Nwcid

For now I am on hold with this one. I think it is more a want than a need. At the moment that ~$500 can be better spent on getting the HDT setup.

If you are really looking at 5th wheels that require a F550 you really should check out the HDT section of this website. An HDT will often be less expensive upfront, give longer life and increased safety.

Well "way better" is a subject term. What are you trying to accomplish and how much do you want to spend to get there? Do you already have a charger/charging system that is compatible with Lithium? Big generalization here, but this is the reason to choose different types of batteries. FLA batteries: Low cost/AHAGM batteries: Provide smiler ratings as FLA but no maintenance and reduced corrosion from no/very minimal off gassing. Cost 1.5-2x of FLA but 1/3-1/2 the cost of lithium.Lithium batteries: Large output and large reserve as you can use 80-100% of rated AH vs ~50% on FLA or AGM. Need to conserve weight. In my current system I really looked at and wanted lithium but I was not willing to pay for it and weight is not an issue for me. I have 675 AH (so roughly 325 AH usable) AGM batteries. Cost was just under $1300 shipped. Downside is almost 450lbs of weight. Depending on which lithium batteries I get I would need 3-4 to get 325 usable AH. At the time I looked the best price was $950/100 AH of lithium. That means I am $3000-$4000 or ~2-3x the cost, even at $700/100 AH I that would still be $2100-$2800 which is a little better. Yes, I would love to have 500AH of lithium but in my case the numbers do not work out. Some day it will.

Obviously ATT and Verizon are going to have the largest coverage areas, especially if you start heading away from populated areas. I know some of the other companies have really improved their coverage area, but are still far behind. The next problem you run into is that often in low population/remote areas there is often only one provider. Depend on how critical or how much you want to pay for your needs having both a Verizon and ATT account would be best. I had Verizon for well over a decade and had been happy with it, even though it did not work at my house. Their prices had been going up and though my work I got a special deal on ATT. I have had ATT for just over 2 years now, and they are my only carrier. Having only one carrier we have had to change locations we were planning on staying since I do telework. I use a standalone hotspot for the majority of internet service and while it is unlimited, it can be throttled. This happens from time to time. For back up I use my phone hotspot which is both truly unlimited (no throttle) but also has network priority (again due to a special though my work).

Sounds awesome. I am hoping to have some more pics soon. Right now it is basically a stock truck so not much to show. I am picking up a Knaack 90 tool box tomorrow that will be mounted behind the cab, on the deck. Then the plan is to mount the the RZR "smart car" style next, then that 6 foot gap and I am currently budgeting 4' for space for the trailer to turn. I tried to upload a photo 3 different ways with no luck.

I already have a long wheelbase @ 265" with a 15' deck so I am not considering extending. This easily allowed me to have an APU and waste tank on opposite sides between the fuel tanks and front tandem axle. If the truck did not have an APU I would have likely just hung a 60 gallon tank in that location and called it good. Even with a large tool box and my SxS on the deck, I still have at least 6' of free space. That is why I was planning on using this space. It is an inexpensive way to test. As for filling, it depends on the trip and the need. If we are semi-mock-docking like we do at one of our remote properties there is water onsite so no filling at all. Other trips were we know we are boondocking or we are only headed out with a general plan I will fill it at home. Then as we go from location to location fill in the same type of locations that we have dumped/filled in the past. If I use an IBC, they are designed and made to carry fluid over great distances. The extra weight might even be helpful as I can get almost to 1/2 of my rated rear end capacity.

I have no room for under tanks, everything has to go on top. I have an APU on the passenger side between my fuel tank and axle and a 60 gallon wast tank in the same location on the drivers side.

Well the only time the supply valve would be on is if I am stationary and using air. So 99% of the time the valve will be off, and 100% of the time I am driving.

Ok. I looked at a wide variety of tanks. One option was to find one that mounted under where I plan on putting my tool box and do similar to what you are discussing. That can be done as a future upgrade if we use it enough. By the time I get tanks and have fab work done I will easily be over $500 and likely close to $1000. Not money well spent until I know we will use it often. I assume you were discussing how you secure your fixed tanks. Any comment about securing the bladder?

I have one also for work around the farm at low speeds. I know my HDT is heavy, but 150-200 gallons sloshing while on non-HWY roads at speed is a fair amount of force.

Where did you secure it under your trucks? I have looked at some options but I do not have a good location for an underbody tank without a major bed raising. I am not opposed to using a pump. I am just trying alternate options. My wife accuses me of buying too much crap and then not needing it...... She might be right...... Try before I buy. I have a reasonably compact 1" gas powered pump that will be easy to store on the truck. My plan is to use this pump for washing, it is not a potable pump. I did look at the bladder you linked. It is one I considered, the only issue I have how to secure it to the vehicle? It has no anchor points built into it. How do you secure yours when transporting full? The ones I could find that has ancho points were closer to $500. I am not opposed to those if I find I use this aux source enough...... see above. For now, for under $100 I can put a food grade IBC with 275 gallons on the truck.

I have thought about the "baffling" issue and at the moment I do not have a good solution other than run full or empty. For the tank this year, it will be secured with ratchet straps. I know this is not the best long term solution, but this is also my "test" year for how much we will use it.

It is a 2014 and it has a lot of other features, so I assume it does. Where would I find that specific information? It is not on the door sticker.

My truck also has/had (unbolted it last night) sliding air hitch. The line going to the hitch is a very small one. I did not look to see where it initially hooks into the the air system yet to see if there is a bigger fitting. I am not sure what the hose size is, I keep seeing 1/4" listed, however it is much smaller than the 1/4" hoses I use with my compressor, I would guess it is 1/8". It does not appear to have much volume. Next time I start the truck up, I will push the trailer brake knob in. The line that puts out air will be the one I put the fitting on. The one that does not will get capped. It looks like I do not need an additional shut off on that line so I will not add one. I am still learning a lot about this truck and the systems on it. The only time I have driven it so far is when I picked it up. I was planning on starting work on it this spring as I do not have a long term inside place to work on it. I got it into our shop to service the APU so I could use it to warm the truck up when I wanted to work on it in the spring. Some of our plans have changed and it is still in our shop. I am trying to get as much prep work done as I can while I have the opportunity. I really appreciate all of the help and I hope my questions and your feedback help others in the future. I found a tool box I want to add and I am going to go pick it up on Friday. I could take my pick up but I am going to take the HDT as the roads are currently clear and I want to get some more practice driving it before spring. It will be a 400 mile round trip so I am looking forward to it.

Again I have no plans to running air tools, I will not even have any with me. I just referenced this because that is what I was asking about before. My only planed use is airing up tires, blowing out filters, cleaning dust out of the UTV, etc. General maintenance stuff where I do not have to pack a separate compressor. I had originally thought about using the glad hands but I have no other use for the lines so I am just taking them off. I just assumed pluming into the ports would be easiest. I have no problem pushing the trailer brake button to put air to the hose. Am I understanding correctly that the airlines that connect the trailer will not supply as much air as direct from the tank? Even if they do not supply as much volume, will they still be adequate for my intended use? For safety, I can put a shut off valve at the back of the cab where I attach the air fitting. I will look up a PSI chart for my tires.

***2-10-21 update below *** I know I touched on this topic a while back but now I have some specific questions since I have a truck. According to my analog gauges I have 120 PSI when my tanks are full. In my previous post I was asking about running air tools, which is no long a goal for me. This will be used for airing up tires, blowing out filters, cleaning dust out of the UTV, etc. 1. Where is the best place to access the air system for this use? I have the 2 air lines coming out next to the trailer plug. I am planning on removing the airlines, plugging one outlet and putting a standard air hose fitting on the other. Does this work? Which one do I need to put the fitting on? 2. I have a little compressor now and it gets used not a lot, but fairly often. Has anyone mounted a hose reel on the back of the cab with good success? I know service trucks often have external mounted hose reels. Does it take a lot of maintenance to keep functioning well? 3. I have not checked to see what PSI my truck tires are, but I am guessing they are around 120 PSI. Obviously this is toward the max of the compressor. What PSI do you typically keep your tires at? Does it make sense to run a lower pressures like in my pick up to improve the ride? I have 2 - 20k axles so no risk of ever overloading them.

There is a lot to unpack here and a lot more questions that need answered. Since you are looking at both a trailer and a TV (tow vehicle) you are off to a good start. In general 5th wheels will have more space for the same overall hitched length as a TT (tow trailer). They will also typically pull nicer. Something thing that may be a down side for you is that you lose a lot of bed space. Also they typically have a higher price. In general TT are also nice, but again for the same length as a 5th have less living space. You do gain your bed back. Before you get into any of that you really need to decide how you want to camp and where you want to camp. Your needs will be different for short 2-4 day "weekend" trips vs long trips. Do you plan on going to camp ground with full services, or state style parks with some services or completely off grid? For TV, it is often better to buy bigger than you need now incase you want to change later. I know some of the new 1/2 ton trucks have nice looking numbers but I bet you would be surprised how quick you hit those limits. If you do consider a 3/4 ton, often times you are better off with a 1 ton. The price is usually close, the amenities are the same, but the ratings are much better on the 1 ton. I know that is a lot of broad information, but it is a very broad question.

Kind of, but not really the example I meant. I am currently looking for a tool box for the HDT. CL - "job box", first 120 results (page 1) nothing that even has to do with that. Lot of pick up ads, 3 for tuck tool boxes which semi close, handful of adds for pole barns or Christmas ornaments????? FB market - First page (about 120 results also). Still no "Job Box" but there are Knacck, Rigid, Greenline etc, some tool boxes, truck tool boxes, and most of the results have something to do with the type of item I am looking for. Yes there are 20% of the results that do not relate, but that is way less then the 100% from the CL search. CL - "Knaack box", a total of 1 item, at least it is a Knaack box. FB market - Very similar to the results for "job box". It has nothing to do with distance, or banks or anything else. If CL does not even show me results for the item or similar item there is nothing to buy......... Again in the past CL worked well for, but it has been getting worse over the last 2 years.

I have had good luck selling and buying on Facebook Market place. It is easy to search local. I use to use CL a lot but over the past year or two I get very few results when searching for stuff. Also the "local" one for me is the nearest big city a couple hours away.

It will only be flowing when transferring or filling. Of course lots of movement going down the road. It will sit, likely for a week or so while we use onboard water. Once the RV tank gets low then do a transfer. Since we will typically out all summer, it will be warm to hot. A few times last year we found extreme mud or extreme dust. It would have been nice to be able to clean, from a maintenance standpoint, the machine well under those conditions. It was not worth the waste of our water though. We also did not have a reasonable air compressor for cleaning filters and such. With the HDT we now have onboard air also. So many great things come with an HDT.

I had considered that also. My though on a cover is that at least I can uncover it and see the condition of the tank/water easier. Not sure if that is something that tends considering though.

The tank will be clean, and sanitized as needed. The same way I would do an RV tank. This tank will not just "sit" for months. If we are going to an area where we need the extra capacity I will fill it. It will be filled form the same source we fill our RV tanks. I will cover it with a black cover when stationary.

So first thing, even with 3000 lbs of water, and my rv, and my UTV I still have about 30,000 lb of available payload. I think I will be ok. My current RV has 120 gallons of fresh water and that gets us about a week of "normal" RV water usage. Having an additional 50-100 would be nice. I also have a large aux waste tank. The only reason I am not going with a bladder is price. As for back flow, I have heard of them, just was not sure they work in the capacity. I will do some more reading. Yes, with the winterizing valve, you typically bypass the water heater, but you could do it either way with fresh water. I assume that it would prime easy from gravity. I was more worried about duty cycle on a 12v pump. Can/should it run for an hour straight? I was concerned with the sunlight issue. I was thinking of getting a cover, or even black plastic to cover it when I am parked. I know via garden hose will take a long time to fill. I have a water trailer I use for burning fields at the house. It is dual IBC on a trailer....... We will be on the road adventuring and having fun, rushing is not in that plan

With my HDT truck one of my goals is to add an aux water tank. In the process of designing my truck, I found out what I would like to do is not in a price range that I am willing to pay for. I would like 100-150 gallons of water that can be used either as additional water in the RV or be used to clean our UTV's. Now, due to price, I am considering using a food grade IBC. This holds 2x the water I need/want, but I have the space and the price is right. I can pick one up for $100 and if I decide that we use it enough this year I can set up a "better" or more permanent system in the future. If we rarely use it then I will decide what to do from there. I know that for "drinking" you want potable water. In our RV we shower, wash and cook with our onboard water, but typically use 1 gal/2.5 gal "bottled" water for drinks. So how clean is clean enough? Is just following the same water filling/handling techniques enough? I figure I will treat/clean the aux tank just like I would my RV tank with a bleach solution as needed. To fill I am considering adding a standard hose fitting to the top of the tank and using QD fittings and caps to eliminate possible contamination vs sticking a hose in the large top opening. For transfer to the RV this tank will sit high enough that I can gravity feed with no issues. If gravity is not fast enough is there a reason I can not use the "winterizing" inlet to draw in the water? I would also like to be able to use a 1", gas power pump (already own this) to clean the UTV's. Is there a way to plumb this in that will prevent back flow/contamination? Are my expectations and wants out of line with reality? Am I over thinking this?

I guess it depends on what you mean. I have a Kia Optima Hybrid. I did not buy it for the hybrid, I bought it because the price was right for a commuter car to rack miles up on. With that said I bought it used in 2015 with 15k miles and it now has about 140k miles on it. I mostly commute long distances on open roads and I drive like and A-hole. I average mid-30's MPG. My wife when she drives in similar conditions usually gets 40-42 mpg. The place where this car really shines is in stop/go traffic. When we are in the city with stop and go traffic the MPG will actually go up since the car drops into battery mode sitting at lights. I have have had no problems with the car or the hybrid system.