a couple of newbie questions...

[mookiebones]

Today, whilst taking my son to school, I noticed a ford f450.  I was unaware of these trucks, and since I am most likely going to try to get the most powerful truck I can afford for towing my eventual 5er, I was wondering if anybody had one of these, or is it crazy to get one of these things... ??? :-\ :-\ ????

Second, I like the layout of the coachmen chapperall and wyoming, the largest that they carry as it has 1.5 bathrooms.  Are there any other manufacturers that sell 5ers with 1.5 bathrooms besides coachmen???

Third, is coachmen a "good" brand for potentially full timing, and if not, which manufacturers should I avoid/gravitate towards???

-Adrienne

 

[Carl L]

Today, whilst taking my son to school, I noticed a ford f450.  I was unaware of these trucks, and since I am most likely going to try to get the most powerful truck I can afford for towing my eventual 5er, I was wondering if anybody had one of these, or is it crazy to get one of these things...

Believe it or not, there are 5th wheels that are too big even for a F450.  The really big ones move you out of the pickup class entirely and into the medium duty truck universe of Volvos, Peterbuilts, and Macks.    The best advice I can give is nail down your trailer first.  Take its gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and find a truck with a tow rating that is 10% more -- 20% more if you plan on towing in the mountain and Pacfic west.

Trailer first, truck second.

 

[mookiebones]

Hey, Carl, You rock...you make everything seem soo clear...I wish I had half the brains as you did. ;D ;D

Okay, so trailers, which ones do I steer clear of, which ones are umkay ??? ??????

-Adrienne

 

[Carl L]

Okay, so trailers, which ones do I steer clear of, which ones are umkay

Darned if I know.  There is a big dividing line you still have to clarify:  are you going for vacation use, or do you plan to live in it full time or at least months on end?  If the latter, you want a trailer that its mfr will warrant it for full time use.

Full time units are heavier (and require ae bigger tow vehicle) and more expensive. 

 

[mookiebones]

we want to do full timing, unless we hate it, but I doubt that will happen. I prefer the 5ers that have the 1.5 bathrooms and the bunks, which limits what manufacters we go with, as not all of them have these options.  If we are going to fulltime for any length of time, it is important to me that my son has a space to call his own, as do we.

So which ones have these features that you would reccomend ;D???  hmmm.....

-Adrienne

 

[Carl L]

The ones you like.  OK that is no satisfaction, but it is true.

First of all, I am vacation trailer trash.  Look at my liddle unit.

Secondly, and this is my standard mantra, a trailer is a simple thing.  It is merely a  box sitting on 1 to 3 dead axles and a simple ladder frame.  It is filled with all sorts of appliances and electronics that are all made by the same small number of manufacturers:  Dometic, Coleman, Suburban, Atwood, etc..  Each of those appliances carries its own warranties and if they fail, you deal with them not the trailer manufacturer. 

In short, with a trailer, what you see is what you get.  Cabinetry, flloor plan, and mfr warranty limitations are what count.

Shop, shop, shop.  Visit every show, and read all the messages in the trailer and newbie sections of this forum.  When you get done, you will know more about your choice than anyone else.

Oh, yes.  Never believe anything that an RV salesman says.  ;D

 

[mookiebones]

okay, what manufacturers of appliances/electronics have there been serious problems with, either in customer service, or just being faulty???

Next newbie question:  What is the difference between a campground and a rv park?  Is it just verbage? 

-Adrienne

 

[Carl L]

okay, what manufacturers of appliances/electronics have there been serious problems with, either in customer service, or just being faulty???

Next newbie question: What is the difference between a campground and a rv park? Is it just verbage?

-

1.  All of them. No I lie.  Actually there seem to be very few problems and most of those are handled by warranties.  My stuff has generally gone 10 years.  The only issue was replacement of a water heater valving unit.  I did that myself.

2.  You forgot the RV Resort.  CGs are cheaper than parks which are cheaper than resorts.  No rule, that is just the way it seems to work out.  When you call yourself a resort, you have pretensions.

 

[mookiebones]

ahh, the RV resort.  They would hate me there considering I dress in sweatpants all the time, and t-shirts!  hahaha, no fancy clothes/stuff for me.

How long do the typical warranties last for???


So, Carl, what are your favorite rv campgrounds, parks AND resorts??

-Adrienne

 

[Carl L]

Most of my venues are in the US SW.  Palm Canyon in Borrego Springs, CA;  Flying Flags in Buellton, CA;  Lake Cachuma in Sta. Ynez, CA;  Thousand Lake in Torrey, UT; Highlands in Bishop, CA.

 

[mookiebones]

wow, you have been a lot of places...you should write a book about your experiences.  I had a LOVELY experience last night...here is a kennel story:

two wolf hybrids come in for boarding (who the heck owns wolf dogs, anyways?? ???) and during the night (2 am) the male (120 lbs) breaks out of the run, actually lifted the entire gate off its hinges.  We had a different dog who was a barker that we had to move from kennel a to kennel b (where the wolf dogs were staying) when we discovered that the male is out.  My husband is terrified of these dogs as they are not "normal" behaviorally speaking.  So, I get to lasso the dog with a catchpole and get it back in the run.  Yeah, the owner is getting called today to pick up his dogs, because there is no way we can care for essentailly wild dogs.  and this guy is breeding them too.  I don't get people.  I am forced to deal with idiots all the time.  I want to drop everything and hit the road, but that is going to have to wait for a bit.

anyhoo,

-Adrienne

 

[BruceinFL]

Yes, there is a Ford F-450 and also an F-550. Also an F-650. I was looking at a brochure when I was at the dealer having some work done on my F-350. I noticed in the brochure that there was a choice of engines (Navistar/Ford, Cummins, CAT) and also a choice of transmissions. Sure wish that choice was available on the F250 and F350 although I am very happy with my 6.0 diesel and the Tow Haul option for the engine/transmission.

 

[mookiebones]

I looked at fords website, and saw the other trucks there.  They seemed to be geared towards more commercial applications, not for the rv'er.  They didn't seem to have a body on the backend, which I thought was weird.  The cost was around 40K, for a new one, which is quite a big chunk of change.  I will probably get a used one, diesil, but don't need a ton of "creature comforts".

-Adrienne