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Re: Washing RV while traveling
colliehauler wrote: valhalla360 wrote: We've never had an issue finding a campground that doesn't mind. Not every campground but enough that it's not an issue. Also, it's common to see a large vehicle bay at car washes. I'm sure you could use that for under $10...that said, I'm not crazy about pressure washers on RVs. It's too easy to blast out caulk. I won't use high pressure wash as it forces water into places it's not supposed to be and can destroy the sealant as you said. A bucket of soapy water and a RV wash brush from Wallyworld and I can wash the trailer in 30 minutes. Interesting. So, you don't rinse off what you wash? What do you use for soap? I use an RV wash & wax that states you don't have to dry it after washing, but you still have to rinse it.410Views0likes0CommentsRe: Washing RV while traveling
LadyRVer wrote: Some self-servce car washes have a high bay which you can pull the camper through. I usually take the truck and either ask (and pay any extra fees at a campground) or maybe do a side at a time... I have seen signs 10.00 to wash camper at site posted in the campground office. Interesting. I just don't see many self serve car washes anymore.410Views0likes0CommentsWashing RV while traveling
Curious what others do when it comes time to washing their RV while on the road. (Motor home, fiver, TT). A lot of campgrounds do not allow washing your unit on the site, and a lot of campgrounds don't have the means to anyway. I know some folks who camp at campgrounds where it is allowed, but its not in all cases. Driving hundreds or thousands of miles on the road dirty's the RV and I would like to wash it before parking it on a campsite for a week. Fire away with suggestions and experiences. Thanks!12KViews0likes38CommentsRe: Backing that trailer into a tight campsite..
Spot on! I follow this process as well with the exception of #2 I pull the rear of the trailer about 3 feet past the spot im backing into. wnjj wrote: My general trailer backing thoughts: 1. Back toward the driver's side if at all possible. 2. Pull forward further past the spot than you think. 3. Start with your trailer and tow vehicle closer to the side of the road that you're going to back toward. This leaves room for your tow vehicle to swing out when chasing the trailer after the turn has started. 4. Get the trailer starting to turn gently at first then adjust the vehicle to sharpen the cut at the right time (i.e. what the trailer guy called jack-knifing). 5. Pull forward 1-2 feet if corrections are needed to cut sharper or less sharp. Earlier minor corrections are easier than trying to catch up later. For tight spots I find cutting too sharp then pulling forward occasionally to "shuffle" the front of the vehicle around the "corner" works best.1.6KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a TT
Not familiar, but I would not consider anything less than the Equalizer E4, or Hensley Arrow if you can swing it. CleverName wrote: The math checks out. I've just heard concern on the length but I'm getting a good hitch. On that subject, are any of you familiar with the Husky line of WDH with Antisway? That's what my local dealer equips and I just wanted to know any good or bad impressions.500Views0likes0CommentsRe: Well built, new Travel Trailer Suggestions
Just bought our second Coachmen. A 29se. (Step below the Liberty edition you have). We selected a coachmen again because of the quality. The one we just sold was six years old and looked and felt like new. I never had issues with it other than something cracked inside the toilet that caused a leak for water supply, and pex wasn't seated properly for the kitchen sink's water supply. We considered a Keystone Passport or Bullet, but when we walked through a couple of them the quality was very clearly lacking. Trim pieces separating, walls nit lined up, loose cabinet handles were a few things we noticed. So, we went right back to Coachmen. Walking through our new trailer it was so nice, the quality was clear in how tight corners are, doors close, the fabric on the furniture, etc... I know coachmen is now owned by Forest River, but I believe my research shows Forest River left Coachmen alone and lets it operate and produce RVs the way they always have. (Don't change something that is good already). The Coachmen Select editions don't have some of the fancy lighting that the Liberty Editions have, but they are guilt on the same frames, and use the same Azdel pane's, axles, and all mechanics. We've been happy Coachmen owners over the last 6 years and see no reason to leave the brand since we have never had any problems with the coaches and quality seems to be top notch.353Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a TT
I always highly recommend you do the math and then check it. First, know your truck. What motor and what rear gear ratio do you have? Once you know that go to the Trailer Life website and lookup your truck in the towing guides to get your max towing capacity. After figuring that out, find the sticker on your truck's door (usually drivers side on the side of the door as you open it or on the column the door closes to). That will tell you the vehicles curb weight and GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating). The GVWR is the total the truck can weigh (with people and gear included) with a trailer. Depending on options on the truck the truck's weight can vary. I personally like to leave at minimum 10% overhead in my towing weight. My 2019 Silverado with the 5.3L V-8 and 3.23 rear gear ratio will tow 9600 pounds and a tongue weight of 950 pounds. That means I want to stay roughly 1,000 pounds lighter in my trailer. I figure that 10% makes up for the people and things I will have in the back of my truck. For your trailer... there is a stick on the door, or somewhere on the outside of the trailer that will list the trailers dry (empty) weight. This is almost never accurate. Just like your truck it depends on the options you have in the trailer unless you want the base options. My new trailer I just picked up is a Coachmen 29se. The manufacturers website says its ~5700 pounds dry. The sticker on the door of the trailer says its 6040 pounds dry. Clearly something is off. I figure we have some extra options in our unit that adds to the weight. The first thing I did when I picked up the trailer with my wife is take our empty truck (just me and the wife) and the trailer hooked to the truck to truck weighing scale. I was shocked that it came to 12,40 pounds. The truck sticker says its 5,300 pounds and the trailers sticker says its 6,040 pounds. So that's about 800 pounds more than I expected. Now I weigh 180 pounds and my wife weighs 140. So it doesn't make sense. however, I am still within my total GVWR for the truck. (15,000 pounds). I invested this time in the Equalizer E4, 4 point hitch. Wow, what a difference. Its like the trailer isn't even behind my truck, and I get no bouncing anymore on the road. We pulled it home with high winds and it was I figure we usually have roughly 1,000 pounds of "stuff" when we load up our trailer and the truck bed with bikes for the family camping trips. But, I will be going back to the scale to weigh that in a week when we leave for our 8 day trip with all the gear. In closing... do the math, know what numbers you're using for the math, get the truck's data, the trailer's data, and get your rig weighed at a scale. Its worth knowing the data. And for the love of all things right... get a good hitch. The biggest problem I see is people cheapening out on their hitch system. Easily more than half the trailers I see on the road being hauled are not distributing weight properly, no sway control, and they are bouncing and swaying all over the road. Also, that causes vehicle wear and tear much quicker.501Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a TT
I tow that now and its fine. Make sure you invest in the Equalizer 4 point (E4) hitch or the Hensley Arrow and you'll be fine. Ive towed on very windy days with no issues. kfp673 wrote: CleverName wrote: After doing a lot of research I'm looking into a Salem cruise lite 273qb. The dry weight claims to be 5950, and the overall length will be 33' with the tongue and everything. My tow rating is 9100lbs. I'm going to spend the money on a good brake controller and WDH with sway control. It feels less risky to me especially with the dry weight being under 6k. What do you all think? We had a similar setup for a few years but with a Yukon. The Yukon had the auto air leveling which made it a lot easier to level. You can certainly do it just take your time and know it's going to get a bit "loose" behind you. Invest in a really good hitch. I'm a BlueOx sway pro fan myself but there are plenty of good ones. I upgraded to a 3/4 ton truck and it is a massive difference. Trying to paint a realistic picture for you rather than scare you or say just go for it. We did many trips this way, always got there safe, but definitly have more grey hair and drank more beer once getting there because of it. Especially on highways when you get pushed around. Back roads were really no problem. Give it a try. Your first year of use will tell you if a new truck is in your future or not ;-)500Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a TT
Do you have the 6 cylinder motor? I had a 2011 with that gearing and those were the same specs I had for towing. I traded up to a 2019 Silverado last year with the new 3.23 gear ratio and 5.3 V-8 and it has capabilities of 9600 pounds towing, 15,000 GVWR. That's the minimum specs. It only goes up from there. That's why I wonder if you have the V-6 LadyRVer wrote: I have a 2019 Chev Silverado, same specs as your. Personally, I would not want to pull one of that size with my truck. Not saying it can't be done, but more to consider than just towing. I don't have a manual for mine, but the Chev service dept told me 7,500 max loaded to tow. I am towing about 5,000 with weight distribution/stabilizer. Enough for my truck. With your size family, weight adds up fast. I would like to put airbags on mine.500Views0likes0CommentsRe: How do you know how much you can TRULY pull?
This is all my opinion based on my personal experiences in towing and talking to others who tow RVs and varying trailers. First, a fact. The tow rating from a vehicle manufacturer is based on the vehicle having zero options in it. So a base model with no heated and cooled seats, leather, HD transfer cases, roof racks, 17" tires, etc... all of that adds weight to the vehicle and subtracts from the tow capacity. Also, its based on a 150 pound person in the vehicle with zero cargo. Start putting your family and friends in the vehicle with gear in the back and that also subtracts from the tow capacity of the vehicle. Start upgrading to 20" wheels and that adds more weight to the vehicle. Because of the above fact, I personally live by the general rule a lot of folks live by that tow trailers and RVs. the 10% rule. Leave 10% of your towing capacity as head room and you can usually always account for the family and some gear in the tow vehicle without having to do the hard math. For example: my 2019 Silverado has a tow capacity of 9600 pounds. I have the LTZ model which has lots of upgrades. I also have my wife and a few kids with me when we tow as well as the dog, and all of our bikes in the bed of the truck. When I selected a new trailer recently, I made sure the trailers GVWR was not above 8640 pounds which is 10% less than the trucks tow rating. This gives me 960 pounds to account for the heavier options in the truck, the cargo, and the people we will carry while towing. The GVWR on our trailer is 7600 pounds, so I have 2000 pounds less than the truck is weighted for. Plus, we don't usually have more than 1000 pounds of cargo in the trailer, so with the dry wieght being 6040 pounds on our RV, I figure we have roughly 7000 pounds im pulling, leaving me with 2600 pounds of head room. Now... personal experiences and talks with others lead me to have the following opinons. Just because an SUV like a Tahoe or Yukon (short wheel base) is rated for 8000 pounds, I would not pull that kind of weight with it if the trailer is 30 feet long. That's a trailer that is two and a half times the length of that tow vehicle and a longer wheel base matters with longer trailers. I see more and more people towing 5th wheels with half ton trucks. The RV market is very good at marketing "half ton towable" on 5th wheels and too many people are fleeced by this. Those 5th wheels are usually always assuming the dry weight of an empty RV and those weights are at the top of almost all half ton trucks' towing capacity. So if you don't like packing your R with anything other than what comes from the manufacturer, and you don't want to take anyone along with you, you may be OK. But then there's the fact that half ton trucks are not manufactured with goose neck or 5th wheel towing in mind. I would avoid this all together. I am not bashful when I see a half ton truck puling a 5er to wlak up and ask that person how it tows and how the truck performs. They all answer "great". But if I happen to see them on the road traveling, they have both white-knuckled hands on the steering wheel and are the slowest rig on the highway. A truck or SUV with a V-6 will pull a 12,000 pound trailer. It can even pull it up hill. (All be it slowly). But, it won't stop that trailer safely, and you will wear out the suspension quickly which enhances the unsafe towing. I'll end with this. If you don't put a lot of miles on when towing, by all means, go up against the vehicles limit on tow capacity. Towing 20-30 miles is not going to hurt it. But if you are going further than that, and traversing highways or thick traffic on the highway, you owe it to the other drivers around you and your passengers to tow safely.494Views0likes0Comments
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