Sunset Trail 29SS

dsilvest · 02-10-2011, 03:09 PM

I've been looking at a Sunset Trail for a while (too long really) and I was wondering if anyone who has one can comment on a couple of things with the trailer.

Does anyone tow it with a half ton? I have a 2010 Hemi Ram Crew Cab with 3.92 gears and I thought it would happily tow it. But the more I read they less sure I am
I noticed that the wall to the bathroom felt very thin, has anyone had a major problem with construction in the ST29SS?
Storage capacity in the trailer. I'm moving from a Pop-Up... so anything is more than I have now. But there are no over head cabinets in the slide, so there doesn't seem to be a ton of storage space in the trailer. Same thing in the kids area. I have three boys that love to get dirty, and I'm not sure that one cabinet is enough storage... probably over analyzing that though...

Gotta say though, I love the extra large table and the table in the rear for the kids.

33' does scare me somewhat though... more than twice the towing length of my Pop-Up...

Thanks...

jjustman · 02-11-2011, 03:56 AM

We have a 27RB that we pull with a F150 4X4 Crewcab, 5.4 engine, 3:73 gears and it does fine. We thought that Sunset trails had more storage, were better finished, full sized bed, 30# propane tanks than the other trailers we looked at. We would buy another one. The walls are not thinner than other makes, at least that's what I think. We live in
Colorado @ 4500 ft.

laurie · 02-11-2011, 12:45 PM

We pull ours with a Dodge 1500 hemi no problem

salda01 · 02-11-2011, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsilvest

I've been looking at a Sunset Trail for a while (too long really) and I was wondering if anyone who has one can comment on a couple of things with the trailer.

Does anyone tow it with a half ton? I have a 2010 Hemi Ram Crew Cab with 3.92 gears and I thought it would happily tow it. But the more I read they less sure I am

33' does scare me somewhat though... more than twice the towing length of my Pop-Up...

Thanks...

If you have the 3.92 rear and 5.7 you should be fine from a towing aspect. Based on trailer life you should be close to 10k As for the longer length , I find the longer the trailer the easier it is to back-up. Going forward is a piece of cake if you take your turn wider.

dsilvest · 02-12-2011, 06:54 AM

Thanks all...

I keep hearing that the tongue weight is going to be my big issue. Payload on the Crew Cab Hemi isn't great. And others have suggested, while loaded, the trailer tongue weight will be closer to 900 or 1000 lbs.

With 5 people in the truck, I'm not sure that's doable.

Can anyone comment on the tongue weight and the reality vs the literature?

Thanks again...

fhenn · 02-13-2011, 01:06 AM

Keep in mine that you can add or subtract hitch weight by moving park of the cargo to the back or the front of the unit. Also by filling or emptying the fresh water tank you hitch weight is not really a static number

dsilvest · 02-14-2011, 11:39 PM

Appreciate the response to that Frank...

fixit5561 · 02-15-2011, 01:34 AM

If your worried about tongue weight you can always buy a Sherline tongue weight scale. I have one and it works great. I checked my tongiue weight a few times in the year last year. It was easy to reload the trailer so that the weight was what it should be for my truck in my siganture.

I bought my Sherline off ebay and got it pretty cheap and then called the company and bought a new gauge for it that had higher weight ratings in it. You will want the scale to go up to 2000#. This way it will be the most accurate for you as scales tend to be more accurate when the weight you are checking is about in the middle of the scale is what I was told by Sherline. Here is a link to their site http://www.sherline.com/lm.htmEdited by: fixit5561

dsilvest · 02-18-2011, 07:16 AM

Thanks fixit... sorry about the delay in replying... I didn't get a notification of updates to this thread... guess I forgot to set that last time

Will check out the sherline scale...

buddhabob1 · 02-20-2011, 10:10 AM

sounds like a goo!!d buy

King Ranch · 04-28-2011, 04:36 AM

I pulled my Sunset Trail 29SS with my 2011 Nissan Armada 4WD no problem from IA to TN with high winds and no problems.

dsilvest · 05-25-2011, 05:53 AM

Thanks King Ranch... PopUp is now sold... so I now have to scour RV land to find which RV is best for me and my family.

Really appreciate the feedback, sorry about the delay in replying.

mlsawmill · 05-26-2011, 11:32 PM

We pull our Sunset 27 RL with a Ford F250 diesel long bed super cab and I do not use the torsion bars, just use the sway bar and it tows great.

FezUSA · 09-23-2011, 08:17 AM

How are you making out towing the trailer with your 1/2? I have a Suburban 1500 that I just started towing my ST29SS. It works, even with 5 kids (all small and under 70lb at the heaviest), but I think a 3/4 is in my future

I have noticed that I need to pay attention to my loading. Last time out, my return trip I became quickly aware that I was nose heavy on the trailer which made the trip a little more interesting! It was pretty short and it wasn't too bad, but I will move some of that weight either behind or on to the axles.

FezUSA · 10-13-2011, 02:35 PM

After 3 trips out, all weekender's, I decided to keep an eye out for the fairly elusive Suburban/Yukon XL 3/4 (2500). One of the trips in particular had some back roads with steep hills and no way to run at them (90 corner over a 1 1/2 lane bridge and then the hill started!). We struggled quite a lot on that trip and there was a couple of times where I really didn't like the noise the engine was making and kind of expected to not make it!

Happened to come across a 2005 Yukon XL SLT that was quite loaded (nav but no RES), reasonable mileage at just over 60k and even had Quadrasteer!! Decided to check it out and ended up bringing it home that week. Spent part of Friday setting up the WD hitch and then left that afternoon for what turned out to be a perfect camping weekend!

I must say that the difference is quite big. Some of that's due to the 4:10 rear end (prev was only 3:73); some due to the wider stance of the back wheels (due to Quadrasteer); some due to the beefier rear support and real towing tires etc. But all in all it was a very nice experience. Having a transmission temp gauge is really nice too, although I never reached 200 even in D. The Quadrasteer is just icing on the top and makes maneuvering and lane changing a pleasant process.

Now if I could just get the Nav to recognise that I'm 10' 8" and route me accordingly I'd have been better off!! Looking at POI databases now to see about upgrading the Garmin to handle this. Fortunately my Droid helped us navigate around this particular obstacle once we saw the road signs.

Also noticed that while non-towing mpg went down; while towing I actually improved from 9 with the 1/2 Suburban to 12.5 with 3/4 Yukon XL!

We were going to look at 15 passenger conversion vans based on the GM 3500, but from what I could tell they can not tow any more than a 1/2 SUV unless you go diesel. Plus our needs for seating changed so the SUV works out fine now. Looking forward to many trips next year!

dsilvest · 05-14-2014, 02:58 PM

So, I was googling my trailer and ran across this thread that I realize I never came back to.

I decided to buy the 2010 Sunset Trail 29SS... The first year was probably the most frustrating experience of my life. During that time, the trailer spent more time in the shop than it did in my possession. The dealer brought in the Lippert dealer (I believe, long time) eventually to look at the slide which baically broke and dislodged itself from the the guide rails. Only coming back in the final time about halfway at a 30 degree angle taking up most of my lino :'(

Regardless it eventually got fixed, which basically means the slide was completely rebuilt.

Since that time, the trailer has given me next to no issues though.

WRT the truck/trailer combination, it's been great. Other than the gas mileage (not a shock) it's been a great combination. I've made trips from Edmonton Alberta (about 8 hours north of Montana) to Washington, Oregon, and Idaho in the last three summers. Truck has handled the mountains just fine. I just make sure I have enough gas

OhioMark · 05-14-2014, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsilvest

So, I was googling my trailer and ran across this thread that I realize I never came back to.

I decided to buy the 2010 Sunset Trail 29SS... The first year was probably the most frustrating experience of my life. During that time, the trailer spent more time in the shop than it did in my possession. The dealer brought in the Lippert dealer (I believe, long time) eventually to look at the slide which baically broke and dislodged itself from the the guide rails. Only coming back in the final time about halfway at a 30 degree angle taking up most of my lino :'(

Regardless it eventually got fixed, which basically means the slide was completely rebuilt.

Since that time, the trailer has given me next to no issues though.

WRT the truck/trailer combination, it's been great. Other than the gas mileage (not a shock) it's been a great combination. I've made trips from Edmonton Alberta (about 8 hours north of Montana) to Washington, Oregon, and Idaho in the last three summers. Truck has handled the mountains just fine. I just make sure I have enough gas

Glad to hear things worked themselves out. Your a patient person.

PS
Please tell me that isn't your dealers head mounted on the wall in your avatar!!

dsilvest · 05-14-2014, 09:17 PM

Not my dealers head

So, when the trailer was finally fixed, we went to pick up the trailer, the onsite service manager brought us out to show us the trailer... First time he tried to show us, the slide wouldn't go out.

My wife was in the truck with the kids at the time, and I looked at her from across the parking lot and the look she gave me could have killed anyone.

I looked at the guy and said "if you don't figure out what's wrong, you'll have to deal with my wife... and I won't be held responsible".

Turns out that, as we live in northern climes and it was the end of October, they had cleaned the trailer and left it outside overnight. It got cold enough that the slide froze to the trailer. They warmed it up and it was fine.

I then relayed my story to the service manager about my trials and tribulations. When I was done, he just looked at me and said "why are you still dealing with us?".

I never thought I was a patient person before that day.

You may also like: