# New Tv & 312Bh



## Colorado Camper (Jan 19, 2013)

I am new to the world of travel trailers and wanted to drop by and say Hi. Last summer the family (me, wife, 3 kids 12,9,6) rented a class C and enjoyed our trip so much we decided to get some type of RV. The things we did not like about the class C led to our decision of a travel trailer. We had to have a separate vehicle we could drive around once we got to our destination. Enough beds to not have to convert the dining table to a bed every day. The TV had to be comfy and roomy enough for the 5 of us and the dog which meant a 3rd row SUV.

We went to a local dealership to browse and after I saw the 84" interior of the Outback that became a requirement as well since I am 6'5". After researching I found about 10 models from different vendors that were all acceptable. After seeing the length and weights of the trailers I decided a 3/4 ton SUV was mandatory which meant an older Excursion, a Suburban or Yukon XL. We picked up a 2013 Suburban 2500 LT at the end of November. Its a great vehicle and luckily I don't do a lot of daily driving with it so the 10city/15highway mpg is not too much of a killjoy.

I kept watching prices for all the models and figured I was going to have to drive 1,000 miles to get a good price if I couldn't haggle a local dealer down to what I was finding. Then I got lucky and the same dealer I went browsing at put a 2012 312BH on clearance at the best price I had seen. When I called about it they said it was already sold but they conveniently had a 2013 model for thousands more available. I immediately said no thanks I'd have to keep looking. However it was the end of the year and they really wanted that last sale. They kept calling me back until they got to within $300 of the 2012 clearance price when I finally said ok for the 2013.

Just picked it up the other day and we are taking it out today for a 1 day test camp at a nearby state park. The weather is cooperating with temps in the upper 50's instead of last weeks highs in the 20's. Looking forward to many more trips to come. Will take some pictures today and see if I can post them tomorrow.


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## gzaleski (Aug 29, 2009)

Congratulations and Welcome to Outbackers!!


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## joeymac (Aug 19, 2010)

Colorado Camper said:


> I am new to the world of travel trailers and wanted to drop by and say Hi. Last summer the family (me, wife, 3 kids 12,9,6) rented a class C and enjoyed our trip so much we decided to get some type of RV. The things we did not like about the class C led to our decision of a travel trailer. We had to have a separate vehicle we could drive around once we got to our destination. Enough beds to not have to convert the dining table to a bed every day. The TV had to be comfy and roomy enough for the 5 of us and the dog which meant a 3rd row SUV.
> 
> We went to a local dealership to browse and after I saw the 84" interior of the Outback that became a requirement as well since I am 6'5". After researching I found about 10 models from different vendors that were all acceptable. After seeing the length and weights of the trailers I decided a 3/4 ton SUV was mandatory which meant an older Excursion, a Suburban or Yukon XL. We picked up a 2013 Suburban 2500 LT at the end of November. Its a great vehicle and luckily I don't do a lot of daily driving with it so the 10city/15highway mpg is not too much of a killjoy.
> 
> ...


Congrats...I have the same setup with the 2500 Suburban and 312BH and love it. Had a 1/2 PU for one year and had enough of the white knuckle driving, so I found the Suburban and man what a difference. Luckily to the wife drives it about 10 miles a day, so the horrible gas mileage doesn't kill us either. Enjoy !


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Welcome...Welcome...Welcome.

Glad you found us.









Congrats on the newOutback. You're going to LOVE it.


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## mcsquid86 (Jul 27, 2012)

Welcome to Outbackers
Way to be diligent with price shopping. It sounds like a great deal. I like that floor plan. I love the headroom also.


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## kebm (Feb 26, 2012)

Congrats! We have a 2012 312bh towed by a 2003 yukon xl 2500 with quadrasteer (4 wheel steering). Got the outback last winter and we have camped quite a bit with it. I did add another transmission cooler inline with the oem one, changed the gear ratio from 3.73 to 4.10, and added a bully dog programmer/code reader/gauge display and love this setup. I am adding an inverter to power the outside kitchen fridge when not connected to shore power and while travelling, changing the bulbs to led, and placing two agm deep cycle batteries relocated into the empty space in the lower cabinet area behind the kitchen sink/stove. We found that this camper uses more power than the one it replaced, so we need more battery capacity. I used a 2" reciever adapter into the factory 1 1/4 reciever on the outback for a hitch haul cargo rack but found this setup too bouncy even with clamps on the reciever tube. I am going to put a permanently mounted rack on the back this year. Oh, and also adding a 16' led strip light under the awning. Do you have a wieght distributing hitch/sway control?


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## Jewellfamily (Sep 25, 2010)

We love our 312BH. If you have questions or comments, post them on this forum. Always lots of people willing to help...


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## W5CI (Apr 21, 2009)

Welcome to Outbackers.com


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## LaydBack (Aug 22, 2010)

Congratulations and good choice. Minus the inverter for the outside fridge, I think you can find a pretty good selection of mods in the link in my sig.


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## Colorado Camper (Jan 19, 2013)

Thanks for the welcome. We had a good first time out. I think the worst thing was I had issues with the clamp on the coupler when unhitching and hitching. I raised and lowered the front of the trailer like 10 to 15 times before I figured it out. Looks like a power tongue jack may be in the near future.

Camping with the dog for the first time went pretty good. He seemed to enjoy it, especially sniffing all the goose poop that was around. There was a gaggle of them in our spot when we first arrived. The kids enjoyed going down to the beach and frozen lake although we all agreed the ice fishers were crazy.

I got a Reese 1200lb WDH but unfortunately got friction sway control. I originally asked for an Equal-i-zer but the tech said they didn't recommend that for the trailer and suggested the Reese. I was fine with either after having researched them but made a mistake in not making sure he meant dual cam sway. I'll see if they'll exchange the friction for the dual cam.

I included a picture of the whole setup.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

How far did you make it out of your campground before you realized (or someone came running to tell you) that your TV antenna was still up?


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## mcsquid86 (Jul 27, 2012)

I would look into the Maxxair RV Roof Vent Covers. They could save you a lot of trouble if your gone from the trailer and it rains. How did the Suburban pull it? They both look nice.


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

Great choice in the 312BH, we have enjoyed ours since last summer. Prior to that, we had another Outback model, a 28BHS. The only reason that I can think that a dealer would suggest a WDS with a friction type sway control for a trailer that tows at 35 feet would be that they had an overstock of friction sway control bars. Maybe the dealer would be willing to take back the friction control and credit you toward the dual cam parts. I added a Husky Brute Power Jack to the tongue of our 312. Knowing that I would need to raise the back of the F-350 in order to hitch up the Equlizer bars, I waned a heavy duty jack. This one has 4500lbs of lifting capacity and included a handy remote control to operate it. Keep an eye on the long hinge holding your outdoor kitchen door in place. I noticed that the metal on mine has started to rip and will have to be replaced this spring before my warranty expires. Additionally, be sure to keep an eye on the ball studs on the same door that attach to the gas struts. With the earlier versions, there were some quality control issues with the brackets and the ball stud were falling out. Some have opted to find stainless steel threaded ball studs to replace the welded ones. Feel free to ask away with any questions that you may have as it's cheaper to ask now then have to replace later!!


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Colorado Camper said:


> I got a Reese 1200lb WDH but unfortunately got friction sway control. I originally asked for an Equal-i-zer but the tech said they didn't recommend that for the trailer and suggested the Reese. I was fine with either after having researched them but made a mistake in not making sure he meant dual cam sway. I'll see if they'll exchange the friction for the dual cam.


The conversion from what you have to the dual cam is a very quick upgrade. All you need is what is in the following link for the Dual Cam


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## LaydBack (Aug 22, 2010)

Colorado Camper said:


> Thanks for the welcome. We had a good first time out. I think the worst thing was I had issues with the clamp on the coupler when unhitching and hitching. I raised and lowered the front of the trailer like 10 to 15 times before I figured it out. Looks like a power tongue jack may be in the near future.
> 
> Camping with the dog for the first time went pretty good. He seemed to enjoy it, especially sniffing all the goose poop that was around. There was a gaggle of them in our spot when we first arrived. The kids enjoyed going down to the beach and frozen lake although we all agreed the ice fishers were crazy.
> 
> ...


You may want to read this as you sort out hitch issues. I was a bit disturbed at first, but after I got it dialed in, I was as happy as a fly on $H!t

http://www.outbackers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=33130&view=&hl=flying j&fromsearch=1


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## Colorado Camper (Jan 19, 2013)

Oregon Camper wins. After I posted the pic I was wondering who was going to notice that. I was just outside the park when somebody was waving at us and I immediately knew why. Ironically when I rented an RV I followed my checklists and never did anything like that. First time in a trailer I own and I'm driving down the road with the antenna up.

The dealer is replacing the friction sway with the dual cam for nothing more than cost difference of the parts. They are also fixing some problems with the screen door not staying attached to the other door and the screen door not staying shut by itself. My dog figured that out quickly by barely touching it and going outside to play.

Not having towed anything before I can't comment too much on how the whole setup is plus replacing the sway control will change the experience. Probably the biggest thing I noticed is on side streets going about 30-40mph the front end reacted more than I expected. Is it normal when the rear wheels or trailer wheels (not sure which) hit a bump that the front end will bounce? Only an extra time or two and not a huge amount but enough that everybody in the SUV noticed. Felt sort of like a wave. I did not notice this on the highway at all. Highway travel was for the most part fine. A truck or two passed and I did not notice anything. I only felt uncomfortable once going about 65mph down a hill and around a turn. A few seconds of gripping the wheel a little tighter and slowing down a little relaxed everything though. Other than thinking I could actually watch the gas needle physically dropping as I was driving the Suburban did just fine.

I have a list of things to add to it like Maxxair vent covers but those will have to wait until spring. The trailer will be parked about a half hour away







so going to play around with it will not be as often as I'd like.


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## kebm (Feb 26, 2012)

Colorado Camper said:


> Oregon Camper wins. After I posted the pic I was wondering who was going to notice that. I was just outside the park when somebody was waving at us and I immediately knew why. Ironically when I rented an RV I followed my checklists and never did anything like that. First time in a trailer I own and I'm driving down the road with the antenna up.
> 
> The dealer is replacing the friction sway with the dual cam for nothing more than cost difference of the parts. They are also fixing some problems with the screen door not staying attached to the other door and the screen door not staying shut by itself. My dog figured that out quickly by barely touching it and going outside to play.
> 
> ...


I had the same "bounce" with our previous tv/tt and installed an airlift air spring system in the rear of the chevy avalanche. That was a good setup and took care of the bounce. In our current rig, Yukon XL/312bh, I installed Timbrens suspension bushings in the rear of the yukon, and it is great towing, but the ride is harsh unloaded because the quadrasteer suspension is slightly different i guess, The timbrens are supposed to have 1" or so of air space between the bushing and axle when unloaded, and mine have none. Timbrens has excellent customer service and sent me a set of bushings 3/4" shorter, but I have not installed them yet.


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## Spjbyrnes (Feb 6, 2013)

Hi where in colorado are you from? I am in Durango where our only dealer has outbacks.


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## TexanThompsons (Apr 21, 2009)

Congrats on the new 312! We have had ours now for going on 4 years and love it! The kiddos love their own space in back and we even use it when visiting family so our family of 6 doesn't wreak too much havoc on our host family!

Enjoy that new rig!


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