Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Keystone RV Forums > Keystone Tech Forums > Towing
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 10-14-2020, 11:39 AM   #41
alynch6
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Perrysburg
Posts: 4
Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
I understand not wanting to pass up a good deal and the sentimental aspect.

So when you go to pick it up; make sure you get that hitch dialed in before taking off. One size does not fit all on those things so read the manual for the hitch and be prepared to set it up when you get there. Make sure the tires on your truck are aired up to max psi. Make sure the trailer tires are as well plus look them over. 80 miles isn't far but most accidents happen with 30 or so miles of home. Get it home and park it. Go through it and spend time getting acquainted with it, how to use it, what you want in it, what works for you and what doesn't. Then, start looking for that HD truck. Now.....what kind??

While you've been getting familiar with that trailer I hope you and DW are thinking about how to use it; where to use it. Something you won't really know is if you want a bigger trailer or smaller. It could go either way. If you are young and may have children you may thing about opting for a larger trailer or different floorplan in the future. Those things directly affect the truck you choose. If you think that size or something in that range is OK, look at 3/4 and 1 tons, either will handle that trailer just fine. Look at both. Not much different in pricing, the 1 ton gives you more latitude with a larger payload so you have more choices in the future. I would not suggest taking off traveling with that trailer on your truck. If you do decide to do that you need to come back to get some pointers on what you need to do to that truck to at least minimize the dangers. But hey, it's a 2016 so it's ready to be replaced?? I know there's an HD truck out there with your name on it....just look around!
Thanks sourdough, and everyone else for the valuable info and experiences.
We picked up the camper on Sunday, we had to make multiple adjustments to the WD hitch setup (the brackets on the tongue and the drop from the receiver). Our uncle just put new trailer tires on and added a TPMS system that reads tire temp and pressure. On my truck I have Nitto Crosstek 275/55R20 117T tires (2833# load index for each tire).

After hooking up and checking the trailer lights and brakes we were on our way, thankfully it was not a very windy day and our area of Ohio is very flat. I was pleasantly surprised that even when semi trucks were passing that the trailer had very little sway, and felt very in control. I did end up dialing up the electronic trailer brake gain, but when testing an emergency stop (on a quiet road with no other traffic) the entire rig reacted well and stopped without difficulty.
I found that using tow mode and limiting the transmission to 1st-5th gears kept the truck feeling most comfortable. If I allowed it to shift into 6th gear it definitely felt like the truck was having a hard time staying in the ideal power band and would shift from 6th down to 3rd and immediately back up to 5th. My usual 17.6 MPG average was brought brought down to about 8MPG while towing the camper (thank god for 36 Gal fuel tanks).
After settling in and testing the limits of what the truck felt comfortable performing, our trip home changed from a white knuckle anxiety marathon to a cautious Sunday drive while maintaining respect for what we were towing.

The wife agrees that we are in need of a bigger truck to go on any kind of trips (especially outside of our flat cornfields), I think I am going to be able to persuade her to go for the 1 ton option.

However if we can find a CAT scale near us and get everything weighed up with the real world weights, assuming that we are not exceeding the GVWR or the RAWR I would be comfortable taking this trailer to some of the campgrounds close by until we can upgrade our truck (hopefully before next summer).

I have had a few people message and ask for the towing calculator I used so here is the link for that website.
https://www.ajdesigner.com/apptraile...utionhitch.php

All of you have been very helpful and I am looking forward to bugging all of you with more questions as we familiarize ourselves with our new camper and prepare for our first trip.
__________________
Andrew
2015 Keystone Bullet Premier 34BHPR
2016 F150 Plat Super Crew, short bed, 4X4, 5.0 Gas
(GVWR=7000 Payload=1631)
alynch6 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
tow, towing

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates in any way. Keystone RV® is a registered trademark of the Keystone RV Company.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 04:23 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.