Newbie Apex 300BHS owner

[DMcGruther]

Originally Posted by HVACGuy

he highly recommended a pair of Super Coils over air bags. So now I'm on the fence about which way to go.

What has your experience been like with the different setups?

Air bags took care of the sag, but renders the WDH useless, unless you set the air first, then set the bars and don't touch the air pressure after that. When I was unloaded, the minimum air pressure was still too much. Made the truck ride rough.

I was going to go with supercoils, but even my cost was $720 CAD. I found a local guy that had HD 1500 coils for 399. Give me 2300lbs per coil at a variable rate. Unloaded is like stock and loaded is perfect. The truck has a 2" front level kit so the extra height of the rear coils gives the truck the perfect unloaded stance.

Between the two choices, go for the rear coils for sure. 15 minute install as well

[HVACGuy]

Originally Posted by DMcGruther

Air bags took care of the sag, but renders the WDH useless, unless you set the air first, then set the bars and don't touch the air pressure after that. When I was unloaded, the minimum air pressure was still too much. Made the truck ride rough.

I was going to go with supercoils, but even my cost was $720 CAD. I found a local guy that had HD 1500 coils for 399. Give me 2300lbs per coil at a variable rate. Unloaded is like stock and loaded is perfect. The truck has a 2" front level kit so the extra height of the rear coils gives the truck the perfect unloaded stance.

Between the two choices, go for the rear coils for sure. 15 minute install as well

What brand did you go with?
Amazon.ca has the Tuff Truck springs, I was thinking of ordering the TTC-1223v. 50% added capacity, variable rate. I typically carry a fairly good load in the bed and tool box, so I don't think it would effect my daily ride to bad.

[DMcGruther]

Yup. Those are the ones. You won't be disappointed. Super easy to pop in yourself too if you have access to a hoist st all.

[DMcGruther]

Remove these bolts one side at a time and drop the axle. Slips right in.

[HVACGuy]

Thanks for the information @DMcGruther, really appreciate you sharing your experience.

Out first trip is this coming weekend, I plan on trying it stock before I do any modifications. I've towed it twice in the time we've had it, both times empty, now that it's loaded we'll see how it does.

[DMcGruther]

Biggest thing I've learned is to get the WDH set properly. Takes some time, but well worth it.

[HVACGuy]

I believe that! I'm going to be dealing with that this week.
I suspect the dealership didn't set it up my WDH right. I believe my chain brackets need to move forward, the chains are on an angle backwards toward the trailer. I plan on going to a CAT scale on Wednesday, and I also ordered a tongue weight scale which should be here today. I want to get it dialed in as close to perfect as I can.

[DMcGruther]

I pretty much just used the measurements to get mine set right. Pre trailer measurement at the wheel wells, the adjust the WD until you are within a 1/2" of the stock numbers. Truck and trailer loaded like it would be on a trip. And yes, you want the chains perpendicular and the bars parallel to the trailer A frame.

[DMcGruther]

Pmd you as well

[HVACGuy]

Originally Posted by DMcGruther

I pretty much just used the measurements to get mine set right. Pre trailer measurement at the wheel wells, the adjust the WD until you are within a 1/2" of the stock numbers. Truck and trailer loaded like it would be on a trip. And yes, you want the chains perpendicular and the bars parallel to the trailer A frame.

Pmd you as well

That's the goal, try and get it within 1/2" of stock.

I plan on using that method to setup the hitch. I'm really curious to look at the number difference between before and after weight distribution. And I'm concerned about the tow vehicles GVWR.

When I began to suspect the hitch wasn't set up right I checked it out, and I had 3/4" difference between loaded and unloaded. Also, the trailer wasn't loaded at that time, so there is going to be more TW.

[Major Malfunction]

Good mods on the bunkroom. I added a TV in mine too. Well worth it. Also added a bed rail to the bunk above that. I can't believe it doesn't come with one. Jr fell off it while sleeping the first night. That thing is high!

Also, I ended up replacing my front queen mattress. I had a 3" memory foam topper, but it wasnt enough for me. I'm a slide sleeper. Plus we go on vacation for as much as 3 weeks at a time and after a couple of days, my hips were killing me from that prison grade mattress. Got a 12" memory foam from Amazon for about $300. Love that thing!

I'd insert an image of my bed rail I made out of maple, but it won't let me link it.

[DMcGruther]

Originally Posted by Major Malfunction

Good mods on the bunkroom. I added a TV in mine too. Well worth it. Also added a bed rail to the bunk above that. I can't believe it doesn't come with one. Jr fell off it while sleeping the first night. That thing is high!

Also, I ended up replacing my front queen mattress. I had a 3" memory foam topper, but it wasnt enough for me. I'm a slide sleeper. Plus we go on vacation for as much as 3 weeks at a time and after a couple of days, my hips were killing me from that prison grade mattress. Got a 12" memory foam from Amazon for about $300. Love that thing!

I'd insert an image of my bed rail I made out of maple, but it won't let me link it.

4 and 6 yr old boys here. The oldest is a still sleeper, but the little guy seems to do donuts in bed. We have two pool noodles on his bunk, one under the mattress and one under the sheet.

We bought the memory foam topper from Costco and seems to be pretty good so far on the second season. I also am a side sleeper and are currently halfway through our 26 day vacay.

[HVACGuy]

Originally Posted by Major Malfunction

Good mods on the bunkroom. I added a TV in mine too. Well worth it. Also added a bed rail to the bunk above that. I can't believe it doesn't come with one. Jr fell off it while sleeping the first night. That thing is high!

Also, I ended up replacing my front queen mattress. I had a 3" memory foam topper, but it wasnt enough for me. I'm a slide sleeper. Plus we go on vacation for as much as 3 weeks at a time and after a couple of days, my hips were killing me from that prison grade mattress. Got a 12" memory foam from Amazon for about $300. Love that thing!

I'd insert an image of my bed rail I made out of maple, but it won't let me link it.

Thank you, it's coming along.
The TV was quite a pain to put on, if I had to do it over again I probably wouldn't do a fixed mount, it was tough getting the TV attached to it.

I agree on the rails, you think it would be mandatory for these things to have some sort of protection.

The topper we picked up from Amazon is a 4", and that combined with the mattress pad we got from Costco it feels not bad. Hopefully it's good, with what we invested I could have ordered a bed like yourself.

Originally Posted by DMcGruther

4 and 6 yr old boys here. The oldest is a still sleeper, but the little guy seems to do donuts in bed. We have two pool noodles on his bunk, one under the mattress and one under the sheet.

We bought the memory foam topper from Costco and seems to be pretty good so far on the second season. I also am a side sleeper and are currently halfway through our 26 day vacay.

I too am a side sleeper. I'm curious how the mattress is going to be, I'm going to find out tomorrow night

Hope your trip is going well DMcG.

Instead of repeating some of the information, I'll place a link here.
I've put together a thread to discuss my current towing situation;

Towing a Coachmen Apex 300BHS with a '17 Ram 1500

[HVACGuy]

Hey everyone, today I wrapped up an install that I'm really excited about, I installed a WiFi rear view camera kit in the Coachmen.
I've wanted a rear view camera since the first time I towed our rig from the dealership, I wanted to see what is going on back there well going down the road. So I went on the search for something low cost, but adequate at doing the job.

The kit I purchased is from Amazon, you can find that here.
Along with the camera I purchased an extension cable, a female to female RCA coupler, and a toggle switch.

I wanted to mount it somewhere using existing hardware in the window frame. I went with the top corner of the rear window in the bunk house.
I couldn't get the mount built on the camera to work so I had to come up with some way of using existing hardware.

I used a small piece of sheet metal to build a stand off to fasten the camera to:


Using that I was able to mount the camera in a better position.
One side is being supported by the screw, the other I used some 3M double sided tape to support it.
Before affixing the mount, I covered it in thin foam insulation. Hopefully it helps dampen vibration, but it certainly helps conceal it compared to the bare metal.

Here's what it looks like with the window coverings back together:




And a shot from outside:



Next I turned my attention at the WiFi camera hub. I found the best place to tap into 12V, and be able to hide the hub was in the lower right section of the entertainment unit.
I removed the cable/sat cover plate to find easy access to 12V, and to be able to keep it all as hidden as possible.
I began by splicing into the 12V feed to the TV antenna. I soldered a power feed to my switch, and a negative to the hub. The other side of the switch powers the camera.
I misplaced my heat shrink somewhere between my work bench at home, and the storage facility where the trailer is located. For now I made sure to tape them well.
Last thing before closing everything up was drilling a hole to mount the switch in the lower storage cabinet.

Here's what behind the scenes look like:




The finish product:






I ran into a bit of a snag when I first went to install this device. The app support isn't that great, and it seems that it only supports older Android devices, or iOS. My Pixel xl, Android tablet, and two other iOS devices failed to meet the grade. In a last ditch effort I tried an old 5C and it worked!

That tripped me up for a few days. I made the foolish mistake of completing an install and not checking to see if the equipment worked. I had the sinking feeling I was going to have to take everything apart and remove it. But in the end though I managed to find something that works as a monitor, and I'm into this for around 100 CDN!

[HVACGuy]

I ran out of space for pictures.

Here's what the quality of the recording looks like, please excuse the homely looking individual in the photo, it was very hot inside!



I've yet to have it out on the road, but I'm super pumped to try it out!

[DMcGruther]

Nice work man. Looks like that should work perfectly. I take it the cable just runs up the inside of the trailer while traveling?

[HVACGuy]

Originally Posted by DMcGruther

Nice work man. Looks like that should work perfectly. I take it the cable just runs up the inside of the trailer while traveling?

Thanks!
Yeah, I have to lay the cable out every time I hitch up. It only takes a few minutes to plug in, turn on, and get up and running.
I keep the cable in that lower cabinet.

[HVACGuy]

Today my DW and I set off to do some work to Timmy.

When the TT went to the dealer for some warranty work I pointed out that there was some gaps in the sealant on certain panels.
They repaired probably 2 of the 10 places I pointed out. Here's some of what we noted.






We went over all the sides, looking for gaps to seal, and areas where we could install screws to help close the gaps.

I used clear Pro-Flex in all the gaps and areas missing sealant. Surprising number of areas that needed addressing.

Feels good to have that all sealed up. I'm honestly surprised we didn't water in the trailer in our last trip, it rained everyday!

[dotkellum]

Have you added a 2nd tv to the back bedroom? I have a 2019 and we bought a tv mount like you would use in a house and was took a 32 inch from a spare bedroom. Now I as afraid it is too big and heavy and not sure we have the correct mounting bracket. I told my husband and son to stop before I did more research. We are in 30-50 degree temps now and the bedrooms are cold with the furnace running. My husband's in the HVAC business and he says the duct work going to the back bedroom is only 2 inches. We feel more cold than heat coming out of it. Trying to figure out if it can be replaced with a 4 inch pipe or other solutions.

Any advice or experience?

[Major Malfunction]

I had a 2015 300BHS that I recently got rid of. I did not even have duct work in the bunkroom. Had to use a electric space heater which obviously won't work unless you have hookups. We only glamped so that was not a problem.

As far as the TV goes, it will fit but you might have to do odd spacing for the screws. If I remember correctly the studs behind the luan where the TV goes are not exactly centered. Also, the outdoor kitchen is right behind here, so there is only so much depth to what screws you can use.

I mounted a 32" TV in there and it barely fit. I measured and measured but I only had like a 1/4" of room to play to get the TV into the area, have enough room to snap it into the mount, and still have it look centered.

I had a pretty cheap $20 mount. I drove around for 3 years with that 32" TV mounted in there. We went all over the country several times and never had an issue with it coming off, etc. In fact one time my wife pulled the HDMI cables out by accident and I couldn't get the TV off the mount for like 20 minutes.

Hope this helps!