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April 4, 2008
When we sold the motor home and wrapped up our full-time lifestyle we pretty much decided that we would trade RVing for a nice quiet life off of the highway. We had seen many places and met some pretty amazing people along the way. We got to know the country from one end to the other via the amazing network of roads and highways that cross the nation. Our goals as full-timers had been met. It was time for that comfortable rocking chair on the front porch - or so we thought.
Things were fine at first but the longer we sat the more we started to miss many of our favorite things about being on the road. For example, the different RV parks we stayed at, not knowing where we would end up next, seeing some amazing part of the country that we had only read about, we even missed the coffee and the bear claws at the Flying J truck stops. You might say that we were homesick for the highway. We knew that even if we didn't return to the full-time lifestyle, we still had to go back out there, even if it was on a part-time basis.
The question was how to do it. We were settled into a nice home in a small "Mayberry" type of town in North Carolina and we were enjoying the daily routine that we had established as retirees. It didn't help that our potential tow vehicle was our 2007 Nissan Frontier extended cab pickup. The Frontier is a nice enough little truck for runs over to Lowe's and the Home Depot but was it up to the task of towing a small RV? We had just bought the truck within the last year and love it. We definitely did not want to sell it, so the question became could we find a suitable RV that we could tow behind the Nissan? One that would provide us with a reasonable degree of comfort during what we felt might end up being extended trips to far away places.
To find out we let our fingers do the walking through the Internet. We searched every RV manufacturer's website to see what they had to offer in the way of "Lite" travel trailers. After consulting our trucks owners manual to check our Towing Capacity, Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR), etc., we felt comfortable looking at travel trailers with a total loaded weight (including accessories) of around 5,000 pounds fully equipped and fully loaded with all of our clothes, food and other essentials on-board.
Keep in mind that there are many factors involved in selecting a truck/trailer combination, so it's best that each person consult their vehicle's owners manual for information specifically tailored to their particular tow vehicle.
In the past we have owned several "pop-up" style trailers including our old Coleman tent trailer and a somewhat quirky Chalet "A-frame" style trailer. Both had a low profile for towing but, lacked storage and other amenities when set up. We have also owned a TAB (contemporary teardrop style trailer), which was fun but it was too small for two people and a small dog to spend extended time in. The answer was simple; we would need to look for a lightweight conventional travel trailer most likely in the under 20-foot range.
It took us weeks of research and visits to RV shows but we finally decided on a Flagstaff 18FD (18 foot, Front Dinette) made by Forest River. The 18FD is part of their "Micro Lite" line of small trailers and reminds us of our old Sandpiper 19FD that we once owned. The Sandpiper was also made by Forest River but, was a full-sized trailer and of much heavier construction. We had many years of enjoyment from that trailer having towed it all over the country. We loved that trailer and in many ways we feel that we are going back to our RV roots with the Flagstaff.
Our nearest Flagstaff dealer turned out to be Four Seasons RV (www.four-seasonsrv.com) in Sanford, North Carolina just to the north of us. After looking at what they had in stock, we decided that we would need to order our new trailer to get exactly what we wanted. We placed our order and were quoted a wait time of between 6-8 weeks.
So here we sit waiting. I don't know about you but waiting for the delivery of any new vehicle is almost too much to bear. Personally I count the days. The good news is that we just passed the 6 week point last Thursday. We shouldn't have much longer before the new addition arrives!
April 9, 2008
Good news on the RV front. This morning we received a call from our dealer telling us that the trailer has arrived! Not bad, just one day short of seven weeks from when our order was submitted. We have an appointment to take delivery later this week, but for now we just had to drive up to the dealership to see it in person.
We ordered the trailer having only seen photos of our particular floor plan; so going to see it for the first time was a lot of fun. It was in a “get ready” area of the dealership and looked perfect as we approached. It had some bugs on the front and a little road grime from the trip down from Indiana, but overall it looked great on the outside.
Stepping inside we immediately knew that we had made the right decision in ordering this particular trailer. We know from experience that this floor plan and options will work well for us. We were a little surprised at how clean and nice the trailer looked inside considering that it had just left the factory. It lead us to believe that the people there care about their work. We shall see.
The dealer gave us permission to spend as much time as we wanted with the trailer, so we took our time going over everything to make sure that all of the options were there. Every single item including the interior trim color was perfect and at this point we couldn’t be happier.
We took some photos to bring home with us and of course, Sparkie got to go in and check it out too. Now we can’t wait until delivery day!
April 11, 2008
Today was the big day. After seven weeks of waiting, we finally took delivery of the new trailer!
We had an appointment with Four Seasons RV to be there at 2:00 in the afternoon so that we could take care of the necessary paperwork, and at the same time have a brake controller installed on our tow vehicle.
The paperwork and documentation of the trailer went smoothly and before we knew it we were done with that phase of the delivery process. After wrapping up the paperwork, we went outside to find the truck already connected to the trailer and the Prodigy brake controller nicely installed. Our delivery technician, Randy was there to greet us and to walk us through all of our new RV’s systems. Since this is our seventh RV, we didn’t really need too much instruction, so this part of the delivery process went fairly quickly.
One thing we noticed during the walkthrough was that Forest River apparently no longer gives out a “welcome” package of goodies with their trailers. In the past we’ve always received a box containing a sewer dump hose, fire extinguisher and other assorted necessities, but not this time. We did get a bottle of toilet chemical but we believe that actually came as part of the RV toilet system. I think there may be a little cost cutting going on at Forest River.
No matter, we thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with Randy. He was very knowledgeable and the job he did installing our brake controller was excellent. I’m very particular about any type of installation work on our vehicles, but Randy listened to my concerns and the end result was a very clean and professional installation.
Many thanks to the entire staff of Four Seasons RV for making this one of the most pleasurable RV purchases we’ve ever experienced!
The drive back home towing the trailer was almost a complete success except for some sway that I’ve never felt in any of our other travel trailers. It wasn’t extreme, but it was there and is an unacceptable trait that needs to be eliminated. Our hitch is a standard non-equalizing style and there is no supplimental sway control fitted. Because of its size and light-weight, I wanted to try pulling the trailer before making a decision as to what hitch and sway control would be needed. At this point the equalizing hitch is definitely not needed, but there needs to be some work performed that will eliminate the sway. Stay tuned for more on this.
April 16, 2008
The sway problems that we encountered bringing the trailer home has us concerned as we’ve never experienced this problem in all of our years of towing. Over the past few days I’ve hooked up the trailer and towed it under a variety of different conditions to test the way it handles. I’ve towed it in windy conditions, on four-lane divided highways, on curvy two-lane back roads and on grades. Generally speaking the trailer tows terrible on anything but zero wind, low speed conditions. It was time for some detective work.
The first thing I wanted to check out was the tongue weight of the trailer. Insufficient tongue weight is often the cause of trailer sway. Proper tongue weight should normally be about 10%-15% of the total trailer weight for safe, stable towing. The unloaded weight of our trailer is listed as 3,216 pounds so the minimum tongue weight should be around 320 pounds.
Time to weigh the trailer tongue. Margo looked on skeptically as I brought out our nice chrome and glass bathroom scale from the master bath. Using a piece of half-inch plywood to protect the scale I lowered the trailer tongue down onto the plywood surface. The scale promptly popped out a weight of 330 pounds, with the trailer completely empty and with empty water and holding tanks. The trailer is fitted with one 12v battery and two full 20 pound propane bottles, all of which are mounted on the trailer tongue area. At 330 pounds it appeared that the tongue weight was within the 10%-15% guideline. At this point I ruled out tongue weight as the cause of our sway.
Next I checked the tire pressures on the truck. I had already done this before, but decided to do it again just to make sure that the inflation pressures were where they should be for towing. The tire sidewall calls out a maximum air pressure of 35 PSI, as does the tag inside the drivers-side doorpost. A quick check of all four of the truck tires showed them to be at exactly 35 PSI.
I’ve driven and towed many different combinations of vehicles ranging from 18-wheelers to our old tent trailer with no problems. Experience has shown me that other things can cause sway such as the aerodynamics of the trailer, the trailer axles working on their suspensions, etc. but in the end I decided to get a professional opinion on this sway issue. I felt at this point that I should make a return trip to my dealer.
The nice thing about Four Seasons RV is that it is a family business and every one there is always friendly and helpful. So it came as no surprise that company President Brian Duke was the one that offered to help me out. I knew from prior conversations with Brian that he has many years of RV towing experience under his belt and I trusted his judgment. He spent considerable time listening to my concerns about my problem then offered his opinions as to what he thought might be causing it. His first thought was that the tire sidewalls on the truck might be flexing as the trailer encountered crosswinds and winds from passing big-rigs. His suggestion was to increase the rear tire pressures on the truck and to fit a sway control between the trailer hitch and the trailer.
Taking his advice I went back home and installed our nice shiny new sway control. There are different types of sway controls, but ours is the style that goes between the truck’s hitch and trailer frame. As the trailer pivots on the hitch ball the sway control provides a clamping force that acts like a brake and, in effect, makes it harder for the trailer to turn. Our particular style of sway control is nothing more than a friction device that clamps a flat steel bar much like a linier disk brake. The clamping force is manually adjustable and there is normally some trial and error involved in getting this type of sway control adjusted properly. After installing the sway control and adjusting it based on my previous experience, I took the truck and trailer out for a test run. After a few miles of towing on a divided four-lane highway, I was both surprised and pleased to see that the trailer sway was almost 100% eliminated. There was still a hint of sway present in crosswinds, but it seemed to be manageable. Next step would be to load the trailer and take it on the road for a shake down run.
April 18, 2008
For our first trip we decided to make a relatively short run over to Hendersonville, NC. We have good friends that live there and we always enjoy staying at the Lakewood RV Resort, located in nearby Flat Rock. This was to be a quick three-day trip, so we loaded the trailer lightly. We brought clothes for three days and minimal food, assuming that we would probably be eating out with our friends. We did have the usual bathroom items such as toiletries and towels and we equipped the galley area with the usual dishes, toaster, coffee maker, etc. Remembering our weights for the trailer and trailer tongue, we made sure to distribute the items in the trailer so that they were stored properly, this being our first outing.
The 283-mile run over to Flat Rock turned out to be a mixed bag from a towing standpoint. While the truck seemed to have plenty of power, the handling still seemed to be marginal. I still noticed some sway and the trailer seemed to want to “work” as though it was steering itself. The worst experience was on a long 7% downgrade on the return trip where there was both sway and the feel that the trailer was “hunting” side-to-side. While I felt the rig was safe, it didn’t exactly inspire confidence and it was extremely tiring to drive.
I’ve pretty much decided that the truck is having trouble being in command if a trailer with as much surface area as ours has. We recently towed an open U-Haul trailer that weighed over 3000 pounds (we weighed it so we know), and there was no sway or drama of any kind. I feel that this was because of its lower profile. So I’m thinking that our stability issues are aerodynamic more than anything else.
For me, safety is the number one issue as it should be for anyone that tows. I want my vehicle combination to be stable and safe. I want it to maneuver and stop as well as it possibly can. Right now the Nissan and the Flagstaff simply don’t measure up. We need to decide what to do and at this point we’re considering replacing the truck.
On the bright side, the trailer worked out perfectly for us once it was set up in the RV Park. We even had our portable Direct TV dish up and running. The only thing I forgot to bring was a water hose. It appears that I had gotten used to the water hose in our motor home, which was on a power-operated reel and part of the coach (hose, what hose?). We made a run over to Wal-Mart for a hose, but once back at the trailer, I suddenly remembered that I had also forgot to buy a pressure regulator for the new hose. Grrrr….brain fade at its worst. So for this trip I filled the trailer water tank and we ran off of the 12v pump. Except for one burned out light bulb, the trailer seems to be perfect in every way. It was a very good trip except for the towing problems, which we intend to fix one way or the other.
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