| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
RE: towing with a f150
...
Last March, we purchased a Jayco Jayfeather that weighs in at 6500lbs fully loaded. I'm towing her with a 2007 F150 super crew that is "rated" to pull 9,200lbs. I live in the Pacific Northwest and have towed my trailer over our major mountain passes 4 times with absolutely no problems at all. Yes, the RPM's jump to 3500 up the steepest slopes, but never has my speed dipped below 55MPH. I'm sure bigger rigs do it more efficiently, but I wouldn't drive more than 60MPH in an F550, let alone a 1/2 ton...
... My truck will last as long as I want to keep her.
I tow a similar trailer with a similar truck (see below) and have nearly identical results (although towing in the Pacific Northwest is still on my to-do list!)
|
braygor
|
10/22/09 05:46pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Equal-i-zer vs. Dual Cam?
What's impressed me most is the customer service with Equal-i-zer. When you call, you get a real person (in America and speaking English) who knows the product well and can answer questions. I had a problem with my hitch this spring...the ball shank was too long which caused the sleeves to make contact and crack. He diagnosed the problem via phone and photos sent over e-mail, then sent replacement parts at no charge, even though it wasn't Equal-i-zer's problem. The installer should have used a shorter-shanked ball (or I should have set it up myself, it really is easy!)
Good luck & happy camping!
(and yes, Ford is the best tow vehicle!)
|
braygor
|
09/20/09 06:15am |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Walk on roof Jayco Ultra lite?
This 200 lb'er walks on his Jay Feather when covering in fall and uncovering in spring. Best way to inspect caulking around the vents, A/C, etc., and the roof is made to handle it. I don't throw a party up there, or spend any more time than necessary.
|
braygor
|
08/18/09 09:01pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: does 2 sway bars make a big difference?
Or just go for an Equal-i-zer hitch and get four-point sway control and weight distribution using just the two weight dist. bars (no "extra" sway bars). No need to unhook anything when backing up, either.
http://www.equalizerhitch.com/
|
braygor
|
07/18/09 08:47pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Jayco Quality?
We have an '06 JayFeather 29Y, which is the floorplan you detailed, but in the "lightweight" category. It's been great, no problems for us other than a faulty circuit board in the Atwood furnace that needed replaced when we bought the camper. It tows very well behind my F-150.
|
braygor
|
07/06/09 05:23am |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: CG choices in Gettysberg & Lancaster, PA
We have reservations for Old Mill Stream next week. We're going to do Dutch Wonderland with the kids for one day, than another day just to poke around Lancaster. Are the markets open during mid-week?
|
braygor
|
06/22/09 04:46am |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
|
|
RE: Towing ?
I'll second Equalizer. Besides a high-quality product, their customer service is second-to-none. I've recently had a problem with cracks on part of my Equalizer. The fault laid with the original distributor and the ball they recommended, the techs who set up the hitch, and my own ignorance. Progress Mfg. took care of me and replaced the damaged parts at no cost. You can read more here.
|
braygor
|
05/01/09 08:57pm |
Hybrid Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: F-150 valve stems
Good point about the spare, I didn't even think to check it. I'll take the spare, along with my receipt for the four on-road tires, to my dealership this weekend.
|
braygor
|
04/29/09 11:39am |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
F-150 valve stems
My low air pressure indicator light came on when I started the truck this morning. Checked with a gauge, and LR wheel was @25psi. When I moved the valve stem, I heard air hissing out, and on closer inspection, the base of the valve stem looked to be extremely worn. It wasn't a clean cut, as if someone intentionally did it. It looked like the stems had been pushed back and forth until the rubber wore. I inspected the other (still fully inflated tires) and noticed varying degrees of wear, with the most on the RR tire, significantly less on the two front tires. Went to a local tire shop to get new valve stems, and they tech seemed surprised that I had installed "long" valve stems. I said that was how it came new, and he just shook his head. Anyone have a similar experience, or know why the longer stems wore like that? Specs on the truck are below.
|
braygor
|
04/28/09 08:08pm |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Cracked Equal-i-zer
It's lubed. The 'rough' appearance is some dust and grit on the grease. The word from Dan at Progress Mfg. is that the ball has a shank that is too long. This (I'm assuming here) impedes on smooth movement of the spring bars & their sleeves. The movement of the L-brackets is caused by the bolts which hold the plates to the A-frame being too far from the frame. The bottom bolt should be no more than 1/4" from the bottom of the frame, and it's about an inch on mine.
The good news: Dan's provided excellent customer service and is sending new sleeves to replace the cracked ones. He's also guiding me through the set up so I don't have these problems again. The initial set-up was done by my dealer, who tried to sell me a Reese single-arm for $700. I bought the EQ for $400 from RVWholesales, but the dealer said it was no problem for them to set it up. Oh well, live and learn, and hopefully, by my posting here, others can learn from my mistakes.
Happy Camping!
Brian
|
braygor
|
04/15/09 06:39pm |
Towing
|
|
RE: Cracked Equal-i-zer
I have to ask, Do your bars sit parallel with the frame rails when you are hooked up or do they sit at an angle?
Good question. Without hooking everything back up, I'm not really sure. Hopefully I'll have more info to post tomorrow.
|
braygor
|
04/14/09 07:43pm |
Towing
|
|
RE: Cracked Equal-i-zer
The L-bracket position was set when the hitch was set-up by the dealer who sold me the trailer. I bought the hitch elsewhere, but was assured they knew how to install an Equalizer. And camper salesman never lie, right? :) The cracks are on the outside of the tubes. I moved the L-brackets last summer, after I noticed they (esp. the dr. side) had moved on their own. They are back where they were originally.
I'll post again after I hear from Dan @ Progress Mfg.
|
braygor
|
04/14/09 05:12pm |
Towing
|
|
RE: Cracked Equal-i-zer
Can you post the pics you sent to Dan?
Larry
I just uploaded all the pics to the webshots page:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/571051467PqXPjJ
|
braygor
|
04/14/09 03:58pm |
Towing
|
|
RE: Cracked Equal-i-zer
Pics are here:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/571051467PqXPjJ
This is after approx 4000 miles. 10k bars, camper's Gross Weight is 6500, and we don't carry a lot, it's probably closer to 5800-6000. The cracks just showed up Friday after about a 20 mi. trip to a local park. By the time I got home today they were visibly larger. The trip before this was closer to 250 mi...if the cracks were there then, they were darn small.
I called Progress & spoke w/ Dan. He sent me some questions via e-mail and requested some photos of the hitch head and L-brackets. I replied and will post again when I hear back.
|
braygor
|
04/13/09 08:31pm |
Towing
|
|
Cracked Equal-i-zer
I've had my Equal-i-zer brand hitch for 3.5 years, and it has been great. When I got to the campsite Friday evening, I noticed the sleeves on the hitch head into which the spring bars are mounted had some cracks. Any ideas on:
1. What caused it
2 If I can purchase just these sleeves and not the entire hitch
Here are two pics that show the cracks
http://image66.webshots.com/766/0/48/78/2065048780074486888QdCsVF_fs.jpg height=640 width=480
http://image74.webshots.com/74/8/87/13/2044887130074486888RCJHCU_fs.jpg height=640 width=480
|
braygor
|
04/13/09 06:07pm |
Towing
|
|
RE: Jayco/Starcraft owners Roll Call
2007 JayFeather 29Y
... and no frame problems here!
|
braygor
|
02/21/09 03:43pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Jayco versus KZ
We looked at a Spree and Jayfeather with identical floorplans back in 2006. It was a really tough decision made easy when the KZ dealer would drop $500 from MSRP, while I got the Jayco for 72% of retail. If the prices were closer, it was a toss-up, but I did like the skylight in the shower in the KZ. My Jayco lacks this, and at 5'11", it's a little tight. Taking a shower is the only time I'm glad I'm not taller!
I'd talk to local RVers and try to get an idea of which dealership has better service & manufacturing support.
Good luck!
|
braygor
|
12/15/08 06:49pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: equalizer brand hitch
I had the bolts that hold the entire bracket to the A-frame loosen up enough on one side so that the bracket "walked" about 6 inches up the frame. This was after approx 3000 mi. I removed the square-head bolt and the L, then loosened the bracket bolts and moved it back to it's proper position, torqued them tight, and haven't had any more troubles (1500 mi.)
|
braygor
|
11/28/08 08:24am |
Travel Trailers
|
