kb0zke

Welcome to the forum. You didn't say what year your Silverado is, and towing capabilities vary year by year. I'd suggest that you fill the truck's gas tank, put everything into the truck that you will have with you when towing, and get the truck weighed, each axle separately. Now you have some real numbers to work with. Somewhere on the door or door frame will be a sticker with weights on it. Since I don't know your numbers, I'm going to just use a few as an example. Put in your own real numbers and you will have a real answer. Suppose your truck has a Gross Axle Weight Rating for the rear axle of 5500 pounds, and your weighing shows that you have 4000 pounds already on the rear axle. That means that you can carry and additional 1500 pounds on that axle. Suppose your truck weighs 6000 pounds as you have it loaded, ready to tow, and it has a Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating of 13,000 pounds. That means that your trailer, fully loaded, can't weigh more than 7000 pounds. Sales people will often point out the EMPTY (DRY) weight, when you ought to be more interested in the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (the maximum your trailer should weigh when loaded for travel). The other number you really need to pay attention to is the difference between GVWR and empty (dry) weight. That difference is what you can safely carry, and includes everything you put into and onto the trailer. Some companies include the weight of the battery(ies) and propane in the empty weight; others don't. The exercise I outline above will help you figure out the weight of the trailer you can safely tow. Many people actually suggest that you not bump up against any of the weight limits, just to allow a safety margin. Others say that margin is already built in. Make your own choice. Pay attention to tank sizes as well. Some rigs have pretty small tanks, as they are intended for mainly weekend use or to be used at parks with full hookups. Spend a LOT of time in research and asking lots of questions. The sales person's job is to sell something to you, not to put you in the RIGHT rig.

Welcome to the forum and to the full-time life! I'd suggest that you go to every RV dealer and show within a hundred miles or so and look at every single RV available - no matter the price or condition. You are looking for two things: floor plans that work and brands that have the quality you desire. Once you know that, you can begin to narrow your search. Remember that most likely you will have something towing something else. A motorhome, either Class A or Class C, can tow a fuel-efficient vehicle, an off-road Jeep, or whatever you want. A travel trailer or fifth wheel requires a truck of some sort to tow it, which will be your daily driver. I'm in the group that favors buying used initially, as it probably won't take you very long to realize that you didn't pick the perfect rig to start with. (Very few people do, so don't feel bad.) When you go to trade you won't take as great a depreciation hit with something you bought used as you will with something you bought new. Do pay attention to quality. Many rigs out there are intended for maybe 30 days of use per year. If you are full-timing, you will be spending 12 times (12 years worth) in it each year. We know some people who bought a new, popular brand MH and traded it even-up less than a year later for a 10-year-old Foretravel because they could see that the quality just wasn't there in their original choice. One other thought: two-foot-itis strikes a large number of RV'ers each year. What is that? The idea that if the RV was only two feet longer it would be perfect.

We have a 40' DP mid-entry. Sometimes we are able to use a "shorter" site by backing up until the rear tires hit the bumper. That works if there isn't a tree right at the end of the pad. The location of the door will affect this, too. Some travel trailers have a front bedroom arrangement, so the main door is at the rear of the trailer. If you hang the tail end of the trailer behind the pad, guess where your door is? Pay attention to the slope of the site, too. Right now we're on a site that has the rear tires on three 2 x 8 pads and the rear air bags extended all the way, while the front end is resting on the tires, so air bags are completely deflated. With a mid-entry that means that one small step stool outside is plenty. If we had a rear-entry rig we'd probably need two steps before we got to the factory steps.

Thanks. A 5'er is NOT in the cards for us. The order of events is to sell the Foretravel, move into temporary quarters (we're full-timers), trade the MKT for the pickup, then get the Airstream. Since Airstreams don't have much exterior storage, most of what is in the basement of the Foretravel will have to be in the bed of the truck. That's what I'm concerned about.

Next year we hope to turn our Foretravel MH and Lincoln MKT towed into a pickup and Airstream. Both will be purchased used. The target Airstream is an early 2000's 34' with a gross weight of 9800 pounds and about 1000 pounds on the tongue. The target truck will be 2013-15 diesel crew cab. We'll probably have about 1000 pounds of stuff in the bed of the truck, including the cover. I've heard various opinions on the two trucks. Some say that there is little difference between the two, while others say there are huge differences. IS there much difference? Prices seem to be very similar for similar equipment and miles, so an F350 isn't any more expensive than a similar F250. I understand that both trucks have various possible weight ratings, but since I'm buying used I'll have to choose carefully. I believe that both trucks have 10,000 GVWR options since that weight keeps the trucks under 10,001 weight triggers in some States. Thoughts?

Bill, you got off cheap. We spent just over $25,000 for an in-frame engine overhaul a few years ago. Yes, these over-the-road diesels are million-mile engines - for over-the-road use. Those drivers put 200,000 miles on in a year, so a million miles is only 5-6 years. Our Foretravel is 26 years old and still doesn't have 200,000 miles on it. Low miles means that the vehicle has spent a lot of time just sitting. Seals, gaskets, etc. often dry out when the engine isn't running. Fixing those leaks can get expensive, and it certainly will be frustrating. As for the argument of gas vs diesel, each has advantages and disadvantages. That's why there are all sorts of choices available. Each of us has to look at our own situation and try to buy what will best suit our needs, wants, and finances. We've met people who full-time in a 45-year-old van conversion (and are very happy with their choice) and people who have a 45' 4-slide MH that tows a huge trailer for all of their toys. They are happy campers, too. Neither one fits us, so we have something different, and we're also happy campers.

We recently stayed in a city park that had a monthly rate, but was an exception to everything we've seen so far. Usually government-run parks have a two-week limit. You might check that idea out. We've found that commercial parks will have weekly and monthly rates, but may only have limited sites available for those. You might try looking for parks that aren't right by a popular tourist attraction.

Kind of depends on the floorplan of your rig. In our coach, the litter box in in the walk-through bathroom, right between the shower and the door to the bedroom. We use the Breeze system, so there is no smell. Urine goes through to a pad, and solid simply dries. We scoop it out and toss it in the toilet as needed. The pellets are changed each month. The food and water are also in the bathroom, but between the toilet and the sink. We've frequently read that you should have one more litter box than cats, which means we should have two. We don't have a place for another one, and she knows where this one is. No problems after five years.

40'

We were hosting at a State park when a group came for an anniversary celebration. They rented several sites together, including an extra one, for the food. Unfortunately, the designated food site was the easiest one to back into, and one of their group didn't appreciate the extra work of having to back into a harder site, but that was his problem. The group pretty much kept the road clear, and weren't loud. At another State park we had a group of smokers for the weekend. They showed up with their rigs, then went home and brought back the smokers and food. On Saturday they fed the entire park! Again, the kids weren't a problem.

As I scanned through this thread, it seems to me that the OP is more concerned about theft of propane tanks than anything else. A stout chain and padlock will deter the honest people, but someone with a bolt cutters can defeat the lock and chain. Add more chains and padlocks and now you have made it too difficult for you to take the empty tank out and get it filled and the thief still has his bolt cutters. All he has to do is cut a few more places. You could chain a dog to the hitch, but then the neighbors (or the campground) would complain if the dog barked. Again, the thief just has to bring something to neutralize the dog and the bolt cutters. I guess the short answer is that there really isn't any way to deter a determined thief other than an armed guard. Probably not worth the expense. It sounds like the OP has a trailer of some sort at home, and home is in a neighborhood that sees a fair amount of theft. Many people keep their propane grills in the garage. Without getting into the argument of how safe that is, it might be that removing the tank and storing them somewhere out of sight may be a solution. In fact, if the tanks in question are the small, grill size ones, maybe the solution might be to arrange with a local propane seller to keep the tanks there when not in use. Part of the agreement might be to have the tanks full when called for (advance notice required). Don't know if a propane seller would go with such a deal, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

We're SD residents and do some work with our church group, Laborers For Christ. When we work for Laborers, we are paid minimum wage for that State and, of course, have to file a State tax return there. When we work in a State with no income tax, we pay no tax to that State, such as when we worked in Texas. When we work in a State with an income tax, we pay their income tax to them. Our work is long enough that we never hit more than one State tax in any one year, so it isn't all that much of a pain (other than last year when it cost is $40 to file to get an $8 refund). Oh well. You should probably be members of HSLDA and learn what the homeschool laws are in each State. It might be that you will want to visit certain States only during the summer or only for very brief periods of time. Our children are now starting to homeschool their children, so it has been a while since we had to know anything about homeschooling laws. You may want to check out some of the Christian sharing outfits, like Medi-Share. One of them may suit your needs. As you have already been told, there are lots of compromises here, and what suits one family won't suit another. You may end up just making a spreadsheet, listing all of the costs (health insurance, vehicle registration, vehicle insurance, etc.) and then figure out the total for each State and go with the one that is lowest.

Welcome! It sounds like you have done some research already, and that's a good thing. Buying the RV before you move out of the house may let you transition from house to RV more easily. IF (and that's a big IF) you can park your rig at your current house you can begin to move into it gradually, eventually getting to the point where you are sleeping in it, then basically living in it. All the while, everything is just a few feet away, so when you need the can opener for the first time you can run back into the kitchen, get it, and then leave it in the RV. That isn't possible in many places, though. Check your local zoning laws. Like others have said, take a bit more time to find a new home base. There are many options for you to consider. One would be the Escapees co-op in Hondo, TX. There is currently a waiting list, so you could get on the list (if it looks like something that would interest you) and later change your mind if you find something else that is better. Another option would be the ERPU program at a couple of Escapees parks (Livingstone, for one). Both of those require you to live in your RV, rather than a S&B, on the park. Kirk lives in another TX RV community that is more or less modeled on the co-ops, but is enough different that you may find it an option. He can tell you more about it. We retired from the Missouri Ozarks. If you are interested in rural/small town living, that may be something to consider. Dallas County, where we used to live, as no restrictions on what you have on your property, so you could keep the RV on site. In fact, you could live in it on your property while you are building a S&B if you don't find something already like what you want. There are lots of places around Pomme de Terre lake.

The OP hasn't been back since asking his question, but others may be benefiting from the discussion. The original RV refrigerator in our Foretravel was 20 years old when we bought the coach, and was pretty much dead when we took our first trip. We had already decided that we would replace it with a residential refrigerator. A few minutes with a tape measure gave us the dimensions that we had to work with. A couple of evenings on the Internet got us a short list of residential refrigerators that would work. Jo Ann picked out the one she wanted, and we quickly found a source. The Lowe's in the neighboring town could have it in a week, so we started removing the original (dead) RV unit and prepping for the new one. The delivery guy damaged the new refrigerator, so a week later the new new one arrived a week later - with the manager! We've been using that apartment-size refrigerator for five years now.

We ran into that small glitch, too, five years ago. We were told that we had to have a receipt, showing both of our names, to prove that we had spent a night in the State. We stayed at a beautiful State park south of Sioux Falls. When we registered to vote and showed them the receipt, they said we would be registered in Lincoln County, not Minnehaha County, as that was where the park was. We came back to Sioux Falls two weeks later and stayed at the Fairgrounds. With that receipt we were able to switch our voter registration to Minnehaha County.

To each his own. We have stayed at KOA campgrounds in the past, but not if we can find something better. We've found that they, like other commercial parks, try to pack as many rigs into the available space as possible. We'd much rather stay at a COE park, a State park, or a city or county campground. In fact, we're slowly compiling our own list of city/county campgrounds that we like. We're not at all interested in the exercise room or swimming pool, so why pay for something we're not going to use? Some people say KOA stands for "Keep On Adding" as it seems that there is an additional fee for almost everything that we might want, and no deductions for the things we don't want. For us, a KOA is an acceptable overnight spot, but we'd never want to stay at one for more than one night - too expensive.

Kirk, are you still using it? We did a bit of research just now and it seems that it has been removed from most things that used to have it.

I believe that the above information is correct for ALL of the mail forwarding services in SD, not just Escapees' service.

Part of the reason why some States have shorter lengths permitted than others may be that their roads are narrower and maybe have more curves. The Interstate Highway system has design standards that are uniform nationwide. Other highways are designed in the States, and don't meet those standards. Particularly in the East, roads may still follow what was, essentially, a foot path. Yes, it has been widened some, and some of the sharper bends have been straightened, but it is still more suitable for a car than for a MH towing a vehicle or a large truck towing a larger 5'er. While I'm thinking of it, pay attention to height restrictions on your proposed route.

We've driven in rain a few times in the five years we've been on the road. Not a big deal IF the wipers are up to it. Part of the reason we chose a no-slide MH was that we have a curious cat. She sleeps in a carrier while we're driving. When we stop for lunch we let her out. We like having the coach at a comfortable temperature all the time. As I type this it is 92* here, headed for a low of 72, so both air conditioners are running. Tomorrow we're traveling about 350 miles. The generator will be running, as will both a/c units, and the coach will be comfortable the whole time. That's one advantage of a MH. On the other hand, we're finding that we are staying in one place far more than we thought, so we're wanting to trade the Foretravel for an Airstream. Yes, we'll have to give up having the coach at a comfortable temperature while traveling, but we're not traveling as many days as we thought we would five years ago. Remember that what is right for you today may not be right five years from now. So what? Very few people get the perfect RV the first time. Do your research and buy what seems to be the best for you for now. As you travel and use your coach you will find that maybe you would be better off with something else. Trade. Repeat. There is a reason why there are so many RV options available. Not every RV is right for every person.

I generally consider PPL's prices as the bottom end for the condition of the RV. Their business model is to keep the price low so the rigs move quickly. Do some research to see what rigs similar to the one you are considering actually are selling for. Sometimes a seller really needs to get rid of their rig and are willing to take any somewhat reasonable offer. Others are wanting to get top dollar for it, and are willing to wait for the right buyer. When you find something that suits you AND passes inspection, make an offer. Just remember, though, you are probably not the only one looking at the rig. Particularly with sought-after coaches, you have to be ready to jump when the right one comes along.

Congratulations! Are you on airforums? If so, post the pics there, too. If not, join and then post.

Welcome. Other than the price, it sounds like you are describing our Foretravel. We've been full-timing for five years now and love it. We started out towing a Jeep Liberty, but last year we moved up to a Lincoln MKT. In the interest of space I'm sending you a PM with some additional thoughts.

Back to the original question, there is probably no way that an RV can be both mouse-proof AND usable. The best you can do is make it as tough as possible for the little critters to get in. Anything that touches the ground can be a path for them to come in, so your first line of defense is to reduce those routes. Putting out the stinky slinky and water hose ONLY when needed reduces those two access routes. Yes, that means using the tanks in the RV. Unless you are boondocking, you pretty much have to have the electric cord out, so do what you can to fill the opening for it. If you have drop-down jacks for leveling you have another route for the critters to climb up. Again, not much you can do about those. Some people put white rope lights out around their rigs. The theory is that the mice won't cross them. We put them out for a few years, and didn't have any mice. However, I was buying the cheap Wal-Mart ones (put out with the Christmas stuff in October), and they would last a few months. When the last set died I didn't replace them, and I saw evidence of a mouse last week. Once the mice have gotten into your rig, you will have to deal with them. The old-fashioned mouse trap, baited with peanut butter, and placed where they run AND where you can easily get to it seems to work as well as anything else.

Three thoughts on this thread: 1. I usually fill and dump once a week when we're parked for more than a week. When I'm not filling or dumping the hoses are stowed. Why not leave the stinky slinky attached? Sewer flies. Secondary reason is that we've had to leave a park quickly due to imminent flooding. Putting the hoses away, while it only takes a few minutes, is still a few minutes that don't have to be spent when time is of the essence. 2. We used to live on a small farm and frequently had cats dumped near us. We put out some food each morning and evening, and kept water outside, so that those cats would stay around, but not so much food that they didn't hunt some. In the 15 years we lived there we never had a problem with mice or snakes in the house. Now that we're on the road we have one indoor cat. In the eight years we've had her she has gone outside on her own twice, both times when she was less than a year old. The last time she went outside without permission there was a lot of cold, wet white stuff on the ground and she didn't like it at all. We also had two dogs on the farm. One was quite happy to have her kennel to call her home. The other liked a chain on a run. He could run 50 feet on a 12' chain. There were no obstacles to his chain so that he couldn't tangle himself up on anything. How would you make sure that your chained cat wouldn't get tangled on tires, jacks, etc.? 3. "And, I found over the years, it requires a younger cat to keep up with the coach going down the highway." The picture that comes to mind is the cat, still on the leash under the coach, running as fast as it can as you drive down the road. I'm sure that you don't actually do that, but what DO you mean?