Community Forums

TheOldMan76 · 01-13-2016, 06:25 AM

Target date to embark is late May to June 1st. Trip planned is Fl to Yellowstone
Midwest route, back a little further south. 1985 Aspenlite25 & 2000 F350 w/180K on the clock. I think I have everything in good shape, still have to repack wheel bearings and check brake shoes on 5er, but that will happen soon. Have 6kw Honda RV genny almost installed on rear carrier, along w/ gas grille in a box & big ice chest. Any suggestions on what I should be looking at with this older setup? Open to all suggestions

Old-Biscuit · 01-13-2016, 01:41 PM

Tires.............
If older than 5 yrs DOT stamped date replace with a good set on 5vr

77Travco · 01-13-2016, 02:28 PM

Double check your roof and windows for leaks before you take that trip. You won't want to have to re-seal windows, etc during your trip.

Nana25K · 01-13-2016, 04:08 PM

Are you sure your weight added to the rear of your RV isn't overloading it??

georgew48 · 01-13-2016, 04:25 PM

Get a good roadside service, Good Sam or Coachnet are bot good. Towing an RV can get real expensive fast if you should need it. Cheap insurance.

palehorse89 · 01-13-2016, 04:35 PM

New tires and clean and re-pack the wheel bearings, new seals, is the most important items that will keep you on the road, instead of along it.........

ronspradley · 01-13-2016, 04:47 PM

Weigh truck and trailer loaded and ready for travel. Make sure you are not over-weight somewhere. Have a great trip.

ronspradley

TheOldMan76 · 01-14-2016, 05:18 AM

Installed 4 new ST 10 ply tires, have resealed roof and when it warms up a little, give it another coat of sealant paint. Pulled and resealed part of the windows, waiting for warm weather to do the rest. Regarding the added weight, The genny only weighs 270# The grill and it's box, probably 35. The biggest weight is probably the ice chest when it's full. I don't have any idea what the 5th wheel is rated at weight wise, but I'm sure the F350 Dually won't be over gross with a 25' fifth wheel. As soon as I get the genny fully installed, I'll hit the weigh station, I am concerned with pin weight with added weight cantilevered that far back. Just have to check it and see.

Jigger · 01-16-2016, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheOldMan76

Target date to embark is late May to June 1st. Trip planned is Fl to Yellowstone
Midwest route, back a little further south. 1985 Aspenlite25 & 2000 F350 w/180K on the clock. I think I have everything in good shape, still have to repack wheel bearings and check brake shoes on 5er, but that will happen soon. Have 6kw Honda RV genny almost installed on rear carrier, along w/ gas grille in a box & big ice chest. Any suggestions on what I should be looking at with this older setup? Open to all suggestions

...........Before you leave, be sure and check your leaf spring packs for hairline cracks !!! IN fact you might consider adding those dexter center pivot arms with the hard rubber shock absorber . Also , consider adding greasable , heavy duty hangers that come in a kit from dexter . IF , your center to center axle measurement is 33 inches your leaf spring packs should be 25 and 1\4 inches , eye to eye . New Leaf spring packs are usually less that $50 a piece so you might want to just have a new set installed before you leave for your trip. Cheap insurance in my opinion . , santex

rbpower · 01-17-2016, 06:04 AM

like others have said AAA RV membership and a spare tire for truck and trailer... have fun. that trip is on my list also

IC2 · 01-17-2016, 07:08 AM

That 270 pound (and probably ++ with the bracket) genset hung out the back side would concern me most of all as it's on a big lever arm on the weakest part of a trailer. While an '85 5er is most likely built heavier then today's RVs, that is not an inconsiderable add-on. A couple of golf cart deep cycle batteries, an inverter plus a solar panel or two might 'fix' the weight more centrally along while giving you 110VAC for whatever you need.

Without trying to be offensive, why in the world do you need the big genset and a large ice chest plus a grill? You have charging means with your truck or any CG hookup, a reefer and a stove in the 5er. If you feel the need for a grill, Coleman makes many small but very nice units. Then that genset - why so big? I have a 3500 watt Boliy inverter type that weighs in at about 80 pounds full of gas and runs as well as the much more expensive Hondas.

It is all your choice, of course, and I hope you enjoy your trip as we did an 8300 mile western swing last fall including Yellowstone - and are planning another couple long ones for this year

TheOldMan76 · 01-19-2016, 05:22 AM

The carrier on the back of the camper was installed by one of the POs. My son is a welder fabricator, and looked it over, and how it was attached and said it would be there "forever". We calculated (SWAG) the added weight including the genset, battery, gas tank & grille was about 500#. We installed the genset and built the exhaust system yesterday. I want to cold galv the exhaust prior to install, may do that today, but it's pretty cold, 37 today here in N. Fl., so probably time to hibernate. If it warms up a little, should have everything mounted, and then to the CAT scales and see what pin wt etc., is. Son & DW convinced me to move the ice chest to the p/u bed, so that moved some wt.
The reason for the large genset: It's a Honda EV6010 complete with aluminum enclosure. I think this is one of the better RV gensets ever built, and I bartered for it, and refurbed it. I have less than $400 in it. As for the grille, it was a $99 Christmas special at HD. Built a plywood box to keep it out of the weather, so the whole thing probably doesn't weight 50#. We'll see what the CAT scales tell us.

Dmorgan6375 · 01-20-2016, 08:36 AM

We have had two 5er's in the past and the biggest issue was adding weight in the back cause more bounce than anything else. After several people along the highway had brought it to our attention, we stopped and relocated the added weight to the middle of the 5er and no more bounce. As for the genny, I (my Opinion) would mount it in the back of the truck as to steer clear of anyone wanting to own worse than me. Most 5ers power cord would reach to the truck with out any troubles and you can chain it to the hitch with a lock so no one can help them selves to your power supply. Now this is from my past exp. and my opinions, Either way, have a blast and don't rush for anyone, take your time and smell the Roses and/or Coffee!

TheOldMan76 · 01-20-2016, 02:18 PM

My son showed up yesterday and suggested we pull all the wheels and check brakes and bearings, since he had the day off. Found the brake shoes to be pretty thin, the pucks had a lot of wear, and 2 bad bearings. One was very rough (outer) & the other out of it's cage (inner) not on the same wheel. Ordered all new brake assys (self adjusters) from etrailer and got the brgs & seals from local NAPA. As soon as the pkg gets here from etrailer, we'll put it back together and finish the genset. Before I go much further with that, I'm gonna tow it about 40 miles to the CAT scale, see how it tows, bounces etc., and what pin weight is. I'd like to hard wire it in and build a remote start so I can be lazy.