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Post by Chuck on Oct 30, 2018 11:47:25 GMT -5
mdcamper We all have been there in one way or another, kicking tires" in, out, an some of under trailers looking at different brands ... While the DW looks at the inside functions I always look at the construction. are the draw slide's metal, are draws stapled, glued or dove tailed, are doors ajar, trim missing, bubbles in paint an a 100 other things  As far as length we all have also been there at one time or another, you will find that a 5th wheel trails better than a pull behind an when semi's pass you, you will not feel the pulling an sway that you did with a pull behind ... You will also see that it's easier to back into camping spots do to the fact now your turning radist is much sharper since your hitch is over your axle an not your bumper ... Talking about such you must watch when turning on right hand corners do to the track of a 5th wheel is much shorter than a pull behind TT ... On a right hand turns you should swing out somewhat wider but not much more as you did with a pull behind an then tuck back into your lane so your trailer wheels will miss the curb ... It dozen't have to be radical, just enough to get the trailer around the corner ...
If there is room at the dealer I would pull your trailer around the dealers lot to get the feel of the trailer an make some wide an then shape right turns to get the feel of how the trailer both pulls an turns ... If you can I would also after you have left the dealer an have the time (it dozen't have to be that day), take your trailer to a large emty mall or parking area, get some cones or sort of markers an practice back around such to get the feel of your trailer ...
As with anything the more you pull it the better you will feel an get use to the right an left turns ...
Heres hopping you enjoy your new trailer as much as we do ours. Kz seems to stand behind their product 150% as far as well have seen not only in words but deeds well past what we expected of a Manufacturer ...
If you have the time next summer in August I believe, as it was last year, attend the week long Kz Rally near the
factory were your trailer was built, you won't regret it
Safe Travels
Chuck
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Post by mdcamper on Oct 30, 2018 12:16:15 GMT -5
Thanks Chuck.
We are going to try to make it next August! It sounds like a lot of fun.
If I can get the trailer this week we p;an to take it to an empty parking lot and practice, practice, practice with it! Thanks for all of the advice.
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Post by mdcamper on Nov 1, 2018 13:58:57 GMT -5
Well, We are kinda bummed out. It looks like the trailer didn't ship when we thought it would and now more then likely won't get it for our trip next week. That means I will be sleeping in a tent for the first time in about 10 years!  This will also delay us picking up the camper for about 2 weeks when we return from our trip and then it will likely get put in to storage for the winter. Oh this is brutal. LOL |
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Post by Chuck on Nov 1, 2018 14:01:15 GMT -5
BTW let the DW pull your new digs as well an let her practice with it, you never know, some day she may have to pull it for some reason or another They have trailer backing classes at the kz rally for the ladies, it's really nice to see them back trailers an not get really excited (well some excited lol) an learn the in's an outs of such Again Welcome to the kz family & safe travels Chuck |
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Post by mdcamper on Nov 1, 2018 16:24:34 GMT -5
Well,
As luck would have it, it showed up at the dealers about 2 hours ago! We take delivery on Saturday!
You guys get to see it first! LOL
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cloud
Weekender RV’er
Posts: 54
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Post by cloud on Nov 1, 2018 17:25:05 GMT -5
Go to see your plan came together. You will love it. We picked our Durango up in march and have used it a lot. I did develop a water leak in my bedroom slide but I believe I figured it out and will take care of it this weekend. Good luck and show picks when you get set up for the first time.
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Post by johnr on Nov 2, 2018 6:45:21 GMT -5
Nice looking rig! Love the steps!
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Post by Chuck on Nov 3, 2018 11:24:11 GMT -5
mdcamper Yaaaaaaaaaaa !!! Really nice looking rig, color layout looks a little different than what we saw at the factory last August while touring the factory an wondering the lot when we came back to have some work done ... laknox ie Lyle be happy to see that the front caps are now light instead of dark now Safe Travels, now get out there an Glamp Chuck |
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Post by mdcamper on Nov 3, 2018 20:26:20 GMT -5
Traveled from West Virginia where our dealer was back to central MD in strong (not advisory but a little stronger then I usually would want to tow in. This being a new rig and very long compared to anything I have ever towed) winds.
Our Titan XD performed incredibly well. No sway with the strong crosswind gusts or with tractor trailers passing by. Plenty of power to spare with the gaser too. Very impressed with this towing platform. Even with no load in the camper it performed wonderfully.
When we arrived we immediately started the PDI with one of the techs. Marking things we thought could be/were issues. Then on to the inside. The most obvious problems we found were nail pops in the front closet area near the bed (flexing from the initial tow? - no idea) This will need to be addressed at a later date. The lower drawer on the wall will not open. It's either a fall door or nailed or glued shut! Again, could not be taken care of at the time we were there. The third and final issue is a scratch on the front cap on the roof It looks like someone lost control of an impact screw driver or something. Swirls dug into the fiberglass and paint. The couch int he back where the velcro is attached was ripped out of the fabric. Other then that, nothing else to report.
Some other points:
Pin weight from the factory (below) was LOWER then we anticipated! My wife and I love the camper so far. Very nice inverter installed with the solar setup. The Reese Goosebox towed amazingly well. No back and forth, no noise, no bounce, no chucking etc. Wonderful with 40 PSI in the airbag. The only problem with it that I can think of is that it may weigh more then their advertised it at (166lbs) It was delivered by freight truck and the BOL said 240 with the skid. The box was maybe 10lbs the skid 38lbs.
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Post by mdcamper on Nov 3, 2018 22:32:53 GMT -5
I forgot to mention, with 40 PSI in the air bag we only have about 5 1/2" of clearance on between the cap and bed rails of the truck. Should I lower the pin further to gain additional clearance? If I do this the nose of the trailer may be an inch or two above level though. I have read mixed things on whether this is OK. But I don't want to hit my bed rails.
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Post by Chuck on Nov 4, 2018 11:33:53 GMT -5
mdcamper What was the reason they couldn't fix the nail head an the the lower drawer on the wall, seem like easy fixes to me... The couch where the Velcro is attached being ripped out of the fabric I believe should have to be a new couch since I myself would not except a patch since it wasn't self inflicted an it's a new trailer...
On the cap they may have to re-paint it an get a new decal if it's as bad as you say, the transporter may have hit something low like tree branches or while fueling scraped something low at a fuel stop ... I'm sure the factory would not have let the trailer leave with scratches such as what you are seeing ... I can tell you while working on my front cap they cracked it, mine you not a big crack, but a crack never the less, they didn't patch it, they replaced the complete front cap ...
On the clearance I believe you are somewhat ok unless you are backing up a steep grade in a driveway or are
turning an one side or another gets into a shallow ditch, say 2ft deep...
I run 50psi in my airbags an have about 6 1/2 inches between my bed rails an the trailer ... Looking at your pictures you look pretty level an I believe I would keep it that way... Some people like an recommend 7 inches but to me looking at your pictures you have plenty of room, of course some people may disagree LOL ...
Safe Travels
Chuck
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Post by mdcamper on Nov 4, 2018 23:03:44 GMT -5
mdcamper What was the reason they couldn't fix the nail head an the the lower drawer on the wall, seem like easy fixes to me... The couch where the Velcro is attached being ripped out of the fabric I believe should have to be a new couch since I myself would not except a patch since it wasn't self inflicted an it's a new trailer...
On the cap they may have to re-paint it an get a new decal if it's as bad as you say, the transporter may have hit something low like tree branches or while fueling scraped something low at a fuel stop ... I'm sure the factory would not have let the trailer leave with scratches such as what you are seeing ... I can tell you while working on my front cap they cracked it, mine you not a big crack, but a crack never the less, they didn't patch it, they replaced the complete front cap ...
On the clearance I believe you are somewhat ok unless you are backing up a steep grade in a driveway or are
turning an one side or another gets into a shallow ditch, say 2ft deep...
I run 50psi in my airbags an have about 6 1/2 inches between my bed rails an the trailer ... Looking at your pictures you look pretty level an I believe I would keep it that way... Some people like an recommend 7 inches but to me looking at your pictures you have plenty of room, of course some people may disagree LOL ...
Safe Travels
Chuck
I wasn't liking the clearance I was getting so we dropped the goose box down 1 hole and now we have about 7 1/2" of clearance. She is sitting a little higher now of course so I will probably need to figure that out, it's not terrible but I would prefer to be more level.
I am not sure why they didn't fix those things while we were there but we ran up against closing time. :/ The tech said to make a list of all additional problem s on our first camping trip this week and return to have them all resolved. I will make arrangements to drop the camper off on our way home next week. Hopefully it will all be resolved in about a 3 weeks and then I can bring it back for storage for the winter.
Sat in the storage yard today showing my kids the rig inside and used the TV briefly with the inverter setup. Way cool! Love it and it will come in handy for sure.
One thing that has me really disappointed though. The pin weight and dry weights from the factory sticker were pretty far off. CAT scales had the pin weight unloaded at 1380 and the gross dry weight was 9000. The only thing added by the dealer was a second deep cycle battery. No way it added that much weight. The goose box should have only added 66lbs as well. Since we are using a heavy half ton to tow, these numbers don't give me as much comfort zone as I had planned on weights. Also, the factory said this rig was 10500 GVWR with CCC of 1800. Ours came in with 11500 GVWR and 2800 CCC!! We would never even come close to either GVWR but I found this to be a bit odd.
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Post by Chuck on Nov 10, 2018 11:03:57 GMT -5
mdcamper Wondering around the Kz Factory I never saw a scale but that dozen't mean they have one... So I do not know how they come up with the figures unless they know the weights of the stuff they put in an attach to the trailer an add them up, or take one down the street to the truck stop about five miles away an weight one an use that as a standard ...
I know that our Interstate batteries each weight in at 55 to 60pds each, their not light Ugh!!!
Safe travels
Chuck
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Post by mdcamper on Nov 11, 2018 21:30:01 GMT -5
mdcamper Wondering around the Kz Factory I never saw a scale but that dozen't mean they have one... So I do not know how they come up with the figures unless they know the weights of the stuff they put in an attach to the trailer an add them up, or take one down the street to the truck stop about five miles away an weight one an use that as a standard ...
I know that our Interstate batteries each weight in at 55 to 60pds each, their not light Ugh!!!
Safe travels
Chuck
I think we figured it all out. It seems that KZ does not add in the weight of the propane bottles (60lbs each) and I forgot about the dealer added 2 batteries. This alone was at least 220lbs if not more of that weight.
All is good though and we just got back from an 800+ mile trip. I will report on it as soon as I get a chance, but to summarize, our truck did great and we REALLY enjoyed the camper.
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Post by Chuck on Nov 12, 2018 11:38:59 GMT -5
Glad you enjoyed your new home on wheels, ours is sitting here in the drive looking like it needs to go some place Have frost on the pumpkin this morning an most of the leaves have now left the trees Ugh!!! Safe Travels Chuck |
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Post by Edd505 on Nov 12, 2018 21:41:20 GMT -5
mdcamper Yaaaaaaaaaaa !!! Really nice looking rig, color layout looks a little different than what we saw at the factory last August while touring the factory an wondering the lot when we came back to have some work done ... laknox ie Lyle be happy to see that the front caps are now light instead of dark now Safe Travels, now get out there an Glamp Chuck I like the light color. I have plans to line the closet with the reflective material to reduce heat down here.
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Post by Chuck on Nov 13, 2018 11:52:53 GMT -5
mdcamper Yaaaaaaaaaaa !!! Really nice looking rig, color layout looks a little different than what we saw at the factory last August while touring the factory an wondering the lot when we came back to have some work done ... laknox ie Lyle be happy to see that the front caps are now light instead of dark now Safe Travels, now get out there an Glamp Chuck I like the light color. I have plans to line the closet with the reflective material to reduce heat down here.
LOL Edd
Come on up here an ya gots to turn the heat on 38 degrees this morning Ugh !!!
Chuck
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Post by mdcamper on Dec 15, 2018 22:43:34 GMT -5
Hello again everyone. I have been wrapped up in life and been dealing with health issues for a while now (that's why its taken so long to get this VLOG together) but here is the video I promised of us picking up the camper. youtu.be/X5Ym3VauQ24Thanks for taking the time to watch it. |
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Post by bigherd on Dec 20, 2018 11:39:19 GMT -5
You must have been good all year. Santa is going to be delivering a KZ 2019 D271RLD. Hope you make many life times memories in your new camper.
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This will also delay us picking up the camper for about 2 weeks when we return from our trip and then it will likely get put in to storage for the winter. Oh this is brutal. LOL
