Measurements for WD hitch on a 22mle.

[serpa4]

I've been shopping for RVs for months. Finally decided on a Imagine XLS 22mle. GVWR of 7,000.
I have a 2011 Chevy 2500HD with a tow capacity of 13,000 and payload capacity of 2,500+ on the door sticker.
I'm well under my capacity. I don't really think I need much of a WD hitch or sway control, but always best to have one, even small.
I'd like to purchase a WD hitch so I have it when I have to tow it home. Decades ago I had a Equalizer. Nice, but heavy and noisy.
I'm going with an Anderson WD (the one with chains). It rates pretty good and most say don't too goo for over 30ft. I'll be 22' so good to go. It's light and quite and I don't need the best. I want easy and light weight to carry/install/remove.

Since I'm now shopping for a 22mle, I'd like to get the WD now. I have a 2.5" receiver hitch rated for 21,000lbs and 2,000 tongue.
There are NO 22mle around me; I'll have to drive hundreds of miles (fine with me). But, I'm trying to see what a couple measurements are for the 22mle.

1) what is the height of the hitch when the trailer is level?
I need to see what I need, 4", 6", 8" drop. On my truck I used to have a standard ball hitch with 10" drop and I dragged it a couple times. I'd like to go 6" but need to do the math 1st.

2) How tall is the frame on the 22mle? 6" frame?

Thanks everyone.

 

[jas451]

I've been shopping for RVs for months. Finally decided on a Imagine XLS 22mle. GVWR of 7,000.
I have a 2011 Chevy 2500HD with a tow capacity of 13,000 and payload capacity of 2,500+ on the door sticker.
I'm well under my capacity. I don't really think I need much of a WD hitch or sway control, but always best to have one, even small.
I'd like to purchase a WD hitch so I have it when I have to tow it home. Decades ago I had a Equalizer. Nice, but heavy and noisy.
I'm going with an Anderson WD (the one with chains). It rates pretty good and most say don't too goo for over 30ft. I'll be 22' so good to go. It's light and quite and I don't need the best. I want easy and light weight to carry/install/remove.

Since I'm now shopping for a 22mle, I'd like to get the WD now. I have a 2.5" receiver hitch rated for 21,000lbs and 2,000 tongue.
There are NO 22mle around me; I'll have to drive hundreds of miles (fine with me). But, I'm trying to see what a couple measurements are for the 22mle.

1) what is the height of the hitch when the trailer is level?
I need to see what I need, 4", 6", 8" drop. On my truck I used to have a standard ball hitch with 10" drop and I dragged it a couple times. I'd like to go 6" but need to do the math 1st.

2) How tall is the frame on the 22mle? 6" frame?

Thanks everyone.

I have almost the same set up, F-250 3/4, which happened to come with the "camper package", so I have two extra shock absorbers in the rear.
Just got the Anderson WDH last week. Had been using the standard "bars" hitch, which I had passed down from our previous two trailers. It always seemed to work ok, but I was never sure if I really had it dialed in, but maybe didn't need to with this truck. I got tired of always dealing with the bars, and the hitch itself weighs a ton! I was a little skeptical with the Andersen and the chains, but seemed to get good reviews and figured for my particular situation would be a solution. I got the Andersen and installed it (the packaging is pretty woeful, be aware, make sure you get all the parts!) but haven't yet pulled out and taken it out on the road yet. I don't expect any issues (hopefully) and I also purchased a "haul gauge" which should help me determine the tongue weight, and weight distribution on the rear and front axles..... should help in dialing it in.
The hitch height when the trailer is level is 24". The frame is 5". It comes with a 4" drop. I've got mine pointing up, hitch ball height @ 26".
We just got our 22MLE end of March, and have been on only one short trip so far. It's all good, have done several mods in the meantime based on what we had done with our previous rig, a Salem Hemisphere, they are both 26'.
We had to travel a couple of hundred miles as well....even though there were a couple of 22MLE's a lot closer, metro KC, but wouldn't deal at the time....so I think you'll like it....we're keeping an eye on the schwintek slide though...

 

[FL-Guy]

I had a GD customer service rep tell me all of the Imagine series are built on the same basic frame. Different lengths but the same structure. He said they are all 24" level at the coupler.

We had a 22RBE prior to trading to a 17MKE. I didn't have to change anything on my E4 hitch when I switched it over except I did take out one washer on the head because I didn't need as much weight distribution to the front truck.

Hope that helps.

 

[serpa4]

I had a GD customer service rep tell me all of the Imagine series are built on the same basic frame. Different lengths but the same structure. He said they are all 24" level at the coupler.

We had a 22RBE prior to trading to a 17MKE. I didn't have to change anything on my E4 hitch when I switched it over except I did take out one washer on the head because I didn't need as much weight distribution to the front truck.

Hope that helps.

Thanks, it helps backup what the 1st poster said at 24" so I feel confident I can use that to get close. I'd love to get a 4" drop/rise rather than a 6" and certainly don't want 8" if I don't need it.

I have not bought one yet, but we have the 17MKE as our #2 choice behind the 22mle.
Why did you downsize to a 17MKE? I know, shorter is often better (easier, more RV parks, gassing up) for me as long as it fits my needs. I'd still do the 17, but I need more storage as my wife and I will take off for months at a time and storage was just not enough in the 17 (no dinette storage, less under bed storage, smaller pass through, etc.) Still like the 17MKE; SO much RV for only 17ft.

 

[BoredWeasel]

I have the anderson on my 22 mle as well. It does great.

 

[FL-Guy]

Thanks, it helps backup what the 1st poster said at 24" so I feel confident I can use that to get close. I'd love to get a 4" drop/rise rather than a 6" and certainly don't want 8" if I don't need it.

I have not bought one yet, but we have the 17MKE as our #2 choice behind the 22mle.
Why did you downsize to a 17MKE? I know, shorter is often better (easier, more RV parks, gassing up) for me as long as it fits my needs. I'd still do the 17, but I need more storage as my wife and I will take off for months at a time and storage was just not enough in the 17 (no dinette storage, less under bed storage, smaller pass through, etc.) Still like the 17MKE; SO much RV for only 17ft.

We had several reasons to downsize.
We got the 22RBE our first TT. I really liked the 22MLE better because it had both dinette and recliners but, my wife wanted a bedroom door and she liked the kitchen size in the RBE better. Happy wife, happy life. I did have to talk her down to the 22' box.
After a few trips we found what you mentioned was true. Backing into tight spots and getting through gas stations etc was a pain. AND we never closed the bedroom door. Also did not like the camp side slideout.
We saw the 17MKE at the RV show and both liked it. I was skeptical of the Murphy bed but liked the overall layout and the shorter size. There is actually more open room and seating in the 17 with the bed up than in the 22RBE. We got a great deal on a 4 mo old 2023 MKE so we went for it.
We've been on several multi week trips with it already and we love it. Perfect size for the two of us. So much easier to maneuver. We found plenty of space inside for all our "stuff" and we still have some empty cabinets and drawers.
I put shelves in the hanging closets so there is a lot of space there. For 17' there is an amazing amount of storage.

Check out the Facebook 17MKE owners page. Lots of ideas and tips from full timers there.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/144501983206797/

I was surprised that the gas mileage on my truck was about the same for both trailers. Think its the giant sail behind the truck more than the weight that does it.