Casita Frame Height & Clearance - Fiberglass RV
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Old 08-28-2019, 02:26 AM   #1
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Name: Nala
Trailer: Casita
South Carolina
Posts: 26
Casita Frame Height & Clearance

Good Morning all,

As I eagerly count down the days to my new adventure and Casita I bought a Weight Distribution Hitch of choice I am happy with. I noticed a couple of dimensions I could use some help with, In this photo attached there is a dimension from the center of the hitch ball to the placement of brackets. Also the Height of the frame vertically. Can one confirm that there is no obstacles on the frame at the dimension shown "28.5 ~30.5" where the brackets would lie?

Also the height of frame in the photo?

Appreciate all the help, Alan
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Old 08-28-2019, 04:14 PM   #2
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Name: Ed
Trailer: Casita 17 ft SD
Colorado
Posts: 206
WDH Distances

On my Casita 17 ft. SD there is the one inch angle iron support for the bottom of the propane tanks that is in the way. I had to raise the propane tanks with a one inch square steel tubing to install the WDH brackets where they need to be. Then I ended up tack wedding the WDH brackets in place to keep them from slipping. The two inch wide Casita frame is not wide enough to keep the brackets from moving when you turn corners. The brackets work better on a three inch wide frame.

There a several other measurements in the instruction book that you need to pay attention to.

Setting up this WDH for the first time is not a five minute job, It took me a couple hours to get everything setup according to instructions.
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Old 08-28-2019, 04:38 PM   #3
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Name: Nala
Trailer: Casita
South Carolina
Posts: 26
Thank you for that info. So there is is no room on the frame between 28.5 and 30.5" from the ball? What is the height of the frame?

Thanks, Alan
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Old 08-28-2019, 06:14 PM   #4
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Name: Ed
Trailer: Casita 17 ft SD
Colorado
Posts: 206
Casita WDH

The attached picture shows how I installed the WDH on my Casita. The center of the bracket is 31 inches.
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Old 08-28-2019, 08:22 PM   #5
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Name: Nala
Trailer: Casita
South Carolina
Posts: 26
Super, thank you so much. With some work it seems it will work well. Thanks for the picture it helps so much.

Much appreciated ������, Alan
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Old 08-29-2019, 08:31 PM   #6
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Name: Fredrick
Trailer: Escape 21C
Tennessee
Posts: 322
Red face WDH??

WE hauled our Casita 17 Indy dlx ~5500 miles last year and about the same this year b4 we sold it last month..., in prep for getting our new Escape21..only used the antisway bar, but we were towing w a V6 Frontier dbl cab, long bed truck w factory "tow pkg"..never had a bit of trouble and even 4got the ASB one day and could not tell the difference. Was wondering what you tow with?

WE did order a WDH w sway bar for the new ,larger trailer tho, on advice from factory and several members of forums. Last month we talked a a guy who hauled his E21 w a Toyota 4 Runner w only a sway bar (I think)
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Old 08-30-2019, 02:38 AM   #7
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Name: Nala
Trailer: Casita
South Carolina
Posts: 26
I will tow with a 2019 GMC Canyon V6. The vehicle is more than capable but it comes down to control. Midsize trucks are significantly less than 50% trailer weight loaded. I believe this is key as this is the second time for me with the Casita. Small cost for the sway and load control.

Thks!
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Old 08-30-2019, 06:25 AM   #8
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Name: Jon
Trailer: 2008 Scamp 13 S1
Arizona
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Casita Frame Height & Clearance

Quote:
Originally Posted by rveeboy View Post
...Midsize trucks are significantly less than 50% trailer weight loaded. I believe this is key...
Could you clarify this? On the surface it’s not making sense to me. A loaded Casita 17D typically weights 3000-3200# loaded with about 400# hitch weight. The Canyon has a curb weight of around 4200#, so probably 5200-5400# with two people, gear, and hitch weight.

Perhaps you meant to say the trailer GVW is more then 50% of the tow vehicle GVW? Some people use that as threshold for use of a weight distributing hitch.
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Old 08-30-2019, 06:53 AM   #9
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Name: Nala
Trailer: Casita
South Carolina
Posts: 26
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
Could you clarify this? On the surface it’s not making sense to me. A loaded Casita 17D typically weights 3000-3200# loaded with about 400# hitch weight. The Canyon has a curb weight of around 4200#, so probably 5200-5400# with two people, gear, and hitch weight.

Perhaps you meant to say the trailer GVW is more then 50% of the tow vehicle GVW? Some people use that as threshold for use of a weight distributing hitch.
Yes GVW to GVW my bad. My numbers will probably be more like Casita loaded 3000 lbs, and Canyon loaded 4700 lbs.
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Old 08-30-2019, 07:04 AM   #10
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Your number is right. I was counting the tongue weight twice.
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Old 09-04-2019, 12:50 PM   #11
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Trailer: 16 ft Casita
Posts: 73
Casita frame

Why in the world would you put weight distributing hitch on a casita seems like over kill to me not enough weigh to need onr
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Old 09-04-2019, 03:57 PM   #12
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Name: Oliver
Trailer: 2014 Casita SD
Oregon
Posts: 9
Smile Just My 2 cents, don't want to "sway" you

We have a 2014 Casita 17SD that we tow with a 2015 Audi Q5 with a v6 "dirty" diesel. We use a Andersen weight distribution system (chains) that provides anti-sway. We to, wondered why we needed a WDH/Anti-sway since the trailer tracked in-line and very flat...until we towed with our rear positioned fresh water tank about 2/3 full up and over a 5,000 foot summit. Wasn't really a problem until the curves and downhill. The swinging of the trailer left to right was pretty remarkable. Needless to say, we are no longer wondering why we need WDH with Anti-sway!
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Old 09-04-2019, 04:05 PM   #13
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Name: Nala
Trailer: Casita
South Carolina
Posts: 26
Yes indeed, others do not see the forest through trees. Besides the anti sway capability there are plenty of reasons for a WDH. The first one is safety.... and the way you know you need one is when it will be too late. Been there before, small price for peace of mind.
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Old 09-04-2019, 04:21 PM   #14
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Name: Ed
Trailer: Casita 17 ft SD
Colorado
Posts: 206
WDH

Quote:
Originally Posted by johnlochbuie View Post
Why in the world would you put weight distributing hitch on a casita seems like over kill to me not enough weigh to need onr
I have the Equalizer hitch installed, it is not only a WDH but includes anti-sway. My tow vehicle is a Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 4.7 engine.

Yes it is a bit of an over kill, but I drive in 40 to 60 MPH cross winds and I go over 12,000 ft. passes. It makes all the difference in to world as to the way it handles in those situations. The anti-sway feature locks the tow vehicle and trailer together. It makes life a whole lot easier when towing long distance and towing in cross winds when 18 wheelers are passing me.

It is not over kill when it comes to towing safely.
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Old 09-04-2019, 08:44 PM   #15
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Name: Larry
Trailer: Casita17'Spirit Deluxe (aka: Tweaker's Casita)
Southwest Ohio
Posts: 319
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rveeboy View Post
... I noticed a couple of dimensions I could use some help with .... Can one confirm that there is no obstacles on the frame at the dimension shown "28.5 ~30.5" where the brackets would lie? ...
I also had an issue with the location of the brackets for my Curt WDH: the propane tanks were too close to the edge of the frame exactly where the brackets needed to be installed. However, my solution was a bit simpler than Ed's approach:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ehoepner View Post
On my Casita 17 ft. SD there is the one inch angle iron support for the bottom of the propane tanks that is in the way. I had to raise the propane tanks with a one inch square steel tubing to install the WDH brackets where they need to be. ...
I temporarily removed the bracket that holds the propane tanks in place and trimmed the bottom of the bracket slightly so that the the propane tanks sit closer together (see attached picture). Although I trimmed one side slightly more than the other, I was able to reassemble the bracket with the propane tanks so that I had enough room to install the WDH brackets.

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