Am I nuts? Expedition @ Vibe 287qbs

Brendon_98987 wrote:
To close the loop, tge trip went pretty good other than a piece of interior trim broke....never felt unsafe. Very little sway that never worried me. Occasionally had some vibrations that felt like speed wobbles or something, and every once in awhile the truck and trailer would seem to get in some pattern that made for a really bouncy ride, and don't seem a function of the road surface.....i would just slightly adjust speed in those situations and sometimes that helped. Thanks for the responses everyone..I think we will love the trailer, and without the reassurances we received here I might have decided to not get it.

Get a few more trips under your belt with it and you'll get a good feel of how it behaves under different circumstances (speed, big trucks passing, wind, rain, etc). I've been on 6 trips now and have a good feel of how our Expedition and trailer handle together on the road and now I am completely comfortable towing it.

As you have observed, only you can determine if the combo pulls well.

There are folks that will put together some unusual vehicle and trailer matches and just get in and drive. Others are white knuckled at the slightest truck or wind buffet.

Some find it necessary to change tires, add stabilizers, travel with tanks empty of full and a host of other things.

I find my rig handles just fine if I up the pressure in my "P" tires to 40 psi. and add or subtract a link to my WD hitch bars.

The two times I have taken my TT across the CAT scales before a trip, the TT weight varied by 400 lbs. I just assumed I was hauling more stuff that I could not live without.

I never noticed any change in the handling.

One of the reasons I like our 25 ft. TT is it is big enough for us and I can still wind through the city street looking for quilt or gun shops. :)

You have what you have, drive it a while and decide if it is worth making any changes.

Good Travels

To close the loop, tge trip went pretty good other than a piece of interior trim broke....never felt unsafe. Very little sway that never worried me. Occasionally had some vibrations that felt like speed wobbles or something, and every once in awhile the truck and trailer would seem to get in some pattern that made for a really bouncy ride, and don't seem a function of the road surface.....i would just slightly adjust speed in those situations and sometimes that helped. Thanks for the responses everyone..I think we will love the trailer, and without the reassurances we received here I might have decided to not get it.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29299524/gotomsg/29302291/p/1.cfm#29302291

This topic was just posted the other day. There are quite a few of us that tow 32 foot 6000+ lb dry trailers with Expeditions. If setup properly you can do it fine. Just gotta remember its not a race to get from point A to point B.

One thing to keep in mind, the listed dry weight may not be accurate. Sometimes dealers and manufacturers list dry weights that are either averages or with no options. The unit will have a sticker that that unit's actual dry weight as it sits.

Brendon_98987 wrote:
How worried should I be with this setup? Thanks to anyone who can chime in.

Very similar to what my daughter's family has, both TV an TT. Travel with no more than a 1/2 tank of fresh water (unless you are boondocking) and empty gray and black tanks.

Make sure your load balancing hitch is properly adjusted.

No worries ! Have a good time.

Brendon_98987 wrote:
Thanks for the tip on the hyperlink IvyLog. I couldnt seem to get the link thing to work right editing right now, but will try and figure it out before posting again.

I appreciate all the responses. I have a fairly new set of P-rated tires on currently. I think based on the responses that I can get by ok for awhile with them, and probably just look to go to LT after a season or two maybe. If anyone thinks I really need LTs now to tow the 287QBS well, please let me know.

It really depends on your intended usage. If you are just towing to local campgrounds, say within 2-3 hours of your home, then I think you can get away with a lot. If you are towing long distances, you'll want to make less compromises.

I wouldn't change anything until you get the trailer and see what challenges, if any, you may face. I know that is harder because you are traveling a long way to pickup and presumably drive home.

Thanks for the tip on the hyperlink IvyLog. I couldnt seem to get the link thing to work right editing right now, but will try and figure it out before posting again.

I appreciate all the responses. I have a fairly new set of P-rated tires on currently. I think based on the responses that I can get by ok for awhile with them, and probably just look to go to LT after a season or two maybe. If anyone thinks I really need LTs now to tow the 287QBS well, please let me know.

Welcome to the forums and HERE is the link to your calculations.
You need to go back and edit your first post (Edit is out of sight to the right) and delete the link and just say see "HERE" below for my numbers which will get us back to a normal page length.
Yes, your numbers look OK.

It may not be what you want to travel across the country with but probably fine otherwise. I'm assuming that you are a vacationer/local camper so as you said you dont need to travel with a full water tank and you dont need to bring needless items. I'd guess that when you hitch up and stand back and look at it you are going to say what the heck have I done. Dont worry about it, have the mindset that you are going to do it and conquer the challenge. Concentrate on proper hitch set up, tire pressure and being sure everything is secure and ready to travel. Make a check list.

If you are freaked out about how massive it is you will be distracted and damage something. Keep reading and learning on here. Pick your fuel stops carefully, go to a large parking lot and practice, STOP and get out and look when in doubt, have your wife out back on your phone when backing in, develop a system of dealing with it such as kids must sit and be quiet or let them out and one is in charge of keeping the others in line off to the side.

My son just bought a 35 bunk FW which I'm putting in order. When I send him pics he says it's HUUUGGGEEEEEE. Yep that's how it is, you want the kid in a separate bunk room that's what it takes. This used FW of my sons is in very good condition but the most wear on the carpet and the damaged mini blinds etc are in the bunk room. The kids loved it. Enjoy and post back here again with your adventures.

EDIT: The first thing I would do when arriving to pick it up is to go over EVERY inch of it looking for WATER DAMAGE BEFORE you sign. YES, people have been on here who picked up new RV's only to start loading them up at home or snooping around and find severe water damage. After you own it go over every inch of it looking for poor caulk etc.

Not familiar with the Expedition, so had to look it up. Reminds me of Ford's version of Chevy's Suburban.

I towed with a Suburban before, over 6000 pounds of travel trailer. I would think you should be OK, but you definitely need a good weight distribution hitch system. No getting around that!