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Old 10-23-2014, 09:13 PM   #1
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Random Rookie questions

I've had my 2015 Sunset Trail 270BH out a few times now and have a few random questions:

Should I empty all water tanks from the freshwater low point drains after each trip? I have three drains below-two blue and one red. I assume 2 blues=1 onboard tank and 1 city water system, and red is hot water-Is that correct?

I was quite surprised to discover that the sewer hose fitting does not fit in the bumper with the sewer hose (really??). Right now, I have the hose coupler and drain fitting in a bag with the black tank flush hose, but I don't like keeping this in the front hatch storage with other stuff. I'm considering a spare tire cover that has storage pockets to keep all this nasty stuff outside, away, and near the sewer outlet. What do you veterans do?

I gather that the rear bumper isn't the best solution to mount a bike rack (two bikes). Does anyone use one of the racks that mounts to the spare tire mount? Is this more secure?

My Equalizer hitch tows the trailer solid as a rock, but it sure is noisy. Should I grease the bars?

Thanks in advance, I'm still learning.....
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Old 10-24-2014, 05:45 AM   #2
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We keep our sewer hose in a plastic garbage bag. The black tank flush hose is separate. You can buy something that fits on your bumper to put the hose in. It looks like one of those tubes you carry charts in, only larger. We don't have one but a friend does.

We do not drain our fresh water after each trip. We drain it once in a while and put new water in. We do not drink this water, we drink bottled water. Just personal choice. I can't comment on the drains, not my job.

We throw our bikes in the back of the truck, but then we only have two of them. There are many ways to transport bikes, and this has been discussed in this forum.

I am sure others will weigh in on your questions.
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Old 10-24-2014, 06:20 AM   #3
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Initially we used a bike rack mounted on the rear bumper but I didn't like not being able to see them... plus I read a lot of things about it not being designed to hold the weight although it seemed pretty secure. What we ended up doing was purchasing a mount that bolted to the front tongue of the trailer, and put the bike rack on that. So far it works very well. I do some extra tying down with rope and bungee cords just to keep it from bouncing around.

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Old 10-24-2014, 07:41 AM   #4
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RE the stinky slinky.... while we have a storage 'pipe' that came with our 5er, it's in an ackward place, so I got an orange plastic tub from one of the big boxes that has a sealing top...
that's where I keep all the 'unmentionables' and the plastic gloves right next to it in the basement...

Had one of these on my previous 5er and loved it...
stored the hose and always connected to the rv...
but I need to put one on the new one--> http://store.lci1.com/sewer-hose-man...ble-p1296.aspx
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Old 10-24-2014, 08:40 AM   #5
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We don't drain the water in out trailer except when we winterize it. We are not able to keep our trail at our home and there are times when we need water when we are in it at the storage unit. For our drinking water we use a Pure water pitcher and that has worked for us.

As for the sewer hoses and connection parts, we keep them in a large storage tub in the basement. I will be adventually adding some outside storage for the hoses probably this next spring.

For the bikes we have been just putting them in the back of the truck but will be getting a hitch mount bike rack for the hitch on the back of our trailer.
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Old 10-24-2014, 08:44 AM   #6
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I drain my tanks after I pull out for the drive home each time. I keep the caps in the truck until we stop the next time and then put them back on. You can get the caps at Lowes or Home Depot if you need a spare. Just make sure you release the pressure from the water heater first before you drain that one.

I keep my sewer pipe in a big plastic bag in a container in the front storage compartment. I keep a big box of rubber gloves as well as a can of Lysol and the black tank flush hose in there as well.

I put our bikes in the truck for now but we are going to add a rear carrier this coming year.

Rater than greasing your equalizer by the plastic caps for the arms on the trailer. You can call equalizer and buy then directly for about $15. They quiet everything down nicely.
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Old 10-24-2014, 09:32 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingfish58 View Post
I've had my 2015 Sunset Trail 270BH out a few times now and have a few random questions:

Should I empty all water tanks from the freshwater low point drains after each trip? I have three drains below-two blue and one red. I assume 2 blues=1 onboard tank and 1 city water system, and red is hot water-Is that correct?

I was quite surprised to discover that the sewer hose fitting does not fit in the bumper with the sewer hose (really??). Right now, I have the hose coupler and drain fitting in a bag with the black tank flush hose, but I don't like keeping this in the front hatch storage with other stuff. I'm considering a spare tire cover that has storage pockets to keep all this nasty stuff outside, away, and near the sewer outlet. What do you veterans do?

I gather that the rear bumper isn't the best solution to mount a bike rack (two bikes). Does anyone use one of the racks that mounts to the spare tire mount? Is this more secure?

My Equalizer hitch tows the trailer solid as a rock, but it sure is noisy. Should I grease the bars?

Thanks in advance, I'm still learning.....
Yes, the blues are your fresh water tank and cold water piping and the red is your hot water piping. I would not recommend draining after each trip. I only drain mine when I winterize.

I keep my sewer hoses in the bumper and the fittings in a plastic bag in the storage compartment. (I rinse them thoroughly after each use.) You may wish to mount a larger PVC pipe underneath your trailer to store that in. Some folks do.

I have a Swagman four bike rack that I have used mounted to the bumper of both my Blue Ridge and now this Cruiser. The only problem I've had with that set up is that the flexing of the bumper causes the bumper end caps to work loose, and if I lose an end cap, the sewer hose eventually will follow. I think you'd be happier with a frame mounted receiver. Disclaimer: some frame manufacturers, Lippert being one, void their warranties if you sneeze on the frame, and mounting a receiver to the frame may void the warranty. That said, I've never had any problems with the bumper welds breaking even carrying four bikes for hundreds of miles at a time.

I always greased the sway bar when I had a TT and kept grease on the pins that attached the equalizer bars to the hitch on the truck, but it was still plenty noisy.
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Old 10-24-2014, 10:24 AM   #8
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We have a smallish plastic bin for the "stinky slinky" (I like that John!) and related that stays in the front storage area.

Also, if you have a pickup, bed is best place for bikes. We generally didn't take them.

Regarding your hitch - ONLY lubricate what is suppose to be lubricated. You said Equalizer, so I assume your torsion bars are also your sway control. The brackets on the trailer (probably equipped with something like a brake pad) should NOT be lubricated. Ditto if you use a separate sway bar. DO NOT LUBRICATE slide bar. If you lubricate the wrong component(s), you will lose the sway control.

Much of the "noise" is probably "popping" when you turn. This is likely your sway control, and will not go away with lubrication. Ours was awful, but we never had sway.
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Old 10-24-2014, 11:04 AM   #9
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I always drain the system esp the hot water heater. I found that if you don't go out for a while the hot water heater can get a funky sulfur smell the next time you use the Rv.

As far as the sewer hose, I purchased a hose holder from CW and installed in across the bottom of the rv.
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Old 10-24-2014, 11:46 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mike06081969 View Post
I keep my sewer hoses in the bumper and the fittings in a plastic bag in the storage compartment. (I rinse them thoroughly after each use.) You may wish to mount a larger PVC pipe underneath your trailer to store that in. Some folks do.
Just a word of warning regarding bumper storage - sometimes the plastic end cap gets lost in transit and you could lose the hose as well then. One guy we met said he drilled a hole through the bumper near the end (through the top and bottom) and inserted a pin of some sort. This way, if the end cap fell off, the sewer hose would stay put.

We lost our end cap on this last trip, but the sewer hose was in a plastic bag in the basement storage.
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Old 10-24-2014, 04:48 PM   #11
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The other problem with bumper storage is the inside rusts and when you pull the hose out and push it in it wears on the ridges of the hose. Happened to two hoses I had, then I wised up.
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Old 10-24-2014, 05:41 PM   #12
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Hose is in the bumper , need to wrist the fitting to get it to go in .

Small holes drilled into the bumper from top to bottom with thin 4" bolt thru ,stops rubber cap from moving.

Water stays in when travelling. If I will be at home for a while ,I will drain tank and water heater.

bikes go on back with reinforcement straps to stop bouncing . 28000km so far and no prob. see pic of reinforcement straps .


http://s1302.photobucket.com/user/ha...a6663.jpg.html
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Old 10-24-2014, 10:12 PM   #13
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For those who advocate rear bumper mounts for the bikes I'll make one suggestion. Have someone (DW) drive your rig on the average freeway and you follow and watch them.

On the bumper caps, I lost several and one hose on my bumper pull with the spare mounted on the bumper. Since getting a 5er in 2011 with the spare mounted underneath and nothing on the back bumper I haven't lost a cap. Go to a farm supply and get 2 hitch pins like is on your hitch rails in the bed (the circlip with a straight side and a curlicue side) and drill a hole in the end of the bumper for whatever size pin you get (1/16-1/8") and thru the bumper cap (abt 1/4" in from the end) and put the hitch pin in the hole. No more lost caps or hoses.
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Old 10-24-2014, 10:51 PM   #14
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I have had people follow me with my bike set up and commented on how solid they were on the back , no bounce at all. There has to be straps of some sort to keep them motionless. Without the straps, I would not even think about the rear set up. My sleeve is also long enough so as to be attached to the cross member of the frame thus limiting the twisting of the bumper.
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Old 04-22-2015, 07:58 PM   #15
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Question?

Quote:
Originally Posted by dlwilliams48 View Post
Initially we used a bike rack mounted on the rear bumper but I didn't like not being able to see them... plus I read a lot of things about it not being designed to hold the weight although it seemed pretty secure. What we ended up doing was purchasing a mount that bolted to the front tongue of the trailer, and put the bike rack on that. So far it works very well. I do some extra tying down with rope and bungee cords just to keep it from bouncing around.

What kind of bike rack is that?
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Old 04-22-2015, 10:20 PM   #16
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What kind of bike rack is that?
Not sure this is the same one, but here is,a similar one. Stromberg bike rack
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