Community Forums

abbie · 06-18-2013, 08:48 AM

Greetings! We are considering an Excel 5th wheel with the lift for our motorcycle. We would like to hear from Excel owners who have the lift. What you like about it and the drawbacks...if any. Thanks

rockintom · 06-18-2013, 03:59 PM

I can not speak from personal experience, but will tell you we've had friends that's done the powerlift and some have had poor experiences with them. Others are fine. I think something that needs to be considered is 1. You shouldn't go beyond the 33 ft. length with one due to the longer distance to the axles (more wiggle/waggle causing fatigue and ultimate failure) and 2. Not trying to carry a full sized heavy motorcycle.....where the weight limit stops....I don't know.

We had one friend that had a 35ft Excel carrying a medium sized bike....and it broke off and it totaled the bike. Not trying to be negative.....just glad it didn't hurt someone behind them. Just saying..... rockin'

pcr1218 · 06-18-2013, 09:41 PM

Hi abbie, I have the Hydralift on my Winslow 31rle.

The only manufactures I could find that would install the Hydralift was Excel and New Horizons. This is because they are the only ones that have a frame that can handle the stress from the lift.

I had mine installed at the service center in Smith Center and they did a first class job on it.

I carry a Harley Ultra on it that weighs over 900 lbs and the only issue I have is sometimes I scrape the bottom of the lift in excessive dips. This is because when the lift is installed another piece of frame tubing is installed under the main frame to mount the lift brackets. This lowers the ground clearance at the rear of the trailer. The lift has skid plates welded on it for this to prevent damage to it.

A few months ago another person was asking about the Hydralift and another poster (steeltom75) mentioned about his problem with scraping and how he solved it with skid wheels he added. I plan to add them to mine but did not get to do it yet.

If you do a search on irv2 for Hydralift you will find it.

My Excel was built before I purchased it, if I was ordering it I would definitely upgrade the axles from 7k to 8k and have the axles dropped a few inches to raise the trailer to eliminate the scraping. Since these trailers are a little nose high to begin with this would help to level them out and eliminate the tail scraping.

If you are around my area you are welcome to stop by.

rockintom · 06-18-2013, 10:22 PM

Hey P&M,

Nice write up with pix. Glad you took the time to it. Do you know what the max weight allowance is for the motorcycle? Thanks, rockin'

ExcelRVGuy · 06-19-2013, 06:07 AM

1,000#

abbie · 06-19-2013, 06:08 AM

Thank you for all this info. We appreciate the time you took to upload pictures and respond. Excel tells us the max weight is 1,000 pounds. Do you like everything else about your Winslow?

Rockintom...did your friend have a manufacturer installed hydralift? I'm wondering if he was able to determine why the motorcycle fell off the back.

rockintom · 06-19-2013, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abbie

Rockintom...did your friend have a manufacturer installed hydralift? I'm wondering if he was able to determine why the motorcycle fell off the back.

I couldn't not remember the details, so wrote to the my friends who now are in a MoHo. I was mistaken (what else is new!

). The unit they had was installed at the factory and was a 35ft Excel. The Hydralift itself didn't fail, it was the fact that the riding of the motorcycle that far back was excess that when they hit a bump the hold down straps couldn't hold the motorcycle in place. On several occasions the tires of the motorcycle would come out of the track. Then when the major event occurred one of the straps broke and the motorcycle came off and was hanging by the 3 other straps but it was rubbing the ground and ruined the bike. Again this was a medium sized bike. They said that if they had it to do over again, they'd use U bolts and wing nuts to secure the tires to the tracks and not straps. rockin'

RickS · 06-19-2013, 07:33 PM

Tom,
I have been tying down bike/quads/sleds all my life and if the proper straps are used there should not be an issue. I get a lot more bounce in the rear garage but with proper strapping never have a problem. The problem usually comes with people using cheap straps to tie down there gear

pcr1218 · 06-19-2013, 07:45 PM

Yes, my Winslow is great, if I did it over again I would buy the same model. The floor plan is designed so that when all the slides are closed you still have access to the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. This is nice when you pull into a rest area and are not able to open slides you can still use the RV. If you are considering ordering one I would look into the new roof that is being offered, it is maintenance free and also has a lifetime warranty.

pcr1218 · 06-19-2013, 07:53 PM

I agree with Rick, quality tie downs, properly placed are the key.

rockintom · 06-19-2013, 08:13 PM

Thanks guys for chiming in. I'm just the messenger here cause I have no experience personally on this subject. But you know me....I'm always stirring it up! I've learned a lot here. Thanks! rockin'

abbie · 06-19-2013, 10:30 PM

You have all provided exactly what we needed.. We are convinced an Excel is the best choice for us. We are going to take a factory tour before we order. I was especially pleased to hear the Winslow is designed to access the kitchen and bathroom when the slides are in. That was not pointed out to us by our dealer and has been a consideration for us. We weekend camp in an old class A now so we've been spoiled by the easy access to our fridge and bathroom. Thanks everyone. We will continue to lurk about so we can learn from all of you seasoned Excel owners.

rockintom · 06-19-2013, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abbie

We will continue to lurk about so we can learn from all of you seasoned Excel owners.

You are so welcome. Glad you are thinkin' Excel! BTW there are some of us that are well seasoned and some of us that are pretty well "fried"!!!

psaint · 06-21-2013, 11:18 AM

Just to give you an idea of the mounting of a lift here are a couple pics to show the HydraLift mounted on fifth wheel campers. My DRV is the top pic and a New Horizons is on the bottom.

To minimize scraping notice that the lift mounts are welded to the end of the frame and not below it. This gives sufficient clearance and the "bumper" of the fiver has to hit before the lift will.

This is how the hitch shop would have mounted the lift below the frame in order to satisfy HydraLifts instructions that the lift be lowered all the way to the ground. I didn't think much of this as it gave up a lot of ground clearance.

This is what I insisted on to get the clearance. The attachment is to the end of the frame rails and I have no problems with scraping the ground. The lift stops a few inches above the ground when the camper is level which makes loading the bike difficult. Easily solved by raising the front of the camper.