Maverick Campers Operations Manual 2021
H I T C H
It may seem strange that a hitch would require maintenance, but as the major link between your camper and your tow
vehicle you want to make sure it’s doing exactly as you desire. Give the mating surfaces a light lubrication before each
use – a spray with a silicon lubricant is good – and occasionally give the grease points a fresh injection of a good multi-
purpose grease.
Maybe the once-a-year wheel bearing check is a good time to check all the mounting nuts and for any slack in the
bearing surfaces and for the correct adjustment of the major castle nut and pin. The only tools required are a grease
gun, grease, lubricant and a set of spanners or sockets.
G A S S T R U T S
It might also seem strange that you need to maintain your gas struts: What could you possibly do to keep them working
as designed? Gas struts depend on the internal gas pressure for their function, and this is sealed internally by an O-ring
or seal around the main shaft. Any gas strut that’s exposed to the external environment will be subject to fine dust, at
best, and stone damage, at worst.
Once a year use an old toothbrush to scrub around this entry point of the shaft into the body of the gas strut to prevent
any material from entering and damaging the seal and thus destroying the efficiency of the strut, and at the same time
check the shaft for any sign of damage from a stone or other foreign body. Such damage could also injure the seal and
compromise the strut’s performance.
C O M P R E S S I O N L A T C H E S
Compression latches are widely used on camper trailers as they are an effective way of sealing a door against a rubber
seal. Compression latches will have to be adjusted to sustain pressure about a year after new and then checked annually
after that. Do not overtighten as you can crush the rubber pinch weld and lose seal. Do not compress the pinch weld’s
bulb by more than 20-25 percent. Check around corners, especially for signs of dust entry and after washing for signs of
water ingress. A small shifter spanner and/or a screwdriver are all the tools you’ll require.
W A T E R T A N K S
Mars Campers recommend that you should clean your water tank when you pick up and take home. Buy a reputable
tank cleaner from your camping store and follow their instructions on care and maintenance. Remember there are
different techniques for stainless tanks to plastic tanks.
G A S B O T T L E S
Next time you fill a gas bottle on your camper, before you use it, please weigh it, so you can get an idea of the full
weight of the bottle. Weigh an empty bottle and the difference will be the weight of the gas (the noted weights of the
different size bottles - 9kg, 4kg, etc - are notional only) and can enable you to work out if one is about to become empty.
There are various magnetic strip attachments which are supposed to tell you this but they are very unreliable in our
experience.
Before a major trip make sure at least one bottle is full. If you have a camper with just one gas bottle, think seriously
about having an option for a second fitted as finding you’ve run out of gas with only one bottle can be a major problem
