CampinHappy
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Joined 21 years ago
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Build my hitch - trying to reduce sway
Just bought a Keystone Premier 29RK. Currently drive a 2017 F-150 4wd with 5.0 engine and 3.73 rear end. The trailer weights are (as of today fully loaded, fresh water 40 gals, grey/black empty, zero propane (oops), dual batteries, generic wdh and sway bar, basic food and groceries, clothes for a few days, and the front storage with the usual assortment of power cables, stinky slinky, chocks, water hoses, and a midsize tool box. I know a 250 would be better, but not yet, I need to wait a year. Truck - 5900 Trailer - 7440 , rear axles - 6240, tongue 1200. Obviously looking at Hensley and the other +$2500 hitches. Wondering if some other could meet my needs. Today we drove home 250 miles with a steady 20 mph crosswind most of the way (Central Texas to West Texas) and had some sway but no serious white knuckle events. Thoughts? Thanks!4.1KViews0likes16CommentsRe: Maiden Voyage wanted to check on RPM's and Gears in 17 F-150
Mkirsh - love that "Let it eat". Thanks for the reply. Not trying to cruise at 1500, but just wanted to get somebody else to say "Hey, that sounds reasonable" and I figure I could comfortably run 70 on the flat lands with little wind, but hey, I'm going camping. If I'm in a hurry and going camping, something must be wrong.553Views0likes0CommentsRe: Maiden Voyage wanted to check on RPM's and Gears in 17 F-150
MFL - I live in west Texas so there's always a wind. With my previous trailer and this one as well, I literally look out a few days before a trip and plan my times accordingly. This weekend from Odessa to Lubbock the forecast was for 22-25 mph out of the North up till around noon with decreasing in the afternoon, so I scheduled my pickup at noon, with a couple of hours to go through the trailer I ended up with a 15-20 mph tailwind as we came south. I agree that mid-60's is usually the max, but the tailwind seemed to help the truck hit the "groove" at around 68 or so. Thanks for the replies!553Views0likes0CommentsMaiden Voyage wanted to check on RPM's and Gears in 17 F-150
Went and picked up my new Premier 29RK today in Lubbock, Texas. Empty weight is 6,154 and we only had a little water and two tanks of propane on the way home. Going across very gentle rises and drops around the cotton fields on a dry highway with a generally quartering tail wind of 15-20 here's what I saw relative to gears (I let it do the shifting). Oh 2017 F-150 5.0 L V8 with 3.73 rear end, stock. Had the towing button pushed. 80K ish miles. Trailer chart from Ford shows 9,600 max. On flat ground I would see around 70mph with the RPM in the 2500-2700 range in 5th. On very gentle up slopes I would see it drop into 4th, maintain the high 60's and RPM's would be under 3,500. (Redline isn't until high 5's) It seemed fine, temps all stayed normal, engine seemed fine at the 3,500 rpm range. Thoughts/Opinions ?3.2KViews0likes11CommentsRe: Ford Factory F-150 Brake Controller - any good?
Well, good news. Got the trailer home in one piece. The truck worked flawlessly even with a 25 mph cross tail wind. Now I've just gotta figure out my speed, gear, and RPM's. I'll post another topic, but I was running around 3K rpm on a slight up hill grade, wind at our back and keeping our speed between 65-70. Sometimes it would be in 5th (I have a 6 speed) when there was a little more "up" it would drop into 4th and run around 3,200. This is in the flat lands of west Texas where there are only long slow changes in grade. Thanks folks!823Views0likes0CommentsFord Factory F-150 Brake Controller - any good?
I'm picking up my new trailer tomorrow (7,500 gvwr) and I have a 2017 F-150 rated at 9,500 towable so I'm pretty comfortable with the TV. I'm wondering what others that have used the factory break controller that comes with the truck think of it's performance. I've had the Prodigy in the past. Thanks!4.1KViews0likes15CommentsNew to slides
Question about a slide. We've been camping in popups and a TT for 15 plus, but never had a slide. Tomorrow we pickup our Premier 29RK that has one big slide. How important is it to be "perfectly" level on the operation? I mean does an inch off throw off things? I'm sure there's some varying opinions. Thanks,3.2KViews0likes13Comments
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