Successfully towing my 3822lb Camper this weekend

[mattnh55]

Hey gang,

I've got 4000 miles on my Telly EX here in NH-- Posted a few times regarding the tow frustrations, since we got it to tow this beauty (2005 Dutchman Cub; 3822lb dry, 4840 GVWR) a few times a year a short distance here in NH.

We got hitch installed at dealer; then had UHaul fit us up with a 7pin plug with brake controller (ended up with CURT wireless brake controller after the recommendation of a friend)..

Towed it today around town to get a feel for it - worked out great - No struggle at all, even getting the camper out of our settled lawn after a few months. After looking through lots of posts, I realize I am one of those pushing the tow limits of this maybe a little more than most, but... at least, so far so good.. Will be traveling 90mins away in a few weeks with the fam. Would love any words of wisdom/tough love from those with more experience towing than me.

Thanks

 

[Jastevenson]

Time for a self leveling shock retrofit.

 

[Wap52]

Time for a self leveling shock retrofit.

Agree you should have towing package with self leveling and I think maybe can only be get as an order. Don't think they put the different shocks on yet.

 

[drizzt]

Hey gang,

I've got 4000 miles on my Telly EX here in NH-- Posted a few times regarding the tow frustrations, since we got it to tow this beauty (2005 Dutchman Cub; 3822lb dry, 4840 GVWR) a few times a year a short distance here in NH.

We got hitch installed at dealer; then had UHaul fit us up with a 7pin plug with brake controller (ended up with CURT wireless brake controller after the recommendation of a friend)..

Towed it today around town to get a feel for it - worked out great - No struggle at all, even getting the camper out of our settled lawn after a few months. After looking through lots of posts, I realize I am one of those pushing the tow limits of this maybe a little more than most, but... at least, so far so good.. Will be traveling 90mins away in a few weeks with the fam. Would love any words of wisdom/tough love from those with more experience towing than me.

Thanks

That is fantastic! I do not have a boat or camper but it would be awesome to have 7-pin plug with brake controller. How much did UHaul charge you for this installation?

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[FireMartZ]

I will pick up our new camper this week. A 3200 lbs dry weight, 4865 lbs maximum gross weight Wildwood 179DBK (Wildwood FSX 179DBK | Forest River RV - Manufacturer of Travel Trailers - Fifth Wheels - Tent Campers - Motorhomes). I'm hoping everything will be (and feel) right.

 

[mattnh55]

That is fantastic! I do not have a boat or camper but it would be awesome to have 7-pin plug with brake controller. How much did UHaul charge you for this installation?

$280 and took the guy about an hour. the Curt wireless hitch was $225.

The mounting of the Kia hitch with 4-pin has a 7-pin shell behind it, so he was able to remove the 4pin facing and set it nicely in there -- he grounded it with the 12V lighter in the trunk. He was thrilled with how easy it was.

 

[mattnh55]

I will pick up our new camper this week. A 3200 lbs dry weight, 4865 lbs maximum gross weight Wildwood 179DBK (Wildwood FSX 179DBK | Forest River RV - Manufacturer of Travel Trailers - Fifth Wheels - Tent Campers - Motorhomes). I'm hoping everything will be (and feel) right.

That's great - we're in the same boat! Weights are similar. I think we're good on short distances - long ones will make me nervous until we get a few short trips under our belt -- the zip around the neighborhood was super easy, though! Post pics when you get all set up!

 

[thiago1029]

Hey Matt.
Just got my new telluride. It has a 4 pin. I need a 7 pin.
What's the deal? Uhaul could do it for you easily?
Please answer. My RV trip is coming up soon and I'm so bummed out

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[mattnh55]

Hey Thiago -

yeah, there are a few threads here that talk about the towing concerns -- You have a few options, it seems -

Your tow package doesn't impact your brake system at all currently. The 4 pin just carries the load for the lights.

my solution seems to be easiest, if you're willing to trust a wireless/bluetooth brake system. This skips the need for you or someone to hard wire from your hitch to your brake system under your steering wheel.

If you're not doing it yourself (I didn't..), UHAUL will sell you these two things:

Amazon.com: CURT 51180 Echo Mobile Electric Trailer Brake Controller with Bluetooth-Enabled Smartphone Connection, Proportional

Buy CURT 51180 Echo Mobile Electric Trailer Brake Controller with Bluetooth-Enabled Smartphone Connection, Proportional: Brake Controls - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

AND

Amazon.com: Hopkins Towing Solutions 47185 EMW8134058: Automotive

Buy Hopkins Towing Solutions 47185 EMW8134058: Wiring - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

They'll install it nicely if someone there takes some pride in their handy work - the existing 4pin you have has is housed in a 7pin casing - Seems like all KIA hitches have it that way. They'll discover that, and find a nice way to house the whole thing in there, then they have to run a ground wire up to the closest area (my guy chose the 12V trunk plug)

UHAUL was cheaper than amazon for those two parts, too.

Hope it helps!

 

[alexdrums]

The Bluetooth controller has a lot of terrible reviews on Amazon. You should look them over for your personal safety.

 

[steelersmb]

I have called the U-Haul by us and they said that they don't have a hitch yet for the Telluride. The dealership wants over $1300 to install one which is ridiculous.

 

[steelersmb]

Hey gang,

I've got 4000 miles on my Telly EX here in NH-- Posted a few times regarding the tow frustrations, since we got it to tow this beauty (2005 Dutchman Cub; 3822lb dry, 4840 GVWR) a few times a year a short distance here in NH.

We got hitch installed at dealer; then had UHaul fit us up with a 7pin plug with brake controller (ended up with CURT wireless brake controller after the recommendation of a friend)..

Towed it today around town to get a feel for it - worked out great - No struggle at all, even getting the camper out of our settled lawn after a few months. After looking through lots of posts, I realize I am one of those pushing the tow limits of this maybe a little more than most, but... at least, so far so good.. Will be traveling 90mins away in a few weeks with the fam. Would love any words of wisdom/tough love from those with more experience towing than me.

Thanks

Can you tell me how U-Hual installed this? I called the biggest U-Haul place near me and they said they called their Arizona distributor and they don't have a hitch yet available. I told them that someone on a forum had one installed from a U-Haul and they said that's probably not correct as their distributor doesn't have them. Can you tell me which U-Haul place you went to?

Thanks.

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[FireMartZ]

That's great - we're in the same boat! Weights are similar. I think we're good on short distances - long ones will make me nervous until we get a few short trips under our belt -- the zip around the neighborhood was super easy, though! Post pics when you get all set up!

Finally picked it up today.

 

[mikeg112]

Finally picked it up today.

Nice Rig! Approx how many miles did you drive before getting the trailer hitch? Also can you tell us more about the overall handling, sway control/weight distribution needed, etc? I'm about to get my tow hitch installed this week, and as soon as I get 1200 miles on the car per the manual start towing...

 

[FireMartZ]

Nice Rig! Approx how many miles did you drive before getting the trailer hitch? Also can you tell us more about the overall handling, sway control/weight distribution needed, etc? I'm about to get my tow hitch installed this week, and as soon as I get 1200 miles on the car per the manual start towing...

I towed the first time last Thursday at 4400 km (~2700 miles). Camper dealer installed the Husky Centerline TS (Husky Center Line TS | Husky Towing) which does both weight distribution and sway control and it really seems to do a good job, but I have not much past experience to compare to. The hitch itself is from SRG (Attaches-Remorques, accessoires et supports à vélo | SRG Attache Remorque) as the OEM one doesn't seem to allow more than 350 lbs tongue weight.

 

[Grim1]

Just did a camping vacation with the family with our trailer. About 3700 lbs loaded with our stuff. Got 15.5 litres per 100km on highway and side roads combined. It pulled really well, way better than our Ford Flex we traded in.

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[Rocky5000100]

This is great news. The trailer I need to tow is about 3400 loaded, a 7x12 enclosed single axle. Do the two people who posted pics have the self leveling shocks? If so, that's still a bit of sag, and I'd probably get air bags in addition just to make it a little more stable.

What speeds were you guys able to maintain? Currently my 2002 4runner can do 70-75 mph on flat land, slowing to 65 or 60 on steep hills while i'm flooring it. Were you able to select what gear you wanted it in to keep it in the torque curve?

 

[FireMartZ]

This is great news. The trailer I need to tow is about 3400 loaded, a 7x12 enclosed single axle. Do the two people who posted pics have the self leveling shocks? If so, that's still a bit of sag, and I'd probably get air bags in addition just to make it a little more stable.

What speeds were you guys able to maintain? Currently my 2002 4runner can do 70-75 mph on flat land, slowing to 65 or 60 on steep hills while i'm flooring it. Were you able to select what gear you wanted it in to keep it in the torque curve?

No self leveling here (not available in Canada yet and will only be on 7 seaters and we wanted 3 kids on the middle row).

I didn't try to reach maximum speed so I can't tell. I didn't go much more than 70 mph on highways but that was mainly to keep fuel consumption "acceptable", but it didn't really felt as the Telluride couldn't do better.

You can switch to manual gear selection on the shifter, but I didn't use it as the automatic was doing a great job of not shifting back and forth, as if it knew it was pulling something heavy.

 

[BrianF]

I just had my inaugural tow of my teardrop camper last week in the Smoky Mountains. Granted it’s a small camper, but the Telluride pulled like a dream. There’s no comparison to my previous tow vehicle, a 4 cyl. Sorento.

 

[T-Newbie]

Brian,
I have the same setup. I installed the 4-pin to 7-pin adapter, but I am not sure where to attach the black 12v wire to get the 12V for the trailer battery. The whole underside of the vehicle looks pretty closed, so I am not sure how to run all the way to the battery. How did you hook into the 12V that is needed on the 7-pin adapter?