Preparing to Tow a Travel Trailer

[ctechbob]

Tow mirrors are not needed. Just get the small mirrors you attach to OEM mirrors. I tow my car trailer with these and have no problem. I think its an 18-20 foot trailer

Ehh, depends on where you drive and what you're willing to put up with.

I had these

They worked great, could see just fine. I got tired of the mirrors blowing into their folded position every time I was on the highway or on a 2 lane and passed a truck.

IMO The Clearviews are worth the money if you're going to tow often. Yea, its an expensive pill to swallow and I'm the worlds biggest cheapskate, but I ponied up for them and couldn't be happier.

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[ControlNode]

I've not read all of the replies, if you plan on towing a brick of a trailer on the highway for extended periods, consider making sure your transmission has the right amount of fluid, some were found to be shorted from the factory. Also, I think manual even mentions swapping the rear end fluid to a synthetic. I've done both of these with my Ranger and have no problems so far towing a >6,000 lb enclosed trailer for a few hours at a time.

Also, Clearview tow mirrors are great if you plan to tow regularly.

Also, also: make sure to use tow/haul mode to keep the RPMs up and on some down hill areas it will add some additional engine braking. And, if in an area where you are up and down some hills or the transmission keep changing the gear too often, don't be afraid to lockout gears to help it maintain a gear that it should be staying in to start with.

 

[ctechbob]

I've not read all of the replies, if you plan on towing a brick of a trailer on the highway for extended periods, consider making sure your transmission has the right amount of fluid, some were found to be shorted from the factory. Also, I think manual even mentions swapping the rear end fluid to a synthetic. I've done both of these with my Ranger and have no problems so far towing a >6,000 lb enclosed trailer for a few hours at a time.

Also, Clearview tow mirrors are great if you plan to tow regularly.

I'll add... make 100% sure you're either in the middle of the 'full' range or on the low side. Towing and highway speeds has the unique ability to send the trans into a runaway where you end up overheating the fluid and blowing it out the vent. Don't be worried, just don't think 'more is better' in this case.

 

[JonB]

I am about to complete the purchase of our first travel trailer. I have some towing experience (tow a pontoon boat with the truck and utility trailer) but this will be a fairly new adventure.

You're getting good advice on the truck, so let's take a moment to talk about the trailer. It has a 12 volt DC frig which, if you want to use while traveling, will run off the RV's batter(ies). Typically, they're not installed by the manufacturer but put in by the dealer. And often, they put in cheap ones. Decide if you're going to boondock (off-grid) camp and, if so, get the new, lithium iron phosphate batteries. If not, and you'll mostly be in campgrounds with power, good ACM batteries should work.

But you'll need to keep them charged while driving. The 7-wire cable that attaches the truck to the RV carries a charging wire. It charges at a low rate (5-7 amps, typically). If you're leaving with full, or nearly full batteries, and driving for awhile, this will keep the batteries charged. If not, look into installing a DC-DC charger which will provide more amperage to keep the RV's batter(ies) charged up.

And enjoy.

 

[ctechbob]

Couple of things.

12v fridges are pretty much the standard now and have been coming in RVs for a fair few years now from factory.

The rangers 7 pin is perfectly capable of keeping the batt charged up with the fridge on. You'll get from 10-15 amps out of the 7 pin. The 12v fridges pull about 5-6.

A single AGM will be fine if you're just hooking up and going to sites, no boondocking. If you have plans for more than that, lead chemistries are dead technology, LifePO4 is the choice. LifeP04 does require some adjustments to the coach that I don't have the time to type on the phone.

 

[dtech]

Couple of things.

12v fridges are pretty much the standard now and have been coming in RVs for a fair few years now from factory.

The rangers 7 pin is perfectly capable of keeping the batt charged up with the fridge on. You'll get from 10-15 amps out of the 7 pin. The 12v fridges pull about 5-6.

A single AGM will be fine if you're just hooking up and going to sites, no boondocking. If you have plans for more than that, lead chemistries are dead technology, LifePO4 is the choice. LifeP04 does require some adjustments to the coach that I don't have the time to type on the phone.

As a poster mentioned - dealers tend to put undersized lead acid batteries - found that out with my very 1st TT purchase 1.5 yrs back - a small interstate wet lead acid - deep cycle but inadequate. So against the advice of an RV forum replaced the interstate with AGM 850 cca from the Ranger - both of these batteries could barely keep the fridge running thru the night - but at the time had only a 100 watt solar panel. Now I have 3 100ah LiFEPo4 batteries and 300 watts of solar, planning to add more soon - just bought a 100ah LiFePO4 for $110, and will shop for some additional solar panels, I do about 50% off grid .
3 LiFePo4 batts probably weight only slightly more than the 850cca AGM behemoth that sits in the Ranger.
You have to know how to wire stuff when you work on these things as it's often a convoluted irrational mess from the factory.

 

[Frenchy]

As a poster mentioned - dealers tend to put undersized lead acid batteries - found that out with my very 1st TT purchase 1.5 yrs back - a small interstate wet lead acid - deep cycle but inadequate. So against the advice of an RV forum replaced the interstate with AGM 850 cca from the Ranger - both of these batteries could barely keep the fridge running thru the night - but at the time had only a 100 watt solar panel. Now I have 3 100ah LiFEPo4 batteries and 300 watts of solar, planning to add more soon - just bought a 100ah LiFePO4 for $110, and will shop for some additional solar panels, I do about 50% off grid .
3 LiFePo4 batts probably weight only slightly more than the 850cca AGM behemoth that sits in the Ranger.
You have to know how to wire stuff when you work on these things as it's often a convoluted irrational mess from the factory.

Got to remember that CCA is not the same as AH. For example I have a battery in my Frontier that is rated for 650 CCA, but has an AH rating of 60. Big difference between the two. CCA is meant for starting an Engine. AH is more for running accessories like the Fridge and gives you an idea of how long it can run it depending on the output of said Accessory.

 

[ctechbob]

As a poster mentioned - dealers tend to put undersized lead acid batteries - found that out with my very 1st TT purchase 1.5 yrs back - a small interstate wet lead acid - deep cycle but inadequate. So against the advice of an RV forum replaced the interstate with AGM 850 cca from the Ranger - both of these batteries could barely keep the fridge running thru the night - but at the time had only a 100 watt solar panel. Now I have 3 100ah LiFEPo4 batteries and 300 watts of solar, planning to add more soon - just bought a 100ah LiFePO4 for $110, and will shop for some additional solar panels, I do about 50% off grid .
3 LiFePo4 batts probably weight only slightly more than the 850cca AGM behemoth that sits in the Ranger.
You have to know how to wire stuff when you work on these things as it's often a convoluted irrational mess from the factory.

Easiest thing to do is scrap the factory and start over, this is where ours is now.

 

[Frost]

I left the northeast between storms last Friday towing a 19' Airstream, gross weight 5k. We'll be gone for 2-3 months. My first extended towing trip,just short local stuff before.
Wishing I'd purchased towing mirrors. My clamp ons are ok but the glass quality is poor and they are dirtier more often. Drivers side is useable, passenger side is so far out that I need to cram neck to see.
Gas mileage was only 11 mph first long day of 450 miles. Second day I limited speed to 62 and got to 14,big difference. Using mid grade,89 octane. Third day I filled water Tank knowing next stop had bad water. Extra 200 lbs lost me some mileage,so go light on the weight if possible. Otherwise, truck has been great,performs well in the hills and mountains. Seats could be better, but my first 2 days had a lot of time and miles,hard to complain.
Just be safe .

 

[MattMc7]

I figured I wouldn't de-rail the forum with all of my trailer specific questions...But sense a few of you are bringing up batteries/solar/boondocking etc... Here is what mine comes with (pretty basic):

12V Interstate 24M marine deep cell battery (1)
185W solar panel (1)

My thought is to add a second battery or tell the dealer to not even bother with putting that one on and putting 2 LifePO4s on. Secondly, I am going to have them add a second 185W panel to get close to 400W.

I'm a beginner with this part so I appreciate the input from those of you who are experienced!

We do plan to do some boondocking from time to time. Our summer camping will mostly be with hookups but our winter use case is unique. Our local ski resort has RV parking, 30 sites with power and a bunch of spots for boondocking. I'll try and get the power sites but I'm sure there will be a few weekends of boondocking. I'm not planning to use water (lodge has 24/7 bathrooms and showers). But obviously we will be chewing up some power and gas to stay warm and keep a couple of lights on. This would typically be from Friday evening to Monday morning at the longest.

 

[Frenchy]

I figured I wouldn't de-rail the forum with all of my trailer specific questions...But sense a few of you are bringing up batteries/solar/boondocking etc... Here is what mine comes with (pretty basic):

12V Interstate 24M marine deep cell battery (1)
185W solar panel (1)

My thought is to add a second battery or tell the dealer to not even bother with putting that one on and putting 2 LifePO4s on. Secondly, I am going to have them add a second 185W panel to get close to 400W.

I'm a beginner with this part so I appreciate the input from those of you who are experienced!

We do plan to do some boondocking from time to time. Our summer camping will mostly be with hookups but our winter use case is unique. Our local ski resort has RV parking, 30 sites with power and a bunch of spots for boondocking. I'll try and get the power sites but I'm sure there will be a few weekends of boondocking. I'm not planning to use water (lodge has 24/7 bathrooms and showers). But obviously we will be chewing up some power and gas to stay warm and keep a couple of lights on. This would typically be from Friday evening to Monday morning at the longest.

As a suggestion with the Batteries even though it will be more expensive, I would recommend the Lithium Deep Cycle Batteries. For starters they are lighter than Flooded and AGM Batteries while giving more capacity for the same size. Also if cared for properly then they will last up to 10 years. Doing the mast you can easily justify the Lithium Batteries.

As another recommendation, get a good DC-DC Charger that is capable of charging the Battery correctly. RedArc makes quite a few including ones from Trailers and Solar Capable ones too.

Depending on your skill will depend if you can add the stuff in yourself or not

 

[hami6718]

I've had crummy extended mirrors and now have a camera on the RV with a wireless monitor on my dash. It's a much better view than the mirrors and the camera seems to stay pretty clean, maybe because it is high up above the spray. I'll echo the comment above about always using the tow mode. We went on a 4000+ mile trip in September and on day two the transmission went into safe mode(rpm limited so barely would pull). I pulled over and let it idle for five minutes then turned it off for ten minutes. Meantime I realized I had not been in tow mode. After the 15 minute break we headed out in tow mode and did the rest of the trip with no recurrence. Tow mode gives you a little step up in rpms, just enough, and the engine braking works well. I tow a 20 foot TT with a total of 4500 lbs usually. The other thing that will be new compared to pulling a pontoon is the windage, front and side, on a travel trailer. Sounds like you are good to go with the WDH and sway control. Also I second staying at 62mph. If feels safer, is safer, and definitely makes a mileage difference with the windage of a TT. Have fun!

 

[Frost]

Also have 12 volt fridge. I bought two,100 amp hour lithiums and installed a dc to dc charger.
Be aware that lithiums don't accept a charge below 32 degrees. They will discharge down to almost zero, so 200 ah are still available. If that's an issue,you could find a way to move them inside the trailer.
Boondocking in the northeast often means being in the shade, so I bring a small honda generator just in case, and a portable power station for small appliances. Learn to moderate the temps in the fridge,up when towing or hooked up and be judicious when not.

 

[Frenchy]

Also have 12 volt fridge. I bought two,100 amp hour lithiums and installed a dc to dc charger.
Be aware that lithiums don't accept a charge below 32 degrees. They will discharge down to almost zero, so 200 ah are still available. If that's an issue,you could find a way to move them inside the trailer.
Boondocking in the northeast often means being in the shade, so I bring a small honda generator just in case, and a portable power station for small appliances. Learn to moderate the temps in the fridge,up when towing or hooked up and be judicious when not.

Certain Lithium Batteries won't accept a charge at that low of a temperature. There are some that will. You just have to find them.

 

[Grumpaw]

I left the northeast between storms last Friday towing a 19' Airstream, gross weight 5k. We'll be gone for 2-3 months. My first extended towing trip,just short local stuff before.
Wishing I'd purchased towing mirrors. My clamp ons are ok but the glass quality is poor and they are dirtier more often. Drivers side is useable, passenger side is so far out that I need to cram neck to see.
Gas mileage was only 11 mph first long day of 450 miles. Second day I limited speed to 62 and got to 14,big difference. Using mid grade,89 octane. Third day I filled water Tank knowing next stop had bad water. Extra 200 lbs lost me some mileage,so go light on the weight if possible. Otherwise, truck has been great,performs well in the hills and mountains. Seats could be better, but my first 2 days had a lot of time and miles,hard to complain.
Just be safe .

We tow a 28 footer so a bit of advice....
Make sure your using the tow mode when towing.
Do not over think your mileage....it is what it is and depending on road conditions, weather, speed, weight, will go up and down. Anything over 10-11 while at speed is good.
When towing, try and use high test/premium.....the engine will thank you for it when towing a heavy trailer. Saving a few bucks at a fill up isn't worth it.....go back to your mid grade for everyday use.....high test when towing.

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