Question
Do Pebble Flow owners use sway bars?
10 months ago
What are people’s experience with sway bars between Pebble and whatever rig is pulling it?
Here’s our Airstream with sway bars.
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I have towed a 27” Airstream with BlueOx hitch/sway bars and now the Pebble with no sway bars. I haven’t noticed any sway or situations where I have missed having a sway bar setup. Pebble engineers have stated you don’t need that setup with the Flow, and I haven’t felt a need yet.
Would a weight-distribution hitch benefit the tow vehicle by taking tongue weight off the back and redistributing it? I may consider doing that since my F-150 doesn’t have a very high capacity.
Thanks!
Since you seem to use Starlink, I gather the only quasi-specific Starlink connection in the Pebble is access to a hole/grommet into the gear tunnel area from the outside, presumably to route wiring from a ground-mount Starlink panel. Is that correct? From there you connect to your wireless router? No built-in wiring/CATx cable to the rear desk area?
Correct, inside the gear tunnel is a mounted surge protector with several outlets and a hole/rubber grommet to the exterior. I have a Gen 1 Starlink, so I place the router in the gear tunnel and feed the long extension to the dish through the hole, then place the dish in the best spot for the campsite. It sounds like you can keep the Mini in the gear tunnel, but I’m not sure about signal strength with that option.
I’d be interested to know if anyone decides to add a full-extension drawer to either side of the gear tunnel.
I am in the process of purchasing 2 fat-tire 50 lb e-bikes that I expect to carry on a rack attached to the Pebble Flow hitch. Has anyone found a travel-trailer-rated heavy-duty hitch that will fit in the 1.25" hitch receiver on the Pebble Flow? I wish the Pebble Flow would have been given a 2" hitch receiver. I would love to hear recommended bike racks that fit the Pebble Flow receiver.
Not sure if this will meet all your specs, but at the Loveland CO expo, Pebble had a Kuat bike rack installed. See photo below.
I share your interest. I’d like to carry my fat-tire e-bike, which weighs 60 lbs. The Pebble receiver hitch is Class 1, rated for 200 lbs., which is a static rating. The dynamic rating is much less, although I do not know that value; it depends upon the frame to which it is attached. A trailer bouncing over uneven surfaces amplifies the dynamic load considerably. Adding an adapter to make a 2” receiver increases the distance from the frame and axle, which increases the moment arm and torque upon the frame. I just don’t know what the Pebble frame can handle dynamically. I also request that Pebble provide further guidance on loading the receiver hitch.
Not sure if this will meet all your specs, but at the Loveland CO expo, Pebble had a Kuat bike rack installed. See photo below.
Thanks for that pic. I was wondering the same about compatible bike racks. However, I’m pretty sure the rack in that picture is a 1Up Quik Rack and not a Kuat. https://1up-usa.com/product/quik-rack I do wonder if the Kuat Transfer v2 would work as well, though, since I like the design and function of Kuat racks.
Note that most of the best bike racks, like my 1-UP, are not rated for use on the rear of a travel trailer. It gets pretty violent back there.
Yes, that’s a 1Up, and not rated for trailer use. https://1up-usa.com/content/pdf/Weight%20Ratings-8.5x11.jpg. Their Super Duty (2” receiver) is rated for one bike up to 100 lbs. on a trailer. Guess Pebble staff forgot to check.
I would highly recommend anyone thinking about using the trailer hitch do some research with real-world users. While it seems appealing, the back of the trailer is not the best spot for heavy things—lots of wear and tear.
It’s a bummer that Pebble decided to put a 1.25-inch hitch on the back instead of a 2-inch hitch. There are several travel-trailer-approved 2-inch racks that could work, but I can’t find any 1.25-inch options that are approved for trailer use. The Kuat Transfer v2 would have been a potential option if they could change it to a 2-inch hitch.
FYI
I second the note of caution. I followed this topic for years on Airstream forums and decided to carry my bike on my truck. The rear of a travel trailer is subject to extreme vertical motion, and cantilevered weight on a bike rack amplifies forces. Travel trailer frames are not designed for the stress that loading a 2” receiver could create, hence the light-duty 1 1/2” receiver.
I hope someone comes up with a solution to this other than going pickup truck for bikes’ sake.
Per the Flow's manual: "BCD 180 AC Multi-function car refrigerator." After three different trips, boondocking and full hookups, the fridge has been one of our favorite things. Coming from an Airstream with a Dometic absorption fridge that never kept our food cold and a freezer that never really worked like a freezer, this unit has been great, even in hot weather over 100°. And for the weekend warrior, it gets cold very fast.