New to Camping, Questions have I
I am planning to take the family on a week long excursion to the Grand Canyon, and after looking at hotels, and such, the cost is extraordinary, add in gas, and meals, and its even more. So I started thinking about a TT Rental, guess what, cost is almost the same as hotels/motels, and that doesn't include the extra use in fuel or costs for camp sights. Plus .39 cents per mile after 100 free each day is the killer, rough estimate is $2600 just in miles.
So with that said, I started looking into used trailers and found what I believe would be the right model at a reasonable price, under $8K. Its a 2003 KZ 2405 slider. I will be pulling with a 2014 F150 Lariat EB. Plenty of truck to handle it considering its just a touch lighter than my 2000 Trail-Et New Yorker horse trailer, which is 3500# bone dry.
So for my questions, which I will probably have more as time goes on.
1. WDH.
I currently have a Husky with 1000# spring bars, but the tip ups are attached to the New Yorker, and not easy to remove. I don't know if I can get a second set of tip ups for it, unless they are pretty much universal, and it also does not have anti sway.
So do I get a second one with Sway control, and if so, cam or friction? I didn't need sway control for the horse trailer, it has such a low COG with the galvanized steel frame and heavy wood bed, with light aluminum body that it never swayed, but the TT are much higher off the ground, better to be safe than sorry, and I want to avoid the kind you have to disconnect in order to back up. Also are 1000# bars too much for that trailer, or just right? They are just a hair too much for the New Yorker when hooked to the F150, but worked perfectly when hooked to my original TV which was a 97 Explorer V8 AWD.
2. Power. I noticed these dont have generators. When I was a kid we had a Champion motor home, it had a generator, so you really could stop anywhere and have power. How is it done with the TT? Batteries, and how long do they last, what do they power?
3. Propane. I noticed they have small bottles, one has only 10 pounds of propane, the others 30 pounds. My gas grill has 20, so what does one of these use in the way of propane? Stove, refrigerator and furnace were all on the Champion, and it had a 40 or 50 gallon tank for propane.
4. Waste tanks. I noticed there are now 2 of them, grey and black. Assuming black is the pooper tank, and grey all else, when did they split them up? OH the memory of that fateful trip home when the waste tank was full and we couldn't find a dump station. We tried to hide it with pine air freshener. Now every time I smell pine air freshener it brings me back to that day.
Do both tanks drain out the same outlet, and where do you find dumping stations?
5. Camp Grounds. Not a clue! Never been to one, so no idea what is involved.
6. Waysides. When traveling and you stop for the night before reaching your destination, are there any places to avoid? We will be traveling the Interstates for the most part, so any layovers will be on the Interstate.
That's all I can think of at the moment, will probably have more as I get more into this.
For background, been a CDL carrier now since 1988 hauling flatbeds of lumber and steel, so these little trailers are nothing compared to 80K# behemoths I used to drive. The tractor I drove alone was longer than my old F350 Dually. Already speced out my hitch capability, with WD its 10,500# with a 1050# TW. Payload of the truck is 1470, which with just me and the topper leaves plenty of room for the TT, but with the wife and kids its at the limit, if not slightly over. I doubt this would be an issue, but wont know until I actually pull it, and will see if I need to add weight to the rear of the trailer to offset it a bit. The TT I am looking at when wet puts a lot of weight up front since the clean tank is in front of the axles. So do I run empty or partial will be the question. Will be travel with 2 kids and 2 more adults so there will be 5 of us, and the TT I am looking at is a bunk house style, which I feel will be perfect for us, small enough to not be a handful with the F150 yet large enough so we aren't at each others throats at the end of the trip.
So with that said, I started looking into used trailers and found what I believe would be the right model at a reasonable price, under $8K. Its a 2003 KZ 2405 slider. I will be pulling with a 2014 F150 Lariat EB. Plenty of truck to handle it considering its just a touch lighter than my 2000 Trail-Et New Yorker horse trailer, which is 3500# bone dry.
So for my questions, which I will probably have more as time goes on.
1. WDH.
I currently have a Husky with 1000# spring bars, but the tip ups are attached to the New Yorker, and not easy to remove. I don't know if I can get a second set of tip ups for it, unless they are pretty much universal, and it also does not have anti sway.
So do I get a second one with Sway control, and if so, cam or friction? I didn't need sway control for the horse trailer, it has such a low COG with the galvanized steel frame and heavy wood bed, with light aluminum body that it never swayed, but the TT are much higher off the ground, better to be safe than sorry, and I want to avoid the kind you have to disconnect in order to back up. Also are 1000# bars too much for that trailer, or just right? They are just a hair too much for the New Yorker when hooked to the F150, but worked perfectly when hooked to my original TV which was a 97 Explorer V8 AWD.
2. Power. I noticed these dont have generators. When I was a kid we had a Champion motor home, it had a generator, so you really could stop anywhere and have power. How is it done with the TT? Batteries, and how long do they last, what do they power?
3. Propane. I noticed they have small bottles, one has only 10 pounds of propane, the others 30 pounds. My gas grill has 20, so what does one of these use in the way of propane? Stove, refrigerator and furnace were all on the Champion, and it had a 40 or 50 gallon tank for propane.
4. Waste tanks. I noticed there are now 2 of them, grey and black. Assuming black is the pooper tank, and grey all else, when did they split them up? OH the memory of that fateful trip home when the waste tank was full and we couldn't find a dump station. We tried to hide it with pine air freshener. Now every time I smell pine air freshener it brings me back to that day.
Do both tanks drain out the same outlet, and where do you find dumping stations?
5. Camp Grounds. Not a clue! Never been to one, so no idea what is involved.
6. Waysides. When traveling and you stop for the night before reaching your destination, are there any places to avoid? We will be traveling the Interstates for the most part, so any layovers will be on the Interstate.
That's all I can think of at the moment, will probably have more as I get more into this.
For background, been a CDL carrier now since 1988 hauling flatbeds of lumber and steel, so these little trailers are nothing compared to 80K# behemoths I used to drive. The tractor I drove alone was longer than my old F350 Dually. Already speced out my hitch capability, with WD its 10,500# with a 1050# TW. Payload of the truck is 1470, which with just me and the topper leaves plenty of room for the TT, but with the wife and kids its at the limit, if not slightly over. I doubt this would be an issue, but wont know until I actually pull it, and will see if I need to add weight to the rear of the trailer to offset it a bit. The TT I am looking at when wet puts a lot of weight up front since the clean tank is in front of the axles. So do I run empty or partial will be the question. Will be travel with 2 kids and 2 more adults so there will be 5 of us, and the TT I am looking at is a bunk house style, which I feel will be perfect for us, small enough to not be a handful with the F150 yet large enough so we aren't at each others throats at the end of the trip.
