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

[clloyd]

Hi there. First post. I have an HQ17 on order. Very excited but it will be quite the wait.

I was wondering if anyone has brought both hot and cold water to the outdoor kitchen. It looks to me like a single cold line by default. The HQ17 has a small kitchen sink area inside. Seems like it would be better to clean the dishes outside.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance

 

[swankyabe]

Anyone on here run an HQ12 with a family of 4, and 4 mountain bikes? We are lucky to have RVs of America right down the road from us.

That is me exactly, minus the 4 mountain bikes which will have a resolution by Thanksgiving through your boys at RVoA and their hitch mod, then you could hookup any bike rack with hitch receiver you need.

My son (15) used to sleep in the bunk and 3 of us down on the main bed. but now we carry a little single man survivor tent for him because he likes the open night (good for him to learn as well lol). Now our little one (5) sleeps on the bunk but she finds her way down every now and again. On the quick overnights on long road trips we carry the middle section or squeeze in without it still and throw my son up on the bunk again.

We also rock a full size truck and topper with a compartment in the truck bed I built for storage and my son also likes to sleep in there when he is too lazy for the tent lol. Seriously speaking, because of the limited storage on the HQ12 without my covered truck bed/compartments/ and using the shower space with a storage bin for the longer trips this would not suffice. I would upgrade to the 17 in a heartbeat if I had the budget and proper truck to pull it, but buying a new truck just to pull the trailer was not in our budget, not to mention it would be too much trailer when they grow up. We are super happy with our purchase though and always look to improve with every mod.

Let me know if any questions,

Dan

 

[clloyd]

.....I would upgrade to the 17 in a heartbeat if I had the budget and proper truck to pull it, but buying a new truck just to pull the trailer was not in our budget, not to mention it would be too much trailer when they grow up....

You said you have a full size truck. Do you feel like the HQ17 could be a problem for a 1/2 ton? Of course 1/2 tons have a changed a lot over the years. I have a 2017 GMC Sierra with a 6.2 liter and air bags and 65 psi rated tires. Tows a 7k boat trailer package no problem. But that trailer has great brakes (Electric Over Hydraulic all 4 wheels)

 

[swankyabe]

You said you have a full size truck. Do you feel like the HQ17 could be a problem for a 1/2 ton? Of course 1/2 tons have a changed a lot over the years. I have a 2017 GMC Sierra with a 6.2 liter and air bags and 65 psi rated tires. Tows a 7k boat trailer package no problem. But that trailer has great brakes (Electric Over Hydraulic all 4 wheels)

Yea, I only have a 2008 Toy Tundra w a 4.7, didn't want to be on the max side with it and we pull in some dirty situations and didn't want to bang up a new ride until this one goes. She is at 280k and still goin like a beast. You will have no problems at all with your setup with a 17 #jealous lol. With the bunks, it's def the way to go, but a 12 can work with some creativity and has it's own advantages starting with the price tag. Also we live in CO so our camping majority is in the mountains and it's awesome opening up the canvas because you still get that fresh breeze and 'tent' feel. You get it if you are spoiled with our terrain, so many places to scope and camp.

Curious.. Are you getting a WD (weight distro/anti sway) setup for your rig? I am forced to with only 2 tires on the HQ12... installing Wed and will let everyone know how it goes on the DIY side.

 

[clloyd]

snip...
Curious.. Are you getting a WD (weight distro/anti sway) setup for your rig? I am forced to with only 2 tires on the HQ12... installing Wed and will let everyone know how it goes on the DIY side.

I'm probably going to try without to start. Will look forward to your post.

 

[GasTachs]

I have a HQ21 on order... I keep see completely different side of the table reviews.... I clearly like it, I ordered one, but if its not "rock crawling" and just going on forest trails is it needed? What trailers did you guys look at before going with Black Series?

 

[mvbeggs]

.... What trailers did you guys look at before going with Black Series?

Bruder, ZoneRV, Oliver

 

[GasTachs]

Bruder, ZoneRV, Oliver

Thanks, why they HQ19?

 

[mvbeggs]

Thanks, why they HQ19?

Various reasons.
Bruder is a great trailer, but the purchase terms were, in my opinion, unreasonable. We also did not have the best of luck in our communication with Bruder during the order placing process. These issues led us to abandon the Bruder purchase.

ZoneRV- looks like a great trailer, but they are only offering their Expedition 10.0 and Expedition 12.0 to the US market. These are a little small for what we wanted. We were looking forward to viewing those models at Expo West 2020, but unfortunately, we all know how that went. Now if they would bring their Off-Road series here, that would be a great trailer for us and the US market. There is nothing like the Zone RV Off Road Series here in the US.

Oliver- Again, nice trailer, but not setup for off road. I don't think it would survive where we wanted to take it.

HQ-19 Honestly, this was not our first choice. In the end, we found it was the trailer that had the least number of compromises. My initial issues with the trailer was the fit and finish and I had severe reservations about the Chinese manufacture of parts. (first saw them at Overland Expo East 2019) Having owned ours now for 4 months, of which we have spent about 60 days/nights in the trailer, quality has not been an issue. All of the failures we've seen, all minor items, has been from the domestic sourced parts.

What's the lead time on getting your HQ-21?

 

[GasTachs]

Various reasons.
Bruder is a great trailer, but the purchase terms were, in my opinion, unreasonable. We also did not have the best of luck in our communication with Bruder during the order placing process. These issues led us to abandon the Bruder purchase.

ZoneRV- looks like a great trailer, but they are only offering their Expedition 10.0 and Expedition 12.0 to the US market. These are a little small for what we wanted. We were looking forward to viewing those models at Expo West 2020, but unfortunately, we all know how that went. Now if they would bring their Off-Road series here, that would be a great trailer for us and the US market. There is nothing like the Zone RV Off Road Series here in the US.

Oliver- Again, nice trailer, but not setup for off road. I don't think it would survive where we wanted to take it.

HQ-19 Honestly, this was not our first choice. In the end, we found it was the trailer that had the least number of compromises. My initial issues with the trailer was the fit and finish and I had severe reservations about the Chinese manufacture of parts. (first saw them at Overland Expo East 2019) Having owned ours now for 4 months, of which we have spent about 60 days/nights in the trailer, quality has not been an issue. All of the failures we've seen, all minor items, has been from the domestic sourced parts.

What's the lead time on getting your HQ-21?

I found a dealer that had one on order for delivery this month. (Called beginning of July and put down money) So we will see if it actually arrives. I just hate that the only option for bunk beds is the 17, which is too small for my 2 kids dog, wife and myself but I believe that has the best layout for my family

 

[yrwins]

WOW... Look what I find over Youtube.
https://www.trailrv.com.au.
.

I look similar like the black series.
how that is possible?

 

[2manyprojects]

Black Series HQ-15 owners: I don't wish to hijack this extremely insightful thread, but was wondering if anyone has had their HQ-15 on a scale to get actual weights?

My wife and I are considering an HQ-15, and researching on-line info shows the 2020 trailer has "gained" 1000 lbs from 2019 models. My initial conversation with a sales person at one of the popular dealerships was unable to clarify, except to say that "Australian specs" are different. I'm planning/ hoping to tow with my 2017 Chev Colorado mini-Duramax diesel, but 7000# GVWR for the HQ-15 puts it very close to my vehicle's 7600# max rating. I don't think bottom insulation and 2 more 10Ah AGM batts are adding that much...

 

[PSea]

Black Series HQ-15 owners: I don't wish to hijack this extremely insightful thread, but was wondering if anyone has had their HQ-15 on a scale to get actual weights?

My wife and I are considering an HQ-15, and researching on-line info shows the 2020 trailer has "gained" 1000 lbs from 2019 models. My initial conversation with a sales person at one of the popular dealerships was unable to clarify, except to say that "Australian specs" are different. I'm planning/ hoping to tow with my 2017 Chev Colorado mini-Duramax diesel, but 7000# GVWR for the HQ-15 puts it very close to my vehicle's 7600# max rating. I don't think bottom insulation and 2 more 10Ah AGM batts are adding that much...

their weights have never been accurate. not on the caravans and not on the pop-ups

 

[2manyprojects]

Exactly my point, and why I'm hoping current owners might have some real data to share...

I see current owners here are towing with a variety of vehicles, and I'm looking for a reality check on the HQ-15 pulls, and how my Colorado mini-max diesel would/will handle it.

 

[PSea]

Exactly my point, and why I'm hoping current owners might have some real data to share...

I see current owners here are towing with a variety of vehicles, and I'm looking for a reality check on the HQ-15 pulls, and how my Colorado mini-max diesel would/will handle it.

then I'll approach it slightly differently. most will tell you it's unwise to exceed 80% of your towing capacity. wish i could help more but I have a pop up.