Getting close to a TT

blaczero wrote:

camp-n-family wrote:
A reputable dealer that will give good after sale service and fight for you with manufacturers to get warranty work covered is worth more than any starter kit or hitch. Spend extra for that. Get the rest yourself.

On a side note, there is nothing “ultra lite” about that trailer. That’s just sales gimmick jargon. I have a similar sized tt and layout with a gvwr not much higher (8k) than that trailers empty weight.

How do I determine which dealer that is? I realize the ultra lite is a joke (at 10k GVW), but found a lot of ppl saying Rockwood is a very good quality trailer. Which do you have?

That’s the hard part. I find word of mouth to be best. Even reviews can be tricky as most people only speak up when they have issues vs good experiences. Check with the BBB.

Quality and trailers are two words that don’t seem to go hand in hand much these days. I thought Rockwood was good too and even talked my father into buying one. That was a mistake. First two years it was only used for two months. The rest of the time it was in the shop. New roof, front cap x2, axles and tires, electrical, floor damage from slide outs and much more. It turned into a 5 year nightmare which ended in a lawsuit which was settled for $20k in repairs. Maybe it was built on a Friday of a long weekend. Who knows, others are happy with them. Ours is a Bullet Premier made by Keystone. We’ve had very few, minor issues in 8 years with it. It seemed of better quality at the time than other brands we considered. A true lightweight at only 6400lbs dry. About 1k less than most comparable trailers.

Nowadays it’s hard to say any brand is better than others. People have good things to say about Grand Design trailers but even their quality has gone down since being bought out by Winnebago. Whatever you choose spend a lot of time doing a thorough PDI and don’t sign anything or leave with it until repairs are made.

blaczero wrote:
....
- One dealer is throwing in a Husky Centerline hitch, is this worth it for $400 installed?
- No w/d hookup, should I be able to do this myself? I have worked in construction and am pretty handy.
- How important is the dealer I am buying from? Should I ask them particular questions?
- They all have a "starter kit" for about $200 (30a/50a adapters, sewer hose and some other stuff), should I bother with that or get all my own stuff?

Thanks!

I don't know anything about the Husky Centerline hitch -- does it come with weight distribution? Seems really odd that the dealer would not sell you a hitch with W/D. Yes you can install the hitch and/or hitch parts yourself... most dealers do it for you. You will probably want to adjust the hitch after a couple camping trips depending on how you load your truck and trailer.

What exactly does the "starter kit" include? There is a very slight possibility it may be worth it. When we bought our TT, the starter kit was included at no extra cost - and it was cheap! But it got us camping for a couple trips while I figured out what I really wanted. You are going to want a 30/50 adapter, sewer hose, etc.

If a dealer will include stuff for "free" (yea, I know that is a flexible word...) go ahead and take it.

Do NOT buy too much stuff right away, go on a couple camping trips (near where you live) to figure out what you will actually need.

Good luck, and have fun!

You may feel good about your playing the dealers buy they are not in Business to lose money especially in the current sellers market and the cost of what they are giving you is built in to their price but as long as you feel good about the purchase they have done their job , good luck and enjoy your adventure.

Don’t understand. They’re including a Husky wdh but not hooking it up? Or did you mean w/d washer/ dryer? Lol
Regardless, I’d tow that thing naked first and see how it does. 1000-1300lb tongue weight will just improve the ride of a 1 ton truck. And the factory hitches are rated for 1800lbs tongue weight, load carrying, so not even close to maxing out the hitch or anything else.
Don’t get sucked into the “you need a wdh no matter what” mentality. You can always add it later.

thanks for all the input so far, still working with a few dealers to figure out the best price, Terrytown RV, Cheasaco RV and Lazydays in FL

I like my Husky Centerline WDH. $400 new is a decent price. They should perform the initial installation, watch them to understand how it is done and review the manual to see how well they followed Husky’s instructions. Make sure the WDH is rated for the range of the TT GVWR & 15% of that for tongue weight rating. It’s not rocket science. You do need some big sockets and wrenches and a flat level spot for measurements. My dealer had a concrete pad extended out from the concrete shop floor for this. This hitch is NOISY on right angle turns, sometimes sounds like breaking metal! Great sway control in winds.
Get the list of items in the starter kit. You can price them out on Amazon or even Walmart.com. I’ve normally seen the starter kit included in the negotiated sales price of the TT and not a separate line item.

Do you really need a fancy hitch with a F-350 ? As someone else asked , W/D , washer -dryer ?

I am pulling a 39' TT with an F350, it may not need the weight distribution so much, but sway control can be an issue in wind. I am really happy with my Anderson hitch, it helps a little with weight distribution, does a great job with sway.
As far as being over length in older RV parks. I have been told parks have nothing for my rig length, but I have been easily able to back into sites and leave my tail overhanging the "parking" area and been just fine.

wanderingbob wrote:
Do you really need a fancy hitch with a F-350 ? As someone else asked , W/D , washer -dryer ?

Whenever I see "WD" or "W/D" I always think of "weight distributing", like a WD hitch.

Sorry, W/D as in washer dryer hookup.

There is a 2nd door entrance to the master, which we could just put the washer/dryer in front of and I could put my own hookups in. The bathroom is just on the other side of the wall.

Water is easy, just not sure about the venting, what I can drill through, etc.