Did you reinforce your frame extensions before towing?
I'm about to pull the trigger on a 2004 Forest River Sunseeker 2900, built on a Ford E450 chassis. My first RV of any type. This unit currently has a class 3 receiver hitch, presumably factory installed, with 500/5000 weight ratings stamped on it. I am planning to tow a small 2 horse trailer that weighs about 4850 lbs fully loaded.
I have had a number of people tell me that I need to have a body shop reinforce the rear frame extensions before towing our horse trailer. I've gotten a number of reasons for this:
- "RV manufacturers do a terrible job on this, never trust it"
- "horses are different, they are LIVE weight, and put more strain on a vehicle".
- "RV trailer towing ratings assume you are towing a car, which doesn't have significant tongue weight"
- "you should use a weight distributing hitch, and the hitch and frame extensions aren't set up for that from the factory"
My question is - do people regularly do this, and approximately how much should I expect it to cost?
For what it's worth, I currently tow this trailer with an F150, no weight distributing hitch, and have had zero issues or concerns.
I have had a number of people tell me that I need to have a body shop reinforce the rear frame extensions before towing our horse trailer. I've gotten a number of reasons for this:
- "RV manufacturers do a terrible job on this, never trust it"
- "horses are different, they are LIVE weight, and put more strain on a vehicle".
- "RV trailer towing ratings assume you are towing a car, which doesn't have significant tongue weight"
- "you should use a weight distributing hitch, and the hitch and frame extensions aren't set up for that from the factory"
My question is - do people regularly do this, and approximately how much should I expect it to cost?
For what it's worth, I currently tow this trailer with an F150, no weight distributing hitch, and have had zero issues or concerns.
