Trailer Improvements since the big trip

During the month-long trip described earlier we came up with several improvements we wanted to make to the trailer easier to use.  A few we made during the trip, but others had to wait until we returned.

The first thing after returning home was removing all the leftover food, clothes, etc., from the trailer and clean it thoroughly inside and out.  I also touched up the black paint on the hitch.

The first improvement item was to install an electric tongue jack.  Why?  Because there is a LOT of manual cranking involved to either attach the trailer to the hitch or remove it from the hitch.  Some of the additional manual cranking is to install or deinstall the WDH (Weight Distribution Hitch) bars.

Here are some pictures and a video of the new electric, 3,500 lb rated tongue jack.

The next thing we did was knock out one of the upper cabinet panels and partition it off from the door side.  I install a higher lip to keep things from falling out while we are in transit.  This improvement makes frequently used kitchen items much handier to access.  I did the wood working part and Jeri did an excellent job of staining things to match the existing cabinets.  The finished product looks almost as if it came from the factory that way.  Sorry, but I have no pictures of the work yet and the trailer is in storage at the moment.


In order to save time and trouble when getting the trailer ready to go camping and putting it back in storage I ordered and installed a battery cutoff switch.  Why?  Because after several days in storage, if the battery is fully hooked up, the propane sensor (always on) and always on entertainment front panel, etc., run the battery down.

Here are a couple of pictures.  When we put it in storage I can easily remove the knob in the off position to make it difficult, if not impossible, for someone to turn it on.

Closeup of the switch

And the last thing we did a couple of days ago was trade in our trusty 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 5.7L Hemi with 131,000 miles for a 2013 Ford F150 Platinum 145" wheelbase Supercrew 4x4 with the 3.5L Ecoboost (twin turbochargers) engine and Max Towing package.  Here are some pictures of the new brute.

The "new to us" F150 had just over 16,000 miles on it and is totally and fully loaded with all the gadgetry, to include awesome stereo, usb ports, built in Class IV hitch and electric brake control, 110v/150W inverter a/c outlet, heated and cooled leather seats, backup camera, 8" navigation and entertainment screen, Ford's Microsoft "Sync" system (in car phone and phone apps, music, etc.), power sunroof, power mirrors for both adjustment and trailer-towing extension (make wider), power adjustable steering wheel telescoping and tilt, and a whole host of other goodies, including power running boards that extend automatically when a door is opened and close automatically when a door is closed.

The truck is awesome!!  I adjusted the hitch ball height yesterday and today we went to storage and hooked up the trailer and tweaked the weight distribution links to make sure it tows the trailer with both the truck and the trailer level.  It's nearly perfect, but Thursday I am taking it up to the Camping World in St. Augustine to have them double-check my work, make any necessary adjustments and properly torque the hitch bolts.

We did make a couple of large loops around the storage facility while towing the trailer and I couldn't even tell it was back there.  Brutus is a BEAST!

[UPDATE 11/9/15]:  I did pull the trailer up to Camping World to have them check my hitch set up and they it was good.  They also tighten the hitch bolts a bit.  No charge for the work. The new truck towed the trailer like a dream.  I hardly knew it was back there.  I did not use the anti-sway friction bar and had absolutely no sway issues, even when big semis blasted by me.  I experimented with tow speeds of 60-65 mph (trailer "ST" tires are speed rated at 65 mph) and the F150 Ecoboost towed it effortlessly.  I will say that the computer was saying I was getting around 8-8.5 mpg and I did expect a bit better than that.

Regarding not using the sway control--I posted details and questions about this on the IRV2 web forum and the consensus of opinion was the anti-sway bar provides an extra measure of safety protection that I should strongly consider using when pulling at highway speeds.  So, I will use it going forward.  

One might ask, "Bill, why would you prefer not to use it?"  That is a good question.  The reason is because you are not supposed to back up, at least not at any more than a few degrees of turning while backing up with the anti-sway bar on because it can damage it, I guess.  So, when it comes time to back into the driveway at home, a campsite, or anywhere, I have to get out of the truck and remove the bar.  Not a real big deal, but an extra thing to do.

Something that a few responders to my blog questions suggested was putting a better hitch on the truck than the one Camping World put on the Jeep.  I will definitely upgrade it if we decide to get a bigger trailer at some point and am considering it for our current trailer, but these things cost from $500-$1000 or more.

 The "new" rig hooked up