Tremors and Campers let's talk camping!!

[Modman]

Lake McConaughy, Nebraska got me this year. I was more prepared too . Last year I made it no problem. This year I disconnected the weight distribution. I can’t remember if I did last year or not. I had tires at 25psi (worked last year). I wonder if I would of had more weight on the front if it would have helped with the weight distribution hooked up. Probably would of tore something up though. I wish I could remember if I disconnected last year or not. Anyways here are a couple pics!View attachment 60001View attachment 60002View attachment 60003

Did you use the GoTreads to get out?? Those are on my "to purchase" list...

 

[Modman]

I was cognizant of how I loaded the trailer

This is so important. I know many on here realize this but many people inexperienced with towing never give it a second thought.

 

[Ceerix]

........................ I just don't risk it when traveling long distances fully loaded and w my family.

I assume this is the point what makes the difference between using an WD or not.

 

[DIG]

How did you get out? Were the trailer tires aired down too? Was the diff locked? I'm wondering too if the WDH might have helped, but I have no idea.

After those things, I bet it was just a matter of going too slow, but that sand looks very soft.

I carry a Fortress aluminum anchor for these kinds of situations. Haven't had to use it yet, but I have it. They can be disassembled and stowed easily too.

I got out by calling the tractors that work this area for pulling campers/boats through the sand. I did not air down the trailer tires. They stayed on top of the sand. Yes you’re right, going too slow in 4L and very soft sand. I might have had better luck in 4H just for getting some speed but outcome would have probably been the same. I tried to get out of the loose sand tracks I was following and up onto harder untouched sand but I had to go over a tiny little hill of sand and it just bogged down.

 

[DIG]

Did you use the GoTreads to get out?? Those are on my "to purchase" list...

Yes I used the go treads to get out the 3 other times I was “stuck” before really getting stuck.

 

[Supercup]

I got out by calling the tractors that work this area for pulling campers/boats through the sand. I did not air down the trailer tires. They stayed on top of the sand. Yes you’re right, going too slow in 4L and very soft sand. I might have had better luck in 4H just for getting some speed but outcome would have probably been the same. I tried to get out of the loose sand tracks I was following and up onto harder untouched sand but I had to go over a tiny little hill of sand and it just bogged down.

I tow out into sandy areas of Glamis and Gordons Well all the time with 10k bumper pull ATC. Gotten stuck plenty of times over the years. Here are a couple of go to things to consider when it gets soft or towing through sandy areas.

First if you air down the truck - always air down the trailer - it is a big drag and will bog down the truck - with truck and trailer at 25 PSI in 4L you likely would have made it through that with a little momentum.

When you feel yourself starting to bog - go for momentum - if you don't start to build any more momentum and start to "dig in" - STOP IMMEDIATLY - this is the hardest thing to do, cause you think I got to stay on it to power thru - you have to weigh - can you power thru vs being "less stuck". I have learned less stuck is better in most situation and always makes it easer to deploy your boards and less digging. Not to mention hamming the throttle and powering thru beats the crap out of the trailer and the hitch.

4L or 4H? I will take 4L every time.

if you get stuck be sure to lock the diff., then air truck and trailer down to 20 PSI - that might be enough to allow you to creep out - if not air truck down to 15 PSI (I just go there right away as you might only get one chance).

If that doesn't work, then dig - deploy boards and work your way out.

If you are in toybox - unload the SXS, quads or moto's to drop the weight if you can't get out after airing all the way down, will make a big difference to drop a 2,000 lbs. and in the case of a SXS having someone give you a small tug with that may be enough to spring you with no digging or boards.

WD on or off? I leave it on - but you can argue both sides of this - I like keeping it on so you have less load on rear wheels of truck and more weight distributed to the front. I also think if you have to "go" it takes the shocks and forces you put on the hitch and spread them over entire WD set up - so far less likely to rip your hitch off (which probably happens when they had too much load for hitch).

If you get stuck do your best to get out "without" unhooking - only unhook as a last resort when are out by yourself. Take your time and work your way out, it is just part of the adventure!

Here are a few videos on technique to crawl out of sand - this really works -

link:

link:

 

[DIG]

I tow out into sandy areas of Glamis and Gordons Well all the time with 10k bumper pull ATC. Gotten stuck plenty of times over the years. Here are a couple of go to things to consider when it gets soft or towing through sandy areas.

First if you air down the truck - always air down the trailer - it is a big drag and will bog down the truck - with truck and trailer at 25 PSI in 4L you likely would have made it through that with a little momentum.

When you feel yourself starting to bog - go for momentum - if you don't start to build any more momentum and start to "dig in" - STOP IMMEDIATLY - this is the hardest thing to do, cause you think I got to stay on it to power thru - you have to weigh - can you power thru vs being "less stuck". I have learned less stuck is better in most situation and always makes it easer to deploy your boards and less digging. Not to mention hamming the throttle and powering thru beats the crap out of the trailer and the hitch.

4L or 4H? I will take 4L every time.

if you get stuck be sure to lock the diff., then air truck and trailer down to 20 PSI - that might be enough to allow you to creep out - if not air truck down to 15 PSI (I just go there right away as you might only get one chance).

If that doesn't work, then dig - deploy boards and work your way out.

If you are in toybox - unload the SXS, quads or moto's to drop the weight if you can't get out after airing all the way down, will make a big difference to drop a 2,000 lbs. and in the case of a SXS having someone give you a small tug with that may be enough to spring you with no digging or boards.

WD on or off? I leave it on - but you can argue both sides of this - I like keeping it on so you have less load on rear wheels of truck and more weight distributed to the front. I also think if you have to "go" it takes the shocks and forces you put on the hitch and spread them over entire WD set up - so far less likely to rip your hitch off (which probably happens when they had too much load for hitch).

If you get stuck do your best to get out "without" unhooking - only unhook as a last resort when are out by yourself. Take your time and work your way out, it is just part of the adventure!

Here are a few videos on technique to crawl out of sand - this really works -

link:

link:

I’m not sure if anyone else has been stuck long enough to where their truck tried to give them some pointers. After being stuck a while my truck suggested putting it in trail control at 1 mph to help get traction. It was too late at that point.

 

[pickleknuckles]

Quick weekend trip to Meramec Valley RV Park in Cuba, MO.

 

[Warpath]

View attachment 60206
Quick weekend trip to Meramec Valley RV Park in Cuba, MO.

Nice! Heading to Table Rock lake monday!

 

[weatherherk]

Awesome camper! Our Tremor will be pulling a 33’ Winnebago. I too would love to be a full time camper. The closest I’ll come to that is in 2 years the wife and I are going to retire and travel the across the states for a few months before moving south where I don’t have to use the heated wipers!

Depends on how far south you go til you have to factor hurricanes into the equation

 

[pickleknuckles]

Buncha Fords camping and and a 1 week foster fail. We now have a 5yr old, 3 legged, Alaskan Husky.

 

[Former Lurker]

Some buddies and I are heading to Blue Holler OffRoad Park (near Mammoth Cave KY) next week for camping and SxS riding, and such... I've heard good things, but have never been there - will let you know.

 

[TellurideTremor]

My current set up. While I may not have the luxuries of a larger footprint travel trailer, I have the option of waking up in some pretty awesome remote locations.

 

[henriettatremor6.7]

Pretty much got rained out here this weekend in Corpus Christi.
My gf like to go “glamping.” I wanted a rooftop tent…oh well. It was a nice getaway without the three pups, but we are def in the market to upgrade the camper. Bought this a year and a half ago and did a 5 week cross country trip from NV to VT and back (just under 10k miles) it worked but now we realize that we need to go bigger. I’ll miss the 15-16 mpg towing with this one

 

[desertdust]

My current set up. While I may not have the luxuries of a larger footprint travel trailer, I have the option of waking up in some pretty awesome remote locations.

View attachment 60265

What swing-out do you have?
Can you show a picture of the back? I'd like to see how you have your fridge slide mounted in.

 

[TellurideTremor]

What swing-out do you have?
Can you show a picture of the back? I'd like to see how you have your fridge slide mounted in

It’s the Rigd ultraswing

alucab slide out for fridge. Let me find a pic for ya

 

[Supercup]

Pretty much got rained out here this weekend in Corpus Christi.
My gf like to go “glamping.” I wanted a rooftop tent…oh well. It was a nice getaway without the three pups, but we are def in the market to upgrade the camper. Bought this a year and a half ago and did a 5 week cross country trip from NV to VT and back (just under 10k miles) it worked but now we realize that we need to go bigger. I’ll miss the 15-16 mpg towing with this one
View attachment 60275View attachment 60276View attachment 60278

A weekend away in the rain will make you realize pretty quick that a larger foot print is nice to have - once you are towing - other than mileage - it doesn't really matter what it is! Good new is you have the truck to tow something much larger!

Enjoy the hunt for the next trailer - I would move up to a 5th wheel if you can swing it, tows so nice and great layouts available to you!

 

[toximus]

Before you get a Black Series be sure you know what you are getting into with them. Talk to me if you wish and I can give you a lot of information.

I saw a couple of these last week. What should someone know before getting into them?

 

[Raspy]

I saw a couple of these last week. What should someone know before getting into them?

Their quality control sucks, leading to roof leaks, mis-aligned wheels, bad shocks, bad brakes, refridgeratos that don't work, etc. The interior cabinetry is very cheap. They use no name brand equipment you can't get parts for, and have severely cheapened the trailers in the last year or so. Warrantee issues are likely not covered so most older dealerships have dropped them. New dealers likely know nothing about them. Many have had roof leaks that threaten to total the trailer. They are pretty much the only brand that uses the terrible polyblock couplers. Difficult to use and they break. So, if you can find an older one, with the black interior upholstery, and you make sure the roof does not leak, and you upgrade the hitch to a McHitch (I have a source for those), and upgrade the inverter/charger to a Victron, and you align the wheels (I have the procedure for that), and are prepared to replace the brakes and the shocks, and you replace the poor AGM batteries that die in two years with some good lithium batteries, and you make sure the recall was done on it to prevent it from burning (or call me to find out how to do it yourself), you can end up with a good trailer that is capable off-road and comfortable. Do yourself a favor and go to the BS forums. BS is now offering special dealer incentives to take more inventory because their reputation has become so terrible, and their numbers are way down because of it. The basic structure is built in China and shipped to the US to be completed in Los Angeles. China is not the problem, it's the US factory and their attitude. I never had roof leaks, but my inverter went out twice before I replaced it with a Victron, my breakaway system was a bad design that I fixed early on and before it became a fire hazard, I tracked down other power losses and fire hazards in the electrical system and took care of them early. My brakes and shocks were junk and I replaced them. My alignment was so bad I ruined a tire in 2,000 miles, I junked the polyblock hitch and installed an excellent McHitch. I sold the trailer after 1 1/2 years and the batteries immediately failed the new owner. The plusses are the older solar systems are good, the galvanized frames are good, as is the independent suspension. They have a parking brake and an Anderson plug from the factory, the aluminum siding is good quality. They are not designed for winter use as the piping is all external and running along under the trailer. It is really hard to make them work in winter weather. The insulation in the walls is almost nothing. If you leave them closed up and parked outside in the summer in Texas or Arizona, the interior glues melt. The trrim will begin to fall off and the walls will crack. Bottom line: They are almost great, but the factory sucks and they have a lot of built in problems. They could have been so much better and really changed the world, but they refused to do better. I liked mine, but I also sold it after only 1 1/2 years and a lot of time spent and expense to redesign and make improvements. The new owners love it and have had no problems other than the batteries. I encouraged them to park it inside, out of the sun. I was directly or indirectly involved with the factory the whole time and repeatedly was disappointed. Just a month ago, I was camping in Colorado with another friend and his BlacK Series. One day we discovered a steady stream of water pouring down inside onto the bed from the rain the night before. It's the second time that has happened and he can't find the leak. Another friend with one had to threaten to sue before the factory agreed to fix his roof, and it looks like that trailer will be totaled.

 

[RedZilla]

Their quality control sucks, leading to roof leaks, mis-aligned wheels, bad shocks, bad brakes, refridgeratos that don't work, etc. The interior cabinetry is very cheap. They use no name brand equipment you can't get parts for, and have severely cheapened the trailers in the last year or so. Warrantee issues are likely not covered so most older dealerships have dropped them. New dealers likely know nothing about them. Many have had roof leaks that threaten to total the trailer. They are pretty much the only brand that uses the terrible polyblock couplers. Difficult to use and they break. So, if you can find an older one, with the black interior upholstery, and you make sure the roof does not leak, and you upgrade the hitch to a McHitch (I have a source for those), and upgrade the inverter/charger to a Victron, and you align the wheels (I have the procedure for that), and are prepared to replace the brakes and the shocks, and you replace the poor AGM batteries that die in two years with some good lithium batteries, and you make sure the recall was done on it to prevent it from burning (or call me to find out how to do it yourself), you can end up with a good trailer that is capable off-road and comfortable. Do yourself a favor and go to the BS forums. BS is now offering special dealer incentives to take more inventory because their reputation has become so terrible, and their numbers are way down because of it. The basic structure is built in China and shipped to the US to be completed in Los Angeles. China is not the problem, it's the US factory and their attitude. I never had roof leaks, but my inverter went out twice before I replaced it with a Victron, my breakaway system was a bad design that I fixed early on and before it became a fire hazard, I tracked down other power losses and fire hazards in the electrical system and took care of them early. My brakes and shocks were junk and I replaced them. My alignment was so bad I ruined a tire in 2,000 miles, I junked the polyblock hitch and installed an excellent McHitch. I sold the trailer after 1 1/2 years and the batteries immediately failed the new owner. The plusses are the older solar systems are good, the galvanized frames are good, as is the independent suspension. They have a parking brake and an Anderson plug from the factory, the aluminum siding is good quality. They are not designed for winter use as the piping is all external and running along under the trailer. It is really hard to make them work in winter weather. The insulation in the walls is almost nothing. If you leave them closed up and parked outside in the summer in Texas or Arizona, the interior glues melt. The trrim will begin to fall off and the walls will crack. Bottom line: They are almost great, but the factory sucks and they have a lot of built in problems. They could have been so much better and really changed the world, but they refused to do better. I liked mine, but I also sold it after only 1 1/2 years and a lot of time spent and expense to redesign and make improvements. The new owners love it and have had no problems other than the batteries. I encouraged them to park it inside, out of the sun. I was directly or indirectly involved with the factory the whole time and repeatedly was disappointed. Just a month ago, I was camping in Colorado with another friend and his BlacK Series. One day we discovered a steady stream of water pouring down inside onto the bed from the rain the night before. It's the second time that has happened and he can't find the leak. Another friend with one had to threaten to sue before the factory agreed to fix his roof, and it looks like that trailer will be totaled.

Sounds like the typical problems found in 70-80% of all RVs sold. The industry is notorious for poor quality control and even worse customer service. We love camping and especially in RVs but the process of buying and maintaining can be a nightmare. Some are definitely better than others, and there's a big range when it comes to customer service both dealerships and factories, but figuring that maze out can be pretty daunting. The best you can do is extensive research and networking with folks that are owners to find the best brand and dealer in your area. Youtube and brand forums are a very good resources.