Ordered Cougar 336bhs, Moving up from a TT, what now?

[omextreme]

So the Wife and I took our 5yr old Twins to the beach in our TT a few weeks ago and quickly decided we were going to need more space.

We bought the trailer last October a 2008 keystone springdale and loved it from the start. We never spent much time inside the camper over the fall / winter / spring months so never felt cramped.

This past trip however was brutal, 108 heat index and no breeze forced us indoors a bit more then we were used to and we started thinking about upping to a bigger unit.

Went to one of the local dealers and found the 336bhs and really liked the layout. Couldnt come to terms with them, really tried but couldnt swallow a 15.89% rate.

Fast forward to now, We have ordered the 336bhs from an out of state dealer and will be picking it up in 3 weeks.

Here are my questions:
Hitch, I really like the Anderson ultimate hitch, 35 lbs vs 130 of say a B@W but it doesnt slide.
So do i believe that the New Cougars dont really need a sliding hitch with the mitered corners and longer pin box when towed with a short bed?
No one seems to have the same answer, most just say get a slider and be safe.

So
A- Anderson ultimate @ $799
B- Manual slide @$1,000ish
C-Superglide type @ $2k ish

What about GPS? a dedicated RV GPS worth the $300 over my standard garmin?

Anything else i should know?
I plan on a thorough PDI but will be forced to leave the dealer within 24hrs of arrival to make work commitments. So barring anything HUGE i will be at the mercy of my local service centers or will most likely just fix it myself.

Thanks in advance

[kfxgreenie]

http://www.amazon.com/Andersen-Manuf.../dp/B00TAPLR1W

I vote for the Andersen. Running one with a Ram 2500 CCSB, and a 327RES. With the amazon price its a no brainer. The hitch is easy to adjust, and can be installed in about 5 minutes if a flipover ball is already on the TV. If your close to your payload, 100+ pounds is 100+ pounds. If you happen to be like me and your back is fused from L2-S1 that 32 pounds sure is nice. Very minimal chucking, fairly easy to hook, once you've done it a time or two, aligning the ball and coupler is easy. The only downside i can come up with is the time it takes the landing gear to raise and then lower the 4"s of the ball. As far as the slider goes, with my setup the pinbox is as close as it can get to the tailgate any closer in the right circumstance i think the pinbox would hit. Haven't measured or jacked it yet but seems to be a good amount of clearance cap to cab.

[chris199]

Get the RV GPS. Here is what happened last weekend. This story will reflect a mistake I made and the unquestionable value of a gps that is "RV aware".

On the way home with the 5er this past weekend I questioned how the gps was taking me home. I knew I got to my destination mostly via highway yet the gps wasnt taking me home the same way. I checked the turn by turn and knew I didnt want to go home the way the gps advised. Eventually I decided...OK...Ill follow the gps route. Well it wasnt long before I saw a sign for an overpass at 13'7". Fortunately I was able to pull off. The idiot I am set the height of the 5er to the spec/brochure height of 13'6". Its 13'9" hitched. I was a little shaken up. Very close call. I changed the height and let it get me out of there....down the neighborhood streets of Reading PA....cars parked on both sides...just room to get thru but I had no choice. Eventually the gps routed me back to the same highway I was on but beyond the low overpass.

I take the on ramp and the highway is going downhill and there is an old RR bridge 30 yards ahead. Wow that looked low!!! No height signs on the bridge. I parked the rv far right on the extremely short acceleration lane. Walked back to find the height sign. 14'2"...phew....gps was right. While all this is happening someone barrels around the on ramp looking behind him for traffic and nearly rear ends the trailer. My fault for being there but I wasnt going under that RR bridge until I was darn sure it was OK.

Bottom line....if you are going to have a trailer with propane and height parameters. ....get a good rv gps that will route you appropriately. Anothe example...Philly to DC...normally thru the tunnel on 95 in Baltimore. Not with propane. The gps does it's job. I would not tow without it. Just be sure to set the parameters up correctly.

I have the Rand Mcnally RV GPS. Also loaded points of interest available on web and added addl low clearance data from LowClearance.com. Not expensive peace of mind.

[hdxbonez]

An RV capable gps makes good sense. For a hitch, my vote is for the B&W Turnover ball and Companion setup, I'm very happy with mine. I tow my Cougar with a short bed and non slider without any difficulties.

[hdxbonez]

Originally Posted by chris199

Get the RV GPS. Here is what happened last weekend. This story will reflect a mistake I made and the unquestionable value of a gps that is "RV aware".

On the way home with the 5er this past weekend I questioned how the gps was taking me home. I knew I got to my destination mostly via highway yet the gps wasnt taking me home the same way. I checked the turn by turn and knew I didnt want to go home the way the gps advised. Eventually I decided...OK...Ill follow the gps route. Well it wasnt long before I saw a sign for an overpass at 13'7". Fortunately I was able to pull off. The idiot I am set the height of the 5er to the spec/brochure height of 13'6". Its 13'9" hitched. I was a little shaken up. Very close call. I changed the height and let it get me out of there....down the neighborhood streets of Reading PA....cars parked on both sides...just room to get thru but I had no choice. Eventually the gps routed me back to the same highway I was on but beyond the low overpass.

I take the on ramp and the highway is going downhill and there is an old RR bridge 30 yards ahead. Wow that looked low!!! No height signs on the bridge. I parked the rv far right on the extremely short acceleration lane. Walked back to find the height sign. 14'2"...phew....gps was right. While all this is happening someone barrels around the on ramp looking behind him for traffic and nearly rear ends the trailer. My fault for being there but I wasnt going under that RR bridge until I was darn sure it was OK.

Bottom line....if you are going to have a trailer with propane and height parameters. ....get a good rv gps that will route you appropriately. Anothe example...Philly to DC...normally thru the tunnel on 95 in Baltimore. Not with propane. The gps does it's job. I would not tow without it. Just be sure to set the parameters up correctly.

I have the Rand Mcnally RV GPS. Also loaded points of interest available on web and added addl low clearance data from LowClearance.com. Not expensive peace of mind.

Your camper is 13-9? That's mighty tall, a semi trailer is 13-6.

[1995Suburban]

Not to mention illegal.

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