Motor homes

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The Annoyed Man
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Re: Motor homes

#76

Post by The Annoyed Man »

Abraham wrote:TAM,

Did you get stabilizers?

If not, get them installed before you pick it up.

They're inexpensive and you'll thank yourself a thousand times for getting them.
Yes, we got them.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

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carlson1
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Re: Motor homes

#77

Post by carlson1 »

Abraham wrote:TAM,

Did you get stabilizers?

If not, get them installed before you pick it up.

They're inexpensive and you'll thank yourself a thousand times for getting them.
Don't quote me on this, but being a new trailer it should have 4 stabilizers already on the unit. One for each corner.
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The Annoyed Man
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Re: Motor homes

#78

Post by The Annoyed Man »

carlson1 wrote:
Abraham wrote:TAM,

Did you get stabilizers?

If not, get them installed before you pick it up.

They're inexpensive and you'll thank yourself a thousand times for getting them.
Don't quote me on this, but being a new trailer it should have 4 stabilizers already on the unit. One for each corner.
It does have them, at all 4 corners.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

― G. Michael Hopf, "Those Who Remain"

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Oldgringo
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Re: Motor homes

#79

Post by Oldgringo »

You did good getting the slide. That'll give y'all enough room to pass each other without taking a number....or something. The smaller size has a benefit that you may not have anticipated; i.e., the RV sites in some/many state parks will not comfortably accommodate a RV larger than that; e.g., Daingerfield State Park in Texas and Finley Point State Park in Montana, et al.

Our TT is a 29' Sportsmen in which we have spent the summers (5-6 months each) of 2010-2015 as seasonal employee Camp Hosts for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks 2,000 miles from east Texas.. We are thankful to have been able to see some outstanding sights, meet some great, and some not so great, folk and we're still married.

If we can get our mutual health back on track, we're gonna' hit the road again. There are places to go and sights to see. CARPE DIEM!
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Oldgringo
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Re: Motor homes

#80

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The Annoyed Man wrote:
carlson1 wrote:
Abraham wrote:TAM,

Did you get stabilizers?

If not, get them installed before you pick it up.

They're inexpensive and you'll thank yourself a thousand times for getting them.
Don't quote me on this, but being a new trailer it should have 4 stabilizers already on the unit. One for each corner.
It does have them, at all 4 corners.
A Dewalt cordless drill makes short work of our four stabilizers.....just sayin'.
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Re: Motor homes

#81

Post by The Annoyed Man »

Oldgringo wrote:A Dewalt cordless drill makes short work of our four stabilizers.....just sayin'.
Thanks for the tip! I'll have to check, but I think that it has electrically powered stabilizers.
Oldgringo wrote:You did good getting the slide. That'll give y'all enough room to pass each other without taking a number....or something. The smaller size has a benefit that you may not have anticipated; i.e., the RV sites in some/many state parks will not comfortably accommodate a RV larger than that; e.g., Daingerfield State Park in Texas and Finley Point State Park in Montana, et al.

Our TT is a 29' Sportsmen in which we have spent the summers (5-6 months each) of 2010-2015 as seasonal employee Camp Hosts for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks 2,000 miles from east Texas.. We are thankful to have been able to see some outstanding sights, meet some great, and some not so great, folk and we're still married.

If we can get our mutual health back on track, we're gonna' hit the road again. There are places to go and sights to see. CARPE DIEM!
Yeah, we were somewhat aware that a larger size would make it harder to get into some places, and that is why we had originally considered a Casita. This Hummingbird is 97" wide (presumably without deploying the slide out). The Casita is 80" wide, so there is a 17" difference in width there. I don't know if that's enough difference to make a difference in getting into most spots. The Casita's overall length is 17', while the Jayco's is 19'9"......but I don't know if the Casita's 17' includes the tongue or not. The Jayco feels longer on the inside, so probably it is just plain bigger. But it isn't anywhere near the size of my friend's 30+ footer.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

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Texsquatch
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Re: Motor homes

#82

Post by Texsquatch »

The Annoyed Man wrote:A couple more pictures of our new one:

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Nice! I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy our TT.

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Re: Motor homes

#83

Post by WTR »

I bought a 25' Coachman to live in during an out of town project. We then took to the Wolf Creek area for vacation every year. I definitely recommend a weight distribution hitch and a diesel to pull it with (especially in the mountains.)
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Re: Motor homes

#84

Post by carlson1 »

WTR wrote:I bought a 25' Coachman to live in during an out of town project. We then took to the Wolf Creek area for vacation every year. I definitely recommend a weight distribution hitch and a diesel to pull it with (especially in the mountains.)
He doesn't need a diesel to pull this trailer. It's weight is only 2880. That can pulled with a light weight tow vehicle.
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Re: Motor homes

#85

Post by WTR »

carlson1 wrote:
WTR wrote:I bought a 25' Coachman to live in during an out of town project. We then took to the Wolf Creek area for vacation every year. I definitely recommend a weight distribution hitch and a diesel to pull it with (especially in the mountains.)
He doesn't need a diesel to pull this trailer. It's weight is only 2880. That can pulled with a light weight tow vehicle.
Being in construction I have pulled a great variety of weights and trailers with heavy 1/2 tons and 3/4 ton gas engine trucks. I bought a diesel in my last truck. There is nothing like a Cummins under the hood. He takes that trailer into the mountains with any type of grade and he will wish he had the torque of a diesel......been there done that. Diesel will give you better mileage and longivety.
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Re: Motor homes

#86

Post by Oldgringo »

WTR wrote:
carlson1 wrote:
WTR wrote:I bought a 25' Coachman to live in during an out of town project. We then took to the Wolf Creek area for vacation every year. I definitely recommend a weight distribution hitch and a diesel to pull it with (especially in the mountains.)
He doesn't need a diesel to pull this trailer. It's weight is only 2880. That can pulled with a light weight tow vehicle.
Being in construction I have pulled a great variety of weights and trailers with heavy 1/2 tons and 3/4 ton gas engine trucks. I bought a diesel in my last truck. There is nothing like a Cummins under the hood. He takes that trailer into the mountains with any type of grade and he will wish he had the torque of a diesel......been there done that. Diesel will give you better mileage and longivety.
We pull our Sportsmen 290 with a Dodge Ram Hemi back and forth to Montana without any problem whatsoever. More importantly than pulling is stopping. Ours performed an unanticipated panic stop in Dallas very nicely. While the truck and trailer stopped in time without mishap, the seats did need cleaning.

10-4 on the leveling, anti-sway hitch configuration!
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Re: Motor homes

#87

Post by The Annoyed Man »

My purchase included a leveling hitch and anti-sway bars (or whatever they're called). We pick it up tomorrow morning, and we have a 2 hour "class" one on one with a technician before we drive it away. I imagine that this training session will also be a chance to develop a shopping list for other equipment.
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Re: Motor homes

#88

Post by Bitter Clinger »

The Annoyed Man wrote:My purchase included a leveling hitch and anti-sway bars (or whatever they're called). We pick it up tomorrow morning, and we have a 2 hour "class" one on one with a technician before we drive it away. I imagine that this training session will also be a chance to develop a shopping list for other equipment.
I would not stress over pulling that trailer. I used to pull a track car on a trailer using my little Colorado (V8) pickup. The only time it was ever uncomfortable was when I changed lanes a little too quickly while driving that high speed bypass around Austin (on the way to COTA).


Learning to back up is fun! Keep your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel (6 o'clock position) and trailer will move in the same direction as you turn the wheel. Just remember, it's like driving a boat, you can never go too slow!
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Texsquatch
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Re: Motor homes

#89

Post by Texsquatch »

The Annoyed Man wrote:My purchase included a leveling hitch and anti-sway bars (or whatever they're called). We pick it up tomorrow morning, and we have a 2 hour "class" one on one with a technician before we drive it away. I imagine that this training session will also be a chance to develop a shopping list for other equipment.
This is where the cash can really start to stack up. I bought the "must haves" first, then every few weeks added the "nice to haves".

Be sure to confirm if you have stabilizers versus levelers. Electric levelers are great, but for our TT wasn't worth it. If you need levelers, I highly recommend the Anderson levelers. They're about $50 for one, but you can get by as long as you don't need to raise one side more than 4 inches. I bought another to put under both tires (on same side) and it really improved the system and added some stability. Anyways, they're a crescent and you roll on to level versus the block type you stack. The other must have is a good sewer hose and a clear connector to make sure your tank is running clear after dumping. The ones with water hose connector don't really clean the tank but are good for clearing blockage and final rinse of the hose.

And then there's all the decorations...
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Re: Motor homes

#90

Post by carlson1 »

WTR wrote:
carlson1 wrote:
WTR wrote:I bought a 25' Coachman to live in during an out of town project. We then took to the Wolf Creek area for vacation every year. I definitely recommend a weight distribution hitch and a diesel to pull it with (especially in the mountains.)
He doesn't need a diesel to pull this trailer. It's weight is only 2880. That can pulled with a light weight tow vehicle.
Being in construction I have pulled a great variety of weights and trailers with heavy 1/2 tons and 3/4 ton gas engine trucks. I bought a diesel in my last truck. There is nothing like a Cummins under the hood. He takes that trailer into the mountains with any type of grade and he will wish he had the torque of a diesel......been there done that. Diesel will give you better mileage and longivety.
You are wrong about this trailer and needing a diesel. I have pulled a 5th wheel for about 15 years. My last one was a 40' and I have pulled with a Ford F-250 diesel. I use a F-250 diesel today, but my trailer is 11,500 dry. Before our 5th wheel I pulled a TT with a Ford van. We went all over and never had one issue. I have met thousands who do not have diesel pulling TT all over.

His trailer is 2800 that could be pulled with a van. A diesel is a non issue when pulling such a light trailer.
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