Finally took the new RV out. First time towing a TT! It was an experience

Hey all!

So after being on the boards for a while and asking lots of questions, my wife and I finally bought an RV a couple weeks back, and after leaving it at the dealer's lot for a while we finally took it out for an overnight stay at a nearby campground.

It's a 30 foot long TT, ~5400lbs dry and 7000lbs GVWR.




* Note: The Rav4 in the back is not hitched to it/was not towed by it; we just had to park really close to get it out of the road. No double towing for me lol

The Good

The truck towed it pretty well. It was my first time ever towing anything of this size; only ever really pulled small 10ft flat trailers in the past. With that said, combined with the Equal-i-zer anti-sway WDH, the Tundra easily kept steady going down a highway at 65mph, regardless of what passed it. A small storm was brewing when we were driving it to the storage unit, with some drizzle and a breeze of about ~15-20mph, and it wasn't affected at all. That said, I definitely felt the trailer back there when trying to go up any grade change on the highway, and it chugged through gas like there was no tomorrow, but for the most part all my worrying and nervousness about the tow was mostly for naught. After towing it to the campground, I felt a lot more confident about towing it from there to the storage unit. Total distance was about ~15 miles from the RV dealer to the campsite, and ~30 miles from the site to the storage unit.

The brake controller stayed connected the entire time, which was great. All the disconnects folks have experienced here was a big concern of mine, but that went quite smoothly. The trailer brakes weren't t quite as strong as I would have liked (even at a gain of 9 I felt a slight push when stopping), it was enough that adjusting my driving to accommodate the change, plus upping the gain to 10, will likely be good enough.

My stock, non-tow, mirrors were wide enough that I easily could see on either side of the trailer. I didn't expect that, and had bought clip-on mirrors that I ultimately didn't need or make use of despite them being attached. On future trips I won't be using those.

The Bad

My drive from the dealer to the campground was a white-knuckle experience. No one at the dealership could tell me if my trailer's brakes were electric or hydraulic, and the owner's manual I received was for ALL Dutchmen trailers/fifth wheels, which basically said "maybe it's electric or maybe it's not. Who knows?!". Since the IBC stated that anything over 5000lb would be hydraulic, I trusted it and used that. Lemme tell ya... I think I chose wrongly, because even at a gain of 10 I didn't feel like the trailer was doing much of anything to stop itself, and the truck was doing all the work. I didn't enjoy that. The next day, on the drive from the site to the storage unit, I set it to Electric (0-4999) and it was a lot more comfortable of a drive with the gain at 9. I found that 7 or 8 still didn't feel strong enough; on the next trip I'll try 10.

On another note, I felt like the suspension in the back of the truck struggled with this bad boy over bumpy roads. One of the highways I drove over had some bumpy spots, and I felt like it was yanking the back of the truck downward on each one, even with the WDH. It made for a very uncomfortable ride in some places; the best I can describe it was "lurchy". It was much worse going to the campsite, but there were still one or two places where I felt like I was rocking in a boat on the way to the storage unit the next day.

The Strange: An Extra Note

This part isn't really Tundra related, but just a fun extra note on my experience. Before getting this RV, for several months prior, I had tried desperately to find someone in my general area who would train me to drive a trailer this big before I got it. Unfortunately, every entity where I live required me to use my own trailer, and they would meet me... well, since leaving the dealer with my own trailer would require getting on an interstate, it seemed like kind of a moot point by then! I needed to know how to drive it BEFORE chugging down the highway at 65mph.

To solve my immediate problem, I took a slightly creative approach: since I already owned a Virtual Reality headset for my PC, I purchased a steering wheel/pedals combo + American Truck Driver, and played the hell out of that game in VR. I logged about 25 hours in the game, mostly driving. Accounting for time spent in menus, driving slowly in towns and practicing parking, that translates to about about 1200-1300 miles of driving in game with a 40-50 foot trailer (much of the driving is down interstates at about 55-60mph).

Of course, no game can properly prepare you for the reality of it, but I will say that it made a HUGE difference for me. My first hour of playing that game involved me eating every curb on turns, and struggling to get the stopping timing correct. And backing up? Oh lawdy. But after 25 hours of playing it, and having adjusted the wheel stiffness to match my Tundra, I had built up decent muscle memory for using my mirrors, braking and taking turns that made the real drive relatively stress free. It also helped me back right into my storage unit parking spot, between two other vehicles, on the first try and without any major adjustments needed. I had never backed a trailer up before, even smaller ones, and yet it was an effortless endeavor to squeeze right into that tight spot.

So yea... if you ever need some quick "practice" dealing with a trailer and have no better options, that may be worth considering. Even if you don't have a VR headset (they are getting pretty cheap, though), just practicing the mechanics of it maneuvering a trailer in the normal desktop game will likely help you a lot.


Anyhow, that's my rundown! If y'all see anything that stands out as odd behavior for the truck from what I described, please let me know. Now that I've gathered some real info on how it handles towing , the next step is figuring out if everything sounds about right or if I need to pay the dealer a visit!

 

One thing to do to help with the weaker feeling brakes is to adjust them. The Winnebago 1709 we had were out of adjustment (to weak) and the new Winnebago 2401RG were also out (weak). Once I adjusted the trailer brakes it helped a whole lot.

 

I didn't even realize that was a possibility! I'll check into this ASAP, as it would definitely make my drive more pleasant if I could get a bit more power with those brakes. Thanks for the heads up on that!

 

Adding some Firestone ride rite air bags to the Tundra will help the rear end.

 

Me and the gf purchased our first TT this spring, ironically I'm currently at the campsite with her posting about the TT as we watch the fire burn, but besides that point, NO ONE could tell me if the brakes were electric or electric hydraulic, as well. Like how the heck do they not know this stuff!

 

X2. Very easy install and no more bouncing up and down. No too expensive either.

 

@ColoradoTJ

 

If the distribution hitch is not adjusted properly the bed will bounce upward on the slightest bump. Try letting one less chain link dangle when you set the bars (less preload). The truck will sag more, but will be more planted in the rear. If the trailer isn't level after that adjustment, re adjust the hitch height.

If the truck sags too much after those adjustments, you might need bags. But I doubt it. I just towed a 23 footer that was the same dry weight all last week. It was fine. (Off road frame, and heavily insulated)

Edit: most of these trailers are electric, and looks like yours should be electric over 4999 lbs.

 

I added Firestone airbags and it makes a big difference. I tow a 26 foot 5400lb and it's great.

 

Awesome! Thanks for all the info folks. I'm definitely going to be looking at those Firestone airbags; price wise they look great, too.

So one thing y'all got me thinking about was my WDH. I'm worried that maybe part of my problem is that I bought too much WDH... and of course this sent me down an internet rabbit hole until I got to folks saying it'll bend the A-Frame and basically ruin the whole TT. I feel like I've found the RVing version of WebMD.

This is my trailer (5500lbs dry, 2000lbs cargo == ~7500lbs loaded): https://www.rvingplanet.com/mfg-dutchmen-rv/coleman-light-travel-trailer/2515rl

This is the WDH that I got and had installed (1200lb tongue weight rated):

$593 Equal-i-zer 4-point Sway Control Hitch, 90-00-1200, 12000 Lbs Trailer Weight Rating, 1200 Lbs Tongue Weight Rating, Weight Distribution Kit Includes Standard Hitch Shank, Ball NOT Included

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004TR8M3W/

Do y'all think I've bought too much hitch for my trailer? This is going to be an expensive lesson to learn, but if that's the case then I probably need to go down a size. My understanding is that if the bars are too stiff to flex, then something will have to give and it'll be the A-Frame. Which... sounds horrific.

What do y'all think?

 

Hmm, I have no experience with that type of hitch.

Pretty lame that your RV dealer can't help with your safety features.

 

Thanks a bunch for the info the edit. I'll dig through the settings more than and find the right one. Maybe that's part of my issue.

In response to your original post: would the equivalent of 1 less chain link for something like this (

$593 Equal-i-zer 4-point Sway Control Hitch, 90-00-1200, 12000 Lbs Trailer Weight Rating, 1200 Lbs Tongue Weight Rating, Weight Distribution Kit Includes Standard Hitch Shank, Ball NOT Included

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004TR8M3W/) be 1 more washer on the hitch, causing the ball to lean forward more?

 

I watch Mr truck, and he advice test the trailer brake by squeezing the manual control, adjust until it lock up on the trailer then back off .5

 

Yea. I went to Camping World. They were really friendly, but there were quite a few questions they weren't able to answer. They were more helpful than the Manual has been though... holy crap, Coleman manuals are awful. Its a single manual for every Dutchman camper out there, from TTs to 5th wheels, so every section is extremely vague.

 

In my opinion it the equivalent would be to lower the postition of the bars by one pin hole in the location under the propane tanks.

By the way, I am impressed by your thorough research before towing a trailer. Most people just do "on the job" training. Including myself.

 

lol I am a very risk averse person, and go into every task assuming I'm an idiot who knows absolutely nothing and that only the accumulated knowledge of everyone who's done this task before can save me from myself =D

 

Bah, I was worried that was the case!

But I can buy just the bars? That would be fantastic. I wasn't sure if each weight rating had a different design that made them un-swappable. It would certainly make my life a lot easier if I could just snag some 1,000lb bars and be done with it; a whole lot cheaper, too!

 

$165 Set of 10K Equal-i-zer® Spring Arms

https://www.amazon.com/Set-10K-Equa...DCQG9QG0676&psc=1&refRID=QZD4NJP9GDCQG9QG0676

 

Fantastic! Thank you both for your help. I was concerned I'd have to buy the entire hitch head setup as well. $120 for new bars is nowhere near as much as I thought I'd have to pay!

 

LOL! No shit! When he went into the VR part of his post, I was like - damnnnn.....this guy is OCD.

I don’t have my class A CDL, but on private property have ran Class A rigs around with 53’s 40’s and 20’s from time to time. 20’s are squirreley as F behind a tractor and I would’ve never guessed harder than a 53’ to back up. The game would be sweet to try out.

 

Get you a set of airbags while you're at it. You can thank me later.

 

What type of shop do y'all normally go to for installing those? I'm not nearly handy enough to do that myself lol.

 

if not get sumo spring or timbren, easier to install

 

If you have any kind of mechanical know how, some basic hand tools and can follow the very well laid out instructions, you can do the install. There is no cutting, no drilling holes and no welding involved.

On the other hand, I have no clue where to take it or how much they will charge to install them.

 

You could probably check with any of your local truck accessories shops. Places that sale and install lift kits, stuff such as that. If you check with a place like that, find out what they are charging for the airbags and the install separately. If they charge the same for the bags as you can get them from a online source, go for it. If not, see what they charge for install if you supply the airbags.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLwEj8Ydln0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80LvHnDznug

 

That's a good idea. I'll definitely give that a shot. Looks like I can snag them online for ~$350 or so.

 

For that hitch it’s a little oversized......but try dropping the brackets down one hole on the trailer frame. That will put less weight distribution force overall. I have the Fastway E2, the little brother to your hitch basically. Watch the setup videos produced by Equalizer on YouTube and that will help you determine if you’re setup correctly or overdistributed on weight. You need your truck and trailer setup as if you’re going out camping (full propane, water, etc. Then, measurements from the ground to front fender lip (I like to put a piece of painters tape to measure to each time) 1st measurement is truck only. 2nd is full weight of the trailer on the ball only, no weight distribution bars on at all so the full weight of the trailer is on the truck. 3rd is with the weight bars hooked up. You’re goal is to get that 3rd measurement between the 1st and 2nd measurements. If you’re over distributed your going to measure less that your 1st measurement, back off the weight distribution a bit. If you’re under distributed, you’ll be at your 2nd measurement. Again, your goal is to get somewhere between your 1st and 2nd measurement. Check out the video link I put and that will help make it clearer. I’m a visual learner so the videos help me a ton.

https://youtu.be/l5TtNUxeFWc


My hitch is a bit oversized for my trailer and it tows fine, just have to fine tune it as time goes on. Congrats on your trailer and happy camping, safe travels!