Just trying to get all the info right! Towing with our 06 Oddy

[Morgan23]

Hello all, I've been lurking here on the the Portal for a few months as Dh and I have been debating the purchase of a pup. After our air mattress died on our last tent camping trip, I said ENOUGH! Time to stop sleeping on the ground! So we have gotten serious about looking at pups, and we know (after reading all the info here and on Oddyclub) that we will want to stay on the smaller side with the pup.

Right now we're looking at two pups, a 96 Camplite and a 97 Jayco, which are both about 1800lbs. I figure with me, DH, two kids (7 and 10) and our assorted camping carp, we will be no more than 2500lbs loaded (we are pretty minimalist campers). My understanding is that is well under the towing capacity of my minivan, as long as the right tow package is installed.

My Oddy didn't come with the dealer two package, so after spending wayyy too many hours on the web I think I've figured out what we need. Please let me know if I'm on the right track!

Tow hitch: Class III (looking at the DrawTite or Hidden Hitch sold at etrailers) + ball mount and 2" ball

Wiring: I think we need a 7pin? Is that right? Both the trailers we are currently looking at have electric brakes. I think we also need a brake controller if that's the case...? Any recommendation for the wiring?

We will also install a transmission cooler. It looks like we can do that ourselves (I've changed the oil and brake pads before so it looks doable...DH is even handier than I when it comes to car stuff).

A lot of the posts here also talk about WDH, and I'm concerned about that as well as my Oddy's 'saggy bottom' . It looks like we can fix the saggy bottom with air bags, but I don't think either of the pups we are looking at can take a WDH. Any advice?

Really, any and all comments are really appreciated. This forum has been a gold mine of knowledge...but it can be somewhat overwhelming so I want to make sure we have our ducks in a row when setting up the van for towing!

 

[JeepMama]

Welcome to the forum We bought our 1st popup almost exactly one year ago... This forum and its members are great sources of help and information.

We have a Coleman Taos, about 1750 lbs 8 foot box. Our boys are 7 & 5 and I can see where we are going to have to either upgrade to a larger popup or perhaps add a tent for the kids (although I feel they are too young to be in their own tent). If you can get a larger popup - 10 or 12 foot box, my advice is to get one - your kids are only going to get bigger!!!

We don't tow with our Ody, but I know others on here have. You are right, you can add the cooler yourself. Etrailer.com (a forum advertizer) has a video I believe on intstalling these. If you order from clicking on their banner ad here on the forum, the forum gets some sort of compensation.

7 pin wiring for brakes - you can order this from etrailer too. we bought the prodigy brake controller, my husband wired it to his jeep himself.

hitch - yep, that sounds right, although I leave that up to my husband to figure out.

i know nothing about wdh, I am sure someone will chime in.

Good luck

 

[Fire Captain Jim]

Yes, class 3 hitch, receiver and 2 inch. Ball. You will need a electric brake controller and some wiring will have to be run from front cab to the rear 7 pin plug. Sometimes you can purchase wiring harnes to attach your 7 pin plug to wiring harness and also a plug to attach the brake controller to a wire harness. A transmission cooler will help and since your campers can't take a load equalizing hitch, you might consider some air bags to rear axle on your van. Happy camping.

 

[suprz]

Dont know about your Oddy, but my wifes jeep did not come with the trailer towing package either, but wqhen i went online and priced it all up, it was over 600.00 in parts alone (she wanted the factory hitch cause it looked nicer, which it does imho) But anyways, i went to my local junkyard, and got ALL the pieces, transmission cooler, class III factory hitch, and factory wiring harness, the bezel that goes into the factory bumper. (the wiring harness just plugged into an existing connector in the back of the jeep fenderwell) all for ....$200.00. Jeep wanted 75.00 just for the plastic bumper bezel! I put it all on myself, so no labor charges. So take a look around the junkyards...never know what you can find. I bought a tekonsha prodigy brake controller for 40.00 on ebay new in the box

 

[Rodger D.]

Morgan

As already said, many of the items that you could be purchasing new in the box are
at your local pick & pulls ( hitches - Wiring/ Vehicle to Trailer Plug - Transmission
Cooler and Trailer Brake Controller ).

A quick look at etrailer or http://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplies/Trailer-Hitches/
will show you that every maker of hitchs for your vehicle all have the same tow ratings.

Get any hitch part number for your year vehicle and then you can use that number to
show you the first year it was used and the latest year. In some cases it will also show
you that other makes and models use the same Tow Hitch.

 

[gec66]

First of all you are on the right track all the way except for picking a pup that will not handle a WDH. Read your owners manual. It states if the trailer weighs more than 1,850 lbs you need to use a WDH. This is not just because of sagging, but due to weight distribution. You need to get some of the weight off the rear axle to avoid over loading it. Air bags do not fix that.

Hopefully I have not discouraged you at this point. On my signature you will find that I am towing a Fleetwood Bayside. It weighs about 2850 lbs empty. By the time I am loaded I am within the weight limit on every axle, but over the gross combined weight allowed by 550 lbs. This decision was not made lightly, but I won't bore you with all the research I did to conclude it wouldn't worry me to do it.

Last year we went central Ohio to Yellowstone and this summer we went to San Diego and back. The van engine is a real workhorse and still gets decent fuel economy. I got as high as 20 mpg on the most recent trip. I have owned it since new and it has the OEM tow package, so the trans cooler is not as good as you can get aftermarket, but brand new I wanted to make sure I kept the warranty intact. I have always ran synthetic oil and switched the transmission to Mobil 1 synthetic 30K ago. It now has 150K on it and no sign of drive train issues. I have noticed a huge improvement in the transmission shifting, fluid condition, etc. since the fluid change.

As I see you have 2 choices. Either stay below the 1850 loaded, or get a pup that can handle the WDH. As you can see, there are some rules I will bend, just not that one. I have done my homework. JMHO

Feel free to ask more questions if you like. I am a huge fan of the Ody as long as you understand its capability.

 

[Morgan23]

Thank you all for the info, good to know we're on the right track with the tow set up.

gec66- the whole WDH issue stumps us! We have looked at some Colemans but they are all from the 97-2000 yrs and so we are very leery of the ABS roof issue. One roof had small cracks already, and two roofs looked fine...but from reading others' experiences an ABS roof can look wonderful one month and be falling apart not long after. We are going to see a 97 Coleman Santa Fe this weekend http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/rvs/3137640927.html We are also looking at this Camplite pup today: http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/rvs/3136047220.html

JeepMama, the 8 and 10 ft boxes seem so small!!! We have been looking mostly at 12ft boxes. Regardless of the pup's weight, it needs to fit in our tiny garage so we can't go bigger than 12ft anyways. The Camplite we are going to see today is supposed to be a 12 ft box with a slideout, which DH really likes. We want a pup that we can keep for at least a few years- hoping not to have to 'upgrade' because I really don't want to buy another TV!

 

[gec66]

You are right to be leery of the ABS roof. It can take a really nice pup from $3000 or $4000 to worthless, or major project, if it delaminates. Not that other kinds of roofs don't have problems. If you do end up with a rotten roof, it is pretty much the same end result no matter what type or brand.

I assume you are looking at the 1997-2000 model year range to stay on a budget. The best thing you can do at this point is be patient. Fleetwood switched to the Alumitite roof 1/2 way through the 2003 model year, hence a 2003.5 model that indicates the Alumitite roof. Fleetwood also replaced a lot of roofs under warranty on 1996-2003 models and when they did the replaced it with Alumitite. Once you get familiar with the difference you can spot which roof it has in pics. Maybe keep your eyes open for one that has had the roof replaced.

In the end, if you are looking for a 12' pup with any options you will end up in the 1800-2200 lb empty range. If you want to stay at the 1850 loaded weight the only way to do that is be around 1300 lbs empty. That is a bare bones 10' pup. My previous Jayco Eagle 10 with no fridge, a/c, storage truck, or slide out was exactly that, and it worked for a while. Eventually we wanted more room and options which lead to the Bayside.

 

[ARagz]

I agree with gec66, The bare bones pup would be the best bet for weight control. My Jayco 1207 tows well with my Sienna. I slow down on the hills, but not to an unsafe level. I think the weight is 1500 dry. Shop specifications. I think you'll find one that fits your needs. All the rest of your items sound good.

 

[Morgan23]

Well, we went yesterday to look at a couple of used pups and the Camplite had already been sold! Which was a bummer because we really wanted to see it since it had the slide out. We ended up looking at the 97 Jayco, but it had some water damage in the roof from what the owner claimed was a leaky roof vent. The water had gotten down inside the pup and damaged the sink/stove counter as well was minor damage on the floor. He claimed it only happened once and the flooring was solid (everything was dry and no soft spots) but I wasn't comfortable with water damage, especially since he was asking $4300 for it which seemed kind of high.

We also stopped by a dealer to check out some Coachmen units, which was an interesting experience. The sales guy knew we wanted to stay light so recommended a Coachman clipper 109, which had a 10ft box and was pretty bare bones (no potty, no outside shower, etc.). About 1675lbs dry....I told him we had done some research and knew that our van requires WDH for more than 1875lbs, so he ran up some numbers and said it would be $1200ish for the complete hitch set up for my van (hitch, receiver, 7pin wiring, brake controller, WDH). Of course he was trying to sell us the unit- they had it priced around $9700 for the pup and hitch set up- and when we said the complete pricing was too high all of the sudden I didn't need a WDH anymore. Even though there is no way we would only carry 200lbs in camping supplies! (as an aside, the sales guy swore up and down that they have put WDH on campers with 'c' frames and that it works just fine?! I wasn't inclined to believe him, after all I've read about that being a no no, but I let it go..)

Annnnnyways....we made it out of the dealership alive and sans a pup. DH and I have decided to keep looking at used pups...we can technically afford a new one but goodness they seem way too overpriced!!! As DH put it, he couldn't see a huge improvement in materials and 'technology' between the 15 yr old pups and the brand new to make the $$ difference worth it.

So here's another question I guess: I'm thinking we should just set my van up for towing with the hitch, receiver, and 7pin wiring. Should we go a head and add the brake controller now or wait till we actually have our pup? Also, I guess we will wait on the WDH to see what trailer we end up with?

We are going to look at a 97 Coleman Santa Fe today. The guy said the roof is in very good condition and it's the original ABS roof. It will be the first Coleman we look at so wish us luck!

 

[Jeff d]

I would hold off on the brake controller until you know what you're getting as some popups are equippped with surge brakes rather than electric. If you find one you like with surge brakes then the controller won't be necessary.

 

[gec66]

Your DH is right about not much changing in the last 15 years, but buying used means condition is everything, so you are probably right to pass on the Jayco.

If it were me I would get the van set up for towing including the brake controller. This is where preparation can increase your opportunity. A seller that knows you can drive away with it on the spot may be willing to negotiate more than the guy you tell "we'll be back in a couple days after we get our hitch put on". Also, with the brake controller installed you can find out if the brakes & lights work on a pup you are looking at. Many sellers hang onto a pup for several years after the last time they use it. They may not have a vehicle capable of towing it anymore. There are lots of us here to help you fix those things, but if you will be able to negotiate from a different angle, or you may not want to deal with it.

The toughest part of buying used is typically the amount of time it takes to find the right pup. In the end the savings is worth it, but it can be really hard to be patient and not settle. You are are on the right path. All markets are different, so what is a good deal in your market might be a rip off somewhere else. Shopping around is the only way to know. Keep plugging away and good luck!