| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
RE: MGVWR and problems titling trailer
ForestRiver specs say dry weight is typical of a base trailer, and options add weight. 2022 brochure has a "best in class" list of add-ons, however, it is not clear if this is standard or optional. If optional, you could be looking at 500# right there. Many manufactures have option packages that include the basics to camp. They do this to keep base dry brochure weight down; marketing.
The stuff added since it was manufactured could add up quite quickly:
2-30 pound propane cylinders - 90#
Battery - 60#
Air conditioner - 100#
Is water heater full from PDI - 50#
Case of water - 30#
Camp chairs - 20#
Hoses, chocks, blocks and other neccessaries - 80#
Bedding - could be heavy
3 televisions - 120#
Fiberglass siding - 400#
Could be you have a heavy trailer. I would pull everything out including propane, battery, gear, & TVs. Leave the air conditioner, drain the water heater, and take it to a different state facility in a different town. I would believe most state agencies are pretty anal about keeping their equipment certified. Your choice what to do after it is registered. Good luck.
|
Durb
|
05/26/23 04:17pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Fifth wheel Jerking with gas truck... not as noticeable
Unplug your trailer cord from the truck (no brakes) and see if it persists. If yes, then disconnect your battery which will disarm your breakaway switch which I suspect is your culprit. Test your rig in a safe zone.
It sounds like there is an electrical malfunction that is applying your brakes during acceleration; a tough problem to locate. As you accelerate, a circuit closes and the brakes are applied which causes deceleration which causes the circuit to open and allows you to accelerate again repeating the process, thus the jerking.
I had a motorcycle once (BSA Victor) that would die under acceleration, then start up again under deceleration. Quite humorous actually, jerking and wheelies. Turned out the battery was sliding back and forth in the battery box and was shorting against the frame.
|
Durb
|
05/25/23 09:41am |
Fifth-Wheels
|
|
RE: Help me with current best manufacturers
I like to look at roof construction when considering the quality of a trailer. After all, the roof is your first line of defense against water intrusion which is the single largest detriment to longevity. The molded fiberglass trailers excel here and are the closest to be considered leakproof.
Check out inTech and ATC (Aluminum Trailer Company), both utilize single sheet aluminum roofs. ATC trailers are toy haulers, but their quality is high. Both utilize welded aluminum frames.
|
Durb
|
05/24/23 08:38am |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Will Air bags make a big difference?
Your truck's keester is still squatting 1.5" with your weight distribution hitch set up. I would apply more tension to the bars by tilting the hitch head down and transferring more weight to your front tires. Try to get your rear measurement to 37.25". Wouldn't hurt.
The problem with air bags is that it hardens the rear suspension creating a fulcrum. Adding weight (tongue weight) far behind the rear axle creates a lever and will cause your front axle to unload. The reason your 5th wheel of almost equivalent weight didn't have the same effect is because the weight was directly over the rear axle.
I assume you weighed the truck with the trailer attached and also weighed the trailer's axles. It would be nice to know what the truck weighs without the trailer attached to help determine your tongue weight. If your axles come in at 5,980 and you have 12% tongue weight, then your trailer weighs 6,795 pounds with 815 pounds of tongue weight. Starting to get kind of heavy for a half ton truck.
I'm not sure I understand about putting tension on the bars by "tilting the hitch head down". I have a Curt 17601 weight distribution hitch with integrated sway control. I don't know how I would tilt the hitch head, but I could raise the height of the equalizing/sway bars, which obviously would put more tension on them. Is that what you meant?
Thanks, Gary
Search Curt 17601 on Google and an installation video will come up, or copy and paste this URL. (https://youtu.be/ki7Z_FtfFEY). They show how to adjust the two adjustment screws on the hitch head to tilt the bars down thus increasing spring tension.
|
Durb
|
05/21/23 09:37am |
Towing
|
|
RE: Will Air bags make a big difference?
Your truck's keester is still squatting 1.5" with your weight distribution hitch set up. I would apply more tension to the bars by tilting the hitch head down and transferring more weight to your front tires. Try to get your rear measurement to 37.25". Wouldn't hurt.
The problem with air bags is that it hardens the rear suspension creating a fulcrum. Adding weight (tongue weight) far behind the rear axle creates a lever and will cause your front axle to unload. The reason your 5th wheel of almost equivalent weight didn't have the same effect is because the weight was directly over the rear axle.
I assume you weighed the truck with the trailer attached and also weighed the trailer's axles. It would be nice to know what the truck weighs without the trailer attached to help determine your tongue weight. If your axles come in at 5,980 and you have 12% tongue weight, then your trailer weighs 6,795 pounds with 815 pounds of tongue weight. Starting to get kind of heavy for a half ton truck.
|
Durb
|
05/20/23 05:42pm |
Towing
|
|
RE: New to 5th wheeling
Welcome to the forum. My feeling is you can go most anywhere on public highways with your setup; certainly wherever the big rigs go. If you are concerned with overhangs and hairpin turns, I believe there is a GPS system that allows you to enter your rig's length and height and it will offer alerts as to your route.
I can't say regarding your route as I am always coming from the north. I will say I have traveled 101 throughout Oregon and have never felt uncomfortable. pulling a fifth wheel on the highway. There have been comments on these forums regarding hwy 299. I've pulled a boat on that road from Redding to Weaverville and found it to be fine.
Enjoy your fifth wheel.
|
Durb
|
05/19/23 08:28am |
Fifth-Wheels
|
|
RE: Will Air bags make a big difference?
Could be the installing dealer didn't hook the hitch up correctly and you do't have enough tension on the bars; it has happened many times before. New friction hitches like yours are paint on paint and wearing in could help with the anti-sway.
Air bags might help with the bouncing, but they may have a tendency to lighten the front end of your truck. First thing I would do is measure your wheel wells, front and rear, to the ground, and make sure the measurements are close to the same with the trailer hooked up and the spring bars installed. Could be you will have to adjust your hitch head to add more tension to the bars.
You should weigh your trailer. You might find it is far more than 5,777 pounds, and is nearing the zone where your truck is insufficient. Make sure your tires are aired to the max and your truck's shocks are good. There is plenty of stuff to check before spending money.
I can empathize, my wife told me the same thing with a poor riding fifth wheel.
|
Durb
|
05/18/23 09:43pm |
Towing
|
|
RE: Are RV sewer hose supports necessary?
We might want to consider the practical reasons as to why a park owner may require the sewer hose support:
If your hose has a pin hole, it will not be noticeable with an empty hose sloped to the outlet. If the hose is laying on the ground full of sewer water, a pin hole will cause it to leak its contents and create problems.
A full hose laying on a maintained lawn in a nice park will kill the grass below it.
A hose laying on the grass is more subject to weed whacker damage and leakage.
With the above being said, I bought a support as I was staying in a park that required it. Used it that one time and haven't used it since. I don't leave my hose hooked up and install it only when I intend to use it. Simple process and my outlet is low so I have to "walk it" every time. I also rinse my hose after every use so no solids are stuck on the inner ridges.
|
Durb
|
05/17/23 08:55am |
Beginning RVing
|
|
RE: How critical is it to have a perfectly level trailer?
Could you please send me the link for what you mean?
Search "Curt 25210". Have your welder cut off the current ball mount leaving the A frame plate for your jack mount. Then, have him weld the top of the new A frame coupler plate to the bottom of the frame. This should be plenty strong for a trailer in your weight class.
|
Durb
|
05/07/23 09:22pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: How critical is it to have a perfectly level trailer?
You could take your trailer to a welder and have him remove the coupler, then weld another coupler to the underside of the frame. It looks like you would pick up 5-6 inches.
I believe this is a unibody vehicle...ie: there is no frame to weld to.
He might be talking about the trailer side. Not sure.
Yes, that is why I wrote to take the trailer in. Many trailers (generally heavier) have the front "A" section welded to the underside of the trailer's main frame. There are couplers on Amazon perfectly suited to be welded to the underside of your frame moving the hitch ball height down a number of inches. Problem solved; trailer tows level. Much simpler than trying to work on the SUV side of the equation.
|
Durb
|
05/07/23 01:53pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: How critical is it to have a perfectly level trailer?
You could take your trailer to a welder and have him remove the coupler, then weld another coupler to the underside of the frame. It looks like you would pick up 5-6 inches.
|
Durb
|
05/07/23 11:15am |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: How critical is it to have a perfectly level trailer?
It looks as though you are measuring tongue weight at the jack. Keep in mind the shank and hitch ball are resting in your receiver and their weight needs to be calculated in, probably using up your 35 pound margin.
Moving heavy items to the rear of your trailer to offset your tongue weight is problematic, especially with a single axle trailer. This practice will maintain your net tongue weight, but will also reduce your percent of weight on the tongue. This percentage number (12% - 15%) is critical in keeping sway under control. Theoretically, you could reduce your tongue weight to zero by selective loading. Not good, you would be all over the road.
|
Durb
|
05/06/23 02:04pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: New rails installed prices
I installed rails with Curt vehicle specific no drill frame brackets on my Ram. The 45 minute job took me six hours. Materials were around $250. At the time, I would have gladly dropped the $800. Curt had really poor instructions with no guidance on how to install spacers inside a blind box section support for the bed. Laying out the precise position to drill the holes in the bed was also time consuming. I could probably reduce the install times by 3 hours if I had a helper and a lift. It took a large amount of tools and some innovation to get the job done. I would pay the money to a pro who has done job before and doesn't take shortcuts like leaving the spacers out.
|
Durb
|
04/21/23 03:08pm |
Towing
|
|
RE: 2023 Chevy Colorado
They should change the name of the color from Nitro Yellow to Phlegm.
|
Durb
|
04/20/23 05:56pm |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: RAM EV
Beautiful vehicle loaded with a bunch of froo-froo electronic stuff; most of which will not help at all to get my trailer to a campground.
|
Durb
|
04/07/23 09:00am |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Mount Rainier National Park "Washington" Suggestions Please
Another vote for Mounthaven, which is a mile from the Nisqually Gate. This place is made even better if you have a no-charge senior pass to get into the park which facilitates numerous day trips. The drive up the mountain next to the Nisqually Lahar is particularly pretty. One downside is Mounthaven has a lot of shade and may seem gloomy if raining, and slow to dry out. We are over 50 feet combined and had no problem.
|
Durb
|
04/07/23 08:32am |
RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions
|
 |
RE: Twist-on sewer valves…
In Fleetwood's infinite wisdom, my Bounder came with 2 50 gallon waste tanks. DUH! I add a gray water transfer pump to balance the waste water storage.
Richard
If both tanks use the same drain. Put a twist on valve on the outlet and close it.
Open both tanks and they will equalize themselves.
The water levels will equalize. Above assumes both gray and black tanks are installed at the same level in the rig. A higher tank could drain all its fluid into a lower tank. My tanks are hidden and I don't know their relative heights. I'll open my tank valves separately as I don't want to risk chunks of sewage getting into my gray tank.
|
Durb
|
03/29/23 11:41am |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Seven States to Ban the Sale of Gas Powered Cars in 2035
Just out: Ford projects it will lose 3 billion dollars on its electrical vehicle production in 2023.
Margins on Rivian's products are at negative sixty-two percent.
It has been three years since Tesla teased their Cybertruck - no trucks yet. Word is market viability is a large concern.
Those that tow may be forced into EVs by a certain date in certain states. However, there may not be anyone manufacturing product for them to buy. Companies cannot eat losses like these and remain viable. .
|
Durb
|
03/23/23 08:48am |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Seven States to Ban the Sale of Gas Powered Cars in 2035
Been to china multiple times. Depends on where you are as far as visible polution as well as non visible but noticeable polution (eyes, lungs etc.) Some places are really bad, other places are comparable to most large U.S. cities.
But then in the U.S. places near coal fired plants have pretty bad visible and respiratory pollution as well. it's hard to clean up the pollution from coal fired plants, way worse than NG fired plants.
We had a relatively new coal fired plant about 150 miles from us. Every time we drove by it on our trips east the air was visibly darkened, sometimes pretty bad. Now that they have converted it to NG air is visibly clear whenever we drive by.
If you are referring to the Boardman coal fired plant, it closed two and a half years ago. Don't believe they ever converted to natural gas. The owner, Portland General Electric, closed the plant as it transitions to renewable energy sources, namely wind energy. The emissions of that plant were nothing compared to the sight of the hundreds of ugly wind turbines serving as a visual blight and destroying the view shed of nearby pristine country. Wind turbines have destroyed the beautiful vistas of the Eastern Columbia River Gorge. If the greenies weren't so anti fossil fuels, they would be protesting in the streets to remove the wind turbines.
I find the view driving out near Boardman boring as heck. Miles of rolling brown hills.
We'll have to agree we are different that way. Boardman has frontage on the Columbia River and is the gateway to the rolling dry wheat fields entering into Pendleton. The view behind of that country while entering the Blues is extraordinary.
I went onto Google Earth and counted the wind turbines visible from the freeway at Boardman - 186. That's right, 186 of the monstrosities built on wild open country.
|
Durb
|
03/20/23 10:26am |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Seven States to Ban the Sale of Gas Powered Cars in 2035
Been to china multiple times. Depends on where you are as far as visible polution as well as non visible but noticeable polution (eyes, lungs etc.) Some places are really bad, other places are comparable to most large U.S. cities.
But then in the U.S. places near coal fired plants have pretty bad visible and respiratory pollution as well. it's hard to clean up the pollution from coal fired plants, way worse than NG fired plants.
We had a relatively new coal fired plant about 150 miles from us. Every time we drove by it on our trips east the air was visibly darkened, sometimes pretty bad. Now that they have converted it to NG air is visibly clear whenever we drive by.
If you are referring to the Boardman coal fired plant, it closed two and a half years ago. Don't believe they ever converted to natural gas. The owner, Portland General Electric, closed the plant as it transitions to renewable energy sources, namely wind energy. The emissions of that plant were nothing compared to the sight of the hundreds of ugly wind turbines serving as a visual blight and destroying the view shed of nearby pristine country. Wind turbines have destroyed the beautiful vistas of the Eastern Columbia River Gorge. If the greenies weren't so anti fossil fuels, they would be protesting in the streets to remove the wind turbines.
PGE has two NG fired plants near boardman. Not sure if they were new plants replacing the boardman coal fired plant or reworking the boardman coal fired plant for NG, but non the less the coal fired plant(s) are gone and there is NG plants to replace it.
And from our traveling down the gorge, once boardman coal fired plant close, eureka, amazing difference in the air quality for 50+ miles around boardman
Don't know why wind turbines are painted white, it should be easy to make them less visible, not doubt. And it does distract from the view. However IMHO it's WAY better than the smog that enveloped the gourge from before boardman to north of tri cities on most days from the coal fired plant. We travel down that area dozens of times during they year and while boardman was operating we NEVER encountered anything resembling clean air, always either hazy or very hazy in that area. Not to mention the mercury emitted from coal fired plants.
Coalstrip in Montana with the coal fired plants is as bad or worse for smog and emissions.
I'll take the visual distraction from wind turbines any day over the smog from a coal fired plant.
Really? So much hyperbole and exaggeration. A single small coal fired plant polluted the air for 780 square miles in an area where the wind blows hard all the time? That is why the wind turbines are there. I too, traveled the gorge all the time as part of my job and never noticed the LA basin out there. Sometimes the air would be less clear, but that is from dust; a result of the farmers plowing their fields and the wind stirring it up. It is an agricultural area you know.
We camped at Boardman Marine and RV Park (very nice) numerous times before October 2020 when the plant closed. We were always graced with clear skies and beautiful sunsets; not a pool of smog.
There was a coal fired plant in Centralia, WA up north that converted to natural gas for financial reasons. I never heard anyone complain about a change in air quality as a result. The plant is in close proximity to two towns.
|
Durb
|
03/19/23 11:52am |
Tow Vehicles
|
