Looking to learn more about todays campers

[5Cent]

I pull 5K everyday, sometimes 7,800 a few times a week. Brakes and weight placement are key.



Slide out would be a nice "extra" but I dont see us being in the camper much. Or am I fooling myself and we will be in it more than i think?

A flat bed loaded with wood or a 15' construction trailer is different than an 8' wide x 31' long trailer. New trailers have increased ground clearance and the COG is drastically different than other trailers. You only mentioned full size when talking about the Dakota. Motor, chassis, gearing are the important constants. No one can answer if you want a slide out or not. This is our first unit with a slide and I'll never be able to go back. I used to see them as just another leak path, but with 4-5ppl, I think it would be crazy not to have one.

 

[hickslawns]

I pull 5K everyday, sometimes 7,800 a few times a week. Brakes and weight placement are key.



Slide out would be a nice "extra" but I dont see us being in the camper much. Or am I fooling myself and we will be in it more than i think?

We spend very little time in the camper. The slide out is a plus at night. More room for bags, clothes, shoes, etc. More room to stretch out. We have fifth wheel with queen up front. It has couch with full size pull out, and a large dinette that "sleeps two". Two kids? yes. Two adults? Um, no. We throw a blow up mattress between our dinette and the fridge. A camper designed to "sleep 6" (five comfortably) easily sleeps 7 this way. FWIW- we have a TV in our camper. It came with the camper. It has never been out of the box except when the kids have a sleep over at our house and use the camper in the summers. We DON'T spend a lot of time in there. Eating (if nasty outside), sleeping, changing, and cooking. That said, if there is killer amounts of storage available you may get away with no slide. Probably a personal preference thing, but now that we have had one we won't go without.

 

[giles]

I have a question about weights...how does it effect towing on windy days?

My 36' enclosed was over 10,000 lbs empty and really wasn't bad in the wind. I could see it getting blown around a bit more if it was lighter, but I don't know if that's true or not. (I'm sure your dually helps a ton with that...)

 

[DJK Frank 16]

Your tires are fine. I know I see light duty trucks all the time with passenger tires on them, was just making sure you weren't one of those guys. The first time you pull it loaded, you'll know if the truck can handle it or not. Either you'll feel safe or you'll feel like you'll need surgery to have that drivers seat removed from your ass.

Do you have any prior experience pulling trailers?

The biggest I've pulled is a 16' landscaping trailer with a 72 and 60" zero turn mowers loaded on them, mowing with my grandpa. I would say fully loadedw with both mowers and the trailer we were about 4k lbs. Outside of that just boat and smaller utility trailers.

 

[DJK Frank 16]

What trailer brake controllers do you guys recommend? A lot of guys I talked to at work and what I read online recommend the Tekonsha Prodigy line of controllers.

 

[giles]

What trailer brake controllers do you guys recommend? A lot of guys I talked to at work and what I read online recommend the Tekonsha Prodigy line of controllers.

That's what I use.

 

[hickslawns]

I will look at our trucks today Drake. I'm sure there are probably several different brands installed.

Dave- 36' bumper pull? Goose neck? Either way, That is a mammoth trailer! Can't remember the last time the winds bothered me pulling a camper. Going straight into them I have noticed a bit with increased height. I am a miser about fuel consumption. My dually is a long wheel base truck, with the Timbrens, hooked to a fifth wheel. . . Maybe one of the guys with a bumper pull will have a different opinion? I pull a lot of trailers too. I notice the winds at times. Other times they give me a little pucker until I get settled in and driving a few miles. Been very few winds which had me wanting to pull off the road. Only one I can think of.

 

[giles]

Gooseneck, it was a race hauler with living quarters in the front. It was a beast... That's how we moved here from AK in one trip. That's for another story all together...

 

[Beentown]

Out of all the controllers that I have used I like the Curt TriFlex the most.

 

[5Cent]

Prodigy P2 or P3 only would be my recommendation.

Phil, how long is your 5th wheel nose to tail? 36' is getting some length to it, but keep in mind a 26' camper model (this is the box measurement) will measure 29-30' OAL (tongue to back of rear bumper). Our 28' is 31.5' OAL. Throw on some bike racks or the slide racks OEM's are installing and it's an easy 5' over the unit model length. This is not all that bad pulling with a full size truck and bumper. A single cab short bed wheel base would not be my first choice no matter what capacity, but a CC 6.5' or 8' bed, if setup correctly, should not be an issue out to 38' or so. A 5th wheel or goose will always be a better towing experience no matter what length.

I agree on the wind. It's all situational. A cross-wind is different than a head wind and the suck/push of a semi at 65mph in 3 lane traffic is different than the other 2. The great thing about the Equalizer is the 4pt contact which means built in sway. No extra sway bars needed, or to forget to hook-up. If you ever find yourself in a sway situation, it will continue to get worse until you correct it. You correct it by hitting the trailer brakes only and slightly accelerating to "lengthen" the setup out. If you brake the tow vehicle it gets worse, completely opposite of what your brain tells you to do.

P-rated tires on fullsize trucks is BS if you ask me, LT's or nothing. The lower ply #/softer wall makes towing with P-rated tires "squirmy". Anytime you go from P-rated to LT you will notice a ride and towing difference. As long as you keep the load range (C,D, E) consistent between the two, the ride does not suffer much at all. The improved towing feel is phenomenal. One thing I did with my 2001 2500 was keep all 4 corners aired down to 60psi for improved unloaded ride. Then when towing, air up to 80psi in the rear (or to whatever your door jamb says is nominal - never inflate to max psi range noted on the tire). These were E range tires though. Not recommended for C or D range.

Damn, is it camping season yet?!?:smiley_cheers:

 

[hickslawns]

Our fifth wheel says 26' but measures 30.5 feet. Not ungodly tall but tall enough for interior comfort. 7600lbs empty. It is comfortable pulling. We had a bumper pull 28' which was 30-31' actual length. Similar weight. Comfortable to pull, but we noticed it much more behind us on bumps and winds. I wouldn't have wanted to tow it with anything less than a long WB 3/4 ton.

 

[giles]

I couldn't find any better pictures of it. But you get the idea...

 

[5Cent]

That had to be a great feeling being able to move everything in one trip from AK!

 

[giles]

It wasn't easy...didn't go as planned...and ended up costing 3 times as much...I'll share more around a campfire though, I don't want the guys at work to see me cry.

 

["J"]

Dave, found your camper.....

 

[giles]

Just because I'm Mexican doesn't mean I can fit 29 people in a pinto...lol

 

[Bigslam51]

How many yotes do you think that could hold?

 

[giles]

How many yotes do you think that could hold?

Enough...lol

 

[Dustinb80]

How many yotes do you think that could hold?

This isn't going to just disappear Dave. LMAO

 

["J"]

How many yotes do you think that could hold?

Whole different meaning of coyote right there!!!!