace thermostat in a recessed pocket up in the RH front corner of the dinette.  Maybe they were trying to get it away from the airflow or felt this was a safer place but it's damned hard to get to, especially on a cold morning in your skivvies!  I think I'll try to move it somewhere more convenient - maybe on the side of the stove cabinet.  But what to do with the hole left by the recess?
    
    
15. Door latch woes! The whole door latch execution is pretty crappy: the silver knob style looks "old" & appears out of place on a otherwise slick looking trailer, I can't get it to lock from the inside, and the catch is just the edge of the door frame (which is getting pretty chewed up already!). A white flush style latch seems like it would more closely follow the overall design scheme (not to mention most of the other new trailers!) and I know the bolt should have a proper strike housing. Fixed this on modifications page.
    
    
16. Bike rack receiver drags on ground. It's really handy having a second 2" receiver on the trailer for bike racks & other hitch-mounted stuff; but I wish they would have mounted it through the bumper rather than below.  It's not like it would compromise a major structural element (in fact there should be less torsional stress) and it would not be grinding itself off on my driveway every time I leave!  Other than moving the socket I'm hoping the casters I bolted on the bumper (see modifications) will help.  This is much like the awning - I don't think the factory installs this option frequently so has little opportunity for feedback.
    
    
17. Baggage door peeling off.  When I uncovered the Chalet & hauled it out of it's Winter cubbyhole in preparation for the first trip this Spring I noticed the caulk seal around the rear baggage door had split open in one corner.  I placed a small fan in the compartment to dry out the water leakage, but as I prepared to seal it back up with a little silicone discovered the door frame was actually separating from the side of the trailer!  Every time I tried to gently pry the frame away from the Filon so I could suck the water out it slowly peeled off a little more.  My theory is the white silicone caulking used at the factory to "glue" the door in place sticks to the fiberglass skin just fine, but is unable to bond well to the smooth painted mounting surface of the extruded aluminum baggage door frame. See modifications for my solution.

Raves

1. Overall fit & finish excellent. Despite what you may conclude from my rants above, I'm really very impressed with the overall fit & finish of our Chalet.  From past experience & close examination of other rigs at the RV shows it's clearly above the norm!  From what I can tell, the Chalet folks have performed a minor miracle by turning around a company that produced a sub par product not that many years ago to one which consistently ranks at the top of it's class.
   
   
2. Quality components throughout.  For the most part all the bits & pieces that comprise my trailer are top-notch, name-brand goods.  That doesn't mean some couldn't be better, but it's certainly not for lack of trying.
   
   
3. Wiring & plumbing carefully done. I've had the opportunity to tinker with the plumbing & wiring on some of my mods and have to admit the care shown in execution is great!  These are systems many people never examine closely - either by fear or ignorance - and much of the useful functions of the trailer are directly dependent on them.  Kudos to Chalet for making this a priority!