NDBirdman

That's funny. I do the same.... hehehehe

Welcome to the forum!

Just curious, in those states a non-commercial class A license is required, are you required to have a medical card like the commercial class A holders?

We found this out the hard way. Left the awning out for the night. Late night, a wind storm came out of no-where. It whipped it around hard, made enough noise to bring everyone in camp out of bed. We got lucky, ran outside and already had help at hand to get that thing rolled up. We learned that night, DO NOT leave awnings out! We got very lucky it did no damage but another minute or so..... it was wicked!!

We used the tank chems in the little pouches for a while but no longer use it. There has been many a long discussion about using these and I think the consensus was, it's only good for the sellers pocket. Natural bacteria in human feces will break down the solids I believe.

For your steaks, cooking inside or out? We always carry an old coleman propane 2-burner for outside cookin. We also carry a small bag of charcoal for the places that provide outside grills. For those old/dirty grills, we picked up a couple grill mats. They go right on top those grills, the meat cooks just like it's on the grill. The mats clean right up after cooling them, right in the pan of dawn. 🙂 Keep them clean and you can use them for years! Or you can carry a small, portable charcoal grill. We find this way, especially if the AC is running, keeps the temps down a little in the camper. We rarely cook more than breakfast inside and sometimes, that is also outside on the grill. We also have a 110 volt electric/magnetic heat plates (?) that we use outside. IMHO, all food taste better if fixed/cooked outside. A good outside/sportsman knife. I also carry a hatchet, it has come in handy more times than I expected. A hammer, electric drill and bit set, standard and Philips screwdrivers, adjustable pliers, adjustable wrench, 4-2x4s cut 12" long and 4-1X4X12s pieces of wood for leveling, 12" long 2X10 boards for under each jack (to prevent jacks sinking into the ground) (I would suggest treated wood, it will last longer). If you don't have bubble levels already stuck to the outside of the RV for level, a 12" torpedo level to lay on the camper floor next to the entryway door to check level (you can get pretty close with a can of soda from the you-tube video I once saw). A 4X6 outdoors carpet for in-front of the entryway (WallyWorld sells them inexpensively). Several cans of deep-woods off (or your favorite brands). Maybe not your first trip, but eventually you will want: A circuit tester to check pole voltage (I really would suggest getting this before your first time connecting and using every time), an inline tester/surge protector, a multi-meter (if you know how to use one). We picked up/carry a dog-bone to drop a 50 electric connection to 30 amp (our RV is older and 30 amp), a 15 amp plug adapter, an extra 25 foot 30 amp extension cable. We have 2 10 foot slinkys, one as a spare, 2-25ft potable water hoses. A cheap water hose pressure reducer (50psi) to protect your RV water lines, a camco blue water filter to filter all water before it enters your RV. I also use an inline sediment filter. A spray bottle of very light bleach water to spray the water faucet before connecting hose to it. Oh, don't forget the pillows.. LOL, we did our maiden voyage.

Good ideas! I had forgot, I read somewhere, probably here, use the blue dawn. We use it to wash our dishes then dump it down the toilet so the water/dawn does double duty. Definitely do not leave the black tank valve open, you *want* the waste to build up some. This is to prevent the solids from building up right under the porcelain bowl. I've read that once it builds up and gets real hard, it's almost impossible to get out. That comes from no water in there to float the solids. Or so I've heard. For a couple day outing, we also don't leave the gray water open either but keep it to flush out the hoses. After flushing the toilet each time, we put a couple cups or so of water in the bowl to keep the rubber seal wet.

Just don't empty the tank. Or if you do, first thing afterwards is to dump 5 gallon bucket of water down toilet and leave it in (unless winterizing). Come to think of it, dump 5 gallons in before using it the first time. Always dump the black tank first, then the gray water. Idea is too use the gray water to clean/flush out your stinky slinky before disconnecting for storage. Otherwise, you might develop a raunchy smell in storage. IMHO Another thought. When my wife does the dishes, she uses a pan about the same size of the kitchen sink. We dump that in the toilet alot. The soap helps keep the black tank cleaner, ie no build-ups.

To avoid fillin up the black tank, use park's restrooms. Use their showers to avoid going through all your water. Take a hot dog stick for the cook-out, for the marshmallows, etc. Sunscreen, whatever you are eating for breakfast/lunch/dinner x 2 days (depending on how long we plan on being gone), bottled drinking water, a deck of cards, some brewski/wine, some baggies/small shovel if taking a pet. We always take 3 days clothes for one or 2 nights. Depending on where and how far we are going, firewood for the nights campfire. Some places won't let you bring your own, check first. Couple folding chairs to sit in whilst fishing, don't forget the bait.

Atleast they will take it back. If I may suggest, find a camper you want, the layout you want and figure out all the weight details for it. Then make sure you get the size truck you need to haul it. It would stink to buy another truck, fall in love with an RV and find yourself in the same situation. A lot of folks here find the RV of their dreams but want/need an HDT to pull it safely, or atleast a 1 ton dually. Others find a 3/4 ton will pull their dream camper. Just a note, if you needed an HDT, most can be purchased for alot less than an newer won ton dual rear wheel truck. I could have bought 2 for what I paid for my truck.... LOL If I am right, you are stuck to a Ford? I ran fords all my life, until a stealership pissed me off. I decided to jump ship to a RAM and so far, have found it to be a much better truck. Yea, I'm sure that statement will make a few folks unhappy but it is what it is. As far as what manufacturer says is payload, gross weight, etc, they figure it out with a half tank of fuel and one 150lb driver. You need to take into account your weight, wife's, kids/passengers/pets and what not gear you will also have in your cab. It all adds to the payload, the weight of the hitch, tools, etc. It all adds up/subtracts from available weight usable by the camper. I think you already said something about that so you probably understand it already. Yes, getting a diesel over a gas engine removes a lot of usable payload as does the cab type/bed length, etc.

Can you sell this truck without taking a loss since you got a great price on it? Make a profit or break even? A stealership will take you to the cleaners on trade-ins. Or, if you have not bought the RV yet, look at smaller, or lighter Travel-Trailer for the time being?

Welcome to the forum! I did about the same thing. Traded it off on what I now have and never looked back.

Welcome to the forum!

Cool! Let us know how the CG is when you visit.

You going there soon? That's an hour south of sturgis rally starting on 2 Aug, going to be lots and lots of bikes there. I would love to go there again next year, maybe this would be a good base-camp to get away from the loud pipes but close enough to cruise up and enjoy!

This one? We've not been there but from the web-site it looks pretty good. I think that's a pretty decent rate for the black hills. They offer lots of discounts so should be easy to get 10% off rates.

Welcome to the forum! Start a new thread and introduce yourself. This thread is 3 years old. 🙂

I have a 2002 Ranger automatic and 4x4. It is not 4-down towable. I believe you need a neutral on the drive selector (the 2x or 4x4 hi/low selector), or a manual-shift transmission.

You can go to manufacture web-sites and get manufacture's recommendations for each size/model/package. Compare between years, 1/2, 3/4 and won ton models. Don't leave out the 2500/3500 models either. My truck has several trim levels in each model and can make a sizable difference in pay load. If I may suggest, figure out what is within desired limits and go one size larger in truck. Or atleast don't go over 80% of max load for the specific truck. I have not looked at those weights for a couple years, saying that, I bet a 3/4 ton set up with proper engine and drive train ratio would be good. Short/long bed? It's only myself and wife, some times our dog but I do fine with a short bed and mega cab. My truck is registered for 16,000 GVWR, I can go higher if I want. This is ND, each state is different. You can see by my signature I went serious overkill on capacities but I believe in a couple years we are getting a bigger RV, did not want to mess with getting a bigger truck if/when we do. Yes, it rides a little harder than a 3/4 ton, that is the off-side.

Welcome to the forum!

Is this hard-wired to the lower compartments or Bu-tooth? Is this an add-on you or someone has done or does it come as an upgrade from stealership? Brand? Does it incorporate a deadbolt accessible only on the inside? I'd love more info please.

Welcome to the forum! I would also be interested in one of these locks.

Welcome to the Forum!

While pulling an empty belly dump one late fall, no chains on, hit some black ice with engine brakes on (standard tranny). Did not wreck but had some serious seat puckering going on as I slid into a ditch. I got lucky, marked it down as a hard lesson and never did that again! Spring/winter/fall in ND, I won't run engine brakes. I have even had my won-ton DRW get squirrely so not even on a small truck would I advise them on iffy pavement.

Sounds like heaven to me!!!!