My Apex Nano 213RDS experience and questions

[fta]

All:

I have a 2022 Apex Nano 213RDS towed by a BMW X5 for last 4 months for several trips. Overall, the setup worked well.
1. The GVWR of the trailer is 6000 which matches the towing capacity of the X5. I never actually weighed the trailer, but since its UVW is a little over 4000 and i never carried water, my guess is the actual weight is around 5000. I had some concerns about the weight, so I want to be specific about it.
2. My trips include going down from NJ to FL and while on my way back from northern GA to Lynchburg VA through quite some mountain roads. I never had problem going at speed limit and the engine never seems working too hard. As matter of fact, the engine temp is lower while I tow the trailer than without towing. Anyone know why that is? I was expecting the temp would be higher. I know the engine did have to work harder from the gas consumption and increased engine noise.
3. I did not install the weight distribution hitch nor anti sway bar. No distribution is per BMW(?) but I am thinking to install anti swing bar. While on highways, I do feel the shake from 18 wheeler passing by me at high speed, but putting a tighter grip to the steering wheel will take care of it. Is the anti sway bar helping with this?
4. One problem I had with the trailer is the sofa does not stay in place during travel. Ii can be shifted away from the wall by a couple inches or can land in the middle of the trailer. I looked at the base of the sofa, it is not attached to the floor in any way. It is just sitting on a wood track to allow it to be jackknifed. The wood piece attached to the based of the sofa(to be sliding on the wood track attached on the floor) is splitting and got loose from the metal of the sofa.
5. Another problem is the water from the kitchen faucet is flowing at a 1/4 of the rate compared to the faucet in the bathroom or the shower. I will remove the vertical board to take a look at the connections now that I am back home, but wondering other had similar problem?
6. I called a Coachman dealer while in FL, but they said they only work on RV sold by them. I bought the trailer 4 hours from my home in NJ, so it will be hard to get warranty repairs. This is very disappointing.

Thanks a lot and hope to hear some feedback.

[Rhumblefish]

Welcome, and congrats on your first post. I tow a slightly larger TT with a german SUV, and have some of the same guidelines. Some input on some of your things:

1. Check PAYLOAD for your X5 (on sticker inside door jamb), and compare to the combined tongue weight for the tailer (loaded), what you put in the SUV and what the hitch itself weighs. If you follow the 10-15% tongue weight, you're at 500-750 lbs for 5,000lbs of trailer. Subtract tongue weight (and hitch weight), from payload and you see how much stuff you can put in the X5 for the trip.

2. I'm almost not convinced your engine temps are lower (unless you are going a LOT slower), but will take your word for it. Does hooking up a 7-pin activate a tow-mode that (in addition to other things) also keeps the thermostat wide open, or activates a normally closed aero flap to keep air pouring through the radiator (despite cost to gas mileage)?

3. Audi also prohibits a weight distribution hitch (as there's no frame to attach to, and the forces would be more than the unibody attachment points would ), though I haven't seen an similar prohibition against an anti-sway bar. Some folks have had their receiver hitch modified/supported to enable some additional support for WD hitch (see Can-Am RV Centre in Canada). Note, as WD is verboten, this likely won't be supported by the factory and may void your ability to have any recourse with BMW if anything goes wrong. Some MILD Anti-sway is most likely baked into your ABS system, though proper loading and proper driving while towing can reduce a lot of sway incidence. If you add anti-sway via a friction lock, you'll need a new hitch (that has a secondary mounting point for the anti-sway to attached to the tow vehicle), also have to remember to remove/disconnect it during low-speed high angle maneuvers (eg, parking). Friction anti-sway won't make bow wave (from the 18-wheelers) go away entirely, but it will slow it down a little bit. Consider that the bow wave (air pressure from a passing 18-wheeler) has a lever arm the length of the trailer. That'd easily overcome a tiny friction lock that's 2-3 feet long that's mounted between hitch and trailer frame.

4. re-mount that sofa! It's no bueno to have an unsecured load, plus the sofa can mar your floors.

5. Is your slow kitchen faucet flowing poorly from BOTH hot AND cold sides? Sounds like the aerator (unscrew at the faucet and clear the aerator from debris).

6. Lots of dealerships put non-purchasers on the 'less than front of line' status (and, instead, work their purchasing customers in first. It's a thing. I bought mine at a distance but haven't had to deal with much in the way of warranty claims. Call YOUR dealership and see if you can get them to identify (and authorize) warranty repair from a local mobile RV repair service.

Hope these help!

[bikendan]

Moved to the Coachmen sub-forum since the OP is asking for model-specific information.

fta, you can use an independent RV shop or mobile RV technician for warranty work. You just have to get pre-approval from FR and be willing to be reimbursed.

[fta]

Thank you Rhumblefish for your detailed reply. Glad to see you are doing something similar as most folks at a camp are trucks.
1. the payload on the door shows 1345. 15% of 5000 is 750 so I should have plenty here as well after the two of us plus a dog and a hitch.
2. The temp is lower regardless of speed. Maybe it is the 7 wire connection that activated some thing. I could not get the BMW firmware flash for towing either so I am not sure towing functions are built into the existing firmware.
3. Thank you for mentioning "bow wave". Some googling shows it is not quite the same as sway. I will get the friction anti sway bar as long as it helps more than the trouble, but I am not sure now. I have rear air suspension as part of the 3rd row seating option, maybe that is helping in someway as well?
4. I am actually removing the sofa and use the space for a dog bed and maybe a light weight armchair that's more useful for us.
5.Regardless of hot or cold. But no aerator at the end of of faucet which is the first place I looked. I hope I can figure this out so I do not have to deal with dealer.
Thanks again!

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by fta

5.Regardless of hot or cold. But no aerator at the end of of faucet which is the first place I looked. I hope I can figure this out so I do not have to deal with dealer.

Is this a pull-out faucet, where the head is attached to flexible tubing? If so, the filter screen can be at either of two places:

• Possibly, if you are lucky, where the spray head unscrews from the tubing. Remember to anchor the tubing before you take the head off so it doesn't retract under the sink.
• If you are not so lucky, the screen will be at the other end of the tubing, where it attaches under the sink. You will have to lie on your back and reach up behind the sink to detach it.