| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
Atwood Jack - is 2,500 sufficient?
Looking at power jacks. Hitch weight is 600lbs, towing with a 3/4 ton Suburban. I'd like to ask for a 2500 pound jack for my birthday (the 3500 goes beyond what we typically spend on birthdays), but I'm concerned about the ability of that jack to lift the rear end of the 'burb when installing WD bars. Will I be ok with the 2500, or do I need the 3500?
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
05/13/12 05:46pm |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Can my truck handle this travel trailer
So what about this TT:
Wilderness 2650 BH
GVWR: 6900 lbs
Dry weight: 5500 lbs
Hitch weight: 505 lbs
Would this one work? When calculating the hitch weight do you use the dry weight or do you use the hitch weight plus whatever you think you'll put in the TT?
Do I need to go smaller than this?
Thanks again,
Tim
If you go this route, it's going to look something like this:
Weights:
-600 pound family (don't forget to consider the future growth of children if it applies)
-676 pound hitch (6,500 pound loaded trailer with 13% hitch weight and 20% redistributed to trailer)
-50 pound hitch weight
This totals 1,326 before you put any gear in the truck.
Would you be 'ok?' Probably (many seem fine with being slightly over GVWR.
Will you have 'wiggle room?' No!
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
04/11/12 11:42am |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Can my truck handle this travel trailer
Doesn't really matter how you slice up the tongue weight between the front and rear, it count towards payload and GVWR.
This is true for the portion of the tongue weight that is transferred from the rear axle to the front. However, there is also a transfer of weight back to the TT itself (somewhere in the 20% range). So, as others have stated, approximately 80% of the loaded tongue weight will count against the payload/GVWR limit.
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
04/11/12 11:35am |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
Can I take my kids fishing without a license?
Our camping plans, this summer, have us camping in 6 states - none of which are our own state of residence. My daughters (6 and 7) want to do some fishing, but I don't want to have to buy licenses in all of these states. I haven't checked all states we'll be visiting, but I know most states don't require a license of children that age. This said, is it generally allowable that I take them fishing, as long as we only take their gear and I don't fish?
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
04/11/12 11:27am |
Beginning RVing
|
|
RE: What type of charger do I need
You could just re-install the battery and plug the trailer in to AC, that way the converter in the trailer will do the work. Depending on the type of converter in your trailer, you may want to upgrade someday to a newer multi-stage converter/charger. You could put your money into that rather than buying a separate charger.
Miles
Is it acceptable to simply do this through a standard wall plug (I have the adapter)?
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
04/05/12 03:06pm |
Beginning RVing
|
|
What type of charger do I need
I am preparing to pull the trailer out of storage, which means I need to charge the battery that was removed for the winter. This is our first season coming out of winter, and I know nothing about batteries. I know I probably should have been checking the battery charge over the winter but I didn't have the knowledge or equipment - so it just didn't happen.
So, with that said, how do I know what kind of charger to buy (they all have different amperage ratings and I don't understand that)? Also, should I do anything special because I let it go all winter?
Any input is welcome here.
Thanks!
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
04/05/12 02:42pm |
Beginning RVing
|
|
RE: Passing through Canada to save 120 miles?
I still don't get this comment"(as well as having to arrange a 1-night stopover in Canada)".
I've long-since moved on from this question. However, since this quandary seems to be troublesome for you, the answer is simple. It's a 2 day trip, and staying on this side of the border would make the day 2 trip longer than we want it to be.
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
04/03/12 07:23am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
|
|
RE: Pricing for sale
Knowing the year, make, and model will make it easier to come up with a value........
2011 Palomino Stampede 21SDSL. It's been used for a total of 10 days, will be sold with an Equalizer hitch, television, grill, and gear.
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
03/29/12 09:54am |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: How hard to sell?
Thanks, everyone, for your input and thoughts. It's not that our situation has gotten worse - just different when it comes to the costs and benefits of camping!
A lot of you are speaking of CL as a sales-point, do you recommend that over consignment?
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
03/29/12 08:47am |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: How hard to sell?
I'll bet this gets closed since you cannot post things like this but I would suggest a consignment dealer. Lots easier than trying yourself.
If this is true - I apologize in advance! I've been on this forum for nearly 3 years, and I know you can't solicit sales or interest, but I had no idea that asking a question such as this would be in violation of any rules.
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
03/29/12 07:27am |
General RVing Issues
|
|
Pricing for sale
As I explained here, we are going to have to sell our 1 year-old hybrid TT. I'm wondering, however, what suggestions you all have about how to determine a list price. I can only find one similar model for sale in the entire country, and it is new (ours has only seen 10 days of use). Do I somehow base it off of NADA, do I make other comparisons? I'm open to any thoughts.
Thanks!!
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
03/29/12 07:18am |
General RVing Issues
|
|
How hard to sell?
It's a sad day in our house. We've come to terms with the reality that recent employment changes, and a family move that resulted from that, have made it so that we can no longer justify the costs of owning our TT. So, we'll be selling our hybrid (and the HD Suburban we just bought to tow it). Which leads to my question...
What luck have any of you had selling RV's? Is there a demand out there right now, or am I going to be stuck with this for a while and unable to sell it? Any experience and input is welcome (I'll post my question about pricing in a separate thread)!
Thanks!
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
03/29/12 07:14am |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Passing through Canada to save 120 miles?
Thanks all - appreciate the input.
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
03/24/12 06:52am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
|
|
Passing through Canada to save 120 miles?
We're headed from MA to MI this August. We can save 120 miles by traveling through Canada, but would have to deal with customs into, and out of, Canada (as well as having to arrange a 1-night stopover in Canada). Is it worth the hassle to save the miles, or are we better off to simply go around the lakes and stay in the US?
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
03/19/12 09:47am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
|
|
RE: Towing advice
A few schools of thought when estimating/planing for a TV/TT combo. Worst case is TT GVWR and 15% tongue weight because that is without knowing any more details, the worst case. Few people travel at worst case, though. Most RVers add about 1000 pounds of stuff to brochure dry weights. Families tend to add more than couples. Someone on here even has a spreadsheet from many RVers on here with an average of about 1200 pounds of stuff over brochure weights.
Anyway, my estimate is to add 1000 pounds to dry weight of the TT and 200 pounds to the dry tongue weight. Keep in mind when shopping for an adequate TV that the hitch is rated to handle the estimated tongue weight as well as the TV has enough payload to handle the tongue weight plus weight of people and cargo inside the cabin.
I agree with APT and others that suggest using a conservative estimate of what you will load. If you are going to carry water and waste, that number will be higher, if you are always going to have hook-ups (as we do) that number can be a little lower. We don't carry any fluids, and our trailer comes in about 600 pounds over 'sticker' weight.
That said, I completely disagree with the notion of blindly using the trailer's GVWR when determining a tow vehicle. You will note that some trailers come with cargo capacities of under 1,000 pounds, while another will come with a cargo capacity of over 3,000 pounds. In other words, you can have two trailers that weigh 5,000 pounds, but one will have a GVWR of 6,000lb while the other will have a GVWR of 8,000. Assuming I'm going to load it the same either way - the same vehicle would tow both identically, regardless of the GVWR's.
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
03/15/12 07:50am |
Towing
|
|
RE: Trailer Length Max
As others have said - the weight is a much more important consideration than length. That said, I've been towing a 4,500lb, 22' hybrid with my Explorer. I have replaced that with a more capable TV - but that was a decision on power, NOT handling. It was v6, and the engine worked hard to pull it. However, never once did I feel I had any trouble controlling it.
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
03/11/12 06:53pm |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: How big of an RV can I tow? Please help.
Get a new truck if that is what you want to do, a 350 with lots of spare capacity.
Unless you fancy risking your entire family's lives.
Seriously?!? I'm not usually one to take these comments on - but even for the weight police, this is absurd. In no way is it reasonable to suggest someone needs a 1-ton vehicle to tow a 4,000 pound trailer for some summer camping. That's not a 30% safety margin (which I would argues is an excessive standard in itself), that's a 75% or more safety margin (or more)!
That said - to the OP, I DO agree with this individual that you would likely be overextending your truck on this. While you could probably make it work in your payload, your V6 simply will not be enough. The tow rating you found in Edmunds is for a certain truck with a certain configuration (probably a V8 with certain gears, etc...). According to trailerlife's tow guides, the V6 has tow capacities ranging from 4,400 to 4,900 pounds depending on configuration, and that includes nothing other than a 150lb driver.
So, take your trailer that will weigh 4,400 pounds, your gear, and your family, and I think you'd be well over the power available in your truck. With a V6, I think you're limited to a small pup - beyond that, you're probably looking at a new TV.
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
03/11/12 06:46pm |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: 1/2 or 3/4 ton tow vehicle
I agree with others that it would do it - and as long as you are careful, you should stay within your weights. With that said, if you don't yet own a truck and are buying one (and you could swing it), I would seriously consider a 3/4 or 1 ton instead. 'Cross-country' implies a lot of hauling and a fair amount of load - it's going to be a lot easier and more comfortable with a more capable vehicle.
If I already owned a 1/2 ton, I'd stick with it. But, if buying something, I'd look higher if I could.
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
03/07/12 08:01am |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: De-winterizing...how do you empty your tanks?
You can't just run water thru the lines. The entire water system needs to be sanitized. Check your Manual. After sanitizing we just dump the water on the ground at our house where the RV is stored. It's no different than rainwater. Then we flush the lines and dump them again.
I can see this after sanitizing, but what about the antifreeze? I'm not thinking I should be dumping antifreeze on the ground once it is flushed out of the system.
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
03/07/12 07:48am |
Beginning RVing
|
|
De-winterizing...how do you empty your tanks?
This is a total NEWB question, but this is our first year de-winterizing our TT. How do you empty your tanks once you pump water through to clear out the lines? Do you...
Wait until you're at the campground to de-winterize?Let the water sit in your waste tanks until you get to a campground?Something else??
Also, do you rely on flushing the lines to be sufficient, or do you do something to ensure the antifreeze is completely cleared out of the system?
|
Mickeyfan0805
|
03/06/12 02:34pm |
Beginning RVing
|
|
