mptjelgin

We are in the Texas Hill Country near the small town of Medina (south of Kerrville). We haven't lost power yet, but our electrical supplier has warned of rolling blackouts and has stated that as many as 1/3 of their customers have been without power. I guess that we've just been lucky here.

I drop the fronts to 50 (diesel engine is heavy) and the rears to 40. It definitely softens the ride and there is zero danger of tires coming off of the rims.

Here is a link to the 2019 Tow Guide: Ford 2019 Tow Guide Page 12 lists the GVWR for the F-series trucks. Can you point me to where any SRW trucks have a GVWR for 14,000 pounds?? I don't see it.

Gasoline vs Diesel has minor impact on the GVWR of trucks. It is primarily based on tires, axles, suspension, etc. The GCWR does vary significantly with engine type, axle ratio, etc. For both Ford and Chevrolet, the 2020/2021 SRW trucks are maxing at around 11,500 on GVWR, while the DRW trucks are up around 14,000.

I am looking at the technical specifications right now. The SRW F-350 trucks max out at GVWR of 11,500 pounds. All of the DRW trucks are listed as 14,000. Check out Page 5 of the 2019 Super Duty Tech Specs

Only the 2019 F-350 DRW trucks have the 14,000 GVWR. I have almost exactly the same truck as you are listing (mine is extended cab) and my GVWR is 11,500 pounds, which is the max for any 2019 SRW Ford Superduty.

Is yours a dually? The SRW one-tons have a considerably lower GVWR than the DRW.

It is no problem. You simply file a form for a new address using Form VTR-146.

The 15 amp house connection should be fine for keeping the batteries up and taking care of parasitic loads. And, the 100 amp solar panel should work fine as well. Is it on a charge controller so that it won't overcharge the batteries?

I worked for an agency that was mandated to have dual-fuel vehicles, and natural gas was the chosen second fuel. As noted, the tank size of the vehicles (composite tank taking up much of the trunk) was such that the range on natural gas was limited to around 100 miles. The refueling was tedious and time consuming, so the vehicles were driven on gasoline (the "other" fuel) the majority of the time. We did a lot of travel throughout Texas from Austin, so the 100 miles natural gas range was kind of a joke. We were limited to refueling the NG at specific agency locations that required more time than we generally had, so gasoline was used for about 90% of the miles. Those vehicles were (thankfully) phased out after a couple of years in favor of hybrids like the Prius.

I agree. For transportation of oil or refined fuels, pipelines are the safest way to move large quantities long distances. Nothing is perfect, but compared to moving the same volume of material by rail or truck, pipelines are safer, more reliable, and less expensive.

And for us as well. This is a little like saying that the money in your bank account is just numbers on a statement. You aren't actually holding it in your hand, are you? I guess that there will always be folks who think that dollars under their mattress is the only "safe" thing.

Thank you for the information Bruce. It is good to know that there is a test kit available for those that want them. I need to be tested every two weeks to visit my mother in a nursing home, and this might be a convenient way to do it. But you can see from the responses what we are dealing with here...

If you currently have a fifth wheel trailer with the conventional kingpin, there is really no reason to change over to a gooseneck type hitch. The kingpin and conventional fiver hitch work great together so unless you are also towing a different gooseneck trailer why change things up? I have a Ford F-350 and bought the Pullrite Hitch that drops right into the factory puck system. It is very slick and leaves a totally clean bed when removed. Takes only a couple of minutes to install or remove the hitch.

Hitchhiker went out of business in 2013 (ish) but built excellent fifth-wheels that hold up very well to full time use. Others that are comparable in both quality and price were Excel and Carriage. You should be able to find something in your price range. Also, they are not as heavy as the Mobile Suites or New Horizons, and can be safely towed with a properly set up F-350.

Renogy does sell chargers, but they are not included with the batteries. Many existing chargers will work with proper settings.

I changed 4 golf cart batteries over to two Renogy 100aH Lithium Ion batteries and saved quite a lot of weight (248 pounds for the 4, Trojan T-105 vs. 52 pounds for the 2, Renogy 100aH Lithium Iron Phosphate), with nearly (but not quite) the same usable storage capacity. They are also physically smaller which may be a plus depending on your battery compartment. I ended up having to cut wood spacers to allow the new batteries to fit in the same tray without sliding around. I have an inverter/charger that allowed me to create a specific charging profile (Constant Current, Constant Voltage, or CCCV for short) for the lithium ion batteries, but companies will give you what is an acceptable existing profile from the most common models of chargers. Renogy lists their batteries at $899 right now, but they regularly run sales and I got mine for less than $700 each. Still pretty steep, but I was ready to make the change.

FWIW - Ours was on stacked concrete blocks, with tiedowns. So I think that is still ok. But there is a point where the foundation can become an issue. Best to find out what that is so you know.

Ours was underpinned with hitch and wheels removed, and still classified as "mobile". Folks that attached theirs to concrete piers or slabs, or especially if they added an addition that was fixed to the ground (essentially "built the park model in") lost that classification. The definition may vary based on the particular appraisal district that evaluates your property.

I believe so, like any other "vehicle".

We recently sold a park model home that we'd bought "just in case" about ten years ago. We've stayed in it for anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months at a time, and most recently 9 months due to COVID and our volunteer gigs being canceled. It was well-built and very comfortable, and with the residential type bathroom, kitchen, and HVAC a nice change-of-pace from the RV. As you note, they just seem more spacious than even a big fifth wheel. We had ours in an RV community where many (most?) folks have added a room on for a second bathroom, bedroom, etc. In Texas Park Models home are still considered vehicles as long as they aren't permanently built in, so are not subjected to property tax.

We have full-timed for over ten years and part-timed for 10+ before that. We've never paid to have a gray (or black) water tank flushed, and it certainly isn't necessary on an annual basis. One in a while we'd leave the gray water valve closed, fill the tank, and then "flush" it that way, but that was it. I guess if you allowed a lot of grease or food down the drain you could get some build up, but with typical use no flushing of the tank should be necessary.

Hempsteadc's information was spot on and accurate. Simply saying "I await your scathing criticisms" doesn't even touch the definition of trolling, and I understand exactly what he was saying with that comment. Are you now in charge of the moderating content on the forums?? If so there is a great deal more inaccurate and offensive material to be found than this.

Ah, this old saw. 20+ years with a fifth wheel and never even a close call. It really isn't that difficult a problem to avoid. One good way is to avoid the common two-jaw hitches by using something like a Pullrite with the single 270 degree jaw. It either closes correctly or it doesn't. Someone might be able to figure out how to incorrectly hitch a trailer with this hitch, but I can't see how.

I have been paying Texas sales tax on all Amazon purchases for many years now. Are there states where Amazon doesn't collect sales tax?