Howdy from Deer Park, TX

[Apostle]

If someone would have told me last year I would own a truck and travel trailer in a year, I would have laughed at them and thought they were crazy. Now I'm the crazy one


Anyway... Thanks for having me!

James

I have a few Questions along with the pics.
1. Towing OD on or off?
2. In the 2nd Picture. I had a weight distribution hitch installed. Does this look right? I was thinking the TT was supposed to be level. ???
Thanks!

[Chickadee]

Apostle:

G'morning from Sioux Falls, SD and a BIG WELCOME to the gang. Sure is a nice lookin outfit ya got. We live full time in our motorhome so don't know for sure about towing with OD on or off, but having that hitch level is correct, ya did a great job.

It's gettin darned cooooool (cold) up here in South Dakota and we'll be headin South pretty soon.

Again, WELCOME.

Steve & Lynette

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi James! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad to have you in the group! Sorry I can't help with the TT questions. We pulled a 5er for 11 years before going to the Class A a few months ago. Good luck, have fun, and God bless!

[TXiceman]

Welcome aboard.

First what brand and model equalizer hitch are you using?

Next, from the photo, you look nose high on the trailer and the truck appears to squat a bit in the back. Both should be level.

On level and flat ground, unhitch the trailer and with no tailer weight on the truck, measure the height of the fender or wheel wells to the ground on all four corners and note the height.

Measure the height from the ground to the top of the hitch ball. With the trailer setting level, measure the height of the top of the tongue to the ground.

Set the hitch height on the truck so that it is about 1" higher than the level trailer.

Now hook up the truck and trailer and remeasure the fender heights and note them. The truck should squat about the same amount on the front and the rear. If the rear is low, you need more tension on the weight distribution bars. If the front is lower, less tension on the bars.

You can go on line and down load the manual fro the particular hitch and make the adjustment yourslf rather than trust the idiots at the RV shop.

A normal set up, it is better to have the front of the trailer a bit low, but not much.

By measuring the fender height you are cehcking to see that you are transfering some of the tongue weight onto the front axle of the truck.

It looks like you are pretty close on the set up, just needs some fine tuning.

As for using OD, read the owners manual for your truck and see what it says.

Good luck on the rig.

Be sure and visit one of the Texas Boomer rallies. This weekend we will be between Bellville and Sealy, TX
www.texasboomers.org


Ken

[SarahW]

Howdy and welcome, fellow Texan! Nice looking rig you have there.

[harv12]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on a great looking rig! You'll find lots of friendly and helpful people here. You may want to post specific questions under the "Manufacturers", "Chassis" or "RV Systems & Tech" forums. I've had great deal help from nice folks with much experience.
You can even do a detailed search and find people who've had similar issues.

Best of luck and safe travels!

[JW84]

Hello James, welcome! In addition, there's some tongue weight...make sure you've enough air in truck back tires.

[goldpan]

I'm just North of Deer Park on the other side of the ship channel in Huffman, Texas.

I found a Youtube video that may be of help to you on the correct way to adjust your trailer height.

How to Hitch Your Travel Trailer - YouTube

I hope this may be of help.

[Apostle]

Thanks all for the warm welcome!
Thanks also for the input. I watched a video and read the instructions about how to set up the Weight Distribution Hitch, but figured I would pay Holiday World the $225 to do it for me. If I had known it would have cost so much, I would have taken my own tools and did it myself in their parking lot. I realistically thought it would be less than $100. Go figure. They did it in about 30min. It would probably be easier if I fixed it myself, but since it's already in for warranty work on the Atwood Helium Refrigerator, I'll get them to fix it. We bought it and camped in it 1 Day, Huntsville State Park, brought it home and the control board went out on it. So... I bought it on the 4th, used it the 6th, had to wait until the 8th to call to schedule warranty work. Took it in on the 9th. I was told today what the problem is and it will take about a week to get the part shipped in from Atwood. You would think they could overnight for warranty work. They asked me if I wanted to come pick it up until they get the part in. I told him I didn't buy a TT to eat out of an Igloo. If this is the only problem we have with it, I'm sure that will be a blessing.

Originally Posted by TXiceman

First what brand and model equalizer hitch are you using?

Here it is! EAZ-LIFT WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION EQUALIZER TRAILER HITCH SWAY CONTROL & BALL 1000 Lb | eBay

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by Apostle

They asked me if I wanted to come pick it up until they get the part in. I told him I didn't buy a TT to eat out of an Igloo.

Is that the Holiday World on Gulf Freeway or in Katy? We bought our moho in Katy but we try not to go back there.

[Texastbird]

Welcome from down the street in La Porte. We just got our first TT this summer. Too bad about the fridge. We have had a few issues, but nothing that serious. I have the same hitch as yours, but haven't had to adjust it from where the guys at Camping World set it up. At least they did something right. Its set to be on the third link of the chains for the proper tension.

[Apostle]

Originally Posted by SarahW

Is that the Holiday World on Gulf Freeway or in Katy?

Gulf Freeway (League City). It was our first experience in buying a TT and it was a good one. Other than the cost of the WDH install and that it's not quite installed correctly, it was a positive experience. They were very accommodating.

Cypress, Houston, Huffman, La Porte.... It appears I have a bunch of neighbors on here

[1200bruce]

Welcome to the board!

[Wayne M]

Welcome, from Texas City.