Getting familiar with our 17B

[Pfeathers]

We are getting ready to make a maiden voyage in our 17B, going through all the systems.

I have a questions about the TV that we have mounted in the escape. I have attached a couple pictures. The TV mounting seems a bit awkward, I am not sure how it really works, in terms of storage when not in use. If I push the bracket to the curb side of the trailer it hits the dometic thermostat.

Is it meant to be removed when not in use?
Do people travel with them attached?
How does one fold it when it is not being used?

Also, we have the Fastway E2 hitch, pulling it with a Toyota Tundra. When it is all setup, the shank (L pointing down) is only about 5 inches from the pavement. Seems kind of close to me. I would think this will drag at times. IF I turn the L pointing upward, the ball is just too high. Any thoughts.

[cpaharley2008]

If it is not tied to the wall I'd remove it......

[RBRV]

Originally Posted by Pfeathers

We are getting ready to make a maiden voyage in our 17B, going through all the systems.

I have a questions about the TV that we have mounted in the escape. I have attached a couple pictures. The TV mounting seems a bit awkward, I am not sure how it really works, in terms of storage when not in use. If I push the bracket to the curb side of the trailer it hits the dometic thermostat.

Is it meant to be removed when not in use?
Do people travel with them attached?
How does one fold it when it is not being used?

Also, we have the Fastway E2 hitch, pulling it with a Toyota Tundra. When it is all setup, the shank (L pointing down) is only about 5 inches from the pavement. Seems kind of close to me. I would think this will drag at times. IF I turn the L pointing upward, the ball is just too high. Any thoughts.

1 week ago I installed a Roadmaster Active Suspension kit on my 04 tundra and it now sits level even after hooking to our E19 and adding 400 pounds close to the tailgate.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Pfeathers

Also, we have the Fastway E2 hitch, pulling it with a Toyota Tundra. When it is all setup, the shank (L pointing down) is only about 5 inches from the pavement. Seems kind of close to me. I would think this will drag at times. IF I turn the L pointing upward, the ball is just too high. Any thoughts.

That sounds way too low. Are the springs on the Tundra really soft? We use an Equal-i-zer WDH on an older 4Runner and the very bottom of the shank is quite a bit higher than 5 inches.

[Pfeathers]

The e2 hitch with a standard 17b does not seem like it provides much clearance. I am assuming all 17s would have the same coupler height unless one had larger tires.

With the trailer level I get 16.5 inches coupler height. This would be the height that I should strive for going down the road, a level trailer.

My trunnion without the Shank is about 10 inches tall. I assume all e2 hitches are alike, maybe a ball might not be as tall. So everyone with an e2 hitch should have close to the same trunnion height.

If I installed it according to instructions with the ball on the trunnion the same height as my coupler height of 16.5 inches that only leaves 6.5 inches of clearance to the pavement. That is not considering the shank which on mine is 3 inches longer than the trunnion.

I suppose I can cut off those 3 inches on the shank. Cut off the shank just above the exposed hole, that will give me 7 inches.

Internet suggests 11 inches of clearance.

[gbaglo]

Looks upside down to me. This is my Pro Series WDH. Distance to ground is also determined by the hitch receiver on the tow vehicle.

[Pfeathers]

Yours looks different because your receiver height is low. My receiver height on my truck is about 16 inches. That is the bottom is the opening.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Pfeathers

The e2 hitch with a standard 17b does not seem like it provides much clearance. I am assuming all 17s would have the same coupler height unless one had larger tires.

With the trailer level I get 16.5 inches coupler height. This would be the height that I should strive for going down the road, a level trailer.

My trunnion without the Shank is about 10 inches tall. I assume all e2 hitches are alike, maybe a ball might not be as tall. So everyone with an e2 hitch should have close to the same trunnion height.

If I installed it according to instructions with the ball on the trunnion the same height as my coupler height of 16.5 inches that only leaves 6.5 inches of clearance to the pavement. That is not considering the shank which on mine is 3 inches longer than the trunnion.

I suppose I can cut off those 3 inches on the shank. Cut off the shank just above the exposed hole, that will give me 7 inches.

Internet suggests 11 inches of clearance.

There are different shank designs with less drop that will increase your ground clearance.
Even though it’s a different brand a shank sizing calculator like this might help:
https://www.equalizerhitch.com/find-your-shank-size/

I’m sure you don’t want to change now but for future reference trunnion bars typically provide more ground clearance than round bars. Oops never mind it looks like you already have the trunnion bars.

[Pfeathers]

Yes I can get a different shank design, much cheaper to cut 3 inches of my current shank, just a hacksaw and some time. But it’s really not a shank problem, I can remedy that, it’s a trunnion issue.

I can’t change my trunnion and because of the size, 9.5 inches, I will at best only get 7 inches of ground clearance. 16.5 inche is coupler height, ball is suppose to be same height of couple, so subtract9.5 inches (trunnion size) from overall of 16.5 inches, that leaves 7 inches of clearance.

Well you say just mount the trunnion higher. But if I do that then my ball height increases and the trailer will not go down the road level. So big deal you might say. I thought the trailer needs to be level due to the propane frig.

The trunnion on the e2 hitch is huge. I am hoping other e2 hitch/17b owners can chime in and talk about their experience.

[Lanark Camper]

Originally Posted by Pfeathers

We are getting ready to make a maiden voyage in our 17B, going through all the systems.

I have a questions about the TV that we have mounted in the escape. I have attached a couple pictures. The TV mounting seems a bit awkward, I am not sure how it really works, in terms of storage when not in use. If I push the bracket to the curb side of the trailer it hits the dometic thermostat.

Is it meant to be removed when not in use?
Do people travel with them attached?
How does one fold it when it is not being used?

Also, we have the Fastway E2 hitch, pulling it with a Toyota Tundra. When it is all setup, the shank (L pointing down) is only about 5 inches from the pavement. Seems kind of close to me. I would think this will drag at times. IF I turn the L pointing upward, the ball is just too high. Any thoughts.

We have a 17B with the same TV mount. I installed it myself so it clears the thermostat. You could just lower it and repair any holes.
We remove the tv from the mount while travelling. We have the full time bed so it just lays on the bed until we setup camp.
It’s normally flat against the wall when not in use.
Bob

[MVA]

From your description, it appears that the E2 shank is not correct for your vehicle and trailer setup. I would recommend starting all over (as it appears you have) to determine the shank type and mounting position. The Fastway video may be useful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_kbKyXRZTM

Per your question if others had similar issues with the E2 hitch, we had purchased our trailer with a E2 hitch from ETI but with the stock shank sold with the E2 hitch our trailer did not pull level with our F150 (road too high on ball). Assuming you have the trunnion system, see for other shanks: https://www.fastwaytrailer.com/e2-trunnion-hitch-shank.

edit - BTW - shouldn't the coupler be at 19", not 16.5" when level?

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by MVA

BTW - shouldn't the coupler be at 19", not 16.5" when level?

I believe 18” is listed as ball height for a 17.

[Lanark Camper]

Our 17B is 19” to the top of the coupler, we have standard axle, no high lift.
So far have not used a WDH. With a regular drawbar we set the ball up so it’s at 21”, once the pickup truck is loaded and trailer on its almost level. An RV tech told me while towing exact level isn’t that important just when your stopped over night. Towing the trailer it will be up and down side to side so fridge will be fine. So far so good for us.

We just bought the Equalizer 4 way hitch and will be trying it out at the end of the month with our first trip of the season.

Bob

[MVA]

Based on your image posted at 4:46 yesterday, I searched for an image of our F150 hitched to our E19. While I did not have a ruler to measure the hitch clearance, you can see that it appears to be significantly higher than in your image; hence your concern is reasonable that your hitch shank is riding too low. This image was taken after replacing the E2 shank to allow the Trunnion head to be dropped 1.5" from the stock shank. The trailer was level when truck/trailer were loaded, and the trunnion bars were adjusted to bring the truck back up to the unhitched height (per E2 video). Hope this helps.

[Pfeathers]

That is interesting about differences on coupler height. Is that published anywhere for the 17?

I just leveled mine. Top of front frame equals rear of back frame (Back frame is welded on the top of the frame). One could also measure from pavement to black strip where the top connects to the bottom of the fiberglass shell.

Then I measured coupler height. 16.5 inches.

I have also read that being perfectly level is not mandatory when traveling as the movement will distribute ammonia in absorption frig, but also have read that 2 degree would be the maximum.

19 and 18 inches coupler height is a big difference on my trailer. Maybe I have smaller wheels

As I have indicated the shank is not the issues, I can cut part of mine off to match the trunnion. It’s the size of the trunnion, 9.5 inches height, that inlet leaves 7 inches of clearance.

I assume every stock 17 should have the same coupler height. 16.5 inches. And all e2 trunnions should have the same height, 9.5 inches. So all 17 owners who utilize the fastest e2 trunnion style hitch and who have set their trailer to instructions would have the same clearance, 7 inches.

Bottom line is it is what it is, I am not going to buy a new hitch system. I will just have to be careful when I go over bumps or dip as scraping will occur.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Pfeathers

That is interesting about differences on coupler height. Is that published anywhere for the 17?

Listed under “Specs and Floorplan” on Escape site
“18” when loaded”
https://escapetrailer.com/escape-17b-specifications/

If you have an older 17 with 14” wheels this should be ~0.5” less

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Pfeathers

I have also read that being perfectly level is not mandatory when traveling as the movement will distribute ammonia in absorption frig,

There's a lot of stuff written about a lot of stuff. Doesn't mean that it's all true or based on facts.

Our propane fridge at the lake sat on a concrete slab and never moved for years but it worked just fine.

I'd leave fridge considerations out of any towing level concerns.

Ron

[gbaglo]

And, a lot of stuff that is posted is based on old information that is no longer valid, but repeated nevertheless.
What does the manual for your fridge say about level?

[Pfeathers]

Here is what is says about the Dometic frig:

If the refrigerator is operated
when it is not level and the vehicle is not moving, liquid
ammonia will accumulate in sections of the evaporator
tubing. This will slow the circulation of hydrogen and ammonia
gas, or in severe cases, completely block it, resulting
in a loss of cooling. Any time the vehicle is parked for
several hours with the refrigerator operating, the vehicle
should be leveled to prevent this loss of cooling. The vehicle
needs to be leveled only so it is comfortable to live in
(no noticeable sloping of floor or walls). When the vehicle
is moving, the leveling is not critical, as the rolling and
pitching movement of the vehicle will pass to either side
of level, keeping the liquid ammonia from accumulating in
the evaporator tubing.


Due to my inconsistencies with coupler height and the escape published height of 18 inches, I decided to tackle the leveling thing again. I got out my 24 inch bubble level and got the trailer level at mid floor. Then I check the frame. Higher in the back then in the front. Interesting, I guess you can't go by the frame. Also with the floor level, I get 18 inches at the coupler. I am not going any further with this, I will accept the floor level technique.

So with the 18 inch coupler height, I can setup the E2 hitch. In the end, I still get about 5 inches from the bottom of the shank. I can buy a new e2 shank for $138 that is not as long and will give me a couple inches, or I can cut mine off. I got some new cutoff wheels for my angle grinder for another project so I am going to try. If I goof it up, I can always buy a new shank. But it if work, $138 will take my wife out for a nice dinner or maybe I will keep it a secret and buy some new goodies for the escape.

Now I have several more projects. Move the TV mount, that is going to be easy. I need to adjust the brakes and grease the bearings. That should not be that difficult, keep my fingers crossed. That hardest project is going to be fixing the gas operation of the Dometic frig. I get a check light after it runs for several hours. It starts on gas ok, and cools but then after several hours it seems to not be able re relight and the check light comes on.

Oh, I should try the frig again with the trailer level? Wonder if that will make a difference.

[skyfree]

I would completely ditch the WDH if you are towing with a Tundra. I do not use one on either of my tow vehicles. One has air suspension (Audi SQ7) and the other is a Chevy Colorado ZR2 which has a lower payload than your Tundra. My 17B is lifted so I only need about a 2" drop. I'm using a CURT 45036 2" drop, 7500 lbs. A WDH would not work for me because like you said they drop too low and I do some light off-road with the trailer and need all the clearance I can get.