STEVEnBETTY
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Posts posted by STEVEnBETTY
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In reality I would need to put on a class 4 hitch, which is doable, but I’m pretty confident that I can prove I am in no way overloaded.
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I stand corrected, in relation to the use of the lower rating, but the hitch is still rated for 1000lb tongue weight. My current weights are 2860 steer,truck rear 3580 trailer 5480 for a combined weight of 11920. Subtract 2840 from the truck rear and my tongue weight is 740 lbs which is 15 percent , within all the legal guidelines. The wdh does not change tongue weight it just redistributes weight to either the truck or trl.
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The only legally binding weight on your vehicle is the door jam sticker, the sticker on the underside of the hitch is a recommendation.
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I’m sorry but my response for being selfish went to another thread. If you do some research, the sticker on the underside of the hitch says 500 lb tongue weight 5000 lbs gross weight, without wdh, 1000 & 5000 with, those are recommendations, the wdh just redistributes weight, the tongue weight rating is 1000 lbs. The sticker on your door jam is what matters, if you are within the parameter’s of those ratings you’re legal. I’m not going to debate wdh benefits or drawbacks I’ve used both, it comes down to personal preference & comfort level.
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The point is you don’t need suspension mods unless there’s a problem or you feel uncomfortable.
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If you do some research other than the internet you will find that the sticker on the underside of your class 3 hitch says 500 tongue weight without wdh, 1000 with, those are recommendations, not legally required. As long as you stay within the weight requirements on your door jam sticker your legal. Even the class 3 hitch is rated for 1000 lbs, the wdh just redistributes weight.
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Thanks for your response Mike, I agree, there is more than one way to do things, just trying to give people options, not opinions. I really thought I’d get more push back, I pm’d bill Jones’s apologizing.😄😄
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One other thing about tires, what some people “can” interpret as sway is sometimes just the tires sidewall flexing, the xl or lt tires eliminate that.
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On my 2014 f150 I installed cheap manually adjustable air bags, on the 2021 none are needed. Full disclosure, I still use my class 3 receiver and I’m perfectly legal. One of the other things that I highly recommend is either xl (extra load) or lt( light truck) tires, the oem tires are p rated (passenger) tires
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Thanks for your response, I guess more than anything else I’m disappointed in hearing members on this forum, disparage people’s attempts to do something different, I’ve heard for years now you need an Anderson hitch to tow an elite 2, you can’t tow with an ev, you need to completely revamp your suspension, because of a broken spring, you get the idea.
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I’ve been towing my elite 2 for 8 years and 95,000 miles with 2 different f150’s with no Anderson, and I’ve only had 1 original one spring break and I just replaced the 1 spring with a1750 lb Dexter.
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Why not? If you look up the specs on class 4 or 5 hitches it’s right there, my guess is manufacturers are leery of specking class 4 hitches because people don’t know how to weigh their equipment and overload their rear axle.
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All new 1/2 ton trucks with the towing package, even heavy duty, come with a class 3 receiver hitch. Al that’s required to tow an elite 2 legally is a class 4 or even 5 hitch, the catch is you can’t use your existing bumper and swap out hitches. If you took delivery of a 1/2 ton truck with no reciever hitch the class 4 hitch bolts right on, no Anderson required.
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One other point about the powerboost, is the torque added by the electric motor is outstanding, towing where you live will be noticeable, my last truck was a 2014 f150 with the 5 liter, no comparison.
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While towing with my 2021 powerboost I lock out 10th gear, keep the speed around 70 and on flat ground with no wind I’ll get 13 to 16 mpg. Fords 10 speed transmission has a double overdrive, keeping it in 9th is the first overdrive. If you’re really serious about fuel mileage run it in 8th, which is direct, no overdrive, at 60 mph and you’ll be amazed
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I usually stop & fuel every 250-275 miles. The electric motor is constantly providing power to the drivetrain, but at 30 hp it obviously needs some help. I really like the concept of the dodge ram charger, in that the motion is provided by electric motors and the internal combustion’s engine just recharges the battery, similar to a diesel electric locomotive, but they haven’t released it yet.
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I ordered a 2021 f150 powerboost in December of 2020, took delivery in may of 2021, other than normal maintenance, the truck has been great. I currently have 61,000 miles on it and 33,000 of those have been towing our Oliver. Avg mpg 24, city and hwy, towing about 12, varies quite a bit. My favorite feature of the truck is the aux power in the bed, with the ac running, the battery runs the trl for 42 minutes of every hour, the engine is off for 13 minutes, runs for 2 to charge the batteries and shuts off. I plan on buying another one sometime before 100,000 miles.
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I can’t explain why the pump comes on every 30 minutes or so, but in the first year of ownership,my fresh water tank overflow leaked internally at that fitting. The fix Oliver came up with was to drill a hole in the bottom of the kitchen cabinet under the sink and tighten the hose clamp on that fitting. It only leaked when the tank was overflowing.
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I agree with the necessity of planning on our travels east of the Mississippi River, we live near St Louis. But we’re planning on leaving soon for a month in Texas and I won’t book anything more than a day in advance, we’ll just wing it. But you do have to be flexible, and having a fully self contained rv frees up a lot of options.
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You’re welcome, even the big national parks, Yellowstone, devils tower etc., have openings in the middle of the week for first come first serve spots, especially if you go in the shoulder season.
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Other than Friday and Saturday, I’ve never had any trouble booking reservations same day or day in advance, anywhere west of the Mississippi River. There are exceptions of course, but I’ve taken 6 week trips out west and paid for camping just 3 nights, between harvest hosts, ultimate c.g., rv Parky, blm etc…. My favorite campgrounds are c.o.e., they’re always on water and with the American the Beautiful pass, they’re half price.
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To the people freaking out over the Dexter spring. If your spring is indeed defective it will fail very quickly, I have 3 of the original springs with over 80,000 miles on them, 1 failed, it took approximately 2 hrs for me to change it, when they do fail it’s generally not a catastrophic event, the remaining spring eye and shock will hold the axle in place. You will need to replace it asap however since the remaining spring is carrying more weight. Personally I’m sticking with the original design, e trl can overnight replacement parts anywhere in the USA. I to would prefer to buy USA made parts and will go with Stl spring next time, I forgot about them when my original spring failed.
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Around the year 2000 in took a broken 50 year old boat trl spring to St. Louis spring, with the request of 1 inch additional arch in the design, they made 4 of them to my exact specs, very happy with the results.
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I have hull #219, i can’t relate to the low flow in the toilet, but as Mossemi described in his post there was a flow restrictor “water saver” in the shower head.If I remember correctly it was a red piece that popped right out, that made a huge difference in mine
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You don’t need a 3/4 ton truck or an Anderson hitch to tow an Oliver elite 2
in Towing an Oliver
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After talking to an attorney friend it’s time to eat some crow and admit my mistake. The Oliver is an extremely well balanced trailer and I can get the truck and trl within all legal weight limits without the Anderson hitch, however, it was explained to me that vehicle oem’s install the class 3 hitch and derate it with the caveat of using a weight distribution hitch, he told me that there is no federal law to require me to use the wdh, however I could get in trouble on a state by state basis.
so… after 8 yrs my options are, get an Anderson, or replace the class 3 hitch with a class 4, and replace my bumper to make it fit, I ordered an Anderson this morning. The next vehicle I order will be spec’s with a class 4 hitch, sometimes lessons learned can be embarrassing, but it happens🤷