# New Oregon Member- Needs A Lot Of Help/advice



## WoodstockWanderers (Dec 6, 2009)

Unexpectedly got our offer for a new 2009 25RS accepted; now what do we do??

We purchased our first trailer a little over a year ago (9/08). It is a Viking 2707 pop-up, which we towed up through Canada and Alaska last summer. Great experience and we got 50 nights in before the year closes (am actually heading up to Enumclaw with it tomorrow for a couple of days of skiing and dry camping). The Alaska trip convinced us we would enjoy RVing and that a hard-side was in our immediate future.

I recently bought a Ford 2009 F150 with tow package. It's set up for 9700lbs max tow capacity. Now that we appear to have purchased a new Outback, am frantically searching the internet for weight distribution systems. I am leery of putting myself at the mercy of the dealer. So far, it seems that a 1000/10,000 hitch is about right and Reese or Equalizer get a lot of compliments. I'm going to have tons of questions but the most pressing one right now is what should I get and how little can I spend for a decent equalizer hitch to get the thing home with??

Although it's been cold and the holidays will be soon upon us, we're pretty excited about joining the Outback community and look forward to rallies and activities. Never been to Long Beach and look forward to the February get-together as a huge learning experience for us. For the curious, I'm not terribly creative, so the handle refers to the Portland, Oregon neighborhood we live in.


----------



## john7349 (Jan 13, 2008)

*Welcome to Outbackers.com!
*
And congrats on the new TT. The Reese is good, but I prefer the Equalizer brand of hitch (built in sway etc).







Here is a link to a very good price (delivered).

Clicky BTW, mine was delivered in about 2 days (local Portland warehouse).

Glad you are going to the Long Beach Peninsula in February. See you there!

John


----------



## jcamp (Oct 16, 2009)

Hi--Welcome to Outbackers







I too pull a 25 and this website has been a great source of info. We got our 25 RSS in September and added these items to the package. Equalizer, Prodigy Brake Controller, ADCO Cover. I've been very happy with those decisions.


----------



## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Hello WoodstockWanderers!
And welcome to Outbackers!









As fellow Portland area Outbacker, I will be happy to offer all the help and advice I can. As to your hitch question, both the Reese DualCam and Equal-i-zer brands are great setups. Personally, I like the Equal-i-zer for it's simplicity, and it has served us well for 5 seasons. And you are correct in your sizing, 1,000# would be perfect for you.

I'm not sure what your delivery schedule is, but I would order a hitch now and spend some time getting to know it. The one thing you can count on, is that the dealer is not going to take the time to set it up correctly. Get the hitch in hand, read the manual thoroughly, then read it again and you will be way ahead of the game. When it comes time to put it all together, follow the instructions to the 'T', and you will be good to go!

The other big item you need to get the trailer home, is a brake controller. I'm not sure if the F150 has the built in controller like the SuperDuty's do, but if it does, that is a great controller. If you need to add a controller, The Prodigy is the only way to go.

As I said, I am close by - as are many other experienced and helpful Outbackers - and I'll be glad to help get you going however I can.

Happy Trails,
Doug


----------



## Dub (Dec 8, 2008)

I would suggest getting the 1200/12000# Equalizer. It cost the same as the 10,000# model but will work if you get a bigger camper and truck in the future. The larger size does not make the ride rougher or anything like that, it only adds the potential to save money by not having to upgrade in the future.


----------



## WoodstockWanderers (Dec 6, 2009)

Yes, forgot to mention that the F150 didn't come with the in-dash brake controller. After looking at after-market, I bit the bullet and bought/installed an in-dash unit. I like the looks and Ford says it provides integrated sway control. Guess I'm also going to have to look for mirror extensions! Life gets complicated when moving up from a pup (and a lot more comfortable).


----------



## mthoodoutback (Nov 11, 2009)

Welcome! I grew up in the Woodstock neighborhood or nearby attending Lewis, Duniway and Cleveland.

We too are newbies to an Outback upgrading from a Chalet, I can't offer any suggestions on hitches and such but you'll like having the extra room.

Have enjoyed wandering around this site getting all these great mod ideas and suggestions. I'm also hoping we can attend one of the gatherings at some point.

Enjoy!


----------



## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

Dub said:


> I would suggest getting the 1200/12000# Equalizer. It cost the same as the 10,000# model but will work if you get a bigger camper and truck in the future. The larger size does not make the ride rougher or anything like that, it only adds the potential to save money by not having to upgrade in the future.


Intentionally mis-matching an anti-sway device to a given combination of a truck and trailer, for the sake of a possible future upgrade, is not a safety compromise I personally would be willing to make. If the 1200/12000 fits - get it. If not, get the hitch that matches your combination.

-CC


----------



## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Welcome aboard, hope to see you at the next Rally.


----------



## Dub (Dec 8, 2008)

collinsfam_tx said:


> I would suggest getting the 1200/12000# Equalizer. It cost the same as the 10,000# model but will work if you get a bigger camper and truck in the future. The larger size does not make the ride rougher or anything like that, it only adds the potential to save money by not having to upgrade in the future.


Intentionally mis-matching an anti-sway device to a given combination of a truck and trailer, for the sake of a possible future upgrade, is not a safety compromise I personally would be willing to make. If the 1200/12000 fits - get it. If not, get the hitch that matches your combination.

-CC
[/quote]

You've obviously never used an Equalizer hitch or talked to the manufacturer prior to purchase as I did. The hitches will work on any size trailer up to 10K or 12K depending on model, you could use it on a 2000# enclosed trailer if you like. The only difference is the bigger the hitch, the slightly heavier and slightly bigger spring arms. Making false statements about safety of a product you know nothing about helps no one and does nothing but hurt relevant information. From your logic having a 20K 5er hitch for a 8K 5er would be unsafe.


----------



## JerseyGirl86 (Mar 30, 2009)

Just wanted to say WELCOME!!! Hope you enjoy many happy times in your new Outback!!


----------



## ORvagabond (Apr 17, 2009)

WELCOME to Outbackers!!! Congratulations on the new rig!


----------

