Can you open all trailmanor models when hitched

[Popupbenji]

I was wondering if you could open all models when hitched to you tv ?

 

[Robert's TM]

As far as I know... Yes.... Unless you have something on your TV that would be in the way.

 

[Bill]

I agree. The short answer is YES. The only limits are 1) when you open something on the tow vehicle, will it hit the front shell or slide of the TM, and 2) whether you need to get into the tow vehicle's trunk or cargo area after the TM is opened. With our Ford Explorers, we could open the upper half of the tailgate while the TM was open - very handy. With our F-150 pickup truck we can (just barely) lower the tailgate without hitting the stem and crank of the tongue jack.

Bill

 

[scrubjaysnest-TMO]

With our WDH lowering the tailgate is no problem; the lift gate on the topper is another bag of worms. Depends on angle of the TV to the TM and if the stone guard is raised. With the canoe on the truck you can forget it.

 

[br2_wdc]

Specific Question for Hitching and Towing with Ford Explorer

I agree. The short answer is YES.
With our Ford Explorers, we could open the upper half of the tailgate while the TM was open - very handy.
Bill

Good Morning Bill:
I have always disconnected our Explorer at our campsites, but given the turnaround for next trip needs to be quick, and we'll have a full hookup pull through campsite, I plan on staying hitched to save some time.

My question is can I leave everything connected, including the Bargman 7-way connection? I don't believe there is any issue with it connected possibly draining the Explorer battery, but just as a precaution? My Explorer battery is about 2 years old and the previous owner didn't get an Interstate battery so I 'm a bit more paranoid.

One last question: Did you have WDH when you pulled your TM with an Explorer? I do not have a WDH, and I have taken my TM on 4 relatively short camping trips on hilly and windy and one very rainy trip, and have no issue with pulling up hills or any sway out on the interstates but was curious about your experience: what kind of hitch you used, and what year and engine your Explorer had.

 

[Bill]

I do not have a WDH, and I have taken my TM on 4 relatively short camping trips on hilly and windy and one very rainy trip, and have no issue with pulling up hills or any sway out on the interstates

My apologies in advance for a windy answer. You asked several questions.

Before responding directly, let me dispose of a couple things. A WDH has nothing to do with any of the things you mentioned. It will not affect pulling power, or ability to climb hills. It will not increase traction on wet surfaces. By itself, it will not reduce trailer sway, or help in cross winds. The sole thing that a WDH does is to take some of the hitch weight off the tow vehicle's rear suspension, and put it back on the front wheels, where the tow vehicle does all of the steering and more than half of the braking. And this is terribly important. The sketch at
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/album.php?albumid=8&pictureid=441
reminds you that the hitch weight added at the back of the tow vehicle tends to lift the front of the tow vehicle. When the front end is unweighted, both braking and steering are reduced, and this is a bad thing! The WDH puts this weight back where it belongs (and yes, this does help in low-traction situations).

By taking the sag out of the rear end, the WDH also levels the tow vehicle, but this is just an added bonus. It is not the purpose of a WDH. As for sway, TMs are designed not to sway, so the lack of sway that you observed is a credit to the TM itself. Many people choose to add an anti-sway capaility to their rigs, and there is nothing wrong with that. For me, in more than 50,000 miles of towing, I have never felt any sway, even when we've had tires blow out.

I have always used a WDH. The Explorer's suspension was rather soft ("comfy"), the hitch weight of the TM is quite high, and during our twice-a-year cross country trips, we carried a lot of stuff in the Explorer's way-back. Without a WDH, there was substantial sag. The fact that the rig comes back to level when the springbars are lifted shows that the weight has been properly re-distributed.

In a campground, there is no need to pull the Bargman connector (the Explorer has an isolation relay), or to unhitch. In fact, we found that if the campsite is a bit off level front-to-back, we could release the springbar brackets (but not remove the bars or the chains) to lower the front of the TM a couple inches, or use the tongue jack to raise it a couple inches, all while still hooked up. Very quick and handy.

You can see the hitch we use in the left half of the picture at http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/album.php?albumid=8&pictureid=468
It is a Reese unit with 600-pound trunnion bars. You can also see that when the Explorer's rear wheels were down in the swale (as in the picture), the shank of the hitch almost touches the sidewalk. When the hitch weight of the TM was put on the hitch ball, the shank scraped and gouged the sidewalk unless I put boards down in the swale. I eventually had a welding shop cut about 4 inches off the bottom of the shank.

We had two Explorers, first a 2002 and then a 2007. Both had the factory tow package and the small (4.7L) V-8. They were wonderful vehicles, the perfect size for towing a TM in my opinion. We loved them, and I envy you for having one now.

Bottom line? My opinion is that you should have a WDH.

Bill

 

[br2_wdc]

Before responding directly, let me dispose of a couple things. A WDH has nothing to do with any of the things you mentioned. It will not affect pulling power, or ability to climb hills. It will not increase traction on wet surfaces. By itself, it will not reduce trailer sway, or help in cross winds. The sole thing that a WDH does is to take some of the hitch weight off the tow vehicle's rear suspension, and put it back on the front wheels, where the tow vehicle does all of the steering and more than half of the braking. And this is terribly important. The sketch at
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/album.php?albumid=8&pictureid=441
reminds you that the hitch weight added at the back of the tow vehicle tends to lift the front of the tow vehicle. When the front end is unweighted, both braking and steering are reduced, and this is a bad thing! The WDH puts this weight back where it belongs (and yes, this does help in low-traction situations).

An excellent summary and I understood most of it but in pieces, and your explanation brought those pieces together. I mentioned the conditions of my short trips because I have concerns about bad weather traction and sway, and your explanation on weight distribution addressed that directly; you dealt with sway below.

By taking the sag out of the rear end, the WDH also levels the tow vehicle, but this is just an added bonus. It is not the purpose of a WDH. As for sway, TMs are designed not to sway, so the lack of sway that you observed is a credit to the TM itself. Many people choose to add an anti-sway capaility to their rigs, and there is nothing wrong with that. For me, in more than 50,000 miles of towing, I have never felt the need.

Based on my study within the forum, I understood the stability of the TM, but I kept sway as a separate issue and had integrated sway control as a requirement for a WDH; now it will be more of a nice to have but NOT required.

I have always used a WDH. The Explorer's suspension was rather soft ("comfy"), the hitch weight of the TM is quite high, and during our twice-a-year cross country trips, we carried a lot of stuff in the Explorer's way-back. Without a WDH, there was substantial sag. The fact that the rig comes back to level when the springbars are lifted shows that the weight has been properly re-distributed.


Bottom line? My opinion is that you should have a WDH.

Bill

Done. Though our trip is coming up quickly, I have already looked into my options and hopefully will have a WDH selected and installed soon.

In a campground, there is no need to pull the Bargman connector (the Exlorer has an isolation relay), or to unhitch. In fact, we found that if the campsite is a bit off level front-to-back, we could release the springbar brackets (but not remove the bars or the chains) to lower the front of the TM a couple inches, or use the tongue jack to raise it a couple inches, all while still hooked up. Very quick and handy.

We had two Explorers, first a 2002 and then a 2007. Both had the factory tow package and the small (4.7L) V-8. They were wonderful vehicles, the perfect size for towing a TM in my opinion. We loved them, and I envy you for having one now.

We'll see which WDH solution I end up with, but either way I'll stay hitched and be able to keep everything connected which should speed up our departure.

Yes, thank you and I agree I was fortunate to find a very clean 1 owner 4th Gen (2006-10) Ford Explorer with the 4.7L V8. We previously had an 2006 Acura MDX, and while it may have been able to do it, my research here showed I needed a bigger "margin for error" with a 3023 then the MDX with it's 5k tow rating could provide.

The Explorer is perfect since our kids our smaller and with the 3rd row folded there is plenty of storage room for 4 of us. The 6-spd trans with the V8 really pulls the TM well and is very smooth on the highway, and even gets about 11-12 mpg towing the TM so I'm very happy, and by adding headrest DVD's the kids will be happy also, one would hope!

Thanks again Bill ....
-- Ben

 

[scrubjaysnest-TMO]

Only reason I mentioned the WDH is ours pushes the TM back a couple of inches over the standard hitch. FWIW we have never had a sway problem with our TM. That is one reason I stay away from LT tires on the camper. With the softer side wall of the LT one could be more prone to sway. We towed ours 1100 miles home from TX without the WDH, truck only dipped 2 inches in the back which is supposed to be acceptable. But since there was one in the shed with spring bars in the right range I set it up.