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Old 02-21-2011, 10:01 PM   #1
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New 21SS Questions

Had our walk through today to check out the new camper. Very excited to bring it home - much nicer than I could have imagined. Couple of questions for the veterans.

1. They wanted to sell a WDH with sway bars. Is this something we should purchase and if so what kind of price should we expect? We are towing with a 2004 Chevy Avalanche with a V8 with a standard towing package.

2. Extended warranty - yes or no and if yes, how much. They were offering a 5 yr extended.

Thanks for your help!

Dave
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Old 02-21-2011, 10:13 PM   #2
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I have a WDH hitch and wouldn'nt go without it. I have no experience with sway bars, any time ( like twice maybe) I had any sway gently holding the brake so that the trailer brakes came on pulled out the sway.
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Old 02-21-2011, 11:15 PM   #3
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not sure why you thought you wouldn't need a WDH. did someone advise you that you wouldn't need one?

i have an Avalanche and the owner's manual specifically calls for a WDH over a certain amount of tongue weight and the 21SS' will be over that.

have you towed a large trailer before? you should find out if you have a standard tow package or a HD tow package.

i bought an Equal-i-zer from RVW, along with my Prodigy brake controller. do you already have a brake controller?

the Equalizer and the Reese Dual-Cam are the top selling WDH units out there, partly because they have built-in sway control and are excellent products.
my Equalizer cost me around $400 with free shipping.

did the dealer tell you that you can get a second year of the FR factory warranty for about $150? some have said that it's free right now.
personally, i think 3rd party extended warranties are waste of money. most find out that they don't cover what they were told it would cover.
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Old 06-25-2011, 10:04 PM   #4
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I just picked up a 21SS and my TV is a 2003 Chevy Avalanche with Airlift 1000 airbags installed. With the trailer on the hitch it was still jacked up in the back. They set up the WD bars on only the 3rd link and its pretty easy to get it there. I guess I did not need them? Will they effect the ride if I dont need them or is it better to have them?
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Old 08-16-2011, 12:59 PM   #5
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We got our 21ss and the dealer installed the WDH (Equalizer 800/8000) on our Tahoe LTZ with HD package for free. The cost of the WDH at the dealer would have been $450.00 +Tax.

We also got the extended warranty, (2-year for $150.00) and it has paid off as we are encoutering many little issues that put together will cost close to $1000.00 (including dealer labor at $95/hr). Some issues found so far; loose interior speaker; three (3) broken screw at bunk end doors; sheared white jacket on bunk cable ; exterior front light on/off switch; roof sealer.

IMHO - It is worth $150 to extend warranty for two more years.
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Old 08-16-2011, 02:44 PM   #6
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Airbags are not a substitute for a WDH. If you have a WDH setup correctly, you should not need airbags for the TT you're pulling.

Remember the object is to distribute the tongue weight of the trailer onto both axles of the TV. Airbags will not do that. Only a WDH will accomplish that for you.

If you want simplicity in a WDH, you can't beat the equalizer. It does make a little noise, but it works flawlessly and combines both weight distribution and sway control in one simple device.
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Old 08-18-2011, 10:30 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hybrid21SS View Post
I just picked up a 21SS and my TV is a 2003 Chevy Avalanche with Airlift 1000 airbags installed. With the trailer on the hitch it was still jacked up in the back. They set up the WD bars on only the 3rd link and its pretty easy to get it there. I guess I did not need them? Will they effect the ride if I dont need them or is it better to have them?
Did you guess that you didn't need the airbags or didn't need the WDH?

I agree that you probably don't need airbags. They're cosmetic only and don't help with a properly adjusted WDH.

If your trailer weighs more than 5,000lbs, then you do need a WDH (at least the manufacturer of any tow vehicle I have ever owned specified that).

I have an Equal-i-zer, so I am not sure of the number-of-links thing, but I thought that you needed to have more than 3. Don't they have a minimum number of 5 links required? I'm not sure your WDH is setup correctly for your vehicle.
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