Hi Smart People
Probably been asked a thousand times, so apologies for 1001 !

Have towed around utility trailers upwards of 3 to 4 k for short distances mostly, but now considering getting something like this:
http://www.openrangerv.com/Unit-Spec...r/RT320RES.pdf
GVWR 9,990
UVW 7,570
Dry Hitch Wt. 845
Dry Axle Wt. 6,725
Gross NCC 2,420

Couple of rookie questions:
1) Will the 05 Ex do it justice... (have faith that it will )
2) Rancho 9000 adjustables are on and ready
3) Understand the need for sway control and wd hitch
Please give me what else I will need (brands, cost, etc..)

4) What is your opinion of the Open Road brand as I've not heard of it, but wife fell in love with the floor plan !
VPiX HD Tour | RT320RES
5) with cars, I can negotiate like heck and feel comfortable with cost/price
6) with trailers - not so much - so other than supply and demand impact - what can I expect ? google shows me cost from 30k up to 35k for this msrp of 38k... my gut feel is that there is a lot of markup in these items - even moreso than autos... is that correct ?

Thanks in advance as I ALMOST swam thru the bait and switch today, but put the brakes on just before signing on the dotted line to do some research and thinking

 

You have 8,500 posts here and are on your 3rd Ex. You should know the answer.
No way! Your best best is to drive to LI, NY and swap your 05 6L straight up for my 01 V10.

 

A 32' travel trailer with your 6.0 Diesel. No problem towing that. Definitley look into the weight distribition hitches and the sway bars. Will help tremendously when passing or being passed by semi's on the highway and it is a much safer towing setup.

There is quite a mark up on these. When we bough ours new 6 years ago we were able to get them down 5-6K on the price when we showed up with a pre-approval check from our bank. Check out the wholesalers online - especially the ones in Michigan and Wisconsin. I almost drove from Oklahoma up to Michigan to get ours but the local dealer matched the price.

 

1. Yes. Very capable to tow that size trailer. Ours is 35'6" 10500lbs loaded with 1100-1300lbs tongue weight and it does great. You may need more suspension upgrades than just shocks. Search and you can find lots of info on suspension upgrades. A popular upgrade for towing if V code front springs and several options on the rear - RAS, B code spring, modified B code spring. This will help to reduce the wander and keep the load under control.
2. Good choice in shocks.
3. The top of the line hitches are Hensley Arrow and Propride - expensive but worth it. My propride was $1500 lightly used. The next best option IMHO is the Reese Dual Cam Strait-Line Weight Distribution System w Sway Control - Round Bar - 12,000 lbs GTW, 1,200 lbs TW Reese Weight Distribution RP66088 It also needs a shank added. This is the 1200lb bar set up but you may want a 1400lb bar setup. The real hitch weight will be much more than advertised - once you are loaded and ready to go.
4. Open Road appears to be a quality trailer. I have not owned one. You can probably find out more about it on the rvnet forums. If your wife was in love with the layout you can find the same layout in many brands. Our trailer is a Sabre and we are happy with it. Finding the layout in more brands will make finding one at a resonable price easier. Sabre makes this model Palomino RV - Manufacturer of Quaility RVs since 1968 Here it is at a dealer with more pics 2012 Sabre 32RLTS - Rear Living, Triple Slide - Country Roads RV Center - Discount North Carolina RV Dealer for Puma, Surveyor, Sandpiper, Sabre, r-pod, Due West, Ground Control, Coachmen, Brookstone, V-Cross, Forest River Dealer & Product, NC RV Dea
5. Negotiate even harder on the trailer than you do on a car. I prefer to negotiate a trailer over the phone or by email as you are then not a hostage on the trailer lot.
6. Ton of mark-up and it is the off season. We did a custom order on a new trailer last February and were able to get 40% off of MSRP. I did have to drive halfway across the country to go and pick it up - or I could have had it shipped to me. Either way saved a tremendous amount over the local trailer dealers. Plus the brand we wanted did not have a local dealer - closest dealer was 800miles away. We actually ordered from Fun Town RV in Texas and picked it up in Indiana.

 

Having trailer tires with an "E" sidewall rating will make a big difference.

Max out the trailer tire pressure.

 

great Posts Red X and The Ponz......reps too ya.

 

EXCELLENT advice thus far!

I will add you will need a good quality brake controller.

The Prodigy is an older brake controller but still one of the BEST out there...especially for the money!...I've had mine since 2006 and have NO REGRETS with it in the 20+ thousand miles I have towed my TT!!!...there are newer brake controllers out there...but I'd give the Prodigy a good look...especially at just under $100!!! Prodigy P2 Electronic Brake Control by Tekonsha (NEW) - RVWholesalers.com RV Parts and Accessories

In addition to the DC hitch (of which I had one prior to my Hensley)...I'd also check out the Equal-I-zer hitch Equal-i-zer Hitch 1200/12000lbs Trailer Weight - RVWholesalers.com RV Parts

Good luck...the only other thing I will mention is the pressure in your tires...I've had a theory that many that experience "wander" and "drift" also run very high pressures in their tires...I experienced some of that myself...the LT tires we have on our trucks can carry FULL GAWR's at like 50psi front and 55psi rear...anything OVER that amount is used for "tuning" the ride/handling adjustments...I have found that 60 front and 70 rear gives me the best all around towing handling for my V10 Ex...I came to that conclusion experimenting in 5psi increments.

GOOD LUCK and just take your time with a trailer that long and that heavy!!!...I've towed my 9000# TT all over the country for years and have no anxiety doing it and have full confidence (not over confident...just have confidence) that my Ex is set up for a very stable ride.

Joe.

 

You bring up some great points X_hemi_guy, made me think about brake controllers and how the P3 came in quite handy the two times I had to troubleshoot a trailer brake problem and a grounding problem. The P3's troubleshooting screens definitely made it much easier.

, ,

 

Thanks a million for the insight - why I try to help all here when I can !

we ran into a fair price on a little smaller TT since it's just the two of us and we meet up with folks a lot... it's similar to this: 2012 Open Range Mesa Ridge 293R - Triple Slide, Travel Trailers RV For Sale in Nacogdoches, Texas | Genuine RV Store | RVT.com - 94046

negotiated a 'one throat to choke' price to include 2nd bedroom ac, equalizer brand sway & wd hitch, brake controller, BBQ, and satelitte with install of all.

Momma's happy with the 'den' setup for get togethers, so therefore I am !

Now that we got the little expense out of the way, let's see how much money she spends 'accessorizing' it !!!

thanks again and hope to post all our fun times !

the dealer is trying to get me to buy a 7 yr transferable warranty for the $2000 range that covers a lot - even the tires.... didn't commit to it though....

 

Our first travel trailer we bought the extended coverage and didn't need it.

When we bought the 5th wheel camper we didn't get the extended coverage but could have used it when the roof leaked by the ladder racks.


Damned if you do, damned if ya don't......

 

Ha Ha - think we will pass on the extended warranty and look into the good sam stuff...

Tried to give all you helpful people reps, but they say I have to spread it around more ?!?! Dang, rarely have given rep points out since I really wasn't aware of them until recently and now I'm limited ??? but thanks to u all !

More research and after speaking to the ras national sales mgr (nice guy) we decided to buy from him - he even called a local guy @ Truck Toys and had him call me saying it shouldn't take over an hour to install... I told him it shouldn't take over a half hour with the new design

So hopefully next week we get that installed - 1 thing off the LONG list !

Still talking with the dealer - told him to price a propride for me instead of his hitch...
he said they bought all of funtime rv's stuff when funtime went into bankruptcy and that he thought there might be some options in that bunch... we'll see..

Next is tow mirrors... Having just bought LivingLarge's mirrors last summer

Do I replace again or do those 'add-on' temp mirrors really work ?

 

There has been a lot of great advice given here. I have been pulling trailers across the nation for 10 years now. Although with one ton dually's, and I am currently in the process of completing all the suspension modifications to eliminate that wander that I felt the first time towing my travel trailer (around 8100 lbs semi empty). I am trying to get it all done before the opening of camping season, so my wallet has been pretty abused the last month and a half.

I will gladly second the Prodigy P3 which I got off of Amazon with harness for $140 to my house. I had one in my last truck and it made a tremendous difference when I went from my lower end controller to it when I was towing my 13,000 pound fifth wheel.

Read and search on RV.net for a lot of good info, but be warned that Ford Econoline owners hate Excursions for some reason. They always seem to jump in a thread about Excursions and 2500 suburbans and advertise why there 1970s van is a better tow platform.

Just be warned that at that weight you will most likely need to upgrade the springs on the Excursion, you will need to have good tires, a good brake controller, and really good hitch properly set up to truely enjoy long distance towing.

After doing my spring swaps, I am on the hunt for a reasonable priced Hensley or ProPride hitch just to ensure my wallet stays empty this camping season.

Anyone want to buy a supercharger for a Fox Mustang? lol

 

Our dealer offered us a 7 year extended warranty this past summer for just under $1,300. We have one year from the purchase date to buy it. I probably will purchase it this spring. The one thing he pointed out is that most items in the TT have parts manufactured in China.

 

Get the acutal tow mirrors, they make a world of difference...

I don't know how you put up with the "dog ear" sport mirrors on both trucks

Mine came with those very same mirrors and as soon as I got the trailer tow mirrors, I couldn't go back....

I damaged one of mine a few years back and had to get a replacement. I got the replacement from here: Discount Body Parts -) about a year ago and you honestly can't tell the difference between it and an OEM Ford mirror that costs way more.

Bottom line: You'll never know that trailer is back there until you look in the mirror to change lanes

 

X2 on the tow mirrors.

In the past I tried two different versions of the "add on" tow mirrors to the existing mirrrors on a Chevy Tahoe we owned and they just vibrated too much from the wind or semi blow by to keep a good view.