Patwv

Thank you for sharing this. It's very nicely done. Pat

It's nice of you to do this. Here's mine: Ford XLT Expedition 2018 4WD Gas 3.5 Ecoboost 3.73 Max tow/FX4 pkg LE II 387 payload 1600

That's really nice. Thanks for sharing.

Wow. Your cargo carrier looks terrific and your write up is even better. Thank you for posting this. Pat

We have one 100 lb Golden Retriever. He sleeps on the floor between the pantry and drawers under the kitchen counter. He sleeps on the floor at home too, in spite of having a large, comfy bed. Night trips to the bathroom involve being careful not to step on him. We leave a small light on so that we're sure to be able to see him. We spend a lot of time outside the trailer and that's fine with him. He barks at other dogs but we haven't really left him alone much and when we tell him to be quiet he's good about obeying. On our last trip we put him in Ollie and left for a short walk. We could hear him if he barked but he was good and quiet. Being a Golden Retriever, he loves to swim. We were camped right on a river on this last trip. We let him swim early enough so that he dries off before we get into the trailer for the night. I try to brush him each day to cut down on the shedding in the trailer and sweep the floor each morning. So far, we haven't had a problem with clogged vents. I think that we could make it work with 2 dogs but so far our experience is with only 1.

That is very nice. I like the floor in your Oliver too.

That is very nice.

Our toilet brush/holder tipped over on one trip. I used double sided tape on the holder and stuck it to the wall behind the toilet and it hasn't budged since. Our trash container is pretty big and it rides the the space under the dinette table. I stick the microwave table in the cabinet above the microwave. It angles in and rests on the paper napkins that I store there too.

Thanks for the video link. It is eye opening and the guy explains things very clearly. I'm going to make my own spreadsheet and see how it all comes out. I also know that we carry much more stuff than we need when we travel (mostly me--my husband is more of a minimalist) so I can lighten our load if need be.

I have a 2018 Ford Expedition with the 3.5 l turbo charged engine. We have only towed in the east (Appalachian Mountains) so I have no experience with the big mountains out west. The Expedition with max tow is rated at 9000lbs/900 lb tongue weight. We use an Anderson hitch. The Expedition tows quite nicely. Our payload rating is 1600 lbs. We have towed Oliver with a full tank of water and fully loaded with food and clothes, etc and have never had a problem with a lack of power. We have the cargo box on the front of the trailer, but we don't haul much in it. We generally travel with two slightly overweight adults and a 100 lb dog and other stuff in the Expedition. We haul 2 mountain bikes on the roof. Hope this helps.

Hi I'm a side sleeper and I find the KTT mattress to be very comfortable. I like a firm mattress. Hope this helps. Pat

We have the KTT mattresses and like them. But we also have the twin beds and the mattresses are heavy. I can move them around but it's not fun. I don't think that I would want them in the standard floor plan.

Thanks Topgun2. That's the video I used. Pat

Hi Ralph. I just reset our brackets for the Anderson. Our trailer is a 2018 and so is the Anderson. There is an installation video on the Anderson site which I watched before I started. Anderson recommends torquing the brackets at 75-90 ft-lbs. I set ours to 80 ft-lbs. Anderson also recommends that you install the set screw finger tight and then turn it 2 1/2 turns more. Our brackets ride at a slight angle on the frame with the top of the bracket back further than the bottom. We did a short trip this weekend on a winding mountain road in VA and the brackets stayed in place. Pat

Hey Topgun2 I appreciate the suggestions. I'll give them a try. I think our main problem, though, is the tapered plastic sleeve that fits between the ball and the housing. I've been on the Anderson site and watched their video on replacing the sleeve. I've ordered a sleeve and when we get it we're going to replace it and hopefully the whole thing will work better. Oh, and we don't use a sledge hammer--we use a rubber mallet and count to 10 before we hit anything.