j

On another note,  some of you were inquiring about my tv.

I am using a 1984 Chevy C10 with a 350 V8 engine.  Originally these were rated at around 200 hp.  The guy I bought this from was a race car driver and built the engine.  Not sure how many miles are on the engine.  He told me that it was close to 400 hp due to mods.... Electronic ignition, headers,  corvette heads, flow master exhausts, hypereutectic pistons.  He also installed a shift kit that extended the shift points so the gears wind out a little more than stock.  He used this truck to pull his race car but quit racing and sold truck.  There is also an auxiliary tranny cooler but it is small and no fan.  I will replace soon with a larger one that has fan attached.  I had the compression tested and all 8 cylinders were good and in range.  It does smoke a little on a start up and I think this is (hopefully) deteriorated valve guide seals. 

It runs great... but just to be sure, I had transmission serviced, all bearings repacked, differential grease replaced, new tires, new shocks, new power steering pump and hoses, new engine mounts, recently replaced radiator and hoses as well.

Wheel base is 10 feet.  It seems to pull fine and like i said earlier the dealer installed torsion bars, sway bar and a massive hitch that would accommodate the torsion bars and sway bar.  This set up adds at least 100 lbs to the tongue weight that is listed at 320 in the owners manual.    I have not weighed the truck but from internet research I am seeing that the truck weight is typically around 4000 lbs.  The weight of the 180 is 2662 lbs.  The gvwr rating of the truck is 5200 (I have little understanding of what this means even though I have done a lot of research).  Every one at the dealer said I should be able to pull with no problems but I got a feeling they say this to everyone just to sell campers.

I do hate that it is a 3 speed tranny, but can't afford an upgrade at this point.  It is a chevy 350 tranny.  My mechanic said he has never seen one of those come into the shop with problems.  

I do plan on putting as much weight into the truck rather than the rpod as I do feel the truck is a little on the light side.  Good idea?  Bad idea?

  

Taking it camping this weekend to make sure everything works.  Dealer told me not to run the a.c. or fridge on regular current as it could cause damage .... so have to go to campground for proper amps.

Just going to pull it about 20 miles down highway, no freeway yet.  I do worry cause this is an old truck, but we will see how she does.  I've had her about 10 years and never had any problems other that a rear wheel bearing that went out at one point and had to replace the carb a few years ago.

Jack

What is your wheelbase? 10', 11', 12'? 

Any idea what the weight is? If it's over 5,000 lbs (I'm guessing it is), then it should be a fairly stable platform with an R-pod.

jp

My tv is a 1984 Chevy Silverado, 350 engine, 3 speed auto trans  with a receiver hitch mounted to the frame.  Short wheel base.

I read somewhere that short wheel base is less stable for towing.  Maybe this is why they gave me the 

extra equipment.

jp

Will weigh trailer tongue soon.  No long trips for awhile.

The heavy hitch and torsion bars should add plenty of extra tongue weight at least 100 pounds,  the tongue weight listed in the sales manual is 320 pounds (if I remember correctly) and the camper weight is around 3000 lbs.

Dealer did not charge me anything for the extra towing equipment.

jp

I called dealer today and tech said they were contrary and that if I came by he could show me how they worked.  He said other people had problems with this as well.  This is the one thing that I found no manual or instructions in the large packet they gave me.

Stealerships will sell you a sway control hitch way before they tell you the real secret (if they even know it). I have driven all over the country with a 40' 10,000 ibs dry weight travel trailer and did not need sway control.. But I did have the correct tongue weight and the correct curb weight/wheelbase tow vehicle. Sway control only hide problems...  it's just like wearing a helmet on a motorcycle, it only allows your family to have an open casket at your funeral, it won't keep you safe. 

here is a great video about how important tongue weight it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2fkOVHAC8Q

But if you had it in the first place, you probably don't even notice it, and you just keep on toe-tapping to whatever is on the stereo. 

Been enjoying this forum for a while and finally took the plunge.  My name is Jack.  Recently retired and just wanting to try something different.  Tent camped a lot in the past but ready to move up to glamping!

Had a great time and only 3 issues.

1.)  Neither of the 2 usb charging ports worked.  So I tried usb port on the radio and phone said it was charging but did not charge and by morning was dead.  Weird.

2.)  The legs for the awning would not lock into place when you closed the locking lever.  The only way I can see this happening is who ever showed this camper repeatedly raised and lower the legs without releasing levers... ether that or it is just plan defective.

3.)  The slide made a loud pop anytime you moved it in or out.  Turned out to be a vertical piece of trim that hung on the bottom and then would release.  Cutting off about 3/32 inch off bottom of the trim solved that problem,  but if only whoever nailed it on had placed all the way up it would have never hung at the bottom.

misc. stuff - picking up packet and found the year long FR warranty extension form was included.  The lady did mention the extended warranty they sold and there was place mat like thing sitting in front of me describing their extended warranty... but she only mentioned it and no hard sale.  Now I gotta decide if I want it.  I normally do not purchase extended warranties on anything...but these things are so cheaply made and looks like a million things that could go wrong.

Dealer included and installed torsion bar with ball and drop down included, weight distributing hitch,  a friction type sway bar, 7 pin bumper hookup, a 7 to 4 pin adapter so I can hook up my boat, a 50 to 30amp adapter,  and brake controller. They hard wired it from my battery (this is an older truck) and I was pleased to see they even installed inline fuses on the wires.  

We did purchase a surge protector, cover for the top vent, stair rug and bug screens for all openings.

Now we are trying to decide if we should buy the cover as we have no sheltered place to park.   Should we buy a cover?

Only pulled it about 6 miles with a top speed of 45 and it pulled well.  I asked several questions about axle weight limits, GVWR etc.  No one seemed concerned.  I can only assume that they are advised on what to install for each camper.  What they put on mine seems like over kill as the drop down hitch weighs at least 50 lbs, and if the torsion bars were any heavier I would not be able to push them up into sockets.  I struggle at one point to install torsion bars and could not get the chain link hooked as far down as they told me to do at the dealer. Finally used jack to raise everything and and easily hooked chain where dealer told me to hook it.  Problem solved.

I did notice that when I lowered jack w/o torsion bar the truck really bottomed out.  This did not happen with torsion bars.  Will measure distance between tires and body with and without camper soon.

Anyway, will have to return to dealer to have usb ports and awning leg issues fixed.

If you purchase one of these I suggest you try the little things yourself and make sure it all works.  Still haven't tried fridge, heater, shower, crapper, a.c., as we had no 30 amp hook up.  Fingers crossed.

Long story short - lots of fun, lots of features,  interior lights tooooo bright.   Permanent retinal damage

Jack