Show us your small Tow Vehicle set-up

[ggoat!!!]

Originally Posted by Andrew T

The other disadvantage with the Center Line hitch is that it forces the ball to be well behind the bumper adding a substantial amount of rear overhang. I did modify one once to change the ball position while keeping the other features of the hitch but it was even heavier when I was done. There was no substantial difference in handling compared to a dialed in Eaz-Lift.

Andrew T

Hi Andy...


Good point about the Husky Centerline. I, too, drilled my shank so that the ball is as close as possible to the rear of the vehicle. But, due again to the massive heft of the Centerline head, the ball IS a couple inches farther away when compared to some other designs due to the placement of the anti-sway compression cylinders on the Centerline head.


But it's all a trade-off; with the Centerline the benefit is no need for separate anti-sway and the associated set-up and adjustment. Those built-in compression cylinders really DO work.


But the weight and sheer heft is definitely something to keep in mind; I can see it being a deal-breaker for a LOT of people.


It's not just "heavy." It's "Oh f'n hell who designed this thing??? How the phr*ck do I get this in that receiver well up and under there????? Oh God I think I tore a meniscus!!! I'll KILL whomever designed this" HEAVY.

[Chuck]

Originally Posted by ggoat!!!

It's not just "heavy." It's "Oh f'n hell who designed this thing??? How the phr*ck do I get this in that receiver well up and under there????? Oh God I think I tore a meniscus!!! I'll KILL whomever designed this" HEAVY.

LOL
how much is that in "pounds?"
If you were to compare it to say, a vintage univolt--would it be more, or less?
My Reese is heavy enough that I actually had to call for help once, when getting ready for a trip--was having a low-back flare up, and didn't dare attempt to install it in the truck's receiver.

[ggoat!!!]

Well, I have a very long 18" shank since my receiver is well under my truck...but combined the head and shank have GOT to be over 80lbs. Just unreal weight.


Just to give you an idea of how huge and massive (did I mention it was heavy?) the Husky Centerline hitch head is, here is a picture of it in its box before installation, with my boot included for comparision. Keep in mind these boots are also HUGE and a size 12...the hitch makes my huge clob boots look small!



But, all in all...a GREAT hitch. If you like the ease and simplicity of the Equalizer, you'd love the Centerline...provided you're after less noise and better sway control.

[ALANSD]

had to chisel out the broken two bolts. 8 new stainless steel bolts did the trick.Hope for somewhat improved towing this week when we head to our rally.

[Chuck]

Originally Posted by ggoat!!!

Well, I have a very long 18" shank since my receiver is well under my truck...but combined the head and shank have GOT to be over 80lbs. Just unreal weight.


Just to give you an idea of how huge and massive (did I mention it was heavy?) the Husky Centerline hitch head is, here is a picture of it in its box before installation, with my boot included for comparision. Keep in mind these boots are also HUGE and a size 12...the hitch makes my huge clob boots look small!

Well, my feet aren't that big, and neither is my hitch head/shank. now I feel woefully inadequate.
But I AM a geek, so I just went down to the basement and weighed mine--50lbs. (Reese Dual-Cam head; 1200lb shank.).
And in case anyone is curious, the vintage univolt weighs in at 40lbs.

[FastEddieB]

I will probably go ahead and weigh mine out of curiosity.

I know its at least heavy enough to hurt if you drop it while adjusting it on the shank and have it fall on your shin.

DAMHIK!

[iwbull]

Hi all,

I was getting ready to post a picture of my 65 Caravel setup behind my 2005 Toyota Highlander, but it was stolen 6 weeks ago right out of my driveway.

BUT now I'm happy to post my picture of my new tow vehicle with the Airstream in tow. It's a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Latitude with the V6 and Tow Group.

[ggoat!!!]

Didn't they have a silver one?

[Andrew T]

Just add a Silver pin stripe. I have not driven one yet but I hear that new Cherokee is impressive.

[FastEddieB]

Got everything pretty much finalized today.

I had moved the "saddles" forward so the chains are closer to vertical now, on the advice of another CampLite owner. This pushed the Husky ball mount pretty far forward, so I had a friend trim it down with a torch to mount closer to the "saddle".

Even with the Husky mount trimmed down, I was still concerned about right turns taking it to its limits:



Don't think I needed to be, it will still turn pretty sharp without using up all the travel:



And I will likely remove the sway control for any planned maneuvering.

And the whole contraption seems pretty level now (in fact the trailer seems ever so slightly nose down, though the photo doesn't show it):



Anyway towed it home to de-winterize and get ready for SpringStream, and it felt rock solid - though remember it did not feel bad coming home from IL as it was. We backed it in and parked it on the level part of our driveway:





One problem cropped up. I hooked up the 30A cable, with an extension cord adapter, and ran an extension cord to our nearby pump house. The instant I plugged the cable in, I could hear the ground fault in the controlling outlet in the pump house trip. Reset it, plugged it back in, tripped again. The extension cord seems fine, as does the adapter, and the same outlet has powered many tools and the like without ever tripping. And when we picked up the trailer it was on shore power at the dealer - regular 15A service I think, with no problem.

Any ideas?

[BMG]

Hey!

Thought I'd post in this thread because it pertains to small tow vehicles. Though the OP has had his question(s) answered, this still seemed like a good place to put my post concerning this topic.

Everywhere we turned it seemed that vehicles that were supposedly good for towing our Airstream were all priced nearly as much as a modest house. So we started looking at used vehicles and found that they were still very pricey.

Toward the end of our search we started finding conflicting information about trucks that were supposed to be capable of towing our Airstream. Some of the trucks at the lower end of the scale that were rated for towing an Airstream like ours, turned out to be about the same in capability as our 'little' Sienna which we already owned.

So, looking around here we eventually found some posts concerning small tow vehicles and Can-AM RV popped up - as well as MRUKToad's blog and posts.

We called Can-Am RV (Andy T, Wendy and the crew) from Florida and learned that for around $2,000 they would install an EZ Lift hitch with all the bells & whistles as well as a transmission cooler and Prodigy P2 trailer brake. So we set an appointment and drove from north central Florida to London Ontario. The trip took us three days (total). Wendy at Can-Am took good care of us while we hung out at the shop all day with our 2 and 4 year old terrors (er, kids ) - they even provided us with a loaner Dodge Caravan so we could go out and explore London a bit and get some lunch.

The result is that we are now towing a 2014 27' Eddy Bauer Airstream with a 2009 Toyota Sienna LE. We paid about $2,600 for the work and the travel expenses - avoiding paying as much as $45k on a new truck that would have been considered 'capable' (or about $20K for something used).

So far we've had our Airstream less than a month and have put 62 miles on it. The weight distribution chains have loosened up (as we were advised they would after 50 miles +/-) - which is why the safety chains are dangling so low in the pics - and I'll be adding a link or two when we take it out next. As well, we were just returning from some practicing and had removed the sway bars in order to maneuver down our driveway without worrying about tweaking anything during a tight turn.

I should also note that Andy T at Can-Am RV advised us that the Toyota Sienna can sometimes have a bit of a soft rear end and that we might need to install air bags. So far that has not been the case with us - the hitch seems to distribute the weight enough that a soft rear end has not been a concern.


Cheers!

BMG

[gmw photos]

I'm curious about two things on the above Sienna setup. "weight distribution chains have loosened up" ??? This is the first time I have seen such a reference. Care to elaborate as to why or how this happens ?

And the other thing, is to my eye ( maybe it's just the angle from which the pictures were taken ) it looks like the ends of the spring bars are very close to the ground. Are they dragging on driveway entrances and such ?

[BMG]

Originally Posted by gmw photos

I'm curious about two things on the above Sienna setup. "weight distribution chains have loosened up" ??? This is the first time I have seen such a reference. Care to elaborate as to why or how this happens ?

And the other thing, is to my eye ( maybe it's just the angle from which the pictures were taken ) it looks like the ends of the spring bars are very close to the ground. Are they dragging on driveway entrances and such ?

I've no idea how it happens. It's just what I was told. After about 50 miles they would need to be tightened. Then again after about 100 miles. Then they should be good thereafter.

Must just be the angle because they have never touched the ground. As I mentioned in my first post though, the chains do need to be tightened so the back end of the Sienna is riding lower than it had been previously. It's a situation that I was expecting and is easily corrected.

[gmw photos]

Thanks for the followup, BMG. Glad it's working well for you.

[ggoat!!!]

Originally Posted by FastEddieB

Got everything pretty much finalized today.

I had moved the "saddles" forward so the chains are closer to vertical now, on the advice of another CampLite owner. This pushed the Husky ball mount pretty far forward, so I had a friend trim it down with a torch to mount closer to the "saddle".

Even with the Husky mount trimmed down, I was still concerned about right turns taking it to its limits:



Don't think I needed to be, it will still turn pretty sharp without using up all the travel:



And I will likely remove the sway control for any planned maneuvering.

And the whole contraption seems pretty level now (in fact the trailer seems ever so slightly nose down, though the photo doesn't show it):

Man, you did an EXCELLENT job getting that level!!! Absolutely perfect...looks great! You will really feel the difference once you tow it a good bit of distance up and down some big hills; having the weight distributed properly and controlled definitely keeps your forward momentum going. Once the rig starts bouncing on bumps and becomes a bit "loose" you lose that forward momentum somewhat, energy is wasted, and you lose power as well as gas mileage.

Your setup seems superb now!

Congrats!

[ggoat!!!]

Originally Posted by BMG

That poor Sienna! It looks like the back of the van is being slowly crushed into the ground.

I would take that to a scale and measure your weight distribution. And, measure the drops front and rear; I realize the Sienna has a "soft" rear end but that is a LOT of sag. You don't want to unload the front driving axle nearly that much. That's not safe to do that.

You need to either add some rear air bags or shocks or properly angle the hitch and/or adjust the chains for more lift to the front of the van. Even with a soft rear suspension you should be able to get it WAAAAAAY better than that; the rear looks like a poor little puppy about to get crushed by a steamroller.

Good luck!

[iwbull]

The Cherokee is great, I've got about 1600 miles on it and it is one smooth ride. I kept trying to get a silver one but they were flying off the lot. I was lucky to get this one equipped the way I wanted. This weekend will be the first real trip with it towing the Airstream. I'll report back on how it performed.

[andreasduess]

Originally Posted by ggoat!!!

That poor Sienna! It looks like the back of the van is being slowly crushed into the ground.

I would take that to a scale and measure your weight distribution. And, measure the drops front and rear; I realize the Sienna has a "soft" rear end but that is a LOT of sag. You don't want to unload the front driving axle nearly that much. That's not safe to do that.

You need to either add some rear air bags or shocks or properly angle the hitch and/or adjust the chains for more lift to the front of the van. Even with a soft rear suspension you should be able to get it WAAAAAAY better than that; the rear looks like a poor little puppy about to get crushed by a steamroller.

Good luck!

I don't think it's being crushed, but it should sag less at the back. I've seen pictures of Steve's setup, it is a lot more level. My Odyssey, which isn't as soft in the back as the Sienna but still a similar vehicle is 100% level when towing.

I'd send a copy of that picture to Andy, see what he has to say. We have two Siennas in our WBCCI unit, they are good capable tow vehicles when set up right. It looks like yours might need some tweaking.

[MrUKToad]

Originally Posted by ggoat!!!

That poor Sienna! It looks like the back of the van is being slowly crushed into the ground.

I would take that to a scale and measure your weight distribution. And, measure the drops front and rear; I realize the Sienna has a "soft" rear end but that is a LOT of sag. You don't want to unload the front driving axle nearly that much. That's not safe to do that.

You need to either add some rear air bags or shocks or properly angle the hitch and/or adjust the chains for more lift to the front of the van. Even with a soft rear suspension you should be able to get it WAAAAAAY better than that; the rear looks like a poor little puppy about to get crushed by a steamroller.

Good luck!

It is a little down at the back compared to my Sienna but he just needs to raise a link on those chains.

[MrUKToad]

Originally Posted by gmw photos

I'm curious about two things on the above Sienna setup. "weight distribution chains have loosened up" ??? This is the first time I have seen such a reference. Care to elaborate as to why or how this happens ?

And the other thing, is to my eye ( maybe it's just the angle from which the pictures were taken ) it looks like the ends of the spring bars are very close to the ground. Are they dragging on driveway entrances and such ?

It's been my experience that the chains do need to be taken up a little with use, although it's the movement in the spring bar as much as the chains themselves; increased use makes the spring bars just a little bendier. Over three seasons use I've taken my chains up one whole link, although I used half inch bolts in the links to graduate the adjustment over that period, with each bolt representing a third of a link adjustment.