New Tow Vehicle

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
I

ip076

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 11, 2017
Posts
139
Well, I picked up my tow vehicle a few weeks back, still looking for the right fifth wheel, but at least got the tow vehicle now!

See the attached pics, but it's a 2017 Chevy 3500HD Duramax. 

I added some steps during purchase, and I've just order the full Weather Tech floor liners. 

I'm looking to add the hitch shortly, allowing me to pull the trigger on the right RV when I find it.  I'm looking at installing a gooseneck ball with the Andersen Ultimate 5th Wheel hitch (and doing a spray in bed liner).  Any thoughts on that?

I had to do a dealer swap to find the right rig, and it came with a few things I probably wouldn't have otherwise ordered.  One item it came with was a second alternator.  It's got the standard 150amp alternator, and a second 220amp alternator.  I'm curious, is there any way to take advantage of the extra power source in the RV world?  Is there a harness that will allow me to more than trickle charge the RV battery while going down the road?

There anything else I should consider doing to the truck right off the bat?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3117.JPG
    IMG_3117.JPG
    61.1 KB · Views: 35
  • IMG_3118.JPG
    IMG_3118.JPG
    61.3 KB · Views: 27
  • IMG_3119.JPG
    IMG_3119.JPG
    59.7 KB · Views: 29
  • IMG_3120.JPG
    IMG_3120.JPG
    69.8 KB · Views: 41
I don't know anything about the Anderson hitch. We had the B&W turn-over ball installed and bought the B&W Companion fifth-wheel hitch. Loved it! Just pull the ball out and drop the hitch in. Lock it, tighten one bolt and you were ready to go.
 
NICE TRUCK!

My truck came with factory equivalent Weather Tech floor mats.  I never notice they are not carpet except when time to clean.  Then they are GREAT!!

Mine came with the gooseneck setup, and I fully intend to go with the Andersen Ultimate.  I have only seen one bad review from someone who claimed to own one.

The one thing I may still add is a "ladder" to access the bed and folds onto the tailgate.
 
Thanks!

Mine didn't come with the goose neck prep, I'll be adding that shortly.  I'm 99% certain I'll go with the Andersen, seems to be a lot of good reviews written about them.  The B&W Companion looks like a good deal too.  The Andersen seems lighter and easier to remove, but I doubt you could go wrong with either. 

You're right, the bed is pretty high, I can see a nice ladder being handy. 

I'm still curious about ideas of what to do with the extra power generation capability the additional alternator provides.  Seems like a waste not to do anything with it, but I guess at a minimum it's at least a redundant system. 
 
With the second alternator, your truck may also have an inverter installed in it. If not you may be able to add one easily. They come in pretty handy in the boonies.
 
kdbgoat said:
With the second alternator, your truck may also have an inverter installed in it. If not you may be able to add one easily. They come in pretty handy in the boonies.
Click to expand...

We have the 2016 GMC equivalent of this truck (except 2500 instead of 3500) and it definitely has an inverter. In the pic of the inside of the cab, the far right connector cover in the console is the 110V plug. It sure comes in handy. We've been using it to charge our cell phones.
 
Nice looking rig...and good brand choice.  ;D

ip076 said:
I'm looking to add the hitch shortly, allowing me to pull the trigger on the right RV when I find it.  I'm looking at installing a gooseneck ball with the Andersen Ultimate 5th Wheel hitch (and doing a spray in bed liner).  Any thoughts on that?
Click to expand...


I had the LineX liner spayed in my truck when I bought it new. I'm very happy with it. It has sustained a few gouges over the years but nothing substantial.


We bought our 5th wheel late in 2015 and it was not going to be delivered until April 2016 so I had all winter to shop for a hitch. I wanted a rail-free bed so I went with a gooseneck in the bed and decided on the Andersen Ultimate Aluminum. I went with the Andersen partly due to its unique nature but mainly for the weight advantage. I wanted to save as much weight as possible on the truck and we are "campers" so I would be removing the hitch after every trip. 37 lbs goes in and out of the bed effortlessly and hangs on my garage wall when not in use. I do not have any "traditional" 5th wheel towing experience so I cannot directly compare but the ride of the Andersen is as smooth as can be. No chucking/bucking back and forth. I love it.
 
Joezeppy,

I'm very happy with the truck.  I've had it four weeks now, and since I've been out of town for a good bit since then, I haven't even had to top off the tank yet!  I've only put about 400 miles on it...I made the first payment yesterday, don't do the $/mile for acquisition cost calculation!!!

I'm definitely doing the bed liner.  Every truck I've owned has had them, loved it. 

Thanks for the feedback about the Andersen.  Just curious, do you have any sort of cover for your truck bed?  Like a roll-up one that you can have rolled up while towing, but then provides security when not hooked up to the RV?

For the others, it definitely has the inverter installed, though I haven't used it yet.  I was more curious if there wasn't a way to supply more of a charge to the RV batts while traveling down the road.  I think most setups only trickle charge the RV battery, it might be nice to be able to do a little more than that. 
 
Hammster said:
We have the 2016 GMC equivalent of this truck (except 2500 instead of 3500) and it definitely has an inverter. In the pic of the inside of the cab, the far right connector cover in the console is the 110V plug. It sure comes in handy. We've been using it to charge our cell phones.
Click to expand...

Just curious, why not use the provided USB?  I think the power output is probably the same as  your block charger, usually 1.0a or 2.1a.  I guess it keeps it away from being connected to the in-dash system by doing what you're doing, that could be useful.  I ask because you're not the first person I've heard this from, and I think I'm missing something. 
 
ip076 said:
Just curious, why not use the provided USB?  I think the power output is probably the same as  your block charger, usually 1.0a or 2.1a.  I guess it keeps it away from being connected to the in-dash system by doing what you're doing, that could be useful.  I ask because you're not the first person I've heard this from, and I think I'm missing something.
Click to expand...

You're probably not missing anything. Since we do a lot of driving in the truck, including overnight trips to visit family, we keep an entire charging system for the phones in the truck at all times. The USB cable and 110V adapter for the USB cable. That way we have either/both available. One less thing to think about packing.
 
All HD trucks have a wire carrying 12VDC to the 7 wire harness for the camper.  On some models, a fuse is needed or a wire connected to complete the circuit.  Others smarter than me can tell you what is needed on your truck. 

This will charge the RV batteries and supply any other 12VDC power as long as the RV is plugged into the camper.  A larger gauge wire may be needed for greatest benefit.  WARNING!!  This can (will) also drain the truck battery if left plugged in while camping!
 
ip076 said:
Thanks for the feedback about the Andersen.  Just curious, do you have any sort of cover for your truck bed?  Like a roll-up one that you can have rolled up while towing, but then provides security when not hooked up to the RV?
Click to expand...


I have a roll up soft tonneau. I will probably go for a tri-fold the next time around. The soft roll up is a PITA to roll up by myself.
 
I have the BakFlip G2 on mine.  It has been really great.  It keeps the weather out, mostly (it's not totally waterproof), was fairly easy to install, folds up to expose almost the entire bed (though it does lay against the back window, but not a big deal to me), and I don't have to fold it all the way when I hitch my 5th wheel.  It has been the better of the bed covers I've had.  It does dent fairly easy, but again, not a big deal for me.  I would definitely recommend it.  Or whatever the newer model may be.
 
Nice looking truck. That should tow anything you have very well.
 
Curious why you didn't get the dually. Is there an advantage to the model you got, other than price?
 
DWJoyce said:
Curious why you didn't get the dually. Is there an advantage to the model you got, other than price?
Click to expand...

It really came down to personal preference.  It's going to be my only vehicle while full-timing for a few years, and I didn't like the extra length and width.  Also, I did a lot of research into the size of RV I was looking around at, and the SRW would tow anything I was considering  (just bought a 16 Bighorn 3270).  I had a lot of folks tell me to go with the 3/4 ton (folks who don't know jack by the way), so that's where I started...but it made absolutely no sense to do that over the 3500 considering the minimal difference in price.   
 
ip076 said:
It really came down to personal preference.  It's going to be my only vehicle while full-timing for a few years, and I didn't like the extra length and width.  Also, I did a lot of research into the size of RV I was looking around at, and the SRW would tow anything I was considering  (just bought a 16 Bighorn 3270).  I had a lot of folks tell me to go with the 3/4 ton (folks who don't know jack by the way), so that's where I started...but it made absolutely no sense to do that over the 3500 considering the minimal difference in price. 
Click to expand...

VERY SMART CHOICE!!
 
ip076 said:
It really came down to personal preference.  ... snip... minimal difference in price. 
Click to expand...

Refreshing to see someone who does their homework! Thanks
 
Thanks for the positive feedback regarding my decisions. Nice to know I'm thinking straight. My day job is all about legally and safely operating complex equipment,so that's kind of transferred over into my truck and RV purchase.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,139 (members: 26, guests: 1,113)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,933
Posts
1,387,732
Members
137,683
Latest member
chaderic
Back
Top Bottom