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Old 07-07-2019, 07:18 PM   #1
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Name: Mark
Trailer: Trails West Campster
California
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need advice and answers please

I have a trails west campster, I wish to tow it from Norcal to New Hampshire. I need tires and I am going to repack the wheel bearings. Is there anything else I should do prior to the trip? How much weight can I have inside the trailer besides what it came with? I own a home in Ca and we decided to rent it out and move to a home we are buying in NH. The trailer and the truck towing it will stay in NH and we will fly back to CA to get the renting stuff done. Both the truck and trailer will be stored in a barn during the winters. Also if anyone knows where I can get another wheel for a spare and recommend some inexpensive tires to make the trip I would appreciate it. Thanks Mark
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Old 07-07-2019, 07:30 PM   #2
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need advice and answers please

Discount Tire is my go-to place for all things wheels and tires. In some markets they’re called America’s Tire.

Check running lights, safety chains, and the coupler (condition and adjustment). Some folks have had to add a bit of ballast to the front of empty Campsters to get enough tongue weight for a solid, stable tow. Usually not a problem once you have some water and/or gear stored in the front compartments, battery and LP on the tongue, etc.
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Old 07-07-2019, 07:34 PM   #3
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I would talk to Les Schwab if you have one close by. They can do the bearings and make sure you have the right tires. My local one has found spare wheels for my utility trailer a couple of times in their recycle stack (free).

I don't know the carrying capacity of the original frame and axle, but I would be very careful about overloading it. It is a lightweight trailer. I would limit it to what you need for camping on the trip or lightweight bulky items. Put the heavy stuff in the truck.
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Old 07-07-2019, 10:22 PM   #4
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As Dave said, don't overload it. but what heavier stuff you do carry in the trailer, keep it in front of the axle with most toward the front.
Your trailer is more load sensitive than usual and will sway easily without adequate tongue weight.
Mine had a light weight leaf spring axle with (NOT 1-1/16") but 1" straight spindles. Certainly not a cargo trailer

If you just want to pack cargo for the trip, keep it light with most weight forward for stability.


When I bought mine I towed it 500 miles home in the condition shown.
But you are best to have working lights fresh grease and good tires for the trip you are planning.


Harbor Freight has a set of magnetic trailer lights with a long 4-plug wire for under $20, if you doubt your DOT wiring, those lights would be great insurance and a complete instant spare system.
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Old 07-08-2019, 10:18 AM   #5
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Floyd: I assume the magnetic trailer lights would go on a steel bumper? Otherwise...where? Don't mean to be picky but am awfully curious.

AstroMark: I would also check the few, big bolts that hold the trailer body to the frame...we discovered after a 9-hour drive home with ours that of six original bolts, four were missing, and one was rusted half through.

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Old 07-08-2019, 10:19 AM   #6
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Name: J Ronald
Trailer: Casita 17 ft. Liberty Deluxe
North Carolina
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Tires

Cheap tires can be false economy. Hot weather, cheap tires on Interstate highways is a recipe for blowouts that can also damage your trailer. Good tires cost little more than good tires but they buy much better performance. I had new cheap tires 60mph rating, blew a hole large as my fist. Now running Maxxis 8 ply 90mph rating. Single axel tire failure more catastrophic than if it were dual axel.
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Old 07-08-2019, 10:56 AM   #7
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Name: Gordon
Trailer: 2015 Scamp (16 Std Layout 4) with '15 Toyota Sienna LE Tug
North Carolina
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Originally Posted by J Ron View Post
Cheap tires can be false economy. ..
I was thinking the same thing. The Scamp Facebook group I am in has multiple reports of tire failures this summer. I had one last summer with the original Greenball tires (less than 4 years old). I now have Carlise. Maxxis was my other choice.

And Discount Tire used to be my tire store until I was getting the Carlisle. Lots of screw ups on their part but the worst was they tried very hard to sell me tires they had in stock and when I looked they were not even rated to carry the eight I told them my trailer was. So wherever you go for tires... do your homework and rely on your best judgement.
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Old 07-08-2019, 01:44 PM   #8
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Name: Terry
Trailer: 1971 Hunter compact Jr, 1979 Terry 19', 2003 Scamp 16'
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If you're replacing tires remember your spare. They are usually forget until needed. When I picked up my 2003 Scamp 16 2 years ago it still had the original spare. Very poor condition. Going as far as you are I would consider having a second spare. It can be along way between service. I've lost several tires in the past and can be overly cautious with tires
Try going over a bridge at 65 and losing a tire.
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Old 07-08-2019, 02:25 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kai in Seattle View Post
Floyd: I assume the magnetic trailer lights would go on a steel bumper? Otherwise...where? Don't mean to be picky but am awfully curious.

AstroMark: I would also check the few, big bolts that hold the trailer body to the frame...we discovered after a 9-hour drive home with ours that of six original bolts, four were missing, and one was rusted half through.

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My Trillium had that problem, it is also common on Pre-War cars.
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Old 07-08-2019, 02:29 PM   #10
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My Trillium had that problem, it is also common on Pre-War cars.

Korea? Viet Nam? Iraq? Afghanistan? etc?
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Old 07-08-2019, 08:33 PM   #11
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Name: Jann
Trailer: Casita
Colorado
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Originally Posted by AstroMark View Post
I have a trails west campster, I wish to tow it from Norcal to New Hampshire. I need tires and I am going to repack the wheel bearings. Is there anything else I should do prior to the trip? How much weight can I have inside the trailer besides what it came with? I own a home in Ca and we decided to rent it out and move to a home we are buying in NH. The trailer and the truck towing it will stay in NH and we will fly back to CA to get the renting stuff done. Both the truck and trailer will be stored in a barn during the winters. Also if anyone knows where I can get another wheel for a spare and recommend some inexpensive tires to make the trip I would appreciate it. Thanks Mark
Buy good trailer tires not cheap ones. Buy a new spare tire also. With good tires you should not have a flat unless you hit something. A lot of places sell tires on wheels for trailers depending on the size you need. Tire stores and trailer supply stores sell them. Driving over 60MPH can be a problem with these small trailers. We only drive about 58-60. Yes it takes longer but is safer and saves gas. You may want to think about a sway bar. Just a simple one that has a ball mount on both ends and slides. I bet someone on this site can tell you what they are called. Casita made us have one before we left with our trailer in 2007. We have found it to make a huge difference in sway. We drove our Casita from Colorado to Georgia going through Chattanooga, TN. If you've ever gone into Chattanooga you know the horrible road and traffic it is. Without the sway bar I'm not sure we could have made it.
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Old 07-08-2019, 09:19 PM   #12
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Name: Peter
Trailer: G30 Elite Class C
British Columbia
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Originally Posted by floyd View Post
As Dave said, don't overload it. but what heavier stuff you do carry in the trailer, keep it in front of the axle with most toward the front.
Your trailer is more load sensitive than usual and will sway easily without adequate tongue weight.
Mine had a light weight leaf spring axle with (NOT 1-1/16") but 1" straight spindles. Certainly not a cargo trailer

If you just want to pack cargo for the trip, keep it light with most weight forward for stability.


When I bought mine I towed it 500 miles home in the condition shown.
But you are best to have working lights fresh grease and good tires for the trip you are planning.


Harbor Freight has a set of magnetic trailer lights with a long 4-plug wire for under $20, if you doubt your DOT wiring, those lights would be great insurance and a complete instant spare system.
:Floyd how do magnetic lights work on a FG Trailer?
Stude
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Old 07-08-2019, 11:16 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by stude View Post
:Floyd how do magnetic lights work on a FG Trailer?

Stude
On the bumper, in many cases.
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Old 07-09-2019, 05:32 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
On the bumper, in many cases.
:Jon most of those little trailers do not have real good Bumpers to mount a magnetic light to them. But I guess one can weld a peice of metal onto and that would do the trick. Jon where in AZ do you live, have friends in Mesa and Marana.
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Old 07-09-2019, 06:32 AM   #15
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I think we're going off on a tangent about magnetic tail lights because Mark said nothing about needing them. It was just Floyd relating what he had to do in the interests of giving a complete report. Mark's question/post seems to be all about wheels/tires/bearings and a little about loading.

We all seem to agree about not going cheap on the tires. This spring I put new tires and wheels on the Casita and I was able to get Endurance tires and steel rims for not too terrible a price from the dealer. Plus, if I ever should have a problem on the road I'm expecting to be able to go to any Goodyear dealer in the country if it turns out to be a warranty issue. That might be a comfort on your trip.

I would tow it as near empty as possible and not use it as an opportunity to get some household goods to NH. But that's just me. Maybe include whatever camping gear you normally carry.
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Old 07-09-2019, 08:39 AM   #16
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Just one data point, but I bought my old Trillium that had been sitting in a garage, unused, for twenty years. So I took tires mounted on wheels with me, bearing grease, and yes, one of those HF temporary trailer light kits.

I figured tires had to be at least 20 years old, turned out they were either 23 or 33 years old, totally dry rotted and cracked, with "perfect" tread.

I would have never gotten it home without those items. And while I was swapping the wheels, I greased the bearings. Outside lights? Half of them didn't work so I used the magnetic ones, zip tied the wiring to the frame. Fortunately, the Trillium has a steel rear bumper. If not, I would have been taping/zip tying them to anything I could. No lights = unsafe to you and others on the road.

Short of that, I would have rented a U Haul car trailer or similar and trailered it home (at significant additional expense).

Once I got home, I sold the wheel/mounted combos I had on Craigslist, as they were cheap Northern Tool parts: OK to get home, not so hot for long term use. I lost $50 on them selling them, not bad. Add another $20 for the temporary lights. If was a part of bringing the trailer home (600 miles). I even camped in the trailer the first night on the way home, dry camping only as I did not trust the wiring.

Once I got home, I replaced the wheel bearings. Not that big of a job if you have the right tools.
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Old 07-09-2019, 10:05 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo View Post
Korea? Viet Nam? Iraq? Afghanistan? etc?
For those who don't know cars... WWII.
Pre-War is a term commonly used and known among Auto enthusiasts.


It generally refers to the construction of American cars designed and built before WWII, but also can include cars built in the late 40s as well since they were often merely carry over designs.


Hope this helps....
Or were you just trying to be funny?
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Old 07-09-2019, 10:27 AM   #18
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Funny with a dab of serious.
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Old 07-09-2019, 10:33 AM   #19
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Originally Posted by stude View Post
:Jon most of those little trailers do not have real good Bumpers to mount a magnetic light to them. But I guess one can weld a peice of metal onto and that would do the trick. Jon where in AZ do you live, have friends in Mesa and Marana.
Stude
I mentioned these lights because they are cheap effective and handy.
I have used them many times when retrieving fiberglass trailers for rehab.
I carry them in my recovery kit along with other essential or potentially needed items.
They do work well on the steel bumpers of most makes of Fiberglass trailers.
Of course in the event that a solid purchase can not be attained...
There is always the use of another retrieval essential... DUCT TAPE!


These lights are much better and more practical than sitting in a parking lot, on a dark rainy night and searching for broken or shorted wiring.


BTW; These lights are intended for transport or temporary use only.
I have never lost one on the road.



I have used these dozens of times on Fiberglass trailers, or in conjunction with car dollies, towing vehicles, utility trailers or even attached them on extended loads for additional safety and visibility.
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Old 07-09-2019, 10:49 AM   #20
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Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo View Post
Funny with a dab of serious.

Well then I guess... its, hee-hee with a dab of "now you know".
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