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Old 07-17-2016, 08:41 PM   #1
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Relieving some tongue weight Z1 252TD

Most us front deck haulers know about the extraordinairy weight on the tongue of these beasts. I decided to do something about it today. after running across the highway scales at the end of last season I determined I was only a hundred pounds or so under the max weight capacity of my rear tires, E load range. that made me more than a little nervous. so I decided to implement stage one of my diabolical plan to out engineer the engineers.
I removed the dual 6v battery tray from the front of the tongue and installed them in the storage compartment under the bed. I also then moved the propane tanks back to where the batteries once lived giving me a few more pounds of weight relief. I considered the implications of having the batteries inside the cabin but I found that many RV manufactures have them there from the factory. I have good ventilation and will keep the bed up and the storage doors open if I'm fast charging them during camping.
I will try and see how this tows now and eventually was thinking about moving the propane to the rear of the unit. that was a lot more than I wanted to bite off one week before our big trip this year.
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Old 07-18-2016, 07:55 AM   #2
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I can fully understand you wanting to get some weight off the tongue of your trailer, but I can't agree with the batteries being placed where they now are.
You are probably aware of the dangerous situation placing then there has created. Not only is battery gas poisonous, it's highly explosive.
(I know from past experience.)
It will only take one slip up to have an explosion, let alone getting complacent about the situation and you and the family sleeping in there breathing those fumes.
Yes, you are correct in stating some rigs have the batteries inside. Mine are, but, the battery compartment on mine is separate from the other area and it's open on the bottom plus having a vent tube that is connected to an air intake from the outside.

I suggest you look into replacing your batteries with the sealed gel cel. I have seen where a lot of people have converted to those because they wanted to move the batteries like you have. Some even had then under the seat of the dinette.

Please don't take this as criticism, take it for concern, friendly suggestions, and advise.
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Old 07-18-2016, 10:15 AM   #3
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TOTALLY agree with Lloyd - again in a nice friendly helpful manner...

Ours was inside an outside cabinet on the previous 5'er but had a seal-able box around it with a vent tube going up to force the air up from the bottom up and out...

at least enclose the batteries and put a lil fan (solar powered?) to exhaust the explosive gases...

on the current coach, it's amazing what damage those vented gases have done to the battery enclosure and mine is 50% open on the bottom

first 2 pics are of the batteriy boxes on the redwood 5'er and the last is the big honking L16's on the coach... you can't see the most of the rust from them not being vented except on the bottom

but what's really, REALLY bad is how empty your storage area is ! Ours is FULL of junk
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Old 07-18-2016, 11:09 AM   #4
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And unless they are maintenance free batteries they are going to be one royal PITA to service in their current location.
IMHO moving 30-40 pounds will most likely not affect your toungue weight enough to notice.
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Old 07-18-2016, 01:24 PM   #5
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Sealed batteries can be placed in any storage area upside down, sideways or even hung from he ceiling. If that is what he has, no problem, if not, not a good idea.
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Old 07-18-2016, 01:24 PM   #6
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What you can do is perhaps have the batteries and propane in the front of your truck bed until you get to camp site. Then it is in front of rear axle, making it cargo not tongue weight. What are you hauling with yours? Also, where is your water tank? I have found by having a full tank (with mine at least) alleviates the TW by about 80lbs. I carry sport ATV's and such on mine. They are lighter than the full on utility machines for sure. I seen a guy hauling 2 grizzly's with his the other day. With no WD set up to boot, that thing was front heavy big time squatting his truck...
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Old 07-18-2016, 02:51 PM   #7
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What strikes me funny is why anyone in their right mind would make or buy a front end toy hauler. All of the weight you load goes on the tongue. Unless you are pulling it with a freightliner you know it is eventually going to get overloaded and you are asking for trouble because most of these trailers are supposedly designed to be towed by light vehicles. Another f..up by the rv industry
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Old 07-18-2016, 03:17 PM   #8
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They serve their purpose well, just don't overload them with heavy stuff. It's not rocket science but some people do have more issues than others. If you know your weight limits and how to distribute them, there are no issues by owning one.

I don't have a freightliner, I keep under the posted limits on my truck and I am in my right mind. They are not as bad as what most would think. We can keep stuff loaded and still have full use of the living quarters unlike the rear load ones I have seen where you need to unload just to sleep. Both types have issues. I can load them muddy and wash it off in a car wash before reaching homeis a great plus, lol.
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Old 07-18-2016, 03:37 PM   #9
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You just got to know your limitations. Research before you buy, including what your truck is capable of towing and it's payload. .....and, the weight of what you are going to be carrying on the Rv.
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Old 07-18-2016, 03:43 PM   #10
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A few answers..

Yes I know its not the Greatest place to put them I thought and thought about it and did tons of research. I believe I will seal the top and put a vent tube to the outside just to be extra careful.

To service them is easy I just open up my bed storage and I can get to the top of them quite easily.

They are not 40 pounds, they are 85 each or 170 pounds. Plus moving the tanks back and down gets me another 5 or 10 pounds off the hitch.

Don't get me wrong this rig towed fine and stable up the Coquihalla Hwy (highway to hell) both ways with no Issues. I have the proper Weight Dist hitch and HD air bag suspension mods to ensure that. I just wanted to lighten the load a little for some resemblance of a safety factor.
The problem is I'm cheap and can't or don't want to but a new truck just for a few trips a year!

Yes I'm towing this 37 foot beast with a 2004 Chevy Tahoe with 360 thousand kilometers on original engine and tranny. lets just say I will have to get a new TV one day...

Here is what the rig looks like hooked up in my driveway.

Thanks for all your comments, advise and ideas!
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Old 07-18-2016, 04:40 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mark5w View Post
You just got to know your limitations. Research before you buy, including what your truck is capable of towing and it's payload. .....and, the weight of what you are going to be carrying on the Rv.
Yes Mark that was my initial problem, I did do the research and Crossroads was less than forthcoming on the tongue weight. Advertised as 1/2 ton towable and the likes. A few of us were surprised about the actual weight being in most cases over double what was advertised. I only figured it out after I bought the thing and found the threads on here about similar issues with this type of unit. Its manageable but not Ideal for sure. If money was no object then we would not be having this conversation. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to continue dumping cash into this at this point, I just want to camp and ride my quads and enjoy it for A FEW YEARS
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Old 07-18-2016, 04:44 PM   #12
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Well they are 1/2 ton towable with only wood or such on the deck, but c'mon...we bought these to haul toys! I was the same way. Wife and I looking at enclosed ones but not liking the closed quarters living with machines. Seen this and she loved it. It gave me the opportunity to buy a bigger truck. Took over payments on our 2500 from her parents and sold the 1500 to her son. Maybe in a few years we will go diesel but we only have 120,000 on this truck now. Hard to justify the cost.
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Old 07-18-2016, 05:14 PM   #13
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That is the biggest problem we have wi5h the rv industry is they build theses things that need a hdt truck to haul them and market them to people that have a suv. I really wanted a toy hauler for my road bike but the market is so full of cheaply made interiors etc. The only one out their is the DRV full house that has a decently built interior but for us full timing we loose the 12' of living space. When we were biking and had the trikes and quads for the kids all we had then was a truck camper and trailer for the bikes had to leave the boat at home. They have come a long way since the 70s on people's ability to take their toys and trailer both. I really wish that the people selling these things would help the new rvers with no experience get educated on what they would need to legally and safely haul these 5hingd down the road
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Old 07-18-2016, 06:18 PM   #14
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These trailers are very hard to figure out for tongue weight, but every pound does make a huge difference when getting it where you want to be.

I didn't tow it like this but wanted to see what my tongue weight would be fully loaded with my RZR loaded...scary! 1900lbs
I am modifying the rear of the trailer for weight bias but with a fully set up trailer with the ability to haul toys you have to make sacrifices.
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