..A good, close friend of mine I've known for many years just got 'bit' by the bug that all of us have - he decided to get into RV camping. He just bought a trailer, and an older Suburban to tow it. He called last night, knew that I had been doing the RVing thing for many years, and asked for advice. Well, as you can imagine, I was on the phone with him for a long time, hahahaha. Tried to get as much info as possible, and offer advice based on that.
Anyway, here's all the particulars I know right now:
Trailer is a 2000 Fleetwood Prowler 29B, front kitchen model (30' long). Has not picked up trailer yet, will this weekend ('bout 3-4 hour drive from where he lives). Trailer has been sitting unused, for a year and a half (he's buying it from private owner, not a dealership)
Tow vehicle is a '93 4x4 Suburban he just bought, for this (towing) purpose. Has V-5 rated towing receiver, full tow package, 350 V8 engine. Engine and tranny both have recently been rebuilt. I tried to get gear ratio on it, tried looking up with various VIN decoders, had him look for codes in glove compartment door...all to no avail, so not sure what gear ratio it has.
Hitch hardware: Trailer deal includes a standard Weight Distribution setup (bars, hogs head, etc). No way of knowing particulars of it (brand, weight rating, etc). No other information available on it. Does not appear any sway control is included.
No Brake controller on tow vehicle, he did not even know he needed such (we had long talk 'bout that, haha).
Anyway, here is the general summary of what I told him to do, before towing that trailer home:
1. Sign up here on RV.net, and read, read, READ, and feel free to ask questions (He may well read this, and post back? Chris, you here?).
2. Before forking over the cash and leaving with the trailer, see if you can check out, make sure all major appliances on it are working
3. Take Suburban to an RV dealer, get a Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller installed, before you even THINK of going and getting that trailer and towing it home. I prefer Brakesmart or Jordan controller much better, but not enough time for him to get one of those set up before next weekend when he gets the trailer...need to start him out with something simple, yet functional. I told him that no matter what the dealer tries, INSIST on a Prodigy, nothing less.
4. Look very closely at the trailer tires, before you leave with the trailer. Expect there's a good chance you'll need to replace them soon. Expect to also have an RV dealer service the wheel bearings as well. Check/tighten lug bolts before rolling, verify tire pressure, etc.
5. Ditto on the Suburban's tires. May well need to put on a set of LT tires before too long.
6. Go EEEEAAASSSYY towing the trailer home, until you get the feel for it.
(Obviously there is a ton more long-term stuff he needs to do/know as well. For now, I'm only concentrating on what he need to do before picking up the trailer, and what he needs to know to get started).
I know this will get a zillion responses, but....What advice would YOU give your friend, in this situation? Anything major I didnt mention? Remember, he may well be reading this, is completely new to RV camping, so go easy on him, haha.
Will & Angela
2 wonderful children that love camping, Stephen & Allison
2003 Ford Excursion V10 4x4
2003 Thor Citation 33M, Hensley Arrow hitch, Brakesmart Brake Control
(wanna see? Here is a picture of it )
I would definitely make the current owner turn on and prove all appliances work - including the A/C, furnance, hot water tank (which means it will have to have water in it), water pump, frig, stove, oven, microwave, converter/inverter, and slide outs.
Tell your friend to call the owner and have him turn on the refrigerator the day before he picks it up since it could take the frig/freezer 4 or 5 hours to cool all the way down. Tell him to take a refrigerator thermometer with him to verify the temp in the frig/freezer.
He should know going in that the holding tanks are probably going to need cleaning and the entire water system will need sanitizing.
If the owner give excuses of why he can't do these things, I would start to worry about what I was getting. If you don't mind me asking, where (what city) is the trailer currently sitting? I wonder if there is anyone here that lives close to the trailer that would be willing to go with him when it inspects it?
dont forget to check for water damage from leaks,friend got a 02 with slides and found water damage and needs to replace a large floor area near the lr slide hidded along the wall under carpet.found it after he bought it.
1985 Class A Holiday Rambler Imperial 33 +1979 Class C Holiday Rambler Statesman 1000 = 24 ft
tom_kat wrote: dont forget to check for water damage from leaks,friend got a 02 with slides and found water damage and needs to replace a large floor area near the lr slide hidded along the wall under carpet.found it after he bought it.
That was first thing I told him about, tom_kat. Indeed, water leaks/damage would be one my biggest concerns if I was buying an 8 year old unit. BTW, along those lines...Anyone know if Fleetwood used wood or aluminum framing, on their 2000 Prowler models?
He's already committed to the deal, backing out isn't an option, so hopefully there isnt any major problems like that. He did say, that the unit was well taken care of by the previous (only) owner, and he had talked to the folks at an RV dealer that had done all the service work on it. They (RV dealer) spoke real high of the unit, so hopefully he's getting into a good one..
He is not committed until he takes delivery. If the owner is trying to pull the wool over on this deal it would be easy to get out of. If there is water damage or a good portion of the appliances don't work, I wouldn't want it. It will be nothing but trouble.
On the trailer tires, he should be looking at the date of manufacture. If they are 5 years old or older then I would replace them regardless of how they look. Tires are typically the weakest link on trailers.
Eric
2009 Holiday Rambler Admiral 33SFS
Good Sam's - FQCC/Camping Quebec My Photos
I would offer to go camping with him locally for a couple of days. Get side by side sites and lead him through the whole setup and tear down process. Share your checklists with him before you go.
He can ask questions here and on the phone until he's blue in the face but he will learn a whole lot more from you in one weekend of doing it than he would from a yr of talking about it.
DW and I in our Gulfstream Amerilite 21MB
Chevy Silverado 2500 HD - Duramax Diesel 6.6L - Allison Tranny
"We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area." - Major Mike Shearer - British Army - Basra, Iraq
windriderjr wrote: I would offer to go camping with him locally for a couple of days. Get side by side sites and lead him through the whole setup and tear down process. Share your checklists with him before you go.
He can ask questions here and on the phone until he's blue in the face but he will learn a whole lot more from you in one weekend of doing it than he would from a yr of talking about it.
Agree 100%, and I suggested same thing to him yesterday (haha, amazing how great minds think alike!).
When I suggested that, our 'directors of social activities' (his DW and mine, LOL) took over phone, and they set up a camping get-together weekend (I'm making the reservations for such, right now). We're meeting them at a state park for a camping weekend, in a few weeks.
What I'm concentrating on now, as I said, is giving him the information/advice he needs right away to get started with this, and get to the park in a few weeks safely. I will then have all weekend to sit around the campfire, drink beers and tell him all the other stuff, showing them how things work, etc.
Hey, Will. Congrats to your friend! So, do the RV Genie give you a commission when you sign up a new member? HAHA
Try this site in getting gear ratio info. Look for GT4 (3.73) or GT5 (4.10.) Not sure if older Burbs used different codes or had different gearings offered. Earliest Tow Rating Book I have from TL is '99 and gives the 5.7L Burb with 3.73 rear end and 2WD a tow rating of 6,500 lbs. 4WD would be less, maybe closer to 6k.
Just guessing (somewhat educated.)
JAL 2002 Burb 2500 LT, 8.1L, Autoride, 4x4
2005 Jayco Eagle 298BHSCheck It OutReese HP 1,200 Lb. Bars WD/Dual Cam HP Sway Control/Prodigy® Brake Control
Family: Two Baby Boomers with Two Generation Y Kids -- All RV Generation
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