Carri-Lite 2009

[JMCullins]

Hey everyone. We just bought a new to us 2009 Carri-Lite 36MXT5. It is kind of old but I have to say previous owners took very good care of the RV. I know this is a general question but any advice, things to look for etc. Would be greatly appreciated.

[OlympicFox]

Welcome to the forum! I'm sure that you will find the members both friendly and chock full of experience and valuable information on a huge range of topics. One thing that you will discover is there is huge common ground between RV brands. . . our RVs are far more alike than they are different.

That said, each manufacturer does do somethings differently, so expertise with a particular brand can be a godsend. As a result, some brands, especially the "orphan" makes like your Carriage have their own forums. I discovered the Carriage Lifestyle Club a few years ago, which has been helpful with some the specific technical issues with our Carriage Cameo. Unlike this forum, the Carriage Lifestyle Club is a for-profit paid subscription organization with a strong emphasis on technical issues, especially those unique to Carriage.

Originally Posted by JMCullins

Hey everyone. We just bought a new to us 2009 Carri-Lite 36MXT5. It is kind of old but I have to say previous owners took very good care of the RV. I know this is a general question but any advice, things to look for etc. Would be greatly appreciated.

[Dave The AV Guy]

Hello, we have a 2007 Carri-Lite 36' with four slides. It has served us well, after I got the various bugs worked out of it. For us the biggest thing was the gear reduction housing on the slide motors. The mounts for these motors are either 3 or 5 threaded posts that are thin cast metal, part of the gear reduction housing. Initially they were mounted with three 1/4" bolts. Later models used all five 1/4" mounts. The posts broke off and the motor then falls off. Over time I developed a steel mounting ring that bolts to the motor and in turn is mounted to the slide mechanism framing via 3 3/8" bolts. It was a frustrating annoyance to get it all worked out, but in the end I have these rings on both our large sides and the wardrobe slide and they have worked well for several years now. The Carriage models were better built than many others, but they still had their issues. However, given the way RVs are built today, especially the frames, we will keep our Carri-Lite until it's time to stop RVing. If you experience problems with your slide motors, feel free to contact me and I'll send you details on what I did. davew@skynet.ca It typically won't be a motor issue; it will be a mounting issue.