Swaying and avoiding accidents. Help!

I was reading through the old pages and found one about an accident with a TM and now I am a little scared... :'(  Some people told this guy "Hank" that his 2720 was too much for his truck. Well, I am planning to use my Toyota Sienna Mini van to tow my new 2720... It has a 3,500# rating. If necesary I will put everything in the van so the trailer doesn't get heavy. I also be happy to get all the other things that make it safer but I don't understand the difference between all the devices I keep reading about:

a sway bar
an equalizing hitch
a weight distribution hitch

We are planning a trip from Florida all the way to Colorado and back. Am I putting myself in danger??
I would be sooo disapointed if I can't take this trip, on the other hand I don't want to be irresponsible  :-[
Thank you for any advice...
Allie.

[BobWilson]

I don't have a TM yet.  But concerning weight, it looks like you are going to be maxed out on towing capacity. If you are going up into the Rockies that doesn't leave a reserve for steep grades and acceleration.  You'll have to be ready to go slow at times and hope you have a place to pull off when necessary.  Just thinking logically, shifting weight from the trailer to the tow vehicle doesn't relieve the strain on the engine going up a grade.  You still have to take the weight from the bottom of the hill to the top.  So I would consider everything you possibly can to minimize weight.  Don't take things you really can do without like extra books and a tv, keep waste tank empty, consider buying food and supplies at your destination including water, light weight dishes, and cooking equipment, light weight chairs, etc.  It all adds up.

Good Luck,

Bob Wilson

[Denny_A]

Sunshine,

If, for example, you were to have most of the options on a  2720 (that everyone seems to get), the tongue weight will run 480-500 lbs. The trailer will be approx 3000 lbs (rather than 2680 lbs from specs) with propane tanks full. Then you load it for travel.  

Yes, a Weight Distribution Hitch (same as equalizer hitch) is necessary. Here are 3 links which I thought were useful discussions regarding the specifics of a WDH.

http://www.rumseytruck.com/product/putnamwt.htm

 http://www.signonsandiego.com/market...23trailer.html

http://www.rverscorner.com/info/equalizer.html

Your Sienna is rated at 3500 lbs, with towing package. That means transmission oil cooling add-on in addition to the hitch, etc.

The other issue you need to check out is the Sienna's Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) and the normal dry weight of the van.

Example: I have a Honda Odyssey. Its GCWR is 8160 lbs. The ODY weighs in at 4200 lbs dry. The tow limit is 3500 lbs. So, if I load my 2720SL to 3400 lbs, my ODY cannot weigh more than 8160 lbs - 3400 lbs = 4760 lbs. Place 300 lbs of adults and plus 120 lbs of fuel and the ODY is up to 4620 lbs. Additional cargo , in the van is limited to 140 lbs at this point. My dog weighs 70 lbs!!!

This example shows that it CAN be done. It also shows that one must know ALL weight/load limits to prevent optimism from overiding realism.

To reduce weight, I remove one Captain's chair (55 lbs) when towinig. I built a base for the remaining Captain's chair so that I can remove it from the car and use it in the camper (so much more comfortable) in place of the chair provided with the trailer(50 lbs). Total weigth saving is 100 lbs, since the frame I made was 5 lbs.

I would, however be a bit nervous to take my rig into srious mountainous areas, or places with steep, gravel roads. Front wheel drive definately needs a WD Hitch. Also snow is a serious enemy, especially at off-ramps which require stopping on an uphill. Guess how I know!

HTH -  Denny_A

Sunshine.  We welcome you to Colorado. If you arrange your schedule to match one or more of our campouts, you should try to join with  the Mile High TrailBlazers.  We have one campout per month beginning May and ending in October.

This invitation is extended to anyone.  Please contact me for camping schedule.

Hal
[email protected]

Here's an intesting tidbit from my local TM dealer:  Trail Manor does not give the true weight of the trailers.  They are 400 pounds heavier than their published specs.  

I had been planning to tow my 2720SL with my Toyota 4Runner, but before I got to San Antonio to pick it up the truck died.  I wound up purchasing an 8 cyl. Tundra with more than twice the towing power.

[Civil_War_Buff]

Here's an intesting tidbit from my local TM dealer: Trail Manor does not give the true weight of the trailers. They are 400 pounds heavier than their published specs.

I had been planning to tow my 2720SL with my Toyota 4Runner, but before I got to San Antonio to pick it up the truck died. I wound up purchasing an 8 cyl. Tundra with more than twice the towing power.

Robin,

Yeah, the weights are nominal and do not reflect the true weight. Another good example is tongue weight, once you add the 2 filled LPG tanks, and the batteries, the tongue could reach 550# easily.

As for the 4 Runner, I thought that the tow rating was 5000# on those? If so, that would be plenty of towing power and keep you safely under the 80% rule. I tow my 2720 with an S-10 Blazer that has a 5K# rating and I have no issue or concern about pulling the trailer. Not to mention that even with the "real" weights on the TrailManor, it is still lighter than my Coleman was.

But the Tundra is nice truck, so you still did really good anyhow ;D.

Larry

Robin, I think your dealer was a little on the short side. Our 2720, with all the options but empty except for propane was 3500 lbs. That was when we traded my Dakota for a full size truck.

[Denny_A]

Robin, I think your dealer was a little on the short side. Our 2720, with all the options but empty except for propane was 3500 lbs. That was when we traded my Dakota for a full size truck.

First: I've posted in this thread. See reply #2 - it's appropriate to the issue you have raised.

Second: I feel quite confident that there's no logical way that a 2720 can weigh in at 3500 lbs when empty.

I also have a 2002 2720. The placard inside, and to the right of, the doorway indicates that my trailer's empty weight (with propane tanks full) is 3005 lbs. When I first bought the trailer I weighed it on a truck scale. It weighed in at 3020 lbs. Weighing error alone would explain the difference. But, I had added chocks, wheel levelers, elect tire pump, a large wrench and jumper cables. That stuff alone accounts for the additional wt.

The trailer weights listed in the specs are ACCURATE! What TM do not list is the weight of each individual OPTION. All trailers are delivered with some/most options. If one were to custom order a trailer with NO options, the weight of that trailer will be as listed in the specifications.

An empty 2720, with all options included, can NOT, logically considering, weigh in at 3500 lbs. My trailer, at 3005 lbs, had all options except the micro-wave, electric tongue jack and swing-around tongue. It's hard to imagine that collectively they add another 500 lbs.!

Question: How was 3500 lbs determined? What does the label inside the doorway (just above where the velcroed-flap is located) indicate the empty weight + propane weight to be? If it totals 3500 lbs, I will be nore than happy to not only recant, but call Mike Hulsey and ask what's up.

Denny_A

The sticker says 2775 plus 166 plus 45 giving 2986. But I'm telling you I've had it weighed twice at public scales and both said 3500. I too talked to the factory and they said the same thing, it can't be. They then suggested that the front shell was full of water. thus making it that heavy. But the shell pops up very easy so they said nope that can't be for if that much weight were added it would be very hard to get up.

The only thing I can think of is that this rig was altered by the dealer for backcountry camping. Two big batteries and 2 1/2 inch lifts that I know of, maybe he added steel or something, I don't know.

Bottom line it weights 3500 lbs. empty.

[Denny_A]

The sticker says 2775 plus 166 plus 45 giving 2986. But I'm telling you I've had it weighed twice at public scales and both said 3500. I too talked to the factory and they said the same thing, it can't be.
--------------snip--------------
Bottom line it weights 3500 lbs. empty.

Based on the quoted clarification above, I submit that your statement, to wit:.....

"Robin, I think your dealer was a little on the short side. Our 2720, with all the options but empty except for propane was 3500 lbs. That was when we traded my Dakota for a full size truck."

     ....was a bit disingenuous? At the very least your original post should have stated the response by TrailManor. Overweight trailers (based on trailer-placarded values) must be very rare, since the factory seemed to be concerned and a bit confused as to how yours got to 3500 lbs. We're talking a LOT of extra weight.  Add-ons totaling 500 lbs would be hard to totally conceal.

Since many folks casually read these posts, some could now be unneccesarily worrying that their TrailManor might be grossly overweight.

To preserve peace of mind (or omigawd),  weigh your trailer, on certified scales, in as near to the factory delivered condition as possible. Then if bizarre numbers come up, find another set of scales, check how recently they've been recertified, and weigh again.

Denny_A