✨ *PRODUCTS FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO* ✨ 🔹 Rubber Wheel Chocks amzn.to/3A9wtyy 🔸 X-Chocks amzn.to/3A6Z33B 🔹 Trailer Coupler Lock Pin amzn.to/4fAN8vm 🔸 1/2" Retractable Breaker Bar amzn.to/3T1KyF9 🔹 Tongue Blocks amzn.to/46y05St 🔸 Breaker Bar amzn.to/3YHIDZL 🔹 1" Socket amzn.to/4dGnQKp 🔸 Measuring Tape amzn.to/46ROX3b 🔹 RV Snappads www.rvsnappad.com/discount/RVTT10 🔸 Quick Link for Brake Cable amzn.to/3LZDZ1y *OTHER VIDEOS YOU MAY LIKE* 🎥 Travel Trailer Tear Down ruclips.net/video/yz2dYaqBiw8/видео.html 🎥 Travel Trailer Set Up ruclips.net/video/ermDoIB-y7s/видео.html 🎥 Chain Test ruclips.net/video/clj42no4DxY/видео.html If you want to see a lot of great videos on different hitch comparisons, check out my friend Cory @WanderingWeekends *You're INCORRECTLY Connecting Your Travel Trailer: The Correct RV Hook Up Process Explained* Unfortunately, there's a lot of misinformation on correctly hooking up or connecting a travel trailer to a truck or tow vehicle. In this video, I will show you the safe and correct way to hitch up. Chapters in this video: 0:00 Intro 0:19 Before Connecting 1:09 Positioning & Chaining 3:17 Mechanical Connections 5:21 Common Practice VS Physics 6:10 Big Thanks to RV Snappads 6:53 Chain Load Test 7:17 Brakes & Power 10:00 Bloopers #rv #rvlife #rvliving #rvlifestyle #rvtips #rvtravel #rvtipsandtravels *RV ESSENTIALS:* 🎥 Our Essentials Video: ruclips.net/video/yuvS3zZL81c/видео.html 🔸 Camco Rhino Flex Sewer Hose & Elbow Kit amzn.to/3wxaiyG 🔹 Camco Clear Sewer Elbow amzn.to/3eezBe7 🔸 Camco RV Water Filter amzn.to/4dfEp0x 🔹 Rubber Wheel Chocks amzn.to/3v0lL5I 🔸 Power Watchdog 30 Amp Surge Protector/EMS amzn.to/3hAmgCy 🔹 Power Watchdog 50 Amp Surge Protector/EMS amzn.to/3SDYTHs 🔸 Beech Lane Wireless RV Leveler amzn.to/402YpgI 🔹 Liquified RV Tank Treatment amzn.to/3ksg1Ck 🔸 Tire Minder TPMS amzn.to/3mjuBg0 🔹 Water Pressure Regulator amzn.to/3m3ZFzZ 🔸 Rubber Gloves 6 Mil amzn.to/3XNo7Dc 🔹 Best RV Water Hose amzn.to/3RCXalb *MAINTENANCE:* 🔸 Boeshield T-9 Rust Preventative & Lubrication amzn.to/3sjcjMx 🔹 Eternabond Roof Tape amzn.to/3Ad290J 🔸 Geocell Proflex Sealant amzn.to/3Qdbj8c 🔹 Road Tool Kit amzn.to/41NIQKj *INTERIOR:* 🔸 Cross Bar Door Handle amzn.to/3o8WWS5 🔹 Shower Caddy amzn.to/3bdU80W 🔸 Soap Dish amzn.to/3pKheSn 🔹 Oxygenics Shower Head amzn.to/3RCQKm1 🔸 Perfect RV Paper Towel Holder amzn.to/3tZxd1K 🔹 Dimmer Switch (watch this video) ruclips.net/video/2bbqBcSsRZQ/видео.html 🔸 Electric Heater/Fireplace amzn.to/44ujuCX *EXTERIOR:* 🔸 X Chocks amzn.to/3m3ck2i 🔹 Carmtek 10 Digit Keyless Entry System amzn.to/3t4IMpB 📺 The Carmtek Lock Video ruclips.net/video/KcEUgsDw6kk/видео.html 🔸 Low Point Drain Valves amzn.to/3Vko8AH 🔹 90 Degree Hose Elbow amzn.to/3RH1ksn *OUTDOOR GEAR:* 🔹 Blackstone Griddle amzn.to/3TG0pK1 🔸 Outdoor Gravity Chairs amzn.to/3Sb1p4M 🔹 Ground Mat amzn.to/41u3wXg 💥 Sign up for our FREE Newsletter: rvtipsandtravels.myflodesk.com/freenewsletter 👇 *DISCOUNT & COUPON CODES* 🚐 *10% off RV Snappads & Snapjacks* rvsnappad.com/discount/RVTT10 🛌 Get *25% off your RV Mattress* by Brooklyn Bedding at rvmattress.com/rvtips Use discount code: rvtips 🚛 TireMinder TPMS Systems (use coupon code RVTIPS25, get $25 off select systems) www.minderresearch.com/ (good through 2024) 💻 *We have a store on eBay!* www.ebay.com/usr/rv_tips_and_travels *If you want to support the work I do to help others, you can:* 1) Buy us a coffee: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=J2KKM9NR3BJJA 2) If you cannot donate, the easiest way to support our channel is to SUBSCRIBE, turn on ALL NOTIFICATIONS, click the LIKE BUTTON, leave a COMMENT & SHARE the videos with your friends. ✨⭐ *MORE RV ACCESSORIES ON AMAZON* ⭐✨ www.amazon.com/shop/rvtipstravels 💥 *NEW TO OUR CHANNEL?* Check out our catalog: www.youtube.com/@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS/playlists *Follow Us on Social Media* instagram.com/RVTipsAndTravels facebook.com/RVTipsAndTravels If you find a dead link, *PLEASE* let us know. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. There is NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU when purchasing from our links. AI imagery & audio may be used in this video. We may also receive products or payment to create videos, however our feedback is strictly based on our experiences, regardless of compensation. rv tips rv modifications rv mods rv life rv how to rv maintenance camping rv travel rv living travel trailer tips rv tips and tricks rv lifestyle rv hacks rv essentials travel trailer hookup travel trailer hookup to truck hitching up travel trailer hitch up tow vehicle hook up connect travel trailer rv hook up trailer connection rv brake cable rv safety chains rv coupler rv hitch up how to hook up a travel trailer how to connect an rv tow
Ive Towed for years buts this is a great refresher. I would like to add one tip. If after you back up and BEFORE you put the truck in park, engage your parking brake, and then put it in park this should eliminate that annoying 1 inch extra roll that often takes the truck out of position. 😊
Thanks for watching and commenting Jim.... you can also just engage the parking brake before taking your foot off the main brakes, which will work before or after putting the truck in park. thanks for the reminder!
Been towing bumper pulls for 25 years, watched this video to see how many things you did wrong, and it is SPOT ON! I’m glad someone finally addressed twisting chains. He is right about cutting off links to get the right length. Very well done, Ross!
@@nhamilton9545 I was thinking along the same lines, when using your own trailer you can have the correct chain length but when renting a uhaul /Penske trailer and the chains are too long they won’t adjust them to the proper length
there are chain reducers you can get if your chains are too long and you tow with multiple trucks (google double clevis) .. i will address this in an upcoming video.
I'm reminded of the time I hooked up the camper and had gotten about a block when it suddenly came to me that I'd neglected to close the hitch. It was on our checklist but the wife and myself had missed it due to a completely unanticipated sequence of innocuous events. So now it's on the checklist twice. Another informative, no-nonsense video. Thank you!
@@floydffrogfloydffrog7453 not sure what those innocuous events are but I suspect your surrounding neighbors distracted you with their useless conversation. People just dont get it. When I am unloading or loading my car in the trailer or hooking up the trailer I dont want help nor do I want to engage in any conversation. That is how stuff gets missed. Again, people dont get it. At the race track that behavior is particularly bad.
Dont cut the chains, you may wish you had more chain should you change tow vehicles or hitches. Just move the hook down to the desired link and leave the unusued links dangling. If needed, fold them back on the chain and tie them to it with wire ties. Alternaively you can used rated H links to shorten the chains, leaving a loop of chain below the H link.
Thanks Charles, I addressed shortening chains for folks who use or may use different tow vehicles in the future here: ruclips.net/video/gGFY1LIXUMM/видео.html Here is the double clevis you can use to shorten the chain: 🔸 Double Clevis (11,300 lb WLL) amzn.to/3XO0kVt
Good to know that I’ve been doing things correctly, so thanks for that. Two things stuck out for me though as a 5 ft solo traveller. 1) I usually raise my hitch higher to make it easier to engage the clamps on my bars. 2) As a solo traveller I usually have to run back and forth several times to ensure all of my lights are working. With your hint to just engage the hazards, this will save me the extra steps. So thanks!
Another fantastic process video Ross! For the breakaway safety cable - I swapped out one of my license place bolts for an eye bolt and nyloc nut behind the fender - makes it super convenient to clip on and is independent of the hitch receiver
Regarding the power between the truck and the trailer. After having the cable pinched and damaged between the anti-sway bar and the hitch assembly (which took a day of repair and the replacement of a number of fuses both in the trailer and in the tow vehicle) I got into the habit of attaching a bungee chord from the propane cover and the mid-point of the power cable. This allowed flexible movement of the cable but ensured that it didn't drop down where it could be pinched by the anti-sway bars and the hitch assembly. When they saw what I was doing a number of trailering friends started doing the same thing with positive results. No more pinched power cables.
Good job, Ross! I had a travel trailer from 2021 to 2023, and I made over 30 trips with this trailer. After watching your video, I see that I could have made a few changes to my procedure that would have made the whole travel process a lot safer. Twisting chains? Guilty! Thank you. Lou from Georgia.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS -- I think back to the mid-70s when I was towing small fishing boats. The small amount of knowledge that I acquired was from watching other fisherman or from asking questions of the supposed "experts" at the marina. I was happy to believe everything they told me because they were "experts." These folks had a lot of "seat of the pants" experience, but "experts?" Not hardly. Sometimes being lucky completely outweighs being smart. Not often, but once in a while. 🙂
Great video and spot on advice. I’m a recently retired MTO officer in Ontario, Canada. DOT for my American friends. I’m also an avid RVer. It’s all about getting to where we are going safely.
Oh my! I just bought a travel trailer in June from the dealership. We have went on 6 trips so far. Anywhere from 2hrs to 4hrs away from home. We are 1st time owners, so I wanted the dealership to do a walkthrough with us. I had *a lot* of questions. Of course, I will search RUclips for answers also, but I never take just one person's word for it to be *_fact_* I will do a lot of research. Our dealership showed us how to hitch up and told us to *twist the chains* Ughhh! So, I am going to have to cut a couple of links out. He also told us to clip the chain downward on the hitch. *_WRONG_* Makes me nervous now. Thank you so much for all your videos. I have learned a lot from you!
if you have hoods that you can easily disconnect from the chains (like mine in the video), just move the hook to the appropriate link and you can let the additional links either hang or zip tie them to another link. That way you dont have to cut the links.
Thanks for this video, I thought I was doing it the right way but I now know that I have a couple of things to change on my hook up process. I can't believe I never thought to hook up the chains right away to the tow vehicle, that makes so much sense.
i hoooked up chains after connecting for years too. after 8 years im not ashamed to say im still learning too, and thats what this channel is all about, learning from experience and through others experience.
Great video! I've been in the towing game a minute or two as well. I am so glad you pointed out to hook up the chains before lowering the tongue. While it was not during the hitching process, I witnessed a run away camper during the un hitching process because they un hooked the chains, and then un hitched the camper. I've always been a hook chains up first and unhook chains last guy...glad see more of us out there!
actually happened to me. unhitched the tailer and it twisted causeing the jack to slide off the block. i had used wheel chocks but 1 was resting on tree root and didnt grip well after the trailer changed pitch so that wheel rolled just an inch or 2 but enough to pull the jack off the block i was using. however the chains took the brunt of the load as it came down and it prevented the jack foot/jack and even A frame fram slamming into the ground so no damage was done. had i taken the chains off before that i have no idea how much worse that could have been. i also will no longer trust a root surface with the chocks. it sat tight when i put it in but i didnt think about how it would change when front pitched up. so i scrutinize the surface more.
wow, thanks for sharing Bret... interesting story and glad it worked out ok for you. I had something similar happen my first trip 8 years ago, but the trailer rolled towards the truck. in my case, a large tree root actually stopped it from hitting the truck, but you're exactly right: scrutinize the surface!
Hmmm, was the guys foot wrapped up like a Q-tip when that happened. 😮 If so, I might know him. 😳 He might have already been distracted trying to figure out how he was going to pay for over $12000 in medical bills. If this was it, the wheels were chocked already.
Excellent video! I’ve been installing and demonstrating for customers hitches for decades. This is almost word for word the walk-through I give my customers. The more educated they are the less chances of something going wrong. I might just save myself some time and just play this video for new customers!
I always place my vehicle in neutral first, then apply the emergency brake, then place it in park. Fully agree 100% with the tips on your video. Great information.
excellent video, only thing i do different is i use the loop on the pin to hold my cable for the brake lights and the cable for the emergency brake so it does not fall on the ground
something i really need to get around to doing... ive been putting it off for 7 years now, and my new tow vehicle has a small screen. time to get to it.
Thanks for the great video. I happen to be one of those individuals who twists one of my chains because it is longer than the other. It was good to see why I should shorten that chain. I also like the tip about clipping the breakaway cable to the vehicle frame rather than the hitch receiver. I'll have to see if my van has a good attachment point. One point I disagree with is the length of the breakaway cable. That's an issue I questioned before and did some research on. The RVIA (Recreational Vehicle Industry Association) recommends that the trailer break away cable be slightly longer than the safety chains rather than shorter. The reasoning is that if the trailer becomes uncoupled and held by the chains, the driver will still have full control over the brakes rather than them being fully applied and potentially making an unsafe situation worse. Keep making the great content.
Personally, I would just cut them to the right size... its really the proper way to do it. I would disagree with the break cable being longer... if the tongues detaches and the chains catch the tongue, the driver may have no way of knowing about the disconnection. with knowing this, coming to a stop could put the trailer through the truck. trailer brakes are not like truck brakes, they wont stop the trailer like truck brakes stop a truck. I do appreciate the input and its definitely an option.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS Trailer brakes supplied with full current from the breakaway switch vs a controller create 2 very different results. If you install the chains correctly as shown in your video you still have control of the trailer and should be able to steer and stop with much more control than fully applied locked up trailer brakes. As far as knowing if it's come detached I would hope the noise and changes in vehicle geometry would alert even the worst of drivers.
On the surface, it does make sense that you would still want the ability to slowly brake and come to a stop without the brakes locking up if it becomes unhitched and is sitting on the chains. The reality though is that it may take too long for you to realize it is unhitched and your first knowledge of it may be the trailer slamming into the back of your truck. And if you do realize it immediately, your first reaction will be to slam on the brakes anyway.
im in the same boat, I can see pros and cons both ways. I feel like because the law only states you only need to have a brake cable connected and not a specific length, it might be a matter of personal preference? Im going to dig into this one a little bit. heres the ulitmate question... how strong are the brakes at 60-65 mph if they are immediately fully engaged. I know trailer brakes are more meant to AID the trailer in stopping, and are not necessarily the same strength as truck brakes are on a truck, for example. Knowing this, I dont feel like fully applied trailer brakes at your highest speed is going to make keeping the truck in the lane that difficult... the brakes should definitely make you notice something is wrong, but i dont think its going to cause an accident... I could be wrong, i have never fully squeezed my brake controller on the highway. I think the answer to that question will help us make the decision if we want our cable longer or shorter than our chains.... more to come on this. Thanks everyone!
One important reason for not having your chains too long is that they can spark on the pavement when hitting a bouncy spot in the road, potentially igniting a fire. That's not something you want anywhere, but especially in places like British Columbia or California where major wildfires are a yearly occurrence. Also, I'm going to start attaching my chains with the clasps upsidedown and my brake cable to the truck frame, neither of which occurred to me before seeing this video
Just getting into trailer details and you have great content. TY. Best comment is stating the fact you will never charge ppl to watch your vids and that you have sponsors. Well done.
Interesting about hooking the brake cable to the frame. I drove semi’s for 40 years. I was told to NEVER put the safety chains upside down as the spring loaded flimsy retaining mechanism has fallen off many times. More likely than something knocking it off from the road! NEVER SADDLE A DEAD HORSE!!
Ive been towing this specific RV for 8 years and my retaining mechanisms have never come off my hooks. If yours have come off, and you believe them to not be hitting anything from the road, I would immediately question the quality of those chain hooks/retainer clips. They should also be replaced immediately, as you probably know a hook that was manufactured with a retaining clip will fail inspection without a retaining clip. The only time a retaining clip is not needed is if the hook was manufactured without one. Same with lifting chains, as outlined by OSHA, ASME & ANSI.
Ross great points. Also the safety chains being installed from bottom up is also stronger from what I was told. The way the hooks pitch when safety chains are needed prevents them possibly snapping off tip of hook
I can't tell you how much I value your videos! We upgraded from a popup to a 27RK Travel Trailer last May and your details are great! You are one of the few creators whose "ads" for your sponsor, I don't skip! Do you have a Maintenance Checklist? Like a "Yearly, Quarterly, Monthly, Daily" kind of thing? Like how often to treat your slide seals, or how often to sterilize your water system.
Another great video Ross. Nicely done. I must say I would like to hear from Lippert on the issue of stressing the axles/suspension components when you change tongue elevation a few inches with X-chocks in place. If that amount of stress is significant we have serious issues to worry about with our suspension systems. Just imagine the stress placed hitting a bump at 60 mph in comparison. If this stress is not good, I’m never driving on the freeway again!
That was my thought - I've actually forgotten the X braces and they just peeled out when i moved. i don't think these flimsy things are going to damage a suspension component.
i was skeptical at first too, but I'm going to trust the manufacturer on stuff like this, as minimal as it may seem. heres something to consider: when driving, the axels and wheels move independent of each other... when x-chocked, they are bound together, so if you think of it that way, by changing the pitch one axle will adjust differently than the other, depending if you are raising or lowering the front. have the x-chocks on during this process is not allowing them to move independently.... im not sure, im definitely not an engineer, but I feel if thats what the manufacturer is saying, its my obligation to let my viewers know, until someone can prove otherwise. hope that helps bud.
Very good video and always helpful to have a refresher course every once in a while. I will admit to accidentally towing a toy hauler round trip from Glamis to San Diego. At the time I had a motorcycle trailer, a small utility trailer and a car trailer. I had a few different tongue/ball setups and had a 2" on the truck and the toy hauler was 2 5/16". Thank god for that 1000 pounds of tongue weight!!!!
Tow a Palomino 27rbqc. 7,000 pounds wet. Went from a f150 to a 350 and a new hitch and don’t need the sway bars anymore. Those things are a pita. Love your videos and this is a helpful one.
used to have a ram 1500, probably dont need the spring bars now with a 1 ton, but its already paid for. Thanks for watching bud, glad to have you here.
I have a steep driveway that has a fairly harsh angle where I inter the street so I don't install my load leveling bars when hitching up at my house. A half mile down from the house is a very wide and level pull out where I can safely install them. This also where I remove them on my way home. With all of the frame failures happening on travel trailers, I don't want to take the chance of damaging my trailers' frame.
Thanks for a great guide to the process! I've always hitched before connecting the chains. That is an improvement I will take away! I've never found a good place to connect the brake safety cable. This bugged me, so I bored out the license plate holes and put eye bolts in. The brake safety cable is secured to one of the two eye bolts with a carabiner. My Tacoma had metal behind the license plate, but the F-150 is all plastic. On the F-150 I used bumper washers to secure the eye bolts to reduce the unlikely risk of the eye bolts pulling through the plastic and ripping the license plate off instead of pulling out from the trailer side. For most trailers I have used, with a non-weight distribution hitch, I run the brake cable trough one eye bolt then to the opposite side to keep the brake cable just long enough. Since my Blue Ox WD hitch is longer, I just run direct to the eye on the same side that the brake safety switch is mounted to the trailer.
crossing the chains also keeps the loop fairly consistent in droop as you go around corners. whereas hooking straight would leave the loop getting more slack on an inside turn and coming tighter in an outside turn.
Always double check the stabilizer jacks. I use jack stands for the front of my trailer. I forgot to remove them and couldn't figure out why the tongue wasn't dropping on the ball. Pulled forward and backed up 3 times before my mother-in-law noticed... ouch! Never heard the end of it! 🤣😂🤣
something i really need to get around to doing... ive been putting it off for 7 years now, and my new tow vehicle has a small screen. time to get to it.
An other good habit to have before hitting the road is activating trailer brakes with the brake controller knob while starting to roll forward. That way you know that your trailer brakes are working and that they don’t drag after a brake application 😊
good point, i will usually tug test my trailer brakes about 10 seconds after pulling out of my driveway by using the override button on the brake controller only.
First off never trust a Dodge to pull anything. Just kidding, this is a good video. As someone who is in the class 8 trucking business, hot shot and pulls a travel trailer, I’ll throw my 2 cents in. If you don’t cross safety chains, that’s a DOT violation, twisted safety chains is also DOT violation. The emergency brake cable can be hooked to the same place as the safety chain, but not to the safety chain. I agree that somewhere other than the hitch is probably best, but if your entire hitch/receiver comes off the truck you have huge problems anyway. Now, I’ve never been stopped by DOT while pulling my camper, so I’m sure a lot of violations, people are going to say “I’ve been pulling my camper for 20 years this way and never had a problem” go missed. However we have been stopped plenty of times in tractor trailer/hot shot and gone over with a fine tooth comb, so I’m pretty familiar with DOT standards. Just poured a good drink, can’t wait to read the comments on this post…. Enjoy 😊
DOT doesn't usually pull over RV's unless something is seriously wrong, they are commercial vehicle enforcement. The whole purpose of safety chains is to prevent your unhooked trailer from taking out traffic behind it, not to hold up your trailer, not designed for that. If you have an e-brake set up, put a small shackle in the tow holes (should fit with safety chain) and connect to that. Otherwise great video.
Just found your channel. Been towing for about 5 years now and found out I've been doing it pretty much right the whole time. Wish I would have found this sooner though. I already bought my snap pads. I could have had a 10% discount!!!!
I would add last thing to disconnect. A personal experience, RV pad had a slight pitch and very smooth concrete with some dust on it. Wheel chocks started sliding jack came off block rolling a few feet enough for jack to be bent. Had to cut off and replace jack.
For the trailer chain length issue. For years I just go to tractor supply and get the trailer chain hooks with the clip so you can remove them from the chains, and if my chains are long I can just shorten them up and have the extra hanging from that same clip, even doubled up the extra so it doesn’t hang so low or swing around much. Way better than twisting chains and allows for the same trailer to be used on different trucks with different chain length requirements
As far as connecting the 7 way, do it while you are there, so it does not become a forgotten item. DC current does not care how many sources are tied together, the truck 7 way, your converter (shore power supplied) or your solar, its OK for all of them to power the buss at the same time. Just don't forget the 7 way and the light check, which I do last.
There is no problem with multiple charge sources to a 12volt battery other than not exceeding the charge profile of the battery. In fact you can have a solar panel array going to the battery(ies) plugged into shore with the converter on and have the 7pin and truck running. Here is what you have to figure. If it’s a single lead acid battery you don’t want to exceed a total charge of 40amps continuous. Lead acid batteries are like slow cookers. You cant charge them too fast otherwise they can swell. But if you have 2 or more then you probably don’t have enough charge sources to worry about. Im not big on converters because the preset logic as soon as you plug it in it will go into bulk charge for a longer time than necessary. Newer chargers that can do lithium or LA have logic that allows it to slow the charge quicker….but that’s another story. Bottom line. Watch out on multiple charge sources to 1 battery, go balls to the wall if there is more than 1.
I look at it in different way no hook to shore power and vehicle at same time. First disconnect shore power then hook up to vehicle. Not as a charging problem but to prevent forgetting to disconnect shore power. I've seen a few dragging their shore power cords and a time or two the stinky slinky hose. Most of the time it was in changing RV pad sites and distracted.
Depending on power cables, I have seen people use Velcro strap around the cable and cap (at the tow vehicle)as an extra safety, to keep the cable from disconnecting from the outlet.
I use a coiled e brake cable it doesn't fall down and it will not bind. I hook it to an eye bolt on the bumper of the tow vehicle. Thanks for your information on this subject. First class all the way..
thanks Vernon, going to actually release a follow up since this video got so many view and questions... I think I might go the route of the coiled cable to a license plate eyebolt too... going to the frame under the truck works fine, but if i dont have to crawl underneath it would be easier and accomplishing the same thing.
Great video! You can never go wrong learning more or refreshing on things you already know. You do a great job with your videos. I have a Ross playlist that I use to reference. Keep it up and thank you for putting these together!
the throat of the chain will rest against the eyelet should the chain be activated in either direction, but hooking from underneath is going to prevent the things i talk about in the video while driving. thank you for watching and glad it helped!
AHA! 2:50, thanks for that. I always figured that clasp down is safer, since more hook is engaged with the reciever. If the trailer comes down, it will tug downwards. I didn't think about the clasp being damaged and unhooked, that's a great lesson.
Great video and great tips for those new to bumper pull RV's. However I disagree with one of your points... If after a failure of the hitch system, if the safety chains are keeping the trailer still connected to my tow vehicle as they are intended to do, I do not want the control of the trailer brakes taken away from me, the driver. The emergency braking activation cable is only for an instance where you have totally lost control of the trailer (meaning it is 100% detached from the tow vehicle). The trailer power cable should also be long enough so as to not disconnect from the vehicle, and the emergency braking system should not activate if the chains are pulled to their full length with the trailer unhitched, but the chains remain attached to the tow vehicle. This allows ME to control what the trailer brakes are doing should this ever happen. In simple terms, the emergency cable should only activate the emergency braking switch if the distance between the trailer and the tow vehicle becomes greater than what it could with the safety chains pulled to full length. The way I keep the emergency cable and the trailer power cable from getting fowled in any part of the hitch is to clip them both inside the loop of the wire bale of the coupler lock pin. This will keep them from ever being pinched during sharp turns, etc.
Sorry Scott, I'm a little confused by your comment. If the hitch fails, as you say, or comes off the truck, the safety chains are NOT keeping your trailer connected to the truck because they are connected to the hitch as well. Do you understand? if the hitch comes off, so does the part where your chains are connected to the hitch, and having the brake activated could prevent the trailer from running though the back of your truck. I might be misunderstand your comment, please clarify if what I'm reading is not what youre saying. Thanks Scott.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS The "Hitch" is the system of components that are from the receiver socket aft. If anyone with any engineering sense was concerned about the vehicle "receiver hitch" coming detached from the vehicle, with the highly regulated society we live in, there would be laws requiring even the safety chains to be directly connected to the vehicle frame. That is not the case, because it is not a problem. The safety chains are for a failure of the hitching "system".
i understand what you're saying, and actually agree with not being worried about my hitch receiver coming off, but I'm still not sure what you're saying is the downside to connecting the cable to the frame. It will pull with any normal failure just as it would if connected to the eyelet, plus it will pull if the hitch becomes disconnected. I'm just confused, not arguing, on what you're saying.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS You said there are two important things to follow, regardless of where you decided to connect the end of the cable (I see no problem with connecting it to the frame of the tow vehicle if that makes you feel better).... For one of them you said the activation cable should be shorter than the chains so that the brakes go into emergency activation mode before the chains become tight. This is what I think is wrong and bad advice. As I said above, the emergency brakes should never activate unless the trailer has fully disconnected from the tow vehicle. I believe this is why the cable is typically quite long which is what gives you enough length to connect it to the tow vehicle frame, when it is really only meant to reach to the safety chain connection point on the vehicles receiver hitch.
i get what you're saying now... personally, id rather the trailer brakes activate if it comes off the ball for this one reason: if the chains catch the tongue, you may not even know its been disconnected. you also still have the chance of the trailer running through the back of the truck if it becomes disconnected. thanks for your input and for watching Scott. Something definitely to note.
Ross, another awesome video. I just installed air lifters on my Chevy Colorado for leveling our Forest River Wolf Pup because the back of the truck seemed like it was dropping too much on hook-up. The air bags work perfectly, BUT I would love to see a video on the right way to set them; i.e., do I want to maintain the level of the truck when nothing is connected? Do I want it to drop a little? On our last trip up I-94 in Michigan, they have this godawful concrete pavement that is "sculpted" so each section dips in the middle and rises toward the expansion joints. We both felt like our heads would snap off from the bouncing.
Ive never used bags so I really dont know much about them. are your leaf springs in good shape? its normal for a truck to drop a little with a load, even my 1 ton ram drops a little when i connect our small trailer.
I remember when a friend of mine neglected to ensure that he had inserted the reciever lock bar for his hitch when connecting his new trailer. He managed to leave the resort, pull out onto the hiway and make it almost a 1/2 mile before the hitch and trailer said 'bye bye'. Guess where the saftey brake cable was also connected? Fotunately, everything managed to gently roll/slide/coast to a stop in the lane and after some embarasment, was correctly attached and the rest of the trip was much less eventful.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS Expensive and heavy, but the anti-sway and load distribution were amazing. Also, unless a thief had access to the receiver portion, it makes theft almost impossible. Hensley also makes one.
definitely. right now im towing a 7500lb trailer with a 6.7L Cummins 3500, a bit overkill I realize, but i cant even tell its back there. we will be getting a larger rv next year so i might have to look into the ProPride.
Something I have ran in to ok checking lights on the trailer. There a vehicles that use a different circuit path or module between the hazard switch and the turn signal switch. The hazards will work but turn signals won't.
very true, but this is more about checking to make sure the actual bulb filaments (or led lights) on the trailer are good. Its perfectly fine to make sure your truck outputs are working, I just dont think its necessary every time. it would be weird if everyone checked their vehicle outputs every time before driving right? haha, imagine seeing a parking lot full of people walking around their car at Lowes lol.
I completely remove my shore power cable and water lines BEFORE starting this entire process. You really don't want that kind of voltage or water pressure in the mix when you're shifting things around. If, for example, the trailer shifts and severs your shore power line, you now have a major electrical hazard.
The meat (strongest point of the hook) is the reason I agree with you. Hooks should always come from the underside of the hitch receiver hook loops always. Because, if you if you ever end up pulling a trailer by the chains (hooks, hopefully never) then you're pull from the strongest part if the hook not the weakest ... For almost any hook, a great way to know which way the hooks gets seated is if you think of yourself doing a pull up from Strap, chain, rope, whatever perspective .. these become your forearms .. which way do you want your hands (hooks) when you go to pull yourself up? sure you can do it either way but ... thats not the question, question is .. which way is safest? So again, I agree with you ... I just hope this explanation helps others to agree with you..
Got to the RV storage today and there was a couple with the tongue jack of their travel trailer on the ground, I asked if they needed any help, he said no, he was waiting for someone to come with a jack. He said rookie mistake, he forgot to put the locking pin in. Fortunately it was only a few feet out of his storage spot and had no damage. Too bad he didn’t see this video
NEVER let anyone else between vehicle and trailer during moving,coupling and uncoupling. Last thing... ALWAYS last. Remove wheel chocks. Nothing like having a trailer roll out of your campsite 😳 Also, I wrap a small bungee cord around the chains and hook it onto the trailer hitch frame to keep chains high enough to keep them from snagging anything.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS oh it’s awesome I already have winterized it and put it away for the winter ❄️ because we just have to many projects going on the property but ya after living in the city it’s piece and quiet and enjoying the sunrise and sunset thanks for asking Ross I will send you some pictures
Good advice. An often overlooked item, that was not done in this video also, is to grease the ball - including on the bottom sides of the ball! Over time an ungreased ball will wear away the coupler to the point that the ball will literally drop out of the coupler. And chrome balls are no exception. They require grease too. Reese even sells lubricant. A rusty ball on the coupler is even worse. Some will disagree, which is fine, but would they put new greasable ball joints on their truck (which are sealed from dirt - unlike the coupler) and not put grease in them?
I don’t disagree with you on a little grease on the ball to keep the coupler working, but please understand this is hitching up process video, not a hitch maintenance video. But I do appreciate the input. I will have a hitch maintenance video coming soon!
I think it should be noted that the opening of the hook should face up as you’ve instructed. But to include the reasoning, so as if he did kind of come, uncoupled, hit the ground instead of springing up, striking something causing more damage.
the goal here is to check the bulb filaments... i dont know why you would need to continuously check your trucks light outputs. once lights are wired, they are wired. i just dont see a need, just as i dont need to continuously check to see if my truck turn signals for correct wiring. Please share if there is something I'm missing.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS if you check the left turn signal, you’ll know that the left is working properly. If you check the right turn signal you know that the right is working properly. For instance my truck had an issue a while back where when I signaled left the right side blinked and vise versa when I signaled right the left side blinked. There ended up be a recall for the turn signal switch. If you’re just turning the hazards on you won’t catch this problem.
I've been camping and towing for 35 years. I never realized twisting chains reduced their strength. Man, am I glad I rabbit-holed to this video! Something I would add, though, when you hook to any given trailer for the first time, check left and right turn signals individually. Do this especially on a used or rental trailer, but I've seen new ones on delivery where the left/right signals were reversed. Great, great, to-the-point video!
absolutely! This little trick will make sure all your bulbs are working, and i dont think its necessary to check your truck turn signal outputs all that often, but definitely worth doing occasionally. thanks for the comment, glad to have you here bud.
When connecting to tow vehicle I was always taught to put one safety chain clasp "over " passenger side and one "under " drivers side incase trailer breaks free from hitch jamming up under your bumper when breaking potentially breaking free from the clip lever..and especially if theres only one safety chain on a trailer to always put towards passenger side so in the event of a break free from hitch, trailer will pull towards passenger side instead of on coming traffic side avoiding a possible collision. Via the Commercial Drivers License handbook rules for CDL test..
Thanks for sharing Craig, however I dont know of any RV manufacturer outfitting the trailer with 1 chain. The regulations vary depending on the state, some states require at least one, many require 2 chains. And because these are moving from state to state, thats probably why they all come with 2 chains.
Those extended hitches are a blight on towing, not only do they magnify the load onto rear suspension thru lever ratio but also promote sway and sway steer, keep your ball as close to your bar as possible, get a specific hitch if necessary and stop using those adjustable crap, one thats short as possible with vehicle location to suit your vehicle and trailer is a top investment for your families safety !
Hey bud, im sensing a little confusion based on your comment, so I'd like to take a second to help you understand what you're looking at. This is not an extended hitch by any means, it is called a weight distribution hitch, and there is ZERO adjustment on how far the hitch extends. There is only 1 hole for the receiver locking pin. These are designed to be used with travel trailers. I'm a bit confused what type of hitch you think should be used instead of something like the Blue Ox Sway Pro, or any standard WDH with spring bars. They are all going to extend from the truck like this. Second, this hitch does not magnify the load on the rear suspension, the spring bars actually distribute the weight more equally as to not have as much weight dead center on the ball. Its pretty straight forward lever physics. Third, the payload capacity on this truck is over 4,000 pounds. The tongue weight of this trailer is less than 500 lbs, let me explain... just because its a 7000 trailer, doesnt mean its putting 7000 lbs of pressure on the truck. all the weight of the trailer is focused on the trailer axles, (again, lever physics) so the tonge is very light. Simple math right? The suspension of this truck can handle about 8 TIMES MORE weight than this trailer. Fourth, because this truck is so tall, you need a drop shaft to lower the ball. This drop shaft does not affect the length of the hitch because it is part of the weight distribution. It simply provides height adjustment so the trailer can be level while towing no matter what height the truck is at. I hope this helps you understand sway/weight distribution hitches a little more.
Sometimes the hitch lock can bind because of rust on the ball and/or the plate that slides under the ball, don't grind material off either obviously, but smoothing out the rough rusty stuff can make a difference in how easily your hitch lock binds. I've also heard (but am unsure) that if the angle of the hitch is too extreme (like if the trailers flat but the trucks on a hill) that the lock wont slide under the ball easily. Unfortunately those locks are far easier to disengage than to engage.
Been towing for years and still learned some things that make a lot of sense. Subbed... PS ... 120 :) Like nails on a chalkboard (or my old-school electrician dad) hearing 110
thanks bud, I hear it called 110 and 120, sometimes even 115. I am not a licensed electrician so i dont run in the circles enough to know what you should call it. I think Ill go with 110 😉
the goal here is to check the bulb filaments... you can definitely check light switches individually, but I don’t see the need to continuously check your trucks light outputs. Once they are wired, they are wired. Just like check to see if your left turn signal works your left lights in the truck. Good idea in theory, but unless something is rewired, it’s unlikely going to flip around.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS It seems to work well but I’ve never used anything else and don’t have thousands of dollars to spend trying different types unless I have a very good reason to do so.
What if your chains are too short to cross without rubbing on the bottom of the trailer hitch? We just got the hitch at the dealer and everything you say don’t do, they did🤦🏻♀️. Would you have them shorten the emergency break line or just do it yourself? Every time I questioned something I was told I was wrong. The break line is twisted in the chain, they did not cross the chains as “they would rub the bottom of the hitch” and finally he hooked the break line to the hook of the chain. I just walked away. Now do you back up with the sway bars in tact or off? This was a “hitch expert” Thank you We also have the exact same hitch as you.
if they are too short to cross, you just dont cross them. personally I would have new chains welded to the tongue that I could cross, but theres an expense to that. you can shorten the brake cable yourself, but I have a new video coming that talks about that so hang tight. if the brake cable is run through the chain, it has a chance to break. this is a definite no-no.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS thank you. I have informed the dealership and they are going to retrain their employees. They assured me this will be fixed. They also said they will fix our chains😊. We did not take possession due to them needing to fix things found at inspection.
01:15 the tongue is on the vehicle. The receiver is on the tongue. The hitch is on the towed item. If I walked into a shop and asked for a tongue, they'd bring out a piece that inserts into the square tubing on the tow bar that mounts the ball or DO35/45 or receiver - what else can it do but receive a hitch? I'm from Australia, I suspect that we don't have our terminology upside down - even though we're Down Under. I'm here because the Algorithm worked - subscribed and liked.
I think the reason people are still twisting their safety chains is because manuals straight from the manufacturer actually still recommend it! In my Coachmen Apex Nano Owner’s Guide it says “If the chains are too long, simply twist them until the desired link is obtained.”
As far as pigtail hookup, I do not recommend hooking both shoreline and camper pigtail up at the same time! Actually this did happen to me. The trucks tow module fuse busted and that ain't cheap!!!
Really great and very detailed video! Do you have any videos on adding an amplifier to a Toyhauler? I am very interested in doing this but need some guidance as the 12V wire run to power an amp would be pretty long. Would be really interested on your ideas and advice on ways to do this. Thanks for the great video!
one thing I noticed you did not mention about the hook. yes the "direction of travel on the back" but you are putting the load on the "throat" of the hook or the strongest part of the hook. the other way you had it "the wrong way" is called tip loading and derates the hook and the weakest part of the hook. this I found out is only really thought in rigging courses, as a heavy equipment operator, I had to do a basic rigging course and this was one of the main points drilled into our heads, at the college I went to here in canada.
glad to see your paying attention, I thought about mentioning this as another reason to connect from underneath while filiming the video, but decided to take it out. once the chains are activated, they are going to pull straight back on the hooks, and since the angle of the chain wont change reagardless of how the hook is connected, the throat of the hook will pull against the eyelet in both scenarios. thanks for the info and for watching!
What is the best tow hitch to get? We are having a Apex Ultra-Lite 243FKS built for us and we have a F250 XL Crew Cab gas built for us and it only has 91 miles on it with a 8 foot bed! The Truck is only going to be used to pull the RV! The RV is 29.5 feet long and has a hitch weight of 810lbs. As You can tell, we are new at this and our fist long trip will be to pick up the travel trailer when it gets to the dealership and it passes the inspection that we are going to have done on it with an outside inspector! Sorry for the long rant. Thanks
You've been my sherpa to campers, and continue with great videos! I have to ask, what is that you're using to crank down on the WD chains? I have a Blue Ox swaypro and hate the standard lever they give you with it.
I would add one thing, now this could just be my jurisdiction, BUT I had a commercial enforcement officer tell me that you should slide the locking pin for the toung across from drivers side towards passenger side. The reason behind this being that IF the lock on the pin fails open, the way the road is sloped towards the ditch for rain drainage it wall pull with gravity so its resting on the head of the pin not just sliding backwards and out of the hole
very interesting idea.... i would go with it! its a very slight possibility, but even if theres a .001% chance and theres no downside to doing it, then do it! Thanks for sharing. Another thing is some people choose to use a padlock instead... I can see both good and bad with that as well. more to come.
100% agreed, slightly safer for even a slight change in what you already have to do is always worth it! But yeah I went to a lock as well, then its an extra step of protection when parked too!
another tip: be in the habit of completely hooking up or uhooking the trailer. if you just drop it on the hitch and leave the rest disconnected to move it around your yard, you may just drop it on the hitch and try to pull it down the road some day.
Hi. Thank you for youe valuable videos!!! I am always learning. I have a brand new rv (2025). I noticed when I'm depressing the truck brakes, the trailer brakes are not doing his job. I used a brake controller tester, and the lights are indicating everything is fine with the truck. Is there something I can try at home before taking the RV to the dealer? I don't understand that a brand new rv presents brake issues when this is a safety issue!!! This is my third RV and I never had brake issues before. Blessings
have you changed the settings on your brake controller? theres a lot of factors here, some of which we can disregard (for now at least), like the condition of the brakes. if you are coasting at 20 mph, you should be able to squeeze the brake controller and it should slow down and stop the trailer and the truck without hitting the truck brakes.
Ross, your honest thoughts on connecting the brake cable to the hitch? I would think most RVers are not worried about the hitch becoming detached from the truck, but there is nowhere on my truck to connect without the brake cable being too high under the bumper. My fear is it will get caught on the bumper and cut.
yeah, im with the folks who arent worried about the hitch getting ripped off too. If something rips my hitch off, its probably going to be such a catastrophic event that my trailer is going to be in pieces and not rolling anywhere... the correct way is to the frame... if you cant find a spot where you get a straight line, i dont mind connecting to the hitch, but it is correct on the frame. It is however 50 state legal to run it to the hitch though.
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Ive Towed for years buts this is a great refresher.
I would like to add one tip.
If after you back up and BEFORE you put the truck in park, engage your parking brake, and then put it in park this should eliminate that annoying 1 inch extra roll that often takes the truck out of position. 😊
Thanks for watching and commenting Jim.... you can also just engage the parking brake before taking your foot off the main brakes, which will work before or after putting the truck in park. thanks for the reminder!
Been towing bumper pulls for 25 years, watched this video to see how many things you did wrong, and it is SPOT ON! I’m glad someone finally addressed twisting chains. He is right about cutting off links to get the right length. Very well done, Ross!
@@jamessajack982 I agree. Dealerships can learn from this video.
As usual a Great Informative Video. I hope some newbie’s and seasoned veterans learned something by watching. I know I did. Thanks Again!
I rented a UHaul and was surprised when the worker twisted the chains as a means of "adjustment for the length".
@@nhamilton9545 I was thinking along the same lines, when using your own trailer you can have the correct chain length but when renting a uhaul /Penske trailer and the chains are too long they won’t adjust them to the proper length
there are chain reducers you can get if your chains are too long and you tow with multiple trucks (google double clevis) .. i will address this in an upcoming video.
I'm reminded of the time I hooked up the camper and had gotten about a block when it suddenly came to me that I'd neglected to close the hitch. It was on our checklist but the wife and myself had missed it due to a completely unanticipated sequence of innocuous events. So now it's on the checklist twice.
Another informative, no-nonsense video. Thank you!
@@floydffrogfloydffrog7453 not sure what those innocuous events are but I suspect your surrounding neighbors distracted you with their useless conversation. People just dont get it. When I am unloading or loading my car in the trailer or hooking up the trailer I dont want help nor do I want to engage in any conversation. That is how stuff gets missed. Again, people dont get it. At the race track that behavior is particularly bad.
excellent point Floyd... same goes with changing oil on the truck, checking fluids (so you dont leave a cap off), etc...
Dont cut the chains, you may wish you had more chain should you change tow vehicles or hitches. Just move the hook down to the desired link and leave the unusued links dangling. If needed, fold them back on the chain and tie them to it with wire ties. Alternaively you can used rated H links to shorten the chains, leaving a loop of chain below the H link.
Thanks Charles, I addressed shortening chains for folks who use or may use different tow vehicles in the future here: ruclips.net/video/gGFY1LIXUMM/видео.html
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Good to know that I’ve been doing things correctly, so thanks for that. Two things stuck out for me though as a 5 ft solo traveller. 1) I usually raise my hitch higher to make it easier to engage the clamps on my bars. 2) As a solo traveller I usually have to run back and forth several times to ensure all of my lights are working. With your hint to just engage the hazards, this will save me the extra steps. So thanks!
glad to help, and be safe out there Karen!
Another fantastic process video Ross! For the breakaway safety cable - I swapped out one of my license place bolts for an eye bolt and nyloc nut behind the fender - makes it super convenient to clip on and is independent of the hitch receiver
@@rvgearandfar Great idea.
Great idea
Regarding the power between the truck and the trailer. After having the cable pinched and damaged between the anti-sway bar and the hitch assembly (which took a day of repair and the replacement of a number of fuses both in the trailer and in the tow vehicle) I got into the habit of attaching a bungee chord from the propane cover and the mid-point of the power cable. This allowed flexible movement of the cable but ensured that it didn't drop down where it could be pinched by the anti-sway bars and the hitch assembly. When they saw what I was doing a number of trailering friends started doing the same thing with positive results. No more pinched power cables.
@@chriscutress1702
Good tip.
good tip for those with extra long power cables!
Good job, Ross! I had a travel trailer from 2021 to 2023, and I made over 30 trips with this trailer. After watching your video, I see that I could have made a few changes to my procedure that would have made the whole travel process a lot safer. Twisting chains? Guilty! Thank you. Lou from Georgia.
I've been guilty of doing a lot of things wrong over the years too, not ashamed to admit it. We learn and help each other!
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS -- I think back to the mid-70s when I was towing small fishing boats. The small amount of knowledge that I acquired was from watching other fisherman or from asking questions of the supposed "experts" at the marina. I was happy to believe everything they told me because they were "experts." These folks had a lot of "seat of the pants" experience, but "experts?" Not hardly. Sometimes being lucky completely outweighs being smart. Not often, but once in a while. 🙂
Great video and spot on advice. I’m a recently retired MTO officer in Ontario, Canada. DOT for my American friends. I’m also an avid RVer. It’s all about getting to where we are going safely.
thank you!
Oh my! I just bought a travel trailer in June from the dealership. We have went on 6 trips so far. Anywhere from 2hrs to 4hrs away from home.
We are 1st time owners, so I wanted the dealership to do a walkthrough with us.
I had *a lot* of questions. Of course, I will search RUclips for answers also, but I never take just one person's word for it to be *_fact_*
I will do a lot of research.
Our dealership showed us how to hitch up and told us to *twist the chains*
Ughhh! So, I am going to have to cut a couple of links out. He also told us to clip the chain downward on the hitch. *_WRONG_*
Makes me nervous now. Thank you so much for all your videos. I have learned a lot from you!
if you have hoods that you can easily disconnect from the chains (like mine in the video), just move the hook to the appropriate link and you can let the additional links either hang or zip tie them to another link. That way you dont have to cut the links.
Thanks for this video, I thought I was doing it the right way but I now know that I have a couple of things to change on my hook up process. I can't believe I never thought to hook up the chains right away to the tow vehicle, that makes so much sense.
i hoooked up chains after connecting for years too. after 8 years im not ashamed to say im still learning too, and thats what this channel is all about, learning from experience and through others experience.
Great video! I've been in the towing game a minute or two as well. I am so glad you pointed out to hook up the chains before lowering the tongue. While it was not during the hitching process, I witnessed a run away camper during the un hitching process because they un hooked the chains, and then un hitched the camper. I've always been a hook chains up first and unhook chains last guy...glad see more of us out there!
actually happened to me. unhitched the tailer and it twisted causeing the jack to slide off the block. i had used wheel chocks but 1 was resting on tree root and didnt grip well after the trailer changed pitch so that wheel rolled just an inch or 2 but enough to pull the jack off the block i was using. however the chains took the brunt of the load as it came down and it prevented the jack foot/jack and even A frame fram slamming into the ground so no damage was done. had i taken the chains off before that i have no idea how much worse that could have been.
i also will no longer trust a root surface with the chocks. it sat tight when i put it in but i didnt think about how it would change when front pitched up. so i scrutinize the surface more.
wow, thanks for sharing Bret... interesting story and glad it worked out ok for you. I had something similar happen my first trip 8 years ago, but the trailer rolled towards the truck. in my case, a large tree root actually stopped it from hitting the truck, but you're exactly right: scrutinize the surface!
A good tip is Chock tires first before unhooking from tow rig.
Hmmm, was the guys foot wrapped up like a Q-tip when that happened. 😮 If so, I might know him. 😳 He might have already been distracted trying to figure out how he was going to pay for over $12000 in medical bills.
If this was it, the wheels were chocked already.
Excellent video! I’ve been installing and demonstrating for customers hitches for decades. This is almost word for word the walk-through I give my customers. The more educated they are the less chances of something going wrong. I might just save myself some time and just play this video for new customers!
thank you bud.
I always place my vehicle in neutral first, then apply the emergency brake, then place it in park. Fully agree 100% with the tips on your video. Great information.
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excellent video, only thing i do different is i use the loop on the pin to hold my cable for the brake lights and the cable for the emergency brake so it does not fall on the ground
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Out-freaking-standing! I saw a camping world video where they hooked the brake cable to the chain hook!😮😮😮
yeah that will never pull the brake 😐
I painted my tongue bright yellow. My backup camera picks it up because it’s much brighter
something i really need to get around to doing... ive been putting it off for 7 years now, and my new tow vehicle has a small screen. time to get to it.
Thanks for the great video. I happen to be one of those individuals who twists one of my chains because it is longer than the other. It was good to see why I should shorten that chain. I also like the tip about clipping the breakaway cable to the vehicle frame rather than the hitch receiver. I'll have to see if my van has a good attachment point.
One point I disagree with is the length of the breakaway cable. That's an issue I questioned before and did some research on. The RVIA (Recreational Vehicle Industry Association) recommends that the trailer break away cable be slightly longer than the safety chains rather than shorter. The reasoning is that if the trailer becomes uncoupled and held by the chains, the driver will still have full control over the brakes rather than them being fully applied and potentially making an unsafe situation worse.
Keep making the great content.
Personally, I would just cut them to the right size... its really the proper way to do it.
I would disagree with the break cable being longer... if the tongues detaches and the chains catch the tongue, the driver may have no way of knowing about the disconnection. with knowing this, coming to a stop could put the trailer through the truck. trailer brakes are not like truck brakes, they wont stop the trailer like truck brakes stop a truck. I do appreciate the input and its definitely an option.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS Trailer brakes supplied with full current from the breakaway switch vs a controller create 2 very different results. If you install the chains correctly as shown in your video you still have control of the trailer and should be able to steer and stop with much more control than fully applied locked up trailer brakes. As far as knowing if it's come detached I would hope the noise and changes in vehicle geometry would alert even the worst of drivers.
On the surface, it does make sense that you would still want the ability to slowly brake and come to a stop without the brakes locking up if it becomes unhitched and is sitting on the chains. The reality though is that it may take too long for you to realize it is unhitched and your first knowledge of it may be the trailer slamming into the back of your truck. And if you do realize it immediately, your first reaction will be to slam on the brakes anyway.
im in the same boat, I can see pros and cons both ways. I feel like because the law only states you only need to have a brake cable connected and not a specific length, it might be a matter of personal preference? Im going to dig into this one a little bit. heres the ulitmate question... how strong are the brakes at 60-65 mph if they are immediately fully engaged. I know trailer brakes are more meant to AID the trailer in stopping, and are not necessarily the same strength as truck brakes are on a truck, for example. Knowing this, I dont feel like fully applied trailer brakes at your highest speed is going to make keeping the truck in the lane that difficult... the brakes should definitely make you notice something is wrong, but i dont think its going to cause an accident... I could be wrong, i have never fully squeezed my brake controller on the highway. I think the answer to that question will help us make the decision if we want our cable longer or shorter than our chains.... more to come on this. Thanks everyone!
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS Excellent points! Something that really needs to be tested on a closed track with "disposable" trailer....lol
One important reason for not having your chains too long is that they can spark on the pavement when hitting a bouncy spot in the road, potentially igniting a fire. That's not something you want anywhere, but especially in places like British Columbia or California where major wildfires are a yearly occurrence.
Also, I'm going to start attaching my chains with the clasps upsidedown and my brake cable to the truck frame, neither of which occurred to me before seeing this video
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Just getting into trailer details and you have great content. TY. Best comment is stating the fact you will never charge ppl to watch your vids and that you have sponsors. Well done.
thanks Eric, glad to have you here bud.
Such good tips! I usually hook up the chains last...no more! Thanks, Ross.
it never hurts to do it first... hopefully the chocks do their job and you never have a problem, but doesnt hurt to be safe.
Interesting about hooking the brake cable to the frame. I drove semi’s for 40 years. I was told to NEVER put the safety chains upside down as the spring loaded flimsy retaining mechanism has fallen off many times. More likely than something knocking it off from the road! NEVER SADDLE A DEAD HORSE!!
Ive been towing this specific RV for 8 years and my retaining mechanisms have never come off my hooks. If yours have come off, and you believe them to not be hitting anything from the road, I would immediately question the quality of those chain hooks/retainer clips. They should also be replaced immediately, as you probably know a hook that was manufactured with a retaining clip will fail inspection without a retaining clip. The only time a retaining clip is not needed is if the hook was manufactured without one. Same with lifting chains, as outlined by OSHA, ASME & ANSI.
Ross great points. Also the safety chains being installed from bottom up is also stronger from what I was told. The way the hooks pitch when safety chains are needed prevents them possibly snapping off tip of hook
as long as the throat of the hook is against the eyelet, you are good!
I can't tell you how much I value your videos! We upgraded from a popup to a 27RK Travel Trailer last May and your details are great! You are one of the few creators whose "ads" for your sponsor, I don't skip!
Do you have a Maintenance Checklist? Like a "Yearly, Quarterly, Monthly, Daily" kind of thing? Like how often to treat your slide seals, or how often to sterilize your water system.
maintenance is tricky to put in one checklist... its long, but we do release a lot of maintenance videos on specific topics.
Good video, I've had 2 chippers come off the back of my trim truck in the last 10 years, it's not so bad when you follow most these steps
thanks for watching!
This is a great how to video. I highly recommend this procedure to anyone with questions or has not connected a trailer in the past.
thank you, hope it helps
Another great video Ross. Nicely done. I must say I would like to hear from Lippert on the issue of stressing the axles/suspension components when you change tongue elevation a few inches with X-chocks in place. If that amount of stress is significant we have serious issues to worry about with our suspension systems. Just imagine the stress placed hitting a bump at 60 mph in comparison. If this stress is not good, I’m never driving on the freeway again!
That was my thought - I've actually forgotten the X braces and they just peeled out when i moved. i don't think these flimsy things are going to damage a suspension component.
i was skeptical at first too, but I'm going to trust the manufacturer on stuff like this, as minimal as it may seem. heres something to consider: when driving, the axels and wheels move independent of each other... when x-chocked, they are bound together, so if you think of it that way, by changing the pitch one axle will adjust differently than the other, depending if you are raising or lowering the front. have the x-chocks on during this process is not allowing them to move independently.... im not sure, im definitely not an engineer, but I feel if thats what the manufacturer is saying, its my obligation to let my viewers know, until someone can prove otherwise. hope that helps bud.
Very good video and always helpful to have a refresher course every once in a while.
I will admit to accidentally towing a toy hauler round trip from Glamis to San Diego. At the time I had a motorcycle trailer, a small utility trailer and a car trailer. I had a few different tongue/ball setups and had a 2" on the truck and the toy hauler was 2 5/16". Thank god for that 1000 pounds of tongue weight!!!!
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Tow a Palomino 27rbqc. 7,000 pounds wet. Went from a f150 to a 350 and a new hitch and don’t need the sway bars anymore. Those things are a pita. Love your videos and this is a helpful one.
used to have a ram 1500, probably dont need the spring bars now with a 1 ton, but its already paid for. Thanks for watching bud, glad to have you here.
I have a steep driveway that has a fairly harsh angle where I inter the street so I don't install my load leveling bars when hitching up at my house. A half mile down from the house is a very wide and level pull out where I can safely install them. This also where I remove them on my way home. With all of the frame failures happening on travel trailers, I don't want to take the chance of damaging my trailers' frame.
makes sense.
Thanks for a great guide to the process! I've always hitched before connecting the chains. That is an improvement I will take away!
I've never found a good place to connect the brake safety cable. This bugged me, so I bored out the license plate holes and put eye bolts in. The brake safety cable is secured to one of the two eye bolts with a carabiner.
My Tacoma had metal behind the license plate, but the F-150 is all plastic. On the F-150 I used bumper washers to secure the eye bolts to reduce the unlikely risk of the eye bolts pulling through the plastic and ripping the license plate off instead of pulling out from the trailer side.
For most trailers I have used, with a non-weight distribution hitch, I run the brake cable trough one eye bolt then to the opposite side to keep the brake cable just long enough. Since my Blue Ox WD hitch is longer, I just run direct to the eye on the same side that the brake safety switch is mounted to the trailer.
thanks bud, appreciate the comment... i have a video coming out soon talking about the license plate bolt.
crossing the chains also keeps the loop fairly consistent in droop as you go around corners. whereas hooking straight would leave the loop getting more slack on an inside turn and coming tighter in an outside turn.
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Always double check the stabilizer jacks. I use jack stands for the front of my trailer. I forgot to remove them and couldn't figure out why the tongue wasn't dropping on the ball. Pulled forward and backed up 3 times before my mother-in-law noticed... ouch! Never heard the end of it! 🤣😂🤣
glad it worked out bud, but I'm betting you regret knowing someone else saw it 🤣
I painted the front of my trailer tongue safety yellow so as to better see it when backing to connect the hitch.
something i really need to get around to doing... ive been putting it off for 7 years now, and my new tow vehicle has a small screen. time to get to it.
Great video. No myths, just facts. Thank you!
thanks bud, hope it helped.
An other good habit to have before hitting the road is activating trailer brakes with the brake controller knob while starting to roll forward. That way you know that your trailer brakes are working and that they don’t drag after a brake application 😊
good point, i will usually tug test my trailer brakes about 10 seconds after pulling out of my driveway by using the override button on the brake controller only.
All good information. Thanks for sharing and confirming that my hookup process is perfect.
you bet!
Used to twist my chains if they were to long but won't any more. Thanks for good video
i got a new video coming out on this subject on 10/13. hope to see you there.
First off never trust a Dodge to pull anything. Just kidding, this is a good video. As someone who is in the class 8 trucking business, hot shot and pulls a travel trailer, I’ll throw my 2 cents in. If you don’t cross safety chains, that’s a DOT violation, twisted safety chains is also DOT violation. The emergency brake cable can be hooked to the same place as the safety chain, but not to the safety chain. I agree that somewhere other than the hitch is probably best, but if your entire hitch/receiver comes off the truck you have huge problems anyway. Now, I’ve never been stopped by DOT while pulling my camper, so I’m sure a lot of violations, people are going to say “I’ve been pulling my camper for 20 years this way and never had a problem” go missed. However we have been stopped plenty of times in tractor trailer/hot shot and gone over with a fine tooth comb, so I’m pretty familiar with DOT standards. Just poured a good drink, can’t wait to read the comments on this post…. Enjoy 😊
DOT doesn't usually pull over RV's unless something is seriously wrong, they are commercial vehicle enforcement. The whole purpose of safety chains is to prevent your unhooked trailer from taking out traffic behind it, not to hold up your trailer, not designed for that. If you have an e-brake set up, put a small shackle in the tow holes (should fit with safety chain) and connect to that. Otherwise great video.
thanks for watching
Just found your channel. Been towing for about 5 years now and found out I've been doing it pretty much right the whole time. Wish I would have found this sooner though. I already bought my snap pads. I could have had a 10% discount!!!!
sorry you didnt get the discount, but happy to have you here my friend!
Thanks for showing the chain test, something I didn't know and the test makes it very clear.
No problem!
Chains first, brilliant. Sometimes common sense isn’t common.
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I would add last thing to disconnect.
A personal experience, RV pad had a slight pitch and very smooth concrete with some dust on it. Wheel chocks started sliding jack came off block rolling a few feet enough for jack to be bent. Had to cut off and replace jack.
For the trailer chain length issue. For years I just go to tractor supply and get the trailer chain hooks with the clip so you can remove them from the chains, and if my chains are long I can just shorten them up and have the extra hanging from that same clip, even doubled up the extra so it doesn’t hang so low or swing around much. Way better than twisting chains and allows for the same trailer to be used on different trucks with different chain length requirements
agreed!
As far as connecting the 7 way, do it while you are there, so it does not become a forgotten item. DC current does not care how many sources are tied together, the truck 7 way, your converter (shore power supplied) or your solar, its OK for all of them to power the buss at the same time. Just don't forget the 7 way and the light check, which I do last.
There is no problem with multiple charge sources to a 12volt battery other than not exceeding the charge profile of the battery. In fact you can have a solar panel array going to the battery(ies) plugged into shore with the converter on and have the 7pin and truck running.
Here is what you have to figure. If it’s a single lead acid battery you don’t want to exceed a total charge of 40amps continuous. Lead acid batteries are like slow cookers. You cant charge them too fast otherwise they can swell.
But if you have 2 or more then you probably don’t have enough charge sources to worry about. Im not big on converters because the preset logic as soon as you plug it in it will go into bulk charge for a longer time than necessary. Newer chargers that can do lithium or LA have logic that allows it to slow the charge quicker….but that’s another story.
Bottom line. Watch out on multiple charge sources to 1 battery, go balls to the wall if there is more than 1.
I look at it in different way no hook to shore power and vehicle at same time. First disconnect shore power then hook up to vehicle. Not as a charging problem but to prevent forgetting to disconnect shore power. I've seen a few dragging their shore power cords and a time or two the stinky slinky hose. Most of the time it was in changing RV pad sites and distracted.
Depending on power cables, I have seen people use Velcro strap around the cable and cap (at the tow vehicle)as an extra safety, to keep the cable from disconnecting from the outlet.
I just use a piece of electrical tape.
good idea too!
I use a coiled e brake cable it doesn't fall down and it will not bind. I hook it to an eye bolt on the bumper of the tow vehicle.
Thanks for your information on this subject. First class all the way..
thanks Vernon, going to actually release a follow up since this video got so many view and questions... I think I might go the route of the coiled cable to a license plate eyebolt too... going to the frame under the truck works fine, but if i dont have to crawl underneath it would be easier and accomplishing the same thing.
Great video! You can never go wrong learning more or refreshing on things you already know. You do a great job with your videos. I have a Ross playlist that I use to reference. Keep it up and thank you for putting these together!
Glad you like them!
Great tips Ross! Have always connected safety chains from top but will be changing to come from the bottom 👌👍
the throat of the chain will rest against the eyelet should the chain be activated in either direction, but hooking from underneath is going to prevent the things i talk about in the video while driving. thank you for watching and glad it helped!
AHA! 2:50, thanks for that. I always figured that clasp down is safer, since more hook is engaged with the reciever. If the trailer comes down, it will tug downwards.
I didn't think about the clasp being damaged and unhooked, that's a great lesson.
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Great video and great tips for those new to bumper pull RV's.
However I disagree with one of your points...
If after a failure of the hitch system, if the safety chains are keeping the trailer still connected to my tow vehicle as they are intended to do, I do not want the control of the trailer brakes taken away from me, the driver.
The emergency braking activation cable is only for an instance where you have totally lost control of the trailer (meaning it is 100% detached from the tow vehicle). The trailer power cable should also be long enough so as to not disconnect from the vehicle, and the emergency braking system should not activate if the chains are pulled to their full length with the trailer unhitched, but the chains remain attached to the tow vehicle. This allows ME to control what the trailer brakes are doing should this ever happen.
In simple terms, the emergency cable should only activate the emergency braking switch if the distance between the trailer and the tow vehicle becomes greater than what it could with the safety chains pulled to full length.
The way I keep the emergency cable and the trailer power cable from getting fowled in any part of the hitch is to clip them both inside the loop of the wire bale of the coupler lock pin. This will keep them from ever being pinched during sharp turns, etc.
Sorry Scott, I'm a little confused by your comment. If the hitch fails, as you say, or comes off the truck, the safety chains are NOT keeping your trailer connected to the truck because they are connected to the hitch as well. Do you understand? if the hitch comes off, so does the part where your chains are connected to the hitch, and having the brake activated could prevent the trailer from running though the back of your truck. I might be misunderstand your comment, please clarify if what I'm reading is not what youre saying. Thanks Scott.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS The "Hitch" is the system of components that are from the receiver socket aft.
If anyone with any engineering sense was concerned about the vehicle "receiver hitch" coming detached from the vehicle, with the highly regulated society we live in, there would be laws requiring even the safety chains to be directly connected to the vehicle frame.
That is not the case, because it is not a problem.
The safety chains are for a failure of the hitching "system".
i understand what you're saying, and actually agree with not being worried about my hitch receiver coming off, but I'm still not sure what you're saying is the downside to connecting the cable to the frame. It will pull with any normal failure just as it would if connected to the eyelet, plus it will pull if the hitch becomes disconnected. I'm just confused, not arguing, on what you're saying.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS You said there are two important things to follow, regardless of where you decided to connect the end of the cable (I see no problem with connecting it to the frame of the tow vehicle if that makes you feel better)....
For one of them you said the activation cable should be shorter than the chains so that the brakes go into emergency activation mode before the chains become tight.
This is what I think is wrong and bad advice.
As I said above, the emergency brakes should never activate unless the trailer has fully disconnected from the tow vehicle.
I believe this is why the cable is typically quite long which is what gives you enough length to connect it to the tow vehicle frame, when it is really only meant to reach to the safety chain connection point on the vehicles receiver hitch.
i get what you're saying now... personally, id rather the trailer brakes activate if it comes off the ball for this one reason: if the chains catch the tongue, you may not even know its been disconnected. you also still have the chance of the trailer running through the back of the truck if it becomes disconnected. thanks for your input and for watching Scott. Something definitely to note.
Great video, precise and to the point. Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Ross you are the man ! We love ya !
thank you, glad to have you here!
Ross, another awesome video. I just installed air lifters on my Chevy Colorado for leveling our Forest River Wolf Pup because the back of the truck seemed like it was dropping too much on hook-up. The air bags work perfectly, BUT I would love to see a video on the right way to set them; i.e., do I want to maintain the level of the truck when nothing is connected? Do I want it to drop a little? On our last trip up I-94 in Michigan, they have this godawful concrete pavement that is "sculpted" so each section dips in the middle and rises toward the expansion joints. We both felt like our heads would snap off from the bouncing.
Ive never used bags so I really dont know much about them. are your leaf springs in good shape? its normal for a truck to drop a little with a load, even my 1 ton ram drops a little when i connect our small trailer.
Very informative and useful to those who have RV. Great tips and sharing sir
Glad it was helpful!
I remember when a friend of mine neglected to ensure that he had inserted the reciever lock bar for his hitch when connecting his new trailer. He managed to leave the resort, pull out onto the hiway and make it almost a 1/2 mile before the hitch and trailer said 'bye bye'. Guess where the saftey brake cable was also connected? Fotunately, everything managed to gently roll/slide/coast to a stop in the lane and after some embarasment, was correctly attached and the rest of the trip was much less eventful.
im surprised it doesnt happen more often! thanks for sharing Andy!
Excellent 💯👌👍
Thank you so much 😀
I towed a TT for 78K miles at max truck towing capacity. My Pro Pride hitch saved me on many occasions. Worth it.
have only heard good things about that hitch.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS Expensive and heavy, but the anti-sway and load distribution were amazing. Also, unless a thief had access to the receiver portion, it makes theft almost impossible. Hensley also makes one.
definitely. right now im towing a 7500lb trailer with a 6.7L Cummins 3500, a bit overkill I realize, but i cant even tell its back there. we will be getting a larger rv next year so i might have to look into the ProPride.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS With a 3500, you should be good on any TT. I was using a 1500 diesel and a 9500 lb trailer. 😬
I cross the chains twice (or more) if they are too long but never twist them individually.
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Great video. Thank you for your content.
THANK YOU for always watching and commenting Robert! 🍻
Something I have ran in to ok checking lights on the trailer. There a vehicles that use a different circuit path or module between the hazard switch and the turn signal switch. The hazards will work but turn signals won't.
very true, but this is more about checking to make sure the actual bulb filaments (or led lights) on the trailer are good. Its perfectly fine to make sure your truck outputs are working, I just dont think its necessary every time. it would be weird if everyone checked their vehicle outputs every time before driving right? haha, imagine seeing a parking lot full of people walking around their car at Lowes lol.
Im new to this, thanks for a great video. Just bought our first travel trailer
have fun!
I completely remove my shore power cable and water lines BEFORE starting this entire process. You really don't want that kind of voltage or water pressure in the mix when you're shifting things around. If, for example, the trailer shifts and severs your shore power line, you now have a major electrical hazard.
that is definitely something you can do as well. thanks for sharing.
Everything you said should be well known and understood by anyone who tows a trailer,if you don’t know just ask or leave it to the experienced person!
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thanks again for the informative video
You bet!
The meat (strongest point of the hook) is the reason I agree with you.
Hooks should always come from the underside of the hitch receiver hook loops always. Because, if you if you ever end up pulling a trailer by the chains (hooks, hopefully never) then you're pull from the strongest part if the hook not the weakest ...
For almost any hook, a great way to know which way the hooks gets seated is if you think of yourself doing a pull up from Strap, chain, rope, whatever perspective .. these become your forearms .. which way do you want your hands (hooks) when you go to pull yourself up? sure you can do it either way but ... thats not the question, question is .. which way is safest?
So again, I agree with you ... I just hope this explanation helps others to agree with you..
thank you for the comment my friend!
One thing I started doing recently is that I put E brake on and truck in neutral when I connect. My rig is a 20k lb 5th wheel on a goose ball.
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Thanks for the clarification
Happy to help
Got to the RV storage today and there was a couple with the tongue jack of their travel trailer on the ground, I asked if they needed any help, he said no, he was waiting for someone to come with a jack. He said rookie mistake, he forgot to put the locking pin in. Fortunately it was only a few feet out of his storage spot and had no damage. Too bad he didn’t see this video
it probably gets forgotten more than we think. thanks for sharing Jon.
NEVER let anyone else between vehicle and trailer during moving,coupling and uncoupling.
Last thing... ALWAYS last. Remove wheel chocks. Nothing like having a trailer roll out of your campsite 😳
Also, I wrap a small bungee cord around the chains and hook it onto the trailer hitch frame to keep chains high enough to keep them from snagging anything.
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Right on Ross as always great information 👍
thanks brother, hows the new property?
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS oh it’s awesome I already have winterized it and put it away for the winter ❄️ because we just have to many projects going on the property but ya after living in the city it’s piece and quiet and enjoying the sunrise and sunset thanks for asking Ross I will send you some pictures
Good advice. An often overlooked item, that was not done in this video also, is to grease the ball - including on the bottom sides of the ball! Over time an ungreased ball will wear away the coupler to the point that the ball will literally drop out of the coupler. And chrome balls are no exception. They require grease too. Reese even sells lubricant. A rusty ball on the coupler is even worse. Some will disagree, which is fine, but would they put new greasable ball joints on their truck (which are sealed from dirt - unlike the coupler) and not put grease in them?
I don’t disagree with you on a little grease on the ball to keep the coupler working, but please understand this is hitching up process video, not a hitch maintenance video. But I do appreciate the input. I will have a hitch maintenance video coming soon!
Excellent video!
Thank you very much!
I think it should be noted that the opening of the hook should face up as you’ve instructed. But to include the reasoning, so as if he did kind of come, uncoupled, hit the ground instead of springing up, striking something causing more damage.
It is good idea to check the turn signals individually as well as the hazards.
the goal here is to check the bulb filaments... i dont know why you would need to continuously check your trucks light outputs. once lights are wired, they are wired. i just dont see a need, just as i dont need to continuously check to see if my truck turn signals for correct wiring. Please share if there is something I'm missing.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS if you check the left turn signal, you’ll know that the left is working properly. If you check the right turn signal you know that the right is working properly. For instance my truck had an issue a while back where when I signaled left the right side blinked and vise versa when I signaled right the left side blinked. There ended up be a recall for the turn signal switch. If you’re just turning the hazards on you won’t catch this problem.
definitely makes sense that could happen, rare, but can happen.
I've been camping and towing for 35 years. I never realized twisting chains reduced their strength. Man, am I glad I rabbit-holed to this video! Something I would add, though, when you hook to any given trailer for the first time, check left and right turn signals individually. Do this especially on a used or rental trailer, but I've seen new ones on delivery where the left/right signals were reversed. Great, great, to-the-point video!
absolutely! This little trick will make sure all your bulbs are working, and i dont think its necessary to check your truck turn signal outputs all that often, but definitely worth doing occasionally. thanks for the comment, glad to have you here bud.
When connecting to tow vehicle I was always taught to put one safety chain clasp "over " passenger side and one "under " drivers side incase trailer breaks free from hitch jamming up under your bumper when breaking potentially breaking free from the clip lever..and especially if theres only one safety chain on a trailer to always put towards passenger side so in the event of a break free from hitch, trailer will pull towards passenger side instead of on coming traffic side avoiding a possible collision. Via the Commercial Drivers License handbook rules for CDL test..
Thanks for sharing Craig, however I dont know of any RV manufacturer outfitting the trailer with 1 chain. The regulations vary depending on the state, some states require at least one, many require 2 chains. And because these are moving from state to state, thats probably why they all come with 2 chains.
Those extended hitches are a blight on towing, not only do they magnify the load onto rear suspension thru lever ratio but also promote sway and sway steer, keep your ball as close to your bar as possible, get a specific hitch if necessary and stop using those adjustable crap, one thats short as possible with vehicle location to suit your vehicle and trailer is a top investment for your families safety !
Hey bud, im sensing a little confusion based on your comment, so I'd like to take a second to help you understand what you're looking at. This is not an extended hitch by any means, it is called a weight distribution hitch, and there is ZERO adjustment on how far the hitch extends. There is only 1 hole for the receiver locking pin. These are designed to be used with travel trailers. I'm a bit confused what type of hitch you think should be used instead of something like the Blue Ox Sway Pro, or any standard WDH with spring bars. They are all going to extend from the truck like this.
Second, this hitch does not magnify the load on the rear suspension, the spring bars actually distribute the weight more equally as to not have as much weight dead center on the ball. Its pretty straight forward lever physics.
Third, the payload capacity on this truck is over 4,000 pounds. The tongue weight of this trailer is less than 500 lbs, let me explain... just because its a 7000 trailer, doesnt mean its putting 7000 lbs of pressure on the truck. all the weight of the trailer is focused on the trailer axles, (again, lever physics) so the tonge is very light. Simple math right? The suspension of this truck can handle about 8 TIMES MORE weight than this trailer.
Fourth, because this truck is so tall, you need a drop shaft to lower the ball. This drop shaft does not affect the length of the hitch because it is part of the weight distribution. It simply provides height adjustment so the trailer can be level while towing no matter what height the truck is at.
I hope this helps you understand sway/weight distribution hitches a little more.
Sometimes the hitch lock can bind because of rust on the ball and/or the plate that slides under the ball, don't grind material off either obviously, but smoothing out the rough rusty stuff can make a difference in how easily your hitch lock binds.
I've also heard (but am unsure) that if the angle of the hitch is too extreme (like if the trailers flat but the trucks on a hill) that the lock wont slide under the ball easily.
Unfortunately those locks are far easier to disengage than to engage.
A little rust free and a scuff pad will clean the rust right off the ball: amzn.to/4cxtFJl
Been towing for years and still learned some things that make a lot of sense. Subbed... PS ... 120 :) Like nails on a chalkboard (or my old-school electrician dad) hearing 110
thanks bud, I hear it called 110 and 120, sometimes even 115. I am not a licensed electrician so i dont run in the circles enough to know what you should call it. I think Ill go with 110 😉
You should also check each turn signal individually, if the wires are crossed (left is right and so on) hazards will not show that.
the goal here is to check the bulb filaments... you can definitely check light switches individually, but I don’t see the need to continuously check your trucks light outputs. Once they are wired, they are wired. Just like check to see if your left turn signal works your left lights in the truck. Good idea in theory, but unless something is rewired, it’s unlikely going to flip around.
We have the same hitch and this is pretty much how we were instructed by the dealer to connect.
do you like the Blue Ox Sway Pro?
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS It seems to work well but I’ve never used anything else and don’t have thousands of dollars to spend trying different types unless I have a very good reason to do so.
What if your chains are too short to cross without rubbing on the bottom of the trailer hitch? We just got the hitch at the dealer and everything you say don’t do, they did🤦🏻♀️. Would you have them shorten the emergency break line or just do it yourself? Every time I questioned something I was told I was wrong. The break line is twisted in the chain, they did not cross the chains as “they would rub the bottom of the hitch” and finally he hooked the break line to the hook of the chain. I just walked away.
Now do you back up with the sway bars in tact or off? This was a “hitch expert”
Thank you
We also have the exact same hitch as you.
My dealership told me the same thing. Everything is the opposite of this video.
if they are too short to cross, you just dont cross them. personally I would have new chains welded to the tongue that I could cross, but theres an expense to that. you can shorten the brake cable yourself, but I have a new video coming that talks about that so hang tight. if the brake cable is run through the chain, it has a chance to break. this is a definite no-no.
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS thank you. I have informed the dealership and they are going to retrain their employees. They assured me this will be fixed. They also said they will fix our chains😊. We did not take possession due to them needing to fix things found at inspection.
100% and yes hook that E brake to the frame.
👍
01:15 the tongue is on the vehicle. The receiver is on the tongue. The hitch is on the towed item. If I walked into a shop and asked for a tongue, they'd bring out a piece that inserts into the square tubing on the tow bar that mounts the ball or DO35/45 or receiver - what else can it do but receive a hitch?
I'm from Australia, I suspect that we don't have our terminology upside down - even though we're Down Under.
I'm here because the Algorithm worked - subscribed and liked.
not here my friend. the front of the trailer is the tongue... thats why its called a tongue jack. the hitch is what goes on the truck.
Good information
Thanks Tim, good to hear from you again my friend.
I think the reason people are still twisting their safety chains is because manuals straight from the manufacturer actually still recommend it! In my Coachmen Apex Nano Owner’s Guide it says “If the chains are too long, simply twist them until the desired link is obtained.”
😳 definitely not correct... the amount of misinformation out there is disturbing.
Great content and thank you. New sub.
Thanks for the sub!
As far as pigtail hookup, I do not recommend hooking both shoreline and camper pigtail up at the same time! Actually this did happen to me. The trucks tow module fuse busted and that ain't cheap!!!
I dont recommend it either.
Really great and very detailed video! Do you have any videos on adding an amplifier to a Toyhauler? I am very interested in doing this but need some guidance as the 12V wire run to power an amp would be pretty long. Would be really interested on your ideas and advice on ways to do this. Thanks for the great video!
i dont have any videos on amps right now, but there is this one that may come in handy: ruclips.net/video/hpuRDGDJIH8/видео.html
Personal preference only but I'd be getting rid of the hooks on the safety chains.
I've always used either D or bow shackles on my safety chains.
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What'up-good masterpiece,Rv~ :)
Hey, thanks
one thing I noticed you did not mention about the hook. yes the "direction of travel on the back" but you are putting the load on the "throat" of the hook or the strongest part of the hook. the other way you had it "the wrong way" is called tip loading and derates the hook and the weakest part of the hook.
this I found out is only really thought in rigging courses, as a heavy equipment operator, I had to do a basic rigging course and this was one of the main points drilled into our heads, at the college I went to here in canada.
glad to see your paying attention, I thought about mentioning this as another reason to connect from underneath while filiming the video, but decided to take it out. once the chains are activated, they are going to pull straight back on the hooks, and since the angle of the chain wont change reagardless of how the hook is connected, the throat of the hook will pull against the eyelet in both scenarios. thanks for the info and for watching!
Good presentation
thank you
What is the best tow hitch to get? We are having a Apex Ultra-Lite 243FKS built for us and we have a F250 XL Crew Cab gas built for us and it only has 91 miles on it with a 8 foot bed! The Truck is only going to be used to pull the RV! The RV is 29.5 feet long and has a hitch weight of 810lbs. As You can tell, we are new at this and our fist long trip will be to pick up the travel trailer when it gets to the dealership and it passes the inspection that we are going to have done on it with an outside inspector! Sorry for the long rant. Thanks
wandering weekends has a ton of hitch review videos. check them out @WanderingWeekends
@@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS I used his videos to make the decision on our hitch
You've been my sherpa to campers, and continue with great videos!
I have to ask, what is that you're using to crank down on the WD chains? I have a Blue Ox swaypro and hate the standard lever they give you with it.
i use this breaker bar and a 1" socket:
- amzn.to/4fJrsgI
- amzn.to/4dGnQKp
I would add one thing, now this could just be my jurisdiction, BUT I had a commercial enforcement officer tell me that you should slide the locking pin for the toung across from drivers side towards passenger side.
The reason behind this being that IF the lock on the pin fails open, the way the road is sloped towards the ditch for rain drainage it wall pull with gravity so its resting on the head of the pin not just sliding backwards and out of the hole
very interesting idea.... i would go with it! its a very slight possibility, but even if theres a .001% chance and theres no downside to doing it, then do it! Thanks for sharing. Another thing is some people choose to use a padlock instead... I can see both good and bad with that as well. more to come.
100% agreed, slightly safer for even a slight change in what you already have to do is always worth it!
But yeah I went to a lock as well, then its an extra step of protection when parked too!
another tip: be in the habit of completely hooking up or uhooking the trailer. if you just drop it on the hitch and leave the rest disconnected to move it around your yard, you may just drop it on the hitch and try to pull it down the road some day.
great point Ken, the process should always be completed once its started.
Hi. Thank you for youe valuable videos!!! I am always learning. I have a brand new rv (2025). I noticed when I'm depressing the truck brakes, the trailer brakes are not doing his job. I used a brake controller tester, and the lights are indicating everything is fine with the truck. Is there something I can try at home before taking the RV to the dealer? I don't understand that a brand new rv presents brake issues when this is a safety issue!!! This is my third RV and I never had brake issues before. Blessings
have you changed the settings on your brake controller? theres a lot of factors here, some of which we can disregard (for now at least), like the condition of the brakes. if you are coasting at 20 mph, you should be able to squeeze the brake controller and it should slow down and stop the trailer and the truck without hitting the truck brakes.
Ross, your honest thoughts on connecting the brake cable to the hitch? I would think most RVers are not worried about the hitch becoming detached from the truck, but there is nowhere on my truck to connect without the brake cable being too high under the bumper. My fear is it will get caught on the bumper and cut.
yeah, im with the folks who arent worried about the hitch getting ripped off too. If something rips my hitch off, its probably going to be such a catastrophic event that my trailer is going to be in pieces and not rolling anywhere... the correct way is to the frame... if you cant find a spot where you get a straight line, i dont mind connecting to the hitch, but it is correct on the frame. It is however 50 state legal to run it to the hitch though.