Any issue with putting wet bunks in?

[Designer Women]

Jagiven, I am looking at one at Hilltop X23B like your's. We need to learn how to drive one and back it up. We had a pop-up 5 years ago, we at least could see over it. We bought land in Danbury WI and put a 35 ft Designer on it (thus our name). Now we are downsizing and plan to go to Baker in Maple Plain or near by.

Do you know of a place where one can lean to drive a trailer?

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by Designer Women

Jagiven, I am looking at one at Hilltop X23B like your's. We need to learn how to drive one and back it up. We had a pop-up 5 years ago, we at least could see over it. We bought land in Danbury WI and put a 35 ft Designer on it (thus our name). Now we are downsizing and plan to go to Baker in Maple Plain or near by.

Do you know of a place where one can lean to drive a trailer?

I recommend locating an industrial area, drive around, find places to park, turn around, back up, etc. After hours or weekends often there usually not no many people around. Next, just get on the road and drive, start with short trips and build up confidence.

[glsimms]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

I recommend locating an industrial area, drive around, find places to park, turn around, back up, etc. After hours or weekends often there usually not no many people around. Next, just get on the road and drive, start with short trips and build up confidence.

And I might add, keep it at 60-65 mph and stay in the right hand lane...

We moved up from a pop-up to our X23B and there is a learning curve. It took me a few trips to build my confidence. Like Ja says, find an open parking lot and drive it around.

[RedHorse1]

Our first TT was the 23B and we both loved it but knew from the beginning it was an experiment to see if we wanted to trailer and eventually upgrade.
I echo what's been said about the bunk ends, no prob.
I'll add that after closing ours wet I did get mildew after a few days in the hot Texas sun. Cleaned with a bleach solution and it looked great again. After that I would tap the tenting from inside to knock off as much water as possible before folding and get them open as soon as practicable to get them dry.
When it was just te two of us camping we would only open the back bunk (we called it the "owner's cabin" and was our preferred bunk) unless we needed the extra space to put our "stuff" while camped.
Make sure you have an appropriate TV before purchasing, a full size SUV will probably get the job done, a cross-over will be a little less capable (IMHO).
Don't listen to the sales person who tells you you're fine weight-wise. Do your own research.

[Jagiven]

Some of the things I have learned about backing up;

Backing up is like a game of chess, you must think three moves ahead. Often I am making corrections before my spotter tells me.

Good mirror extensions are a must, if you cannot see the bumper you have no clue where you really are at. It is also state law that you have to be able to see the rear of the trailer, in your mirrors.

The longer the wheel base the easier the trailer is to backup. It does not react as quickly.

Take your time, don’t rush it, and don’t worry about the vehicle that is in the drive isle that wants by. They have been in your shoes many times.

Pull way forwards, before starting to back up. The farther forwards you pull up, the easier it is to back up.

We often use our cell phone as radios to communicate directions. Discuss your hand motions and terms before arrival, if they do not work, change them. For example my DW used a command in dimmer lighting for continue backing up and stop that looked a lot alike. She did not like me telling her that in the mirror I could not tell the difference. But she changed techniques, when I continued backing up. Also whoever is giving directions needs to tell the driver well in advance of any corrections (back to chess). I see this issue all the time in CGs.

As you pull forwards, do a little wiggle, I call it creating an “S” in the road, with the TV. When you learn to do it, you have the tail of the TT, already aimed towards the spot, and the front of the TV ready to back in. It helps, by not having to crank the wheels so much, very helpful in narrow roadways. This is an advance maneuver and will take some time to learn. Great to learn in a wider road, like backing into your driveway.

Happy Camping

[abarkl]

Originally Posted by Designer Women

Jagiven, I am looking at one at Hilltop X23B like your's. We need to learn how to drive one and back it up. We had a pop-up 5 years ago, we at least could see over it. We bought land in Danbury WI and put a 35 ft Designer on it (thus our name). Now we are downsizing and plan to go to Baker in Maple Plain or near by.

Do you know of a place where one can lean to drive a trailer?

One rule of thumb used by those who drive, haul, and spend lots of time backing trailers on a daily basis; G.O.A.L. Get Out And Look
You will often see G.O.A.L. stickers on their rear view mirrors as a reminder.

[bankr63]

Interested in what you have for your tow vehicle - but if you do post you will get lots of opinions!


I don't know that there is anywhere to "learn" to drive with a trailer, maybe a friend or relation with experience can help you through. I used to work at the local airport and drove pushback tractors backing jets out from the gate. The first time was a real white-knuckle experience! A trailer was a little anti-climactic for me Actually maybe not, since you can actually see better backing up a jet; as others have mentioned, visibility sucks when backing a trailer.
We have a set of Motorola walkie talkies ($20ish on Amazon) that we use for communication when backing; cell phones don't always work if reception is poor in a remote park. I don't rely on seeing my spotter because she is pretty much never in mirror sight anyway. I also GOAL a couple of times even if my spotter says it's okay. As others have mentioned, you have to think about three steps ahead to back into a tight spot. Last weekend's spot was a good example; back up between two trees, then a 45 degree left. Sure clearing the trees with the TT was easy, but making the 45 without hitting those trees with the tow vehicle was a challenge. Eventually you get the hang of visualizing what your backing route will look like and positioning your rig appropriately.

[Designer Women]

Thank you Red Horse, I have a Chevy C1500 V8 that tows 6500lbs. We will camp close to home. I have been reserching for over a month. I love Jayco, but admit I havelooked at the Palomino Stampede and the Rockwood Roo because of their large slide. However I trust Jayco more.

[TWP723]

Originally Posted by johnsoax

Unlike the popup I had, the canvas on a x23b is fully connected at all places. When you folded up the old popup, you had to unfasten the canvas from the bed slide and place it on top of the bed. If you didn't fold the canvas carefully, you would get water all over the bed. In the 23b, that just doesn't matter because everything is fully sealed all the time. But as others have said, if you close it up wet, you will want to open it back up to air out, or mold will grow.

Ditto! Been there, done that. One of the reasons I don't have my p-up anymore. Sliding the beds in so the canvas drops down then wiping it dry with a towel. Sucked.

[bankr63]

Originally Posted by Designer Women

Thank you Red Horse, I have a Chevy C1500 V8 that tows 6500lbs. We will camp close to home. I have been reserching for over a month. I love Jayco, but admit I havelooked at the Palomino Stampede and the Rockwood Roo because of their large slide. However I trust Jayco more.

The GTW of the 23B is well within your capability. The one thing you still need to check is the payload capacity of your truck. If it is stock, you may be (unpleasantly) surprised at how little you can load. The 23B is probably going to have about a 600lb tongue weight loaded (it is 450lbs dry for a 2011). Check the sticker on the door jamb of the truck and there should be a sticker that indicates "the weight of all occupants and cargo in this vehicle must not exceed: xxxxlbs." Make sure that the tongue weight of the trailer, plus the weight of any towing equipment (WDH), plus passengers, plus any gear you plan to haul in the back of truck etc does not exceed this number. It is tight with my SUV and a similar tongue weight trailer and my CCC (at 1621 lbs) is better than many stock pickups (those without a heavy payload package). I have been through the CAT scales a couple of times now, and am only below the GAWR of my rear axle by about 10 lbs when fully loaded.
Just something to keep in mind when trying to find a comfortable towing combination, you might be close, but this may be a very good combo if the numbers work.

[glsimms]

Good simple video on backing up:

https://youtu.be/VY2lUU_oM7Y

[RedHorse1]

Originally Posted by Designer Women

Thank you Red Horse, I have a Chevy C1500 V8 that tows 6500lbs. We will camp close to home. I have been reserching for over a month. I love Jayco, but admit I havelooked at the Palomino Stampede and the Rockwood Roo because of their large slide. However I trust Jayco more.

Designer,
Thanks for the response. Our TV for the 23B had a max trailer weight of 9500# IIRC. No prob, right? The 23B tipped in at 4400#, again IIRC. The tongue was 600# and we were abt 300# shy of the Rear GAWR. Add another couple in the rear seat and I'm sure we were over. Our Rear GAWR was 4100# and the TV weighed 3200# with no TT.
My point, I do not think the Max trailer or Max tow number has much bearing on the type of trailer we tow.
IMHO you may be a bit over the rear axle weight. I'd suggest a visit to a CAT Scale for your weights. The difference between the Rear GAWR (on the sticker on the driver's door jamb) and the scale ticket "drive axle" weight will be an estimate of the Max tongue weight you should consider.
Divide that number by 0.13 (13%) and you get the TT weight.

You can see our original TV in my sig and I'll say it was "adequate", I wouldn't have wanted a less capable TV.

Keep in touch and please forgive my weight "rant".

The CAT Scale is your friend.

[Cattaztrophy]

We have a x23j and have a mildew problem for the first time. It has gone through the material and stained the inside. What makes the problem even worse is our TT stays in storage at the campground so we can't open it up to dry after it's hauled away to storage.
Has anyone experience with this and what's the best we can do.

Thanks for any help you can give us.