Dreams meshing with Reality - new beginnings

[CanuckTim]

Originally Posted by NewBlackDak

Starting in January means traveling during prime bad weather months. Not too much on the west coast, but as you are leaving CA and driving across and over the Rockies to get there.

I would think that trailer too small for 2 people to live in for 3 months, but that comes down to personal preference. Depending on sleep habits/schedules, you might want a bedroom with an actual door that closes. Or… you might need some space to get away from each other occasionally.

On the truck… XTR is just a package. It says nothing about the payload and towing capacity without knowing the other options. IMHO, but more truck than you think you need. Towing will be way more pleasant.

(I tried replying to this post but something went wrong, so I maybe duplicating things. Apologies if that is the case)

Thanks for the insights.
I did an in initial route to Joshua Tree. The plan would be to travel south to warmer climate then go west. As the weather warms we should start traveling north along the coast.

Yes, one of the things I’m wanting is a bedroom with a door so if one person wants to get up early or go to bed late there will be that separation.

Ya, I wasn’t too clear on the truck. What i’m Initially looking at is the F150 with the 3.5L ecoBoost and the Max Tow Package. This would, in theory, give 13,000+# capacity. But yes, I need to get more into the specifics and solid facts.

[CanuckTim]

Originally Posted by sirtate

As an f150 owner towing a 7800# trailer, make sure you get a long wheelbase version (Super Crew with the 6.5' bed).
We have the 302a package, and it is quite nice, but not too fancy. It supplies a towing package (11,200# limit) and integrated trailer brakes.
Our 2021 with the 3.5 EcoBoost has a 1975# payload capacity. Payload is a very important number for the tow vehicle, your hitch weight is depending on it...

As far as the trailer, find one that works in 'Rest Area Mode" (all slides in, like you're travelling), you want to have the *Option* of sleeping in a rest area, or parking lot if need be, even if it's for lunch and a nap.

Research the BLM lands in the southwest, like the LTVA around Yuma and Quartzite...

Camping without hookups is kinda like tent camping, but with a proper bed, a bathroom, and a roof that doesn't leak in the rain.

Thanks for the insights. I had not considered the long wheelbase. I’ll have to do some reasearch on the pros/cons of this aspect.

BLM and LTVA are new to me. I did a quick search of them just now to learn what they are. I’ll investigate that more. Thanks for bring it up!

[CanuckTim]

Originally Posted by Randy the sly old fox

We camphost 5-6 months a year a month or two at a time. We have been camping since 83 and have owned several diferent rigs from lightweight to heavy Arctic Foxes. In 2007 we were camping with an AF 22H and a 3/4T Chevy truck with a gas engine. We had that combo until 2017 when we realized that we were going to need something bigger for camphosting and extended travels when we retired. We also wanted to own them in 5yrs when we retired. Our choice in trucks was another chevy 2500 LTZ with the DMax, so far it has been great and makes travel days a breeze. Our TT of choice was an Outdoor RV Timber Ridge 25RDS. It tips the scales around 8000 lbs in ready to travel mode and is 31' hitch to bumper. It has a great open floorplan with a rear dinette and large back window, a slide with a sofa and pantry, a large kitchen with stove, oven, and microwave. It also has plenty of storage in drawers, and cabinets. The bathroom is functional but slightly on the small side, it does have ample storage. The bedroom is seperate from the rest of the coach. With the slide in we can use the front door to access the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen and you can squeeze around the sink to get to half of the dinette. After spending 5 months last summer living in it I would not want to live in anything smaller. BTW you probably won't find ORVs in the eastern part of Canada or the US as they are only distributed in the west. I do agree with others that if you plan on spending long periods of time, you need to have a high quality rig - other mfgsto look at are Arctic Fox, Grand Design, and Lance.

Wow! Lots of info in there Mr Fox. Thanks!
Outdoor RV sure looks nice. I’m doing more research but I’m beginning to think they might be out of our $$ range. More research to be done!!!

[creativepart]

Arctic Fox, Grand Design, and Lance.

^This!
That’s the list right there.

By the way, OutdoorRV and Arctic Fox are built in separate factories in the same town in Oregon and owed by the same company. So they are fairly equal.

[CanuckTim]

Originally Posted by Dave Pelletier

Yep, only you can decide what's best for your usage, expectations and budget. Do your research on high(er) quality trailers if you're going to be using it for extended periods. Research, research and more research!

Biggest mistakes people make IMO:

- two foot-itis - after shopping for units, your ideal size doubles! There are plusses and minuses to every type and size of rig

- getting an inadequate TV; this isn't helped by auto dealers or, typically, RV dealers so do your research and don't listen to the "it'll be fine" folks. It's a costly mistake best avoided from the get-go. ALWAYS use GVWR, not dry weights and 12-15% tongue weight, not 10%....and remember that theoretical tow ratings are usually never achievable due to payload shortfalls and mythical truck builds.

good luck,

Dave

Thanks Dave.
I think our two foot-itis will get controlled by the $$$-itis!

Yes, as I’ve read more I am beginning to understand that researching for quaility is the first step.

I’m worried about the TV choice. Certainly more research on my part is needed. I’ll incorporate your input into my research. Thanks!

[psmiller]

Find your "dream" trailer first...then get your TV and remember...you cant have too much truck!

[sirtate]

I'm gonna reiterate;

Grand Design, Arctic Fox, and Lance...

For sure...

We bought a Grand Design... Very happy with it...

[Badjuju]

Originally Posted by CanuckTim

Ya, I wasn’t too clear on the truck. What i’m Initially looking at is the F150 with the 3.5L ecoBoost and the Max Tow Package. This would, in theory, give 13,000+# capacity. But yes, I need to get more into the specifics and solid facts.

Late model F150 owner here with the Max Tow option. Just to be clear, that option is merely a factory package the bundles most of the nice features for towing--trailer brake controller, 36 gal fuel tank, extra trans cooler, slightly upgraded hitch--at a discounted price. The package doesn't actually gain you any more payload or towing capacity. A pretty hard rule of thumb is that the higher optioned models have lower payloads, due to the increased weight from options, which is almost always the limiting factor in a half-ton TV. Also, unless they have changed the Max Tow package description, it doesn't include tow mirrors--strangely enough, they must be spec'd and ordered separately. For reference, I have the 142" WB F150 XL SCab 4x4 3.5EB with the Max Tow. Very low option list. My GVWR is 7200#, payload is 1930#, and GCWR is 13,200#.

[NewBlackDak]

Originally Posted by Badjuju

Late model F150 owner here with the Max Tow option. Just to be clear, that option is merely a factory package the bundles most of the nice features for towing--trailer brake controller, 36 gal fuel tank, extra trans cooler, slightly upgraded hitch--at a discounted price. The package doesn't actually gain you any more payload or towing capacity. A pretty hard rule of thumb is that the higher optioned models have lower payloads, due to the increased weight from options, which is almost always the limiting factor in a half-ton TV. Also, unless they have changed the Max Tow package description, it doesn't include tow mirrors--strangely enough, they must be spec'd and ordered separately. For reference, I have the 142" WB F150 XL SCab 4x4 3.5EB with the Max Tow. Very low option list. My GVWR is 7200#, payload is 1930#, and GCWR is 13,200#.

Yep. The max payload is actually a better option for towing travel trailers.

[Suru11]

We lived in a 30 ft 5th wheel for 9 months while building our home. It was very comfortable. We didn't think we needed such a big trailer for general camping so we sold it and bought a 20 ft travel trailer. We took quite a few long trips in that trailer and figured out it was way too small. After two years we sold it and now have a 28 ft trailer. In our experience, if you are taking trips for more than 4 days then a separate bedroom, roomy bathroom, comfortable seating and nice big windows are a must. We've been stuck inside the trailer due to inclement weather on more than one occasion in both the smaller and the larger trailer. There was a big difference being stuck inside in the larger trailer. We have a Mesa Ridge 2410RL and really like the floor plan. I know it's not a higher end trailer, but we have camped in it 76 days since we bought it last February and the only thing that has happened to it is that on our last trip the awning wouldn't extend. It's still under warranty so we have an appointment to get it fixed. My best advice is to go with a medium sized trailer and a 3/4 ton truck. Our 1/2 ton would pull the 28 footer but got terrible gas mileage and you always knew the trailer was back there. The 3/4 ton pulls like a dream.

[CanuckTim]

Originally Posted by Badjuju

Late model F150 owner here with the Max Tow option. Just to be clear, that option is merely a factory package the bundles most of the nice features for towing--trailer brake controller, 36 gal fuel tank, extra trans cooler, slightly upgraded hitch--at a discounted price. The package doesn't actually gain you any more payload or towing capacity. A pretty hard rule of thumb is that the higher optioned models have lower payloads, due to the increased weight from options, which is almost always the limiting factor in a half-ton TV. Also, unless they have changed the Max Tow package description, it doesn't include tow mirrors--strangely enough, they must be spec'd and ordered separately. For reference, I have the 142" WB F150 XL SCab 4x4 3.5EB with the Max Tow. Very low option list. My GVWR is 7200#, payload is 1930#, and GCWR is 13,200#.

Thanks juju. Based on your info I decided I would dig more deeply into the ford specs.
I found the attached document.
The truck I’m considering (after narrowing the selected TT) is
Super Crew with 6.5’ box = 157.5” WB
3.5L EB
4 x 4 with 3.55 axle
Max Tow Package (ya, the trailer mirrors don’t come with that package..crazy! So I’m adding those)
Higher end options

Based on this and looking at the chart, and if I’m reading things correctly, with the max tow package the tow capacity is 13,800#. Without the max tow package the tow capacity is 11,200#. The GCWR (with the tow package) is 19,300#

The second attachment shows payload capacity for the same configuration. Without the Heavy duty Payload Package the payload is 2,155#. With the package the payload is 2,640#

The above is, like I said, If I’m reading things correctly. Which means for me, I’ll need to read them over...and over again then ask multiple people to verify it for me before I’m comfortable that it’s correct

I’ve got some more research/understanding to do beyond this because if the
The tow capacity is 13,800
Payload is 2,155
Truck weight is 5,000
Total capacity would: 20,155
But, but, but the GCWR is only 19,300
Then I’m doing something wrong
(I’m just using these raw numbers, I know that I wouldn’t max the tow and payload weights)

[CanuckTim]

Originally Posted by Suru11

We lived in a 30 ft 5th wheel for 9 months while building our home. It was very comfortable. We didn't think we needed such a big trailer for general camping so we sold it and bought a 20 ft travel trailer. We took quite a few long trips in that trailer and figured out it was way too small. After two years we sold it and now have a 28 ft trailer. In our experience, if you are taking trips for more than 4 days then a separate bedroom, roomy bathroom, comfortable seating and nice big windows are a must. We've been stuck inside the trailer due to inclement weather on more than one occasion in both the smaller and the larger trailer. There was a big difference being stuck inside in the larger trailer. We have a Mesa Ridge 2410RL and really like the floor plan. I know it's not a higher end trailer, but we have camped in it 76 days since we bought it last February and the only thing that has happened to it is that on our last trip the awning wouldn't extend. It's still under warranty so we have an appointment to get it fixed. My best advice is to go with a medium sized trailer and a 3/4 ton truck. Our 1/2 ton would pull the 28 footer but got terrible gas mileage and you always knew the trailer was back there. The 3/4 ton pulls like a dream.

Thanks Suru. Your one sentence really stands out “....and you always knew the trailer was back there” Really something to think about. I know times when pulling a boat at night and forgetting it was there until I put the brake lights on and other times pulling something larger and definitely always knowing it was there. I certainly don’t want to be in the second situation while traveling for days across the country.

Thanks for relaying your experiences between the 20’ and 30’ trailer.

How many people were with you in the trailer?

[JIMNLIN]

Expanding on Badzuzu excellent advice about Fords IMO mis named "Max Tow package".
Tow means carrying weight .....and pulling weight.

Fords F150 has many different gvwr/gawr packages. Of course the 3.5 Ecoboost will pull anything in F150 tow ratings. No problems with pulling your castle on wheels.
I'm focusing on load carrying ability which the truck gawrs control.
https://madocumentupload.marketingas...19351&v5=False

F150HDPP... 7850 gvwr...4800 rawr...around 2500 lb payload on the rear axle.

F150...7350 gvwr...4150 rawr... around 1800 lbs rear axle payload.

F150...7050 gvwr... 4050 rawr...around 1600 lb rear axle payload.

F150...6800 gvwr... 3800 rawr... around 1450 lb rear axle payload.

F150...6400 gvwr... 3400 rawr... not much maybe 1000-1100 lbs.

Most of these trucks may have the "Max Tow" option which is a very good option but it fools many new folks thinking the truck can tow the max.

Looks like your F150 selection comes in two gvwr...rawr packages. The 7850 gvwr...4800 rawr or the 7100 gvwr...4050 rawr...both rawr numbers should carry the load .

All payloads I gave are a estimate as actual payload will depend on the truck actual scaled axle weights. First thing I do when buying a truck is drop be a set of CAT scales for front and rear axle weights. This tells me how much actual payload the truck can carry on the rear and on the front.

[Suru11]

Originally Posted by CanuckTim

Thanks Suru. Your one sentence really stands out “....and you always knew the trailer was back there” Really something to think about. I know times when pulling a boat at night and forgetting it was there until I put the brake lights on and other times pulling something larger and definitely always knowing it was there. I certainly don’t want to be in the second situation while traveling for days across the country.

Thanks for relaying your experiences between the 20’ and 30’ trailer.

How many people were with you in the trailer?

There are two of us.