Advice for another prospective buyer

[MiniMe]

If you've never towed trailers before and you plan on towing your TM up to the mountains of Colorado, I'd recommend the following:

1. In addition to adding up the weights of your trailer, payload, etc. etc., account for elevation changes and pulling uphill. You don't want to max out your weights and THEN try to pull it upwards at elevation. The air gets thinner the higher you go and your vehicle will have a slight decrease in power. Depending on where you're headed, you don't want to be holding up all the traffic because your vehicle is starting to struggle/strain.

2. What goes up, must come down. So make sure your vehicle and trailer have good brakes for driving back down out of the mountains.

3. Opt for a vehicle with factory installed tow package including the hitch, wiring for 4 and 7 pin harnesses, trailer sway control, bigger alternator, etc. In my neck of the woods, you will be hard pressed to find a foreign make vehicle with this unless you order it from the factory, assuming they even offer it.

4. Get a vehicle with RWD, 4WD, or AWD. Stay away from FWD for your scenario.

5. After you get your trailer, or even if you could borrow one beforehand, practice practice practice backing up into spaces/driveways with obstacles and around corners. This is a LOT trickier than you think and is often overlooked by new trailer owners. However, some people get it down fairly quickly while some will just never get it.

6. Do some research on how to load a trailer/RV so weight is equally distributed to avoid the tail wagging the dog, etc.

I always opt for a domestic brand (namely, Jeep/Dodge) mid-size SUV with a V8 and the factory installed tow package which also includes auto rear self-leveling. Now, I only have a TrailMini 18L and we've taken it to near 7000 ft on curvy mountain roads, but I could not tell at all that I was towing a loaded trailer. You could get the V6 versions of these which have about 6000 lb tow capacities and should do just fine for you, although you'll probably feel the trailer a bit. Hope that's helpful!

[Larryjb]

If you're considering the Tundra, look at the Sequoia. We really like having an SUV and the Sequoia will not leave you wanting. If you want something smaller, look at the Ford Explorer. Both these SUVs have more towing ability then the Telluride. Then there is the Tahoe, but I'm leary of the new ones (lifter issues ).

[Kmikesell]

Here are my five rules for parking a trailer and not getting divorced.
1. Clearly agree on where the trailer is going - Both of you agree IN ADVANCE where you want the trailer to end up. I usually say "Do we want the passenger tire of the trailer HERE?"

2. Communications - If you can use your cell phone to talk to your guide. If cell service is not available or spotty, a pair of inexpensive "Walkie Talkies" (I recommend GMRS radios)

3. Guide gives directions as to where the back of the trailer needs to go, and the driver figures out how to make it do that. "The back needs to go a little more left.... Now go straight".

4. Driver uses a simple strategy to make the trailer do what the guide says. To make the back of the trailer go left, place your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel, and when the guide says "left" you move the hand at the bottom of the steering wheel...LEFT!

5. Don't press a lousy situation. If you have overshot, jack-knifed, or gone in the wrong direction. You should ABSOLUTELY drive forward, and start again. You may even have to drive around the loop to take a second shot at it.

And lastly, if you have kids.... Get them out of the TV and have them hunt snipe, collect fire wood, go to the bathroom, anything but being in the way of the trailer, or "helping" you to back the trailer in.

PS. Go practice in a mall parking lot, way away from any cars, people, or light poles.

[Bill]

Kory -

I'll add one more to your list of 5.

6. If the helpful guy who guides you to your campsite offers to help you back in, politely but firmly decline. You and your guide have agreed on where you want to end up, what you are going to do to get there, and how to do it. He has no knowledge of any of that. He will stand back and wave his arms in a manner that makes no sense to you, and if he doesn't make you run into something, he will put you where you don't want to be, and you will end up correcting it after he leaves.

Some of these guys are pretty insistent, especially if the lady in your group is doing the directing. You need to practice saying "Thanks, but no thanks. We have our own system, and it works".

Bill

[Kmikesell]

Originally Posted by Bill

Kory -

I'll add one more to your list of 5.

6. If the helpful guy who guides you to your campsite offers to help you back in, politely but firmly decline. You and your guide have agreed on where you want to end up, what you are going to do to get there, and how to do it. He has no knowledge of any of that. He will stand back and wave his arms in a manner that makes no sense to you, and if he doesn't make you run into something, he will put you where you don't want to be, and you will end up correcting it after he leaves.

Some of these guys are pretty insistent, especially if the lady in your group is doing the directing. You need to practice saying "Thanks, but no thanks. We have our own system, and it works".

Bill

I couldn't agree more... I absolutely HATE when people butt in and say "Hey, you guys need help".

I'll share a story.
DW and I were taking a little weekend sabbatical in Evanston WY, at a cute little RV park. When we pulled in (Drive through site) we began to unhook and set up, when the guy in the next site says "Ya'll need some help" we politely declined and went about the setup process. In endeavoring to "unhitch" the tongue would not disengage from the ball on the hitch. We tried several attempts but no go (The reason why I will explain at the end). Finally, I said "screw it, I'll just unpin the hitch from the receiver and be done with it. All the while our neighbor was watching and give some helpful hints. "Ya'll should put more grease on your ball next time", Give it a whack with a hammer! Ya'll got a hammer handy? I got one ifn ya need one".

We pulled the retaining pin on the hitch and drove the TV away, and then the ball came right out of the tongue. Never wanting or needing our neighbor's help. He then spent a couple of minutes sharing his pearls of wisdom on trailers, life, and various other items of little interest to us.

Epilogue: We discovered why the ball and tongue were failing to disengage. We have started using a leveling system that looks like a "comma" that allows you to roll the trailer's low side up on to a graduating incline. Works like a dream, except if you don't use the accompanying "wedge" the trailer wants to roll back or forward depending on the way it's applied. That "rolling" torque was putting pressure on the retaining latch and keeping us from freeing it from the ball.....No matter how much grease we used!

https://www.amazon.com/KOBANOICA-Lev...664950&sr=8-13

[Larryjb]

Originally Posted by Kmikesell

...the trailer wants to roll back or forward depending on the way it's applied. That "rolling" torque was putting pressure on the retaining latch and keeping us from freeing it from the ball.....No matter how much grease we used!

This is a very good point. We have this kind of trouble all the time in our sloped driveway. To make matters worse, our TV is often not straight line with the trailer, so even if I chock up the trailer wheels and drive forwards, it will still not release because the TV is actually moving off to once side because of the parking angle.

I'll have to keep in mind your trick of removing the hitch pin and pull away leaving the ball in the hitch. BUT, a word of WARNING: If your trailer is significantly higher and actually lifting the rear or your TV, when the hitch finally comes out from the receiver, I don't know what kind of damage could be done when the rear finally drops down to the resting height. I would make sure the tongue jack is adjusted so that it is JUST taking the weight of the trailer, but not raising it. Then you should be able to safely pull forwards.

Other than that, if you chock the trailer wheels and pull forwards a little, the tongue should be able to lift away from the ball easily.

[Bill]

I'm surprised you could pull the pin. If the tow vehicle is a tiny bit too far forward, or a tiny bit too far back, it puts pressure on the ball and the coupler can't release it. This same forward or back force is applied to the pin, so I would expect it to be hard to remove.

My wife and I can usually tell whether the tow vehicle is too far back or forward, simply by standing off to the side and eyeballing it. I crank up the tongue jack until it is lifting the hitch just a bit, then my wife tweaks the TV in the proper direction, and the ball usually drops right out.

I'm embarrassed to remember that in my early days of TMing, when the hitch wouldn't let go of the ball, I did indeed resort to a hammer or pry bar. And yes, I broke the hitch once. Now I'm older, a bit wiser, and I don't do that so much any more.

Bill

[Kmikesell]

Originally Posted by Bill

I'm surprised you could pull the pin. If the tow vehicle is a tiny bit too far forward, or a tiny bit too far back, it puts pressure on the ball and the coupler can't release it. This same forward or back force is applied to the pin, so I would expect it to be hard to remove.
Bill

I've had to resort to emergency repair procedure #1 (Hit it with a hammer) on more than one occasion....But it did come out!