Possibly Going Over To The Darkside [Former 25 Ft and Under]

[OverSoul7]

Well, as I continue to add in the weights I've been gathering this year I am beginning to not like the totals. I've listened to all the comments on the bracketed original topic (see above) and they float in and out of my head. A vehicle with 5k towing capacity sounds like a lot until one adds in the trailer, passengers, dogs, water, food, clothes, bedding, bath and kitchen as well as entertainment items. Don't forget battery and propane as well as a full tank of gas. I bearly avoided a heart attack when asking hubby to look up the weight of the weight distribution hitch and he misread and quoted 1,000 pounds. I stopped gasping when he corrected that to a shipping weight of 70 pounds.

 

I am realizing that yes I can pare down to within size but I am also realizing (1) I would always be at maximum capacity and (2) I would have more fun if I could take more stuff and (3) it is advantages to have weight room for more tools than my 5k total would allow.

 

I know that I can do it, others have successfully and have spoken up so I know we still have that original option. Yet we are beginning to discuss a larger tow vehicle and a trailer with more weight capacity. We will take a look at little motor homes but still believe we will end up with truck and trailer so that when we finish trip someday we can park the trailer and have a city vehicle.

 

For now I am continuing to sort and downsize while adding and removing items to my spreadsheet of weights. I'll let you know where we end up. We were going to have a garage sale this weekend but I could not find ready made seat covers for the Class B so I will wait until I finish sewing new covers. Wayne still needs to finish one shelf bottom and to make a new cup holder over the engine dog house. No since rushing things at this point and it is allowing me more time to go through every single tool for final sorting (tools have been sorted at least 10 times before now, it's down to the final stuff).

 

 

Christine

Colorado

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

Someone somewhere has a 450-550 truck with a custom bed cap on it that is like a walk in storage area. The cap is like a service truck body with interior storage. I know they said they use it as their walk in closet. Their RV is an Airstream. Maybe on this forum or another.

[OverSoul7]

I am pretty new when it comes to a lot of the shortcut terms. I am guessing you are talking a large large truck, giggle. I was simply talking about something that might tow 8 to 10k is all. I was going to go really small and was talking we are discussing going to a full size truck but not a rig. We still want to go small on the trailer but now are at least talking about maybe adding a slide to a 7 foot wide trailer.

 

Christine

[Kirk W]

Pickup trucks are generally sized by the numbers such as 150/1500 meaning what is called a half ton truck, 250/2500 a 3/4 ton, 350/3500 was 1 ton, 450/4500 and 550/5500, and was once what that size could carry, but today you have to look at load capacities, but each time the number increases, so too does the carrying capacity. Larger numbers mean more truck.

We still want to go small on the trailer but now are at least talking about maybe adding a slide to a 7 foot wide trailer.

I am wondering what you are looking at currently in terms of make/model? Most trailers that I'm familiar with go over 84" in exterior width at about 16 - 17' in length. Our 20' seasonal travel trailer is 90" wide.

[trailertraveler]

...450-550 truck with a custom bed cap on it that is like a walk in storage area. The cap is like a service truck body with interior storage...

 

...I was simply talking about something that might tow 8 to 10k is all...

Yes, the 450-550 are large trucks, Sometimes referred to as the Super Pickups. However, there is a wide variety of utility caps in various configurations available for the smaller pickups.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

I used the 450/550 as a bad example, my fault.

Using a regular pickup as an example- a Ford F-150 or Ram/Chevy 1500, by the time you add a bed cover, hitch weight, trailer weight and all your worldly possessions, you will be overloaded. An F-250 or Ram/Chevy 2500 has more capacity but the cost is considerably more. But they are also limited by carrying capacity. So you end up in the F350 / 3500 world. Same price range as the 250/2500, but you can now carry all you want and tow pretty much any travel trailer available, (NOT all 5th wheels though).

These are not huge trucks.... next time you walk thru a Walmart parking, look at the badging on the pick-ups. No size difference from the 150/1500 to the single rear wheel 350/3500 series.

I'm not talking about the dually pick-ups. You're not anywhere near that weight level.

[OverSoul7]

Oh, got it guys. My Class B is a Dodge 350. Yes, I would like to find a truck in that range. The utility caps look good, I'll check those weights. I don't want to add too much weight because I'm trying to get something I will have plenty of cargo weight capacity without maxing out. Sounds good.

 

Thank you.

 

Christine

[JimK]

......I am realizing that yes I can pare down to within size but I am also realizing (1) I would always be at maximum capacity and (2) I would have more fun if I could take more stuff and (3) it is advantages to have weight room for more tools than my 5k total would allow.

......

 

Christine

Colorado

You might remember from a previous thread, that I like lighter and smaller RVs. I cannot begin to decide what you need but your comments 1-3 struck me as worth some discussion. Do you really want the maximum you can carry and will you have more fun with more stuff? Again, I cannot begin to answer those questions for you. But remember every day and every mile you will face limitations due to the size of your rig and the amount of stuff. At the very minimum it will cost you fuel to move it around. I found I spent a great deal of time outdoors photographing and enjoying nature and I did not need a lot of hobby stuff.

 

I also thought that as a full time traveler, I needed to have a wide selection of tools so I could handle all but major repairs. At the start I went to Lowes and found a nice sized cloth tool bag with a smaller tool bag inside. I bought 3 sets. I sorted through my tools and brought hammer, screw drivers, pliers, end cutters, wire stripper, measuring tools, a old fashioned hand drill and bits, even a small saw with a removable handle, a file, sharpening stones, chisels, etc, etc, etc. I filled the three larger bags with tools and I filled the smaller bags with a selection nuts, bolts, screws, and hardware items. In addition I brought glues, duct tape, cordage, caulk gun and tubes of caulk. In years and 70,000 miles I cannot believe how little I used of my stash. I needed screw drivers and pliers a few times. I could have left the entire pile behind and taken a $50 bill to buy whatever I needed while on the road. I would still have plenty of change left. Even the caulk was a mistake. I developed a leak and needed to do some caulking. Well I could have bought a suitable caulk gun for $3. I spent hours on a picnic table and hanging from the roof to caulk around a window that was leaking. The caulk I carried was too old and did not stick. I had to buy new caulk and redo the whole job.

[kb0zke]

We're trying to move from a 40' motor home to a 34' travel trailer. We work part-time for our church helping congregations with their building projects, so I have a small collection of tools. Since the trailer won't have a basement, everything that is now in the basement of the MH will have to ride in the truck. When we first started out the two basement compartments were completely full. During the past two years we've gotten rid of maybe a third of what we were carrying down there. We're still working on what's upstairs, but some of that will also go away.

 

I suspect that most full-timers start out with more stuff than they need, as and they get used to the new life style they realize that they don't need certain things. No one can decide for you what you will and won't need. Most of us start out with too many clothes, but generally they take care of themselves. Tools are another story. Yes, it would be nice to carry a complete workshop with you, but that's impossible. Some people have only two tools - a credit card and a cell phone. Most of us are somewhere between those two extremes. Get used to the idea that sometimes you are going to have to pay someone else to fix something that you might have fixed yourself. Same with sewing/cooking tools. Are you running a sewing business or doing gourmet dinners every meal? Probably not. Take the basics.

 

One suggestion I got as we were getting ready to start out someone suggested that we divide everything into three piles: don't need, nice to have, and definitely need to take along. Get rid of the first three, and then triage the third. Again, get rid of the first two, and triage the third. Get rid of the first two, and now you finally have what you really need. That didn't work for us, but it was a nice thought.

[OverSoul7]

JimK - your timing is perfect as this is day 2 of all tools are on the living room floor and being sorted as kbOzke mentioned, 3 piles (1) probably take (2) keep until after new trailer is ready for travel (3) garage sale next week which will be followed up with donation of left overs at some point. And yes, I have an old time hand crank drill in the take with pile

 

I'm still talking going small as far as the trailer goes but I'm talking about changing the tow vehicle from 5000 tow capacity to 8 or 9k so we will not be maxed out as we travel and so that we can handle the occasional extra weight should the need arrive (one single passenger with stuff should not be able to send us over the edge). I don't want 5k towing capacity and be driving around with 4,900 of cargo.

 

My everyday car is a Class B 350. I am used to 15 mpg. (That said, that is unleaded prices). Our overall plan when possible is 5 to 10 days in one spot w/o electric, etc. followed by 2 to 3 days with hookups during which time we plan to pursue our hobby of cooking. The trailer, if we go a little bigger, will still be small. We just might add another axel and set of tires and a roof we can climb on top of. We won't be going the big enough to have a washer and dryer model.

 

Doing the weight spreadsheet has been an eye opener as to how fast things add up. And CCC of 870 (about 200 less for a slide) on a small trailer that doesn't have tent walls goes quickly. Start with deducting the battery, propane and weight distribution hitch and then the water and food you want to bring. Did you all weigh your stuff or are you looking at your stuff as to how much room it takes up and not how much it weighs? My two dogs don't help - combined weight of 110 in the car and then there is the food and treat container weight in the trailer.

 

Sadly my two matching sets of Joy Mangano/Iman luggage are too heavy due to the inline skate wheels and great expanding handles. They would have worked great on the upper bunk to keep the wardrobe. As I stated before I was happy with just a few hobby items, 90% of my hobby items will be gone or maybe even 95%.

 

The garage sale money is all going into a separate savings account for future house furnishings when we get off the road. We plan to add $50 a month to that fund instead of paying probably around $125 a month for a storage unit every month. That way I don't have to worry about how I am going to get all the stuff in storage to where ever we end up living at whatever year that might be. When we moved from one state to another our initial beds were our camping REI Comfort Cots with our memory foam on that. We had all our clothes, kitchen and bath items and it was easy and fun to build our new house. Of course there are things you bring from house to house that make it home, things we've carried place to place since young adults in some cases. Those will be gone. But they will be replaced with new memories and I have photos.

 

Christine

[trailertraveler]

...CCC of 870 (about 200 less for a slide) on a small trailer that doesn't have tent walls goes quickly...

Not all small trailers have low CCC. Here is one brand that doesn't (look at the 2106 models) and another. I am sure there are likely a few others.

[sandsys]

Not all small trailers have low CCC. Here is one brand that doesn't (look at the 2106 models) and another. I am sure there are likely a few others.

 

If the published numbers on the Winnebago Micro Mini NEW 1700BH are correct you'd be in trouble for sure. It's a bunkhouse model with a differential between GVWR and dry weight of 800 pounds?!!!

 

Linda Sand

[mptjelgin]

 

If the published numbers on the Winnebago Micro Mini NEW 1700BH are correct you'd be in trouble for sure. It's a bunkhouse model with a differential between GVWR and dry weight of 800 pounds?!!!

 

Linda Sand

 

There seems to be some confusion in the Winnebago figures. In the referenced link they show that trailer as having a single axle (which gives that very low GVWR of 3800 pounds), but in their .pdf brochure they show it with twin 3800 pound axles which would make a lot more sense. They need to get some consistent numbers published!!

[trailertraveler]

If the published numbers on the Winnebago Micro Mini NEW 1700BH are correct you'd be in trouble for sure. It's a bunkhouse model with a differential between GVWR and dry weight of 800 pounds?!!!

 

Linda Sand

Linda,

 

I specifically said

(look at the 2106 models)

They have a CCC of over 3,000#. Unfortunately the link goes to the page with all models and I was unable to figure out how to get just one model to show. The specs for the 2106 Models are:

Floorplan Specs

• Exterior Length21'11"
• Exterior Height (including A/C)10'1"
• Exterior Width7'0"
• Interior Height6'4"
• GVWR (lbs.)7,000
• Dry Weight (lbs.)3,705
• Carrying Capacity (lbs.)3,295

[OverSoul7]

With a trailer dry weight of 3700 pounds and a tow vehicle of 5,000 pounds this would never work.

[trailertraveler]

With a trailer dry weight of 3700 pounds and a tow vehicle of 5,000 pounds this would never work.

Sorry, I thought you were now talking about a tow vehicle with more towing capacity?

 

...I'm still talking going small as far as the trailer goes but I'm talking about changing the tow vehicle from 5000 tow capacity to 8 or 9k...

[OverSoul7]

Sorry, I thought you were now talking about a tow vehicle with more towing capacity?

 

OK, I thought you were talking about the Xterra as a tow.

 

Yes, the Mini Winnie was one we looked at to consider if we get a larger tow. It looks like we are probably going to need a larger tow and that sucks. I love my Xterra.