Just Bought a Cardinal

[traveln_circus]

The better half and I just picked up a 04 33lx. The rig has been used very little. We were able to get it for 20k I dont know if this is a good deal or not. We use a F350 PSD srw to pull it. Do i have enough truck to pull this trailer. The build quality seems good. Well I am off to beat around the site and get some info.

[rockwood06]

Originally Posted by traveling_circus

The better half and I just picked up a 04 33lx. The rig has been used very little. We were able to get it for 20k I dont know if this is a good deal or not. We use a F350 PSD srw to pull it. Do i have enough truck to pull this trailer. The build quality seems good. Well I am off to beat around the site and get some info.

Look on the left front side of the camper on the out side or inside of one of the cabinet doors in the kitchen to find out the dry weight and the full load weight ratings are, then check the drivers door on your truck to see what it is rated for. You can take the V.I.N. number off of the dash board or truck registration and go to the dealer and have them check the number in the computer. The V.I.N. number will tell you everything about the truck including tow rating. You can do this over the phone. By the way congrads on your new camper!

[powerboatr]

04-06 in my opinon are very go7od years for cards and creeks, wb hadnt had time to mess to much up in bean counting
congrats on your gem of a find, 20k doesnt sound to bad of a deal
visit often

oh and the truck, what year is it? up to 05 they were rated to 20k GVWR so take your empty weight from that and will get you in the ball park of tow rating
also visit

www.fleet.ford.com
https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...ng/default.asp
select your year back to 02 and it will guide you through the charts

[traveln_circus]

My truck is a 2001 F350 PSD srw CC 2wd.

[powerboatr]

Originally Posted by traveln_circus

My truck is a 2001 F350 PSD srw CC 2wd.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...D_F250_350.pdf

not much changed in 01 to 02... so if you look at the link and find your rear gear, and auto or standard you should get in the ball park.

[NDJollyMon]

WELCOME! Great screename by the way.

[traveln_circus]

Thanks this looks like a great site, I hope i will be able to contribute.

[Mr.B]

Hey, i too just purchased an 04 Cardinal 31LE in great shape. I think i did okay on the price, just a little less than your price.

On thing you will want to watch are your tires! If you have Kenda Klever tires, get them off the unit as soon as you can! I have had two blow-outs in two weekend trips. Just returned from the second trip. Both failures occured in less than 30 miles from departing home. On the second trip (This past Friday evening) i checked tire pressures etc. All was good. Failure occured in about 25 miles,speeds never exceeded 55 mph.

I thought the first failure may have been due to low psi, apparently i was WRONG! Just Crappy tires! Take a look at the discussion in the technical section entitled Tire blow out or something like that.

I am trying to decide (since the first failure) what brand and model tire to replace all four with. Several people really dislike the Carlisle trailer tires, however my local tire dealer of whom i trust states he has sold a ton of them with no problems. The carlisle seems to be affordable, however, i dont want to continue to have failures. The failure this weekend caused damage to the unit. Really ticked me off!

In an effort to figure out the tire problem i had the trailer weighed. It weighs about 8600# dry, and mostly loaded, truck and trailer together weighs about 16500#.

One more thing, the Forest River owners manual for the 31 LE is really poor. If you need help drop me a note, i may have experienced your question.

Good luck and happy fulltiming!!

[bigdaddy1]

My wife and I purchased our 30 ft Cardinal LE in Dec. o7. After taking several trips we have worked the bugs out of our fifth-wheel- all except the world famous Concertone sound system. We really like our unit and we purchased an o8 dodge heavy duty with 6.7 cummings to pull and enjoy the camping world.