New Owner's of 2011 Raptor 3812TS Velocity

Jubillee · 05-06-2011, 09:30 AM

Hi all,

We are proud new owners of a 2011 Raptor 3812TS Velocity loaded with almost all options. We are looking forward to our first trip and thought we might ask if there any "major" thing we need to do or consider before first outing. This is our first fifth wheel, so we are brand new to the RV life. Thanks for your input!

Julie & Billy

Festus2 · 05-06-2011, 09:49 AM

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new Raptor, Julie and Bill.
Not sure if you have ever pulled an RV before but if you haven't, you might want to take your 5th to a large, mostly vacant parking lot and practice backing in. Probably best to have at least a few practice "runs" before going into a campsite.
You might also want to go through all of your systems to make sure you know how to make them "work", that they are functioning and you know where all the switches and controls are located--- HW tank, propane tanks, awning, slideouts, stove, fridge, etc.
Familiarize yourself with the correct procedure for leveling and stabilizing your RV - hitching and unhitching and all of the other routines for setting up and taking down.
Go for some short drives and make sure you have your brake controller set properly and that all of your lights and turn signals are working properly.
Know where the fuses, breakers, inverter and other electrical components are located and have spare fuses on hand.
There are plenty of other things to think about - all of which will eventually become routine over time and experience.
Others will no doubt chime in with other suggestions for you.
Enjoy.

Jubillee · 05-06-2011, 10:01 AM

Festus2,
Thanks for the start. Fortunately we got very familiar with towing it from Houston home here to Jacksonville two weekends ago. It was a marathon weekend driving there and back in 2 days, but we made it and it went well. We got really good training from the dealership on the workings of the unit and feel pretty good about it. I think learning to park/level the unit will be our first thing to learn on our own, as we are not familiar with that yet. Any tips here, would be great. Fuses are definitely on the shopping list for stocking the TH.
Thanks!!

Outbackmel · 05-07-2011, 04:54 AM

Here's a tip for you....when I return from a trip, I stop at the house, clean out the RV and then take it to our site in the mountains 50 miles north by myself. I always encourage you to have a back person or spotter when practical. HOWEVER.....I learned to back into my site by placing 6 of my colored wheel chocks on the drivers side from the wheels of the RV curved and spaced in the line I wish to follow. BINGO; follow the dotted line. Just stand a ladder or anything of size off the rear of the pad area so you have a STOP indicator....and of course, practice, practice, practice....

Have fun out there....LOVE Jacksonville, FL. Lived there for 10 years and a graduate of JU. Go stay at Hanna Park for experience. Full hook ups and cheap.

mrxlh · 05-07-2011, 06:47 AM

I bought a Raptor 4014LEV Velocity. My black and grey dump handles in the front compartment were not labled. I suggest put a bunch of fresh water in the grey tank and figure out which one is which. This has been one of the most common complaints I have seen on the net with new RV's.

Let me add to Festus' advice. We camped in our driveway (slept in the house, but had it setup all weekend to load and pack all of our things from the old camper and get familiar with all the systems) and invited our friends over to give it a good look over to see if there was anything we missed during the PDI. They found a couple of things we missed. Keep a notebook in the RV, it helps to be able write things down (issues) (supplies needed) when you think of them.

Jubillee · 05-14-2011, 05:13 AM

Ryan,

I see you have an 08 F350 Dually and a 4014LEV. We are currently using my father's 2000 F350 dually but we are going to purchase an 08 F350 or F450 in the next few months. We've been told the 08 F350 is not quite rated for our 40' TH and that we should get the F450. I personally do not like the rough ride of the F450 unloaded and would prefer the F350 but I don't want to buy a truck under rated for our fifth wheel. Do you ever feel like your truck is not quite enough for your fifth wheel?

Thanks!

joestaz · 05-14-2011, 05:43 AM

Check the tire brand on the RV. Keystone put Carlisle's on my Fuzion 405 and they did not stand up to well.

mrxlh · 05-14-2011, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jubillee

Ryan,

I see you have an 08 F350 Dually and a 4014LEV. We are currently using my father's 2000 F350 dually but we are going to purchase an 08 F350 or F450 in the next few months. We've been told the 08 F350 is not quite rated for our 40' TH and that we should get the F450. I personally do not like the rough ride of the F450 unloaded and would prefer the F350 but I don't want to buy a truck under rated for our fifth wheel. Do you ever feel like your truck is not quite enough for your fifth wheel?

Thanks!

Nope, it pulls good, stops good and gets better mileage towing the 5ver than it did towing my TTH. The only thing I can figure on the mileage is that the raptor is 3 axle and the TTH was 2 axle but really heavy. I am under on all the numbers using the published weight from Raptor.

Unless I am reading or interpreting it wrong. It is as follows

5ver towing capacity is 18800lbs
GCWR is 23,500
GVWR is 13,000
Published weight for the rig is 13,547 dry
Published pin weight is 2,755

13000
- 2755
= 10245

I know I am not over this number with my wife and 2 dogs in the truck full of fuel without the camper being hooked up. I would be willing to say closer to 9500, which would leave me with quite a bit of room on pin weight. I also have air bags which gives you some weight distributing capabilities as well. I know I will never exceed the loaded trailer weight, and upon actually loading the trailer as full as we ever would, I would then weigh it and make sure I am not over on a specific number.

gatorrig · 05-14-2011, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jubillee

Hi all,

We are proud new owners of a 2011 Raptor 3812TS Velocity loaded with almost all options. We are looking forward to our first trip and thought we might ask if there any "major" thing we need to do or consider before first outing. This is our first fifth wheel, so we are brand new to the RV life. Thanks for your input!

Julie & Billy

We just purchased a 2011 Raptor 3812 about 3 weeks ago. It really is a very nice unit. We took it out for the first time last weekend. We pull it with an 07 3500 DRW Duramax. I am very pleased with the way the truck handles it.

mrxlh · 05-15-2011, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrxlh

Nope, it pulls good, stops good and gets better mileage towing the 5ver than it did towing my TTH. The only thing I can figure on the mileage is that the raptor is 3 axle and the TTH was 2 axle but really heavy. I am under on all the numbers using the published weight from Raptor.

Unless I am reading or interpreting it wrong. It is as follows

5ver towing capacity is 18800lbs
GCWR is 23,500
GVWR is 13,000
Published weight for the rig is 13,547 dry
Published pin weight is 2,755

13000
- 2755
= 10245

I know I am not over this number with my wife and 2 dogs in the truck full of fuel without the camper being hooked up. I would be willing to say closer to 9500, which would leave me with quite a bit of room on pin weight. I also have air bags which gives you some weight distributing capabilities as well. I know I will never exceed the loaded trailer weight, and upon actually loading the trailer as full as we ever would, I would then weigh it and make sure I am not over on a specific number.

Just to add a little more info for you Jubille. The rear axle is good for 9000 and the front axle is good for 6000 according to the door post sticker. To get 9k on the rear axle would require quite a bit of pin weight.

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