Prospective buyer of 2011 Heartland North Trail 31RESS

We are new to Camping and have found a deal on a 2011 Heartland North Trail 31RESS. The shipping weight of trailer is 8600 lbs. We have a 2013 Ford F-150 with a max loaded trailer weight of 9500 lbs. Has anyone pulled a 31RESS with an F-150? Any problems or suggestions. Is trailer to heavy? If you have owned a 31RESS, have you had any problems. Likes or dislikes.


Thanks
 

jnbhobe

Well-known member
Is 8600 lbs. the shipping weight or the GVW of the trailer? If its the GVW you may be ok if its the dry weight you will be overloaded. And if 8600 lbs is the GVW it will be close to the truck max GCWR.
 

pegmikef

Well-known member
I pulled my North Trail 26LRSS that has a max weight of 8600 pounds with my 2010 F150 super crew for a couple of months. I didn't have any problems from a handling or stopping standpoint. I use an EZ-Lift WD hitch and didn't have any sway problems either. Frankly, I felt that the performance wasn't as good as it could be and the gas mileage was really poor (8 - 10 mpg), so I moved up to the F250 Diesel and I am very happy with it. I should point out that I had the 4.6 3 valve V8, so a larger engine may have improved the performance.

GVWR of your trailer is 8600 so you are within the towing weight of the F150.
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
We are new to Camping and have found a deal on a 2011 Heartland North Trail 31RESS. The shipping weight of trailer is 8600 lbs. We have a 2013 Ford F-150 with a max loaded trailer weight of 9500 lbs. Has anyone pulled a 31RESS with an F-150? Any problems or suggestions. Is trailer to heavy? If you have owned a 31RESS, have you had any problems. Likes or dislikes.


Thanks

Unloaded weight of the 31RESS is 7400lbs, 8600GVWR. Do you have the ECO F-150?
 
Our truck is a supercab with the 5.0L 4-Valve V8, with the 3.55 rear end and towing package. The GCWR is 14,900. I had figured the gas mileage would not be the best. Thanks for letting me know what yours was. Really great that you listed the type of hitch and that yours towed fine with it. Will look into your type hitch, if we are able to make a deal for the trailer.

Thanks

Milton Winslow, Moncks Corner, SC
also a Vietnam Vet, SeaBees
 

berky

Well-known member
We are new to Camping and have found a deal on a 2011 Heartland North Trail 31RESS. The shipping weight of trailer is 8600 lbs. We have a 2013 Ford F-150 with a max loaded trailer weight of 9500 lbs. Has anyone pulled a 31RESS with an F-150? Any problems or suggestions. Is trailer to heavy? If you have owned a 31RESS, have you had any problems. Likes or dislikes.


Thanks
Looks like I guessed right on the North Trail, sc_surveyor. But I guessed wrong on the model. I own a 26LRSS ... 6300# dry, 7000# on the road, 8600# GVWR. Who would have thought there was another North Trail with the exact same GVWR.

Most likely you will be at least 8000# on the road if you're starting out 7400# dry. That would translate into a tongue weight of 800#-1000#. Look at the sticker on your Ford's hitch to be sure its max tongue weight is at least 1000#.

Similar to Mike F I pulled 7000# for a year with a 1/2 ton, but moved up to a 3/4 ton when the opportunity presented itself. At 7000# I never felt uncomfortable, but I could tell I was near the limits of a 1/2 ton. At 8000# you might be pushing it. Can your truck PULL 8000#? Every day. Will your truck's transmission, cooling system, brakes, and suspension feel the stres of 8000#? Every day.
 

berky

Well-known member
I'm not trying to scare you off, sc_surveyor. Pretty much everyone here loves their North Trail. My wife and I are in love with our 26LRSS ... though I will say if I was looking for something bigger, I would look hard at the 31RESS.
:
With that said, we want your first RV experience to be as enjoyable for you as it is for us. It sounds like you've found a good deal on the 31RESS. Just make sure the whole package .... floor plan, towability, maneuverability .... is right for you. The 31RESS may be just the ticket, or there may be another great deal right around the corner.

Whatever you decide, let us continue to help you out.
 
LOL, berky found me again. Thanks for your info. Sometimes a good deal my not be a good deal. Am concerned that it's right at limit.

Thanks
 

pegmikef

Well-known member
Looks like I guessed right on the North Trail, sc_surveyor. But I guessed wrong on the model. I own a 26LRSS ... 6300# dry, 7000# on the road, 8600# GVWR. Who would have thought there was another North Trail with the exact same GVWR.

I think the axles dictate the GVWR and the axles on both models are rated at 4400 pounds.
 
We meet the owner and gave the RV a good look over, yesterday. Rv is in new condition. We meet the RV service tech that has done all warranty and service on the unit. We are having him to do an inspection to verify that everything is in proper working order. He is also going to review and determine if our truck can safely pull the RV. Guess we will be off the fence in a few days. :)

Thanks again for everyone help and input.
 

Baltbirds

Member
Just got the 31RESS this past November. Took it camping Thanksgiving week. I have a 2008 Tundra at it pulled it with no problem. Went through a lot of mountains. We got a great deal on it and could not pass it up. We love the floor plan it has. Is perfect for our use. Did not realize how long it was until I had to back it in my driveway. Hope you enjoy it.
 

berky

Well-known member
Best of luck! Good thinking to have an inspector look at it. It sounds like it's in great shape, but a little extra peace of mind never hurt anybody.

Please be sure to let us know how you make out. We'll all tell you that you can't go wrong with a North Trail. And we'll be eager to help you make the most of it.
 
We have commited to get the 31RESS. Hitch, anti-sway, weight distribution, and brake controller ordered. Hope to get it in and installed in about a week.

Couple of questions. I have seen several list of needed items to begin camping. Does anyone have a favorite list of items?
Trailer will be a year old this month. Ideas and or thought about getting an extended warranty?

Thanks
 

jimtoo

Moderator
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What a lot of extended warranties are like. Check it out really good before you spend a lot of money for nothing.

Please do a really slow, very through, PDI when you go for pickup and even camp a couple of days on the dealers lot if possible and get anything you find repaired before you take delivery. Make sure water and electric is hooked up and check for leaks and draining the tanks.

Jim M
 

mbopp

Well-known member
sc_

You may want to consider having an OEM Ford brake controller installed. It's integrated with the truck stability control system and users are quite satisfied with it. The truck's computer will need to be re-programmed so it recognizes the controller.

That said, I re-used my Prodigy controller and mounted it in the factory location in my '12 Supercab.
 
Thanks for the information about the factory controller. Like the idea that it works with the truck stability control system. Will look into it. We can always send the other controler back.
 

berky

Well-known member
You're right, there are a lot of packing lists out there. I have my own .... and 90% of it I haven't used in the first year of RV'ing. Any guess how much unnecessary gas I have burned hauling around all of that stuff? In any case here's what I use on most trips and would therefore consider essential:
- Electric tongue jack. Put it on the trailer after just 3 trips, and still wonder why I waited so long.
- A good set of wheel chocks, enough for both sides of the trailer. I have a set of the X-chocks, in addition to regular wheel chocks, because I rarely find myself on a level site.
- A bunch of wood blocks to put under the tongue jack. A lot of sites are not real level front-to-back.
- Those yellow "Lego" blocks for leveling up the trailer, stabilizer pads, etc.
- One of those small generators like Honda, Yamaha, and others make. If you're at a site without electric, your battery will be dead after just one night with the furnace running.
- A "slinky hose" for the gray/black tanks. There's simply no way to cleanly empty the tanks without one.
- Something with which to clean off the tops of the slideouts. Brooms, mops, and leaf blowers are variously used. And a small step ladder to get up there.
- A large box or tub for the bed of the truck. Keep in it everything you need to set up the trailer ... blocks, WDH chain bar, gloves, flashlight, etc.
- A 25' hose and a pressure regulator to hook up to the site's water.
- A 30 amp to 20 amp adapter, so you can plug in the trailer at home to charge the battery, run the 'fridge, etc.
- An air compressor and a high-quality dial pressure gauge. You'll ned to get
 

berky

Well-known member
Continuing ..... my notepad seems to choke on my overly long replys ....
- An air compressor and a high quality dial pressure gauge. You'll need to get a 120 V compressor, as I doubt that a 12 V one has enough power to adequately reach the higher pressures that trailer tires run at.
- Some of those compressed paraffin/sawdust fire starter blocks. My Boy Scout days are long gone.
- A Coleman lantern or large spotlight. Sooner or later you'll be arriving at camp after sunset.
- A toolkit with an assortment of screwdrivers, wrenches, etc. This is one of those things that seems to just waste gasoline, but it's nice to have it when you need it. Look around the trailer for any odd requirements ... I once had to make an "emergency" run when I found that my access panels had screws with those internal squares in the screw head.
- A bottle jack, breaker bar, and socket for changing a trailer tire. Another gasoline waster ... until you actually need it.
- Folding camp chairs. It's really tough lugging the trailer furniture out to the campfire.
- A propane camping stove, if your preference is cooking outdoors. That's why you're RV'ing, right. Also helps to avoid setting off the trailer smoke alarm, if your cooking skills happen to be at my low level.

Beyond that, pack whatever you need for your daily living ... food, clothes, and cleaning supplies.
 
Thanks, Berky, for the great list. Some of these thing I had been wondering about and several had not even thought about. Was wondering if one needed to clean top of slidouts before putting them in. Will state putting together what we have around the house and adding to it.

Thanks again
 
We got the trailer, Saturday, pulled it back here, getting back just after the sun set, yesterday. We are just beginning out journey into camping. Thanks to everyone for their help and assistance. We still have lots to learn. But we are getting there.

Thanks again to all.

Milton
 
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