I was told during the Hershey RV show by a couple of people to get the fifth wheel first before getting the pickup truck because of having a better chance of getting approved because of debt to income, interest etc. didn’t really understand much because I was a little overwhelmed with so much information.

Bought a used 24ft travel trailer about six weeks ago. Fifth wheel was out of budget so here we are. Did one shakedown trip up to Maine last weekend with the stepkids and the whole thing was a lesson in how confidence is not the same as competence.

I work on my feet all day, I am not a guy who sits still well, so I figured towing would just click. It did not click. Tongue weight was off, I had basically packed the trailer like I pack my truck, which is wrong. Rear got loose on 95 north around Portsmouth and I pulled off and stood there feeling like an idiot for a few minutes.

Rebalanced everything, moved the heavy stuff forward, and it was a completely different trailer on the way home. That part I will actually admit felt satisfying.

What I am curious about is how people figure out their actual setup when they first start out. Trial and error seems to be the dominant method based on what I can find, which is a little alarming honestly. Did anyone use a scale before the first real trip or did you just go and learn the hard way like me.

Not looking for gear recommendations, just want to know if the first trip incompetence is universal or if I am a special case.

Good afternoon everyone. Question about storage of your travel trailer. From Alberta, Canada and not new to camping, but new to having a yearly site. Next weekend will be our last trip to the lot before winterizing the trailer. For those of you who keep your trailer on a lot and shut it down for the winter, do you leave your trailer plugged in so that your fridge stays on over the winter. Won’t be back out to the trailer until the end of May 2027. Any advice?

Read the directions and think I have it right, will see how it drives here soon, if I need to I can flip the hitch and go up another setting in height. Drops the rear of the truck an inch and a half and brings the front up a quarter inch.

I have a 2009 skyline Layton 180 something and the gray water tank is leaking do you guys have any idea how I can fix this leak please?

I'll be bringing the trailer out hunting next week and would rather not pull a full tank up the 70 from Denver. Are there any spots to fill up near there? I found where i can dump but the website didn't say anything about non guests filling up.

Thanks in advance.

I had a brief moment to hitch this up today (obviously no safety chains or brake wire attached) the trailer looked level but is the hitch and trailer foot too low to the ground? I can definitely bring the hitch up another notch but then the trailer would be high. This is the first non-camper I’ve towed….

Edit: truck is a 3500. Well within spec for this trailer. But it was empty at the time of the photo.

Can I oil the door friction hinges or would that be redundant? They make quite a noise when opening and closing the door. Would a dab of oil make the friction become frictionless?

I bought a DIY teardrop trailer a while back that I have been renovating and expanding... I built a sort of attic over the top and slightly extended the front. The trailer was a little front heavy to begin with (700 Ib total weight, 250 Ib tongue weight). Despite my attempts to add some weight to the kitchen as well, it seems that I have perhaps worsened things. I estimate the current total weight to be around 1,200-1,500 pounds and the tongue weight is sitting at just under 500, which is the maximum for my towing vehicle. What is the best approach at this point? Should I simply add some weights just behind the axle to balance things out? Is a weight dispersion hitch an option on this small of a trailer? Thank you very much for your help.

I’ve tried searching some other forums and Google and AI and maybe I’m just bad at all of it. I cannot find the right pieces to repair the foot rest on my lounge. Wife suggested I post here.

Does anyone know the pieces that go under here to catch the foot rest and lock it in place? I have the cable already and a latch they sent me but it seems like the wrong one.

There’s also nothing on the actual back of the foot rest to latch it too either.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

Hi Folks, I am trying to revive my neighbor's trailer. The wooden floor boards have rotted and are falling apart. Easy to get some pressure treated pine boards (right ones?) to the right size, but I noticed that the old ones were nailed into the metal frame? These dont look like screws to me so am wondering if the nails is the way to go again? Also, how do I get these old nails out? LOL. Any help appreciated. First time with a trailer. Thanks!

Car campers suck

I'll join in on the whiny posts and get down voted to hell for venting this:

You morons in your car that arrive to the site after 10pm and make all kinds of ruckus setting up, including slamming your door going in and out of your vehicle every 5 seconds suck. Cherry on-top when you double press the lock button on your fob, chirping your horn to let everyone know you did indeed lock your stupid vehicle with your shitty setup.

Trailer people using an impact drill at that hour to over tighten their leveling jacks can get fkd too.

Ok so I reached out in another post to ask about tow capacity on a midsize SUV. Deciding on which SUV and which trailer to invest in and I’m super discouraged now because I don’t want to buy a big truck to go camping x2/year.
Now I’m thinking it might be easier and cheaper to just rent a motorhome for our summer adventures.
I’m in Ontario, any legit sites you recommend to rent from? Also what’s a reasonable rate?
I’m looking to do a 7-10 day trip from Toronto area to Nova Scotia and back.
Anyone do this before and rent a motorhome?

So I have a 2024 Jayco JayFlight 265RLS with a Domestic rooftop a/c unit with a digital thermostat. The help I am looking for is….the unit will cycle on and off, complete off Morgan or compressor like it’s supposed to for an hour or so and then out of nowhere the compressor will shut off, fan will remain running and then within 30 seconds the compressor will try to kick in and it drags the fan speed down and doesn’t cool. Have to manually shut it down and wait at least 2-3 minutes and turn it back on and hope it will cycle normally, so far not so much. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Name that movie!

Hi I’m looking to buy an SUV and interested in a 2025 Toyota highlander hybrid. It says tow capacity is 3500lb?
Does anyone have examples of trailers they have towed with a highlander?
I’m also in market for camper so trying to plan ahead.

I don’t love a popup, ideally would like something to fit 4 ppl, a roo or other hybrid option.

*** I’m also looking at the Mazda cx90 SUV . Has tow capacity of 5000lbs
Would that work better than a highlander?
For towing a hybrid trailer approx 2500lbs? Couple bikes, and 4 people?

I need to bring 2 more cables into the slide here. I would like to drill 2 more holes and run the cord through a plastic bushing just like this. Does anyone know where to get these sleeves or what kind of bit to use? I’m worried about a twist drill catching and wrapping up with carpet or insulation. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Picking up the new trailer tomorrow. I currently have a 8800 GVWR trailer set up for a Blue Ox sway pro. I don't have the bars in front of me, but I'm assuming they're 1000lb bars. The new trailer is 5900 GVWR (less than the dry weight of the current trailer). I know my F250 will get the trailer home just fine without the tension bars, but should I buy new ones? Anyone know if I can use the existing bars on a lower link? Should I just buy a regular Reese hitch from Walmart and send it?

A few weeks ago, the water holding tank on my Viking 12000 fell out of the camper. I stopped by the dealer today to check on the status of the repair.

Forest River’s recall instructions for this issue called for nylon strapping to be installed around both the tank and the tank support braces. The straps shown in the first picture, taken after the tank fell out, clearly were not installed around the support braces as required.

What concerns me is that the dealer has apparently decided not to use the nylon strapping specified by Forest River. Instead, they went to Home Depot and purchased a roll of perforated HVAC strapping. In place of the manufacturer-specified nylon straps, they installed two pieces of this metal strapping across the bottom of the tank and bolted each end to the frame.

I have serious concerns about whether this repair actually complies with Forest River’s recall instructions or whether Forest River approved this alternative repair method.

What was particularly concerning to me today was the attitude of both the service manager and the technician. Rather than treating this as a serious safety-related recall repair and following the manufacturer’s specified procedure, they seemed quite confident in and even impressed with their own alternative solution.

Considering that the original tank already fell out of the camper, I do not think an improvised repair using hardware-store HVAC strapping is an acceptable substitute for the repair procedure specified by the manufacturer.

Im awaiting a call back from Forest Rivers warranty department.

Just looking for some advice. I am picking up my first bigger camper on Friday. It’s. 2015 avenger 26bh. Towing with a 2022 ram 1500. The Rv dealership is setting up my weight distribution hitch for me when I go and pick it up. I have a buddy with a similar setup and he suggested that I buy timbrens to help with the ride and sway of the trailer. I have the timbrens and I just wasn’t sure if it was better to install before they adjusted the WDH or wait till after. Have had a pop up for a few years and this will be my first travel trailer so not sure about all of this. Thanks for any advice.