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Old 08-15-2012, 07:39 AM   #1
Weekend Camper
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Southeastern, WI
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Hello Everyone,



I have been looking at different 5th wheel trailers to possibly buy and both my wife and I have really taken a liking to the 2013 Sunset Trail 28BH. We love the 28ft length,and the 3 slide-out's really give you a lot of room inside. The smaller outside kitchen is also really nice.



The only problem I am having is finding reviews on it. This seems like such a new trailer, that people have not yet had the chance to write their reviews. So I thought I would join this forum and ask the experts what they thought.



Does anyone have a 28BH that they bought this year and would like to comment on it?


Thanks.


Jeremy
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Old 08-15-2012, 12:06 PM   #2
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We just bought the 28bh and I will say that while there are some issues, overall it is great. We just took it dry camping for a few days near Duck Creek, UT where the temps dipped into the 40-50s at night. This trailer was not designed for dry camping. There are 20+ incandescent lights and only one battery to run everything during quiet hours. I had a few LED lights that were extra from when I converted my old TT to all LEDs and we used them almost exclusively at night. But with the cold weather our battery was almost dead every morning. I even had the temp on the heater set real low (60s) to make sure it didn't get too cold for the kids.

The space of this trailer is incredible for the small size. It feels more like a small apartment than a trailer, but with all that interior space, there is limited space for bulk storage. All of the slides limit things like coolers, bikes, ect during transport. There is no room for any racks on the rear bumper due to the bumper grill and spare tire.

The one thing I truly despise about the trailer is the location of the handles for the dump tanks, especially the black tank. It's confusing, during our initial walk through the dealership pointed out the two handles, one black and one gray. The gray is set back to where it is a long reach under the trailer to pull it. Well we later learned that the black handle was not for the black water tank, there are two gray water tanks. The gray one was for the galley tank. The actual black water tank handle is under the rear stairs. There is no way to get to it without crawling on your hands and knees and getting under the trailer. I was quite upset about it, since the dump station was not the cleanest.

Overall I love the trailer, but it does have needs. With some work it will be almost be perfect. We did get a lot of compliments from other campers, especially on the boss slide. That by itself caused quite a stir with others, they had never seen that before.

Hope this helps,

Todd
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Old 08-15-2012, 01:43 PM   #3
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Todd,

Thanks for the quick reply. This is just what I was looking for. My family and I are quite avid bike riders, so we would definitely have an issue with not being able to put our bicycles anywhere. Is there any chance you can move and offset the spare tire? Or isn't the bracket removeable?

Also, how does this trailer pull? I see you have a 2011 2500HD Duramax. Do you have any help with the suspension, or is yours stock? Also, do you need a slider hitch in your bed? I have a 2007 2500HD Silverado crew cab short box. Some guys say I need a slider, some say I don't.

Any pictures you have of the rig would be awesome too!

Thanks.

Jeremy
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Old 08-15-2012, 04:23 PM   #4
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The spare tire rack is moveable, but it is tight back there and you run the risk of blocking either the tail lights or the license plate with both on there. You probably could remove the spare and put it in the back of the truck. With a fifth wheel there is real limited space in the back of the truck.

As far as pulling, it handles sooooo much better than a TT. My truck is a stock Z71 4x4, so it naturally sits higher than my old 2008 Chevy 1500 4x2. I will be getting rear air bags sometime soon to help with the chucking. And as far as the the sliding hitch, I have read that some do/some don't with our truck. I went with a pullrite superglide 16k. There is plenty of room during turns and I would rather pay upfront to ensure no problems then spend more money if damage occurs. All of the posts I read on the subject talked about regretting not going with a pullrite, so I heeded their advice.

I am new to this forum and have not figured out the picture thing, but here is a link to the exact model I have.
http://www.familyrvusa.com/listing.php?id=776

Todd
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Old 08-16-2012, 12:08 AM   #5
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To accomodate my bike rack I took the spare off and put it in the front storage compartment. Not too crowded yet, but if it gets that way I'll carry the spare in the truck bed. Gotta have the bikes!
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Old 08-16-2012, 01:19 AM   #6
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Todd,



How bad is the chucking during the pull?



I have a stock Z71 4x4 as well, and I was just wondering if my truck needs bags or not. The28BH I am looking at has a dry weight of about 7800lbs, so I don't think I am really close to the towing capacity, but I just wanted to check on what you did to your suspension. I will also definitely go and get a pullrite superglide 16k. I have also heard many stories about guys that just love this system. Plus, I wouldn't need to worry about getting out and sliding the hitch back and forth all the time.



I currently have a 28ft TT and it pulls ok, but I just think the 5'er will pull way better. My uncle just got his 5'er about a year ago and has just loved how it pulls.



I think we might just go and take a look at the trailer one more time.



Thanks again for all your advise!



JeremyEdited by: JeremyN
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Old 08-16-2012, 04:01 AM   #7
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I would say it is not that bad, but on a poor quality road you feel every bump. Roads in CA are notoriously bad sometimes, so after a while it gets uncomfortable. We are planning a big trip next year, so for a little bit more I might as well do it right. There is plenty of truck left to pull, it's just that the pin is basically on the axle, which is much different that a TT. with a duramax it is easy to forget your pulling a trailer. I pass by people on hills all of the time without effort.

The best thing is about pulling a 5'er is not worrying about sway. It handles so much better and I doubt I would ever go back to a TT. Hitching is easier too.

Todd
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Old 08-16-2012, 04:03 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Accoster
The spare tire rack is moveable, but it is tight back there and you run the risk of blocking either the tail lights or the license plate with both on there. You probably could remove the spare and put it in the back of the truck. With a fifth wheel there is real limited space in the back of the truck.

As far as pulling, it handles sooooo much better than a TT. My truck is a stock Z71 4x4, so it naturally sits higher than my old 2008 Chevy 1500 4x2. I will be getting rear air bags sometime soon to help with the chucking. And as far as the the sliding hitch, I have read that some do/some don't with our truck. I went with a pullrite superglide 16k. There is plenty of room during turns and I would rather pay upfront to ensure no problems then spend more money if damage occurs. All of the posts I read on the subject talked about regretting not going with a pullrite, so I heeded their advice.

I am new to this forum and have not figured out the picture thing, but here is a link to the exact model I have.
http://www.familyrvusa.com/listing.php?id=776

Todd
I don't know that air bags would be a satisfactory solution for chucking. How the the trailer is loaded can affect it, plus a different hitch---for example--Mor/Ryde, in my opinion will do more to stop the chucking then air bags. I have both, air bags and the Mor/Ryde hitch. The only reason I have the air bags, is I use to have a Lance truck camper and it was heavy.
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Old 08-16-2012, 04:14 AM   #9
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So, basically what is being said is that if more weight is loaded toward the front of the trailer, the less the chucking should occur? This is due to more weight on the pin area?

Sorry if I am sounding dumb, but we would be brand new to the 5th wheel community and I would like to make sure that I understand most of it before I just hook one up and go!
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Old 08-16-2012, 04:15 AM   #10
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Also, is there an option fora ladder to be added to this trailer on the back? I notice that most all pictures of these do not have one. I would definitely want one if it would work.



A black one especially! That would look really nice!
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Old 08-16-2012, 04:33 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JeremyN

So, basically what is being said is that if more weight is loaded toward the front of the trailer, the less the chucking should occur? This is due to more weight on the pin area?

Sorry if I am sounding dumb, but we would be brand new to the 5th wheel community and I would like to make sure that I understand most of it before I just hook one up and go!
That's not what I said.
The road is to blame for "most" of the chucking that we experience.
Take a look at this video. I think it will explain it better for you to understand.
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Old 08-16-2012, 10:53 AM   #12
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Save your money on the air bags go with a better king pin. I went with the Demco Glide rite and am very happy with the results



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Old 08-16-2012, 02:57 PM   #13
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I was hoping that the airbags would be a simple solution, but now I'm looking into a new pin box. That's the one thing I don't like about having a superglide, I have to include a new capture plate in the process.
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Old 08-16-2012, 11:51 PM   #14
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You don't have to buy a "superglide" to solve the problem.



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Old 08-28-2012, 12:23 AM   #15
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Todd,



Just wanted to check in and see if you used the trailer again lately? Any other quirks come up?


Thanks.


Jeremy
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Old 08-28-2012, 07:06 AM   #16
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No trips so far, but had to do some minor changes. I changed all of the interior lights to LEDs, which took a little bit since there are 33 lights total. I am now in the process of changing the exterior "non road use" lights also. Having the battery die after one night on a full charge still concerns me. I am also looking into adding another battery. We had to have the kitchen drawers reinforced since we discovered the bottom is only held up by small tacks. My DW put some small pans in one and the entire bottom of the drawer fell out. My neighbor is a carpenter and build support braces for each drawer and we are good now.

Just minor things here and there. We still love the trailer and have no regrets, but it's just customizing things now.

If I had to do it over again, I would take a harder look at the Cruiser 29bhx. It is similar, but been around a few years and on paper it seems like the quirks have been worked out. You know what they say about the first year of a new model, there is always something.

Todd
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Old 09-07-2012, 08:52 AM   #17
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Todd,


We looked at some Cruiser 29bhx's, but they just didn't trip our fancy as much as this 28ft did. I think we are going to take our 2nd really good look at this one on Tuesday night. I am going to print off this thread so I can look at all the things you pointed out.



Do you have a picture of your rig you could post?



Thanks.
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Old 09-07-2012, 05:14 PM   #18
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Good luck! I'm sure you will love it just as I do. I finally figured out how to post a picture.


Todd
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Old 09-10-2012, 12:59 AM   #19
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Todd,


The trailer really looks great! I do haveanother question for you. I was talking to a buddy of mine and he asked if this trailer has a dark colored air conditioner cover. I said that I do believe it is either dark brown or black and asked why. He said that one of his co-workers had a dark colored air conditioner cover and his unit would always overheat in the sun. He said the dark color didn't reflect the heat as well as the white ones do.



Does this make sence to you? Is this an actual worry that I need to consider?


Thanks.
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Old 09-10-2012, 07:14 AM   #20
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Living in Las Vegas, I can totally understand how a dark colored ac cover would draw in more heat then a white one. But we bought the fifth wheel to escape the heat, so we only go places that are much cooler than here. I think they used a black cover to keep the color scheme similar. I would put it out to the group to see if anybody has any experiences with the AC overheating based on this alone.

Todd
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