New To Me Travel Trailer Questions

[mberry]

We just got our first travel trailer a couple of weeks ago and I would like some advice/experience to help me out on a couple of things.

First, I would like to purchase a larger capacity battery, but haven't even really looked at them. I know the Trojan name, but I'm not really familiar with any other brands. We do dry camp almost exclusively and I do not have a generator.

2. I would like to get some better tires on it. It currently has 14" tires and I don't think I can put 15" on it but I'm not sure. What can you tell me about high quality 14" tires. I would rather have radials personally.

Thanks everyone.

Mark.

Oh yeah, Trailer is a Trail Cruiser/Trail Lite by R-Vision GVWR is 5373 and 26' total length. 26QBH is the model.

 

[TJJEEPER]

Mark, I've been RVing one form or another for 36 years and have never upgraded the "Factory" provided tires on any of my various TT and 5ers. The best suggestion I can give you is to load up for a trip with everything you would normally think you would need, including fluids (water and propane), and head for the scales. Make sure you are within the GVWR of the trailer. You'll be amazed at how fast things add up. I'd also suggest you do this yearly because things just seem to migrate to the RV and never get removed.

As for radials? Go here for a bit of tire talk on trailer specific tires.

Enjoy the rig!

 

[EricBu12]

for dry camping, I use 6 volt Golf cart batteries. I have 4 of them but you can get by with 2... you have to wire them in series. ( - on one batt. to + on the other so you have a + and - left... . this gives you 1 BIG battery that is able to cycle down better... to charge them up, I'd use a 100 watt solar panel that will put out 4 amps or so and up to 14 volt. . A 50 watt panel will do also but not as much power... I have 4 batteries and 200 watts of panel that gets 8 amps.



On the tires, just go to a regular tire store and get . . if they have it, Tow-master by goodyear. . have had good luck with them on my 15K 5er. just make sure they are a ST or service trailer tire and the 4 tires add up to the GVW of the trailer.



Good luck and have fun!

 

[mberry]

Thanks TJ. The tires are the one's that came from the factory and I just feel better about replacing them. I figured I might as well "upgrade" while I'm at it. We don't load up the trailer with much more than food, water, clothes, and a few sleeping bags. We have so much unused storage it's almost funny. Of course, we haven't really had time to migrate much to it either. All the extra "stuff" usually winds up or is placed in the bed of my truck to keep the weight down in the trailer.

Eric, I would love to use that setup but I don't have any room in the RV for batteries that big and not much room on the tongue either so I'm rather limited. I will eventually get a generator so the battery situation won't be as critical in a couple of months. That notwithstanding, I still want to upgrade the battery so thanks for that.

What do you recommend as far as solar panels go and where can I find them?

 

[EricBu12]

Most 6 volt batteries made by Interstate are the same dimention as a regular 12 volt but a little taller. the RV store where I buy them have a Long box available that holds both batteries. check it out... also if you have a large RV suply place near, they might have the solar panels and the batteries. . if not, you can order online at Utah's store at www.statetrailersupply.com

 

[Grizzly]

Many member on TDR have switched to Michelin XPS Rib LT tires for their 5th wheel and TT. A 14" tire in a Michelin may not be available, however. Members feel that they are superior to any ST tire and have far less problems with blow outs and thread separation. The problem with ST tires are that all of them are made in China. There has been much in the news lately about China tires. There have been many Threads and Posts on ST vs LT tires on TDR. Do a search.



As far a batteries, I agree with EricBu12's Post #3 on two 6 volt batteries in series.

 

[Buffalo]

I agree with the use of golf cart batteries (6-volt).



If you have a Costco, in your area, they are now carrying the Towmasters (by Greenball). Good pricing, also. The Towmasters, that I have (225/75/15-D) are made by Goodyear in Canada. They go down the same assembly line as the Goodyear Marathon's. Everything's the same except the name stamped on the side of the tires.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[mberry]

Thanks everyone! I looked last night and it has Goodyear Marathon ST tires on it now. I don't have any complaints with their performance and after an hour or more of traveling they are warm, but nothing unusual. They are actually cooler than I thought they would be.

I also unplugged it from the A/C power since the only thing drawing power is the stupid radio that you can't completely shut off. I'll take a look around Costco this weekend.