# A New Chapter Begins.....



## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Ok, so we picked up the Rockwood Minilite today. It towed well behind the Flex on the way home. Towing conditions were poor with high, gusty winds. It didn't help that the RV dealer completely botched the Equal-i-zer setup. He had the trailer sitting a couple inches nose high, with minimal weight distribution.








I did make it home, and got 11.5mpg over ~150 miles. When the gust weren't catching me in a quartering headwind, it was a pretty comfortable tow. The suspension did great, braking was very confident and even with a less than ideal setup, the fact that the trailer is lighter than the TV, is a BIG help....

I made some adjustments already tonight and will re-evlatuate it tomorrow. When I do, I'll get some pictures, I promise.









By the way, what is the torque on the big bolts on an Equal-I-Zer???? When I loosened them to lower it on the shank, the top was barely tight and the bottom had ~140-150 ft lbs....


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## ember (Jan 17, 2008)

Nathan said:


> Ok, so we picked up the Rockwood Minilite today. It towed well behind the Flex on the way home. Towing conditions were poor with high, gusty winds. It didn't help that the RV dealer completely botched the Equal-i-zer setup. He had the trailer sitting a couple inches nose high, with minimal weight distribution.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looking forward to the pictures!! of the SOB and the Flex!!


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

ember said:


> Looking forward to the pictures!! of the SOB and the Flex!!


What I'd love to post is what I saw on I-75 while headed to pickup the trailer. Headed the opposite way (Northbound, toward MI), was a new Chrysler minivan pulling a 3 axle Airstream trailer.








I just checked the Airstream website, and it looks like anything of that size has a GVWR of 10k lbs or more.....oh and the max equipped Chrysler minivan has a max tow rating of 3600 lbs......


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

Congrats Nathan! Be cool to see pics of it loaded and ready to go with the family sometime.

Yeah the crazy season begins. Seen a chev 1/2 towing a 35 foot mid pro 5er today. Had gusty winds, but they were at his tall. It was a real tail dragger. The driver looked all content with his family inside. They looked to be having fun, so I guess thats all that matters. He was doing maybe 50 and appeared to care a less, lol

Carey


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## muttbike (Apr 27, 2009)

Nathan said:


> By the way, what is the torque on the big bolts on an Equal-I-Zer???? When I loosened them to lower it on the shank, the top was barely tight and the bottom had ~140-150 ft lbs....


320 ft lbs. I swapped out all my grade 5 stuff for grade 8. One of the grade 5 main bolts had bent on me.

http://www.equalizerhitch.com/pdf/EQOwnersManual200905.pdf page 21

JR


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

muttbike said:


> I swapped out all my grade 5 stuff for grade 8. One of the grade 5 main bolts had bent on me.


You will want to be careful with changes like that. Bolts that can have shear forces need to be able to bend without yielding. A grade 8 bolt would tend to snap instead of bend when there is a high shear force.


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

Id stick with grade 5. But the shear that it would take to snap a 3/4 grade 8 would be only found in some horrific accident.

The factory used 5 for a reason, not to be cheap. Its so your hitch wouldnt fail in an accident.

Id stick with around 250. Few have a torque wrench that goes that high. Get the hitch all setup, then have a shop do it. Good and tight will do till you find your settings.


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## Joonbee (Jan 18, 2008)

Congrats nd can't wait to see the pics. Oh and what would we do without your "rambling mind"?


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

Nathan - Congrats!!


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Ok, well we moved the trailer out to the campground and transferred stuff from the 5'er. I dropped the hitch ball a notch which corrected the trailer attitude, but there's still not much weight being transferred. I didn't have a lot of time to mess with it and we have rainstorms every hour or two, so it wasn't the best day for hitch setup.

I did get some pictures though, so here you go:


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

Nice pictures! Thanks for sharing and best of luck with the new combo!!


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

That trailer seems very roomy for its size. I like it!

That baby needs some aluminum wheels. Will be fun to hear how it works out. Is the eq hitch a 600 model?

Carey


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## ember (Jan 17, 2008)

hard to tell from the outside that its an SOB!! I agree with Carey quite roomy inside for a little bugger! NICE!!


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Colorado~DirtBikers said:


> That trailer seems very roomy for its size. I like it!
> 
> That baby needs some aluminum wheels. Will be fun to hear how it works out. Is the eq hitch a 600 model?
> 
> Carey


Thanks guys. Yes, the reason it was possible to go to this size was the relative roominess.

Yep, it's a 600 lb Equalizer.

I suspect Aluminum wheels will be added when the tires need replacing. I agree, they would look nice.

The trailer was a real pleasure to manuver around the city streets and the campground. The Flex's little 3.5L has a sufficient amount of power for towing, and the trans did a decent job. I towed with 6th gear locked out, and on flats and without a big headwind it towed in 5th gear (~2500 rpm). When pulling hills or with a big headwind, it went back to 4th and ran ~3400rpm. That's a little less pleasant since you can hear the engine droning, but it's not excessively noisy.


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## clarkely (Sep 15, 2008)

Colorado~DirtBikers said:


> Yeah the crazy season begins. Seen a chev 1/2 towing a 35 foot mid pro 5er today. Had gusty winds, but they were at his tall. It was a real tail dragger. The driver looked all content with his family inside. They looked to be having fun, so I guess thats all that matters. He was doing maybe 50 and appeared to care a less, lol
> 
> Carey


I saw about a 40 foot camper being pulled by an early 80's 1/2 ton suburban, with the TV bumper practically dragging.... Trailer moving left and right at 50 MPH Not bad, but not tracking straight for sure...........

Be careful out there Folks!!


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## clarkely (Sep 15, 2008)

Nathan said:


> Ok, well we moved the trailer out to the campground and transferred stuff from the 5'er. I dropped the hitch ball a notch which corrected the trailer attitude, but there's still not much weight being transferred. I didn't have a lot of time to mess with it and we have rainstorms every hour or two, so it wasn't the best day for hitch setup.
> 
> I did get some pictures though, so here you go:
> View attachment 697
> ...


Very Nice!!! Interior Pictures Look Roomy!!! I have to say it does look tiny with your 5'er in the back ground in the campground picture.

Good Luck with it and the Change in Size!!


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## Joonbee (Jan 18, 2008)

Pics look great and it really is roomy.

Best of luck, you guys are setting the best example. It is not WHAT you camp with, it is WHO and then WHERE. What is definatley way down the list. We have decided not to upgrade either and it is definately a relief. Same small trailer payment and having recently cut the TV payment by over $400 leaves more room for some relaxing camping and a less stressful daily life.

ENJOY!!!

Jim


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Yeah it's small compared with the 5'er, but is nicely sized compared with the Flex as a TV (I never have found the aftermarket 5'er hitch for that Flex).










You're right Jim, that's what it all came down to: Who, Where, Why, ...... and How. For where we are right now, I think this is a good sized unit. (Being able to pay the loan off in 1 year won't be a bad thing either....of course we will find something else to invest sink the money into, but that's half the fun...)


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## TexanThompsons (Apr 21, 2009)

Congrats bud! All that matters is that you and your family are happy about the purchase. For those of us that get RVing, its about the adventure, not having the biggest/baddest rig (although Sayanora's is SAWEEET!!).

Enjoy and continue your ramblings, I guess that's why we all stay on this site. Just getting to know people that otherwise we would never interact with.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

The new owners of the 5'er picked it up today. It was sad to see it drive off, but then I got to work on the new TT. First I towed it to a level lot where I could dial in the hitch. I ended up dropping the ball another notch which mad me flip over the draw bar. Now it hangs down which I'm not thrilled about, but at least the trailer is level. Clearance to the ground is decent. I need to tilt the head back a little more, but need to get some washers. Right now, to level things, I raised the bars on the Trailer up one notch, but that now has the spring bars not riding flat, so I figure I should lower things and tilt the head a bit.

A couple suprises I found. First, the car only sags 1" in the rear with no WDH... That tight of a suspension makes fine tuning a WDH with a tape measure difficult. It also means that the setup they gave me was doing nearly nothing since it settled ~7/8" with the bars on....









With my hitch revisions, the trailer is level (within 1/4") and the back of the car settles 1/2" and the front settles 1/4". This means the back is still 1/4" higher than the front which is a very comfortable look and driving condition. I'll have to get it out in a couple weeks for an expressway tow, but things are looking up. BTW, for anyone doubting, the TW is 420 lbs right now. That means it should stay below the 500 lb max once we add clothes. I still need to jack up either side and check those weights, but so far things are good.


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## Duanesz (Jul 10, 2009)

I want some more info on the flex after you tow a season with it. Do you have any way to watch trans temp on the flex? This set up intrigues me and has got me thinking of different combo possibility's. Right now I have a focus for long my long commute to work then my wife has a freestar and then the f-250 for the camper and foul Michigan weather. If I could get a ecoboost flex awd and get rid of my f-250 and my wifes freestar then we could be back down to 2 cars instead of having to have the truck as a tow vehicle. My wife does not want a F-250 as her daily driver so thats why we have the freestar. Plus I like the flex its a cool car.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Duanesz said:


> I want some more info on the flex after you tow a season with it. Do you have any way to watch trans temp on the flex? This set up intrigues me and has got me thinking of different combo possibility's. Right now I have a focus for long my long commute to work then my wife has a freestar and then the f-250 for the camper and foul Michigan weather. If I could get a ecoboost flex awd and get rid of my f-250 and my wifes freestar then we could be back down to 2 cars instead of having to have the truck as a tow vehicle. My wife does not want a F-250 as her daily driver so thats why we have the freestar. Plus I like the flex its a cool car.


Unfortunately, the Ecoboost Flexes have the same tow rating.....








I'm not saying they won't feel good, but they aren't even a 1/2 ton vehicle and therefore are limited on GVWR and GCWR. I'll definetly post reviews though....


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Nice Job Nathan! That will definitely be something that will get you in to those spots that were a little tougher with the big rig. I love the fact that you are able to pull with the Flex!

ENJOY !!


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Sayonara said:


> Nice Job Nathan! That will definitely be something that will get you in to those spots that were a little tougher with the big rig. I love the fact that you are able to pull with the Flex!
> 
> ENJOY !!


Oh, it's a dream to manuver.








It's beena long time since I had a TT that I could just drive around the campground without any difficulty


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## SaveFerris (Sep 19, 2009)

Nathan, I just noticed your new signature pic on another post, and I had to do a double-take!









I'm glad to see you found what you were looking for with the new setup. Going smaller might take some getting used to, but it sounds like you will be much happier in the end. Best of luck in your travels this summer.

Nathan


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## jitch388 (Apr 19, 2008)

Nathan,
Noticed on your map that SC is white. If you are ever back in the southeast I can direct you to some SWEET camping here in the great ole' state of South Carolina. Not to bad a trek now that your are pulling so lite. Congrats


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

jitch388 said:


> Nathan,
> Noticed on your map that SC is white. If you are ever back in the southeast I can direct you to some SWEET camping here in the great ole' state of South Carolina. Not to bad a trek now that your are pulling so lite. Congrats


Thanks, I'll definetly ask when we get down that way. Actually this summer we'll fill in a few of the SE states, but I don't think we'll make it to SC as we only have 2 weeks available and are already hitting Cape Hatteras, the Blue Ridge PW, GSMNP, and spending some time with DW's family in NC.


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## jitch388 (Apr 19, 2008)

Nathan said:


> Nathan,
> Noticed on your map that SC is white. If you are ever back in the southeast I can direct you to some SWEET camping here in the great ole' state of South Carolina. Not to bad a trek now that your are pulling so lite. Congrats


Thanks, I'll definetly ask when we get down that way. Actually this summer we'll fill in a few of the SE states, but I don't think we'll make it to SC as we only have 2 weeks available and are already hitting Cape Hatteras, the Blue Ridge PW, GSMNP, and spending some time with DW's family in NC.
[/quote]

When you hit the Parkway, tell God I said hello.


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## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

Congrats Nathan, thats a nice set up. With your downsizing, it reminded me of....me. When I was 10, I had a 13 foot Boston Whaler with a 18 Hp engine. I went up to a 40 HP, then a 17 foot Whaler w/ a 50 when I was 30. That changed to a 80 Hp Mercury, then I got a 19 foot Center console Key West, with a 90 when I was 40. Then I got a 22 foot Key west cuddy, with a 150 hp Mercury when I was 45. Next was a 25 foot Nauset with a 350 hp inboard when I was 47, and now I'm looking at a Robalo R305 with twin 350 Yamaha's.








And deep down inside, I just want a 13' whaler with an old 18 HP evinrude.....


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## ZHB (Mar 17, 2009)

So Nathan, when are you going to be in Hatteras?


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

ZHB said:


> So Nathan, when are you going to be in Hatteras?


July 3-5th. If I remember correctly.


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