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All pictures and content are 2003 copyright of Marshall Swartz, Falmouth,
MA.
External Additions: (In addition to the Honda EU3000 generator set)
Blue Ox Weight Distributing Hitch (BX2004):
After nearly a year of towing the Bambi with a Reese hitch head, spring bars and an antisway bar, I was ready to find some better, faster way to hook up and dismount. While travelling in Michigan in April 2001, I saw a display of the new Blue Ox weight distributing hitch at a dealer near Ann Arbor. The dealer couldn't tell me anything about it, as they just got it in and had never installed one. I called Blue Ox and talked extensively with Andy Dugan in their engineering department, to find out if and how it might work for me.
Based on these discussions, in June 2001 I purchased a Blue Ox BX2004 hitch with the six degree hitch head and BXW1800 antisway system for the Bambi/Odyssey combo. At the time, according to Stag-Parkway, the Northeast distributors for Blue Ox, mine was the first one sold and installed in New England. I purchased it from Major's RV in Bourne, MA, but installed it myself. I had to fabricate a custom base mount for the dual-acting springs at the end of the drawbar, since at the time Blue Ox didn't have the cross-frame member designed for my small trailer. Andy Dugan and the rest of the Blue Ox engineering group was (and has been) exceptional at helping me with this modification and the subsequent setup and optimization of my hitch system.
The big benefit of this system is that I can completely hitch the trailer, with the weight distribution already pre-set for my load, in under two minutes, including the cables and safety chains, and get no grease on me. The dismount is similarly fast. I've had this since mid 2001, and it has been the single most worth-while investment I have made in my RV. The picture below shows the view from curbside of the hitch and drawbar connected and ready to tow.
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After several months of hand cranking the tongue jack, I came across a sale for an H&H power jack that fit perfectly on my Bambi tongue. It has been wired directly to an auxiliary fuse in the DC panel of the Bambi, and also has a dedicated ground return wire to assure minimal voltage loss in operation. With the propane tank relocation, the jack above the tongue is now entirely enclosed by the propane tank cover. If sufficient power is not available, a hand crank can be applied to the top of the jack to operate it.
Also seen is the Marshall Brass "Extend-A-Stay" propane kit, providing both an unregulated outlet of propane for supplying the EU3000 genset propane inlet, as well as an additional inlet fitting to allow attachment of a third, auxiliary propane tank. If connected, this third tank will be the preferred supply tank of any demand on the Bambi propane system, and thus it will drain before the two mounted tanks will. This allows that external third tank to be changed out without disturbing the two mounted tanks.
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Power Jack base detail:
The photo below shows a closeup of the power jack base mounted onto the tongue with the back of its mounting flange milled away to provide clearance for the propane tank tray which is relocated forward 4 inches.
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