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Old 10-26-2021, 06:54 AM   #1
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Towing Question

Hi All,

I just bought my first camper ever, it's a 1994 T-2160 we are very excited. Its in great condition. It has some brackets welded to the tongue maybe for weight distribution tow package I am.not sure and needed some info please. Thank you.
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Old 10-26-2021, 08:41 PM   #2
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Hi Jeff,

Welcome and congrats on your new Sunny!

What exactly do you need help with? Not knowing what you are looking at makes it hard to give specific help. Posting pics of what you need help with, really helps us see what you are up against. And then, can give very specific answers to your questions.

If you need help posting pics, here are the basics.

There are 3 ways to add pics.

1. Upload pics to a specific post attaching them at the end of the post.

2. Linking them in from a public viewable web photo hosting service you have.

See here for 1 and 2 https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...html#post86041

3. You can upload pics to the forum in your own personal photo album. Then link them to anywhere in the text of a post. See here on how to create an album. https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...html#post87945

If you still get stuck, let us know. Pic's go a long way in helping show things you are working on, and we really like seeing Sunline pics!

To your question on things welded to the frame, it can be common on travel trailers to need and use a weight distributing (WD) hitch pending the size of the truck you have and the loaded tongue weight of the camper. However, many WD hitches clamp on or bolt on parts of the hitch versus weld on. But, that does not mean a prior owner may have welded on something versus bolting it on. If we can see what you have, we may be able to recognize it, and then tell you what it is used for.

Hope this helps

John
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Old 10-27-2021, 06:56 AM   #3
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John,

Thank you for the help, I will get that pic uploaded and figure this all out, we are so excited about our sunline we got for $2800. I look forward to learning how to take care of the roof, winterize, and of course enjoy. Be in touch with those pics soon, fyi they are bolted on my mistake.
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Old 10-29-2021, 07:41 PM   #4
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Hi Jeff,

I can see your album pics now. This pic,



What you are looking at is parts of a Reese brand weight distribution hitch. The first item that folds up and is pinned in place is called a "snap up bracket". There should be two of them, one on each side of the camper A frame.

The other item that has a mini ball on it, is part of a "friction anti sway bar". A sliding bar attaches to the hitch head inserted in the truck. On the trailer mini ball, attaches a housing with a clamping set of friction pads that applies pressure/high friction to the sides of the sliding bar that fits inside the housing. That anti sway bar helps keep the trailer from swaying in high winds/fast passing large vehicles, (busses, semi trucks etc.) or other events that upset the towing of the camper.

Reese is a big name in the weight distribution business. They have sold a lot of hitches over the years and the designs have evolved with time and cost.

The rest of the hitch that you do not have looks like these. There are other Reese vintages that use the snapups, but these 3 are the most common currently.

The "round bar" WD hitch with friction antisway bar. This one is on a 2004 T2499 Sunline.


This one is a "trunnion bar" WD hitch with the friction antisway bar. It has square WD bars and fits in the head differently. This is on 2004 T2475.


This is a trunnion bar WD hitch with an integrated dual cam antisway control on a 2005 T2363.


These hitches come in different sizes, meaning loaded tongue weight ratings and pull ratings. For your smaller camper, do not get one rated too heavy for the trailer. The A frame of the camper can be damaged if the WD hitch is too large.

These WD hitches and many other brands, can help create a more stable towing trailer when the truck cannot handle the entire dead weight of the camper making the truck tow unstable. And the antisway helps tame down the start of trailer sway events when bad conditions are presented to the camper and truck.

Not sure what your tow vehicle is, but we can help recommend the right size hitch setup and if WD is needed or not for a "loaded" camper and truck. The truck and camper will tow different once you get all loaded ready to camp. We "all" bring camping stuff with us. Some more then others, but all have stuff....

Hope this helps and glad to help more as needed. We welcome folks asking about hitches, hitch setup, safe towing and try to help explain how all this works and why.

John
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Old 11-01-2021, 03:31 PM   #5
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Very thorough and helpful response here, John. Thank you, mine also has these brackets attached and was wondering what they were.
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Old 11-01-2021, 07:00 PM   #6
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John,

I appreciate all your help, I know what to get now, also can you guide me as to what product I could coat the top of the camper and the seams, just want to be proactive and keep it in good shape. Thank you John.
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Old 11-01-2021, 07:02 PM   #7
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WD Hitch

Where do you go to buy this Reese hitch?
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Old 11-01-2021, 09:26 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffJ View Post
John,

I appreciate all your help, I know what to get now, also can you guide me as to what product I could coat the top of the camper and the seams, just want to be proactive and keep it in good shape. Thank you John.
Hi Jeff,

First off, you are very welcome!

Your roof question is a real good one. This is sort of off topic in the middle of your WD hitch questions and we try to keep the topics somewhat close together. But to help, do this. Create a post in the Maintenance and Repairs section. Make sure you state the year and model of your camper so we know what you have.

And in this roof question, pictures of what the main roof looks like now, and more close ups on all the caulking joints at the edges, front and rear roof seam, caulking at all roof openings, vents etc. really help us see the condition of the caulking, and we can help give you good answers to exactly what you have. Other then generic answers which may not really apply.

We have no idea what a prior owner may have done to the roof. And you being new to all this, you may have no idea what it supposed to look like. The pics let us see what you are seeing and we can tell you how to deal with it.

In general, coatings do different things based upon what is wrong with the roof. We first need to know what it right or wrong with the roof before helping to coat it and with what.

One word of caution, take all pics from a ladder looking over the side of the camper. The roof is not a direct walk on roof and you can damage it trying to walk on it without the right precautions. We can explain all this and how to do it in your roof post.

Hope this helps

John
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Current Sunlines: 2004 T310SR, 2004 T1950, 2004 T2475, 2007 T2499, 2004 T317SR
Prior Sunlines: 2004 T2499 - Fern Blue
2005 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.8L V10 W/ 4.10 rear axle, CC, Short Bed, SRW. Reese HP trunnion bar hitch W/ HP DC

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Old 11-01-2021, 09:49 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by JeffJ View Post
Where do you go to buy this Reese hitch?
Hi Jeff,

To your direct question, there are several places that sell the Reese WD hitch and other brands. Etrailer is a good one and they offer many brands. Here is a snap shop of some of the Reese products. https://www.etrailer.com/s.aspx?qry=reese+wd+hitch

There are a lot of choices there and many details to sort out. We can help make suggestions on which WD hitch systems will be a good fit for your specific truck and camper if we know more about the truck you have.

While Reese is a good brand, it may not be the best fit for your setup. We can offer choices on brands and models that would be a good fit for your lighter camper. It may end up being better/cheaper to add parts to what you have now, or start with a whole new hitch. It all starts with the truck. We know a good amount about the camper.

We also need to know the truck receiver (truck hitch) size and ratings on the back of the truck. There should be a sticker on the receiver that states load ratings.

Here is a similar sticker off a older GM truck


Here is one off an older Ford truck.


Take a pic of yours and post. If there is no sticker, it sometime states the ratings in the owners manual.

We also need these two numbers to help size up the correct hitch shank or draw bar to match up with the camper and the truck so the camper will tow level.

Truck receiver height. Load the truck and truck bed if it has one, like you are ready to go camping. Put all the stuff you will carry in there. And a full tank or close to full tank of gas. This will squat the truck to its towing starting position. Then measure from the ground up to the top inside of the 2" truck receiver, like this.


Then we need the camper ball height when it the camper is level. Level out the camper on a level location. Then measure from the ground to the top of the ball coupler on the camper.


Give us those height numbers, the truck year and model, and the truck receiver ratings, and we can help create some choices for a WD hitch or non WD hitch to help create a good fit for your truck and camper.

Hope this helps

John
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Current Sunlines: 2004 T310SR, 2004 T1950, 2004 T2475, 2007 T2499, 2004 T317SR
Prior Sunlines: 2004 T2499 - Fern Blue
2005 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.8L V10 W/ 4.10 rear axle, CC, Short Bed, SRW. Reese HP trunnion bar hitch W/ HP DC

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Old 11-01-2021, 09:53 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cutebutnot View Post
Hello all, I’m a first time Caravan owner and am loving the challenge of figuring it all out. However, some things I’m totally baffled by and now needing help. I’ve had this Betty for a few months and cant seem to figure out how to start the ignition of the propane to run the furnace, water heater & Dometic frig 5cf.
This appliance doesnt have a pilot, its equipped with an ignition and no pilot light. I’m plugged into 30amg electric and frig doesn’t currently work on electric. (Was told by prev owner that it could possibly be a short in heating element) There is no 12v battery connected at this time. Doe anyone have the time to help me deduce this issue? I’m a first time caravan owner, so have patience with me plz ��
Thank you
Hi Cutebutnot,

We are glad to help you, but your good questions will fit better in a post of your own rather about gas appliances then in Jeff's WD hitch post. I'm going to move your post to the Maintenance and Repairs section and we can start up the conversation there where it fits better to help you.

This link will take you to it. https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...tml#post156684

Thanks

John
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Current Sunlines: 2004 T310SR, 2004 T1950, 2004 T2475, 2007 T2499, 2004 T317SR
Prior Sunlines: 2004 T2499 - Fern Blue
2005 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.8L V10 W/ 4.10 rear axle, CC, Short Bed, SRW. Reese HP trunnion bar hitch W/ HP DC

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Old 11-02-2021, 08:54 AM   #11
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Thumbs up Trailer Hitch

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnB View Post
Hi Jeff,

To your direct question, there are several places that sell the Reese WD hitch and other brands. Etrailer is a good one and they offer many brands. Here is a snap shop of some of the Reese products. https://www.etrailer.com/s.aspx?qry=reese+wd+hitch

There are a lot of choices there and many details to sort out. We can help make suggestions on which WD hitch systems will be a good fit for your specific truck and camper if we know more about the truck you have.

While Reese is a good brand, it may not be the best fit for your setup. We can offer choices on brands and models that would be a good fit for your lighter camper. It may end up being better/cheaper to add parts to what you have now, or start with a whole new hitch. It all starts with the truck. We know a good amount about the camper.

We also need to know the truck receiver (truck hitch) size and ratings on the back of the truck. There should be a sticker on the receiver that states load ratings.

Here is a similar sticker off a older GM truck


Here is one off an older Ford truck.


Take a pic of yours and post. If there is no sticker, it sometime states the ratings in the owners manual.

We also need these two numbers to help size up the correct hitch shank or draw bar to match up with the camper and the truck so the camper will tow level.

Truck receiver height. Load the truck and truck bed if it has one, like you are ready to go camping. Put all the stuff you will carry in there. And a full tank or close to full tank of gas. This will squat the truck to its towing starting position. Then measure from the ground up to the top inside of the 2" truck receiver, like this.


Then we need the camper ball height when it the camper is level. Level out the camper on a level location. Then measure from the ground to the top of the ball coupler on the camper.


Give us those height numbers, the truck year and model, and the truck receiver ratings, and we can help create some choices for a WD hitch or non WD hitch to help create a good fit for your truck and camper.

Hope this helps

John
Hi John,

Sounds good, I will get those photos asap and also start the new post for the roof, sorry about that wasn't sure where to start that, still getting familiar with the site here. Be In touch soon.
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Old 11-02-2021, 06:18 PM   #12
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OK Jeff, we are here, when you get to it. No rush on our end.

No worries on the roof topic being said here, we help new folks get used to the way the forum works. We like one main topic per post if possible. It make it easier to search in the future and helps others looking for info.

John

Granted, the topics sometime morph a little, that's OK as long as it doe no get out of control. No worries.
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Current Sunlines: 2004 T310SR, 2004 T1950, 2004 T2475, 2007 T2499, 2004 T317SR
Prior Sunlines: 2004 T2499 - Fern Blue
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Old 11-02-2021, 06:56 PM   #13
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Thumbs up

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnB View Post
OK Jeff, we are here, when you get to it. No rush on our end.

No worries on the roof topic being said here, we help new folks get used to the way the forum works. We like one main topic per post if possible. It make it easier to search in the future and helps others looking for info.

John

Granted, the topics sometime morph a little, that's OK as long as it doe no get out of control. No worries.
HI John,

I got my pics uploaded, I have the same tow bar as you had in your pics, I hope you can see them ok. I apprecaite your help figuring this all out. haha
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Old 11-02-2021, 08:49 PM   #14
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HI John,

I got my pics uploaded, I have the same tow bar as you had in your pics, I hope you can see them ok. I apprecaite your help figuring this all out. haha
Hi Jeff,

OK I see the receiver sticker.


I can tell by that sticker, it is off a GM from about year 2000 up to 2006. It might be a 1500 or a 2500 pending the year and if it is a Pickup, a Suburban or an Avalanche. What year, model and type do you have?

I also know that receiver. It looked rusted to some extent in the pics. Take some pics of the receiver too. There are places to look at the receiver before you start doing a lot of towing with it on a travel trailer with a WD hitch or even a non WD hitch. Corrosion in the welds can be a concern. We live up in the rust belt of the northeast, road salt does a good rust job on vehicles. I hope yours being more southern has not been exposed as much. Worst case they sell aftermarket receiver that just bolt on the same place the old GM one came off. I had to change mine on my 2003 K2500 Suburban and my son had to change his on his K2500 Avalanche, I think it is a 2001.

On this pic of your ball mount/draw bar or a WD hitch shank,


I see the sticker on the Haulmaster hitch part. With the rating on that sticker, it appears it might be the solid steel 2" drawbar. Is it?
https://www.harborfreight.com/triple...tch-64286.html

I'll wait for you to get the truck receiver height when loaded, the camper ball height when leveled out and what truck specs etc you have to start sorting out what hitch parts you may need and can pick from some choices.

Did you already take care of the electric brake controllers needs? The older GM's use to to prewire the 7 wire plug up to the cab, and then you have to provide your own brake controller.

Hope this helps,

John
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