New fusion420 or new XLR 420?

taken wrote:
My wife was in the Army Carl and she rides like a banshee. LOL... But I do get what your saying. I still think that tolerable risk is a personal thing. I perceive myself as being completely safe. Jim wouldn't feel safe with my setup. It's an opinion. I honestly don't feel as though switching to a DRW would mitigate any risk whatsoever but it would make some people "feel" safer. Again, how much mitigation goes on is personal in my opinion. People often point out worst case scenarios as what could happen if you don't max out risk mitigation. I look at the odds of said incident happening and then decide if it's worth my concern. This process generally puts me in a lower worry category than many other RVers. For me, I just can't live my life prepping for something that will likely never happen. I'm not knocking those that do live that way. It's just not me.

Rodney, I agree with you 100%.

I would not be comfortable with your setup even though it is within the legal limits - not because it unsafe; but because I am more comfortable with a dually. Personal preference. I tow a lot in high winds and torrential rains and I enjoy the stability of the dually.

Obviously, if I were scared about every possible situation, I wouldn't ride motorcycles. :)

My wife was in the Army Carl and she rides like a banshee. LOL... But I do get what your saying. I still think that tolerable risk is a personal thing. I perceive myself as being completely safe. Jim wouldn't feel safe with my setup. It's an opinion. I honestly don't feel as though switching to a DRW would mitigate any risk whatsoever but it would make some people "feel" safer. Again, how much mitigation goes on is personal in my opinion. People often point out worst case scenarios as what could happen if you don't max out risk mitigation. I look at the odds of said incident happening and then decide if it's worth my concern. This process generally puts me in a lower worry category than many other RVers. For me, I just can't live my life prepping for something that will likely never happen. I'm not knocking those that do live that way. It's just not me.

NCHauler and Taken, what you both are really talking about is risk.

Yes motorcycle riding is more risky than towing a trailer. but one can mitigate or lessen the risk factors. For example, I am an ATGATT (all the gear, all the time) motorcycle rider. I ride 8k - 10k miles per year. The gear does not lessen the risk of riding; but it better protects me in the event of an accident.

Towing a trailer involves more risk than just driving a truck or car. There more than can go wrong. Does that mean we shouldn't do it? Heck no! We mitigate that risk by making sure everything is working properly, we are properly hitched up, our tires are properly inflated, etc.

For me, making sure that I am not at or over the limits of my tow vehicle are part of my way of mitigating risk just like watching my turns, preparing for a descent on a long grade mitigate risk.

We all have our own approached to mitigating risk. I am sure that my Army background taught me a lot about mitigating risk.

If you perceive you need more truck that what is rated to tow your trailer, then it certainly isn't fact based. It's a feeling. You're allowed to have them. They might just be different than what others feel. I feel completely safe doing things my way. You feel safe doing things your way. Since both of us are doing just fine with our respective ethos, then logic dictates that we are both operating in a safe fashion despite doing things very differently.

On safety, some would say riding ATV's, motorcycles, and snowmobiles isn't all that safe. Now compare those activities to towing with a SRW vs. a DRW. What will more likely get me hurt or killed? Just leaving the house and driving at all is less safe than staying home. Everyone can pick what they feel is their comfort level for being safe and it will likely be different than others. Again, it's perception.

The good thing about forums like this is that people like the OP can read different takes on things from different posters and make up their own minds as to which of many camps they fall into.

taken wrote:

NC Hauler wrote:


So, good "guess" on my part about the GCWR being 21,000#?..a GCWR that is 1000# higher than mine. His pin weight will easily hit 3,000# at the least...Guess I like the extra buffer I've given myself in going with the dually/4.10...I won't even go over my truck's GVWR...WELL under my trucks RAWR,and extremely under my truck's GCWR...gives me "peace of mind" towing on mountainous curvy roads and the stability of the dually makes it well worth it....safety is key in my equation on towing.

It wasn't a good guess. Every Thunderbolt AMP is rated at 21k GVWR. ;)

His pin weight WILL NOT exceed 3k and likely won't even hit it. As I posted, my trailer is at 2850 loaded and ready to travel and it goes down to 2650 with the garage loaded. My listed pin is higher than the 420's by 110# so I'd bet money the 420's loaded pin will be lower than mine too. Bottom line is he will be under on his truck's GVWR by over 1k, under on his RAWR, and under on his tire ratings. He will only be over on GCWR if he's loaded heavy ready to tow. I am and am not worried about it in the least. His 3500 megacab will have a GVWR of 12400#. The truck will weigh about 8500 ready to tow. That leave's almost 4k for pin.

As to safety, I have 100% piece of mind with my RV/truck combo. That's a personal thing. Safety is more of a perception than fact based with many people.

yes sir. I will glean from your post and learn from it....BUT safety is more than a "perception", just my view with 40+ yrs of towing behind me..... IF safety was a "perception", something not practiced....I'd never made it out of Viet Nam....safety is something you work at to make it a very important part of one's family life...

NC Hauler wrote:


So, good "guess" on my part about the GCWR being 21,000#?..a GCWR that is 1000# higher than mine. His pin weight will easily hit 3,000# at the least...Guess I like the extra buffer I've given myself in going with the dually/4.10...I won't even go over my truck's GVWR...WELL under my trucks RAWR,and extremely under my truck's GCWR...gives me "peace of mind" towing on mountainous curvy roads and the stability of the dually makes it well worth it....safety is key in my equation on towing.

It wasn't a good guess. Every Thunderbolt AMP is rated at 21k GVWR. ;)

His pin weight WILL NOT exceed 3k and likely won't even hit it. As I posted, my trailer is at 2850 loaded and ready to travel and it goes down to 2650 with the garage loaded. My listed pin is higher than the 420's by 110# so I'd bet money the 420's loaded pin will be lower than mine too. Bottom line is he will be under on his truck's GVWR by over 1k, under on his RAWR, and under on his tire ratings. He will only be over on GCWR if he's loaded heavy ready to tow. I am and am not worried about it in the least. His 3500 megacab will have a GVWR of 12400#. The truck will weigh about 8500 ready to tow. That leave's almost 4k for pin.

As to safety, I have 100% piece of mind with my RV/truck combo. That's a personal thing. Safety is more of a perception than fact based with many people.

Jim, I agree 100%. I like a safety margin. I would rather have too much truck that be right at or over the limits. But that is just me in my old age. :)

taken wrote:

BFMC69 wrote:
#taken,

Please let me know what you find out about the pin and dry weight of the XLR.

OK, here are the dry weights on a production XLR 420. They are before you add any options, install battery(s), and fill propane tanks.

Hitch-2537#, Ship-14657#, GVWR-21000#.

So, figure the pin loaded and ready for travel will be under 2900#. This is no issue for any SRW 350/3500. Also remember that the pin goes down the more you load the garage. Not a lot, but some. The only thing you will be over on is GCWR. Oh, and another great option on the XLR, especially for us SRW guys, is the Tuson Sway Control. It has the ability to pulse the trailer brakes on one side or the other to eliminate sway. With the lighter pin weight, this really helps keep the trailer in line with the truck. I've already towed ours over 3k miles this year and it's like an arrow behind my little SRW truck.

So, good "guess" on my part about the GCWR being 21,000#?..a GCWR that is 1000# higher than mine. His pin weight will easily hit 3,000# at the least...Guess I like the extra buffer I've given myself in going with the dually/4.10...I won't even go over my truck's GVWR...WELL under my trucks RAWR,and extremely under my truck's GCWR...gives me "peace of mind" towing on mountainous curvy roads and the stability of the dually makes it well worth it....safety is key in my equation on towing.

BFMC69 wrote:
#taken,

Please let me know what you find out about the pin and dry weight of the XLR.

OK, here are the dry weights on a production XLR 420. They are before you add any options, install battery(s), and fill propane tanks.

Hitch-2537#, Ship-14657#, GVWR-21000#.

So, figure the pin loaded and ready for travel will be under 2900#. This is no issue for any SRW 350/3500. Also remember that the pin goes down the more you load the garage. Not a lot, but some. The only thing you will be over on is GCWR. Oh, and another great option on the XLR, especially for us SRW guys, is the Tuson Sway Control. It has the ability to pulse the trailer brakes on one side or the other to eliminate sway. With the lighter pin weight, this really helps keep the trailer in line with the truck. I've already towed ours over 3k miles this year and it's like an arrow behind my little SRW truck.

lawnspecialties wrote:
My dealer says working with the Fuzion folks on warranty issues is great. Probably the best one the service guys recommended. But that being said, a lot of that has to do with your own dealer and their relationship with each manufacturer. My dealer sells a LOT of Fuzions but usually only carries a few XLRs at a time.

On the other hand, if you're going to keep the 2500, you gotta go with the XLR. In my opinion, hitch weight is THE biggest factor when hauling with a single rear wheeled truck. I've gone from an F450 back to an F350 SRW. The XLRs are high on my list for our next toy hauler because they seem geared toward lighter pin weights; even on the triple axle models.

I've also had great success with all my Forest River campers.

I have had really good experiences with Fuzion and their warranty support, but I credit the dealer with a lot of that. I like the Fuzion trailers, I have had two and doubt that I will look elsewhere.