HALLMARK 6X12 CONVERSION

[hankaye]

Tommy B. Howdy;

Dang Hoss!!! you're already needin' a bigger trailer. You're supposed to be able to fit
all the in the cab stuff in the trailer, where the missus supposed to ride with the KTM????
You ever heard the old axiom "Happy wife = Happy LIFE" ???

hank

[Tommy B]

Ok, much to report on. Good info for somebody
Chit loaded like that caused I have a 4-6 inch drop down hitch. Works for the boat. NOT for this. Thank You Salt Springs Ranger for your complements and insight. There are still good people out there. Plenty of them in the camping community. Trailer jack hanging up on drive way, roots, stumps, ruts. No exaggeration. Thought it was my shocks. Had to remove propane tanks, spare, jack, and move forward of truck axle. It did not help much. But its ok now thanks to Ranger Rick.

So much fun but Hurricane littered trail with many trees. We felt like we were running an endure. My KTM eats logs and scrub oak for breakfast and wants more!
No trail shots. TOO hairy and exhausting to pull camera out. Lots of dear, bobcat, and bear tracks. Saw 2 dear, very cool.

Law enforcement came up on us quietly after 9 pm or so. Shined lights in our faces asked questions. Feds where cruising through. They where looking for somebody. They hit every other camp site. That has never happened in ten years or so.

It all worked grate. Everything. Shower, toilet, stove top, KTM, ATV.

[Tommy B]

The camp site.

[flboy]

Tommy, glad it all worked out well. You must have had a great time... That's why I carry when I go camping by myself out there (safety in numbers... people or rounds ). It is not the wild life you need to worry about. It is the criminal(s) trying to evade the law... and there are many out there.

You want the trailer level when you pull for many reasons ( I can see where some hitch height adjustment is needed to level.. and your truck doesn't appear to be sagging). If that doesn't work, you may need to try the load balancing hitch or airbags? Was your water tank full when you left home? That's a lot of weight up front also.

Have you ever thought about going camping on Thanksgiving weekend.... leave on Friday the day after Thanksgiving? Boondock in Delancey or Big Scrub? That's starting to look like when I may be ready.. possibly the week before... but not sure. I didn't get much done this weekend... too many other things tugging at me..

[McDave]

Hey Tommy,
That looks like a damn good time. Unbelievable how everything worked for ya. .. ..
I'm with Don on the straight and level flight.. also try to set up so about 15% of total wt, is on tongue. My example, 2990 total wt. tongue wt 450. If you can find a reliable place to get water just before you turn off the pavement, probably best. Maybe just carry a few gallons, just in case.
When hitched up, trailer should be level.
Anyways, Nice job!

McDave

[hankaye]

Tommy B. Howdy;

Looks like y'all had a good time aside from the after hours visitors ... better them
then the ones they were lookin' for ...
Profile shot of complete rig looks like the trailer is a few inches nose down.
There are several heights available from Reese and several other companies.
Might take an hour or 2 of experimenting. Like hooking up find a level place
measure the height of the ball with trailer on it, Unhook then jack up the
trailer to see where the trailer is level and to see if the trucks butt has risen
as well. Who knows might just need to turn the Ball mount upside down to get
the right height ... or buy one with less drop.

hank

[Tommy B]

Wow I feel every bit of 54 today. Every muscle and joint aches. The cold has expanded to my chest. I don't care it was worth it. I want to go back.
Thanks everyone for the advice on the tongue issue. Just like hank said. A little experimentation and I will get it no doubt. Let you know what it takes.


I cant say how much of a difference this C.T makes in enjoyable camping. Wow. LOVE IT!

The toilet is so very worth all the effort. Flushing toilet. Awesome! Very east to maintain. Even rinsed it out with dawn. Ready for the next trip. Hot water on demand priceless. Slept like I was at home. No aching guts after the trip.

Don will let you know about future dates/opportunities. Local spot should be pretty good by this weekend.

[Padilen]

Thanks everyone for the advice on the tongue issue. Just like hank said. A little experimentation and I will get it no doubt. Let you know what it .

When you do it don't leave a socket on your tailgate then open the tailgate. It will cost 150-200$ to fix!
Glad you had a good time and get well soon!

[Tommy B]

A few more

[McDave]

Man, I gotta' get there. That's just too nice. I think I hear banjos.....Aww Yeah.....Look away, Look away, Look Away, Dixieland...
I see you have your screen wall deployed. Must work as planned. Looks good.


McDave

[m.colley]

Campsite looks great there Tommy, and like several others said, it looks like you had a good time. I hope to get mine out camping the week of Nov 14th. I've had to put a couple things on hold so it may be December before I can make it down that way.

Glad you had a good time.


Martin

[Tommy B]

Good to here from you Martin. It just gets better weather wise from here on out. December is very nice in Ocala. A lot to see and do if you like nature. We will keep you entertained, I hope. Or drive you

Good people you can trust 100%. No one gets left behind on the trail. No matter what. When you get ready to come down let me know. We have been going there for a decade now and have it all down pretty good. Some one forgets something we share what you need.

I still learn something new every trip though. Now I know where to dump and refill for 7 dollars. Right down the road in Salt Springs Recreation area. A very beautiful spring/camp ground. Any questions feel free to ask brother.

[Tommy B]

Ok, Finally some closure here. It did take some experimenting like hank said. I tried a level hitch and it was to high. Looks like this 2 inch drop down will do the trick.
Both Propane tanks are full plus there is 20 gallons of water on board. Also the battery is there too. Some small stuff onboard also. Maybe 50 pounds or so.
The truck bumper lowered 2 and 3/4 inches when I hitched up. That's just info.
I feel great about it. That tongue really isn't that heavy at all.

The ATV sets right over the trailer axel so it has no effect on the tongue weight. I will see how the dirt bike and coolers do loaded up.

Truck ran 2200 rpm @ 80 miles an hour on level road. 76 miles an hour seemed to be the sweet spot as the engine was not even breaking a sweat there.

Just info.
Have a good weekend.

[McDave]

That looks perfect Tommy. Straight and level in flight. Tight and tidy. Congratulations young man. That's a fairly major accomplishment. I doubt if 1% of US pop. has even tried something like that. That's a pretty elite crowd your running with.



McDave

[hankaye]

Tommy B. Howdy;

Good to hear that your hitch problem is resolved. Now, have you figured out how much
you'll need to LOWER your headlight beams for night driving??? Just in case you ever do
that of course.
Easy to do with single headlights. Pull up to a wall and position truck 25' away, measure
the height of center of the light. Directly in line with the headlights mark the wall with
a horizontal line. The High beam should rest slightly above the line and ever so slightly
to the right of center for the left light, and the right light can be adjusted the same
or more towards the curb/ditch to spot wayward Bambis ...
Much better then trying to look like you're out squirrel huntin'
OH, don't forget to re adjust after the trip is over.

hank