New member from the U.K.

[Mark Evans]

Hello to all ,
Just received our 2019 Cougar half ton 29res from the States , we really are pleased with this layout and quality of build .

I have a question ... does anyone know the weight of the factory fitted fold up rear bike carrier , I had it removed as I have no use for it and it obscures the rear lamps so it is a legal issue over here in the U.K.

The trailer was weighed at the factory and the yellow data sticker was printed including the bike rack ... now of course I want to know my exact payload without the bike rack , so I've kinda shot myself in the foot !!

I'd really appreciate if anyone could tell me the rack with mounting brackets weight ..... not the payload .

Many thanks in advance .

Cheers ,
Mark Evans
Hastings
England .

[Pull Toy]

Welcome to the forum. Stay tuned, there is an abundance of good info here.

My first thought on your question is to weigh yourself holding the bike rack, then weigh yourself without it. The difference is the weight of the rack.

Good Luck,

[Mark Evans]

Hi there ,
Thank you for your reply , I forgot to say that I don't have the rack anymore so unable to weigh it .

The pain in my foot lingers !!

Cheers

[Canonman]

Welcome!! So you bought a Cougar 5th wheel and had it shipped to the UK? WOW:bow: that's a dedicated camping family
I thought Lippert (I think they are the manufacturer) would have the specs on the cargo rack on their web page but they didn't. Here is their web page. Pretty sure an email to their customer service folks will get you an answer.
https://www.lci1.com/lci-storage-systems#products
Would love to see some photos of your rig on the road over there.

[Mark Evans]

Hi Canonman,
Great info thankyou , I chatted online to Lippert and they said 98 lbs or 45.5 kgs so I have my answer !!

I'll post some pics for you but they're not on the road ( wrong side ) just parked at home .

We'll be moving it to Lake Titisee in the Black Forest Germany in May where it will live for the summer then we'll move it to an RV park near Sant Jordi in Spain for the winter months .

Thank's again for your suggestion and kind interest , happy holidays.

Mark

[Canonman]

You are most welcome, happy you got the answer. Will you ferry your rig across the Channel or ship it?
DW wants to take a vacation in Europe. I'll let her know we can take the Cougar:)

[Mark Evans]

Hi Canonman ,
I added a photo of my rig to my profile , we will catch a RoRo ferry from Dover U.K. to Calais France , 1.5 hours , ( 200 Dollars all inc ) then drive 8 hours through France to the Black Forest . In September drive 15 hours south to Valencia in Spain .

Cheers

[fjr vfr]

Welcome to the forum.
Wow Mark, That's a big trailer for Europe! I don't ever remember seeing a 5th wheel trailer in Europe. Most rv's and trailers I've seen are more on the compact side.
Are you retired? Sounds like you have a good plan. :)

[Mark Evans]

Hi fjr vfr and thanks for the comment , you are correct , we never see 5th wheelers in Europe either , only curtain sided cargo trailers on the back of 5 th wheel equipped Mercedes Sprinters which are probably carrying polystyrene cups or helium balloons . They are disliked by European regulations .... But I am U.K. registered and in the U.K. Semi trailers up to 3500 kg / 7700 lbs are classed on the maximum max transmitted to the ground via the axles only , the hitch weight is added only to the tow vehicle hence my custom made aluminium truck body which increased my payload by 250 kgs / 551 lbs . In the U.K. trailers up to 3500 kg are not individually registered and do not require an annual safety inspection , the licence plate is the same as my truck .

In Europe it is a can of worms not to be opened , In Germany for instance , I believe the Dexter electric brakes are not permitted by the TUV , they must be air brakes , the brake controller must be mounted in the trailer not in the truck , the hitch must be an E.U. approved make , not U.S. made , the hitch pin must be 50 mm , not 2 inches .

The retrofitting to comply is so costly that any Germans would simply buy an A class RV and be done with it .

I believe the circuses and fairground families would have 5th wheelers but they would tow them with commercial semi tractor units and the trailers would have air brake systems retrofitted .

I have had to have a mechanical parking brake fitted for U.K. regulations to my trailers front axle with an emergency break away cable attached to the truck along with the electric break away cable which is not permitted but obviously far more effective as it would apply all four brakes .( Rocks are not permitted in the U.K. but readily available )

Having said all this I could have literally sold tickets to campers wanting to look inside our old 2012 Eurocruiser which was actually a Hartland Prowler 26 rear bath .

We are bracing ourselves for next May as the arrival of our new Cougar will cause slightly more interest , I've ordered a ticket machine and crowd barriers .

Many 5th wheelers go straight to Spain via Southampton U.K. on a RoRo service or regular 24 hour long ferry service to Santander or Bilbao then drive across Northern Spain to the Mediterranean coast or down to Portugal , these trailers would pretty much live there as holiday homes or for full timers .

I'm lucky enough to just be working one day a week in newspaper distribution so once the trailer is sited back in the Black Forest we will drive down every three weeks for five days plus three trips of eleven days . Come September we will move the trailer to Valencia in Spain and then fly down from Gatwick to Valencia and hire a car for our five day trips , plus two weeks at Christmas .

I guess in a few years I'll give it all up , sell the house and live in the trailer , moving it around north to south with the weather .

6 months campsite fees on a nice site in Germany through the summer is about GBP1200. or USD1000 including tourist tax and electricity but there is no mains drainage to attach to , waste has to be toted away to the chemical Toilet dump station 200 ft away . But believe me for a Lakeside view of Lake Titisee in the Black Forest of Germany this rent is peanuts .

6 months in Spain across the winter on an RV park with direct drainage and Electric inc is GBP 1800 or USD 1500 all inclusive .

It will be very inexpensive living . But somehow I will have to retain an address in the U.K. so that my truck / trailer* / car remains U.K. registered and exempt* ... or I will have to open that can of E.U. worms .

Don't know if the above long term campsite fees are equivalent to U.S. fees .

Cheers from England
Happy holidays
Mark

[fjr vfr]

That is long. :lol: I think I got most of it. My wife is German and she has relatives in the Black Forest, so we have driven by Titisee a few times.
We have stayed in a couple camping cabins at camping resorts in Italy while touring on my motorcycle.

Twice we have done 3 month long tours through Europe on the bike. I kept my bike in Heidelberg. Having a USA plate on it meant not needing to meet the strict EU inspections. It was also fun passing through the speed cameras :D That little plate with a VA on it doesn't register to them. :angel:
Our last trip we spent more than a month circumnavigating the UK and Ireland. We absolutely loved it.


Best wishes with your new trailer and Happy Holidays.
John

[Mark Evans]

Hi John ,
Lake Titisee ... Wow !! , small world Sir , small world . Maybe we'll bump into each other next time you visit your wife's relatives . Do you know the Pfeffer Muller bikers bar in Todtnau ?

Regards ,
Mark.

[fjr vfr]

Do you know the Pfeffer Muller bikers bar in Todtnau ?
Regards ,
Mark.[/QUOTE]


No I do not. We only visit every few years these days and usually spend the time with relatives. My wife is from Karlsruhe and just came back after visiting friends for a couple weeks. These days we don't get back as often as we'd like. It's mostly money and just getting older. The visits are getting further apart.

That's why we gave up the motorcycle touring. I am in my 70's now and wife is not far behind. We do most of out travels now with our trailer and stay for longer periods to get away from the cold.

The last time we was in Bath, UK and my wife broke her arm in a tip over accident. She doesn't want to do the motorcycle touring any more. She also has a brother who lives in Thailand, so we have to allocate time to visit him. I think we're going to send her this next summer alone. We'll see.
It's a very long flight.


Best wishes,
John