My buddy paid somebody to drive it from Indiana, I forgot what he paid.
Campers
- Thread starter johnbryanpeters
- Start date
That was my exact thought.
it looks awesome. But if you can get a duel axle, they tow so much better. if not use a sway control device.
Really wanted a dual axle, but all of them seem to be about 1k pounds heavier than I want to tow with the Taco. They've got a dual axle that's a foot longer and has a better lay-out for the "dining" area in the garage, but it's about the same weight dry as the 18 is loaded. Trying to avoid buying a bigger truck if I can, and anything over 5k lbs is honestly just too much for the Taco, despite it's 7k lb tow rating. Toyota must have decided on that number somewhere very flat, the idea of towing near max to the in-laws place in Co sounds awful to me.
Weight distributing hitch is on the list for sure, probably air bags too to try and keep the ride height a little closer to level.
all of them?
Yea...maybe you won't need it, but you are going to want a bigger truck. I towed a 3,600 lb dry camper through CO with my 2015 Taco and it struggled big time with elevation changes. That and it didn't have enough brakes to make me feel like I could safely control the load; there was much downshifting involved to keep my speed in check.
Get your hands on the Torque Pro app and an OBD Bluetooth dongle so you can watch transmission fluid temps. Mine got uncomfortably high.
And that is exactly why I have the rig that I do. Folks say my truck can pull that much. I say can it stop it? My Truck and camper come in at 13,000 pounds then if you add in the horse trailer at close to 7000 loaded. That Diesel F350 dually sure was nice going up and down the grades on I80 in going from CA to KY and back
That's the truth of it. Having a big diesel truck made hauling our camper a pleasure. We had no trouble doing 65 up to the Eisenhower tunnel with the air conditioning on. Just like we had no trouble coming down Heckman Pass in BC in a snow storm. Cant say I would have had that same level of comfort in a lesser truck.
will You keep the truck longer than the camper? If you can buy your third camper first. But I feel ya, a big box is worse than a car hauler.
The problem is that this quickly goes from a $22k purchase, to a $100k+ one because I can tow the small trailer with a big truck, but not the other way around. So potential "3rd" trailer means new truck, and anything with a decent interior and 4 wheel drive costs eleventy-million dollars these days. I can also fit the trailer on my driveway, if I went with a bigger truck, and a bigger trailer, now I'm looking at storage fees, plus the monthly payment on the truck and trailer, since we're now way out of "pay cash" territory, it all snowballs pretty quickly.
I bought my first diesel after killing my poor Toyota just hauling the harbor freight trailer with 2 quads on it.
We went back and forth over diesel truck +trailer or smaller trailer. Of course the DIY diesel motorhome has been perfect.
I drove the wife's car with the dogs back and she is staying in Frita until I come back Saturday. Frita has not only been a joy on vacation, but has been a lifesaver by giving the wife her own space and a functional bathroom since there isn't one in the house.
I love it when a plan comes together. Decide Sunday that I need new batteries for the camper. Placed an order with Battery Guys in Phoenix Sunday night. They processed and shipped my batteries free via FedEx. They arrived at noon today and it only took 30 minutes to swap out and hook everything up
$650.00 for two Lifeline group 31 AGM Batteries (20 hour rating of 105 AH each) delivered. I head out to work a horse show this weekend then Ruth heads out Wednesday to compete for two weeks in Southern California
$650.00 for two Lifeline group 31 AGM Batteries (20 hour rating of 105 AH each) delivered. I head out to work a horse show this weekend then Ruth heads out Wednesday to compete for two weeks in Southern California
The wife said last night that being in Frita was the next best thing to being home. Makes the work so worth it.
it's soooo close to being "done" but yet there is still a lot to do.
Did I mention I hate this fucking flooring? I should have done peel and stick.
it's soooo close to being "done" but yet there is still a lot to do.
Did I mention I hate this fucking flooring? I should have done peel and stick.
my neighbor stoped by to look at a model a fender. He showed up in this, says it was bought in Germany and toured Europe and brought home. Neighbor bought and did a few things. He says he’s never camped in it. He has a big car collection, drives something different everyday and honks when he goes by my house.
^^^ never camped in it...such a waste
I have put 55,000 miles on the dually since I bough it used in 2015 and almost all of those miles have had the camper in the bed. Since I bought the Camper in 2010 we have averaged over 80 nights a year in it. The camper was two years old and had an original MSRP of 38k I got it for 20K cash. The truck was 79k new in 2011 I got it for 38k in 2015. I'm in it tonight as a matter of fact.
I have put 55,000 miles on the dually since I bough it used in 2015 and almost all of those miles have had the camper in the bed. Since I bought the Camper in 2010 we have averaged over 80 nights a year in it. The camper was two years old and had an original MSRP of 38k I got it for 20K cash. The truck was 79k new in 2011 I got it for 38k in 2015. I'm in it tonight as a matter of fact.
2wd. Which I'm cool with. Anything I need 4wd for I don't think I want to drive a van on haha
Funny, similar numbers: We've put over 75K on our Sprinter since we bought it used in 2015. It had 14K on it when I bought it. I don't know how many nights/year but +/- 80 is probably about right, if on the low side. Definitely getting my money's worth!
And JD, yes, when we're in the van our house is turbocharged!
I have to say the week at the FIL made it all seem worth it. It was a real wife saver.
My batteries seemed to discharge quickly and a little more than I would have expected and I need to play the the heater controls Abit more. But it got down to 45 and it stayed 72+ in the truck the whole time.
My batteries seemed to discharge quickly and a little more than I would have expected and I need to play the the heater controls Abit more. But it got down to 45 and it stayed 72+ in the truck the whole time.
72? hell I would be sweating. I rarely heat the camper or my house above 66 and I drop it down to 55 at night
I tried to set it to 65, but it didn't get bellow 72. Did I mention I needed to mess with the settings?
The tiny toy hauler idea fell apart when we saw the inside, way to Spartan for my wife, and the only dealer around with o e were jerks.
This puppy followed me home yesterday, Apex Nano 194, things pretty cherry, and fits on the driveway with at least 7” to spare
I’m calling the camper hunt done for now
This puppy followed me home yesterday, Apex Nano 194, things pretty cherry, and fits on the driveway with at least 7” to spare
I’m calling the camper hunt done for now
^^^ looks like it comes with one 100 watt solar panel. bump it up to at least 200 Watts. What size. type and how many batteries do you have in it?
Going to give my wallet a couple weeks to recover, before getting into the electrical, but that's the plan. It's got their "off grip" package, hence the 100w panel, but it's not quite a real off grid set-up. Currently has a single deep cycle lead acid battery, forget what A/H it is, but it's what it came with, so probably cheap and small. Need to sort out how I want to go about things, the fridge is 110/LPG, and the fridge in the outdoor kitchen is 110v only so I need an inverter in there somewhere to run those off the batteries.
First order of business is figuring out insulation or a heater for the fresh water tank, between LPG and my generator I should be good for our Thanksgiving trip, and we're planning on just staying in RV parks with hook-ups for our Christmas Co trip, except the couple days we'll e at the in-law's house, so power shouldn't be an issue. I am however worried about ending up with a 47 gallon block of ice where the fresh water tank is supposed to be.
I see a lp water heater and a furnace vent on the side of that thing. Propane is cheap and everywhere and packed full of power. Two tanks can last a while.
Yeah, pretty much figured it out late last night. The shower has a water-miser, so I can literally just dump hot water back in to the fresh tank, I imagine that'll go a long way toward preventing freezing. Bit of pipe insulation on the line from the tank to the pump, and maybe some around the tank itself and I should be solid. Every gas station has exchange tanks, worst case I can carry a spare if we'll be in one spot for a while. I can buy a lot of propane for the cost of tank heating pads.
Buying propane in exchange tanks is roughly 2x the cost of a refill - you only receive a half full tank.
The half full thing your experience? Or is that a widespread thing? I was always under the impression that they fill to 80% and call it good.
Our camper had horizontal tanks and I had to pull them in and out every time I wanted to refill. 2 x 20 lb tanks would usually last anywhere from 7 to 14 days, running the cooktop, fridge, and heater.
There are also bigger propane tanks. I would imagine heating the trailer itself would keep the lines and tank from freezing. Maybe open some of the cabinet doors. Run that heater before you go with the windows open. Otherwise the dust and newness will set off the co detector and annoy the shit out of you.
Definitely a lot of airing out to do, new trailers smell like hell.
On the propane tanks, yeah, probably better to take them to be refilled rather than exchanged, but this being Ca, there's virtually nowhere that'll fill for walk-ins. Point is, like Junkyard said, it's easy to find, and even at gas station exchange prices pretty cheap.
On the propane tanks, yeah, probably better to take them to be refilled rather than exchanged, but this being Ca, there's virtually nowhere that'll fill for walk-ins. Point is, like Junkyard said, it's easy to find, and even at gas station exchange prices pretty cheap.
I think JBP mentions services like Blue rhino, a tank exchange. Yeah they suck.
Yup.