Posted 2013-09-02 11:46 AM (#154483) Subject: New Sundowner? Good Idea???
Member
Posts: 12
Location: Vancouver. WA
My Wife and I are thinking about buying a brand new 3 horse Sundowner 14' SW LQ w/Slide. Does anyone have any experiences you can share with me, good bad/likes dislikes??
Posted 2013-09-02 5:22 PM (#154493 - in reply to #154491) Subject: RE: New Sundowner? Good Idea???
Member
Posts: 12
Location: Vancouver. WA
Bhill and Paul, this is good input and I hadn't really consider that since my truck is fairly heavy duty. It is the 2006 Ram 3500 Dually with the 5.9 liter Cummins Turbo Diesel. It has 600Ft lbs torque, do either of you believe that is enough?
Posted 2013-09-02 8:20 PM (#154498 - in reply to #154483) Subject: RE: New Sundowner? Good Idea???
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 544 Location: Claxton, Ga.
As long as you have 4.10 gears you will be fine. 3.73 rear gears will work, but not as well. GVW for 3.73 is 21,000 lbs. 4.10's will get you to 23,000lbs. You will be right at your limit if not over a little bit when loaded. An exhaust brake would be in order to help stop you. Rear tire weight ratings you should be fine.Airbags or Timberens (spelling??) would also be in order for a better ride.
Posted 2013-09-02 11:31 PM (#154501 - in reply to #154483) Subject: RE: New Sundowner? Good Idea???
Expert
Posts: 3853 Location: Vermont
You will have to weigh the trailer fully loaded preferably on a CAT scale to get your axle weights...too many people focus on the the Gross Combination Weight...and forget the GAWRs to their sorrow...a miss-distributed trailer weight causing too large a pin weight can be disastrous... :(http://catscale.com/how-to-weigh
Posted 2013-09-03 10:48 AM (#154514 - in reply to #154493) Subject: RE: New Sundowner? Good Idea???
Member
Posts: 36 Location: The Natural State
We pull an all aluminum Sundowner 3 horse with 14 ft. sw LQ (no slide) with a 2007 Dodge 3500 dually with the 5.9 Cummins engine with no issues. We have air bags on the truck and recently added an exhaust brake (it's pretty hilly in our area) and a chip. The exhaust brake is really handy for the long downhill grades and the chip helps pull the big hills and improved our mileage. BTW, we love our Sundowner!
Posted 2013-09-03 8:14 PM (#154523 - in reply to #154483) Subject: RE: New Sundowner? Good Idea???
Veteran
Posts: 218 Location: Ohio
I doubt that trailer weighs more than 10k empty. You figure a thousand pounds a horse and a thousand pounds for gear and stuff. That puts you about 14k loaded. Just a rough estimate. I doubt your 3500 will have a problem with that. Our 2007 F250 could pull 16K and our current F350 can pull over 21K. We pull a 15ft short wall with slide and I forget sometimes it is back there. The F250 did it but nothing like the F350 dually.
Posted 2013-09-04 12:18 AM (#154526 - in reply to #154483) Subject: RE: New Sundowner? Good Idea???
New User
Posts: 2
Location: McM
No way would I buy a new Sundowner. The quality just isn't there. I would rather have s better built used trailer. Just my opinion. I've had Sundowners and the ones prior to 1998 were very well built butthe new ones just aren't. Spend the same amount on a used Platinum , Elite or 4 Star. Then you will have a better built trailer.
Posted 2013-09-04 9:06 AM (#154527 - in reply to #154483) Subject: RE: New Sundowner? Good Idea???
Regular
Posts: 78
My 14' LQ 3 horse, no slide weighs about 11,000 empty. And the Sundowner I had was a heavy trailer for its size. It's an older one tho, I don't know if the new ones are lighter built.
Posted 2013-09-04 11:22 AM (#154531 - in reply to #154483) Subject: RE: New Sundowner? Good Idea???
Member
Posts: 7
Location: knoxville, al
I have a 2008 Sundowner 12' lq, 8 wide, 4 horse. I love it, but it is a heavy trailer, or should I say, heavier than my old exiss trailer with weekender package.
Love the wide stalls, and the faceguards are much easier to pull down than some of the other brand's faceguards.
Had a 1992 12' lq 3h sundowner also, and it was a good trailer also.
Be sure whatever trailer you get that you get it eXACTLY the way you want it/ lq layout, options, etc, because if you are like me, you will find something you would change.
Dislikes: the gaskets around the manger doors, mine started coming off, and I don't like that the rear door handles are attached to the door, instead of the middle column( horses get head around door and get halters hung up on door handles if tied on last tie ring)
Also, make sure the axles are 8k axles,AND good heavy duty tires, some dealers still put the 7k axles under these big trailers, mine has 8k's
Posted 2013-09-06 12:00 AM (#154572 - in reply to #154539) Subject: RE: New Sundowner? Good Idea???
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 544 Location: Claxton, Ga.
Originally written by Weekender on 2013-09-04 4:41 PM
Spooler, thanks for the Exhaust Break suggestion.
Your Welcome, If you get the trailer, after a quick ride you will find out how uncomfortable those lovely overloads are when your truck slaps up and down on them. I put on Timbrens and Bilstien shocks to stop that problem. It was bone jarring...
New Sundowner? Good Idea???
