We bought our first travel trailer today and I'll be going to pick it up in Fla next week. It is a Jayco Eagle 31bhds. Looked very nice in the eBay add. The current owner is towing it with an expedition so I expect that the ex should not have any issues with it. It is roughly 7500# with a 900 hitch weight roughly. I think I'm going to appreciate the helwig big-time while pulling this thing. The diesel will finally get to work for a living instead of just collecting groceries. Pictures in the eBay add for anyone interested.

Jayco Eagle Travel Trailer 314 BHDS Sleeps 8 Self Contained/Bunk Beds/extras in RVs & Campers | eBay Motors

 

"...and a tinge of jealously swept across him..."

Oh how I miss road trips with a camper.

 

I totally want one! Unfortunately, it would simply become an "in-law" apartment in the back of my driveway...

 

Congrats, you'll love it.
You will have no problem towing that camper.
I pull my 30' toy hauler that sits up high on flipped axles and have no problems. I don't even have air bags or a RAS system, just WD bars.

 

Very nice, very nice.
Let us know how the long trip to Florida goes.

 

Jealous here, we have started looking at TT's or toy haulers to get out with the kids in

 

As a man with a large family I really like it my self, never really was ford man myself but
Changed my mind with the excursion.

 

Hoping that you are right since I don't have ras or bags either. If I load it up and it doesn't feel comfortable I may have to find a shop along the way that can help.

 

Wouldn't it only take like 3 minutes to go from one end of Hawaii to the other?

What are these road trips you speak of?

 

I would recommend two simple low cost modifications to tow a camper of that size and weight (Mine: MXT266 TH, 8500 lb loaded)... Hellwig rear anti sway bar, and Timbrens.. you can do both of them in an evening in your driveway... Also make sure you set up your weight distribution hitch properly(lots of info in this forum).. I tried RAS's and they did not work well for me.. I have used Timbrens on several trucks pulling gooseneck trailers.. The RAS's I think ruin the unloaded ride for me.. They also made mine wander worse because they raised the back end, and it changed the caster angle, so I took them off and installed Timbrens.. the Timbrens should not touch the axle when unloaded, and just touch when loaded...

If you get sway, then IF the truck is weight balanced ok, look at your hitch setup, looked like a Reese.. make sure your shimmy bar is well greased and tight... When you are driving it home, pay attention to the "feel" of the front end.. if the steering is twitchy and heavy, or the steering wheel centers in a new spot, you are too heavy on the front end.. if it feels non responsive, but the wheel moves easily and the front end bounces and floats, you are too light.. the quick setup is to use a tape measure and get the vehicle to compress about the same on all four by measuring the wheel wells.. thats the quick way when you are picking up a new trailer and dont know the setup yet. Its better to err and let the back compress an inch or more initially for sway control..

The PSD will have no problem pulling this easily.. Look in your mirror as you get going, watch the sway.. make a few adjustments, and you will find the sweet spot on the trip home...


I talked alot to X-Hemi before doing the mods, and thats what we tried.. He messed with my tire pressure as well.. we landed on 70 rear, 60 front.. FWIW...dave

 

Great info here... thanks for sharing! I do have the hell wig installed so sway should not be a major issue. I will give the wheel well tape measure suggestion a try. The mood of the trip home will be caution and trying to learn and adjust to make sure it'd safe.

I will have to look into the Timbren as I have not heard of those before. Assuming at this point that they are airbags...

 

Congrats! it will tow great! make sure you have the proper tongue weight and get the hitch set up perfect. we were just up in MI. check out my thread on Silver Lake Sand Dunes! I have a video posted!

Here is what we tow!

 

It can take me over 3 hours just to get to the other side of my current island (Maui)

I used to live on the Mainland in Ohio and Massachusetts. I've been in every state in the US 'cept Alaska...and drove to every one.

 

That's a very nice looking rig and camper. We have the red exterior on our excursion and I really like it.

We've been to silver lake a couple of times and it is a beautiful spot. There are lots of great destination points in mi. Higgins lake, and aloha state park come to mind.

 

Just finished up adding RAS to the excursion this weekend. Will be hooking up the camper next weekend for a trip. It was not a horrible experience without the RAS so should be real nice with it. I already had the Helwig but can tell that the RAS has eliminated any sway that was left.