Just purchased my first camper and have questions.

[aprez27]

So, I just purchased my first camper and have never towed anything in my life. I purchased a Forest River Rockwood Geo Pro 20FBS. I've already installed the brake controller, they are suggesting an anti-sway hitch. Is that something I should have with a 3500lb trailer? If so, they showed me 3 different ones, each one a little beefier. Just purchased Rampage mirror extensions as well. Any other advise is more than welcome for this newb. Pics to follow after I pick it up on Saturday.

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[Jobofly]

Anti sway hitch makes a huge difference. I tow a 5000lb camper and use an Equalizer 4 point anti sway WDH. It works really well.

 

[ChrisNLA]

Definitely nice to have, especially only being single axle (less stable than a tandem generally). That trailer will never weigh only 3,500 pounds anyway. That weight is given without a single piece of gear inside, no batteries and no propane on the tongue.

 

[PlayfulBird]

Make sure the dealership is not just interested in the sale, but shows you everything... from hook up to the systems onboard. They should be as interested in that then the sale, and you should definitely take the time... don't rush out of there and then realize you still have questions, or they did not show/explain it to you

 

[Joe Dillard]

 

[USMC_1Wire6337]

As far as advise, go find a large empty parking lot and practice tight turns to learn you lines and how wide you will need to swing. Always watch the last wheel on the inside turn of any trailer, that is where you will see what will get hit first.

Once you have mastered going forward, practice backing up. Small slow movements is the key. Get a slow roll going when backing and then have your foot on the brake. Last thing you want is to panic and hit the gas when backing. Any damage you get will now be to two expensive toys.

Make sure to do this well in advance of any trips.

As fare as weight distribution, I had the Reese straight line on my Ram and it performed excellent. Support bars and anti-sway all in one. Never had an issue and towed during some sketchy wind and lots of semi passing. Hardly a wobble let alone any sway.

 

[COmtnbiker]

I am in the process of figuring out which WDH / sway I want. I only know Andersen, so watching this thread too

 

[MrClortho]

I have two travel trailers, a RPod (3,500lbs) and a big GD (7,500lbs). The RPod is close to what you have, and I do not use the anti-sway on it, just a good drop hitch. I did not find that it made a big difference on a small trailer and hookup times quadruple. Some help, yes, but not needed.

In contrast, there is no way in hell I would tow the GD without one.

 

[Osteodoc08]

I’ve always used Equalizer WDH. Hook up times were super quick as au had an electric Jack and I just used the angle of the trailer to get the bars on and set. Up down good.

 

[charliez]

find a large empty parking lot and practice


This, and get some empty boxes to set around as markers to turn at and to backup to

Also, make your first trip Camp Driveway. Stay in it for a weekend and discover what you need and don't load up stuff that you dont. Like if 2 or 4 people are going, don't take 37 coffee mugs and 45 plates. Or like the case of my former FIL, don't take 4 weed wackers. Yes, he did.

 

[Puch]

So, I just purchased my first camper and have never towed anything in my life. I purchased a Forest River Rockwood Geo Pro 20FBS. I've already installed the brake controller, they are suggesting an anti-sway hitch. Is that something I should have with a 3500lb trailer? If so, they showed me 3 different ones, each one a little beefier. Just purchased Rampage mirror extensions as well. Any other advise is more than welcome for this newb. Pics to follow after I pick it up on Saturday.

Not going to tell you not to bother with the anti-sway. If you’re new to towing, you probably will benefit from one. It will give you a little more confidence when you’re driving. If it was much bigger, I’d probably say get one.
However, I’ve been towing trailers from 30’ to 10’ for around 30yrs. I’ve never used one for anything smaller than the one I have now. I currently have a 2020 max tow and have a 19’ jayco (around the same weight, maybe more?) towed from CT to ME, VT, NH, and PA. I have not needed any ant-sway or weight distribution for this trailer. I will also be doing a 2 week trip in August to TN. I once had a sales person tell me to get one for a 12’ r-pod. No I did not. I couldn’t even tell it was behind me. I’d forget I was towing it.
If you have never towed, it will be a new experience. The truck and trailer will move around differently with or without the ant-sway. I don’t think any dealership will ever not recommend one because they make money and it’s easy to play on your fears and inexperience.
My advice would be, if it starts to sway, let off the gas. Don’t use the brake thinking that it will help. Don’t make any sudden moves. It will be okay if you hit the squirrel in the road. If it’s a child or another car, you have bigger things to worry about!
Hopefully, a few people here will give you their opinion and you can go with what the majority recommend.
I’d say yes if you have the money to burn. No if you’re trying to save a couple bucks. If possible, hook it up without one and take it for road test. Go over some open bridges where you get alot of cross wind. You can always go back and get one if thing seem to uncomfortable.

 

[aprez27]

Make sure the dealership is not just interested in the sale, but shows you everything... from hook up to the systems onboard. They should be as interested in that then the sale, and you should definitely take the time... don't rush out of there and then realize you still have questions, or they did not show/explain it to you

Thanks for that, they said they're taking me through a 2 hour walkthrough to show me how to operate everything.

 

[aprez27]

Well I see I already made my first mistake, I purchased out of state and booked one night of camping up near where I purchased it just in case we found any issues it would be easy to bring it back to fix. So I guess it will be trial and error. Just going to be real careful, definitely getting the anti sway, not because I have money to burn, but would rather be safer than sorry.

 

[Jaxmax]

Facebook or this forum marketplace is a place to get a hitch for short money. I’ve towed a lot of trailers over the years a WDH hitch on the Gladiator is a good thing as you are going to be at 4,000 plus pounds. WDH come in different weight ranges my 24 foot camper has a hitch weight of 380 lbs. my Blue Ox Sway Pro has 500 pound bars which are perfect. Do some goggle searchs on different brands and make your own descision, I do prefer the blue Ox Sway Pro over the solid bar type as I just bout a 9,000 pound camper for a permanent site that had a solid bar hitch and towed it nine hours with an F-250 and was not impressed and noise was terrible.
Hitch is one thing, you have a lot more to learn like getting camper as level as possible using boards or camper spacer kits and pulling tire up on them to level it, emptying your tanks is a thing empty black tank first then grey to help flush out the hose. Precool your fridge before leaving, don’t drive fast towing things happen quick, staying in the middle lane on three lane highway let’s you not worry about fast traffic overtaking you and traffic merging from your poor vision side. The Thorn mirrors are awesome , not sure width of your camper but if it is 7.5’ or 7’ the view down the sides is better than an eight foot camper. If you have two propane tanks always be aware which is in use so when it goes empty and flips to backup tank that is full. When it gets windy retract your awning to save it for another day. Don’t be surprised that you get 11-13 MPG it is a six cylinder thing, Gladiator handles the weight well but power is not a strong suit but go slow and possibly shift manually. Last thing get wheel chocks or boards to chock your tires before you unhitch! There that is enough knowledge that you should embarrass yourself too much. We are camping for a week with our daughter family in there camper next door awesome ….Jack

 

[aprez27]

Facebook or this forum marketplace is a place to get a hitch for short money. I’ve towed a lot of trailers over the years a WDH hitch on the Gladiator is a good thing as you are going to be at 4,000 plus pounds. WDH come in different weight ranges my 24 foot camper has a hitch weight of 380 lbs. my Blue Ox Sway Pro has 500 pound bars which are perfect. Do some goggle searchs on different brands and make your own descision, I do prefer the blue Ox Sway Pro over the solid bar type as I just bout a 9,000 pound camper for a permanent site that had a solid bar hitch and towed it nine hours with an F-250 and was not impressed and noise was terrible.
Hitch is one thing, you have a lot more to learn like getting camper as level as possible using boards or camper spacer kits and pulling tire up on them to level it, emptying your tanks is a thing empty black tank first then grey to help flush out the hose. Precool your fridge before leaving, don’t drive fast towing things happen quick, staying in the middle lane on three lane highway let’s you not worry about fast traffic overtaking you and traffic merging from your poor vision side. The Thorn mirrors are awesome , not sure width of your camper but if it is 7.5’ or 7’ the view down the sides is better than an eight foot camper. If you have two propane tanks always be aware which is in use so when it goes empty and flips to backup tank that is full. When it gets windy retract your awning to save it for another day. Don’t be surprised that you get 11-13 MPG it is a six cylinder thing, Gladiator handles the weight well but power is not a strong suit but go slow and possibly shift manually. Last thing get wheel chocks or boards to chock your tires before you unhitch! There that is enough knowledge that you should embarrass yourself too much. We are camping for a week with our daughter family in there camper next door awesome ….Jack

Lots of good info there, thanks. I'm waiting on the Rampage Mirrors with the Thorn adapters. This camper has a black tank flush attachment for a hose as well as the drain hose. Got chocks and leveling blocks on order too. I've done a lot of homework but you can never know enough when it comes to safety.

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