fpmtngal

Are both you and your wife planning on doing the driving? Is your DW comfortable handling a rig that size? Which tasks are you going to do and which tasks will she be doing? There’s a lot of work with a rig that size. The reason I’m asking is that I’m active on a manufacturer-specific forum and there’s been a recent thread about whether both partners could drive and manage a rig. One member told the story about her husband having a heart attack on one of their camping trips. She had just started to learn how to drive the rig (tuck and trailer) and how to set up/break camp when she found herself having to do it all because her DH was admitted into a hospital 100 miles away. You should discuss how to handle such situations - they do happen. If your wife isn’t able to handle the rig on her own, you’ll need to discuss and agree on a different plan.

I’d never heard of them either, but then I full-time in a smaller travel trailer so don’t pay much attention to huge 5ers. The trailer is beautiful, but I can’t imagine me towing it - beyond my driving skills. What are you planning on doing as a full-timer? Are you going to do a lot of traveling or are you planning on spending winters in one location and summers somewhere else? Do you have a Class A drivers license or a CDL? If you have a CDL then you’ll be well aware of what it needs to back up a trailer that size. I agree that you’d need an HDT - it’s well beyond the capability of my 1 ton SRW pickup (which I’m perfectly happy to have as my daily driver - I would not be happy with an HDT as a daily driver). A good thing to do is draw up a list of the disadvantages for having a big rig like that and then decide if they would be anything you would care about. The size and power consumption (residential fridge, multiple air conditioners, etc.) of such a big trailer would be deal-breakers for me since I like dry camping in the national forests and BLM land and dislike listening to generators (including my own). Lots of things take extra thought, like gas stations, maneuvering in cities or in the mountains, etc. when you have a rig that size. Not something to be entered into lightly. Good luck with your decision.

Out of curiosity, how did you end up going? I just looked at the map for a good route through California City and on lap to the 14 and Red Rock Canyon. I noticed the logical route took you right next to the Honda Proving Grounds (Nauritalia Road). I haven’t been in California City for 25 years or more - before they built the prison there - so my knowledge is so dated as to be worthless. Is that how you went? Or did you just take the 58 to the 14? I’m curious.

I think it would depend on how many miles the older vehicle has and how well maintained. I know that when I sold my 5 year old Grand Cherokee, with 95,000 miles on it, it was just as capable of towing a trailer within its capability (under all of the weight ratings) as it was the day I bought it. I couldn’t say that for all 5 year old Grand Cherokees. I also know that it was no longer capable of towing my particular trailer any more, because I had added a second battery and the tongue weight was now over what that Grand Cherokee was rated for. The combined rig was not over the Grand Cherokee’s combined weight rating, the Grand Cherokee itself, when hooked up to the trailer, might not have been over its GVWR, and it might not have been over the rear axle rating (I never actually hitched it up and visited a CAT scale once I added the second battery, I just checked the tongue weight and said forget it). Stay away from any vehicle that doesn’t have the payload, tongue weight rating, axle rating, tow rating or combined weight rating of the vehicle in question. If I want to tow a 30 foot 10,000 lb travel trailer, I would stay away from ALL half ton trucks. If I want to tow a 21 foot 5500 lb travel trailer and have a lot of weight in the truck (i.e., shell cap, generator, extra propane tank, extra spare tire, several tables, chairs, two large dogs, two people, 100 lbs of photography equipment, two electric bikes, firewood, 6 gallons of water, large cooler of beer and other beverages, and so on) then I probably should skip the half ton trucks also. On the other hand, if I wanted to tow that same 5500 lb. trailer as a solo and without much extra stuff, then most - but not all - of the half ton trucks would work well. As far as SUVs go - if the SUV doesn’t have the factory tow package, forget it. The Grand Cherokee with the factory tow package I had (2015) was rated at 6200/6400 for a V6 and 7200/7400 for a V8 or diesel. Without the tow package, the same Grand Cherokee was rated at 3500 lbs. The same sort of thing applies to all of the SUVs, though the amounts vary from model to model. The other thing about SUVs - the towing weight rating is probably not the limiting factor for the vehicle - often the limiting factor is the tongue weight and/or the payload. That was the case with my Grand Cherokee - it was rated at 6200 lbs for a trailer but the tongue weight was limited to 620 lbs. After I added the second battery, my 5500 lb. trailer had a tongue weight of 750 lbs. Best way of going about things is to choose the trailer and then choose a vehicle that can tow it. Otherwise you could find yourself being forced to buy a smaller trailer than you would like because your tow vehicle is too limiting.

A friend of mine and I were boondocking together. She had the Girard tankless water heater and decided it wasted more water than having a regular water heater - the heater doesn’t come on until there is a sufficient flow of water through the system, so there’s water being wasted just getting the system to turn on. She ended up replacing it with a regular tank water heater. My sister loved her tankless system in her house, only she ended up installing a water return system because one of the showers was a very long way away from the unit. I know several people who have trailers built with the Truma Combi system. They say there’s quite a learning curve but once they figured it out, they love it. I don’t know about Truma’s Aqua-Go system.

Very wise words. A friend of mine watched someone with a new trailer struggling to get it parked and level in a big parking lot. They considered offering to help but decided against it because of the driver’s general demeanor. On the other hand, even after 5 years, I am lousy at backing up and am always willing to accept assistance. I’m just one of those people that can’t figure the angles. The majority of the people I’ve met or seen recently are those who know what they are doing. I’ve only met one newbie and she seemed to be very competent - I only knew she was new to RVing because she had a neat rig and a dog so we got to talking.

How come you don’t like the Dyrt? I’m asking out of curiosity, I’ve never looked at them before. I’m pretty new at boondocking and have found Campendium pretty good, better than AllStays which seems to list only campgrounds. I’ve only recently downloaded iOverlander so don’t have a feel for how good it will be for dispersed camping sites. I will admit that I feel uncomfortable depending on dispersed camping recommendations if I’m traveling - I’m afraid of finding somewhere completely overcrowded, or the road in is going to be tougher than it was when the review was written a couple of years ago, or …. I’m also not thrilled about scouting for a spot towing the trailer - I’d rather scout on foot or by truck without the trailer. Otherwise, the article linked to above is good - be prepared for the conditions.

I don’t know anything particularly about a mini split. I know that I would have a mounting problem for anything that doesn’t fit on the roof. I also have a weight problem - I run around GVWR for the trailer with the current roof-top AC unit. The replacement units are about 85 lbs so I assume mine probably weighs about the same - I wouldn’t want to go higher than that. Would they have the big initial surge that AC units have? Do you have a link where I could find out more about one, including specs like weight, size, mounting options and both peak and running power (don’t know if that’s the way they would refer to it, but it’s how I think about it). At this point I’m open for suggestions, as long as I don’t go overweight, or draw more power than I have available. My 3 batteries (100 Ah each) are all I have room for.

Thanks, I wondered if adding an easy start would make the difference. I think a friend of mine has an extra one he would sell me and I can have it installed in a couple of weeks. If nothing else, if I replace the AC, I can always have it moved to the new one. Have you heard anything about the new Coleman Mach 10 NDQ that comes with a soft start built in? Until I started researching the Coleman Mach 10 Quiet series, I thought all of them were about the same, no matter what size they were. But it appears the quiet series ACs really are quieter. I don’t really need the 13.5K for my trailer, but they don’t come smaller (they come in a 15K also). If I get one of Coleman Mach Power Saver units, I’d probably get the 11K. It uses less power and probably would be about the same as my older 9K.

I still have sat TV. I’ve also found cell service sometimes unreliable for streaming, though I only have plans with 2 different carriers. When I still owned a house, it was in a rural location and my only internet option was satellite internet (I had ViaSat). The plans are limited so switching to streaming only would have meant watching TV a couple of times a month - the rest of my data was used for keeping software up to date. Don’t get me wrong, I like streaming. I had cable internet over the winter at the park I stayed in and signed up for Netflix for the first time. It’s just that my internet connections have been so erratic that I haven’t been able to get rid of the sat dish yet. I have run into sites where I can’t get satellite - I’m in one now for a couple of days (towering pine trees all around). I don’t have much for cell service either, so I’m not watching TV.

Thanks for the info! I haven’t cleaned the AC this year, so I’ll try that when I’m not parked under tall pine trees, maybe next week. Still would like something quieter than mine but perhaps I’ll try to figure that out this fall.

Thanks for the video. I’ve got a lot to think about.

Most of the threads I found here doing a search about air conditioners have to do with big rigs and large air conditioners or heat pumps. Plus anything electrical makes my eyes glaze over and my mind go into neutral. I currently have a small (16.5’ box, 21’ overall length) travel trailer with a 9K Coleman air conditioner. It’s now almost 6 years old and the AC seems to be drawing more power to run than it should, I think. My AC is not ducted. It’s noisy. I was thinking of replacing it with the Coleman Mach 10 NDQ, which seems to get good reviews from the noise point of view. I don’t really need the 13.5K of the Mach 10, since my 9K does reasonably well keeping my small trailer cool except when the temp goes over about 102 (it really struggled at 117, but I don’t think even a 15K would have helped that much then). The reason I think it’s taking more power to both start and to run is that I recently re-did my 12V electrical system. I now have three 100Ah Battleborn batteries, a 3000W Victron Multi-Plus Inverter/Charger, and additional solar (370W on the roof along with a 120V portable panel, with the option to add additional portable panels if I need to, roof is out of space). I know a couple of people who run the same 9K air conditioner on a similar inverter set-up, at least for brief times. When I tried to do it, the inverter went into overload briefly but did allow the AC to start. The amount of power it was drawing once it was going was higher than my friend’s reported power consumption also, so even adding an easy start/SoftStart won’t completely help. My needs/desires for a new air conditioner then are twofold: 1. that it be relatively low power AND 2. it be quiet. Besides the Coleman Mach 10 NDQ, I thought about the Coleman Mach 1 PS - it’s a 11K power saver air conditioner. It should work as well as my 9K and would draw less power. Only I have no idea if it is as loud as my current one, and trying to find information on Airxcel’s website is frustrating, since I’m so clueless about such things. I don’t know whether the energy savings of the 11K power saver over the 13.5K NDQ is enough incentive to buy it instead of the quiet one. Can any of you give me some advice about this? Or give me links to help me get some answers? Or give me suggestions other than Coleman Mach? Thanks!

I’m curious about what the run capacitor is and how one would go about testing it. I’m absolutely clueless about air conditioners and specifically RV rooftop AC units. I’m having sort-of a similar problem. How would I go about finding out more about that? At the moment I’m on the verge of replacing my air conditioner unit as I’m not sure that an Easy-Start or SoftStart will completely solve my issue. It would definitely help with the compressor surge but my AC is also drawing more power than it should once it’s already running.

Sounds like a good deal on the truck, and I’m sure you won’t regret it. I far prefer having lots of truck over being on the edge. Have fun camping!

Well, I don’t know what I’m doing, if I’m going to feel well enough to travel much. So I’m reluctant to make many reservations. Maybe I’ll get stuck finding a place, but I don’t want to give up the possibility that I’ll feel well enough to travel. Right now I’m set up in a probably well-known BLM area which I found on Campendium, and there’s only 3 of us here. I’m going to stay a second night since I don’t want to travel Friday of Memorial weekend - it’s going to be interesting to see if this area fills up tomorrow. It’s out of the way and probably used as an overnight for people going from one place to another, so it might be crowded tomorrow but empty Saturday night (I’ll be gone).

You’ve found a good group to talk to. We understand the ups and downs of RVing, whatever amount of time you devote to it. Ask questions, someone probably has an answer. All my friends fell into 2 categories - those that were envious that I really bought an RV, and those who thought I was nuts. I now find I spend more time with my camping friends than I do with my other friends, they can relate to whatever is my latest bonehead maneuver.

That’s a cool pump! I just looked at Harbor Freight’s website and while this pump would work great right now, once I upgrade my 12v system, my batteries will be inside, with access on the other side of the trailer from the fresh water fill. However, there’s a different pump (same manufacturer and looks almost the same) that runs on 120v, and I’m planning on wiring all of my outlets to an inverter - there’s a 120v outlet not far from the fill. What a neat idea!

Interesting discussion. My tanks are 45 gallons each, and my limiting factor is my fresh tank. I’m not big or strong enough to heft a 5 gallon container up high enough to add water to my tank. With careful use of my water, I can easily go 2 weeks, but then I’m solo. I’m an early bird and like my morning coffee. Even if I’m set up away from anyone, it’s surprising how far the sound of a generator goes, so at the moment I have non-electric means to make coffee, and breakfast. I have solar (started with a portable panel) and a small inverter for batteries and electronic stuff. It got me hooked on quiet and not having to use the generator, so I’m going to be upgrading my system in a couple of weeks.

I just got back from spending a couple of days boondocking in the Coconino National Forest a little south of the Grand Canyon. I stayed at a well-known dispersed camping area (FR688) that had sites pretty well spread out. I wasn’t the only one there, but also didn’t have a problem finding a spot on Tuesday. I would have said it was well occupied but not over-run. I left on Friday - figured it would be jammed over the weekend. Traffic going north to the park as I was heading out was south was heavy, and the Grand Canyon itself felt crowded to me when I went in one day.

So does anyone know how high up trailer safety chains should be? My original set-up had the chains several inches above the ground and I thought that would be fine. A neighbor of mine followed me up to the house and said that the chains were throwing sparks when I went over a bump. My way of dealing with it was to put a bungee cord around the chains so they were next to the hitch drop. I have a new truck and bought a longer drop for the ball, so I could open my tailgate. My chains are not as close to the ground as they were previously and I think they may be OK, but I’m not sure. I wonder if I should go back to using the bungee cord to keep them up out of the way again.

Check the official website for access and parking information. Some national parks have gone to a reservation/timed entry system for day use. I have no idea if they’ve done that with the Grand Canyon. Do you have an extra day? In your shoes I think I’d go from Winslow to Williams and stay there for an extra night (there’s a number of campgrounds around). That would give you more time at the Grand Canyon.

I don’t know the answer to your situation. I would talk to your insurance company. I put my house on the market in 2019 and got an offer quickly in May. My intention had been to take a very wandering trip over the summer before establishing domicile in Texas. As far as I was concerned, I was still a resident of California until I got to Texas, I was just more or less on vacation. I was not planning on changing my plates, or insurance until I got to Texas and established residency. What ended up happening is that the original deal fell through and I didn’t sell the house until the fall. I went straight over to Texas because the trailer’s registration was due in a month and I wanted to domicile in Texas as soon as I could for tax purposes (so my final California income tax showed me leaving prior to the end of the year). I didn’t change my insurance to Texas until I was close to Livingston - even though the house sold a couple of weeks prior to me leaving California, I assumed my vehicle(s) were fine with their California plates and insurance. Most states say something along the lines that you have to register your vehicles within 30 days of becoming residents. In the OP’s case, they won’t be changing residency right away so why wouldn’t their Virginia plates and insurance be valid? The main problem with that would be if the annual registration is due after they sell the house and before they establish residency, I suppose. Ask your insurance company.

There are dealers that will work on trailers they didn’t sell, but for the most part, you are correct - if you didn’t buy from them, they won’t work on it, especially for warranty work. That’s pretty much any trailer, not Lance specific. If your issue is with one of the appliances, like a Dometic stove, you can get warranty work done through Dometic and go to an authorized Dometic repair person. If it is something specific to the trailer, like a cracked skylight, then you would need to get a warranty repair done at your Lance dealer (or another Lance dealer that’s willing to work on yours) or Lance Service in California. Any RV will have ongoing maintenance required. It helps to be handy (I’m not but I get by). I took a look at the trailer Kirk referenced, the C211MKSE. That has a really nice floor plan, it might be a better fit for me personally than the 191MBSE I referenced - longer though. I like the fact it has a dinette along with the theater seating rather than theater seating alone. Definitely worth a look. The big thing is to make sure the seats are comfortable, that you can fit in the shower and bathroom, there’s room for your laptop or whatever electronic devices you might use (a space for a laptop is must-have on my list) and enough storage space for all that you need. I went RV shopping with some friends who were looking at TCs. I looked at a Host Cascade - an awesome camper and a great floor plan. Both the theater and the dinette seats were very uncomfortable to me - no way would I buy one (plus I don’t have enough truck). So you can’t buy an RV based on just floor plans and photos, you have to actually get in the model you are curious about.

Towing a trailer is a skill that can be learned. All you have to do is go into it with the attitude that you CAN do it. I bought my travel trailer having only towed horse trailers 30 years before. I’m a widow and solo, and I learned how to do it - you can too. I eventually found myself loving my travel trailer and the RV lifestyle so much that I sold the house and now I’m full-time in that same trailer I bought over 5 years ago. And as my needs changed over the years, so did my TV. I got tired of always working to make a marginal TV work and upgraded after the Tucumcari to Albuquerque trip. Then I sold the house and found myself with a TV that was otherwise well suited for my trailer being overweight, so I upgraded to a big truck, with the idea that one of these days I might get a bigger trailer and I was tired of chasing payload. I would definitely start off with a smaller trailer, something along the lines of the KZ Connect SE C191MBSE or the Lance Campers trailer model 1995. I don’t know anything about the KZ trailers as I’ve never looked at one but I thought the floor plan of the C191MBSE interesting. Or if you don’t want a slide then perhaps a Lance 2075 might be a nice choice. It’s short on storage space, but if you are doing weekend or week-long trips, it can work well. All of these trailers have GVWR of between 6,000-6500 lbs, are less than 25’ overall and would probably work better with your truck.