Am I overthinking?

[BcBudman]

Hey guys/ gals
New to the forum, also new to rvs. I've only owned box campers/ tents, till now hehe. Just bought a 2021 jayco 222, needed the smallest toy hauler that fit my Honda pioneer 700 (I like to go to very tight remote spots for fishing trips).

Anywhoo, my dealer suggested the husky 600-800 wdh, I told him I will be loading this thing as much as I can every single time I take it out, he still said no worries the 600-800# will be fine.. I disagreed with him stating that the dry weight of the tongue is already at 800 without tanks, battery, what have you. I do have the fuel station and my toys will never get over 1300#, sitting right on the axles, but I will have my truck loaded with easy 100-250# behind rear axle..

Any insight will be much appreciated, as I said I'm new to travel trailers, after picking this up I drove 1200kms home and was a beauty to tow, but that was completely dry, just tanks and battery.

Just loosing sleep over this, I just want to make sure to do everything I can to make this as safe and efficient as I can, cheers, thanks a bunch
Picture or it didn't happen?

[JFlightRisk]

Welcome to the Forum from Western New York State! Congratulations on the new Jayco!
Once you get both loaded up like you're going camping, take it to a certified CAT scale, and weigh it. Three trips across the scale. Truck only, truck/trailer with WDH connected, and truck/trailer with WDH disconnected. That will give you a lot of information on how you're loaded, and where the weights are.

Here's the procedure.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...v-tt-3871.html

[Rustic Eagle]

McBudman.

Welcome to JOF

Originally Posted by BcBudman

snip..... I disagreed with him stating that the dry weight of the tongue is already at 800 without tanks, battery, what have you......snip...... I told him I will be loading this thing as much as I can every single time I take it out,......snip

I also disagree with the dealership's recommendation of a WDH rated at 800lb.

Originally Posted by BcBudman

....snip I do have the fuel station and my toys will never get over 1300#, sitting right on the axles, but I will have my truck loaded with easy 100-250# behind rear axle.....snip

Also, keep in mind that the Octane 222 will have additional cargo weight like clothing, kitchen 'stuff', food, outdoor gear, tools, etc., that can easily add another 500lb ......, not including fresh water in the tank.

The 2021 Octane 222 has a 8,250lb GVWR..., and loaded to it's GVWR the recommended 'loaded' tongue weight would fall in the 1,073lb to 1,238lb range (13% to 15% of gross weight). A WDH with integrated sway control rated at 1,400lb would be a good match based on your anticipated heavy TV & TH loaded conditions. The 1,400lb WDH wouldn't be over-kill in the event of a lower tongue weight range when properly adjusted.

As mentioned a CAT visit (3-pass) under your 'typical' loaded conditions would confirm your weights and allow you to dial-in your WDH adjustment. Placement of 'cargo load' is critical with TH's due to the potential effect on the recommended loaded tongue weight range.

Proper WDH adjustment is key to insure optimum TV handling characteristics, especially in less than ideal towing conditions (sudden maneuver, cross winds, poor roads, etc.).

Confirm that your TV's receiver hitch is rated for the TH's potential loaded tongue weight..., and that the TH tows level (or slightly nose down).

Just food for thought....

Bob

[BcBudman]

Sounds good
Yeah the closest cat scale is 3 hours away from me
All good. Yeah I'll talk to the dealership today and let them know that I'll be needed something a little beefier.
Thanks for the insight.

[SkyBound]

If that were my trailer, I would buy the Equalizer 12K hitch hands down.

[Quantum]

I wouldn't go with anything less than a 1k/10k WDH.

My trailer is 8200lbs GVWR and I use an Equal-i-zer 1000/10000lbs WDH that works really well. My tongue weight is 950lbs when ready for the road.

[BcBudman]

That's what I suggested, the 800-1000#
And he said that would be overkill...
I think your in the wrong profession buds. Just gets me thinking about all the other people he has giving false information to.
I'm talking to my dealer when they open up, they can throw that in/ exchange free of charge.
Also I had the trailer for 3 days before it went back to the shop for a hefty list of deficiencies..
Not a good start with this dealer I say.

I think 12k would be a little too stiff?
Once again cheers boys and gals

[BcBudman]

1000/ 10000# **

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by BcBudman

snip......I think 12k would be a little too stiff?......snip

IMO a 1,200lb rated WDH properly adjusted and matched with a heavy loaded Octane 222 wouldn't be over-kill or 'stiff' behind your TV.

Hypothetical 'heavy' loaded Octane 222 (8,250lb GVWR):

(5,800lb UVW - published) + (1,300lb toys/fuel station) + (440lbs full fresh water- 53gal) + (500lbs cargo) = 8,040lbs gross weight

(8,040lbs gross weight) = 1,045lbs to 1,206lbs (13% to 15%) loaded tongue weight.

In the above 'hypothetical' example a 1,200lb rated WDH would be my minimum recommendation ....., of course the individual hypothetical loaded weights can be reduced accordingly to work within a WDH rated at 1,000lbs..

Most loaded TT's and TH's that cross a CAT scale fall within the 13% to 15% tongue weight range which provides enhanced TV handling in lieu of 10% to 12%.

Bob

[crockettlarry]

You are smart to question his advice. Get a 1k/10k device minimum. Obviously, there are a lot of choices in the 10k-12k range.

Larry

[Jagiven]

X2 with Rustic Eagle. You should have a hitch that is rated for your load. I would also ensure your new hitch has integrated sway control.

If you do not have a CAT scale in your area, I bet there is a large aggregate shipping yard that will let you use their scale. If they are loading big trucks and buying/selling, it has to be certified.

One thing I see you have going for you is a Cummings Diesel in your Ram (can't tell if it is a 3/4 or 1 ton). That tells me you should have plenty of payload capacity for that TT.

[BcBudman]

Yeah talked to dealer today, they said they are appalled that someone told me to get that WDH. They are sending me the new one free of charge.
1000/10000#, like I said the first time I was in the dealership... anyway, all good now. Yes my truck is ram 3500 with the airbags. I tow around the company 55 on tri axle trailer with no problems.

Thanks for the input guys, looking forward to the upcoming years with this nice little toy hauler.

[BcBudman]

Defiantly going to head to that cat scale when I'm all loaded up
Lots of nice fishing lakes out in kamloops so it's kinda a win win

[JFlightRisk]

Originally Posted by BcBudman

Defiantly going to head to that cat scale when I'm all loaded up
Lots of nice fishing lakes out in kamloops so it's kinda a win win

Thanks for letting us know the dealer's making it right. Our TT's smaller, at around 6200 lbs fully loaded, and we have an Equalizer brand rated at 10000, with 1000 lb bars. That size isn't overkill at all.

Print the cat scale procedure link if you want to, so you can tell the operator exactly how you'd like to weigh it.

[Big1]

Welcome to the forum, you have a very nice setup.

[Cincinnati Kid]

You are not overthinking. You are trying to get it right, when so much conflicting information is out there. Keep up the good work. You are trying to be a safe, responsible RV'er.

[crockettlarry]

I assumed it was a Salesman that told you the undersized hitch would be fine. I sold Campers at Camping World for a year and all but one of the salesmen actually had camping experience. They were all nice guys and all well-meaning but they had no experience with sizing and proper hitch choice. That said, they sold more campers than me because I talked too much about technical stuff I guess.

[BcBudman]

That's the thing, it was actually the parts guy. He walked around like he owned the place so ????
That's why I trusted him. I guess the phrase "there's 2 types of people in this world, don't trust either of them" comes into play haha...

[BcBudman]

You would've got my sale Larry, all I care about is the technical stuff.
I came in there knowing more about the 222 then the salesman
He didn't even know how to lower the top Bunk down hahah, ohhh jeez, it was fun

Gotta say though, finding out that 80% of the camper is controlled by my phone blew my mind

[JohnHarley]

No info on weight, just wanted to say I am a little envious of your 2021 sl222 with the upgrades in the kitchen area, storage, etc. I have a 2020 model. Enjoy!