Awesome! Can't wait to see it. Congrats!

 

Jayco makes great trailers. Have a good time with the family.

 

Thanks again for all you suggestions. We picked her up yesterday and headed to our first camp ground. The Ex towed like a champ the only thing was on some bumpy area on I78 it felt like the trailer was pushing the truck. Once we got on Rt33 it was fine. I78 seemed to have bumps in the road every 30ft or so along this one stretch. Had a few Tractor trailers go past and didn't even feel them. And now for what you all have be waiting for the Pictures. Sorry just one picture for now from when we were leaving the dealer. I'll post more picture as I take them.. Here is link for picture incase it doesn't show below.

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2025...Px?vhost=rides

 

Nice looking setup & congrats Matt. I've traveled 78 many time (& still do) and that road isn't vehicle friendly at all.

 

Congrats on the new trailer!!!!

The Ex will not have any problem with that trailer as long as the steering and suspension are in good shape. That said, do yourself a big favor and get a rear Helwig swaybar, and a set of Bilstein shocks. (eshocks.com) The stiffer shocks and swaybar help with corner diving when turning and braking. This happens in panic stops and swerves, and is exacerbated by having a trailer in tow. Corner diving is a nasty cause of suv rollover.

I towed a trailer of that size and weight for a few years with my old Expedition with a 4.6L v8 and it did great and then we bought the Ex. It was really nice to see the EX never strained. Downshifted, yes, but never strained like the Expedition would do sometimes The Ex was just pure brute force added to it. Under 8000lbs,
you don't absolutely need a 4.30 ratio, but it is real nice.

Last year we purchased a Jayco 322FKS to replace our old trailer, over 9300 lbs loaded with 1200lb tongue weight.

Given that weight it is imperative to me to have the lower ratio.

Ford rated the Excursion (2004-2005 models) for 9000lbs with the 3.73 ratio. 11000lbs only with the 4.30 ratio.

 

As far as the Reese dual cam Strait Line, well,,,,, You just hit me at the right time to warn you about this one..

Be very careful about the Dual cam brackets and the snap up brackets that are installed. There are some brackets that are out there, most of them that is, that are poorly made by Reese and can cause you a nightmare. The snap up brackets keep bending out of shape for me on every trip. If you do not see the brackets are 90°, tell the dealer to replace them. Don't let them tell you that it is normal to have a non 90° bend in the bracket. That is a pure snow job on their part if they do.


Read all aabout it here:

RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Towing: Not happy with my Reese Dual Cam



The problem is so bad that I have scrapped my Reese and ordered a totally different WD system last Friday.

If you peruse the towing forum at the link above, you will see other dissatisfied owners scrapping theirs, too.

I don't toss a 1 year old $650 peice of equipment in the recycle bin for the heck of it. Mine sucks.

Mind you, I used a dual cam system in all my other trailers over the years and it worked wonderfully, but the stuff they are making in the last couple of years is really hit or miss on quality.

Just to show how bad it is, I made up illustrations for that other thread, in cross sections. In the drawing below, the left hand diagram is what the strait line was designed to be. The right hand drawing is what I keep getting from Reese. I hope the step up to the plate and fix this for everyone. I sent them an email with that link above for them to hopefully read it.

 

Had a 26 ft toyhauler when fully loaded with 4 atvs, genny,air compressor, all the stuff a family of 6 would be bringing and over 100 gallons of water she weighted in well over 10k. With the dist. hitch setup I have no needed for air bags. Pulled this setup average about 12 times a year.

Then 3 months ago we traded in the toyhauler and got a 26 ft TT. BUT ITS NOT AS HEAVY. Im using the same equipment on this TT. Both pull very well, and only difference is I could feel the weight on the Hauler easier. But it didnt make it handle any different. I just needed litte more pedal to move it.haha

If you take the time to properly setup ur equipment youll be fine with the setup your getting.

 

I redesign and fix engineering flaws all the time. Did you throw this deal away? I'd like to fix it and send it back to you or try it out for myself.

 

I would agree with most suggestions, enjoy your new trailer! I have a 32' Cedar Creek bunkhouse, probably 10K or more with the solar, 6 batteries, other extras and cargo. I just wrecked my EX, looking for a new one. Anyway it was a diesel but as far as suspension and towing in general here's what I had and it towed great. I had air bags with on board compressor, radius rods (no longer made, helped the spring wrap), I'm sure there is something similar out there. Upgraded the shocks and the front springs, added sway bars and used a Hensley hitch. Yes, the hitch is pricey and a pain until you get used to hooking up, but well worth it in my opinion. I also added an aux trans cooler. I had a 6 pos chip with a matted trans valve body, big exhaust, severe duty intake, Spearco intercooler, gauges, turbo mod, regulated return fuel system etc. Many of those are obviously diesel mods but thought I'd throw them in there. Good luck and have fun!

 

I believe that "X-Hemi Guy" has his Hensley for sale as he traded his travel trailer in on a motorhome and sold his Excursion...

 

Check to see if you have the correct load range on the tt tires. My 34ft Surveyor had the wrong tires, and did the same thing. Once I went up a class D load all problems went away. It was pushing my ex around on a bumpy road the tires would flatten out causing the tt to bounce. Nice looking rig have lots of fun.