Welp, Made it through the first use of pop up..

[Keel]

The wife and I used my newly bought camper for the first time last week, up at the Nascar race..
It went well, for the most part.. did have a few issues that I will start threads on,
The first issue, was the "feeling small" lol..
The Track employee's have their own lot to camp in.. or more than likely put all of us, then fill it with fans.. b-u-t
I 36 foot motor-coach parked to the left of us.. and boy did it make the pop up look small..
Only reason I post that, is the wife wasn't on board with a camper,She was fine with a tent.. Then we get up there set up, and the first day of use, she came around to, well this is much better.. Yay ,one point for husband.. but that joy didn't last long, as ,after the 2nd day of sleeping in it, we get up and go down to the infield to work, security of the drivers and teams hardware (tools,cars/rigs/motor homes/etc) and she is looking around, the whole walk down.. we get back to the camper at 6:45 am and crash, get up at noon, and she got talking with the owners of the big by huge motor coach that was beside us, and they gave here the full tour of the thing.. REmember I said one point for husband, She on the way down to watch the races, was like ,That motor-coach is really nice. I'm like I'm sure it is.. And. normally, we never stop at the camping world midway store,thingy. but she wanted to look for something for the camper, :R I'm roaming the place checking it out. and want to show her something, where do I find her.. inside a camper, iirc a 26 or better one.. it wasn't a 5th wheel.. and I really didn't take note of anything as there wasn't a need, as I wasn't buying.. So the Pandora box has been opened, lord help me..

--- The towing the pop up was "different" I've towed cars on a trailer but always used my dad's diesel and it never even let you know you had anything back there,
This was different, the tow vehicle is a 04 ford sport trac,4x4 that isn't really small or light 5800.oo+/- isn't to me light,
but over bridge joints or any good sized bump, or dip it made the rear of the truck bounce twice, then settle out, The shocks are new, like 1 month old new, so it's not that, the up swing of the bounce had some force behind it, not enough to push the truck around, or make the tail happy, it always tracked straight, and had no issues braking even while it did this, so it wasn't unloading the rear tires ,it just felt odd.
I bring this up, as I'm not sure if it was just me not being used to having something back there or because the camper had a nose up rake, The sport trac doesn't have a hitch,(yet) but has a 5000 lb towing bumper that I put the 2" ball into.. but the height of the bumper is 4" higher than the tongue, giving it that nose up rake.. The weight of the camper per jayco is 1200-1600lb depending on options. so it's not a heavy unit ..
Anyone know if it is a normal thing, and that feeling of a 2nd bounce is just the camper going over the bump, bridge joint after the truck and being transmitted into the truck? or a factor of the nose up, ??

[lfloom]

Years ago we went camping with our 10 ft PUP. Across from us was a guy in a 1.5 million dollar class A (I suspect the OP would have recognized this guy - because he was famous for racing trucks, but I had never heard of him, nor of racing trucks) I knew about the price/guy because the guy next to us told us. I was surprised that there were 1.5 million dollar Class As and said so. So the guy seemed embarrassed because his rig was only 500K. But, he looked at our little PUP with such nostalgia because that is what they started out in years before. He looked like he wanted to go back to these days.

BTW - the guy in the 1.5 million dollar rig? what a dweeb - he accidentally dumped his grey water tank into his site and smelled up most of the park. He also continually set off his own alarm system in the middle of the night. So, he should have definitely been better off if he had kept it simple.

I love looking at big, fancy rigs. But, a couple of years ago we upgraded to a small Trail Manor and that is about as far as I want to go.

[PAThwacker]

Don't be too discouraged over the venue selection for a popup. Normal Nascar races have Class A and C with people on the roofs. Converted school buses and box trucks too. You were way out of a popup's element. Even more so if you were tent camping there. Get a proper weight carrying Class 4 hitch, brake controller, and proper cooling upgrades on the sport track. A light 350lb wdh hitch would do wonders for you.

[Mike_Up]

Keel wrote:

my ford sport trac weight is 5800 lb =/- per new England dragways scales..

and what is a WDH

Hum, my Crew Cab 4WD 5.0L F150 doesn't even weigh that much. It weighs 5768 lbs. per Ford's Tread Act Tire loading sticker which is what Ford weighed it at with all the options before it left the factory.

My 2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac 4WD 4.6L 3V V8 truck weighed 5062 lbs with the 70# factory Hard Tonneau Cover from the factory per the Tread Act sticker once again. So actually 4992 lbs. without the tonneau cover.

I pulled my heavier 2007 Starcraft 2406 Pop Up which weighed around 2700 lbs. It pulled it like it wasn't even back there. No need for a WDH.

You may have a shock or suspension problem. Of course having the camper nose high will cause a lot of issues as well and that may be your whole problem. Time to get a ball mount in the receiver hitch and off the bumper.




Pulled the Jay Flight Travel Trailer with ease as well but obviously needed to use a WDH with that one. Was a great tow vehicle but I wanted a bigger truck with a bigger bed.

[Ryanincc]

I don't know what Jayco you have but using a WDH on a 1200-1600 lb pup is ridiculous. I'm sure that's a fictional "Dry Weight" but a WDH isn't what you need. Get that pup level or even tongue low an inch when towing and you should be fine... assuming you have proper tongue weight %.

[Keel]

Thanks everyone..
done for the season, so I'll be on the look out for a hitch

[Beer_Belly]

My truck on it's own is a very capable tow vehicle for our 3,200 # Pop Up....we are probably closer to the max of 3,500 # loaded, going down the road (2013 Silverado E/C), but we do run with a Reese Mini 400 WDH, and a Reese Friction Sway Control. If we forego the WDH, the ride in the rear is a little bouncy.....the WDH definitely gives a smoother ride.....we also have a level stance when towing.

[sbstryker]

For anyone curious, this link explains what a WDH is and what it does.

We don't have one but our friends have one and it makes a huge difference. When we get our new second vehicle we'll get one as well.

[rexlion]

WDH is weight distribution hitch. Anderson No-Sway would be a nice, lightweight, easy to handle WDH for use with a popup.

[sbstryker]

DavidP wrote:
A ford explorer does not weigh 5800 lbs. Not sure what the weight is but my guess would be around 4000.
The bounce you are getting is from a very soft rear suspension. Adding a WDH will help stiffing that up and allow you to adjust the hitch height to get the trailer level or a slight drop in the front. Hitch high is not ideal and will unload the tongue weight allowing for potential sway.

Looking at Edmunds the 2004 Ford Sport Trac XLT Premium Crew Cab weighs 5,660 lbs gross weight. Curb weight is 4,135 lbs. Maximum towing capacity is 5,300 lbs. Not sure if my comments adds anything to the discussion or not but I looked it up on Edmunds because I was curious so I decided to share 🙂

Source: Edmunds

[DavidP]

Keel wrote:

DavidP wrote:
A ford explorer does not weigh 5800 lbs. Not sure what the weight is but my guess would be around 4000.
The bounce you are getting is from a very soft rear suspension. Adding a WDH will help stiffing that up and allow you to adjust the hitch height to get the trailer level or a slight drop in the front. Hitch high is not ideal and will unload the tongue weight allowing for potential sway.

my ford sport trac weight is 5800 lb =/- per new England dragways scales..

and what is a WDH

Actual weights published by Ford:

MPG: Up to 16 city, 21 highway
Curb Weight: 4095-4309
Towing capacity: 5,040 to 5,300 lbs

WDH: Weight Distribution Hitch

[Keel]

bondebond wrote:
Not that camper/RV envy is a new thing and most wrestle with it, you and/or she will probably always be checking out the neighbors and comparing. It's human nature, especially when something BIG is next to you. Who cares - you've got what you've got and it doesn't matter what others think about it. I recently got a tour of a 5th wheel designed to sleep two people with just about every foot of both sides being slide-outs. The media center up over the hitch area was awesome with leather couches and a large LCD that rises from the cabinet. Too bad they didn't have the washer/dryer installed yet - they were just trying it out. Great. Not why I go camping. To each their own.

My Explorers only had 3,500 pound bumpers but weren't Sport Tracs. If I added the tow package, then I could get to 5,300 pounds tow capacity but it involved more than just adding a receiver hitch. The transmission on the more recent of the two also choked pulling a similarly sized PUP (a Jayco 1007) and THEN I did research on the history of Explorer transmissions and found out it was a matter of when, not if, the transmission would die when towing anything.
BTW, your Sport Trac is 4,135 pounds curb weight. It has a gross weight of 5,660 pounds when loaded up with 1,525 pounds of people and cargo.

DavidP is right in that the rear of the Explorer is too soft. There are ways of fixing that. I went with air bags for the rear coils of my 4Runner and that has made a huge difference. Again, get the tongue down close to level. And shift more weight inside the PUP to in front of the axle to add more pressure on the tongue. Most people will always quote the 10% they've heard over and over. That can be just fine. I found that I need 15% to 20% of the weight of the PUP on the tongue for mine to tow well. I use a pair of same model bathroom scales to weigh my tongue, which comes in around 470 pounds. That's pretty much on the nose for the 3,100 pounds when loaded up. My scales go up to 290 each so I am comfortable enough with those measurements. So, how you load up can affect things as well.

i'LL HAVE TO CHECK THE OPTION CODES ON THIS FORD, BUT THE 4 PIN CONNECTOR IS PART OF THE FACTORY HARNESS, SO I'm GOING TO GUESS IT CAME WITH THE TOW PACKAGE..(sorry about the caps) that and the 4:11 gearing seems to be pointing that way

[Keel]

DavidP wrote:
A ford explorer does not weigh 5800 lbs. Not sure what the weight is but my guess would be around 4000.
The bounce you are getting is from a very soft rear suspension. Adding a WDH will help stiffing that up and allow you to adjust the hitch height to get the trailer level or a slight drop in the front. Hitch high is not ideal and will unload the tongue weight allowing for potential sway.

my ford sport trac weight is 5800 lb =/- per new England dragways scales..

and what is a WDH

[bondebond]

Not that camper/RV envy is a new thing and most wrestle with it, you and/or she will probably always be checking out the neighbors and comparing. It's human nature, especially when something BIG is next to you. Who cares - you've got what you've got and it doesn't matter what others think about it. I recently got a tour of a 5th wheel designed to sleep two people with just about every foot of both sides being slide-outs. The media center up over the hitch area was awesome with leather couches and a large LCD that rises from the cabinet. Too bad they didn't have the washer/dryer installed yet - they were just trying it out. Great. Not why I go camping. To each their own.

My Explorers only had 3,500 pound bumpers but weren't Sport Tracs. If I added the tow package, then I could get to 5,300 pounds tow capacity but it involved more than just adding a receiver hitch. The transmission on the more recent of the two also choked pulling a similarly sized PUP (a Jayco 1007) and THEN I did research on the history of Explorer transmissions and found out it was a matter of when, not if, the transmission would die when towing anything.
BTW, your Sport Trac is 4,135 pounds curb weight. It has a gross weight of 5,660 pounds when loaded up with 1,525 pounds of people and cargo.

DavidP is right in that the rear of the Explorer is too soft. There are ways of fixing that. I went with air bags for the rear coils of my 4Runner and that has made a huge difference. Again, get the tongue down close to level. And shift more weight inside the PUP to in front of the axle to add more pressure on the tongue. Most people will always quote the 10% they've heard over and over. That can be just fine. I found that I need 15% to 20% of the weight of the PUP on the tongue for mine to tow well. I use a pair of same model bathroom scales to weigh my tongue, which comes in around 470 pounds. That's pretty much on the nose for the 3,100 pounds when loaded up. My scales go up to 290 each so I am comfortable enough with those measurements. So, how you load up can affect things as well.

[DavidP]

A ford explorer does not weigh 5800 lbs. Not sure what the weight is but my guess would be around 4000.
The bounce you are getting is from a very soft rear suspension. Adding a WDH will help stiffing that up and allow you to adjust the hitch height to get the trailer level or a slight drop in the front. Hitch high is not ideal and will unload the tongue weight allowing for potential sway.