Red_Wolf
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Joined 20 years ago
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Re: nameing your rig
The first truck was "Redwolf" (RDWOLF) and the popup was "Wolf Den". In 2006 we upgraded trailers, and needed a 3/4 ton to pull it. So, the truck was named "Big Bad Wolf" (BBWOLF) and the Jayco TT was "Wolf Den 2" Now we've upgraded from TT to a Rockwood fifth wheel, so it's named "Wolf Den 3"418Views0likes0CommentsRe: Towing 5th Wheel level.
Mootpoint wrote: I have been known to take my truck into the RV dealership and had them do the first hook-up setup making sure all adjustments were done correctly and at appropriate levels. That was when it was part of the purchase deal otherwise my son and I break out the tools and have at her. Yeah, IF you have a good dealership. When I bought my TT 8 years ago, the dealership totally botched the installation of the Equal-i-zer hitch. Driving it home was no fun. Driving it to Dallas the next week was a white knuckled nightmare. Luckily a few emails with Progress with photos of the dealer configuration resulted in Progress telling me how to properly configure it. Hopefully I won't have this problem with the new fifth wheel!321Views0likes0CommentsRe: New to fivers - Bridge
chiefneon wrote: Howdy! You absolutely need to check the height on your new RV. I use a GPS app Co-Pilot that has a height setting up to 13' it has worked well and kept me off of low clearence roads that would cause problems. Also one of the biggest problems RV'er have to worry about is not bridges, but low power lines and tree limbs. Tree limbs especially in RV parks and campground cause more damage than bridges. "Happy Trails" Chiefneon I picked up AllStay's "Camp and RV" app, and it has bridge heights. I know of two low ones on my route out west, but it says both of them are 13' 8". And I agree with you folks talking about tree branches. There were a pain with my TT as well. Thanks, guys!392Views0likes0CommentsNew to fivers - Bridge
Hi all! Our new 12.5' tall will be arriving in a few weeks, and I wanted to ask you wise, older 5ers....how often do you need to worry about low bridges? I figure if I'm on interstates it's not an issue, but I'm not usually traveling on interstates, but back roads, I thought I'd ask. :) Our Jayco TT was only 11.5' tall, and I never worried about it.5.2KViews0likes24CommentsRe: Your Rig
PmsPks wrote: Finally got a picture with the new to us TV. This pic is leaving Cedar Ridge Park on Lake Belton, Texas, yesterday morning. 4 day weekend for us. And four days later, the hail storm at Lake Belton caused my Jayco TT to be totaled. Bought a new Rockwood 8280WS, our first fiver. Pics soon! (Baseball sized hail and aluminum trailers do not mix!)346Views0likes0CommentsRe: Jayco bed causing rear wall to bow out
Four months later, and I finally repaired the damage. In5r and I had communicated back and forth after my original post, and he had some suggestions. I sent the pics to my local RV dealer, and they wanted $2500 to repair it. Ha. Instead I mulled it over, and waited for work to settle down (and for camping season to end!). I just completed the repair this evening, having started this past Sunday. From start to finish (not counting trips to the store), it took me about 12 hours to fix it. There was no water damage. All of the damage was caused by shoddy design by Jayco, where the pneumatic bed lifts were spending 99.9% of their time not lifting the bed, but pushing the bed frame back against the wall. Jayco (and probably other manufacturers) use staples to tack everything together. The rear wall was a large upper frame, set atop a smaller, inward slanting bottom frame. These are stupidly just loosely stapled together. The hinged beam that holds the bed was attached to the wall with just three screws at the bottom of the upper frame. The strong backward pressure of those pneumatic lifts cracked the frame, and caused it to bow out. I removed the lifts - they couldn't hold the mattress up anyway. I then removed the bottom three aluminum skin panels on the back wall. I replaced the floating bed hinge-beam with 2x6 running from wall to wall, which now sits atop three shaped 2x6 pillars. These are attached to the side walls, and then all the joints have metal joist joiners locking them in place. I drilled holes through all of the rear wall joists, then secured them to the new interior beam with 3" wood screws. The newly secure wall is flat, and snug to the new beam. Pics of the process can be seen here: Redwolf's Trailer Repair Pics @ Flickr506Views0likes0CommentsRe: Jayco bed causing rear wall to bow out
West - You're right, it needs some sort of bracing, but I don't want to block the access doors while doing it. I'll definitely keep it in mind. I'm going to call the two local RV repair places today and get a ball park on what they'll want to charge to do the work. I know it's going to be expensive, so that's why I'm considering doing the work myself. Rich - I never even considered the shocks could be causing it, but it's a possibility. They're really weak, and can't hold the bed up. I assumed it was just the weight of the mattress, the extra memory foam, the blankets my DW cannot sleep without - a lot of weight, and every time we opened the bed, that weight pushed on the back wall. But, maybe a little pressure over six years from those hinges did cause it. I'll definitely keep your idea of reversing the shocks when I rebuild it.506Views0likes0CommentsJayco bed causing rear wall to bow out
Jayco bult the back wall of the 28 FKS a little oddly, with the hinged bed having no other support than the back wall. I noticed last year that my back wall was bowed out, and that it had pulled away from the bed stands. Pics - (link to pictures) I'm thinking about doing the repair myself. I want to replace the little 2x2 hinge mount with a 2x4 that runs the entire length of the back wall, and giving it some extra support down to the floor. It would probably be beneficial to build a better box under the bed stands, to add to the support and stability.3.7KViews0likes11Comments
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Interested in fifth wheels? You've come to the right spot.Feb 26, 202519,007 Posts
