Opening Camper Shell Back Glass with 2720

[Mac1sss]

Hello to all.... My wife and i are looking hard at either a 2619 or 2720, we will be pulling the camper with a F250 Crew Cab SWB 4X4 Diesel and the bed of the truck has a Fiberglass camper on it with the normal lift door/back glass...the question is does anyone know if when the trailer is opened up / extended for use will I be able to open the back glass on the fiber glass camper thats on my truck ?..thanks!

[mjlaupp]

You can answer your own question. Stand a board upright at the forward point of the hitch ball. Will the back glass open without hitting the board?

Mike

[camp2canoe]

I tow my 2619 with a F150 Supercab and can open the glass on my Leer cap. I do need to cushion the top of the TM jack if I need to lower the tailgate which rests on the jack and only opens about 45 degrees. - Camp2Canoe

[Mac1sss]

Mike, Sounds like the upper section of the camper folds out even with the end of the trailer tongue ....if I'm understanding you correctly .... if thats the case then its not quite gonna open fully ..... another 4 inches and it probably would ...... sounds like an extended reciever hitch would do the trick... make sense ?

[Joseph]

I tow with a Chevy 3/4 ton long bed with a camper shell on it. When the TM is opened I cannot get into the camper shell with the TM attached and opened. Not enough clearance.

[mjlaupp]

Yes, a longer ball mount may buy you the distance you need but you will notice some deterioration in ride quality even with your F250 4x4. The only way to know for sure is to try it out. I would not want to use a long ball mount on a bumper mount receiver hitch if that is what you have. That bumper is only rated for 5,000 # towing.
Mike

[Mac1sss]

Mike, good point on the extended ball mount ...my truck has the tow package so its not bumper mounted but rather a frame mount.... I also have the tow command trailer brake that comes from Ford which I have never used ...I am a professional fishing guide and tow a boat a lot but down here trailer brakes on boats just arent wise ...they rust in the saltwater and lockup at the most in-opportune times ....so if I get a TM I will get to use the Tow Command Feature thats on my F250 KR ...... due to the many camper shell configs I think the only way I will really know if the back glass on my camper will open is to hook it up and try.... its gonna be close I can tell that !

[jellis]

Another point to keep in mind here is that we usually tend to think of opening/closing the back glass while the TM front and TV rear are parallel. If you end up with the TM at an angle with the TV (as can happen with a short, curved campsite) you may not be able to open the back glass that normally works just fine. This results in having to move everything again in order to get good opening geometry. Don't ask how I discovered this. Just thought you might want to consider...

[grakin]

One other thing to consider is that it's really not that hard to hitch up once you get the hang of it, if you have the right tools. I use the Hitching Rods that Camping World sells (for about $25 if I remember right) - two 4 foot fiberglass yellow rods, with a magnet on one end of each of them. You stick one on the ball, one on the coupler, and back up towards each other, until they touch or one falls off. Usually, you're right where you need to be, so you lower the trailer, lock the coupler, and take off. I can do it in well under 10 minutes, with no help (in fact, "help" usually slows me down).

Certainly I don't always unhitch but it isn't that big of a deal if you have to and you have a good system. Of course I still want an electric tongue jack since that would knock a couple minutes off the process. :)

[Freedom]

If the back glass won't open on our Jimmy due to not being lined up, I have just pulled the pin that holds the draw bar. You can move several inches without the draw bar coming out of the receiver. It works for me.