92DakotaHD wrote: It's a cool setup. Anyone who wants to fight that can. But he gets more looks than most of the rest of us in our "inside the box" rigs.
I hear ya about the looks.
A mixture of shock, bewilderment, disbelief, pity & a lot of times scorn. The latter mostly by other RVers.
It's not the rig if you seek the approval of the masses but it does a fantastic job within it's limitations. Those limitations are mostly dictated by tongue weight as there is no lack of power, stabilty, stopping & emergency manuvering prowess. The set up stops sraight & quick in the wetest conditions & the lower profile of the TV bucks the wind better than less aerodynamic TVs.
Amd NO it won't pull a GN, 5er of 40' rear hitch trailer.
When I rolled into the traditional archery jamboree outside of Buffalo, NY, our set up spot was down a small grassy slope next to the woods. People offered their TVs to place the trailer for me. I declined of course.
When we arose Sunday I found that it had rained a little the night before & a down pour was looming. Again, people were offering assitance W/thier trucks to pull the trailer up the grade.
I made haste on Sunday morning to get out of there before the deluge & I must say I was a bit concerned. As we started up the slope, the Mercedes Benz designed traction system applied the brake to the rear wheel that 1st started to slip & the "Mango Express" clawed right up the steep little slope on the wet but still firm turf like a champ.
I was still getting stares of disbelief as I reached the gravel drive @ the top of that grassy slope & exited the archery club driveway.
* This post was
edited 05/15/08 12:31pm by PowerWagon896 *
PowerWagon896 wrote: Those limitations are mostly dictated by tongue weight as there is no lack of power, stabilty, stopping & emergency manuvering prowess.
The tongue weight limitation is a function of the hitch you have mounted to the car. Your low limit is because the hitch can't handle the additional stress of tightening the spring bars as needed to properly distribute weights over 380 pounds.
The 300C posted earlier in the thread had a custom hitch fitted that didn't have the same tongue weight restrictions.
Remember, when you use a WD system (especially true with when towing with a car) tongue weight becomes payload carried pretty evenly across both axles. If the hitch is no longer the weak link, you can carry as much tongue weight as you have payload available.
The truck guys know this is true, and think nothing of upgrading a hitch receiver as needed to carry higher tongue weights.
I think your equipment works just fine now for the trailer you have. But, if I was going to buy a Charger for a tow vehicle, I would skip the cute hidden Mopar hitch because of it's low tongue weight limitation and have a conventional class III hitch installed by a professional like Can-Am RV.
'04 Ford Freestar (Primary tow vehicle) '05 Subaru Forester (Backup tow vehicle) '65 Bethany popup (best popups ever made!) Looking for a tow vehicle Minivan towing
When I rolled into the traditional archery jamboree outside of Buffalo, NY, our set up spot was down a small grassy slope next to the woods. People offered their TVs to place the trailer for me. I declined of course.
There is a guy here in Ontario that tows his 34' Airstream with his pro set up Jag sedan.
As the story goes he arrived at an Airstream Rally down in the States.
As in your case PW the grass was wet when he arrived and the offer to park his 34 was offered by the camp owner who had a tractor on site.
Without hesitation the Jag owner said sure, go for it, and tipped the guy. It wasn't that the Jag couldn't handle the job, it was simply the fact he was used to "Valet", parking....
PowerWagon896 wrote: Those limitations are mostly dictated by tongue weight as there is no lack of power, stability, stopping & emergency maneuvering prowess.
The tongue weight limitation is a function of the hitch you have mounted to the car. Your low limit is because the hitch can't handle the additional stress of tightening the spring bars as needed to properly distribute weights over 380 pounds.
The 300 posted earlier in the thread had a custom hitch fitted that didn't have the same tongue weight restrictions.
Remember, when you use a WD system (especially true with when towing with a car) tongue weight becomes payload carried pretty evenly across both axles. If the hitch is no longer the weak link, you can carry as much tongue weight as you have payload available.
The truck guys know this is true, and think nothing of upgrading a hitch receiver as needed to carry higher tongue weights.
I think your equipment works just fine now for the trailer you have. But, if I was going to buy a Charger for a tow vehicle, I would skip the cute hidden Mopar hitch because of it's low tongue weight limitation and have a conventional class III hitch installed by a professional like Can-Am RV.
Since Wifey & I are of the "less is more" mindset, we don't feel a need for a substantially larger TT.
We have actually purchased an R-vision 24' Trail Sport W/a dinette slide. It is about the same dry weight as the 21' model pictured, but it has a bit more bias to tongue weight, being just a tad over 400#.
We love the wide open area that the slide gives us & the 24' length is more than ample. We like the short, maneuverability.
We picked up the trailer new @ below cost last fall. It is a dis-continued model.
The hitch height is a bit over 1" higher than what my WD hitch will accommodate on the Charger. I am getting the hitch modified for height.
In the mean time I have flipped the hitch over & repositioned the ball mount for the gas guzzling Power Wagon.
I might be able to get the hitch modified in time for some shakedown before the Memorial day week end, but the campground we are going to is pretty rugged & more along the Power Wagon's off road capabilities.
I will keep everone posted on progress & how the Charger handles the slightly larger, taller & less aerodynamic TT.
PowerWagon896 wrote: I will keep everyone posted on progress & how the Charger handles the slightly larger, taller & less aerodynamic TT.
Sounds good PW. Also as Caddy has suggested look into getting an upgraded custom receiver for the Charger. Last I read Can Am here in Ontario has built and installed over 20 receivers for your body type. They are heavy duty, flex free and state of the art in design technology.
They don't look that bad either. Here is a pic of mine...
PowerWagon896 wrote: I will keep everyone posted on progress & how the Charger handles the slightly larger, taller & less aerodynamic TT.
Sounds good PW. Also as Caddy has suggested look into getting an upgraded custom receiver for the Charger. Last I read Can Am here in Ontario has built and installed over 20 receivers for your body type. They are heavy duty, flex free and state of the art in design technology.
They don't look that bad either. Here is a pic of mine...
I went over to Airforums, registered & sent a PM yo Andrew T.
I want to reatin the hidden feature, maybe he can cook something up.
In the mean time I'll see how the Mopar Hitch does.
I went over to Airforums, registered & sent a PM yo Andrew T.
I want to reatin the hidden feature, maybe he can cook something up.
In the mean time I'll see how the Mopar Hitch does.
Good move PW. No doubt Mt T. will have an interest in your cool combo and will have some tips.
I like the idea of the hidden hitch. Years ago I had a grocery getter 1977 Granada sport coupe. I built a 2" receiver that was located behind the licence plate. The licence plate was hinged at the bottom and was spring loaded in its normal position. To use the receiver I simply tilted the plate down in the horizontal position and inserted the draw bar. Worked great.
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