Please critique my options on a 17B

[disneydoc]

Thank you very much for each post, I learned so much from your real world experience about the options and it is making a lot of sense.

After considering all the posts received , I am making some changes to my option list now & some options I will get after using the Trailer for a few months.

- Include the Surge Protector
- I will get the towing Lessons, will search for them around locally in Florida
- Include Spray Foam Insulation for Under the Trailer
- I will REMOVE the Stereo
- REMOVE the High Lift Axle, may add later if needed
- REMOVE the Tongue Power Jack
- Move 1 Captain Reading Light to the front passenger corner top, move the other one to the rear passenger corner top.
-REMOVE the exterior hatch, use Front Storage Box for the hoses, etc.

Few more questions -

- My Lexus Rx350 has a towing capacity of 3500lbs, would this necessitate a weight distributing hitch ?.
If & when I am towing without a WDH, how would I know I need a WDH, what does one watch for to assess its need ?

- I plan to use the rear dinette as the bed, and to save the trouble of storing the pedestal, will a hinged table help ?. Please help me understand how this arrangement with the hinged dinette works.

- "The price for the EMS is what you would pay to buy it "
What is EMS, what are you referring to ?

Again, thanks to each one of you, please keep the answers, suggestions & replies coming.


Best regards.

 

[gbaglo]

My guess is that you will require a WDH since your Lexus is designed for a luxury ride ( a soft rear end ), and has the same 3,500 lb. tow rating as my RAV4 V6.
You can get the WDH and have it properly adjusted to restore a level ride, when you pick up your trailer.
It won't just level your vehicle. It will give you a much more secure feeling, the trailer and tow vehicle feeling like a unit.
First picture shows without weight distribution. Second is with.
Note that the pictures also show a trailer with the high lift axle. If the RAV4 doesn't make it, there's not much point having all that clearance under the trailer.

 

[Brian B-P]

My guess is that your Lexus would need a WDH since it is designed and equipped to deliver a luxury ride so the rear suspension would be soft.
When the trailer is attached, the rear would drop significantly, lifting the front of your Lexus, taking weight off the front wheels and aiming your headlights at the sky.

The stiffness of the rear suspension and the amount of compression of the rear suspension have no effect on reduction of front axle load. You could weld a solid steel bar in place of each spring to completely immobilize the rear suspension and the front wouldn't lift any more or less than with the stock springs.

Of course, the nose-up tilt of the tug depends on both lift of the front (which will be small) and compression of the rear (which will likely be greater), so with soft suspension (in either end, but especially the rear) there will be more tilt.

 

[gbaglo]

Thanks Brian.
Perhaps you could explain your explanation in more detail.

 

[Brian B-P]

- My Lexus Rx350 has a towing capacity of 3500lbs, would this necessitate a weight distributing hitch ?.

There's no connection between towing capacity and use of a WDH.

If & when I am towing without a WDH, how would I know I need a WDH, what does one watch for to assess its need ?

The WDH exists to reduce load on the tow vehicle's rear axle, so if the rear axle can't handle the load due to the trailer's tongue weight well enough then you can help it with a WDH.

 

[Brian B-P]

Thanks Brian.
Perhaps you could explain your explanation in more detail.

Seriously? The tow vehicle is a big lever. The hitch ball is one end, and the rear axle is the fulcrum (pivot). It doesn't matter how squishy the fulcrum is, the amount of lift at the front depends only on the amount of push down on the ball and the lengths of the lever arms (from ball to rear axle, and from front axle to rear axle).

If the rear squishes down a lot, it can look like the front is really high, even though it is not much higher than with no trailer. A WDH reduces both the squishing down of the rear and the rising of the front.

 

[gbaglo]

So, as I understand it, to explain something in simple terms, one must make it as complicated as possible and pick nits.

 

[Brian B-P]

So, as I understand it, to explain something in simple terms, one must make it as complicated as possible and pick nits.

A soft rear suspension doesn't take more weight off the front or make the front go up more when the trailer is hitched. If you don't want more explanation, I suggest not asking for it.

 

[PGDriver]

Even thought the front doesn't go up Glenn is right about the lights. They will be aiming higher when the back end goes down.

Cheers
Doug

 

[Brian B-P]

Even thought the front doesn't go up Glenn is right about the lights. They will be aiming higher when the back end goes down.

Yes, only a couple of degrees, but that's enough to make a significant difference to headlight aim.

 

[float5]

You can try to figure out how you will use these things but our opinions are only on how we use them which may not be your preferences.

We put mostly dirty items in the front box. We have the extra hatch because we do not fit all of our exterior items that are clean in the one standard hatch. You cannot just go back to the factory if you want another hatch. We didn't want locals who never work on fiberglass trailers cutting big holes in ours.

The electric jack may be of interest if you use the trailer a good deal. A lot of cranking may be required and there will be some situations when the cranking is difficult. A jack, however, can be added locally easily.

You likely can use a WDH to transfer weight from the back of the vehicle to the front of it and it will also transfer some weight back to the trailer.

Thank you very much for each post, I learned so much from your real world experience about the options and it is making a lot of sense.

After considering all the posts received , I am making some changes to my option list now & some options I will get after using the Trailer for a few months.

- Include the Surge Protector
- I will get the towing Lessons, will search for them around locally in Florida
- Include Spray Foam Insulation for Under the Trailer
- I will REMOVE the Stereo
- REMOVE the High Lift Axle, may add later if needed
- REMOVE the Tongue Power Jack
- Move 1 Captain Reading Light to the front passenger corner top, move the other one to the rear passenger corner top.
-REMOVE the exterior hatch, use Front Storage Box for the hoses, etc.

Few more questions -

- My Lexus Rx350 has a towing capacity of 3500lbs, would this necessitate a weight distributing hitch ?.
If & when I am towing without a WDH, how would I know I need a WDH, what does one watch for to assess its need ?

- I plan to use the rear dinette as the bed, and to save the trouble of storing the pedestal, will a hinged table help ?. Please help me understand how this arrangement with the hinged dinette works.

- "The price for the EMS is what you would pay to buy it "
What is EMS, what are you referring to ?

Again, thanks to each one of you, please keep the answers, suggestions & replies coming.


Best regards.

 

[float5]

As Don and Teresa say, we consider the EMS (surge protector) a must-have. It will particularly protect you when everyone is using his A/C and the power is insufficient from the campground.

 

[BCnomad]

My two cents.

- If I was going to camp in full hook ups I would look into the optional heat strip in the air conditioning unit. I know you said no cold weather but ...

- A few times I could have used an external 120 outlet on the driver side.

- Maxxfan?

- You may want to consider extra window tinting in the future.

 

[padlin]

I've heard the heat strip requires running the air conditioner which is loud, but then I've never had one so it's 2nd hand info.

A weight distribution hitch usually incorporates a sway control. So if you notice the front end of the Lexus pointing up like in Glen's picture, then the weight distribution function of the hitch would help. If you notice wind or passing trucks cause the trailer to sway side to side, then the anti sway function would help. Overall they give a more level and stable ride. They are a bit of a hassle to install all the time but not a bad thing to use for safety sake. Whether you get one before hand and never find out what sway is, or wait and see if you experience it is up to you. If I were having the trailer delivered to FL I'd wait, if I were picking it up then driving cross country, I'd get it at the factory.

 

[Chapitre]

I see you've eliminated the rear hatch, we had a 17B with the dinette set up as a bed pretty well full time. Without the rear hatch being able to access the full storage compartment in the rear, you have to lift up the "bed" components ( especaially if you end up using some type of foam topper) to access anything in there- we really used that space a fair bit via the exterior hatch. If you were not going to use the rear dinette as a bed I don't think the hatch would matter so much as that space is easily available from inside.


On the 17 we had the steel rims, I found they rusted a fair bit and I was always trying to keep up with the rust- it seems that it may depend on where you live - we got the Aluminum ones and there really hasn't been any upkeep on them - for the cost they were worth it to me.

 

[Jim Bennett]

You cannot just go back to the factory if you want another hatch. We didn't want locals who never work on fiberglass trailers cutting big holes in ours.

Installing a hatch afterwards is a very easy mod to do, and can be done in less than an hour. I did it on my 19 (well actually swapped out for a bigger one), and have done a few on older trailers too. This took me a couple hours, as I first had to remove the old hatch, and move the 120V outlet as well. A few others followed suit with their 2009 19's with good result.
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8/new-hatch-for-escape-19-a-812.html

I see you've eliminated the rear hatch, we had a 17B with the dinette set up as a bed pretty well full time. Without the rear hatch being able to access the full storage compartment in the rear, you have to lift up the "bed" components ( especaially if you end up using some type of foam topper) to access anything in there- we really used that space a fair bit via the exterior hatch. If you were not going to use the rear dinette as a bed I don't think the hatch would matter so much as that space is easily available from inside.

Even not using a dinette as a bed, it is still much tougher to access the bench storage lifting the seat, than using a hatch. Another option is to have access from the front of the seat. which some folks have done as mods after the fact.

 

[disneydoc]

Thank you, suggestions make a lot of sense. Some more changes in the Options,

- The Fastway E2 hitch with Sway Control is included.

- The rear Hatch will be helpful & it stays

- We will use a space Heater, if we do go to a colder place

Any body having a hinged rear dinette want to chime in, does it help for a situation where the rear dinette is converted & remains as a bed.

Thanks for helping a newbie,

Best regards

 

[cpaharley2008]

The Progressive EMS is much more than surge protection. Surge happens when lightning or other incident sends a higher than normal amount of electric through the wires, which can damage a lot of your trailer's electrical components. In addition the EMS, monitors your electric, if the cg is improperly wired, which many are, it will prevent damage to your trailer by not allowing the electric to enter the trailer. When hooking up, there is a 2 minute delay during which the EMS analyzes the electricity to determine if it is correct. You can also run into under and over voltage, again this can damage your trailer's components, the EMS also turns off the electric if the range is outside the proper parameters. During the summer when everyone is running a/c, if the voltage drops below a set point, it will turn off the electric to prevent burning out your a/c.

See here for details Progressive Industries RV Surge and Electrical Protection industry lea

 

[disneydoc]

Although I would like aluminum wheels, a fellow poster mentioned about the need
to keep tightening the lug nuts & said they may need continued maintenance, and that is the reason I am not getting them.
I am unable to bend my knee too much because of a complicated knee replacement & the thought of taking care of the wheels was enough to go to steel rims.

Can some body who has aluminum wheels advise me on their car.

Thanks

 

[disneydoc]

Thanks Jim, the Surge Protector is included in the Options list.

Best