Attention Visitors and Lurkers - Please Read and Respond to this Request

[griffinmike]

So what is the request?

[pauljliske]

hey everyone, Paul here, just found this forum and glad i did. Give you guys a little backround, me and my wife decided to become full time RV'ers about 7 years ago.... started off with a 33.5' travel trailer with a chevy 1500 long bed, quad cab. After 5 LONG years in that sardine can we really stepped it up. We now have a 45' fifth wheel custom made by Travel Units, for an 94 LPGA champ, we are now third owner of it, really spoiled by this already, 2 slides, 1 is a 26' other is MB 8', we have REAL wood cabinets, Real Bathroom, central vac, ice maker, washer/dryer, way too much to list.

anyhow paid a guy with a 3500 to tow it home for me, his truck looked like a toy under this thing, and really struggled though some pretty mild mountains getting it home(completely empty!) At that point me and the wife decided that a p/u just wouldn't pull this loaded with everything we own, so we bough a modified Ford L9000 single axle w/air ride.

anyhow, thats us.

[stevenc]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm a lurker of about 24 hours but a fan of the full timing RV lifestyle for 15 years. I've been pouring over the forum and I'm amazed at how much information there is here to the point that it seems overwhelming.

 

Currently living in Farwell, Texas, will retire in August 2014 and begin saving for the truck and trailer. I sell used items for extra cash and that of which I can't sell I sell for scrap. Daphne and I will travel with our 3 kids ( Willow, Scooter and Oliver ) our kids happen to be our 3 cats. .

 

At any rate being an ex-trucker and having a love of those BIG trucks I'll purchase a HDT conversion from Gregg at RV Haulers and a 39 foot Montana "Big Sky" fiver. Not sure about those "Smart" cars I may invest in a vintage VW bug instead ( gotta' check the length) before making a final decision.

 

Glad I found this sight to educate myself on registration process of the truck and trailer, insurance issues etc.

 

I want to take this opportunity to say thank you all in advance for responding to my somewhat "dim wit " questions that probably should be common sense .

 

"Happy Trails" to all

Steven an Daphne

[tampabikeracer]

Hi everyone!

 

I guess I'm a lurker, and my wife and I are dreamers who plan to go fulltiming when I retire in 2020. I started researching earnestly at the beginning of the year. I've gone from figuring I'd want a 34' 5th wheel and pull it with a Ram 3500, to I want to buy my last truck and trailer first, so it'll have to be an HDT pulling a yet-to-be-decided 5th wheel. Reading the harrowing experience of the Peels (from their "Peel Outta Here" website) on just about crashing going down a mountain grade in a big pickup was the deciding point for me. I'm planning on going to the HDT rally in Hutchinson, KS in October. I know I'll learn a ton from the presentations and hopefully be able to pick the brains of many of those who I follow in the RV world, which would include Jack and Danille Mayer, Gregg Shields, and Mark and Dale Bruss. I can't wait!

[phoenix2013]

You will have fun in Hutch, welcome. I was curious so I found the post you referred to, interesting reading http://peelouttahere.com/heavy-duty-towing/do-you-think-you-have-enough-truck-or-why-we-chose-a-heavy-duty-towing-vehicle/

[wscarlin]

My wife and I have been full-timing for the past year. I ran into two gentlemen last year who had Volvo trucks. After talking with them for a while, I thought getting an HDT was probably in my distant future. Unfortunately, I have started having problems with my current tow and a very trusted friend recommended I replace sooner than later. The biggest concern my wife and I have with an HDT is we are set up with solar and enjoy boon-docking (when the weather is nice). I am trying to figure if an HDT is capable of that. I am not talking about Wal-Mart boon-docking. I am talking about Lake Mead Rec Area and other National Parks/BLM areas. Comments from anyone who has done this are greatly appreciated.

[hone eagle]

Jack may be able to help , know his stuff when it comes to solar

[Jack Mayer]

We have boondocked a fair amount in our HDT. Realistically, it does reduce a "little" where you go if you are coming from an offroad capable 4x4 pickup. But with a large trailer behind you even the pickup is not going very far offroad - at least in rigorous conditions. So boondocking has not been a major issue for us. We do check things out carefully first. And we do not go into loose sand at all. But you would not in a pickup, either - at least not with a big trailer.

[BOS2012]

Hi to all,

 

Im new to this site and although we have a motor home now we want to move to a fifth wheel and a HDT. I never wanted one because a 250/350 wound not work for me. This weekend I was introduced to a HDT and my wife and I would like to "move up". I will be doing a lot of reading in the next couple of months and will have a lot of questions to go with that. So my first question is what are the pro's and con's for 1 vs 2 rear axels. ps I live in SD. Thank you Marcel and Lisa Bos

[Jack Mayer]

My website has a section on singling and the pros and cons. You might find it interesting. LINK.

 

Welcome to the site...

Edited July 21, 2014 by Jack Mayer

[Raquel]

Welcome Marcel and Lisa. We've found this forum quite helpful as we've progressed from being in your position to having our own HDT.

[BOS2012]

Raquel, Thank you so much for introducing us the the HDT world. We (mostly I) didn't want a 5th wheel but after our trip today we are sold to the idea and the Prevost is off the table. Thank you

[BOS2012]

Jack, Thank you. Nice article with a lot information.

[wscarlin]

We have boondocked a fair amount in our HDT. Realistically, it does reduce a "little" where you go if you are coming from an offroad capable 4x4 pickup. But with a large trailer behind you even the pickup is not going very far offroad - at least in rigorous conditions. So boondocking has not been a major issue for us. We do check things out carefully first. And we do not go into loose sand at all. But you would not in a pickup, either - at least not with a big trailer.

 

Jack, Thanks for the comment. That is pretty much what I was thinking and had told my wife. We are currently pulling a 35' Cardinal and have done a couple of dirt road areas with my pick-up that I think I could have easily done with an HDT. I am not overly concerned about the height as my 5er sits at 13'. On a similar note, I noticed you were in Woodland Park, CO. We lived in Colorado Springs for a couple of years and would take our toys (pre-5er) up to Divide and go back in the off-road there. We wanted to try that again with our current set-up. Have you been into that area?

[hone eagle]

Some HDT's do ok in the loose stuff ,have a look at U tube videos that show logging operations ,the big guys do fine (if they are chained up) in stuff you could not walk in.

[Guest Lostinaz]

The ones with tandem axles do better in bad conditions. Off - road I've gone places that surprised me, especially with some weight on.

 

In the snow those single axle freight hauling companies were spun out on hills putting on chains while I went easing on by.

[Jack Mayer]

 

We lived in Colorado Springs for a couple of years and would take our toys (pre-5er) up to Divide and go back in the off-road there. We wanted to try that again with our current set-up. Have you been into that area?

I've been back where you are talking about in my Jeep, and people take pretty big trailers back there. You could do most of it with an HDT and even my larger trailers. In my case the limitation would be trailer ground clearance, but with the right trailer you would not have that issue. There are sections of that county road/trail that an HDT would be challenged on, though....Ground clearance would be the issue. Especially far in.

[wscarlin]

I've been back where you are talking about in my Jeep, and people take pretty big trailers back there. You could do most of it with an HDT and even my larger trailers. In my case the limitation would be trailer ground clearance, but with the right trailer you would not have that issue. There are sections of that county road/trail that an HDT would be challenged on, though....Ground clearance would be the issue. Especially far in.

Jack, Thanks again. It has been quite a few years since we were back there. Actually, it seems like they were doing some logging at that time.

[Jemstone]

I have been reading the information on this site and have discovered that I have the wrong truck to pull our 5th wheel. I have a Freightliner FL60 built up as a crew cab 5th wheel RV hauler. The cab is so noisy that it's hard to hear the sound system. The 250hp Cat has to work hard all the time and only gets 10.5mpg bob tail and 8.5mpg towing. The only real advantage to the FL60 is better brakes than a pickup. We will be on the road till early November when we will return home to the Phoenix area and can start looking for a HDT.

[Jack Mayer]

We will be on the road till early November when we will return home to the Phoenix area and can start looking for a HDT.

My recommendation is to come to the National HDT Rally in October in Hutchinson, KS. It will help you moving forward, and you will save enough money from the knowledge you get to pay for your trip many times over.

[healing33]

I'm lurking

[Undrpsi]

Im also a lurker. Currently have a 2013 Redwood 36FL with disk brakes towing it with a 2012 HD3500 DRW CC 4x4 Chevy. Looking to upgrade to a new M-2 106 or a new 2015 F-450. Both would have the RV hauler bodies installed on them. Currently a Texas resident (Escapee) But may have to go to FL to take over parents place but still would be full timers as I travel for work. I know from what I have read here so far is that probably both trucks will require us to get our non CDL class A license in TX and have not looked into FL yet. Insurance shouldn’t be a problem for either as they both are only single drives. And the GVW of the future per should not exceed 26,000l bs or even 30,000 lbs for the if we ever win megabucks and build a custom 5er coach. So this shouldn’t be a problem for the new F-450 or M-2. One of my problems is we need to be able to drive or use the toter as a second vehicle. Sometimes for everyday use. This is one of the reasons that I’m not really looking at a HDT as it would not be practical for us for everyday use. One of my concerns is I have read on the MDT section that most guys are adding a lot of weight to the tails of the M-2’s to get them to ride have way decent while bobtailing. This leaves me to believe that the MDT’s could be a hand full in the rain or on bad roads bobtailing. Right now we are leaning towards the 2015 F-450 but I like the M-2 except for the cost. I have lots more questions but Im still reading posts and hope to be able to answer some of these when digging into the older pages on the forums here. Any comments from experience would be a big help.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Undrpsi

[HERO Maker]

The setup you see in my picture below, gives me my driver car wherever I am. Many of us are set up this way. And you will save a ton over the mdt price.

[Jack Mayer]

At your weights - and assuming not going much higher - I would choose the 450 over the M2 any day. Especially an M2 that was not a 112.

 

The thing to watch on the 450 is the rear GAWR. It is pitiful.Make sure you have enough capacity for the pin weight and your cargo. Also the clearances on ALL the pickup bedrails are terrible. So my advice is to factor in a hauler body.

 

Welcome to the forum....

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Im also a lurker. Currently have a 2013 Redwood 36FL with disk brakes towing it with a 2012 HD3500 DRW CC 4x4 Chevy. Looking to upgrade to a new M-2 106 or a new 2015 F-450. Both would have the RV hauler bodies installed on them. Currently a Texas resident (Escapee) But may have to go to FL to take over parents place but still would be full timers as I travel for work. I know from what I have read here so far is that probably both trucks will require us to get our non CDL class A license in TX and have not looked into FL yet. Insurance shouldn’t be a problem for either as they both are only single drives. And the GVW of the future per should not exceed 26,000l bs or even 30,000 lbs for the if we ever win megabucks and build a custom 5er coach. So this shouldn’t be a problem for the new F-450 or M-2. One of my problems is we need to be able to drive or use the toter as a second vehicle. Sometimes for everyday use. This is one of the reasons that I’m not really looking at a HDT as it would not be practical for us for everyday use. One of my concerns is I have read on the MDT section that most guys are adding a lot of weight to the tails of the M-2’s to get them to ride have way decent while bobtailing. This leaves me to believe that the MDT’s could be a hand full in the rain or on bad roads bobtailing. Right now we are leaning towards the 2015 F-450 but I like the M-2 except for the cost. I have lots more questions but Im still reading posts and hope to be able to answer some of these when digging into the older pages on the forums here. Any comments from experience would be a big help.

 

 

At your weights - and assuming not going much higher - I would choose the 450 over the M2 any day. Especially an M2 that was not a 112.

 

The thing to watch on the 450 is the rear GAWR. It is pitiful.Make sure you have enough capacity for the pin weight and your cargo. Also the clearances on ALL the pickup bedrails are terrible. So my advice is to factor in a hauler body.

 

Welcome to the forum....

 

The new 2015 F450 pickup is based upon a heavier chassis than the prior version that shared the F3250 platform. It gets the higher horsepower and torque of the pickups with the beefier brakes and frame of the cab and chassis model. I have a newer 6.7 F350 and the new F450 will have the same bed. No problem with clearance so far with our Infinity but I did order a 2" extra riser on the DRV we have on order. Please note that the cab and chassis model has a much lower HP and torque rating than the pickup.

 

Having said that, I run an M2-112 and it is our daily driver on the road. 99% of the time is not an issue (we even drove it this past weekend at the rod run in Pigeon Forge, TN). Ours is fitted with a full steel bed, has an air ride cab, rear suspension and seats and with a DD13 engine pulling 1650 ft-lbs, I have the same power as most of the big boys. It was a better fit for us with 4 doors as I pulled the rear seat and the dogs have plenty of room to run around without ripping up the seat bottom. I also liked the air brakes and ride height of the M2 and it still fit in the garage. Driving bobtail is not that much of an issue (rides better than the F350) but either will get crazy on some roads with big potholes.

 

Driving around town, you will find that the M2 fits in the same space as a dually, it's just a LOT taller....

Edited September 15, 2014 by GeorgiaHybrid