Just picked up new 19.3

[Brody]

Hi everyone!

First time TT owner, been doing a lot of research and pulled the trigger on a 19.3!

I live in Syracuse NY and selected Keystone Mega RV outside of Greencastle PA. Everyone there was excellent!

Drove down Friday night and was on the road Saturday back to the cuse. 5 hours down, around 7 back with a couple stops. Overall was a great non eventful trip.

I have a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. I based my entire TT selection on the capabilities of this vehicle knowing I would require a WDH, all good.


One concern i thought of was max payload knowing it’s not much over 1100 lbs. We are a small 3 person family and I know I can get away with packing light so I’m good there.

This Jeep is rated for a max GTW of 6200 lbs (owners manual) as this vehicle has full factory tow package, extra cooling/larger radiator etc.

The max tongue is rated at 620lbs. Well, at the dealer the 19.3 tongue weight came in at 700lbs!!! I seriously almost walked away. We moved the full propane to the rear of the TT and I had a bunch of stuff in the truck I moved to the rear of the TT. This brought the tongue weight to about 590 and I felt better.

This TT is advertised as a tongue weight of 550#!!! What is forest river thinking??

Anyway, the trip back was good, stayed around 55/60mph. Not once did it sway and I felt safe the entire way. Monitored oil and trans temp and they barely went up the entire trip back. Did I know the trailer was there, yes but overall was a decent tow. I would assume the husky WDH with sway contributes to this positive experince quite a bit.

Just thought I would share, will be posting more as I get acclimated!

J

[DES-1]

If the stated cargo capacity on the door jam of TV is much less than the sum of your tongue, passengers and TV cargo, you're not in a good place. However, I do envy the capacity of the 19.3 itself, thanks to those dual axles

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Brody

The max tongue is rated at 620lbs. Well, at the dealer the 19.3 tongue weight came in at 700lbs!!! I seriously almost walked away. We moved the full propane to the rear of the TT and I had a bunch of stuff in the truck I moved to the rear of the TT. This brought the tongue weight to about 590 and I felt better.

This TT is advertised as a tongue weight of 550#!!! What is forest river thinking??

Well, unfortunately you made one of the Big mistakes that newbies make, believing fictional "dry" weights. NO trailer weighs those numbers when it leaves the factory.
Those numbers are based on a stripped-down version of the trailer. No battery, no propane, no factory options and no dealer add-ons.
And all RV manufacturers are promoting these larger single axle trailers, not just FR. Unfortunately buyers don't realize that these trailers have much higher tongue weight than a comparable tandem axle trailer. And they have the axle set farther back, which increases the loaded tongue weight even more.
There are many threads and posts here about this issue.

[BurlyAl]

Hope it works out for you. I was in a similar situation with my 2016 Tacoma which actually has a greater towing capacity and similar payload/hitch rating. Many conversations with a buddy who supplied me with some spreadsheets ultimately led me to purchasing a 2008 Tundra for pulling our 19.3. My previous R-Pod was about 700# lighter and put a strain on the Tacoma engine when in hilly conditions. Purchasing the Tundra for pulling the 19.3 was the most sound decision I've probably made in years.

[Dirt Sifter]

Hey Dan, you might do a little research before you jump - again. The 19.3 is a tandem axle unit. Being site team guy I know you can change that comment of yours so you don't look like a retired hose dragger.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Dirt Sifter

Hey Dan, you might do a little research before you jump - again. The 19.3 is a tandem axle unit. Being site team guy I know you can change that comment of yours so you don't look like a retired hose dragger.

Thanx DS!
My apologies everyone. I didn't know that there were any tandem axle NoBos.[emoji37]

[tiamatu]

Originally Posted by Brody

The max tongue is rated at 620lbs. Well, at the dealer the 19.3 tongue weight came in at 700lbs!!! I seriously almost walked away. We moved the full propane to the rear of the TT and I had a bunch of stuff in the truck I moved to the rear of the TT. This brought the tongue weight to about 590 and I felt better.

I picked up my 19.3 a few weeks ago and weighed the tongue before hitching up - 770lbs! I had two 6v batteries on the tongue, full single propane, and a full fresh water tank. I forgot to run by the CAT scale to get an accurate weight on the trailer itself, but once I get out with the trailer I will circle back and update that as well.

Wasn't too worried about tongue weight since the TV is a Ram 2500. Glad I weighed the tongue before we set up the WDH as they had 600# bars set aside for me (550 manuf. weight). Since it weighed out at 770 without anything in the trailer (aside from water) I went with the 1000# bars. Will make sure to update weights once I have it dressed out and front/back storage sorted. Will probably move to a dual propane setup so more weight on the tongue for sure.

Cheers!

[REL]

Bought mine at Keystone also. PDI was very through, no high pressure had a good experience. You may want to hit the scales. Your WDH will add about another 80 lbs plus you will be putting gear food, beverage and possibly water in the the rig, all increasing gross trailer weight and thus your tounge weight. The scales will confirm if your over your cargo capacity, rear axle, hitch and or tire limits

[CurtPutnam]

Welcome from Southern California!

[Jfkmk]

Originally Posted by Brody

We moved the full propane to the rear of the TT and I had a bunch of stuff in the truck I moved to the rear of the TT. This brought the tongue weight to about 590 and I felt better.
J

This is a very bad idea. Adding weight to the back of the tt to reduce tongue weight will create sway.