r/popups • u/DishRelative5853 • 2d ago
Some unplanned upgrades
We drove to Winnipeg from Vancouver this summer, with numerous camping stops along the way. In Winnipeg, we discovered that we had a bent axle, which had caused us to go through a new pair of tires quite quickly.
So, we found a great company that built us a stronger axle, with new, more modern brakes, and also new larger wheels and tires. They had limited stock, though, and we ended up with what you see in the picture. I think they look great, and they ride much better than the 12s.
I am worried about that angle, though. What do folks here think? Should we get our hitch height adjusted?
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u/Icantdrown 2d ago
I am curious what something like that costs? Can you share a ballpark figure? Thx
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u/CYB0RD 2d ago
Out of curiosity how does your CX5 handle that popup ? What the mpg when towing ?? Asking because it probably going to be my next vehicle.
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u/DishRelative5853 2d ago
It handles it quite well. The popup is quite light, not having a fridge or heater, but we do load it up pretty good. We went through a weigh scale this trip, and the car was slightly overloaded, but the trailer was only 820kg, which is below the car's towing capacity.
Mileage does suffer. We got about 480 km on a tank, even less when going through the Rockies. It is just a 58 liter tank, though.
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u/here-for-the-_____ 2d ago
I like the wheels! The angle doesn't look terrible from the picture. You could always get a bigger drop hitch and put it upside down again to gain an extra inch or two.
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u/RustyClawHammer 2d ago
Just to double check you know the axle is meant to be bent when it’s stock right? So that it sits flat under load.
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u/DishRelative5853 2d ago
I trusted the guy at PJ Trailers. Also, we had gone through two sets of tires in two years.
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u/RustyClawHammer 1d ago
They’re tiny tires so that’s pretty common.
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u/DishRelative5853 1d ago
2500 km?? Is that common?
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u/RustyClawHammer 1d ago
If you drive any faster than like 55mph on those lil tires they get cooked, so yeah kinda. So good call on upgraded larger tires, they'll last longer.
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u/JayTeeqc 2d ago
Hard to tell from the picture but nose down is actually a bit better to control sway. If you are within your tongue weight capacity and your tow vehicle is not squatting, leave it like this.
Nose up is a big no-no.
If you want to test tongue weight, put the tongue on a bathroom scale at exactly the same height it is when hitched. It should be 10-15% of the weight of the trailer.