proexpert

We finally rented a travel trailer for a few nights at the lake. It's 100 miles of up and down big hills. Okay maybe they are small hills, but they steep and everywhere, there is nothing flat here. The TT was a newer 26 footer (2012 Dutchmen 26BHS).

The truck was great. I still have the stock car tires, so I experienced the mushy ride that I read about here. Other than that, the 5.0 did very well, and I really like the tow/haul mode of the transmission. Going down grades, just one touch of the brakes and the transmission understands you want to slow down, and down shifts. I like it.

Unfortunately we had trouble with the TT at the campsite and I hurt my back real bad. So now we feel that RV means "ruined vacation". I know that is not true, but I'm only half the equation. This trip was a test to see if we want to purchase a trailer, and now we know. I've been camping since I was a small child, but the wife is a city girl.





Campsite right on the lake. Look at that flat water.

TNathe

good to hear the tow/haul mode really makes a difference. Looks like a great campsite! Too bad about your back, back pains are the worst!

Manuellabour247

How did you hurt your back? During set-up or hook-up?

proexpert

Yes the campsite was great, it's a beautiful lake. I've been going there since 1983. Raystown Lake, Huntingdon PA

I've had a bad back for 15 years, had 4 surgeries already, probably need #5. I hurt it setting up the trailer, and un-hooking it, and then again hooking it up to come home. I read good info here about using a cordless drill to operate the manual stabilizer jacks, and that worked well, but I still had to bend down and mess with them a few times each to get the trailer stable. And the WD hitch, having to manually raise the trailer with the crank in order to get the bars off/on was the worst. So basically I'm physically unable to do this type of thing, and it's okay, and my wife gets to say "I told you so" over and over again.

Steve Osborne

I bought the adapter for the cordless drill... that truly makes a difference....drill in low gear....cranks the trailer up....very nice not having to use the manual crank....as for the wdh hitch....that could use a drill/motor attachment....lol.....I feel your pain....or on the way to it...

Scarlet

Glad you had a good time at your "secret tacky". I've always wanted to travel. Go to some of the national parks. Or just camp out. I use to have a nice little Coleman pop-up when I was younger. So, when I ordered my truck I knew that I wanted a travel trailer to do some sight seeing. So after looking on line for a long time I finally found what I wanted. It was a 2011 Keystone Bullet Premiere 29repr. But, I too have a bad back, and have had one surgery. I was having a very hard time just getting it hitched up. Then dropping the stabilizers, doing the hook-ups, you know.....And this was just in my driveway. I made the painful decision that there was no way I could handle it by myself. So I sold it. Had it less than a year and never left the driveway. I wish you luck on finding one, if you've made that decision.

11screw50

They do make power jacks for the tongue jack that would save a lot of cranking when hitching and unhitching. Just a thought. Does not help with the stabilizers though.

smokeywren

Electric stabilizer jacks are also available for trailers:
http://www.etrailer.com/question-41035.html


I'm 76 years old and in reasonably good health, so I can easily bend over and use a 20-volt power screwdriver gun to raise and lower the stabilizer jacks on my TT. But If I had back problems, I'd probably invest in power stabilizer jacks so I didn't have to bend over.

proexpert

Thanks guys, it was a rental, and I learned my lesson. And yes, I get it, if I were to purchase one, I could have electric jacks and hitch.

smokeywren

The Econoline van is probably on its last legs, but the replacement full-size Transit van is an excellent replacement. If you wanted a raised roof on the Econoline, you had to go to an aftermarket upfitter, and with even the best of the upfitters the roof looked tacked on. But the Transit has three different roof heights available from the Ford assembly line. Ford stopped building Econolines with a diesel engine several years ago, but you can get a diesel or EcoBoost in the Transit.
http://www.ford.com/trucks/transitva...top-hp-transit

Way back in 1977 I ordered a very special Econoline cargo van with luxury Chateau trim (including two Flexsteel Captain's Chairs) "window van" privacy glass all around, rear AC so it came with finished walls and ceiling of the Chateau passenger van. Bare metal floors behind the front seats, so I found two more matching Captain's Chairs in a bone yard, installed plywood underflooring, high-density foam carpet pad, and covered it with luxury plush carpeting. Added a separate sterio system without speakers but with headphones so the kids in the back could listen to their hard rock music while Mom and Dad relaxed to "elevator music" in the front seats. Result was a very comfortable family cruising van with plenty of power to drag our pop-up camper trailer all over the country while the kids were growing up.


The kids chose to lay around on the padded/carpet floor instead of sit in the Captain's chairs, but that was before Big Brother demanded that they must be wearing a seat belt.


The Transit doesn't seem to be as versitle in beginning with a cargo van and adding windows and other options to get it ready to finish into a luxury family van that can also drag a decent-size trailer. You probably have to begin with a passenger van and remove seats to wind up with a nice 4-passenger family van.