Black Series HQ Tips, Tricks, and Learning.....

[Raspy]

Greetings, all

I have a question, if it's OK. Should I consider taking a sway-control with me when/if I buy an HQ21?

Details: I plan to go (4 hours away) check out, and likely buy, an early 2021 (black cushions and black headboard) HQ21 this weekend. I have a 2010 Ram 3500 so I'll probably be fine handling the 750-1K lbs tongue weight without air bags, but... I have (E/10-ply) 37x12.5-17 tires on stock rims with no lift and I'm wondering about sway control. I've pulled 26'+ trailers that wiggled a bit. I know the 15s and 19s can sway some and sway-control (with weight-distribution) is recommended for many applications, but what about the 21s? Are they prone to sway with the tanks empty or no gear and tanks full? 175 miles can be very unfun with a grumpy trailer, and I realize slowing down is an option but who wants to do that?

Any thoughts?

It sounds like your tires can contribute to sway issues if the trailer is not very stable. Way big for the stock wheel size. Your Ram is a good choice for towing. The HQ21 is not known to be more stable than the 19, which I had and towed many miles with no issues and no WDH. Tow with the trailer level. I don't know where the tanks are on a 21, but keep any weight forward. You'll likely need new shocks very soon on the trailer too. Look at the Facebook page "Caravan Specialties" for more information on the Black Series trailers.

 

[FEF]

I’m going to look at one tomorrow. As it turns out, it has the sway control with the hitch and it comes with an adjustable mount. I can’t express what a relief that is. Regarding the sidewall height, there’s no doubt it can contribute to sway. However, I’m about to find out if the aired down performance, which is fantastic, is too big a price to pay when pulling a 7-10K trailer.

I will likely be a Black Series HQ21 owner tomorrow. I’m excited and a bit nervous at the same time. Thanks to all that have contributed to this thread. There’s an amazing amount of information here.

 

[FEF]

Well Raspy, you called it. Half the shocks have oil on them. If half of them look blown, the others are too.

The trailer was absolutely horrible to tow. I couldn’t safely tow (200 miles) over 50mph. The tail of the trailer swayed at the smallest upset long before feeling the truck move laterally. In this situation, the HQ21 was the worse trailer I’ve ever pulled. Now, the nose is a bit low, and the trailer is empty, but still. That said, the dealer would not install the sway-bar because the tab for the ball was welded on. I would have put it on but the clips are missing.

I have to get the nose up and that means the hitch needs to be lifted. I’m also putting on two sway control bars. If one bar has to work that hard to manage sway, then two will have to work half as hard and offer some redundancy in the event of failure. If that doesn’t get me to at least 60mph, I’ll think about a weight-distribution hitch with sway control.

Even with all that, we’re pretty excited about our new trailer.

 

[FEF]

And even more fun happens. When you test the tail lights with the engine off, which is what I normally do, the lights are fine. With the engine running, both outside tail lights, turn signals, flicker at the same time making it look like weak hazard flashers. Looks like there are clues on what’s happening and how to fix it on page 15 of this thread. Of all the problems I thought I might have, I did not see this one coming.

 

[Raspy]

And even more fun happens. When you test the tail lights with the engine off, which is what I normally do, the lights are fine. With the engine running, both outside tail lights, turn signals, flicker at the same time making it look like weak hazard flashers. Looks like there are clues on what’s happening and how to fix it on page 15 of this thread. Of all the problems I thought I might have, I did not see this one coming.

My lights did the same thing. And after a lot of trying to figure it out, I did some simple rewiring and fixed it. If you have the breakaway system battery in yours, do yourself a favor and get rid of it buy running the breakaway system from the house batteries. You can tap into the trailer brake system by running a new set of wires (#12 contractor extension cord works very well) from the tongue junction box to the axle wiring harness on the axles. Clip off the brake feed wires from the trailer and cap them. Remove the breakaway battery charger and take its feed power wire from the house batteries and jump past the charger to the output side of the breakaway battery. Then remove the breakaway battery and its charger. This simplifies the system. It will make it more reliable and safer, while curing the blinking light problem. You are now starting down the long road of Black Series problems. Once you emerge on the other side of this long and winding road, you'll have a reasonably good trailer.

 

[FEF]

.You are now starting down the long road of Black Series problems. Once you emerge on the other side of this long and winding road, you'll have a reasonably good trailer

Agreed. I knew I was getting into a can of worms, but I didn’t know how big the can would be. I believe it will be a great trailer, once I get the problems ironed out. Lord knows I’m finding more every day, but I don’t regret buying it.

Thanks for the breakaway idea. It will make life easier.

 

[vibeoverland]

I have a 2022 HQ15. Over this past weekend I replaced the 4 AGM batteries with 2 high capacity Lifepo4 batteries. I also swapped out the MPPT Solar charge Controller with a Victron unit. I am having difficulty with the KS2 Inverter (model: KS2K110.01) not recognizing the batteries and charging from shore power. I do not have the manual for this unit and have searched online with no success. Does anyone have any insight into this Inverter and how to adjust settings?

 

[Raspy]

I have a 2022 HQ15. Over this past weekend I replaced the 4 AGM batteries with 2 high capacity Lifepo4 batteries. I also swapped out the MPPT Solar charge Controller with a Victron unit. I am having difficulty with the KS2 Inverter (model: KS2K110.01) not recognizing the batteries and charging from shore power. I do not have the manual for this unit and have searched online with no success. Does anyone have any insight into this Inverter and how to adjust settings?

I had the old Aims inverter/charger in my HQ19. After it quit twice, I ditched it and went to a Victron inverter. When BS went to the newer inverters, from the Aims model, I think at the same time they went to the white interior dinette cushions, they switched to an overseas brand that had no support and was not known by anyone. Since the new lithium batteries are running at a higher voltage than the AGMs, is it possible that the inverter just thinks they are fully charged and is not charging them further? Or do you mean that if you disconnect the Victron solar charger and discharge the lithiums a little, that the inverter/charger will still not work? Does it have a lithium setting or switch somewhere? Eventually, you'll likely end up with a Victron inverter that can work with the solar controller and a possible DC-DC charger running from the Anderson plug.

 

[vibeoverland]

I had the old Aims inverter/charger in my HQ19. After it quit twice, I ditched it and went to a Victron inverter. When BS went to the newer inverters, from the Aims model, I think at the same time they went to the white interior dinette cushions, they switched to an overseas brand that had no support and was not known by anyone. Since the new lithium batteries are running at a higher voltage than the AGMs, is it possible that the inverter just thinks they are fully charged and is not charging them further? Or do you mean that if you disconnect the Victron solar charger and discharge the lithiums a little, that the inverter/charger will still not work? Does it have a lithium setting or switch somewhere? Eventually, you'll likely end up with a Victron inverter that can work with the solar controller and a possible DC-DC charger running from the Anderson plug.

Mine has the off brand (chinese) KS2 Inverter / Charger. When I connected the batteries they were at 55%, so I doubt that its seeing them as fully charged. I havent tried disconnecting the Victron solar charger yet, but I can see if that makes a difference. I was able to obtain a manual, surprisingly the company responded to my email request pretty quickly. The manual stated to change the battery type which I have. Then I did a hard reset on the Inverter and still not working. I am probably going to have to swap it out with a Victron unit. Which Victron Inverter model do you have?

 

[Raspy]

Mine has the off brand (chinese) KS2 Inverter / Charger. When I connected the batteries they were at 55%, so I doubt that its seeing them as fully charged. I havent tried disconnecting the Victron solar charger yet, but I can see if that makes a difference. I was able to obtain a manual, surprisingly the company responded to my email request pretty quickly. The manual stated to change the battery type which I have. Then I did a hard reset on the Inverter and still not working. I am probably going to have to swap it out with a Victron unit. Which Victron Inverter model do you have?

I sold my HQ 19 about four years ago, so I'm not sure on the model of Victron inverter. But I think it was a 2,000 watt. It might be better to get a 3,000 watt, but not necessarily because it likely won't run the AC anyway and the 3,000 has higher standby losses. But it is a good idea to stay with all Victron so the solar controller, the inverter and dc-dc charger, if you get one, can all work together.

Just to clarify, if your solar is charging lithium batteries, even if the lithiums are not fully charged, their voltage can still be high enough that the inverter /charger thinks they are fully charged. A fully charged AGM is about 12.7 and a 50 % charged lithium is somewhere around 13+ or even 14.4 if being charged. If you are just trying to make in inverter work, and not the charger, it should work, but might be seeing voltage that is above the set parameters. Check the specs and adjustments available