New to your community

[Stoker]

Well, I'm joining the ranks of what we hope is a good community using a good product. At least the community is good, right? We are moving up to our first 5th wheel (3rd overall travel trailer), and felt like, why the heck not? Let's try this and see how we like it. We are about to take delivery of a 2013 Redwood 38BR, and I have some immediate needs just to get ready to tow.
* Hitch....located a Pull Rite 24K Super Slider locally that comes with the Super Rails.....(Good choice?) It's been used to pull about 8 times according to the current owner.
* Capture plate. Oh boy....I have no idea what comes with the Redwood 38BR, and thus my post. Anyone out there have a feel for what RW specs normally? We are buying a preowned unit, and want to be sure how to "rig up" correctly....
* Anyone out there having any issues with 2013 38BR?

[atom ant]

Welcome! And nice choice in rigs!

Redwood came standard with a Trailair pin box, and optional Tri-glide Trailair pin box. Neither is going to have your capture plate installed unless the prior owner just happened to use a Superslider as well. You will have to get the correct capture plate from the hitch manufacturer.

Why a slider? Are you using a short bed? If your Redwood has the Tri-glide pin box (air bag and shock), I don't think you need a slider at all. When we picked ours up, and turned a few times and got rid of the slider because the radius nose combined with the length of the tri-glide I had no chance of hitting the cab.

[Stoker]

How 'bout that? Quick response, and much appreciate the input. 2015 GMC Denali 2500 Duramax, standard bed (6.5') for towing. The RW has indented nose cap, and some say get the slider, others say pull it first then decide. Just don't want to have an "Ahaa moment" Might wait on air bags till 1st tug to see how she handles going down to Port Aransas.... You guys happy with RW overall? Any aches/pains?

[atom ant]

Always aches and pains I guess, but love our Redwood.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by Stoker

How 'bout that? Quick response, and much appreciate the input. 2015 GMC Denali 2500 Duramax, standard bed (6.5') for towing. The RW has indented nose cap, and some say get the slider, others say pull it first then decide. Just don't want to have an "Ahaa moment" Might wait on air bags till 1st tug to see how she handles going down to Port Aransas.... You guys happy with RW overall? Any aches/pains?

I would rethink that 2500. There are some that have srw trucks and make them work but in the end, pretty much everybody agrees that a dually is better suited. A 2500 may have some issues without some modifications to handle the BR

[Blenhardt]

Welcome to the forum and to the Redwood experience. We love our Redwood. Your coach will probably not be perfect but almost none are. Having said that, ours is very nice and we really enjoy it. Good luck and happy camping.

[travelin' texans]

Welcome Stoker! We lived the past 18+ months with only very minor issues as I hope the same for you.
Also agree with Dave on the 2500, the Duramax/Allison will have no problem with pulling, but you will be considerably over gross on the rear axle, but have seen others doing it, just something to be aware of.
Good luck & enjoy!!

[piper guy]

Welcome to our merry band !
Just an fyi, when we first got the RL, I had a F350 CC SB 11,500 gvw and when I got around to weighing the rig was almost 900 lbs overweight on rear axle. Also was over on Gross Combined. That was when an 8 month old truck got traded on a Dually and we never looked back.

As Dan said above, some do it, but be really careful about your rear tires. last thing you want to do is blow one out at speed.

[DLRAKOWITZ]

Hey stoker, I have the 2014 38br and indeed it's a little heavier than you think. 2500 might be a little weak for that trailer. But I hope you enjoy your 38br

[Stoker]

Good intel guys re: 2015 Denali 2500 being light for pulling the 38BR. So, not buying another truck, and the 2500 4x4 is going to have to work. E range tires on it already, so I guess the only option is adding a helper spring and/or air bags? 6.5' bed, and my other problem is going to be pin weight I suppose, given that there is an Onan 5500 Genny sitting in front compartment. Boy, I reckon that bonus room in the back of the coach may need some counter ballast? (chuckle). Open for more pearls of wisdom from the "already been there and done it" dept. with my type of setup... Do any of you have a 38BR with a Genny in the front and have any idea what the pin weight actually is? Supposing this preowned hitch I found will work ok? Pull Rite, 24K super glide with super rails, used 8 times.

[Stoker]

As I review some posts from you guys previous, I see that Atom Ant has a very similar coach to mine. Onan Genny up front, side by side washer/dryer? Ours is a Whirlpool model, and they are located up around the stairs/bedroom area, so have to assume that adds nose/pin weight to the base model...Maybe AA knows his pin weight?

[Steve & Linda]

Stoker, Welcome to the Redwood Family and the Forum. We just finished living in our new unit for a month on its maiden voyage and loved it. This is our first large trailer and from what we learned on this forum we decided more truck = more safety. So we went with the 3500HD Dually. Good luck to you.

[0nTheRoad]

Stoker, welcome, I hope your Redwood is all you hoped for and it serves you as well as ours has for us.

Hate to sound like a broken record BUT you really need to rethink your truck choice. We have a 36FB, a smaller and lighter coach than your BR and I'm very glad I opted for a F350 dually. These coaches are heavy and unless you plan on taking short trips you should really consider something better able to handle the weight and more important...stopping power!!

[lwg]

I have the 38BR, but no Genny. While I can't argue that a dually would probably tow better, my SRW seems to do fine everywhere we go. The new trucks are light years ahead of trucks from even a few years ago, just look at your disc brake size compared to a truck from just a few years ago. My 2013 F-350 has disc brakes that were nearly the same size of F-450's from a few years ago.

The reality is that you will definitely be over weight. Make sure your rear tires are rated for somewhere north go 3500 lbs each as the pin weight on your truck will probably be around 4,000 lbs +\- a few pounds.

[travelin' texans]

Last night a big Infinity 5er (also by Thor) came into this park towed by a 2500, didn't appear to even squat the rear, don't know the specs of the 2015s but they seem to increase every year. Guess you could make bonus room a home gym with weights & a hot tub.

[piper guy]

Stoker - I'm guessing your pin weight will be about 4k lbs. when I had my SRW F350, I added Helwig Big Wig Sway bars front and back and Airlift 5000 Airbags. Made a tremendous difference in stability towing and also improved the unloaded ride and handling of the truck. You will still be overweight however. I would look for tires with a higher load rating. Can't remember who, but one of our group had posted a higher load rated SRW tire. You'll still be over on axle weight rating but that you can't change.

HTH

[Blue Dogs]

I have the 38RL with gen, my pin weight is 3600 lbs 1/2 full H2o. As far as a slider I would choose to have one over not. If you don't need to slide no big deal but if you do need it and don't have it, that's a problem. I used to tow a 40' Sandstorm toyhauler with an 08 truck like yours, it was heavy and required airbags. Yep you will be over weight and there is no getting around that. So slower travel speeds and awareness will be necessary! I personally never had a problem and I was comfortable going down the road. You are still over what the manufacturer rates your vehicle. When I bought my redwood the dealer had to verify that my truck was rated to tow the trailer or they would not sell to me, I am surprised yours hasn't taken that step.
Welcome to the Redwood family, I'm sure you will enjoy it.

[lwg]

My pin weight is right at 3700, that's with roughly 1/2 tank of fresh water. I could probably get it down to 3500 or slightly less with a little effort.

[rcflame]

Stoker,
I wouldn't pull that trailer with anything less than a 1 ton. You will be overloaded. I have talked to a lot of people that when you asked them about being overloaded will say well I can pull it. To me the big thing is can you handle and stop it. I am maybe a safety freak, but I have always had my vehicle and trailer weighed so I knew it was within the limits. Also, If you were in an accident with me and I thought you were overweight, I would insist on you having your unit weighed and if you were overweight, you would be at fault.

[atom ant]

Here are my CAT scale tickets (attached)

Slip 1 Truck - 9140
Slip 2 combined - no water or food 25010 CGWR, Pin 3,480
Slip 3 combined - food and water 26,360 CGWR, Pin 4,320 Trailer GVWR 17,220

Brought it home from Texas with an F350 SRW SB. Traded SRW for a DRW within a few months.