RE: Newbie admits loss of control at RV show...

Surfcal · Jan 07, 2003, 11:01 AM

duanefamilyRegarding those weight distribution devices, I think Civil_War_Buff has a used one that he s selling.

Surfcal

Civil_War_Buff · Jan 07, 2003, 01:01 PM

Surfcal

QuoteORIGINAL: Surfcal

Regarding those weight distribution devices, I think Civil_War_Buff has a used one that he s selling.

Surfcal

CWB has a NEW one that he is selling at a used item price!! Let me know if you are interested.

Now, allow me to say WELCOME to the fold!! I had a ball at the RV show on Saturday myself...I have never seen so many RV s under many tents!! I assume you bought it from Alpine, as they were the only one s sporting Colemans if I recall. I checked out the Monterey...what a neat looking P/Up.

Speaking of winterizing, while we were at the show, I kept noticing pink liquid in several of the sinks, and told Veronica, " look, somebody has been dumping Kool-Aid in a bunch of these sinks" , then after a while I thought wait...I have seen that stuff in catalogs and at Camping World....that there is winter anti-freeze!!!

duanefamily, you are now associated with some of the most fun people I have met in a long while. We are glad that you have joined us, and as long as you stay away from TMM, all will be just fine!![

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]Well, wait, surcal too, ok surcal, TMM and Red Neff Barchetta!! [&:][&:][

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See you at Olema!!!

Happy Campin <><

NightOwl · Jan 07, 2003, 01:23 PM

duanefamilyDuaneFamily Mom, welcome to a great source of information AND FUN!!

And I am SOOOO JEALOUS--you not only live in a super place for camping, but you will get to camp with SOME SUPER WONDERFUL PEOPLE! Just spend a day or two in their company and you will be well on your way to being a Popup Expert! If you have questions that group cannot answer, I will be totally AMAZED!

PS--You are SUPPOSED to lose control at an RV Show--that is their actual purpose in life.

Enjoy your great new camper and the wonderful world you are about to introduce your " wigglers" to! And come back and let us know all the details of the shake-down cruise![

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duanefamily · Jan 07, 2003, 08:50 PM

SactoCampers

Quoteand don t hesitate to ask more questions if what I ve said has confused you.

Yep, I m a tad confused... What s the difference between the Reese mini 350 and the hitch they most likely sold me... Which is just listed as a Hitch 5. Is there much difference in price? I m confused because I bought a class 3 hitch for my minivan previously... and they re selling me this Hitch 5 which is probably just what fits into my class 3 hitch... so... yeah... more detail would be nice.

Was that really anit freeze? I thought folks were being real rude and dumping fruit punch down the sinks.

When I first went to that show... I was completely flipped out. It was only my second show. The first cost about $2.00 and this was so much more. I felt like I was walking through some evangelical garage sale the way people were slapping papers in my hands... I got into that first section where the RV s were and thought we had been totally ripped off... cause I didn t see the door leading to the other sections! I was amazed to discover the actual amount of RV s at that show!

I did buy from Alpine. They threw in a scooter, seats and a screened in room which was kinda cool.

Are there any known homeschoolers in the group?

duanefamily momma

ps... the family is very psyched about Olema Ranch... we signed up today. Maybe we should have a live web cam recording our first attempts at parking... might as well archive it as I am quite sure the bunch of you wont let us forget it! [

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SactoCampers · Jan 08, 2003, 12:08 AM

duanefamilyDuanefamiliy momma,

The Reese mini 350 is not a hitch, itself, it s more of an accessory. You probably have a Class III hitch reciever mounted on your Odyssey. That s the thing with the square hole. Then you have a drawbar with coupler ball that slides into that square hole. You take the trailer coupler (the tip of the trailer tongue), hitch it up to the Odyssey, and hook up the safety chains. Sound about right? Now enter the mini 350.

The mini 350 is a separate accessory that bolts to the tongue of the trailer. It has two bars that mount to two much smaller coupler balls that need to be welded to your drawbar (they make one prefabricated, too). Those bars are what redistribute the tongue weight from the rear of the Odyssey (i.e. tongue of the trailer) to the front of the Odyssey. They also help control sway. Most people are very happy with it, and CWB has a new one for sale!

That s about as simple as I can explain it. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I suggest clicking the link in my previous post so you can get a good feel for what it looks like. It s definitely something you can talk to the group about at one of the rallies or if you re able to stop by Lake Chabot this weekend. Unfortunately, I have no idea what Hitch 5 is/means. I would need more information to comment.

Ab Diver · Jan 08, 2003, 12:28 AM

duanefamilyduanefamily momma : Welcome to the club! You bought yerself a wunnerful pop-up. It s gunna be cool meeting all the new faces at the rallies this year.

If at all possible, try to do a " driveway/backyard camp" . Plan the whole thing as if you were camping for real. This will help you solve some little problems before they grow into bigger problems, and iron out any wrinkles in your routine. And take the pop-up to a vacant parking lot and practice some basic moves: backing straight, backing to the left, backing to the right, how far to pull forward before turning, stuff like that. In no time you ll be backing figure eights around two selected spots on the pavement. (yes, you will... trust me. It took just under an hour to train my step-BIL when he bought our old Starcraft. When the hour was done, he really was backing figure eights around stuff and parking the trailer on a dime tossed on the ground.)

Again, welcome to PUT and NNC!

Civil_War_Buff · Jan 08, 2003, 09:01 PM

SactoCampers

QuoteORIGINAL: SactoCampers

The mini 350 is a separate accessory that bolts to the tongue of the trailer. It has two bars that mount to two much smaller coupler balls that need to be welded to your drawbar , and CWB has a new one for sale!

Actually CWB has a new mini-400 single bar weight distributing hitch for sale. I sent the mini-350 back when I learned that the 400 will allow for a traditional sway control to be used in conjunction. " I was told" it was a better set-up. Anyhow, I think that they have stopped manufacturing the 350, didn t they?

I realize that there for while I was changing hitches as often as Amy was hoping Neff would change his socks! [

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][8D][&:]

" Are ya ready kids?....."

Happy Campin <><

gsm x2 · Jan 08, 2003, 10:51 PM

duanefamilyOK, here is a question I need to ask of Sammyslave and I think Civil War Buff. Is Alpine where you bought your popups....most interested in Sammyslave s answer after seeing them at Bodega on their maiden voyage.

gsm x2

duanefamily · Jan 09, 2003, 01:06 AM

SactoCampers

Quoteor if you re able to stop by Lake Chabot this weekend.

I thought the get together at Lake Chabot was in two weeks... instead of one... am I wrong?

I think I m going to wait till I see how the whole thing feels when I pull it tomorrow and hopefully CWB will still have it when I come around to realizing I should purchase it.

I went to the dealer tonight and one Honda guy said I didn t need anything special if I was under 3500lbs with a single axle... the other guy said I not only had to buy the transmission cooler but also a power steering cooler. Each of these items is about $250. What gives? I saw the transmission cooler being sold online with the hitch... but nary a mention about the power steering cooler. Needless to say, I decided to wait a bit till I get a little more knowledgable.

And as far as the Hitch 5... the Alpine dealer said it was short for their standard hitch packet which includes a break controller, trickler charger, lights, ball mount and ball and sway control bar (some brand called draw tight).

thanks again!
duanefamily mamma

gsm x2 · Jan 09, 2003, 04:55 AM

ab diverChabot s the weekend after this---January 17-19

gsm x2

Surfcal · Jan 09, 2003, 08:53 AM

ab diverduannefamily:

Between Sactocampers, CWB, Ab Diver, Sammyslave and Y-Guy, you should be in good hands. Of course you couldn t deduce that by the way they ve been carrying on in the Clarification thread, but I m sure they ll be stepping up to the plate soon to give you sound advice.

You might consider coming out to Lake Chabot to visit us, at least on Saturday morning and we ll all be there. We can give you tips and help and it ll give these folks a visual of your set-up. Even if you didn t stay overnight, there s lot of areas there where we can help you practice.

Surfcal

Civil_War_Buff · Jan 09, 2003, 09:03 AM

gsm x2

QuoteORIGINAL: gsm x2

OK, here is a question I need to ask of Sammyslave and I think Civil War Buff. Is Alpine where you bought your popups....most interested in Sammyslave s answer after seeing them at Bodega on their maiden voyage.

gsm x2

Scott,

It IS where I bought one of my Pop-Ups, that was why I asked Duanefamily if that is where he bought his. I didn t want to raise any undue concern, especially seeing as he just bought it. [&:]

Duanefamily, if you want any specifics please email me, and I will be glad to share my experiences with you.

As for anti-sway, please don t listen to what the dealer tells you on the subject, people here are product USERS, not sellers and as I always say..." No amount of sway is OK!" . And along that same line, a Draw-Tite anti-sway is a very fine product and should serve you well. Should you find that you have any interest in the Mini-400, that same sway bar can be used on it as well.

We (Veronica and I) won t be able to make Chabot, I am being " installed" as the President of my " other" club, the one that I got ALL the grief over at Del Valle on Saturday!! But we will be at Olema.

Happy Campin <><

SactoCampers · Jan 09, 2003, 10:00 AM

duanefamilyDuanefamily momma,

Thanks for the clarification on the Hitch 5. Makes more sense now. It sounds like they included the sway control device, which is good. All you would really need at this point is the Reese weight distribution device that CWB has for sale. The sway control device you have and CWBs weight distribution device perform the exact same duties as the Reese mini-350 I mentioned previously, so you don t need the mini 350.

Most everyone here recommends at least the auxiliary transmission cooler. I know the Honda is rated for 3500 lbs without it, but if you want to ensure a longer transmission life, I would get an auxiliary cooler. This keeps the transmission fluid cool. When it gets too hot (which occurs from stop and go driving conditions, towinig in the mountains, excessive shifting), the fluid can overheat (i.e. break down) and cease to protect your transmission, which shortens its life. Transmission fluid should be pink. If after towing, you ever notice it is not pink, but more brown or black, get an auxiliary cooler immediately as what you have would be considered inadequate.

My minivan came with a tow package that came with an enormous transmission cooler (among other things). It covers almost the entire front of my radiator. You may want to look at the front of your radiator to see how large yours is. An auxiliary transmission cooler should cost <$150 installed by an independent transmission shop, not $250 as quoted. The cooler itself costs about $60-$70 and if you or your husband are mechanically inclined or have a friend who is, you can install it yourself.

I have not heard of Odyssey owners installing a heavier-duty power steering cooler. So I would pass on this one. Even my minivan with a pretty substantial towing package did not include a heavier duty power steering cooler.

It s good that you re waiting to get the information you need. We don t want you buying stuff you don t need, only the stuff you do. The Niagara is a BIG popup and puts considerable strain on your (or anyone s) minivan. Since your so close to your limit (or over) we want to make sure you have a safe combination that you feel comfortable towing while ensuring a nice long life for your minivan.

Hope this helps! Ab Diver is better at this kind of stuff than me, so hopefully he ll chime in.

gsm x2 · Jan 09, 2003, 11:49 AM

ab diverDuannefamily,

Please take your rig to an independant hitch dealer and have them look at your setup. Here is what I have observed about Alpine s work.

When we pulled into Bodega Bay for the first Nick-Neff-Cough rally, a newbie, Sammyslave, was setting up behind us. This was just their second trip in their PU, so I assumed that it why they were having so much trouble. I was wrong.

They were having to jackup their popup while it was still attached to the car. The reason: Their hitch ball was about 6 inches off the ground (Coleman recommends an 18" hitch height.) All indications are that their dealer, Alpine, had installed the ball on the wrong side of their receiver, so instead of raising the ball up six inches, the receiver lowered the ball six inches. Sammyslave had experienced sway on the 101, was now having to jack up his hitch so he could lower the wheel, all because of an error at the dealer...the dealer where you bought your unit. This should have been caught before the unit rolled off the lot.

A few minutes later, Civil_War_Buff came by and gave stories on why he will never get his unit serviced by Alpine.

So please take you unit to an independant hitch dealer. Ask him about the transmission cooler. When we had ours installed, it was about $120--a good investment because a cool transmission is a happy transmission.

And speaking of transmissions, if you find that your transmission shifts from OVERDRIVE to DRIVE when you are driving, just put the gear in DRIVE...straight 1 to 1 gearing.

gsm x2

Nick · Jan 09, 2003, 11:53 AM

ab diverDuannefamily,
If you want to have someone check it out many of us in this area would recomend Eyers. They are on El Camino in Santa Clara, I believe close to Lawrence. Its a family run place and they take care of their customers.

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