ngng

I recently sold my 40' 5th wheel to "downsize" to a gooseneck. My previous trailer weighed in at 16500 when it was fully loaded!



The replacement is a 32' ATC gooseneck. I'm not sure if I'm more excited about freeing up my truck bed or the trailer

I went back and forth between TPC, Haulmark, Featherlite and ATC. Finally ended up with the ATC. It's set up with a 50 amp service, 20 gal air compressor, plumbed for air, 120/240 throughout, and lots of lights and etrack.







Spent the weekend moving stuff out of storage and back into the trailer. I picked the worst weekend to do it.


Ran into a bit of a clearance issue with my car. Looks like I'll need to use ramps to get in. I have a set of Race Ramps from my previous trailer that I can reuse, but I think I'll end up building some rear door bumpers and ramps.


All set!

ngng

Had some issues with my BW turnover ball. Looks like the latch pin was not fully seated at some point and got bent up enough that it wouldn't fully engage. Called BW and asked if they had a replacement latch pin and apparently it's not replaceable. They suggested either buying a new hitch or bending the pin back. I choose the later.

The plan was to drill a slightly larger than 5/8" hole through a rod, then slip that rod over the latch pin.


We found a big *** pipe to slip over the rod to use as leverage. Problem solved.

Manda Racing

Great thread-- subscribed. I'd like to hear about tow speeds and MPG too.

I like that etrack on the walls. Any suggestions where to buy etrack rings?

ExMB

Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, Trailer places, etc, etc, etc

ngng

I got 10-11 towing the old rig at 55mph. Anything is better than that I'll update this thread with my MPG as well.

These are the rings I am using:

ngng

Just make sure to buy a reputable brand

ngng

Has anybody had experience with:
http://www.airtab.com/

They claim ~1MPG in savings.

Igooz

Don't waste your money...

{We own more than 200 tractors (Freightliners and Kenworths), not-for-hire, hauling products for our business; so as you can imagine operating costs are extremely important for us. Right after aquisition, fuel is the most important.}

Your mpg is not good, so I am guessing your F-series is gas engine?

What we tell the drivers about FE: Run at around 55-65mph, tire inflation is very important (more the better - as long as you are below the limit), don't accelerate hard, coast to red lights (don't **** off the cars behind you) on down hills run a little faster to get momentum up the hill, use cruise dontrol as much as possible for smooth fueling, don't change lanes if you don't have to, brake smooth, platooning is good (be safe), ...,

ExMB

$5.29 at HF before 20% coupon. Its metal that will never be stressed to its rating.

Northern Tool right now also has a 20% off sale going on its e-track and e-track accessories.

mooty

LOL u woudl have fired me on my first trip

ngng

My truck is the 6.7l diesel, I had thought the MPG was pretty good! Thanks for the input, they seemed kinda gimmicky, but figured I'd ask.

Igooz

^The 6.7L powerstroke with the 6 speed should get better mileage than that; unless if you are running really heavy, or fast, 4Wd with automatic front hubs, or you have 4.30'sh axle ratio. If you really want to get better fuel next time switch to 2WD and get a custom 3.xx rear axle ratio. With the new 6 speed tranny has a very deep first gear which allows for good acceleration off the line.

I think that you can get another 2-3 mpg better if you try. But I am guessing it does not matter.
GL

Igooz

I doubt it...You would probably be working Expedited Freight. Those guys run fast and 1000 miles/day and upto 300,000 miles year. (Not our business! )

ngng

lol that sounds like a lot of work. at that point I should just get a semi with a single axle

truck has a few mods, so that might be why the mpg isn't great ('14 turbo and tune). it has a 3.73 I believe. I do need the 4wd for snow when it's too deep for the audi

ngng

Spent yesterday researching some electrical components. With my previous RV I had to manually switch between shore, genny, and inverter. It wasn't much work, but it was annoying. I don't want to do that with this trailer. The trailer is already set up to switch between shore and genny power, my goal is to seamlessly add a solar array and inverter to the existing system so I don't have to run the genny all the time.

Here's the route I think I'm going to go:


A few notes:
- I opted for a PWM charge controller because I the trailer will see maybe three days of continuous discharge. I don't really need the efficiency of a MPPT system during winter, and hell, CA winters aren't really a thing

- I choose 12v over 6v this time around. In my RV I ran 6x 6v flooded batteries with a capacity of almost 700ah. One battery failed, which meant two batteries were useless. I also didn't deeply discharge those batteries. I like the idea of being able to scale my battery bank, if necessary, by adding a single 12v battery.

- Opted for sealed AGM batteries this time around. Previously bought the cheaper flooded batteries and stuck a battery watering kit. I even set up a 5g distilled water tank to auto fill them. It was still a pain.