Questions from a first time 5th wheeler

The family and I got back Sunday from out first trip out in our Sundance 2997BHS -- great time and no real problems to speak of, except for the owner's stupidity in some areas (leveling jacks/torque wrench issues)... a great learning experience and 6 of my good friends were there, so they all could help me out if I needed it and get a good laugh about it.

A couple of questions to the "seasoned" guys & gals out there..

1) Are Pin Stabilizers really worth the money? I did notice a little rocking in the bedroom (please keep your comments to yourself ), but it was not anything major. If they are worth it, what would you recommend?

2) Looking for input on awning tie-downs and de-flappers -- I know the tie downs are a good investment, but are the de-flappers?

We had purchased out LCD screen TVs before the first trip and I installed them once I arrived at the destination. To my happy surprise, the factory attenna pulled in a HD signal and the two TVs we got (Olevia & Polaroid) both had built in HD tuners. OUTSTANDING -- nothing like relaxing, drinking a beer and watching the PGA Championship in full HD.

Pics and description of the rig coming soon...

Thanks!

John

John,

You'll get some good feedback on this. Below is my input/opinion/what works for me.

I have the tri-pod pin stabilizer and quite honestly, I got tired of carrying it around and setting it up. It does help stabilize the trailer in my opinion. But for weekend camping, I have not carried it with us all season.

If you were in a situation where the back of the site was higher than the front by several inches, the front stabilizer jacks would be extended quite a bit in order to fore/aft level out. In that case, you will have less stability (my experience). At the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, the sites I seem to like, end up this way. I was glad last year that I had my king pin stabilizer with me. I did have to use wood blocks to get it high enough to reach the pin.

Jim

On edit: Should have mentioned that I do use wheel chock. Do yourself a favor and at least check into the Roto-Chok brand. Good stuff.

Howdy, I would try a good set of wheel chocks before buying the front pin stand. I have never felt a need for one. I am sure that others who full time will probably feel different about it, but for us week end warriors, so to speak, the chocks do the trick for us. I have seen plenty of people lose their awnings, both in the campground and on the road, we have the big awning stakes from cw, and the awning extension for a little more shade. The only draw back to the extension is that if the wind really kicks up it is pretty tough to get it off and roll up the unit.
Our rule of thumb is to put the awning up at night or if we leave the rig for awhile.....

Heres a couple places to check out www.jtrv.com and www.rotochok.com like them both.---Ken

We also have a Sundance 2997BHS we bought in May this year. I have the wheel chocks and the pin tripod. Best results came with the wheel chocks, the ones that fit between the tires and expand outward. I do use both though.

How do you your Sundance? We have used ours 5 times and have had little to no complaints, except the Coby DVD player. Our dealer is contacting Heartland about it to get it replaced. It locks up on the movies. Haven't even tried the TV antenna yet. Try to "rough it" when we go.None None None

Rough it! -- we are the complete opposite. I have the DVDs, the Wii, HD TV -- if I don't have electrical and water, I doubt I will go.

We loved the first trip out. With a 2 year old in the family, the "bonus room" works wonders. We will be using the 5th wheel mainly to travel and stay at different trapshooting tournaments across the midwest (if you do not know what trapshooting is try these: www.shootata.com or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trapshooting). We just got back from the American Trap World Championships -- the Grand American held in Sparta, IL -- I took 7th in one of the events.

I will probably upgrade the Colby at some point, but it does what it needs to do right now... I am going to pick up some wheel chocks now. I had the under tire version, but with what I am hearing from multiple people, it looks like it is the way to go.

Thanks all for the info so far!

John

Oh yeah -- and with the 2008 Chevy 2500 with the Allison Diesel -- it pulled that 5th wheel like a dream!

We used both the chocks and the pin stabilizer on ours and am satisfied with the overall stability. We also use the deflappers everytime and they work well. I also use the tie down when at the beach with the winds and have had no problems. I did notice recently the awning flapping when I hadn't installed the flappers.

We use a bipod stabilizer and find that it makes a considerable difference. I don't bother with it if we're only going to be parked for a couple of days, but when we stay for a couple of weeks or longer, it is put under the pin. As yet, we haven't bought the wheel chocks. We block the wheels on both sides, and that has worked for us. About the only time we notice any movement is when the washer goes into it's spin cycle and even that's not too bad