So after a winter of work on the '85
Burro, and a lot of help from all of you, our 1st camp outing was successful without incident. Before leaving I told my wife this would probably be the one & only trailer pulling experience for me. Too much complexity, too much differing opinions on critical issues etc.
After getting the
Burro weighed (1100 lbs) & adjusting tongue
weight to the limits of my 4 cyld. Rav4 I had a bit more confidence I wouldn't do damage or place us in any more risk than we lived with in a '66 VW Bus. It was hard to believe how well the trailer towed, how well the TV managed it, and the surprise of 22 - 24 mpg mileage we got. About a 450 mile RT drive to the ocean (Kalaloch Wa.). Planned not to drive over 50 mph but after a few miles of what seemed steady & secure, we felt comfortable at 60 unless a road proved to be uneven, rough or curvy. Little
Burro did prove to be "pretty bouncy". I'm sure the torsion system could be replaced for less of that. Has anyone heard of installing some sort of shock on these things?
One minor surprise was the fairly steep slop to the back of the parking pad. I had made one ramp type level block thinking side-to-side level would be the likely issue. Solution was running one wheel up on the parking curb with a chunk of fire wood under wheel on front and back sides & the other wheel rolled up to maximum height on the ramp...choke on each. With jack wheel lowered all the way & stabilizers at rear we were close to level & stable. With no
fridge it didn't really matter. Speaking of
fridge......as some may remember, my 3 way wasn't working on 110 or 12vlt. so pulled it out thinking we'd give the past used ice cooler a try. Drilled a hole for a drain, inserted and RTV'ed a pvc stub & used a levered expansion plug to close it off. Our gal. + 1/2gal jugs of frozen ice lasted 3 days with enough left for probably another night. Put an upside down rectangular cake pan lid in the bottom for any water/condensation to live under keeping food dry on top. Simple daily drain seemed to work to our satisfaction. Did keep an old Army poncho liner over the box which may have help with ice retention. Cooler is bigger than we need so may line the walls with some sheets of foam core stuff.
Again thanks to everyone on this site for answering questions & sharing opinions & ideas. I'm talking about towing next year back to Kentucky & New Orleans to visit relatives.