If you decide?to do this, take her, with you driving to an empty parking?lot. Let her drive in the parking lot only. If it was me I wouldn't do it. If she is that interested in pulling a camper she should have her own vehicle ready to go, with all the safety features and the correct weight for her vehicle and hitch. Again, only in a parking lot with her car too.?
Need advice please... a woman is interested in purchasing my Scout Lite but has never towed anything before. She asked if we could hitch it up to my vehicle and take it for a short ride and she then wants to drive my SUV with the camper (and me still in the car) for a few minutes to see what it's like. I am not entirely comfortable with the idea for a few of my own reasons but wanted to see if anyone else had done this before? As a point of information, I met her today for her to look at it. She is a retired woman who lives in my city and is very interested. I don't have any reason to think that my safety would be in jeopardy so I am not looking for advice on that subject, just on whether or not you would do this for a potential buyer or not and why. Thanks!
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Take a friend with you on the test drive.
Get
On Feb 25, 2024, at 14:33, KATHRYN BAXTER < kmb442@...> wrote:
A couple of points:
If you are not comfortable, don't do it, you may regret it.
Any test drive should be done with her car, she has never driven yours!?
When I bought mine from a dealer, he hooked it up to my car and actually took me out to a parking lot so I could see how it handled, so I can uderstand why she is asking this.
Need advice please... a woman is interested in purchasing my Scout Lite but has never towed anything before. She asked if we could hitch it up to my vehicle and take it for a short ride and she then wants to drive my SUV with the camper (and me still in the car) for a few minutes to see what it's like. I am not entirely comfortable with the idea for a few of my own reasons but wanted to see if anyone else had done this before? As a point of information, I met her today for her to look at it. She is a retired woman who lives in my city and is very interested. I don't have any reason to think that my safety would be in jeopardy so I am not looking for advice on that subject, just on whether or not you would do this for a potential buyer or not and why. Thanks!
--
2007 Expedition Highwall
2019 Jeep JL (Wrangler)
West suburban Chicago
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A couple of points:
If you are not comfortable, don't do it, you may regret it.
Any test drive should be done with her car, she has never driven yours!?
When I bought mine from a dealer, he hooked it up to my car and actually took me out to a parking lot so I could see how it handled, so I can uderstand why she is asking this.
Need advice please... a woman is interested in purchasing my Scout Lite but has never towed anything before. She asked if we could hitch it up to my vehicle and take it for a short ride and she then wants to drive my SUV with the camper (and me still in the car) for a few minutes to see what it's like. I am not entirely comfortable with the idea for a few of my own reasons but wanted to see if anyone else had done this before? As a point of information, I met her today for her to look at it. She is a retired woman who lives in my city and is very interested. I don't have any reason to think that my safety would be in jeopardy so I am not looking for advice on that subject, just on whether or not you would do this for a potential buyer or not and why. Thanks!
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Need advice please... a woman is interested in purchasing my Scout Lite but has never towed anything before. She asked if we could hitch it up to my vehicle and take it for a short ride and she then wants to drive my SUV with the camper (and me still in the car) for a few minutes to see what it's like. I am not entirely comfortable with the idea for a few of my own reasons but wanted to see if anyone else had done this before? As a point of information, I met her today for her to look at it. She is a retired woman who lives in my city and is very interested. I don't have any reason to think that my safety would be in jeopardy so I am not looking for advice on that subject, just on whether or not you would do this for a potential buyer or not and why. Thanks!
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
Hi Joe:
They fail due
to Torque loading with the addition of shock from road bumps.
From an engineer's point of view a sure way to fail.
If they would
just secure the top of the spare mount from shaking the shock
load wouldn't be a factor.
Our spare is
only resting on the bumper and an angle iron of aluminum inside
the back wall keeps the tire from falling off.
We all should
have a spare, why hasn't Aliner found a standard place to store
one, with a jack!
Carl.
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
Mine failed at the point where the bumper is welded onto the center support of the frame.? Not only do you you get load vertically & horizontally, but also front to back.
The front to back load seems to be the issue - with the tire mounted on a vertical post hooked to the bumper - that's a lot of torque and flex for such a flimsy thin bumper and tack welds from the frame to the bumper.
The suggestion in a previous post with flanges welded in seems like the best solution.thats probably the route I'm going to take. More surface area to hold
Just my 2 cents and observations Happy camping Dan s
On Sat, Feb 24, 2024 at 6:19 PM, JoeS via groups.io <joesears74@...> wrote: Where do the bumpers seem to fail? Do they fail from vertical load or horizontal? It would be nice to know what to look out for.
JoeS
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
Where do the bumpers seem to fail? Do they fail from vertical load or horizontal? It would be nice to know what to look out for.
JoeS
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
After a partial bumper failure a few years back, I reinforced it.? I made "collars" and welded them to the bumper and frame.? Then I built a solid receiver with two cross members welded to the frame. -- Don DeRyke Sunrise, Florida 2009 Classic, 2020 Ford Escape, 2.0 liter EcoBoost, AWD.? Previous TV 2015 Ford Escape 1.6 ltr EcoBoost engine.
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
I found a photo of my first attempt at raising up the spare before it failed. Note how Aliner reinforced the bumper by welding a piece of 4¡± square tubing to the bumper.
JoeS
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
This is what I have.? Mine is the folding model, but I really have no need for that function.??
-- Don DeRyke Sunrise, Florida 2009 Classic, 2020 Ford Escape, 2.0 liter EcoBoost, AWD.? Previous TV 2015 Ford Escape 1.6 ltr EcoBoost engine.
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
This is how Aliner had the spare mounted originally. ?The first extension I made cracked on our trip so I had to go back to this till we got home.
Joes
This
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
Joe,? I've seen several campers that Aliner used a boat trailer mount.? They locate the tire below the bumper, unlike the other style. -- Don DeRyke Sunrise, Florida 2009 Classic, 2020 Ford Escape, 2.0 liter EcoBoost, AWD.? Previous TV 2015 Ford Escape 1.6 ltr EcoBoost engine.
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
The spare on my 2022 Classic was mounted so low on the bumper I couldn¡¯t back in to my driveway with it in place. I had to make a 12¡± extension to raise the bracket up.
JoeS
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
Thanks for the warning, I have a sloped driveway (pretty steep angle) - I will definitely run some checks & see if clearance is an issue.??
If so I it's only 3 bolts, I am out & I will probably get the bumper reinforced and welded
On Wed, Feb 21, 2024 at 7:33 AM, JoeS via groups.io <joesears74@...> wrote: The clearance issues on a trailer tongue come into play because of the distance between the trailer wheels and the TV wheels. Like when you are pulling into a driveway with a short steep apron. (I remember a Moab Utah gas station that took out an under mounted camper step.) ?Areas of the country that are susceptible to sudden heavy rains often have large gutters at the edges of the road to handle the runoff. A horizontal tire could completely ¡®high center¡¯ your rig or be heavily damage in such an encounter.?
JoeS
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
The clearance issues on a trailer tongue come into play because of the distance between the trailer wheels and the TV wheels. Like when you are pulling into a driveway with a short steep apron. (I remember a Moab Utah gas station that took out an under mounted camper step.) ?Areas of the country that are susceptible to sudden heavy rains often have large gutters at the edges of the road to handle the runoff. A horizontal tire could completely ¡®high center¡¯ your rig or be heavily damage in such an encounter.?
JoeS
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Re: awning for 2005 Aliner dl - can anyone help solve the mystery of putting it up?
I am afraid I have no knowledge of the awning you are speaking of, but I have seen a Rockwood high wall with the same type of screen room built for their brand in use by someone.
It might give you another avenue of investigation.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
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Re: awning for 2005 Aliner dl - can anyone help solve the mystery of putting it up?
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
15" of clearance when connected, the trailer axle is only 12" & I don't off road so I think I'll be ok
On Thu, Feb 15, 2024 at 6:37 PM, Don DeRyke via groups.io <DERYKED@...> wrote: Dan, what's your clearance to the ground when connected to the tow vehicle?? I clipped my jack once going into a gas station.? It was all the way up, and the wheel removed.
I think Carl had a great idea for those with questionable bumpers.? Just setting it on the bumper and thru anchoring to the rear wall. -- Don DeRyke Sunrise, Florida 2009 Classic, 2020 Ford Escape, 2.0 liter EcoBoost, AWD.? Previous TV 2015 Ford Escape 1.6 ltr EcoBoost engine.
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
Dan, what's your clearance to the ground when connected to the tow vehicle?? I clipped my jack once going into a gas station.? It was all the way up, and the wheel removed.
I think Carl had a great idea for those with questionable bumpers.? Just setting it on the bumper and thru anchoring to the rear wall. -- Don DeRyke Sunrise, Florida 2009 Classic, 2020 Ford Escape, 2.0 liter EcoBoost, AWD.? Previous TV 2015 Ford Escape 1.6 ltr EcoBoost engine.
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Re: Mounting spare on underside of tongue
Thanks everyone for your input and solutions,?
I went ahead and mounted the spare under the tongue using 3 - 1/2"x8" bolts (2 through the stud holes and the last one centered with a metal plate larger than the hole in the center of the tire). Seems very secure and still gives 15" of ground clearance (the axle on my aliner has 12" of clearance -? off road model) it extends about 2" on either sides de of the frame so no clearance issues when turning
Only thing different I would do is use 6" bolts
Again I don't have propane and my lipo4 battery is only 16lbs - so I think I'm good to go -fingers crossed ?.
Happy camping all Dan S
On Thu, Feb 15, 2024 at 4:30 PM, Don DeRyke via groups.io <DERYKED@...> wrote: Do to a partial failure of my rear bumper on my 2009 Classic, I reinforced it with welded collars, and installed an independent receiver welded to the frame with two cross members.? I moved my spare to the street side of the tongue, so I could carry my CLAM on cradle brackets attached to the rear bumper.? I moved the spare back to the rear, but I don't recall why.? It wasn't ground clearance, but may have been tongue weight since my battery and two propane tanks are there.?? -- Don DeRyke Sunrise, Florida 2009 Classic, 2020 Ford Escape, 2.0 liter EcoBoost, AWD.? Previous TV 2015 Ford Escape 1.6 ltr EcoBoost engine.
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Carl
Don DeRyke
Eugene Breindel