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kdickinson · 01-28-2017, 04:11 PM

There are a lot of plusses in the motorhome column of any RV evaluation. If the hitch and sway bars are the primary concern you may want to take a look at the model hitch that leaves the sway bars permanently connected to the trailer and the car connects much like rail cars connect. The hitch basically has a bar on the tow vehicle side that slides into the front of the hitch and connects when the bar is slid into the hitch side - no more trying to get the 2" ball in exactly the right spot. I don't have one and am not sure of the brand but I've seen these in trailer parks and they look pretty functional and easy to use.

Betty Farmer · 01-29-2017, 05:25 AM

I am an 82 year old female and pull a 28' Classic with a 1 ton GMC dually and never hook the sway bars up. The dually makes the difference and I have pulled it from one coast to the other without wind movement, etc. Also own a 1/2 Chev that I do have to hook the sway bars up. Also own a 38' motor home. If you are happy with your 28' - change vehicles. There is an awful lot of difference in pulling your Airstream and taking care of a motor home. Take it from an old hand at both.

banderabob · 01-29-2017, 08:47 AM

You mention "we" in your post. Is your travel partner not able to do some of the heavier or less comfortable tasks? We are in our mid 60's, and the Mrs can do every task on both our 19' Bambi and 23' FC (other than extending the awnings, but I'm confident any guy watching her would step up to help!). Probably the hardest part for her iwould be placing the Reese hitch receiver on the TV, because of the weight, but she could do it. Really, nothing else requires any strength. Just asking!

JCWDCW · 01-29-2017, 02:39 PM

Quote "To much to list, but my injuries and conditions has got to the point where hooking and un hooking the trailer is sooooo painfull and I don't think I can pick up the sway bars and hitch any more."

I find my Hensley less of an effort to hook up with respect to WD bars, but it takes some getting used to and can be tricky lining up. I have always used the jack to lift the TV to reduce the effort in pulling up the WD bars on the standard hitch. Hensley and Pro-pride just need pressure off a bit with the jack and use of the speed wrench or an electric driver to pull up the tension on the WD bars.
JCW

m.hony · 01-30-2017, 07:45 AM

What brand of weight distribution/sway control hitch do you have?
With my Equal-i-zer Original 4-point sway control hitch I don't lift the bars, but simply slide them back out of the hitch head and leave them in the L-brackets.

KLJ · 02-02-2017, 11:58 AM

No. You're not crazy, you're just a little scared, anxious AND! excited?! There's just something about going down the road, finding a spot to pitch camp early enough that you settle in for the evening before the sun goes down. It's super primal, it's a gearing down of your central nervous system while simultaneously revving up other parts of you that need and want revving up. That's why you put out an ask of AM I CRAZY???? YOU WANT TO DO THIS. I took my dogs and went camping/surfing down in Santa Cruz, alone, and I was so scared I kept putting it off! My former significant other, a DVM, finally got me to go by saying, Kelly? You can drive down the road a few miles and turn around if that's what it feels like you need to do but I've a sense that once you're ON the road...." He was right... Once I hooked up my Bambi Sport and headed out, I just knew I was on an important personal journey and... I was. I'm not assuming you have maturity onset diabetes but! if you do, there's lots to shift there and if you've had it since a kid, take care of it like the precious juvenile onset baby that it is and live several more decades. What was that old adage? Get yourself a serious disease, take good care of it and live forever?! Something like that. Make sure you have a brave, kickass endocrinologist who's NOT AFRAID TO PRACTICE medicine and do it to it. Go online to LifeExtension.com. The best physicians out there these days are not coasting on any laurels and they're smart enough and driven by a moral GPS to fiercely practice real medicine. If that's not the kind of physician you have, get one. Don't let your diabetes be "losing the sweetness of life." Sail forth!