Nervous Newbie

[Ellen and Jerry]

Welcome to the forum and rving. Some good ideas has been offered here. Mine for you is; Take your time to whatever you are doing (driving, setting up, or tearing down) and Stay focused on the task. This is important to remind ourselves for people of our age group; I am 79. ENJOY!!!

[ephl]

Thanks for all the tips and advice here. I have been following it as we our new owners of the same exact setup that was referenced a couple times: 22MLE and F150 3.5L. We have towed a pop up before with a minivan but this combination will be new for us. Our first trip will be short and flat to southern IL in a couple weeks. I have learned a lot from this forum and YouTube and am thankful for those of you who take the time to share your advice.

One question - how critical is the tire update issue that is often referenced? Can we live 1, 2, or 3 seasons or a certain number of miles with the tires that come with from the factory?

I’ll report back!

Our 22MLE hasn't come in yet. Did you buy yours new? If you had any issues with it when you picked it up could you let us know. Also if you could share your experiences from your first trip that would be great. Good luck and have fun!!

[geotex1]

Sound advice from a seasoned traveler is worth it's weight in gold!! I too have fused vertebrae, C2 - C7, the last surgery was rough! Some of the best advice seems to be to get a good tire pressure monitoring system and a good weight distribution hitch. The WDH that is included in the sale is an E2. I suppose that is an Equalizer II ? Is that an adequate hitch for this size trailer?

The Fastway e2 is a 2-point system versus the Equal-i-zer. Both are same parent company. Arguably, the e2 is the economy offering for them. Many campers are very happy with the e2 because the round bars are also lighter. I prefer the Equal-i-zer 4-point, but I'm an engineer so more is best. Lol!

[geotex1]

Thanks for all the tips and advice here. I have been following it as we our new owners of the same exact setup that was referenced a couple times: 22MLE and F150 3.5L. We have towed a pop up before with a minivan but this combination will be new for us. Our first trip will be short and flat to southern IL in a couple weeks. I have learned a lot from this forum and YouTube and am thankful for those of you who take the time to share your advice.

One question - how critical is the tire update issue that is often referenced? Can we live 1, 2, or 3 seasons or a certain number of miles with the tires that come with from the factory?

I’ll report back!

Depends on what tires they are. Some better rubber has been in play from the factory lately. Generally, about 3-4 years is the useful life of trailer tires. If you have a known "China Bomb" classed tire, you'll need to determine your own risk tolerance... We actually had a TT totaled from a delamination of the much raved Maxxis tire. The tread peeled away but remained attached making one incredible flail that destroyed frame, floor, sidewall, fixtures, plumbing, heating...

[ephl]

As a 10 month newbie to trailering myself, all of the above is great advice! We have a very similar rig to yours-F150 3.5 EcoBoost 4x4 SuperCrew and 245RL. Our 245 is a little heavier and longer, and we have had virtually NO issues towing. I believe (as has been posted here many times) that the key ingredient to safe towing is payload capacity and a good Weight Distributing Hitch. Our truck is "stickered" at 2020 lbs. payload capacity, and I'm sure we are comfortably within the limits. You should be even more so. My bit of advice would be to hitch and unhitch a few times in your driveway until all the steps are automatic. For myself, I get a little nervous when pulling into a site and there is an "audience" looking on. An example is setting the front stabilizers and then wondering why I can't lower the tongue to level. Make your own personal checklist and follow it. Send your travelling companions out for a walk around the grounds while you make sure everything is done, and in the correct order. You are the Captain! Something will go wrong if there are too many people "helping" you. This forum has much more in-depth and fantastic advice, so I won't try and pre-empt it. But, one little item specific to your (our) rigs, is that the tow/haul function is a lifesaver. It performs much like diesel engine braking, but you will see some very high rpm's on steeper downgrades when the automatic downshifting kicks in. It's a little unnerving to see 5,000 rpm in second gear at 50+ mph, but there have been no concerns that I've experienced. PS, use a credit with "points" when you start ordering the million little necessities you read about here from Amazon!

Happy Camping!

I know I will make mistakes when I first start setting up. I just hope they are minor and don't involve bodily harm !! If I order all of the "necessities" I see recommended on YouTube videos I will be broke before I start camping!!

[Tigger1]

I too have fused vertebrae, C2 - C7, the last surgery was rough! Some of the best advice seems to be to get a good tire pressure monitoring system and a good weight distribution hitch. The WDH that is included in the sale is an E2. I suppose that is an Equalizer II ? Is that an adequate hitch for this size trailer?

Same here, fused vertebrae with weight lifting restriction. We originally had an Equalizer 4-point WDH that worked as advertised but lifting the head housing at ~58lbs. aggravated my back sending me back to PT. It was too heavy for my wife also.

After a lot of research we bought an Andersen WDH that weighs a little under 60lbs. total, ~25lbs for the head. We have used it on three trailers now (see signature) for more than five years and are very satisfied. It’s easy to put on, take off, adjust, quiet, stores easily, my wife can put it on, and in my experience, has better sway control than the Equalizer. It works well with our 22mle.

Just something to consider along with everything else.

[[email protected]]

Our previous trailer was a Hartland Wilderness. We were pulling it with a Chevy Suburban. We were using a Drawtight hitch. For some reason that combination was not very good and the trailer was all over the road. We took it back to the dealer several time and each time they tried something and test drove it they said it was the worst trailer they ever pulled. We invested in a Hensley hitch and it made all the difference in the world. We now have a GD 2970 RL. Our truck never sways even when I am passing a truck while a truck is passing me. Also when first trailering take small hops. We still do that today. I live in the Tampa FL area and even today when we first head out we will go no further than St. Augustine. Stay a day or two make sure everything is working correctly then head out after that. Also we try to use only Pilot or Flying "J" gas stations. They are usually big enough to maneuver about without needing to back up. If you join the Pilot Flying "J' campers club you get additional discounts. Last bit of advice.... Even though I do have a backup camer, my wife and I use walkie talkies to communicate with each other. I never back up without her behind me and positioned where I can see her in the drivers rear view mirror.

[Robt225]

Tephlin, Yes we bought new and so far so good. We’ll learn more after our first trip but so far the only issue is the AC connection doesn’t enable the “quick cooling” feature that I expected. Others have responded that that is to be expected though. I emailed GD and didn’t get an answer.

[gabathey]

We are recently retired and in our early seventies. We have never owned an rv before. After researching various trailers we put a deposit on a 2021 Imagine XLS 22MLE. Our tow truck is a Ford F150 XLT Crew Cab 4x4 with the 3.5 Ecoboost engine rated at 13,200 towing capacity. We will be camping occasionally one or two weeks at a time probably no more than a thousand miles from home. Having never towed a trailer, I am a little concerned about potential mishaps on the road such tire blowouts, strong wind gusts, or mechanical problems that I may encounter that I may not be able to trace and fix. I am not the greatest fix-it person. Any advice you may offer would be highly appreciated, especially those of you with this particular model. Thanks so much ! Tim

I'm excited for you and this is a great thread on a great forum. I'll only offer three pieces of advice, most everything has been said. Two things that friends advised when we started:
1- "People will watch you back in, it's called entertainment and it's ok. Take your time and don't feel rushed. You will yell at each other at some point, that's ok too. It's part of the entertainment." Though this last part hasn't happened to us because we use walkie-talkies.
2- A friend with a similar rig set up said, "Don't screw around with hitches, just buy the Hensley". I did my research, swallowed hard (it ain't cheap), and bought it. I am soooo glad I did. I will not pull a travel trailer without one again. The ProPride and Hensley are the only two hitches on the market that mechanically lock out the possibility of sway. Everything else just reduces it.
3- this is from me. Get a good back up camera with a big screen. It's worth it's weight in gold. I've backed trailers on and off for 40 years now. But, the back up camera is still very helpful. It also helps going down the road to see what's behind you while driving. It would almost seem negligent not to use one to me now.

[NB Canada]

2- A friend with a similar rig set up said, "Don't screw around with hitches, just buy the Hensley". I did my research, swallowed hard (it ain't cheap), and bought it. I am soooo glad I did. I will not pull a travel trailer without one again. The ProPride and Hensley are the only two hitches on the market that mechanically lock out the possibility of sway. Everything else just reduces it.
.

I completely disagree with this. I do not use one of these hitches and have never had a sway incident in thousands and thousands of miles in all conditions

Proper loading will eliminate sway. Plus this is a monstrous hitch for the OP to handle


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew