Our first weekend out - a few notes/questions

[Philip Jones]

Hi all,

We are the proud new owners of a 2017 FC 27 FB purchased from Can-AM in London, ON. We spent the last few days camping at a local provincial park. Of course, we ran into a few snags and had a few questions. I'll make a few random notes below.

Our friction sway bars (pictured) make a LOT of noise. I realize they are there for our safety. Our dealer told us the noise will gradually fade. But, does the noise get better quickly or does it take a long time to go away? I read on AirForums that a thin coat of vaseline takes away the noise, but won't this also take away the performance (i.e. the friction itself)?

We found that the heat pump worked really well to warm us in the AM without having to use any LP. The furnace is nice warmth from below instead of above, but we preferred to use the heat pump.

I installed an HDMI matrix switcher so the two TVs could both watch the Blu-Ray or an Apple TV I brought along. But, the cool thing is that you can set it to that one TV watches BR while the other watches the Apple TV (or vice versa). My first mod!

We have always been tent campers. We really enjoyed the warm comfort of the trailer, being off the ground, having a big fridge, toilet, and shower. Awesome stuff!

We had to make a manual water run for about 30 L of water using some collapsible water containers to get through the weekend without going to the fill station. This is because our fresh water tank only started at 69%. We will need to check this next time before departing.

The rig tows well with our 2015 Toyota Highlander. We practiced the emergency maneuver of slight acceleration of the TV and concurrent application of the trailer brakes in case of sway/fishtailing.

We spent an hour in a local school's parking lot practicing back-up maneuvers. Feel much better now, but backing in looking out the driver's side seems a lot easier than looking out the passenger side.

Looking forward to chatting with you all!

Phil

[AIRHEDS]

Hello Philip. That HDMI switcher thingy sounds cool. Can you please share more details about brand, model and cost?

Sorry I can't be of any assistance on your squeaky bars question.

Good luck with your FC 27!

Thanks,
Rich

[xrvr]

My eazlift and sway bars make no noise. Was your hitch ball lubed.? Also the small ones for the sway bar.? There is a lube spot on the bottom of the hitch head. Never lube the sway bar, it works like your vehicle brakes, great will make it useless. And the noise does fade as the friction surface breaks in.

[NorCal Matt]

Thanks for the write up! Can you explain a little more about the hdmi switcher? Do both tvs have an hdmi that goes to the blue ray player? We pick up our 25FB FC in a couple weeks and have wondered how/if we want to utilize our iPads and iPhones for video in the trailer.

I had an Eaz-Lift and it was loud, but I did not grease anything.

Im surprised that a highlander can tow a 27'. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on it after a few trips.

Good luck!

[KSA63]

My FC28 squealed like a pig for the first trip from London to Orillia, not so much on the second time out and virtually no squeal now except when doing tight, slow speed turns. I also use an eaz-lift system with dual friction sway control bars. Biggest problem I have is with the pins that hold the sway control bars on the balls. I have taken to using tie wraps to cinch them up as they tend to spread easily and could fall right off without the tie wraps.

[Philip Jones]

Originally Posted by AIRHEDS

Hello Philip. That HDMI switcher thingy sounds cool. Can you please share more details about brand, model and cost?

Sorry I can't be of any assistance on your squeaky bars question.

Good luck with your FC 27!

Thanks,
Rich

Originally Posted by NorCal Matt

Thanks for the write up! Can you explain a little more about the hdmi switcher? Do both tvs have an hdmi that goes to the blue ray player? We pick up our 25FB FC in a couple weeks and have wondered how/if we want to utilize our iPads and iPhones for video in the trailer.

I had an Eaz-Lift and it was loud, but I did not grease anything.

Im surprised that a highlander can tow a 27'. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on it after a few trips.

Good luck!

Here is the product I ordered from Monoprice - http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=14529

I opened up the cabinet enclosing the Bluray player (two long screws from the side got me in). From the factory, the HDMI output from the Bluray player goes into an HDMI splitter, so at the other end of the splitter you'll find two HDMI cables going into the splitter. These are the cables carrying the HDMI signal heading to the 2 TVs in the trailer. So, I plugged these two cables into the "HDMI output" ports of the matrix splitter.

Next, I plugged the HDMI output of the Bluray into "HDMI input 1" of the matrix, and plugged the HDMI output of the Apple TV into the "HDMI input 2" of the matrix. Plugging the matrix into electricity completes the install. Now, you can independently tell each TV which HDMI input they should use. Either TV can use either signal, either individually or concurrently. Works great! You can even change signals with the remote they include.

Today I will reassemble the cabinet including adding a couple of short wood screws to mount the matrix more durably to the cabinet itself.

Hope this helps - any more questions please ask.

[Philip Jones]

Originally Posted by avionstream

My eazlift and sway bars make no noise. Was your hitch ball lubed.? Also the small ones for the sway bar.? There is a lube spot on the bottom of the hitch head. Never lube the sway bar, it works like your vehicle brakes, great will make it useless. And the noise does fade as the friction surface breaks in.

My hitch balls were lubed. I guess I will just have to be patient and hope it gets less loud as we travel more. I reduced the tension on the sway bars as we entered the campground since we were only going 30 km/hr and didn't want to disturb our neighbours!

[Philip Jones]

Originally Posted by KSA63

My FC28 squealed like a pig for the first trip from London to Orillia, not so much on the second time out and virtually no squeal now except when doing tight, slow speed turns. I also use an eaz-lift system with dual friction sway control bars. Biggest problem I have is with the pins that hold the sway control bars on the balls. I have taken to using tie wraps to cinch them up as they tend to spread easily and could fall right off without the tie wraps.

Thanks for the advice. I was wondering about those pins as they fit pretty loose. I will at least get some more and maybe should do what you do...

[Plasma800]

Congrats on your first trip out!

With regards to the water, you'll learn to be really conservative.

We carry multiple 1 gallon jugs of water and a couple of cases of bottled water for drinking and the dogs water bowls. These can be easily bought locally if you run low.

Wash dishes in a bucket or semi filled sink, showers = bird baths or bathhouse.

Usually our grey tank is the limiting factor. But we've gotten really good at techniques there too. When no sewer we wash dishes it's a bucket in the sink, then toss that water out, things like that.

Congrats!

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by KSA63

My FC28 squealed like a pig for the first trip from London to Orillia, not so much on the second time out and virtually no squeal now except when doing tight, slow speed turns. I also use an eaz-lift system with dual friction sway control bars. Biggest problem I have is with the pins that hold the sway control bars on the balls. I have taken to using tie wraps to cinch them up as they tend to spread easily and could fall right off without the tie wraps.

I haven't lost any clips yet, but good Idea using ty-wraps.

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by NorCal Matt

Thanks for the write up! Can you explain a little more about the hdmi switcher? Do both tvs have an hdmi that goes to the blue ray player? We pick up our 25FB FC in a couple weeks and have wondered how/if we want to utilize our iPads and iPhones for video in the trailer.

I had an Eaz-Lift and it was loud, but I did not grease anything.

Im surprised that a highlander can tow a 27'. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on it after a few trips.

Good luck!

I was wondering about that myself. The tongue weight must be around 750 lbs on a 27' Airstream.

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by Philip Jones

Hi all,

We are the proud new owners of a 2017 FC 27 FB purchased from Can-AM in London, ON. We spent the last few days camping at a local provincial park. Of course, we ran into a few snags and had a few questions. I'll make a few random notes below.

Our friction sway bars (pictured) make a LOT of noise. I realize they are there for our safety. Our dealer told us the noise will gradually fade. But, does the noise get better quickly or does it take a long time to go away? I read on AirForums that a thin coat of vaseline takes away the noise, but won't this also take away the performance (i.e. the friction itself)?

We found that the heat pump worked really well to warm us in the AM without having to use any LP. The furnace is nice warmth from below instead of above, but we preferred to use the heat pump.

I installed an HDMI matrix switcher so the two TVs could both watch the Blu-Ray or an Apple TV I brought along. But, the cool thing is that you can set it to that one TV watches BR while the other watches the Apple TV (or vice versa). My first mod!

We have always been tent campers. We really enjoyed the warm comfort of the trailer, being off the ground, having a big fridge, toilet, and shower. Awesome stuff!

We had to make a manual water run for about 30 L of water using some collapsible water containers to get through the weekend without going to the fill station. This is because our fresh water tank only started at 69%. We will need to check this next time before departing.

The rig tows well with our 2015 Toyota Highlander. We practiced the emergency maneuver of slight acceleration of the TV and concurrent application of the trailer brakes in case of sway/fishtailing.

We spent an hour in a local school's parking lot practicing back-up maneuvers. Feel much better now, but backing in looking out the driver's side seems a lot easier than looking out the passenger side.

Looking forward to chatting with you all!

Phil

-I have a 30' FC from CanAm, and Andy gave me the same hitch. The sway bars groan like a drunken sailer trying to get back on board. So...

-I purchased a Reese Dual Cam hitch from HB Cycle in Cameron, and on my first trip out to Stratford the rig wriggled like a snake with a broken back.
On my next trip to the 'RV Explorer's Club' rally at Brockville, it again wriggled like".......

-So I asked CanAm to put the original hitch back on, and the damned works very well. It still groans, and I do loosen it off when parking the rig, but it works.
(The complete Reese assembly is up for grabs. Make me a decent offer.)

-I found the heat pump to be marginal on a cold morning, but the furnace is great.

-I like the 30 footer for it's great storage capabilities, and even my wife finds it comfortable to live in. (she wasn't an RV fan)

-As for the hitch: My old Airforce Sgt. told me: "If it moves, lubricate it! If it doesn't move, paint it! If it talks back, salute it."

-So lubricate everything, EXCEPT the sway bars.
I mount my hitch with shims to prevent rattle, and grease them.
(Sent me your e-mail, I'll send you a couple of photos of it.)
mdgoddard3021@gmail.com

-Like 'NorCal Matt' I'm curious about how the Highlander would handle the AS.
I traded in a Toyota 4-Runner (same engine as yours) that towed a 6000 lb. Hi-Lo; for a Ford F-150 EcoBoost that handles the 'Cloud' quite well.

-I keep my fresh water tank at about 60-70% for use on the road. or C.G. power failure. (Needed once at Millar Lake)
I've only needed a full tank one time, and that was at the RV Rally last year at Golden Lake. (My hose wouldn't reach a far-away bib.)

-Enjoy your new RV and welcome to the ranks of "Trailer Trash living in a 'Tin-Can' Shed"

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by Philip Jones

Hi all,

We are the proud new owners of a 2017 FC 27 FB purchased from Can-AM in London, ON. We spent the last few days camping at a local provincial park. Of course, we ran into a few snags and had a few questions. I'll make a few random notes below.

Our friction sway bars (pictured) make a LOT of noise. I realize they are there for our safety. Our dealer told us the noise will gradually fade. But, does the noise get better quickly or does it take a long time to go away? I read on AirForums that a thin coat of vaseline takes away the noise, but won't this also take away the performance (i.e. the friction itself)?

We found that the heat pump worked really well to warm us in the AM without having to use any LP. The furnace is nice warmth from below instead of above, but we preferred to use the heat pump.

I installed an HDMI matrix switcher so the two TVs could both watch the Blu-Ray or an Apple TV I brought along. But, the cool thing is that you can set it to that one TV watches BR while the other watches the Apple TV (or vice versa). My first mod!

We have always been tent campers. We really enjoyed the warm comfort of the trailer, being off the ground, having a big fridge, toilet, and shower. Awesome stuff!

We had to make a manual water run for about 30 L of water using some collapsible water containers to get through the weekend without going to the fill station. This is because our fresh water tank only started at 69%. We will need to check this next time before departing.

The rig tows well with our 2015 Toyota Highlander. We practiced the emergency maneuver of slight acceleration of the TV and concurrent application of the trailer brakes in case of sway/fishtailing.

We spent an hour in a local school's parking lot practicing back-up maneuvers. Feel much better now, but backing in looking out the driver's side seems a lot easier than looking out the passenger side.

Looking forward to chatting with you all!

Phil

Hey Phil;
Get yourself some 1" ratchet straps and 'screw in the ground' stakes to support your awning in tough winds.
The Zip-Dee Awning supports look kinda flimsy, and I use three screw-in stakes, one at each end, one in the middle, (using the pull down strap to the stake).
Twist the straps around a few times to make a 'ropey' string that will prevent flutter.
Also i have made two 'de-flapper' clamps for the fabric sides, with bungee wrapped around the upper strut.
It works!

[Kyoshi]

We picked up our 2015 28 ft International from Can Am on July 15th. We have done 20 days of camping to date. we found that we could go 4 days on the water tank, washing bathroom, no shower used. Haven't used the furnace yet, but AC works fantastic. At Ontario Prov Parks, the hydro connection is between sites and we have had to use a 30 amp extension cord twice. I made up extra wooden blocks as one camp had very uneven ground. Slammed the door on our first trip and it locked itself. Fortunately I had a spare key hidden away. All in all we have had pretty uneventful first trips. Planning winter trip to California and back.

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by Kyoshi

We picked up our 2015 28 ft International from Can Am on July 15th. We have done 20 days of camping to date. we found that we could go 4 days on the water tank, washing bathroom, no shower used. Haven't used the furnace yet, but AC works fantastic. At Ontario Prov Parks, the hydro connection is between sites and we have had to use a 30 amp extension cord twice. I made up extra wooden blocks as one camp had very uneven ground. Slammed the door on our first trip and it locked itself. Fortunately I had a spare key hidden away. All in all we have had pretty uneventful first trips. Planning winter trip to California and back.

Following 'someone' else's advice last month; I installed a common latch on the door inside, such that when I flip the latch over, it will catch and hold onto the pin of that upper lock, preventing it from moving over to lock.
That way, there is no chance of locking yourself out.
Of course, when you leave the AS and want to lock it, the latch will prevent you from locking the upper lock, until you flip the latch off. It works great!
Naturally, I have a spare key hidden 'somewhere" else.

[kdickinson]

The trailer is built to be towed with a full water tank. That said, consider that water weighs a little over 8 pounds per gallon (a fact which backpackers are well aware of!). A 20 or 30 gallon fresh water tank will add some, but not a lot in relative terms, of weight to your trailer for towing. My trailer has the fresh water tank up front which means having a full tank before leaving will add weight to the hitch. That could be good if you want more traction for the tow vehicle. It could be a consideration if you are putting a lot weight in the back end of the tow vehicle. In the end - if you are going to be dry camping or want to have water available to use on the road then for sure fill it up all the way before you leave. It's great having the same water along for the trip that you are used to drinking at home. Don't forget that there may be water in the fresh water tank and to clear the water pump of water when winterizing. And I make the practice of emptying and letting the fresh water tank dry after each trip so I can minimize the chance of mildew.

[LilBigfoot]

Hi Phil.....we to got our FC 26U from Can-am last March. Andy put on the Easy Lift/ Husky system. It handles my Tundra and AS with ease. However, the noise it produces has continually gotten worse....to a point where I gringe when entering a campground. I took my rig back to Can-am last month and asked two of the techs there about the noise and what I could do about it. Grease the ball was one suggestion and of course the 2 nipples on the hitch head. They could offer no other help, saying that that's the nature of the beast....some setups are louder than others. They also stated that because of a great deal of tongue weight, the bars are really torqued up there and that causes a lot of the groining. Suggested I back off on the Husky tension when running less than 80kph. I came away little frustrated. Don

Andy Thompson frequents this forum, so if you read this Andy....what do you say?

[interstateflyer]

Originally Posted by Philip Jones

Here is the product I ordered from Monoprice - http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=14529

I opened up the cabinet enclosing the Bluray player (two long screws from the side got me in). From the factory, the HDMI output from the Bluray player goes into an HDMI splitter, so at the other end of the splitter you'll find two HDMI cables going into the splitter. These are the cables carrying the HDMI signal heading to the 2 TVs in the trailer. So, I plugged these two cables into the "HDMI output" ports of the matrix splitter.

Next, I plugged the HDMI output of the Bluray into "HDMI input 1" of the matrix, and plugged the HDMI output of the Apple TV into the "HDMI input 2" of the matrix. Plugging the matrix into electricity completes the install. Now, you can independently tell each TV which HDMI input they should use. Either TV can use either signal, either individually or concurrently. Works great! You can even change signals with the remote they include.

Today I will reassemble the cabinet including adding a couple of short wood screws to mount the matrix more durably to the cabinet itself.

Hope this helps - any more questions please ask.

I'm considering this mod for my 2017 International 25FB.

The Samsung BD-J5100 DVD Player in the trailer, while "smart" will not do streaming WiFi, only Ethernet connected Internet. So I'd either need to install an Apple TV or upgrade to the Samsung BD-J5700 with WiFi to get Netflix, Hulu etc. I bought a J5700 for my office last week. It was on sale and only $10 more than the J5100.

Apple TV has more to offer than the built-in Samsung apps so I may use your solution.

Question. Both AC or Inverter outlets in the cabinet are taken up by the entertainment system. Are you powering your Blackbird™ 4k 4x2 HDMI with a multi-outlet extension cord?

[StrmyWeather]

Congratulations Phil! Hope you have many good times using your trailer. Sorry I can't help with the sway/wd noise; we don't use one. We're new to trailering as well and just installed new side mirrors, so we'll be spending time in the parking lot practicing as well! Safe Travels
Richard

[NorCal Matt]

Originally Posted by Philip Jones

Here is the product I ordered from Monoprice - http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=14529

I opened up the cabinet enclosing the Bluray player (two long screws from the side got me in). From the factory, the HDMI output from the Bluray player goes into an HDMI splitter, so at the other end of the splitter you'll find two HDMI cables going into the splitter. These are the cables carrying the HDMI signal heading to the 2 TVs in the trailer. So, I plugged these two cables into the "HDMI output" ports of the matrix splitter.

Next, I plugged the HDMI output of the Bluray into "HDMI input 1" of the matrix, and plugged the HDMI output of the Apple TV into the "HDMI input 2" of the matrix. Plugging the matrix into electricity completes the install. Now, you can independently tell each TV which HDMI input they should use. Either TV can use either signal, either individually or concurrently. Works great! You can even change signals with the remote they include.

Today I will reassemble the cabinet including adding a couple of short wood screws to mount the matrix more durably to the cabinet itself.

Hope this helps - any more questions please ask.

Thanks Phil! I was thinking about mounting an Appletv to the back of the main tv, but this would allow the bedroom tv to get in on the fun too!