Newbie looking for help with purchase

phathead19 · 02-22-2014, 05:08 PM

Hi there, new to rving and the forum. Was hoping to get some input from people on Forest River as a manufacturer and specifically input from owners of the Surveyor Cadet 321bhts or the Sport 296 model. Appreciate it and thanks for any future help.

**bikendan** · 02-22-2014, 05:23 PM

it would help if provided info on your tow vehicle.

phathead19 · 02-22-2014, 05:36 PM

Rig isn't an issue, all the numbers work. Its a 2010 f150 with tow package. 5.4l v8 with 3.73 gear ratio. Dry weights have me under the gcvw by 5000, under the tow rating by 4000, think ill have room on axles but have to double check. Will use a stabilizer and trips will be less than 300km(less than 100km almost always) with maybe odd exception every couple years. Kids are 3 and 2 so even then shouldn't be more than 300km in a day

phathead19 · 02-22-2014, 05:43 PM

Oh and those. Numbers were for the larger 321bhts. Also a 10 year class 1 driver whose driven in most of the worst conditions in the western canadian oil fields so not too worried about large trailer with little truck for such short trips

Old Bones · 02-22-2014, 07:54 PM

Hi phathead19.

I responded to your post in the Welcome Mat forum as well. I wasn't sure if you were monitoring one more than the other.

We have a 2013 Surveyor SP296. It was a new floor plan in 2013. Very pleased with this TT so far. All the counter space with island due to the kitchen slide and jack & jack bunks (4 grandsons) are what sold us on it.

Our TV is a 2010 Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4x4 with a 5.7L.

It pulls the trailer fine, but we are experiencing sway issues with winds and in Saskatchewan it's windy just about all the time.

Have had lots of good suggestions on how to eliminate the sway and comes down to dialing in the WDH better and I'm changing the tires on the truck to a heavier sidewall.

Last year we camped for about 32 nights. Mostly 4 day weekends and trips to the campgrounds were about 100 to 150 KMS.

So far no major issues with the trailer. Any problems we had were cosmetic, such as hinges coming loose and the valance over the sofa fell down. All were easily fixed with different screws and some additional ones. I think our rough secondary highways are more to blame for shaking screws loose.

Hope this helps some.

davel1971 · 02-22-2014, 08:00 PM

so what is the dry and hitch weight of the trailer you are considering?

phathead19 · 02-22-2014, 08:35 PM

Thank you phil, that's the exact sort of response I was hoping to get. Appreciate itm. And davel1971 the trailer is 7400 and the hitch is 890 I believe. Again those # are for the larger 321

davel1971 · 02-22-2014, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phathead19

Thank you phil, that's the exact sort of response I was hoping to get. Appreciate itm. And davel1971 the trailer is 7400 and the hitch is 890 I believe. Again those # are for the larger 321

I know that, but it's one of the trailers you are considering as you said. That trailer is most likely to much for your truck

GlacierGus · 02-23-2014, 01:45 AM

Yes, technically your F 150 can tow your TT of 7400 lbs with a hitch weight of 890 = 8290 lbs. But you must also take into consideration your truck's GCWR. You will have to determine this for your specific truck because there are so many variations of the F 150 but with your 3.73 it is about 16,700 lbs.
Your Surveyor has a cargo capacity of 3754 lbs. Your F 150 has a GVWR of approx. 7000 lbs.. If you fully loaded your truck and camper you would exceed your truck's GCWR. 7400+890+3754+7000=19044.
As Davel1971 said, the Surveyor Cadet 321 is too much for an F 150 or you will have to run nearly empty. Even then it would probably be too much.
When looking at the 296 also plug in all of these factors to see how it fits with the GCWR. The GCWR is the more important number, not just the towing capacity.

keith4216 · 02-23-2014, 02:27 AM

Did I miss something? The op seemed to just want info on the trailers in question.
How did the tv become an issue?

GlacierGus · 02-23-2014, 02:48 AM

Fair question Keith.
1) the heading said he was "looking for help" with his purchase
2) OP said he was new to Rving
3) OP said the numbers added up when IMHO they clearly don't

We have all seen or read about purchasers buying too much of a TT for their TV.

keith4216 · 02-23-2014, 02:54 AM

Thats not what I read. I didn't see the every other post of what can pull this.
I saw , The op liked two trailers and wanted the good or bad on them. Then op said the tv is not in question. Maybe I'm wrong.

GlacierGus · 02-23-2014, 03:14 AM

Quote: "Rig isn't an issue, all the numbers work. Its a 2010 f150 with tow package. 5.4l v8 with 3.73 gear ratio. Dry weights have me under the gcvw by 5000, under the tow rating by 4000"

There is no way OP can be "5000" lbs under GCVW if he is adding in his cargo capacity and GVWR of his TV. We are just trying to bring his attention to the correct math. But then I could be wrong (and frequently am) since it is 2:15 am and I am going to bed.

phathead19 · 02-23-2014, 07:33 AM

Glacier the gcvw is 17000. Ill be at 14500 with gear. Tow is 11000 ill be at 8700 with with gear. Would be tight but probably wouldn't break any axle weights or gvrw with family, dogs, canopy, and trailer. Thanks for your help

phathead19 · 02-23-2014, 12:28 PM

Thanks glacier. I have read that the gcvw is calculated by adding gvrw of tow vehicle and occupants to the trailer weight. Got that on ehow using fords formula. The idea of occupants being added though doesn't make sense because that should be subtracted from gvrw as part of payload. And adding tongue weight as you say doesn't make sense cause that is effectively the weight transfered from the trailers own gvrw onto the trucks gvrwn by adding to its axle weights, therefore making trailers axle weights less. I will mention here again I am a class 1 driver. Therefore the gcvw in my mind should be the weights of vehicle and trailer loaded. I agree that the 321 is probably too much for my truck in most circumstances, but again I'm not travelling far(100km on good roads, usually less) I don't actually break any of my weights ratings because I won't be loading 3700 lbs of gear to do weekend getaways. I hope I have proven my comprehension of underlying concerns about my vehicle and would really just appreciate comments on the trailers in question and forest river as a manufacturer. Although glacier I do appreciate that post also, seeing as is was an honest attempt to provide me with info that I might've missed

phathead19 · 02-23-2014, 12:59 PM

I just read more on it and as far as I can tell its done by adding the two vehicles loaded weights together. Like I said before that means my 5700lbs truck, 500lbs of family and pets, 7400lbs of trailer and 2300lbs of gear(including my canopy) puts me under the MAX of 17100 lbs pulled from ford literature. Also the 7400lbs of trailer with 2300lbs of gear (9700lbs) is still under my tow rating of 11200lbs pulled again from fords literature. with proper weight distribution I should be able to add slightly to my tongue weight for smoother ride, without overloading. Again thanks for all the help with this stuff but please just posts on peoples experiences and opinions with regards to these two trailers and forest river as a manufacturer

tanddc · 02-24-2014, 12:43 PM

OP,

Unfortunately the weight police are always on the prowl looking for someone not pulling a pup with a one-ton

I don't have the specific model you mentioned (I have a SP-220) but I am very happy with my Surveyor. I have had minimal issues (most of which I just fixed myself) and have been really happy with the fit and finish. I have had mine for one full season and am looking forward to season two. We had about 18 or so 2+ trips. Biggest problem was running over a rivet (learned how to change a trailer tire though!)

I hope you get the information you are looking for and hopefully the weight police will leave you alone now....

fonzie · 02-24-2014, 12:56 PM

Nice rig you are looking at. One item to consider, is when travelling on long trips and you want to use your kitchen at lunch time, you will have to open the kitchen slide to have access to fridge, stove and sink, not very practical in a parking lot or truck stop....if it's not an issue then go for it.

mjones12 · 02-24-2014, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanddc

OP,

Unfortunately the weight police are always on the prowl looking for someone not pulling a pup with a one-ton

I don't have the specific model you mentioned (I have a SP-220) but I am very happy with my Surveyor. I have had minimal issues (most of which I just fixed myself) and have been really happy with the fit and finish. I have had mine for one full season and am looking forward to season two. We had about 18 or so 2+ trips. Biggest problem was running over a rivet (learned how to change a trailer tire though!)

I hope you get the information you are looking for and hopefully the weight police will leave you alone now....

I agree about the Surveyors. I also have the 220 and prior to that had a Surveyor 186. Both were trouble free other than a few minor issues at the beginning that were quickly remedied.

Overall we have been very pleased with the Surveyor quality. They are light-weight, which means they are not constructed with heavy-duty materials, but that's the price you pay for light weight.

I have never seen a post on here where people are having to take a Surveyor back to the factory to have major problems resolved. I'm sure it happens. Every factory seems to spit out a bad one once in a while, but I haven't read too many complaints about the Surveyors.

I hope you have a good experience with whatever you choose.

beel1998 · 03-20-2014, 11:37 AM

I have a sp-296 that I pull with a 2010 ram 1500. Pulls just fine. The trailer dry weight is like 6700. The truck tows it just fine,other than the fuel mileage. I don't have air bags just a wdh. Didn't get it untill late last year and only had a chance to use it a few times,but did go for about a 600 mile round trip with it. I had zero issues with it.
I went with the 296 because of the kitchen design,the wife had a lot of input on it also.....trailer is beautiful and suits are family great. The only thing I don't care for is the way the remote works for the tv when you turn the tv to the bedroom side,but I can live with it. I hope whatever you decide works for you.

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