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9:23 pm
March 2, 2010
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mitch36
| | Oak Lawn, Ill. | |
| Member | posts 40 |
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Hi, last week my wife and I bit the bullet and ordered our new 16 BH. We got the basic trailer with only the front window and surge brakes as the only options. The dealer we went thru was Vacation Land in Big Rock , Illinois. It cost us $7100 out the door so I believe we got a great deal. This is the first new trailer we have ever bought, the last one we owned was a 73 Starcraft Starmaster 6 that I got for $50 and sadly it finally rotted away. We were surprised when we found this trailer at the Rosemont show and it was so inexpensive, it is nice and simple, just what we wanted. Hopefully we will have good luck with it and enjoy it for years to come. See Ya Around, Mike.
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12:44 am
March 4, 2010
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smilinjohn
| | Minnesota Prairie | |
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| posts 380 |
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Mike, welcome to our forum. My dealer in Hutchinson, MN told me that all of the dealers got together and decided to order the Classics with electric brakes, not surge brakes. Surge brakes are great when they work properly. Are you sure you want surge brakes?
John
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2010 Sportsmen Classic 14RK; 2005 Ford F-150, 5.4L V8; "…..it is always advisable to perceive clearly our ignorance." Charles Darwin
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3:45 pm
March 4, 2010
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mitch36
| | Oak Lawn, Ill. | |
| Member | posts 40 |
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Hey John,Vacation Land didnt say anything when I ordered the surge brakes, I went with surge because i didnt feel like wiring my truck for electric brakes. Worst case is if it does come with electric, I will just have to buy a controller and wire it in. NOW after seeing the post about the side peeling back on the one trailer and what I am reading about the cheap Chinese tires blowing out and causing damage, I am starting to feel like I should have stuck with a tent !! Mike.
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1:14 pm
March 13, 2010
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smilinjohn
| | Minnesota Prairie | |
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| posts 380 |
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Mike, where did you read about the tires blowing out? Any trailer tire could blow with under-inflation being the main cause…..as I understand it, over expansion of heated air (pressure) due to under-inflation creates the "POP" and associated damage at speed.
Mike, did you receive an Owner's Manual with your trailer along with the light-green stiff-covered KZ Maintenance Manual? I receiver the light-green maintenance manual from my dealer. One of the posts I read, either here or RV.Net, said that KZ apparently did not have owner's manual available upon introduction of the Classics last September, but are now available. The poster stated that his dealer had obtained the new Owner's Manual for him from KZ Mfg.
John
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2010 Sportsmen Classic 14RK; 2005 Ford F-150, 5.4L V8; "…..it is always advisable to perceive clearly our ignorance." Charles Darwin
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3:11 pm
March 14, 2010
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mitch36
| | Oak Lawn, Ill. | |
| Member | posts 40 |
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John, I read that several tire manufacturers have been having problems with tire blow-outs. Two of which are Carlisle and Good-year Marathons . I have Marathona on my boat trailer, been on it since 95 and have never had a problem with them but it's my understanding that even they are made in China now. I know that most of the St type trailer tires are off-shore produced and it is a concern as we will be traveling this summer to the upper north-west and really hate to loose a tire and tear up a brand new trailer. Vacation Land said that it will come with one of two tire brands that I had not heard of before and that has me some what worried. When I find out the most reliable tire , I will most likely buy a new set before we hit the road. As for the manuals, we have not yet taken delivery of our trailer , it's still being built so hopefully we will recieve all the manuals needed.( I hope !!!) Mike
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7:34 pm
March 14, 2010
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smilinjohn
| | Minnesota Prairie | |
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| posts 380 |
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Thanks for the heads-up, Mike! Neither have we taken possession of our TT…..dealer storing for us until April. Apparently our TT was amonst the first batch received by our dealer last September. Seems to me that when I examined the spare tire that is included with our TT, that it was an ST185/80R13 of a prominent mfg. I did not, however, look at country of origin, but surely will now, as I've already experienced the sub-par quality of China tires on a 4-wheeler.
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2010 Sportsmen Classic 14RK; 2005 Ford F-150, 5.4L V8; "…..it is always advisable to perceive clearly our ignorance." Charles Darwin
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10:07 pm
March 18, 2010
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smilinjohn
| | Minnesota Prairie | |
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| posts 380 |
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Hello, Mike!
I've been reading whatever I can on the "China tire deal". I've pretty much settled on Maxxis trailer tires as potential replacements. I would really like to use ST205/75R14, since will support 2(1760#), as opposed to 2(1480#) for the ST185/80R13. The Classic 19BH and 19SB both come std. with 14″ rims. I'm thinking that perhaps the other models have the same size wheel wells, so it's worth a call to KZ Engineering dept. to find out for sure. Perhaps, I might have to use a spacer to gain some additional space for the larger/wider tire/rim combo. I would still keep with the same GVWR of 2700# (my dealer claims that was changed to 2800# for the trailers delivered beginning last September). This would provide a greater margin of safety [2(1760#) - 2(1480#)] + 260# = 820# @ (50psi. (C-rated) over 2700# GVWR. The next step is to check with engineering. John
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2010 Sportsmen Classic 14RK; 2005 Ford F-150, 5.4L V8; "…..it is always advisable to perceive clearly our ignorance." Charles Darwin
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7:53 pm
April 9, 2010
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mitch36
| | Oak Lawn, Ill. | |
| Member | posts 40 |
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We picked our new 16BH up last week-end and have been working on it all week. The maiden voyage is tomorrow up to Ludington State park in Michigan. We slept in it a couple nites in the back yard and the beds are very comfortable and it seems to be fairly well built. The only thing I noticed is the roof is kind of wavy and has a low spot right at the bathroom vent, I hope that wont be a future problem. I cheaped out and didnt order the spare tire and have spent the last couple of days running around trying to get one but finally succeded tonite, for what I spent in time, I should have got it in the first place. KZ should make the tounge longer as its a tight squeeze getting a big battery in between the gas bottle and the front of the trailer, I had to do some modifications to the gas bottle mount to make it all fit well.(also the positive lead for the battery was too short, had to make a new one).Well we will see how it goes this week-end and I'll report back later. Mike.
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8:46 pm
April 9, 2010
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smilinjohn
| | Minnesota Prairie | |
| Moderator
| posts 380 |
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Mike, I ordered and received three each Maxxis ST185/80R13 (Thailand-made) from Gripston in Texas, over the standard 175's, since there is not enough room in wheel well of 14RK for 14″ tires per the factory. Gripston's Alex Nucci made sure that the Maxxis tires were mfg. no later than six months (actual December, 2009). Now have the three original China-made tires too. Perhaps, I can sell them to the tire place that mounts/balances the new tires. What tire mfg. did you purchase for your 16BH? DW and I will be picking up our 14RK tomorrow……we had the official walk-thru Wednesday, this week.
Mike, I emailed KZ Cust. Service, who immediately sent the Sportsmen Classic Owner's Manual (white cover) to me via snail-mail, as well as a down-loadable version, too.
Mike, hope your first trip to Ludington State Park goes smooth and that you have fun. Let us all know how it goes.
John
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2010 Sportsmen Classic 14RK; 2005 Ford F-150, 5.4L V8; "…..it is always advisable to perceive clearly our ignorance." Charles Darwin
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7:43 pm
April 11, 2010
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mitch36
| | Oak Lawn, Ill. | |
| Member | posts 40 |
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We just returned from the maiden voyage up to Ludington State Park in Michigan, beautiful camp ground and area. The 16 BH towed like a dream, almost like it wasnt even there due to the fact that we were towing with a 03 Savana with a 5.3 ,3:73 axle and HD suspension. the back of the van didnt even squat when I hooked up and even in the hard winds in Michigan, no sway at all !! The trailer was quite comfortable even with 4 of us and a 95 pound Lab taking up space. In time we will organize all the cabinet space so everything fits well but all in all SHAKE DOWN went well. The only glitch I had was that the new sewer hose I bought did'nt fit the adapter that KZ included so I had to wait till I got home and use a bucket to drain the holding tanks, no biggie.
John, I have Road Rider tires on the trailer now and I bought a Gladiator for a spare until I find a decent tire to replace them .I have an EXTRA wheel so I will have 2 spares for the trip we are taking to the Pacific North West this summer. I checked the tires every hour or so for heat and wierdness but they seemed to be good in all aspects. I have really been looking into the Maxxis tires and was also on Griptsons site checking prices. DISCOUNT TIRE sells them locally but cant match Griptsons price. I like the idea of going one size bigger for the extra load capacity , the tire is only 3/4 inch bigger which wont be an issue I dont think. We are really happy with our little trailer!!! Mike.
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11:47 pm
April 12, 2010
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smilinjohn
| | Minnesota Prairie | |
| Moderator
| posts 380 |
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Mike, when you are ready to place order with Gripston, you should consider requesting tires manufactured within the past six months to a year. Tires only last six years (shelf life) before sufficient dry-rot has fatigued the tires to render unsafe for continued usage. Alex Nucci of Gripston.com reminds us to either call or e-mail him, so he can coordinate shipping tires per desires and specifications.
Alex Nucci, CEO, Gripston.com
1-800-956-7760 (x-407);
972-767-6502; or
alex@gripston.com
Google "How to Read a Tire"……date of manufacture.
My recent purchase from Gripston.com, for three each Maxxis ST185/80R13 have date codes of 4909 or 5009 (49th and 50th week of 2009).
John
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2010 Sportsmen Classic 14RK; 2005 Ford F-150, 5.4L V8; "…..it is always advisable to perceive clearly our ignorance." Charles Darwin
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