I bought a travel trailer

[Gravdigr]

970 lb hitch weight...Won't be hitching this one up by hand.

Curious, do you know why it has a salvage title? It looks great.

[classicman]

Both axles are missing and the tires are broke from the accident - In fact, parts of it are still on fire. J/K.....

I want one and I'm still jealous of you Bri.
I think thats too big for me though, my CAR isn't big enough to tow something like that.

[BrianR]

Mine either, classicman. But I managed to get it hitched up after a few hours of cussing and working in the heat. It seems that the landing gear (the peg up front that it sits on) was placed a little off-target. The dopes put it on ASPHALT in the Texas summer! There was a concrete pad just two feet away! So it sank right through the pavement, making for a fun time getting it out again. I hijacked a forklift to accomplish this.

THEN! It seems that the weight was just over my max tow weight so the frame sank too low, giving me only a half inch of clearance from the landing gear to the pavement. Too low to tow safely. Now, I COULD have had spring-stiffeners installed or new springs but I am cheap. So I had the landing gear taken off and it now resides in a sidebox. I'll put it back on some other time.

THEN! (yes, again!) I find out that when Chevrolet installed my tow hitch, they did not put in a brake apportioner OR connect the wiring. So I STILL cannot pull the thing. The brakes held it fast. Off to the hitch store to have the brakes connected. $165 later... I can now pull the trailer. I make it all of 1/2 mile before the salesguy flags me down (I have to pass his office on my way out).

Uh OH! Now what? Turns out that the tow ball he gave me was the wrong one for the trailer. It's max weight was 5000 lbs. The trailer weighs 7600 empty and around 8200 on it's axles as it was not drained prior to storage. I pulled into his lot to inspect the rig and the hitch BENT! Can't tow it like THAT!

Back to the hitch store. $80 later, I have the correct hitch. I stop the rig at the hitch store so they can inspect the entire package to see if there is anything else wrong that I should know before setting out on unsuspecting roadways. They pronounce it safe of a tad over gross weight.

Two and a half hours and 47 miles later (I hate Dallas traffic!) I arrive at the RV park. Twenty minutes before the office closed. I barely manage to get checked in before they went home. Whew!

It's too late to fool around with setup so I just leveled the trailer, attached the water line and plugged it in so I could have A/C and lights and went to sleep.

THEN!

The kitchen sink hot water valve blew off during the night. I slept through that. I woke up to find a half inch of water flooding the floor. AAAAAA!

I turned off the water and investigated. Bad (cheap Chinese) water valve. Off to the Forest River dealer. He's sold out, of course. But if I want, he will take payment now and the replacement will be in by Friday. F--- that. Lowe's had what I needed for half the price. Plus batteries for the nonfunctional CO and smoke detectors as well as a much cheaper drain hose so I could drain my black and gray water tanks.

So now I have water service and drains that drain. I got a couple extra valves to replace the rest of the ones in the thing since I bet they are close to going as well. My refrigerator and freezer are stable and cold. All but one lights now work (a few bulbs were burned out or missing). All leaks are plugged. The canopy is extended (and needs cleaning). My wheels are properly chocked (I borrowed a few 2x4s since my wheel chocks are in El Paso).

Next up, a new mattress, taillight cover, wheel covers, one miniblind and two cabinet latches. Plus groceries, cooking utensils, a clock, a fan and whatever I decide on for decorations. Not to mention anything else I might need.

The adventure continues!

[BrianR]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

970 lb hitch weight...Won't be hitching this one up by hand.

Curious, do you know why it has a salvage title? It looks great.

Hail damage to the upper front edge. Very minor but the dealer had the insurance company write it off anyway. Now the title is branded but the damage is very minor. I can fix it with dry ice and a fork. Once I get my ladder up here that is!

Brian