stus__family
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Re: Snowbird Question
Thanks for the reply's. I may be overthinking but at $3400 for a replacement 12 cubic foot 2 way fridge I don't want to take any chances. For the last ten years in our travel trailers I did like most folks just turned it on and hit the road. Now with being retired and no second income I tend to be more careful. Also now that google probably reports my movements to the manufactures I don't want to give them more excuses to deny any claims.390Views0likes0CommentsSnowbird Question
I will be heading south in January traveling at very low outdoor temperature's. I do not plan on staying in the trailer until far enough south to de- winterize. However I would like to take some frozen and refrigerated food items to have when we arrive. My Norcold owner's manual states the use of a low temperature heating unit installation which seems like a lot of work that I do not want to do at this time. What do you regular snowbirds and full timers do regarding the use of your refrigerators while traveling in cold weather. My Norcold owner's manual states the use of a low temperature heating unit installation which seems like a lot of work that I do not want to do at this time.2.8KViews0likes14CommentsRe: 5th wheel height
Door is in the gable end of a truss roof garage. There is no load bearing header above the door and I have had a door company look it over. There are options such as special order 13 1/2' door and close mounting hardware. My question was how much height do I need to add to the brochure listed height when I hitch my trailer in the high 2500 Ram. My bed rails are 5' off of the ground so it seems to me the trailer will sit nose high. Hopefully there is a 2018 Ram 2500 owner out there who can answer my question.433Views0likes0Comments5th wheel height
I'm thinking of going from a travel trailer to a 5th wheel. Probably a Cougar or Wildcat. Both list the height at 13'2". I will tow with a 2018 Ram 2500 4X4 using a Trailer Saver BD1 hitch. Can anyone tell me if my heigth will be greater than the listed height in their brochures and if so how much. I have a 12' door on my garage and would like to know what I need to do to store the 5th wheel inside. The trusses in the garage are 14' from the floor so I don't think that will be a problem once I know what to do about the door.1.8KViews0likes14CommentsRe: Calling all Hensley Owners - Hookup Advice/Tricks Please...
The most important steps that I have found helpful with the Hensley are as follows. First to make sure you have your trailer wheels chocked in both directions before attempting to hitch or unhitch. This will keep you from doing any damage to your tongue jack if the shank is hung in the receiver. Second be sure to release all the tension on the spring bars by cranking the jacks all the way down. Third make sure that you have the two draw bars tightened equally so that the hitch head is centered with the trailer. Before you try anything just crank the jacks up and down with the shank in the hitch and you will see how it changes the vertical angle of the shank. I think this will give you a better understanding of how important it is to release all the tension from the bars before attempting to hitch up or unhitch. As Barney stated when you unhitch just crank the tongue jack until you see a slight movement in the shank and you will know all the tension is released from the receiver. If you have the cam locks off while jacking the tongue up the shank will come out of the receiver a good bit as the truck will move forward a bit as the tension is released.401Views0likes0CommentsRe: How a TT is built
We have visited both Rockwood and Jayco plants in the last couple of years and assembly is as you see it in the video. At Jayco last summer the tour started with a video at the founders home and then a tour guide takes you to the plant in a special tour vehicle. Our tour was at 2:00 PM and most of the workers were done for the day as they start at 5:00AM then leave after they meet their quota. They were building 5th wheels at this plant the units move through I believe about 16 work stations with the last station being an inspection area. From what I saw on the tour I would not be afraid of the quality of the units. At Rockwood the tour was more personal as the line supervisor had a note pad to write down any of our concerns which were minimum as they were building model 8315 units at the time which is the trailer model that we own. I looked at the next years RV Show and they had corrected the little problems that I had told them about. I don't know if it was my comments or not but I was glad to see that they had corrected the problem. Great tours at both factories you can stay at the Elkhart KOA which is also great and then tour all of the surrounding Amish area.434Views0likes0CommentsRe: Question for the Hensley/ProPride people
I just purchased my Hensley in April of this year and I can assure you there will be a learning curve in the hitching and unhitching but the pleasurable towing experience will make up for any of these problems. I have found that you need to have the trailer wheels well chocked front and back to prevent any movement and have a large enough block under the tongue jack to allow for any movement when hitching and unhitching. As an example while backing the stinger into the hitch I had my jack stand close to the edge of a 4X4 while using the cheap plastic wheel chocks and knocked the jack off of the 4X4 bending the jack tube. I have also found very few campsites where the truck is without a side to side and front to back angle especially if you needed to level the trailer side to side before unhitching. The Hensley requires you to try to have your truck in line with the trailer and the hitch set at the same angle as the stinger so that they slide together with minimum resistance. Like you my previous hitch was an Eaz Lift with the snap up brackets which I was accustomed to using on the WD bars but since my Rockwood has the coupler mounted under the A Frame I had to go with the standard screw jacks on the Hensley W.D. bars. If your coupler is top mounted you may be able to use the newer snap up brackets however I do not know if it will make the setup more easy. Also if you are close to the payload on your truck keep in mind that the Hensley and associated hardware weighs about 200#. As you can see I’m still learning and read all the post on this subject for any hints others recommend but I would not trade the Hensley for any other hitch. Terry Powell at Hensley is very helpful with any problems that you may experience with the hitch as well as other general towing questions you may have.488Views0likes0Comments
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