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Member
Posts: 14
Location: MN | Hey Guys - I will be driving down to Phoenix from Minnesota to pickup a 2003 Platinum 3 Horse with 10ft LQ. Had a few questions as I'm a horse trailer newbie;
1) I have a CC F350 with the 6.5ft bed. What size pop-up GN extender should I get? Anyone know if the Platinum comes with the 4" or 4.5" inch round or square tube?
2) The trailer has been checked out by a friend & found to be in good shape but just to be sure is there anything in particular I need to watch out for?
3) Is it safe to park and sleep in truck stops on the way home or better to check into an RV park? Anyone know any decent RV parks between Phoenix and Minneapolis?
Many thanks |
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Member
Posts: 15
| One thought on staying overnight is state or fed parks. They are usually pretty cheap. |
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Regular
Posts: 90
| Good for you! I hope your trip goes smoothly. Here are the things that come to mind;
1. Have the axles greased or at least checked before you begin your trip.
2. Purchase and take with you an air guage that measures higher pressures (the little ones that car tires use isn't usually sufficient) Correct air pressure can save you big headaches.
3. Have seller take picture of coupler tube with tape measure in photo & send to Pop Up prior to ordering (a picture is worth a thousand words & differences in measurement taking ;-) ...)
4. Truck stops are usually OK, go with your gut. I always lock truck and set emergency brake, lock all doors on trailer & feel pretty safe. Stay in a lighted area if possible & bring along your special pillow!
Congratulations & best of luck!
Brenda |
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Member
Posts: 14
Location: MN | Thanks that's good advice. BTW what kind of jack do most people carry to change a flat on the trailer? |
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Veteran
Posts: 147
Location: santa clara, ca | how wide is the trailer? We have a F350 SB with a 4" extender(http://www.turnoverball.com/products/gooseneck-hitch/4-extender-turnoverball-accessory) pulling a non-LQ trailer (it' 7+ wide, not tapered but v-nose)for the truck stops..remember that truckers go in out of rest area all night long, so if we wake up easily you might not enjoy it (ear plugs?) |
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Veteran
Posts: 155
Location: North Salem, IN | Truck stops are generally safe places, but use your judgement. Some of the larger truck stops also have RV parking in the front. Be sure to lock all doors and you should be fine. Another thing to consider is stopping at a Walmart. Most Walmarts will allow RV parking overnight and most are easy in and out. I have done this before.
As far as a trailer jack, a Trailer Aid ramp works well. I have one of those and they are very easy to use and easy to store. Don't forget a 4 way lug wrench. |
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Member
Posts: 14
Location: MN | Thanks for all the great advice.
Sorry forgot to mention the trailer I am picking up is 8ft wide. |
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Veteran
Posts: 213
Location: Virginia | In addition to a spare tire, water, tools, etc, I would always carry my US Rider card. They are great! |
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Member
Posts: 14
Location: MN | Thanks. I have AAA Plus for RV's is this not as good as US Rider?
Attempting to post pics of the neck the dealer just sent me. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2453
Location: Northern Utah | Phoenix is a big city, I'm sure you can find the extension you want in town if you wait until you arrive and make sure what you need. If you are carefull, you might even be able to drive home with the standard. Just watch carfull when you turn tight corners. Most of the broken windows come from jacking it hard while backing into tight spots. |
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Veteran
Posts: 264
Location: Sumas Washington | One bit of advise, Take it slow and easy, this should be a fun trip to get to know your trailer. From my experence the first trip with my GN LQ trailer was very enjoyable. Remember to take EXTRA WIDE TURNS, and get your helper out to help back up if you have to. I would reccomend truck stops both for fuel and a nights stay, however if it doesnt look right drive on. Plan on early night stops it is a pain to be tired and cranky and cant find a spot to stop for the night. |
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Expert
Posts: 5870
 
Location: western PA | I have AAA Plus for RV's is this not as good as US Rider? We have both, the AAA for my newer cars, USRider for the truck, trailer and anything my wife drives. AAA is worthless with RVs, trailers, animals or anything being transported inside the trailer. Hands down, USRider is the best insurance for horse rigs. Along with your easyjack, a four way lug wrench, unless it's one of the larger HD types won't work well on the lug nuts. They are usually torqued at ~100 ft/lbs and with the commonly rusty studs, very difficult to remove. A torque multiplier, a two foot breaker bar, or a half inch ratchet and an aux piece of 2' pipe to slip over the end, will work much better at removing the lug nuts.. Another thing to consider is the size of the lug nuts. If the trailer has bolt on SIMS, their nuts are a larger, different size than the lug nuts. (1 1/16") Some 4 ways do not include this sized end socket. Whenever I buy a different trailer, I take a new male (trailer) plug that matches my truck and a multimeter. Twice I've had to change the plugs and ring the circuits, before I could leave the sellers' homes. |
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Member
Posts: 14
Location: MN | Thanks guys. I am going to sign up for US Rider. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 322
Location: Fort Madison, Iowa | I traveled from Iowa to Nashville to pick up my trailer and when I hitched up to the trailer, I noticed it sat lower on the bed than I wanted it to so luckily the person I bought it from had the tools to adjust it up higher. On your way down look for places stay and judge how long you feel comfortable driving before you need to stop. Also look for gas stations that would be easy to get in and out for your way back. We decided to stay overnight in a campground since we had the living quarters and we wanted air conditioning with it being in the 90's in July. I brought along a mattress cover, sheets, towels and past owner made sure we had toilet paper : - ) We showered at the campground since I wanted to clean first and figure everything out like the water system, hot water heater etc. We found signs advertising campgrounds along the way. It'd be easier on your way down to check out places when you don't have a trailer behind you that you're still learning to pull and back up. With 8ft. wide make sure you have mirrors that'll extend out far enough. Also if you have to pull off along the road you'll need triangles/safety cones to put along the road for 8ft wide trailers. Be sure you have a spare tire and that it's properly aired up. I love my Trailer aid that I can just pull up on. I also carry a shovel to help lift the tire if I have a flat and a heavy duty 4 way & extender. Your trailer looks to have a square nose so if you don't manage to have an extender put on right away, be sure to watch your turns cuz it'll be easy to break out your truck window. I'd highly recommend to have one on when you pick your trailer up. Have a safe trip!! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 610
Location: Northern CA | Look for the fairgrounds... call ahead and see if they will let ya stay there. Most do. |
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Expert
Posts: 2958
Location: North Carolina | Originally written by gard on 2012-03-23 7:57 PM I have AAA Plus for RV's is this not as good as US Rider? We have both, the AAA for my newer cars, USRider for the truck, trailer and anything my wife drives. AAA is worthless with RVs, trailers, animals or anything being transported inside the trailer. Hands down, USRider is the best insurance for horse rigs. USRider is like the AAA. It covers the person, not the vehicle. I've had USRider tow our minivan when it broke down. AAA's only advantage may be a wider selection of tow companies under contract. Yet, USRider did an immediate contract with a local tow company when I was stuck in an area that USRider didn't have anybody under contract. I gave USRider the contact info and they called the local heavy tow company. I fully recommend USRider for their service. They answer their call with "Are you and the horses safe ? ..." They EXPECT to be dealing with animals and trailers. |
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Member
Posts: 14
Location: MN | Definitively sounds worth it thanks for the info. |
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New User
Posts: 2
Location: TN | I would suggest buying a copy of The Next Exit, a wonderful book that lists food, gas, lodging, camping, rest stops at every exit in the Interstate system. You should be able to find it at any truck stop. Mine lives in the truck. GPS units have similar info, but I find this to be much more complete and informative. |
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Member
Posts: 14
Location: MN | Hey guys. Just got back from picking up the trailer in Phoenix. Had a great trip thanks for everyone's input. I learned a lot about pulling a trailer in that 1800 mile trip home! Only 2 things that I had issues with was having to go into the truck stop before being able to start the pump and also realizing that RV parks have the hookups on the drivers side while my trailer has the hookups on the passenger side. Is that normal for horse trailers?
Here's a couple of pics of the new trailer.
Cheers |
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 Expert
Posts: 1881
Location: NY | Nice trailer |
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Veteran
Posts: 155
Location: North Salem, IN | realizing that RV parks have the hookups on the drivers side while my trailer has the hookups on the passenger side. Is that normal for horse trailers?
Yes, that's normal. RV's are pretty standardized, with enties on the right and hookups on the left, where as horse trailers use both sides as possible entry to best suite the floor plan of the LQ. |
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Member
Posts: 12
Location: Roy, Wa | Looks good. Congradulations and let us know after your first camp night how you like the LQ. I'm workign on getting one myself and am just waiting for my other one to sell. |
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Member
Posts: 13
Location: Ontario | Really nice trailer :) Congrats and enjoy! |
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New User
Posts: 2
| I am looking at buying a platinum gooseneck trailer. I can't find many out there, but they seem to have great reviews. The dealer in Wis has poor reviews, maybe tat is why. How do you like yours? Email me at glacierfarm@yahoo.com so I don't miss your reply. Thank you Sheri |
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Expert
Posts: 2453
Location: Northern Utah | Glacier, This post is almost a year old., Trumpy the original poster has a total of 11 post and 7 of them involve his picking up of his trailer last year. He does not appear to be very active in the forum. So I would not get your hopes up to hear from him. It's not a good idea to post your email address in an open forum. Now any scammer can email you. It is smarter to private message your email to individuals that you want to talk to. Then your email or phone number can be traded in private and are not open for scammers to find. I'm sure there are plenty of Platinum owners on the forum and you may get lots of advice from them by starting a new thread asking for advice on Platinum trailers. |
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New User
Posts: 2
| I tried to edit and delete that, as I thought I was sending an email and not replying on the forum. I missed the 3 min deadline to delete.......ugh. This email is pretty public anyway. Thanks, maybe the moderator will delete it |
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First Gooseneck Some Questions
