trailertraveler

Not any more. After 1/1/2019 it is no longer through Coachnet. Here is a link to the info from Forest River. When I talked to the customer service rep at the 866-209-2895 number, she said that the free year only covered the RV (despite what the brochure says). She said renewals cover all vehicles. I have not tried to verify this.

Here are a couple of more links to discussions of wheelbase and trailer length: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4. Depending on the trailer you choose and its carrying capacity, that may not be possible. Many small travel trailers do not have much cargo carrying capacity and may not have large enough storage compartments for larger items. This weight is likely calculated using a trailer with a much smaller frontal area than a typical travel trailer. Check the specifications carefully. There may be a statement about the frontal area used (i.e. 60 sq.ft., etc.) The larger the frontal area of the trailer the greater the drag and work for the tow vehicle.

We have had both Allstate and Good Sam over the years. Switching every couple of years to get the new member price. We have had to use both and had good service from both. If either the truck or trailer are still under warranty,. that is always my first choice because they will tow to a location that will do the repair under warranty. Roadside assistance plans generally only tow to the closest facility that is capable of doing the repair. If you have a KOA discount card, I believe you can get a discount on Allstate Road Help. A Good Sam Club membership also gives you a discount at Camping World, Gander Mountain, and Overtons in addition to many campgrounds. I am not sure that you have to be a Good Sam member to get their Roadside Assistance. The Good Sam program that has saved me the most is their assistance with warranty claims/disputes. Their intervention on two occasions got warranty claims approved that saved me over $1000. I joined FMCA after they opened to non-motorized RVs for the medical emergency transportation assistance that is included with the basic membership. You need to review the benefits and costs of each program and determine which one or ones are best for you.

Just be aware that even with the add on "trails package" there are about 16 states where there are no Thousand Trails/Encore parks. If there are no member parks where you want to be, you will not get you money's worth. I suggest taking a close look at where the parks are before buying even a zone pass. We just got a free one zone pass when we traded trailers. We were planning to go to Arizona in the fall so selected the Southwest zone. There is only one Thousand Trails park in Arizona and it is a popular one. Hopefully we will be able to get a spot when the 60 window opens. Other plans have longer reservation windows so lots of folks will have a crack at getting sites before we will. None of the Trails Package parks are in places in Arizona that we want to be so I did not add that package to the membership.

A few things that I really like about the Hensley that I don't think have been mentioned yet are that the only thing you have to remove after unhooking, if you choose to, is the drawbar (stinger). I will say that it is not light. Everything else (spring bars, etc.) stay permanently connected to the trailer. After hooking up; If I tension the spring bars before I raise the tongue jack, I can use an electric drill to do it. There are marks on the jacks to help you get the same spring tension every time. Taking the tension off can also be done with the drill after lower the tongue jack to take the tension off the spring bars. I also consider it a security feature. Most people, including many RV dealer and repair folks, have know idea how to hook one up. To steal the trailer, one would have to have a stinger or tow it off by the safety chains.

What were some of our favorite BLM, COE and Forest Service campgrounds where you could always get a site have been mentioned so many times on this and other forums that you now can not get in without a reservation and those that do not take reservations are hit or miss most of the time. The internet is great but in my experience it has made hidden gems a lot rarer than in the past. For that reason and the fact that everyone's idea of what is a great campground, I rarely post recommendations for campgrounds that I plan on returning to.

Here are a couple of links that may help you in matching a tow vehicle and trailer. Trailer Weight Calculator, Tow Vehicle Length

Welcome to the Escapees Forum!! Many brands of RVs use the same appliances, axles, etc. The Bryant RV Services website has links to many Owner's and Service Manuals for a large number of RV products. You will need the manufacture and model number of the product in question. Many manuals can also be found by doing an internet search for "Manufacturer X, Model Y Manual". Coach specific owners manuals may cover specific features and general operating procedures. Some manufacturers no longer provide them. Some have them online. Manuals for an older coach or discontinued model/manufacturer may be difficult to find.

Thanks for posting the update. I found that putting a piece of electrical tape on the bottom edge of the trailer on each side such that I could center the truck when looking back through the side mirrors really helped. The first time on uneven ground drove me nuts. Once I learned to make sure that the Hensley's receiver was parallel to the stinger, hooking up was fairly easy. If the stinger changes its attitude while backing, adjusting the Hensley's receiver is necessary to get everything back in alignment. Setting the weight distribution jacks before raising the tongue jack makes setting them a lot easier. I have found that when unhooking if I lower the tongue jack until I can loosen the weight distribution jacks by hand, the stinger will pull out with very little effort as long as the truck and trailer are straight.

Welcome to the Escapees Forum!! I suggest that you contact the folks at Cheap RV Living. Their Rubber Trap Rallies have become pretty large. Be aware that public lands may require a permit for groups over a certain size. I seem to recall a Rubber Trap Rally being held on a National Forest being shutdown for lack of a permit.

Here are some links to discussions of this topic: thread 1, thread 2, thread 3

Some things to think about. For a fifth wheel, a dual rear wheel truck will provide the most stability towing which means you will be looking for a one ton truck. With a long travel trailer, the longer the tow vehicle wheelbase, the better it will tow. Here is an article about the relationship between wheelbase and towing stability. With a long travel trailer, you will want a good sway control hitch. The fifth wheel will be taller and have interior steps. With a toy hauler, your motorcycle will be out of the weather while towing. Depending on the floorplan, a toy hauler can provide a separate room. There are toy hauler travel trailers. You can put a cap on the pickup, but it may make it more difficult to load the motorcycle. Good luck finding the right RV for you!

Sorry I missed your post in the Travel Trailer section. Their are relatively few travel trailer owners so that forum doesn't get as much use as some of the others. I agree with what SWarton asked. In the other post you asked: You will need to check the capability of the trailers prewire. Mine has a Furrion outlet and wiring rated at 10 Amps. In theory, 10 Amps at 12 Volts would be 120 Watts. In actual practice, I have never seen my 160 Watt suitcase panels put out more than 10 Amps. Typical in full sun is 7-8 Amps. Another issue may be how many batteries you can carry, Many travel trailers only have room on the A-frame for two. I have seen a second rack welded to stack two more above the factory installed rack. Depending on the front cap of the trailer, location of the propane cylinders and tongue jack; there may or may not be enough room to do this. Also realize that additional batteries will likely add almost all of their weight to the tongue weight.

Reading the information in the attachments to the original post, it sounds like Escapees Mail Service may have an advantage by being located at a campground where RVers can actually reside. I believe South Dakota requires folks to provide a campsite receipt or some other document to show that they are actually residing in the state when they apply for driver's license and registration. I think they require 30 days in state to get a concealed carry permit. Sounds like Florida may be moving to something similar to South Dakota. A search for campgrounds in Clay County showed only the County Fairgrounds.

According to my mapping program, Panguitch and Bryce Canyon are both more than 250 miles from Moab. There are a number of RV parks with full hookups in Moab, Green River, Monticello, Bluff and Blanding that would be a lot closer for exploring that part of the Utah. There are also dry camping opportunities in both BLM and state park campgrounds and areas to boondock. We spent three weeks in the Moab, Blanding, Bluff area and did not see everything there is to see. Here are links to some of the places we enjoyed: Kane Creek Road, Potash Lower Colorado Byway, Upper Colorado River UT-128 Scenic Byway, Sago Canyon, Dead Horse Point State Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Needles District, News Paper Rock, Monument Valley, UT-261 the Moki Dugway Scenic Backway, Goosenecks State Park, Hovenweep National Monument, Natural Bridges National Monument, Bluff Fort, South Fork of Mule Canyon and House on Fire, The Valley of The Gods, Sand Island Petroglyphs and Edge of the Cedars State Park.

We have stayed in 17 parks from Florida to Maryland since January. I haven't kept the detailed records you have. The parks that had Wifi were all useable for email and general things like Google searches. Even those that are fast enough, ask you not to stream and state that excess use will be throttled. I use a ubiquity Nanostation as a wifi extender/external adapter and often can try multiple campground access points to see which gives the best speed. Experience with Verizon versus AT&T is about the same. However, our AT&T car connect (similar to Mobley) is built into the tow vehicle and requires the ignition to be on so is not very practical for long time use. In addition, connecting by wireless from inside the trailer often results in a connection too slow to stream without pauses. With Verizon, I can usually stream on the tablet directly, but when using a hotspot or tethered connection to the router, the speed is too slow to stream about half the time.

Not really. The only month that is exactly 4 weeks is February. As I mentioned in my post, December 2019 - January 2020 (the time frame the OP is interested in) is 9 weeks (minus 1 day) that amounts to $1350 or $675/month. The way their rates are structured it is cheaper to pay for the ninth week at $150 than for 6 days at $180.

We have stayed at Catalina State Park and it is very nice. The OP said: I believe that Catalina State Park has a 14 day stay limit. When we were there, the sites were water and electric. There was a dump station, but that may not be very convenient depending on the size of the RV's dump tanks and whether one wants to use the pubic facilities. When we were there, they did use volunteers and I believe the Host Sites did have full hookups, but not 100% sure of that. The website lists a weekly rate of $150, but no monthly. That comes out to $1350 for the nine weeks of December -January. No idea whether that is a good rate for the area or not. The website does state: So that would be something to check on when planning a long term stay.

I was not advocating for using acceleration or trailer braking as the primary method for sway control and I would not rely on the Ford system alone either. I didn't miss your comments on loading and speed and happen to agree. Didn't think I had to comment on every aspect of a post.

I don't know if it is still true or not, but in the past Hensley would replace the draw bar with one of a different drop/rise for just the cost of shipping. I do know that they just replaced a 12 year old screw jack on my Hensley that broke for just the cost of shipping. I believe they will also exchange the spring bars for just shipping. The parts are heavy so there is still a substantial cost especially if you are in a hurry. I have had my Hensley on 3 different trailers and used two trucks and have not had to change the drop/rise of the draw bar. If you switch from a 2 wheel drive pickup to a 4x4 or vice versa, you will likely need a change of draw bar. The old school recommendation to stop sway in an emergency was step on the gas or hit the trailer brake lever. I am under the impression that the automatic sway control systems work by applying the trailer brakes to straighten out the trailer. Not sure I like that concept given the propensity for trailer brakes to over heat.

I am confused by this. The stinger (the draw bar that attaches to the tow vehicle receiver) stays on the tow vehicle when hooking and unhooking. The receiver on the Hitch is tapered. It does take some practice to put a square peg into a slightly larger square hole. If the ground is uneven it can take some adjustment of the Hitch angle and height using the weight distribution jacks and tongue jack as the drawbar is moved into the Hitch receiver. I have been using a Hensley Arrow for 12 years on trailers up to 10,000# towing with a 2500 long bed crew cab and now a 3500 long bed crew cab. I have never had an uncomfortable moment even when caught in winds up to 45MPH.

What length and weight trailer? What is the wheelbase of your tow vehicle? The best hitches I am aware of are the Hensley, ProPride and Pullrite. They are also the most expensive and likely the heaviest. They provide a combination of sway control and weight distribution. If your tow vehicle is the HDT pictured under your screen name, there is a shock absorbing hitch that some of the HDT members here have posted about but I can not remember the product name.

That is still true. The former Timberlane Campground now a KOA is one that has historically been open all year and is a fairly convenient commute into Philadelphia.

I have a 33', 9890# travel trailer that I have towed with both a 2500 and 3500 SRW Duramax diesel truck. Both were/are long bed crew cabs selected for their long wheelbase. This article discusses the relationship between tow vehicle wheelbase and trailer length. I use a Hensley weight distribution/sway control hitch and have never had an uncomfortable moment towing in the 12 years I have had it. This calculator will help you match a truck to the trailer. When I purchased the 3500, one of the reasons was that there was not much of a price difference between the 3500 and the 2500 configured the way I wanted because some standard items on the 3500 were extra on the 2500. The cargo capacity of the 3500 is significantly higher which may be a factor for you carrying a motorcycle in the truck bed.

There are 12 Volt DC powered TVs marketed for RVs, trucks and autos. They are available from Amazon and Walmart.