Questions on towing vehicle / TM model years

Okay, the frustration continues ...

Went back to CW to buy the 750-lb. Reese WDH kit I'd ordered, so I could take it to another hitch place here in town to install. Well, the box was missing the ballmount, which CW says apparently wasn't shipped with the kit from Reese (or perhaps it got lost at CW somewhere). Gotta wait 2-3 days to have another sent to me. BUT, the gang at the new hitch place looked at the swing tongue and had the same opinion before even attempting to assemble the WDH -- they don't think a WDH can be mounted there either. The guys there are worried that the chain/bars will sit too close to the hinge pin on the tongue and create a dangerous situation if things start banging around on turns, etc. The guy said "There's only one way to find out if it'll work, and that's to install the thing" -- which they couldn't do because the ballmount was missing and they didn't have one to fit.

So I then called Ed Lytle at TrailManor and he said that he doesn't have any specific information about what WDH will work with the swing tongue and what won't. He acknowledged that it was a "gray area" -- he knows that some have had success installing them, but the tongue specs don't guarantee they'll work with any ol' one.

Can someone PLEASE post/send some photos of an installed WDH on a 2720SL swing tongue? I've toted the TM about 150 miles trying to just get a WDH put on, and I'm tempted now to just try to install it myself at home.

I'm equally tempted at this point to just give up and sell the TM back to the dealership, because there's no way I can tow it without one.

- Mark

You can tow right now, right? Go camping. If you have towed to Camping World and a hitch place you can very carefully go have some fun. Find someplace close (not in the hills) and drive slow and go camping. Worry about WDH later, when Bill gets back.

Here is all that I can tell you that may possibly help you. My situation is not exactly like yours but according to Bill the swing feature shouldn't matter.

I measured the spring bar (one of two) and it is a little over 32 inches long. Its a drawtite 750 (not part number, tongue weight). The two parts (brackets) that attach to the tm tongue permanently and hold the ends of the spring bars are mounted as far back as they can go. They touch or almost touch the crossmember directly behind them. Its really snug in there next to the propane tank. I've circled in red where the tank occasionally takes a hit. I can see if a spring bar were 30 inches or shorter it might get too tight next to the propane tank to work, or work without cursing alot.

Here is a photo showing bracket placement. I pushed the slide in just enough to get a decent photo. I hope you get to camp really soon.

[fcatwo]

Mark

I looked back at previous posts and "wesslvn" is towing a swing-tongue 2720SL with a Honda Pilot and WDH. You are not going to get any closer to expert advice than that so you may want to look him up. I think his post was in the Honda Ridgeline discussion.

Also check "Jim-NY"s 7-23 post in another 2720SL/WDH thread. Actually that whole thread is pertinent.

[wesslvm]

Originally Posted by fcatwo

Mark

I looked back at previous posts and "wesslvn" is towing a swing-tongue 2720SL with a Honda Pilot and WDH. You are not going to get any closer to expert advice than that so you may want to look him up. I think his post was in the Honda Ridgeline discussion.

Also check "Jim-NY"s 7-23 post in another 2720SL/WDH thread. Actually that whole thread is pertinent.

Here are pics of my setup.

Vince

Mark,

If it is any help interpreting my previous posts, my setup does not look like the pictures posted by wesslvm. The propane tanks on my TM sit horizontal above the frame and I don’t have a swing away hitch. I think my snap up connectors for the 1,000 lb. Curt brand WDH, that I bought cheap on e-bay, look a little different, but function in the same manner.

I am having trouble with my WDH because the snap up connectors need to be along side the tanks where I don’t have room for the pipe-tool to flip them over under load. I need to relieve the load by jacking up my tongue jack until I can flip them over by hand.

I am still thinking my problem through. I may be able to fashion a tool that will give me the leverage I need to flip it over under load, without the tool hitting the tank. Also, I need to remove the snap up connectors to allow the arms on the slide to open up. Easy enough, but if I had a different WDH all this would not be needed.

In hindsight, I should have found out what people on this site were using on the very same year and model of TM and then bought one of those proven WDH’s. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t think comparing to the same tow vehicle is important. The only variable there should be height, and all the WDH’s I looked at adjusted up and down.

Jim

[Bill]

Just got back - my setup looks EXACTLY like the photos Vince/wesslvm posted. Brackets directly behind the weldments for the swing tongue. The setup was identical on my 2002 2720SL and my 2006 2720SL. Since Vince has a 2004 2720SL, we seeem to be enclosing the problem pretty well.

As part of a different thread, I posted pics of the tongue area of my 2006 TM. You can see them at
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=2976
I have several posts in that thread. Scroll down to find the one with the pix - I think it is the 8th post in the thread. In the first pic, you can see the frame rails, the swing-tongue assembly with the tongue swung aside, the propane tanks, and the snap-up brackets. Does your TM look like this? If not, how is it different?

I'm not sure what to make of Jim-NY's post. My older 2720SL did, in fact, have a "cubbyhole" in the front of the slideout that had no apparent purpose, since the propane tanks were mounted down between the frame rails. Someone posted that in an earlier day, the tanks had been mounted higher, and the "cubbyhole" provided clearance as the slider was pulled out over thte tanks. Apparently the design first had raised tanks and a cubbyhole, then lowered tanks with a now-unneeded cubbyhole, and finally lowered tanks with no cubbyhole.

Having said all that, the position of the tanks doesn't seem to be the problem you are encountering. Or is it? Do you have raised tanks, or do they ride down between the frame rails? Do you have a cubbyhole? Does your setup look like Vince's?

Unfortunately, you're not giving us much to work with here. Has anyone given you a reason WHY the WDH won't work? What part of the whole installation represents a problem? Surely you can get them to tell you more than "No, it won't work."

Bill

Originally Posted by Bill

I'm not sure what to make of Jim-NY's post.

My "cubbyhole" is definitely full of tanks when the slide is out. My “2002” 2720SL was manufactured in June, 2001. The person I bought it from purchased it new in November 2003. I saw the receipt. Perhaps the newer 2002’s with the tanks lower were more popular and why this one went unsold for such a long time.

This is good to know when I ask for advice on my unit.

Jim

Great news!

Taking the advice of all here, I had decided that we were taking the TM out last Friday for its first trip, with or without the WDH. Just as we were about to pull out of the driveway, the UPS guy showed up with the ballmount -- the part that was missing from the Reese 750/7500 kit I'd bought from CW. So, I sent the family back inside the house for an hour and got out my tools ...

The WDH fits just about perfect, so I've no idea why those places didn't think it would. The clip on the left frame bar is just behind the swing-tongue weld, just as it appears in the photos you guys have shown. The chain doesn't hang exactly vertical -- it's not that much of an angle, but just enough to see that it's not straight up-and-down ... I believe that it was the consensus here that a tiny bit of angle was okay.

I have it set on the 3rd link (from the top), which seems to be the best balance. Before installing, the height of my MDX wheel wells were 32.5" on the front and the back -- now, with the WDH in place, the front measures 32" and the rear measures 31 3/8". The directions say to add links when the rear is lower than the front, but going to the 4th link (from the top) makes the rear HIGHER than the front, and I'm worred about that over-torquing-the-frame deal, so I'm fine with having a slight dip in the back. (Please advise if that's not correct.)

The MDX really had no problems with the TM before the WDH, but AFTER installing it, I could barely tell the TM was back there. I used the D4 gear (one down from the normal D5), and I barely topped 3000 RPM, even whilst climbing a few of the bigger hills in Hunstville, Alabama. And according to the trip computer, I barely even dropped 1 MPG on the fuel consumption.

All in all, the maiden voyage from Nashville to the Monte Sano State Park and US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville went fantastic. Obviously, I now have a few questions about some of the other aspects of the TM that I'll consult other areas of the forum for, but I do believe I FINALLY have the TV part of it all figured out!

THANKS again to all of you for the INVALUABLE help! Without it, I probably wouldn't have made the plunge and purchased a TM ... after this weekend, we now know it's going to be one of the best investments we've ever made!

See you on the road!

- Mark

[Bill]

That is great news, Mark. Your persistence paid off. Sounds like you have set up everything just right.

Bill