Tim and the Daves,
Thank you so much for the responses!
Tim, thanks for the links! I used the link and, despite my best Excel wizardry techniques, I couldn't make the Flex and the 3023 fit. I wish I had known about tongue weight before starting the adventure, I suppose I am like most people and just looked at Total Weight of Car + Trailer and their individual max weights. I installed a brake controller when I purchased the WDH (thanks to Ford it was plug in play once I figured it the plug had a cover installed on it that just looked like it was meant to receive something...hahahaha that was embarrassing!). I'll do some class IV research but the Big Boss, after reading the thread, she is already picking out the options she wants on an Expedition...
Dave ShrimpBurrito we ended up with the TM after seeing the weights of the pop-ups that were out there. We were astounded at how heavy the ones with the features we wanted were yet lacked the hard sides of the TM! White-knuckled is now how I'd feel if I were to to tow it anywhere at all. I know every sound would put me on edge.
The Other Dave (love that signature!) you hit it on the head about worrying. Funny you mention "bump" as this morning I noticed the threads of the bolts on the driver's side of the L bracket of the WDH had moved about 3/8" and had etched the thread pattern into the trailer tongue. I had used a torque wrench to the hitches specifications when I tied them down. That tells me I've got too much weight for sure (or a bad torque wrench :-)).
On a positive note we've been using it in our side yard. The kids think it is their new clubhouse!
I am thinking of adding a new topic about learning the hard way about using a 100' extension cord for shore power that was 14 gauge. It would power everything until I'd kick the AC on. The AC would spin up for a moment then turn off. The fan, the lights, everything else would work, just not the AC. After going through all the breakers and fuses and reading lots of posts I finally purchased a 10 gauge cord. It has worked like a champ ever since. Later that evening, while reading the owner's manual, I found it clearly states to use a 10 gauge wire.
The other shocker was when we did use it camping at a non-facilities site my kids were dismayed to learn the outlets wouldn't recharge their electronics like they did when plugged into shorepower. I initially thought something must be wrong but have come to learn that the outlets only work when hooked up to shore power and that I'll need an inverter to run plugged-in devices otherwise.
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