ProPride install questions

[McDugals]

I recently bought a 2670MK (2020). I have also purchased a ProPride hitch. When we went to the dealer for the inspection last week, I measured from the floor to the bottom of the frame. This measurement (front and back) was 19 1/2". Also measured from the ground to the top of the coupler and it was also 19 1/2". I was kind of in a hurry as I had already spent 3 hours on the inspection and they were talking about kicking me outside. Following the instructions in the PP install manual, I came up with a hitch box height of 14". So using the manual, I set up my stinger accordingly. Looking at it, it doesn't look right. Also, I have about 11" ground clearance from the bottom of the stinger. Granted, my driveway is on a slight slope, but once I get the WD bars on, this 11" is going to be reduced. Doesn't seem like enough clearance to me. Also, the stinger that goes into the hitch box is at quite an angle.

Question is any of you 2670MK owners, can you share your ground to frame measurement if you know it? (level of course). Second, any 2670/PP owners, am I missing something here? I am going to have to install the rest of this in the parking lot at the dealership when I go to pick up my rig about an hour from home and any tools I didn't think I would need.
Thanks in advance.
Jeff

[sande005]

Mine's away in storage, so can't give much advice. And it was a couple of years ago, so details get foggy. Your stinger looks tipped down too far, though. Mine's close to level.

Things you may run into:
I had to move my propane tank tray, to get everything to clear. Also needed a few big washers to elevate it above the clamps used for the yoke bracket. Just remove it and the tanks, and do a re-install on it later, when you get home.
Needed a drill and bit, to relocate the emergency brake switch. It was in the way, otherwise.
My chains were too short, had to buy a few extra links at the local tractor supply store. Sorry, can't remember how many. (Maybe five per chain?) They are pretty heavy duty - Home Depot doesn't stock.
Emergency brake cable needed extending. I used this one: https://www.amazon.com/Fastway-Foot-.../dp/B004TR4IGW Dealer may have this in stock.
Make sure you have all the proper sized sockets and torque wrenches - see the manual. Tape measure. Level.
Phillips screwdriver, small sockets, to undo wiring and propane hose brackets. I reused them in original holes, but had to loosen/remove/replace to get all the hitch parts on.
Masking tape, pen/pencil for roughing in the front fender rise/return when initially setting the WD bars.
Get an electric drill adaptor to use for adjusting the WD tension. Same size as used on the trailer jacks. Your dealer will be happy to sell you the Camco version.....using a drill is fine, do NOT use an impact driver!
An assortment of open and closed wrenches, mostly for the various U-bolts.

Big job to do in a parking lot! Took me all day at home.....

[McDugals]

Did you need an extension for your 7 way power?

[recono]

I needed to extend both the safety chains & the power plug. Bought the PP ext from Pro Pride. Hitch takes some practice,(at least it did for me), but is worth it. Safe travels.

[Jerryr]

It’s been 3-1/2 years since I installed mine so I’m a little foggy. Plus I no now have a 5th wheel. Sande05’s posting above is very good.

I believe it took me 6 hours in my driveway to complete the installation. The suggestion to remove the propane and it’s pan at the dealership and do that at home is a good one to save time at the dealership.

Here’s the only 2 pictures I have of mine. 2016 F-150 and Imagine 2800BH. You can see the extra chain links I needed in the pix. I did not need Extension for power cable or brake cable.

[sande005]

Did you need an extension for your 7 way power?

Power was fine. Bring a handful of zip ties. I used them to hold the power cord in place after I routed it under and over the hitch.

Don't forget something to put in the release lever for the trailer coupler. In a conventional setup this would be a lock, but since you will likely never take the coupler off again, a nut and bolt works fine too. First time, for initial setup, I used a bent piece of coat hanger. Anything will pretty much do, to prevent the release lever from popping open.

[McDugals]

Thanks all. Heading there shortly before our stay at home order starts. Stay well and I’ll let you know how it goes

[McDugals]

Mission accomplished! In the parking lot with a brisk wind and chilly wind chill, my son and I were able to install the ProPride and get home safely. Install went relatively smooth. Took about 3 1/2 hours. I had all the tools I needed. I had to remove the propane tanks and tray. I stowed them for the ride home and did not reinstall.

I must say that the delivery coordinator (Annie) at General RV in Canton was amazing. She came out and offered water and even a sandwich to me and my son while we worked. Had to call Brent at ProPride just twice and it ended up I was fine with what I had going.

A few observations...my clearance is only about 6 inches which I expect will cause me problems over time. It barely (and I mean BARELY) cleared my driveway. For a couple nuts, deep well sockets were needed ( I had deep well impact sockets with me thankfully).

The 50 mile drive home was uneventful. Stopped at the rest area about 1/3 of the way home to check everything. Had a little porpoising, but I expect to rid that with a little extra air in the TV tires. I forgot to up those before I left. It was fairly windy and it was noticeable, but I had zero sway and I didn't even notice any truck suck with the big rigs passing, but oddly enough, the smaller trucks created some (?).

Thank you all for your helpful guidance.

[sande005]

Excellent!
FYI - when putting the propane back on, the WD towers don't have to be directly over the ends of the bars. Don't go crazy, of course, but ProPride said it was fine if they were a little forward or back. My tray sits on top of the PP U-bolts. I used stainless fender washers under the tray to fill in so the tray was supported.

When mine comes out of storage, I plan to reset everything - I think the way my storage guy moves the trailer may have misaligned things a little. Trying to reduce truck suck and porpoising.
The Airstream forum has a bazillion posts about this hitch, seems to be ProPride central over there.
Suggestions for my issues were:
More weight to the front helps with porpoising, a lot. Ditto with eliminating any play where the "stinger" goes into your receiver on the truck. Even a slight bit of looseness can exacerbate the problem. I'm pondering the vast array of "anti-rattle" clamps to eliminate that.
Make sure the yoke piece on the underside, behind the jack, is dead on centered. If it gets a bit one side or the other, it can contribute to poor handling.
Of course, also air up your truck tires to the max on the sidewalls.

Double check the length of your chains, especially when turning. Mine were a link too short, initially. Turning in a CG, and going over a speed bump at the same time, tightened them up enough to actually bend the skid guard on the bottom. Easy to bend it back straight, so more of a cosmetic issue, than anything. But it was surprising I needed a bit more length than I thought.

Yep, those bars are low. I've got a few scrapes on mine, too.

If you have to drop off the trailer at a dealer or other place for others to move, they won't be able to hitch up. Plan on leaving the stinger assembly with it (connected up), so they can use their receiver. It is impossible to line the stinger mounted on the hitch with the receiver on your truck. Manually remove it, mount on your truck, then hitch like normal. Make sure to lightly coat the stinger with grease. With it left in place, normal rusting (even a bit) will freeze it in place in short order. I had to chock the trailer, and use a tow strap on the truck to pop the stinger out, as it was impossible to unmount it by hand. Leaves a dent in the asphalt when it comes out. A bit of grease made it easy to do by hand, even after many months in storage.

Hitching and unhitching - some guys advocate measuring the height of the socket one time just before hitching up, and use that as a guide to set the trailer jack height, to get an easy unhitch height. Others advocate for watching the ball coupler, as they say you can see it move a tiny bit when you have your jack height and things become unloaded. I use the height method. I also put tape marks on my breaker bar used for the clamps, and use that as a height gauge for both the WD towers and the socket.

[McDugals]

I looked at it today and I think I'm going to drill holes through my propane tank tray. I'm thinking I should be able to undo those ubolts without taking anything else apart, but I need to take a closer look. If I can, then simply drill the holes, set the tray on the a-frame, drop the u-bolts in and reattach. No need to attach tank tray as it will be secured by u-bolts. Once again, need to think it through a little more, but in theory it should work.

I was told by the guy at General that they make you take the whole thing off when you bring it in for service. When I mentioned the lot bar, he said the way they move them around, they have caused problems to the PP in the past so they won't do it that way anymore. They use tow motors. Hope I never have to do that!

I will check the yoke again. It was kind of hard to line up because my front jack is just a bit off center and it was blocking my view. I'm going to measure it, but I think it's good. As far as the weight goes, I'm thinking I was light on tongue weight. I have the tanks off (in the bed of the truck) and I had a pile of tools in the bed as well. No weight in the trailer. My measurement was 1/16" lower than my unloaded measurement on the front wheel wells, but I think the nose might be to low. I have to look into the whole washer/ball tilt think again to better understand that.

My plan is to make a story stick. I want to put markings for the slideouts, jacks, and a couple other things.

Thanks for all your input. Much appreciated.