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Date Posted |
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RE: Blowout caused by pinhole in wheel, want to upgrade
I just got wheels from etrailer.com. They had the best price. Craig
For wheels made in China. :S
If you want better quality wheels made in USA, then you're going to have to pay more than you'd pay for inexpensive cast wheels made in China.
We've used Alcoa's before, even though they cost twice as much.
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SteveRankin
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05/27/11 11:17pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: To Unhitch or not to Unhitch?
Bad form? That's crazy!
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SteveRankin
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04/14/11 02:53pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: unhappy Earthbound customer
I think I would have installed a 2nd 13.5 roof AC and seen if Earthbound would split the cost of a paint job for the faded panel. The good news is that with the composite walls that Earthbound has, you'll never have to worry about the trailer being damaged by leaking! You certainly have the right to post truthful negative reviews about Earthbounds issues. You and the prior ownner of that trailer were aparently innocent "guinea pigs" in Earthbounds new product testing program!
How so?
They said the same thing about fiberglass when it came out. But, I've personally seen the horrific problems that can & do occur with fiberglass.
According to the hype, owners of Earthbound trailers shouldn't have to worry about any construction issues. It's pretty obvious that the hype isn't reality.
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SteveRankin
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04/14/11 02:51pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Help! Convert ST tires to LT tires
For the OP, "txmac" we reallyneed to know the GVWR or your unit and the axle ratings to give sound advice on this one.
If we assume your GVWR to be 15K lbs as website indicate and your pin weight is 20% then that leave you with 12K lb on 6Klb axles at GVWR if you have two axles. If these assumption are correct the manufacturer is cutting very close to the limits of all your components and E-rated LT tires would be at the limit along with your axles.
Please provide further details otherwise we are all just shooting in the dark
Ditto
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SteveRankin
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04/07/11 09:35pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Back up camera install
We used coax for the run from the camera to the break-out box in the truck via coax connector next to the 7-way connector on the truck. The photo shows our setup on our previous TT, but the technique would work on a 5ver just as well. A rubber boot over the connector kept it clean when not in use. It survived 3000 miles of Arctic roads and never failed to send a picture to the display.
http://www.serenitysys.com/rv/technical/hitches/PullRite_hitch_wiring_DSC_0311.jpg width=640
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SteveRankin
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03/22/11 03:17pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Exposed Controls
I'd build a wood frame box around the switch array with a lockable smoke acrylic door.
Simple, inexpensive, effective and would still look nice - probably even nicer than the assemblage of odd switches & controls.
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SteveRankin
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03/22/11 02:49pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Blocks under tongue jack
The tongue on our last TT was 28" off the ground. It didn't take much to run out of travel with the electric tongue jack, so we generally used cribbing. It's also needed in some sites because the ground is too soft to support the jack. FYI - we do not use the pad that comes with the jack.
We cut up a length of pressure treated 4x6 into 18" lengths for cribbing under the tongue jack. The top piece in the stack had a 1/4" deep recess routed to keep the Hitch Helper from sliding off. Trust me, it's not fun when the hitch slides off the cribbing and the tongue is stuffed in the gravel. DW - who was inside the trailer when it happened - didn't especially enjoyed it either. :B
http://www.serenitysys.com/photogallery/alaska_2009/leg_06/2009-07-11_inuvik/DSC_7153_muddy_trailer.jpg width=640
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SteveRankin
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03/21/11 09:07pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: 1/2 ton towing ??????
I am fairly new to the forum, but love the wealth of info here. I already have some great ideas for my new travel trailer. Currently I have a 2006 silverado ex-cab, Z71, with the 5.3 V8. My old trailer was a bunkhouse hybrid that my truck towed with no issues loaded to the hilt (trailer was 4100 dry); even pulled it from western new york to Indiana. No issues except the fuel bill. My new trailer is the one in my signature, 6900 lbs. dry. With packing lite, just wondering what to expect, if anyone is in the same boat. I have the WD hitch with dual cam SC, and I added Timbrenn SES system in the rear. Sorry about being long winded, but losin sleep over this!!!!!!!
First off, nobody tows a trailer at its dry weight. Almost all RV's weigh more, sometimes considerably more than dry weight even on day one when completely empty. My hunch is that the trailer will weigh closer to 7400# empty & perhaps 8500-9000# once loaded. That will give you about 1,000-1,100# tongue weight plus 100# hitch weight. That will leave only about 300-400# for people and any stuff you carry. In other words, you'll find it's very easy to go over the F150's GVWR.
Since you already have the truck and already have the trailer, why not pull it with the truck and see how it works?
Yeah, like a lot of naysayers I drive a 1-ton diesel. But, there used to be an F150 in our garage.
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SteveRankin
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03/20/11 10:26pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: GVWR vs. Axle ratings
I have purchased a 2011 Elkridge 34TSRE 5th wheel by Heartland and have a question about the ratings.
The GVWR on the vehicle is 14,405 lbs, I have two 6000 lb. axles, even with a pin weight of 2000 lbs, isn't this overloaded???
Some manufacturers add the axle ratings to the max tongue weight to calculate GVWR. That works but it doesn't give the RVer any safety margin on the components.
OTOH, some manufacturers base the GVWR on the sum of the axle ratings. For example, our Arctic Fox has two 5,200# axles and a 10,000# GVWR. As a result, it is unlikely to exceed the rating of any single component even when the trailer isn't evenly loaded.
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SteveRankin
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03/20/11 10:12pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Pressure Pro Versus Doran 360, Please read carefully
While we looked at the PressurePro about a million times at RV rallies, there were a few minor quirks I didn't like, plus I thought the display was way too big and ugly to put on my dash.
OTOH, we liked the competition even less until Doran came out with the Doran 360. We've had the Doran 360 for 2 years and like it very much.
We mounted our display in the sunvisor. I bought a new sunvisor and routed out a 1/2" deep recess for the display so the sunvisor folds almost as flush to the headliner as originally.
http://www.serenitysys.com/rv/dodge_ram/tpms/IMG_1297_tpms.jpg width=640
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SteveRankin
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03/20/11 10:03pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Lucky no one was killed final update
This will be the last update for the disaster of the welds failing on the pinbox my 2010 Keystone Cougar 322QBS on a trip to Idaho last summer.
The RV was cosmetically repaired (interior damage, walls buckled, bunk damaged) at my local dealership in Canada after structural repairs were made in Idaho. My local dealer tried to get Keystone to take the 4 month old trailer back, but Keystone declined. They authorized a repair only. Then we bartered for, and I thought sucessfully got, an agreement for an extra year of warranty on the RV. This was what I was promised on the phone by the VP of Customer relations. In the end, Keystone failed to come through on the verbal promise of an extra years warranty. What I got instead (once it arrived in writing), was an extra 5 months of warranty.
As a sidenote, at the local indoor RV show, I took along a flashlight and checked all the welds on the Keystone 5ers at the back of the pinbox. Same poor welds as mine that failed. Their manufacturing methods haven't changed, and I have no doubt this will happen to someone else. Lesson learned, I will never buy another Keystone RV.
If you own a Keystone 5er with a Lippert frame, check your welds periodically.
So, let me make sure I understand this correctly. The frame on your Keystone Cougar failed last summer. And after some negotiation Keystone extended the warranty on the trailer for 5 months.
When was the warranty going to expire? Is the 5 month extension of any value? For example, we bought our trailer in September. Extending the warranty would almost get us through the winter while the trailer sits in the barn.
As for the comment about inspecting a Keystone with a Lippert frame . . . it seems to me that it's worthwhile inspecting ANY trailer frame regardless of the trailer or frame manufacturer. We inspect the frame on our Arctic Fox periodically because not doing so doesn't make sense to me even thought Northwood doesn't have the history of structural problems that Keystone and Lippert have.
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SteveRankin
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03/16/11 09:21pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Brand new
Depends on weights, but, yeah in most cases I'd recommend a 1T dually or even an MDT.
Check. Almost all 5ver in the 36-40' range need at least a 1-ton dually. Several really need an MDT.
Also note that not all 1-ton duallys are created equal. If you are going to tow a heavy 5ver you need to make sure the truck you buy is properly spec'd for the job.
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SteveRankin
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03/13/11 09:26pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Flat tire on RV question?
The easiest way it to drive the other axle up over a 'Trailer Aide'.
http://www.traileraid.com/product_images/o/718/23__94871_std.jpg
There are two types; the standard version and the 1" taller 'Plus' version. We carry the Plus version and find that after installing the Dexter EZ Flex spring equalizers, even the Plus version is a touch short.
We also carry a bottle jack with a built-in stand.
http://www.alltradetools.com/catalog/560-585-large/640912-3-ton-all-in-one-bottle-jack-jack-stand.jpg
As noted by the others, DO NOT lift the axle tube - you will bend it and have to replace the axle.
Trailer tires don't fail for no good reason. Good reasons include:
Tires are too old.At least one tire is overloaded - you must weigh the trailer so that the actual on each tire is weighed or you just don't know. Most RVs carry different loads left and right, plus front and rear unless they are perfectly level.Driving too fast - ST tires are only rated for 65 MPH max.Improper air pressure.Road hazard. LT tires are much more resistant to road hazards than ST tires.Defective tire.
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SteveRankin
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03/13/11 09:22pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: please help where is it
Turn it on an listen. You should be able to find it pretty quickly then.
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SteveRankin
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03/13/11 09:03pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Oldy but goody (before 2000)
The 1994 Holiday Rambler 27CBFK.
But, why ask based solely on maintenance and upkeep? There are at least 87 other factors involved in what is the best RV for any individual.
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SteveRankin
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03/13/11 09:00pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: wood shavings out of air conditioning vents
Ops normal, especially when the RV is newish.
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SteveRankin
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03/13/11 08:58pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Are there any we can pull with a 3/4 ton truck?
Weigh your truck full fuel & passengers...
Look in the owner's manual of your truck... You need more than 2500 hemi to find out what the maximum combined gross vehicle weight is. IE...what rear axle ratio, 2wd v 4wd, etc... Subract your trucks weight from that to find out how much trailer you can tow. You'll have to allow for the soon to be added weight of the 5th wheel hitch.
Next consideration is the pin wt on the bed of the truck...
I think there are plenty of light weight 5th wheels out there.
We have an Outback Super Lite series. IT's actually designed to be "1/2 ton towable"...but it's a good fit for our 98 Ram 2500... No bunk house though...sorry.
Might google Cougar x-lite series...I think they have a bunkhouse...
Well said.
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SteveRankin
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03/12/11 08:48pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Can I use a highway scale to check trailer weight
here in canada we go to the scales when they are marked as closed... the scale still works and there are no trucks...
Ditto in Oregon & Washington.
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SteveRankin
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03/12/11 08:47pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Factory Tours - Worth the Time
We've been on 6 factory tours. While they are interesting, it's important to understand that factory tours are promotional devices. Their main purpose is to sell RVs by convincing the folks on the tour that their coaches are better built than other RVs. Of the 6 tours, all but 1 were lead by younger employees of the marketing department who were unable/unwilling to respond to several questions. Very few will allow you to take photographs. The Northwood Mfg (Arctic Fox) tour was the exception. We were given an extensive private tour given by one of the plant managers & we were allowed to photograph the entire process. Since Northwood builds RVs in matches of the same model, we have photos of their 29V from a frame to completion here. Ours was on the line at the time.
Absolutely do it. Most of the plants are in the same area and a few days will see all of them .There is also much to do and see in the Elkhart area.
IMO no one should buy a Rv till they tour the factory and observe how they are made.
My observation that they are all more alike than different will begin to make sense.
be sure ask the manufacturere if they have a service center and how they handle warranty repairs.
Also be sure to ask to talk to their "quality control" and ask what their quality control program is..
Very true.
I think I would go to a large RV show first and get an idea as to who has what and limit your visits to 2 to 4 or so manufacturers. if you just start blindly going to a lot of them, you will waste a lot of time and just end up confused.
bumpy
You might get confused.
Not me. I've been to at least 8 manufacturers, many of them 3-4 times over the years.
I didn't waste any time---it's always very interseting. And I haven't been confused at all.
I think Bumpy was trying to tell us that he's confused. :B
Also, *if* you really want a 38-40 ft 5th - spend some time on the Escapees MDT and HDT forums *before* throwing money at anything less!
From what I've seen there aren't many Escapees that have a large nice Teton, Newmar or Travel Supreme.
I've never understood the idea of selling your house and all of your stuff and buying a 36' Montana to fulltime in.
Ditto.
DW & I considered buying a houseboat or trawler to put in the marina next to our racing sailboat an liveaboard. Her boss did exactly that, but after spending a day hanging out with them, we decided that wasn't our cup of tea. Still isn't. We enjoy traveling for 3-4 months at a time, but we also enjoy getting home and having room to spread stuff out, not having to escort the dogs several times a day, having the nearest neighbor a hundred yards away, etc.
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SteveRankin
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03/12/11 08:46pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: triple slide bunk house options???
I'm guessing you will be pushing the Burb's tow rating once that trailer is loaded with stuff, but I think you'll be over it's GVWR when loaded with the family, stuff, hitch and tongue weight. Your tongue weight is going to be close to 1400# & that's not going to leave much for a family of 7.
While it won't change the actual GVWR, a set of LT265/75R16s on 7-8" wheels & air bags in the back will help it carry the load gracefully. That's how we set up our K2500HD for our trip to the Arctic. It was loaded to 10,400# pulling 11,000# of trailer; well under GCVWR, but well over GVWR.
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SteveRankin
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03/12/11 08:16pm |
Travel Trailers
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