Long story short GFs twin sister needed a place to stay and neighbor down the road was wanting to unload his two campers he’s older and now battling cancer. She bought both before I had a chance to look them over. Both are in reasonable shape and the twin sis is setup on a former mobile home lot in town. The one we acquired is ~24’ a true toy hauler with auxiliary gas tank and water storage. It’s similar to the one in this link 2007 Eclipse Recreational Vehicles Stellar 20 LB in Bell, CA Not sure we’re planning to use it as a toy hauler. She has visions of renovating the interior- oh yeah... I’ve yet to hook it to my 1/2t Silverado to see how it behaves but I’m already researching airbags and/or weight distribution hitches. Any input on that would be helpful for you experienced RV haulers.
Dual cam is the best for hitches. No sway and level nicely. Shouldn’t need any airbags if you buy a decent hitch. Biggest thing is sway, especially when you are beside a tractor trailer on the interstate, don’t look in the mirror. I’ve never had a half ton so I can’t tell you how they take a load. My camper is 33 ft and not a lightweight but my truck matches.
Yeah just cursory research seems like bags aren’t what they advertise seems they just load up the rear axle. The tuck gets buffeted around by semi by itself I can only imagine a shoe box towing behind it.
A good weight distribution hitch is a must. Integrated sway control is a great feature. A little pricy but I like the Equalizer hitches as they do both very well. Can be added to to the "Made in America" thread too. Equal-i-zer® Hitch | The Original Sway Control Hitch
I had a travel trailer for a couple years before switching to a giant fifth wheel. With the travel trailer behind my suburban , and good wdh was needed. Pulled good enough with my old 04 1/2t burb, but had bad crosswinds one day and needed to get home that day so went slow. Traded up to F250 V10 and then eventually into the fiver. I did add airbags on the f250 and really liked them, but like said above, with a good wdh, they shouldn’t be needed for travel trailer. Happy Campin! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
At 5600# empty that travel trailer should pull pretty easy. You'll want a good weight distribution hitch with sway control. Uhaul or a local trailer sales/supply should be able to fix you up.
You probably won't need air bags but a weight distributing hitch with sway control is pretty much a necessity. 55 mph down the freeway with a 30 mph cross wind and getting passed by 53' semi truck/trailers; you'll be happy you spent the money. 1/2, 3/4, or 1 ton, pretty much everyone uses them. Tones down all the stuff happening behind you so you can focus on what's in front of you. If your squat is still too much with the distributing hitch, check for proper tongue weight and then make the decision on bags.
I haven’t seen the sticker for the model we have as it has the auxiliary fuel tank for toys. Truck is rated at 7500lb with 3.73 gears. Should I get a brake control unit as well?
Absolutely. You need brakes by law (not that it ever really mattered, when you got to move something you move it)
I have an extra hitch with everything. Not dual cam but has a sway bar and leveling links. Shipping wouldn’t be cheap though, it’s heavy.
I’m a bit naive in the trailering RV world but not full on dumbarse Not sure if my truck has integrated brake control at the harness now or not? It’s an 09 Silverado 4x4 with factory trailer package. I’ve pulled my neighbors utility trailer car dolly and my log splitters but nothing with brakes yet.
I think it is all wired. Factory controller below headlight switch if installed. You’d probably notice that though already. Chargeback wire in under hood fuse box needs to be hooked probably. Been a long time since I’ve hooked brakes up on a truck. Usually buy it factory install. Owner’s manual should have info in it.
Factory brake is nice, it reads master cylinder pressure and brakes trailer accordingly. Way better than aftermarket controls. Just set your level so you can feel drag and drive it.
They aren't cheap but I feel money well spent. I bought my Equalizer used from my brother and have towed a 28' travel trailer behind my F150 Ecoboost with great ease and success for about 7-8 years. The one down side is that the Equalizer can get noisy as its metal on metal friction that creates the sway control. Especially backing into a site They do make some shims that may reduce friction slightly but greatly reduce noise too. There is a leverage tool to load the sway control arms onto the brackets but a tip to make it easier is to raise the rear of your truck with the trailer tongue jack once the coupler is attached to the ball. This brings the sway control arms into alignment with the brackets where they can pretty much be just pushed into place. Then raise the jack and you're good to go. Happy travels.
Yes! I picked one up an after market one at Princess Auto (Canadian version of Harbor Freight) and installed it myself for my 2002 SUV when I first towed a pop-up trailer. Depending on your pickup, it may be just plug and play. I bought an OEM brake controller for my 2011 F150. Popped the trim, pulled out the change holder in the dash and plugged it in. I may have needed the dealership to enable the brake controller in the computer, can't remember. I also had to add the relay (that comes in the bag in the glove box) to the fuse box under the hood. This allowed me to send power back and charge the RV battery while connected. The brake controller came installed in my newer F150
Be careful pulling long grades as the transmission and brakes will heat up. I'd do a shake down trip and see how your truck handles the trailer.
