SETTING UP OUR INTECH SOL DAWN FOR DRY CAMPING (UNOFFICIAL) 

Thanks for watching!! We love this little camper. It's versatile and so far meets our needs. From what we have seen, if you are going full time RVing, many folks prefer the Sol Horizon, which has a bed in the back and the dinette in the front. During the warm season, we leave the bed set up and eat outdoors. When it's cold, we have to convert the dinette and bed when we camp.

Thanks for subscribing!! We will continue adding videos and helpful content as much as possible. When we got our first RV, which is an Intech Sol Dawn Rover, there were so many things we were unaware of, so we are trying to share what we learn on our journey to help others, so we can all spend more time camping and less time researching!!!

We bought our Dawn used, but it did come with the 30 amp power cable. Intech has a replacement: intech.com/marketplace/shop/parts/electrical/shore-cord-30-amp/ There also seems to be cheaper alternatives on Amazon as well: amzn.to/3PR6aCy

Honestly, this was probably the 2nd or third time out with this Camper. The more you do it, the easier it gets. Just level using the tongue jack, then level one side of the tires. We chose to use the BAL leveler instead of backing onto leveling blocks, which for me, would be more stressful and take more time. It really only takes about 15-30 mins.to be set up at a site. Even less if the site we get is absolutely level. We also like the added security of the BAL Leveler (amzn.to/439naYR) and BAL Chock (amzn.to/3Imj9rT). We know that the camper is not going to roll around at all!

When we purchased our Dawn from McGeorge RV here in Richmond, they put this E2 Hitch on with the sway bars. amzn.to/40oi0Gv , which required them cutting into our front racks. They did not tell us ahead of time, and we were disappointed to find this out. At them time, we didn't really know much about hitches and sway bars. From our research, it did not appear that sway bars were something that Intech requires to pull a Dawn and they later had to reinforce the aluminum frames because so many people were using sway bar packages. We used the sway bars on our first trip. I didn't like how they handle. 2nd trip, we left them off and have kept it that way ever since. There are many opinions out there and ours is that we don't wish to use the sway bars. We don't go much over 60 mph, and if we feel anything getting out of control, we just tap on our brake controller real quick and slow down. Some vehicle manufacturers require the WDH (weight distribution hitch) with sway bars, some wont allow it. A WDH essentially will connect and distribute the weight of the whole system, which includes your vehicle, the tongue weight and the trailer weight. The axel on the trailer is meant to handle a certain amount of weight, as well as the hitch on your vehicle, so there are many factors to consider that depend on your vehicle, the trailer and how much weight you pack, and how many passengers you will have in the vehicle. So we really suggest doing the research. Thanks for tuning into our channel and feel free to comment and ask questions!!

Looking to buy a dawn, and I am thinking of a weight distribution hitch, then I came across your videos and this comment. Without the sway bars (and thus no weight distribution), how o you find the vehicle sag? I know the dawn is quite light and most vehicles don’t require a WDH for the weight, but I’m really curious on how much your vehicle sags. ….also have a mid size suv. Thanks for the info!

@@cameronsinclair7256 Great question! We essentially have a weight distribution hitch, but do not use the sway bars. We felt it was a little too rigid for our taste. We drive slow and can always lean on the brake controller and slow down more if we feel we are getting out of control. I don't feel we have any issue with sag. Since we tow with a Honda Pilot (not a behemoth truck), there are some situations where if going over some large dips or bumps, we need to be aware and cautious. However, most of our trips are to state parks and are either paved or gravel. So far, we haven't had any issues with sag. I think in the long run, we will eventually get a tow vehicle that is a lifted a little higher off the ground. That would allow us to do more boondock style camping when parks and campgrounds are all booked up. Folks either swear by the WDH or claim they don't need it. The reality is it comes down the weight of the trailer, the tongue weight, your tow vehicle and how much weight is loaded in each. The axle supports a certain amount of weight, and the rest is supported at the tongue by your vehicle. As long as your tow vehicle has the right amount of tow capacity and everything is loaded correctly, you should be good. Our Pilot is set to tow up to 5000#. Many of Intech Dawns have a front rack that won't even allow for a WDH. That sorta signals that a WDH is not required, even though I haven't been able to find that in writing. Later Intech added reinforcements to the frames on later models just because so many folks were using WDH. Some vehicles like the Subaru Ascent do not recommend using a WDH. Most folks want the WDH as an additional safety measure for peace of mind. My philosophy is don't go fast and drive carefully!! So check your vehicles requirements, talk with the dealer and search the net to find comments from folks that have a similar set up to what you will. We love our Dawn, and yes, we were scared to death to tow it off the lot. But everything was fine 😎. The more we take it out, the more comfortable we get and the more we enjoy it!!

@@thecampingpost appreciate the reply. Thanks!

Like your videos. We have a Sol Horzon and tow with a lifted 4Runner. We did get the WDH with the sway bars. We plan on going off road and towing out West so we wanted extra control. My only long (4 hours) experience was in Wisconsin towing it home. Even without trailer brakes (installed a controller now) using the sway bars, it towed very well. I gues we will see how it works.

Those are part of the weight distribution hitch. The dealer we punched from installed it. Cut up the rack to do it 🙁. We don’t really like or use them. Our trips are not long and fast, mostly back roads and slower speeds.

@@thecampingpost oh ok. Thank you!

Honda Pilot Touring. We added the additional transmission cooler to achieve the 5000# tow capacity rating.

We are currently towing with a 2016 Honda Pilot with a transmission cooler installed to bring tow capacity up to 5000 lbs. rating

how does it tow? I got a santa cruz good up to 5K just dont know how that would do with a 3500 trailer, Santa cruz is a step down from a pilot but close in some ways thanks for the answer enjoy!

@@ronj4994 The Intech Sol Dawn Rover has a dry weight of 2,650 - 2,731lbs. We found out the Pilot is rated for 5000 lbs only when equipped with an additional transmission cooler, which we had installed. So be sure to check your vehicle specs for its specific requirements. It can vary per make and model. So far, the Pilow tows pretty well. I'll say that we certainly aren't the fastest vehicle on the road when we are towing. 20/20 Hindsight I think we would want a more powerful tow vehicle, but that seems to be the case with many other out there after they have purchased their first camping trailer. However, we have seen posts where folks are using the Pilot to tow a out on a beach and others that have towed with a Tesla, so it seems that we should be well within the capable range to tow a Sol Dawn with a 2016 Honda Pilot.