Thinking about getting a camper

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spotdog14

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Hello everyone. I have a few questions for you guys; I have posted other places about this but figured this would be the best place to post about Expedition specific questions.

My wife and I are looking into getting an R-Pod travel trailer next year to make our camping outings a little less rough on us and with a two year old and one on the way it will be a little easier. Anyways I know that the specific trailer we want to get is well within the tow limits being Unloaded Vehicle Weight of 2,459 lbs I just had a few questions.

First, I have the accessory bag of relays and trailer brake harness that was located in my glove box, should I install those and I am assuming I need to install the relays per the directions to get power to the camper batteries.

Second, do I need a wight distributing hitch? I have a 2008 Expedition Limited 4WD (thought air suspension) but with the heavy duty tow package.

Third, loading of cargo. Should I load most of the cargo in the camper or in the cargo area of the Expedition for optimal performance?

Fourth, the wife is concerned that the Expedition has 120,000 miles on it. What preventative measures should I take to make sure we don't have any issue on the road. I do regular maintenance, use full synthetic oil and generally keep it in good working condition but she is a person that has always leased and had never had a vehicle over 30,000 miles.

Lastly I have towed my far share of things in the past, small mower trailers, 15ft boat trailer, 25ft boat trailer, enclosed toy hauler but nothing the distance we are looking to go with the camper. Any tips I should have?

Thank you!
 

Bedrck47

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I would say to keep your cargo weights within limits
Any heavy items should be kept over the axel/s in the camper Any lighter items can be store in the camper in areas that would maintain the bulk of the weight over the axel. In other words don't make the front or rear to heavy.
The heavy duty tow package on the expedition should be adequate for that R-Pod since the hitch weight is under 400 lbs on any of the R-Pods
You may want to consider sway control
Also an adjustable hitch head to maintain a level camper
If the R-Pod has electric brakes then get a good brake controller The expedition should already have the brake controller connection and all you would need in addition to the brake controller would be the adapter harness

The heavy duty tow package should already have a full frame mounted hitch brake
 
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