Getting used to a longer trailer

I'll bet the tongue weight on the new TT is better balanced for the rig if it handles better than the old one. Maybe a trip to the scales is in order?

Enjoy!

profdant139 wrote:
My hat is off to you! My trailer (see photo below) is smaller than your slide-out.

Started in tents & very first was 16ft pulled with a full size Bronco. If the Bronco will go so will the trailer, can't guess the # of time I had to fix the back wall going through creeks. Older I got the larger the campers got and the time driving commercial was a god send. I have no fear backing the little 35ft now.

My hat is off to you! My trailer (see photo below) is smaller than your slide-out.

sneakygroundbuzzard wrote:
pulling a long trailer can be easy,with the right mind set

when cornering own the real estate,take as much room as you feel you need.dont let others rush you or care what they think.

if taking a turn from a designated turn lane(either right or left) straddle the line to the out side of the turn,this will make it easier to not curb the trailer.

if the direction your turning has multiple turn lanes,always use the outside lane.this will help with the off tracking of the trailer and the tail swing.

when going thru roundabouts with a single lane put your left front tire to the inside curb of the roundabout,then turn so that the right front tire is to the outside of the curb,this too will help with the off tracking of the trailer,if the round about has multiple lanes going into it straddle the diving line and use as much space as possible.

watch how semi truck drivers take turns and roundabouts,do as they do.

always be patient and never ever let other drivers rush you thru a turn or roundabout.

backing will just take some practice,but a longer trailer in my experience(semi truck driver,have pulled every thing from 24 foot pup trailer to 53 foot box trailers) is easier to back than a short trailer is.

good luck and enjoy your new trailer

Excellent advice! I drove commercial pulling 53ft & occasional 57ft. I was assigned a 48ft once and that little thing had a mind of it's own. Length is a friend, they react slower that short.

JBarca wrote:
I saw in your other post, I could see 8 lug wheels which means 3/4 or 1 ton SRW truck. That heavier suspension, stiffer tires and your longer wheelbase is a big plus factor. But it needs the help of a good WD setup and the added insurance of an effective for the size camper anti-sway system for when the right (wrong actually) sway conditions rear their ugly head.

Good luck with your new camper.

Hope this helps

John

Hey John. Thank you for all your advice. I appreciate it!
Oddly enough, my truck is a 1/2 ton on a 3/4 frame (without the brakes and suspension of the 3/4). The trailer is an ultralight, coming in at around 4,500 dry weight. I have a Reese DC setup and will look into possibly adding it to our current trailer although so far from what I can see the setup the previous owner had is working well. I actually have felt better pulling this beast than when I pulled the smaller one (which oddly enough weighed only slightly less than our current one). Our first outing is this weekend and our first out of town trip in two weeks. I'll see how she handles at high speeds - when we pulled her home after the purchase she seems happy.

I am very thankful all of y'all's advice.

Went from a 22' to a 27' recently, haven't noticed a lot of difference. Been towing for many years. I refer to getting around corners as taking "square corners." Pull way into the intersection before turning the steering wheel in the direction you want to go. Keep those trailer wheels off of the curb. We did pull a 30' Trail Lite for a while, wasn't a big deal for me.

Interestingly, I learned about takeing square corners when first driving my 1965 Chevy Van. As it is foward control (with the engine between the two front seats), you have to pull into an intersection farther than you think because if you don't you'll cut the corner and put scrapes in your rocker panels. Back in the day you would see a lot of flat front Chevy vans with dents and scrapes along the right side cause people started turning too soon.

We went from a 27 ft (7,000# GVWR) to a 32 foot (10,000# GVWR). Similar to what your size and truck.

As a friendly camper pointing this out, a single anti sway bar setup is not right on this length trailer. Consider adding a second left hand friction bar if the hitch head will allow it or change out the entire WD hitch. Equal-I-zer or Reese DC with a trunnion bar WD hitch will both work on that setup.

I saw in your other post, I could see 8 lug wheels which means 3/4 or 1 ton SRW truck. That heavier suspension, stiffer tires and your longer wheelbase is a big plus factor. But it needs the help of a good WD setup and the added insurance of an effective for the size camper anti-sway system for when the right (wrong actually) sway conditions rear their ugly head.

You have received a lot of good comments. I will not repeat them but I will add 2 that I did not see.

Backing into the campsite. I do not know if your Dodge has 4 wheel drive or not. My F350 does and allows me to turn sharper. The biggest backing up issue I had learning was hitting the site pad with the camper tires. I was too short or long. After much frustration I figured it out.

I needed to drive 8 feet past the pad from the downstream end of the pad to the back tire on the camper. Hug the site side of the road. Then do a full crank on the steering wheel and back up slow, she goes right in where it needs to everytime now. You can sort this out maybe even in an empty parking lot with lines on it. You have to figure out the combo of your truck turning radius, the pivot of the camper where the axles are and how far past the pad you need to start before backing up. Memorize that distance and how it looks in the mirror. When we back in at night, the wife shines a flashlight straight down on the ground at the downstream edge of the pad to the road. I need to see the marker.

At gas stations, stay a good distance from the pumps. 3 feet sounds like a lot but with a rig this size it can save you a lot. This room allows you to better turn getting out of the pump area. If you are too close, your gonna hit something when you swing out.

In time you will master all this. Another good excuse to go camping more. Dad needs to practice!

Good luck with your new camper.

Hope this helps

John

PLAN your food and fuel stops ;)

Intersections...plan on using the road you're on and BOTH the intersecting roads, which without traffic makes a nice 3 point turnaround in a pinch.

tinstartrvlr wrote:
x2 on everything mentioned, especially practice.

One thing I have always done since getting a longer trailer (23 to 33) was to ALWAYS PLAN AHEAD. Have a plan B just in case so you don't get jammed up or damage something.

Especially with turns. An urban 90 degree right turn with a power pole right at the corner of the curb (very annoying) can be a serious problem if you can't make a wide turn. And then there's the tail swing, or worse, sideswiping the pole.
So I always look ahead to see if there is a shopping center or something where I can turn around and come back to the intersection and make a left turn instead of a right turn.

Same with gas stations or anywhere else you need to stop.

X3 on this

Ours is 33ft

I do the same thing mentioned here about shopping centers


I also plan gas stops using google earth to see parking lot layouts. We gassed up at an interstate flying j station this past weekend that had 2 rv only pumps. Much easier. Diesel and gas at both pumps

SoundGuy wrote:

jim1521 wrote:
Pay attention to the "rear-end swing".

SoundGuy wrote:
No kidding, reminds me of when we were at the KOA on Lake Barkley, Ky with my friend who at the time owned this same trailer the OP now has ... I had departed my site and swung around the loop only to watch my buddy pull out of his site and take out the site power post with his Antigua's bumper. :E Wide rear end swing indeed. :W

crazyro wrote:
We're headed to a KOA campground in the summer. I'll try not to take anything out. :)

Watch your butt! :W :B

Haha. Yes, I honestly didn't think about the butt swing as much as I should've. I actually had an "oh no" moment thinking about my last trip to a gas station. I was so worried about not hitting anything while turning that I only watched my side of the trailer turning left - all the while someone was pumping on the other side and could've been impacted by my rear end...