any tips for new family?

[viking camper]

hello,
        i've been reading here and you have me thinking. my rockwood 1006 behind my 96 grand voyager didn't sway at all, partly because i have little wide tires on PU. stopping seemed ok. i haven't towed it with my 04 mountaineer yet. it has the 4.6 V8 and a class lll/lV tow package. i noticed the comments about OD, and shifting. and now sway that i didn't have. if these are issues i need to concider. i'm fairly sure the PU is 1350 dry, and ruffly 1550 gear added. how much difference can towing make with a change of TV. just wondering.

Since we are new to this I cannot say if you will have a sway issue (picking our camper up Friday or Saturday) but I am sure the veteran pu owners will respond. After reading some of the replies and talking with coworkers I am not concerned about sway. I hope you enjoy your mountaineer, I am told they (and the explorers) make good tv. I wanted a explorer. Wife wanted mountaineer so................

[maromeo]

As a Viking owner also, I know that Viking does not recommend the use of sway bars on its PUP. It actually voided the warranty of the original owner. We have had ours new since 2002 and have towed our PUP across country 3 times, had no issues with sway. We towed from AZ to NY via the southern route through the Smokey Mountains and back home through the Rockies. The PUP followed us just fine.


Hope this hellps.

Mary Romeo

[Jon Spencer]

Thought I'd chime in to this one, since I am a new PU owner myself with one trip under my belt, although grew up with a 60's PU and have towed many trailers.  My PU weighs in at about 2500 lbs. and is a 'wide body'...86".  I have elec. brakes but no controller.  I am towing with the below vehicle and didn't have a problem going 75 mph down the 101 to get home for the rest of the nascar race.  Yes, I was the guy with the PU in the fast lane passing everyone.  Anyway, you get my point.  My trailer is a perfect extension of my truck.  Doesn't sway or bounce.

[viking camper]

The reason I asked about trailer sway is I watched a news report about people who rent sm trailers for moving. It showed and reported alot of issues with trailer sway. What I have learned from this web site and coworkers is as long as I do my job corectly, trailer sway will NEVER be an issue. Thanks for helping a new family get ready for camping!

[ScouterMom]

"The reason I asked about trailer sway is I watched a news report about people who rent sm trailers for moving. It showed and reported alot of issues with trailer sway. "

That may be the issue right there - how many rentals are well maintained? Are the tires properly inflated? how many are not loaded correctly? or have hitches that might not be the right height? How many people rent trailers who have no clue what they are doing and don't care?

I've towed large flatbed trailers and small open or enclosed ones for our scout troop, a 21' speedboat with a double axel trailer with brakes, my small and larger pups and a few rental trailers for 'moving'.  The only time I had a problem with sway was on the smallest and lightest  - because the tires weren't properly and evenly inflated, and on bringing my current (older 1973) camper home, because my trailer hitch was way too high to balance the trailer correctly. ( a drop hitch to tow it level solved the problem)

So I would  make sure your vehicle, hitch and trailer are properly set up, & take a few test runs locally - you probably don't need anything else.

As for camping first time out - set the camper up in the driveway and do a test  run. The kids will LOVE it - make sure you cook, eat, play, everything like you would on a trip - except - everytime you run back into the house or garage to get something, WRITE IT DOWN! this is where you find things out like how sharp the corner of that stove cabinet is in the dark - maybe you need a night light?

Some things you will want to use both at home and camping - others you might want to duplicate so they can stay in the camper all season.  (if you don't have to pack it everytime, there's less chance you will forget something) It's a good idea to have a camping kitchen set, linens, etc.  These don't have to be new - clear out your kitchen & closets of old stuff, or hit the garage sales!

think about how you will 'live' in the camper - how will you pack it, what might you need to reach and get out BEFORE you put it up, and what you might need to put in AFTER it's folded.  Distribute weight evenly. (My BF wanted all his tools in the bench near the door - uh uh! too much weight on one side!)  Make sure that flash lights are handy, what if you have to back up in the dark? or crawl INTO the folded up camper to find something?

You'll probably fine-tune most of your first season - but even so, I can't say I've ever had a problem we couldn't deal with or improvise.  I've had cables break (but I have vintage campers), canvas leaks, forgotten things like a sleeping bag, spare shoes, swimsuits, dishes - but we always figure it out somehow. I figure if everyone returns in one piece and reasonably well fed - it's a successfull campout!

Laura

[fallsrider]

Just FYI, here is the camping list I created for our family. It works for us, but would probably be modified for almost every over family. It only includes the essentials and other things we don't want to forget. Everything we take is not on here. So far, we haven't forgotten anything important in 4 trips.  

Camper

[viking camper]

Thanks, Thats a nice list

[Clarabelle]

Setting up the rig in your yard and "camping' in it is the best advice.  Our first trip out (with daughter and grandkids) was an eye opener.  It was early Spring and the propane regulator was not working so no heat, hot water heater, or cooking inside.
There were other quirky things that happened such as a backlash in the cable and the roof falling partially falling down as a result; improper set up on the awning and a high wind (bad combination).  

We all survived and had a good time, but for awhile, my stress level was off the chart.  Wished I'd done the dry run ahead of time.

[viking camper]

OK that settles it will make reservation for our driveway for our first trip, thanks!