ultralight contruction

[barchetta1]

In the market for a TT. Im trying to do my homework and having a tough time determining what construction materials and practices are used brand to brand on what the industry calls "ultralights". Specifically aluminum constructed units..

Im considering the "bullet premier" units but Id like to know how they all stack up..

Most importantly the floor construction (lots of soggy complaint posts) and the lamination material and techniques.. for example are they all vacuum bonded? I know from my racing days that vacuum bonds are strongest..

I did a ton of searching and cannot find much. Can anyone point me to a source please..

Also any comments on the Bullet Premiers and competition to those units would be appreciated.

thanks

Oh yeah this is my first post and unfortunately for you all it wont be the last 🙂

[Camper_G]

barchetta1 wrote:

rbpru wrote:
I have 2010 Dutchmen Lite, with slide it weighs 5004 dry.

The "Lite" construction includes a roof you cannot walk on, and what I think is a light frame. It has proved to be great TT.

When loaded it crosses the CAT scales about 6400 lbs. I am not sure if that is light for a 25 ft TT.

At any rate we love it.

thank you, its on my list to research. I always make more out of these purchased than I need. I some way the internet slows things down.. used to be we all went to a RV reseller, looked and bought. Now its hours and hours on the stupid computer.

True, but those hours are well invested. Better to spend several hours in front of a computer than several years of buyers remorse or worse buying too much trailer, then having to go deeper in debt to upgrade the TV or downsize the rig

[barchetta1]

rbpru wrote:
I have 2010 Dutchmen Lite, with slide it weighs 5004 dry.

The "Lite" construction includes a roof you cannot walk on, and what I think is a light frame. It has proved to be great TT.

When loaded it crosses the CAT scales about 6400 lbs. I am not sure if that is light for a 25 ft TT.

At any rate we love it.

thank you, its on my list to research. I always make more out of these purchased than I need. I some way the internet slows things down.. used to be we all went to a RV reseller, looked and bought. Now its hours and hours on the stupid computer.

[rbpru]

I have 2010 Dutchmen Lite, with slide it weighs 5004 dry.

The "Lite" construction includes a roof you cannot walk on, and what I think is a light frame. It has proved to be great TT.

When loaded it crosses the CAT scales about 6400 lbs. I am not sure if that is light for a 25 ft TT.

At any rate we love it.

[gregrc75]

Sorry!
I was going to say I have had my Premier since new in 2011. I purchased a 5 year extended warranty that ended last month and fortunately, I never had to use it. The unit did have 2 issues that needed attention. With in the first year the skin on the door wrinkled and Keystone replaced it for free. The second year the fridge core failed and Dometic repaired it for free. Other wise it has been a great unit.
I believe Coachmen Freedom Express trailers are built vacuum bonded.

[barchetta1]

gregrc75 wrote:
Test

Test passed.

[gregrc75]

Test

[Camper_G]

barchetta1 wrote:

Camper G wrote:
I had a 2000 Ford expedition Eddie Bauer before my current truck. It pulled my 6k get Layton ok. I believe with the 17" wheels my tow rating was 6900. I didn't have a lot of margin with that combo and it felt like it. I had the 5.4 . If I were you I'd only look at trailers 6k get and under

thanks.. I may forgo the expedition and look at an 99-2001 dodge diesel. more money but safer

Sorry, stupid auto correct. I wanted to say look at trailers 6k GVWR and less. Don't go off of the dry weight, it's not a realistic, loaded and ready to camp number

[barchetta1]

Camper G wrote:
I had a 2000 Ford expedition Eddie Bauer before my current truck. It pulled my 6k get Layton ok. I believe with the 17" wheels my tow rating was 6900. I didn't have a lot of margin with that combo and it felt like it. I had the 5.4 . If I were you I'd only look at trailers 6k get and under

thanks.. I may forgo the expedition and look at an 99-2001 dodge diesel. more money but safer

[Camper_G]

I had a 2000 Ford expedition Eddie Bauer before my current truck. It pulled my 6k get Layton ok. I believe with the 17" wheels my tow rating was 6900. I didn't have a lot of margin with that combo and it felt like it. I had the 5.4 . If I were you I'd only look at trailers 6k get and under

[braindead0]

Take your time. When I was looking I kept a spreadsheet with all of the specs for each trailer I was considering, made it easy to compare published specs and keep notes about what I liked and didn't like. Took a long time to settle on the right compromise(s), we've been happy with our TT and more so after I upgraded things to our liking...

[barchetta1]

bobndot wrote:
Keep trips short in the beginning. See how things work out.
I was just offering another option for a TV if that is possible for you.
I installed a new radiator in my old truck because it ran hot with the TT hooked up to it. The new radiator worked fine.

You need to have a tranny cooler and larger radiator that a tow package offers. The tranny can run hot under tow.

Im told it has the tow package.. so should have the cooler..

I may consider replacing the brake lines and radiator right off the bat as well as all water hoses.. might be penny wise in this case.

Back to looking for a trailer :)... Im thinking Winnebago now 🙂 but that will change in 2 hours.. im all over the place 🙂

[bobndot]

Keep trips short in the beginning. See how things work out.
I was just offering another option for a TV if that is possible for you.
I installed a new radiator in my old truck because it ran hot with the TT hooked up to it. The new radiator worked fine.

You need to have a tranny cooler and larger radiator that a tow package offers. The tranny can run hot under tow.

[barchetta1]

bobndot wrote:
Don't only look at how much it can tow. Be concerned with hitch weight and gross weight rating of the Ford with all your personal stuff and people that you travel with. Take the loaded truck to a scale and weight it. See what YOU have left for axle and wheel payload.
How much can the tires support ?
Often, people buy a TT close to gross towing specs and overload the rear axle of the truck.
As an example : My TT shows a hitch weight of 475# and my real weight varies between 730# empty up to 900# depending how much i cram under the front island bed and pass thru storage. I also sometimes carry bikes on my tongue frame which really pushes me to a place where i don't want to be.
When i bring the bikes, i remove a lot from under the bed and pass thru and carry that stuff in front of my rear axle in the trucks bed.

To ans your question, yes .
With the expedition, I would feel more comfortable towing something in the 5-6k pound weight class (22-26 ft) and that's a real scale weight of your loaded up TT NOT a dry weight which are pretty much useless weights. There is no industry standard of which they are weighed.

Im just mentioning the following because i've been down this road already.
make sure you do a complete bumper to bumper on the TV.
On all my older TV's over the years, i installed SS brake lines, OEM fuel lines, new fuel pumps, the list goes on. I once had a mechanic install a new fuel pump inside the tank and leave the 15 yr old fuel line in place. That repair last a month before that old fuel line broke and i needed to be towed once again.
IMO, the TV is under more stress when towing . When you use a TV thats 14-15 yrs old, its not only the mileage , time becomes the factor that breaks things down due to rust and dried out parts.
Its difficult to keep up with things unless you are a mechanic and know what to look for and have the time and money to do it.

I decided to lease a pickup with a tow package then i bought a TT to compliment the truck.
I now lease trucks and prepay a few hundred dollars for extra miles up front . I use the truck specifically for towing and never have to make repairs, it was just getting too expensive to keep the old 04 truck on the road and feel secure about not breaking down . Things were breaking too often due to its age. It was getting too expensive to have repairs done at unfamiliar repair shops.

It sounds like Ive been over confident in the TV.. I didnt even think about the added stress. I think for $5k Im still gonna "go for it" as Christy Brinkley said in "Vacation". It only has 110k on it.. sucks that I cant do this work anymore.. but I may have those brake lines done.. actually I might be able to pull it off.

[barchetta1]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
OP, to make it simple, this is a classic logic triangle.

#1. Light weight

#2. Inexpensive

#3. Well built

Pick any 2.

got it... 1+3=$


thats my equation.