The all encompassing RV thread

[troph 25,128]

In all seriousness, google issues with the truck. You will find all sorts of things that you can and cannot live with. From purely a spectator perspective, my fil has one and it is over 600k miles and he only drive that despite having several newer vehicles to drive. It is falling apart inside but if you are industrious, they are all weekend fixes. He just doesn't care.

I did and found a site with a bunch of reviews. 4.6 stars out of 5 from those who’ve owned them. Goddamned cult.

[Pato del Muerto 53,420]

You said dual rear wheel, right?  My experience taking those through the automated car wash, you have about 2 inches of clearance on each panel back there. 

[utee94 16,078]

11 hours ago, Texaus said:

I’ve sold mine and don’t plan on another until kids are gone. Kids actually interfered with our usage and we just stopped doing it once they got older.

 

Man, that's too bad.  My kids absolutely love camping, and they love the camper.  Ever since The Coronas, we've had to cancel a couple of weekend trips that were planned to state parks, and so a few weeks ago they insisted that I go grab the trailer, park on the street alongside our house's corner lot, and do a stay-at-home camping night.  I even grabbed my little Weber charcoal grill and put it on the sidewalk, where we cooked our dinner and then roasted some s'mores afterward.  They loved it, we'll probably do it again this weekend for Memorial Day since we don't have reservations anywhere already.

 

 

[troph 25,128]

You said dual rear wheel, right?  My experience taking those through the automated car wash, you have about 2 inches of clearance on each panel back there. 

Not a dually, kinda wished it was.

[Texaus 389]

Hope you get that 7.3! Really are cool trucks to own. Nothing like that diesel rattle when you start it up. You cannot but that anymore new. Keep it and baby it.

good diesel shop is Malone Diesel in dripping springs.

[troph 25,128]

Just agreed on price. Picking it up tomorrow evening!

[Texaus 389]

Man, that's too bad.  My kids absolutely love camping, and they love the camper.  Ever since The Coronas, we've had to cancel a couple of weekend trips that were planned to state parks, and so a few weeks ago they insisted that I go grab the trailer, park on the street alongside our house's corner lot, and do a stay-at-home camping night.  I even grabbed my little Weber charcoal grill and put it on the sidewalk, where we cooked our dinner and then roasted some s'mores afterward.  They loved it, we'll probably do it again this weekend for Memorial Day since we don't have reservations anywhere already.
 
 

I say kids, but really just my teenage son. He prefers hanging with his buds and just grumbles the whole weekend we were away. I kinda got tired of the hassle too. Prefer boating and getting back home at night. We never did long trips, just parks around Texas for the weekends. Toward the end, I just kept it at coast most of the time and would drive down to it to get away, that was actually pretty nice.

I’m going motor coach and enclosed trailer for corvette once kids are gone.

[fattyflattie 4,640]

2 hours ago, troph said:

Just agreed on price. Picking it up tomorrow evening!

Just remember, clean oil (a lot of it), clean fuel, and fresh fuel filters and it will take care of you. Someone mentioned the batteries upthread, it’s absolutely a 2 battery deal. I can’t even get my baby Dmax to crank off 1 unless it’s brand spanking new (has actually happened once).   And maybe one of the 7.3 owners here @G650 can verify but I believe it’s the crank position sensor that goes out (semi-often). Anyhow it’s like a 5 min fix but I put a bunch of them in a fleet I used to maintain a few decades ago.   
 

wrt fixing little stuff each year just to keep up, as discussed 1) brakes 2) anything you can do to help keep the trans cooler, larger cooler etc   One thing that would help keep the batteries up and easier on everything is fresh glow plugs. They are cheap and it’s easy work. Just makes starting easier.   Keep in mind also, you are going to want to let the truck idle down for a bit when you stop, especially after pulling.  Little things like that help diesels (and other turbo’d things) stay healthy much longer. 
 

Any thoughts on which 5th wheel you are going to get? 

[HOOKEM4 5,154]

I feel like I get some credit here. I called this truck from day one in the boat thread. Congrats.

[HOOKEM4 5,154]

1 hour ago, fattyflattie said:

 

Any thoughts on which 5th wheel you are going to get? 

I feel like you havent followed this thread from the first post. 

[fattyflattie 4,640]

Just now, HOOKEM4 said:

I feel like you havent followed this thread from the first post. 

The hitch. 

[HOOKEM4 5,154]

Fair enough. What do you recommend?

[fattyflattie 4,640]

11 minutes ago, HOOKEM4 said:

Fair enough. What do you recommend?

Well, I don’t think they’ll need the versatility of both a ball and 5th, so the BW companion is out. That’s the only one that ever made sense to me, so that’s as far as I’ve researched it, tbh.   If the truck is a shortbed, I’d recommend a slider. While not essential, they can be helpful.  I’m going to have to bow out of this recommendation. 

[Pato del Muerto 53,420]

37 minutes ago, HOOKEM4 said:

Fair enough. What do you recommend?

 

tongue weight of 2k?  Nbd. 

Edited May 19, 2020 by Pato del Muerto

[troph 25,128]

Dealer wants to install a Blue Ox.

 

 

I think the hitch is a slider if I’m thinking and saying it right. Original buyer upgraded the OEM.

[davidg 4,057]

7 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Well, I don’t think they’ll need the versatility of both a ball and 5th,

troph's gonna have to have a way to haul the sand rail, the buggy's and a couple of 4 wheelers.  That's at least a 30' gooseneck right there.  Better get one that can handle both, you know, for future expansion.

[troph 25,128]

Has a gooseneck hitch already.

[troph 25,128]

Btw thanks to [mention]Pato del Muerto [/mention] [mention]HOOKEM4 [/mention] [mention]fattyflattie [/mention] [mention]Texaus [/mention] [mention]Mother mopar [/mention] [mention]austingirl [/mention] and my boat fanatic homies and I’m sure a few others for the help on the truck. I don’t know shit about this stuff and it’s pretty damn overwhelming at times. Gf is pretty good and more comfortable with the research but she likes the input too as she’s no expert either. Without y’all we would have stalled on the side of the mountain or blown up a 6.0L Ford we got on the cheap.

[utee94 16,078]

1 minute ago, troph said:

Btw thanks to [mention]Pato del Muerto [/mention] [mention]HOOKEM4 [/mention] [mention]fattyflattie [/mention] [mention]Texaus [/mention] [mention]Mother mopar [/mention] [mention]austingirl [/mention] and my boat fanatic homies and I’m sure a few others for the help on the truck. I don’t know shit about this stuff and it’s pretty damn overwhelming at times. Gf is pretty good and more comfortable with the research but she likes the input too as she’s no expert either. Without y’all we would have stalled on the side of the mountain or blown up a 6.0L Ford we got on the cheap.

There's also a specific truck thread where you might find some other general info.  A few knowledgeable folks on that thread don't seem to have posted here, at least not yet.

 

[troph 25,128]

I’ll check it out. Btw I saw “nuts” on that title and assumed it was about dangling blue balls from the back bumper and have avoided it from the get go.

 

Was supposed to be about the RV/5th wheel but we took a side trip on the trucks. Back to the RV soon I’m sure.

 

This catalog is monstrous.

 

 

[Texaus 389]

Here was my 34’ bumper pull before I sold it.

[Don Johnson 4,846]

Hit up Eric and Jay's RV Resort in Houston

http://www.ericandjaysrvresort.com/

[utee94 16,078]

39 minutes ago, troph said:

I’ll check it out. Btw I saw “nuts” on that title and assumed it was about dangling blue balls from the back bumper and have avoided it from the get go.

 

Was supposed to be about the RV/5th wheel but we took a side trip on the trucks. Back to the RV soon I’m sure.

 

This catalog is monstrous.

 

 

Oh yeah, wasn't trying to be the Thread Police at all, that's not my deal.  Your truck questions have generally been towing/trailering related so certainly appropriate here.  Just throwing out another suggestion on where to get more good truck info.

And Camper Clinic is a stop I make probably annually.  I still love Airstreams above all others.

 

Edited May 19, 2020 by utee94

[utee94 16,078]

I don't have any good interior shots of my RV online, but it looks exactly the same as this one.  The kids love having their own entire room in the rear bunkhouse, that's the last picture below.

 

 

[Handcruser 2,814]

Congrats troph!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Texaus 389]

I don't have any good interior shots of my RV online, but it looks exactly the same as this one.  The kids love having their own entire room in the rear bunkhouse, that's the last picture below.

Mine was pretty much the exact same layout just with a larger bunkhouse with slide. Very good layout. Exterior door direct into bathroom was also super nice feature.

[troph 25,128]

Yeah the bunk house layout is really great with the kids. That’s what sold us on this one.

[troph 25,128]

[mention]Texaus [/mention] that’s a great looking trailer you had.

[BabaYaga 15,552]

2 hours ago, utee94 said:

I don't have any good interior shots of my RV online, but it looks exactly the same as this one.  The kids love having their own entire room in the rear bunkhouse, that's the last picture below.

 

 

That's basically what my friend has at his ranch in Millersview.  Spent many a night in it, from scalding summers to winter nights that were almost unbearable outside the camper.  They hold up well, and this one was from the basin, so it got a lot of use before.  

[utee94 16,078]

Oh, and the mattresses on RV beds are notoriously painful.  We ditched the one that came with ours and replaced it with this one, which I absolutely love.

https://www.amazon.com/DynastyMattress-10-inch-CoolBreeze-Mattress-RV-Queen/dp/B0172MII34/ref=sr_1_18?dchild=1&keywords=dynasty+mattress+rv+queen&qid=1589907406&s=home-garden&sr=1-18

 

 

 

[G650 14,432]

14 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Just remember, clean oil (a lot of it), clean fuel, and fresh fuel filters and it will take care of you. Someone mentioned the batteries upthread, it’s absolutely a 2 battery deal. I can’t even get my baby Dmax to crank off 1 unless it’s brand spanking new (has actually happened once).   And maybe one of the 7.3 owners here @G650 can verify but I believe it’s the crank position sensor that goes out (semi-often). Anyhow it’s like a 5 min fix but I put a bunch of them in a fleet I used to maintain a few decades ago.   
 

wrt fixing little stuff each year just to keep up, as discussed 1) brakes 2) anything you can do to help keep the trans cooler, larger cooler etc   One thing that would help keep the batteries up and easier on everything is fresh glow plugs. They are cheap and it’s easy work. Just makes starting easier.   Keep in mind also, you are going to want to let the truck idle down for a bit when you stop, especially after pulling.  Little things like that help diesels (and other turbo’d things) stay healthy much longer. 
 

 

 

Cam position sensor, and I believe we have only had it go out once.

 

The single biggest upgrade I feel these trucks can take is a transmission aftercooler. Anything on flat road is nbd, but hills will start warming it up pretty quick with a big enough load. We pulled about 14k (so 20k ish gross) with it with the last boat and getting into crossing mountains took a fairly soft pedal foot.

[G650 14,432]

Btw, nice tenements on wheels, to all of you.

[fattyflattie 4,640]

8 minutes ago, G650 said:

 

Cam position sensor, and I believe we have only had it go out once.

See, in my head I was thinking Cam sensor made more sense. But then I remember thinking at the time, it was a oddball deal. I told this story to troph but I used to maintain a bunch of stuff for a construction co before I went off to school. One in particular was my boss’ 7.3, which he ended putting on 4xx miles before selling.   Only thing that ever went wrong was that damn sensor, but it happened enough to where we’d grab one out the console, pop it in, and boom cranks right up.    

[Chewbacca 7,828]

On 5/18/2020 at 10:48 AM, dingleberryswitzer said:

I'm not sure there's many state or national parks that just let you ride a side-by-side around.  On or off road. 

Moab will and it's awful.  Those fucking things running around all over town and on the roads are loud as hell.  They are not allowed in national parks, though.  At least Arches.  We saw several groups of them get turned around while waiting in line to go in.

[G650 14,432]

31 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

One in particular was my boss’ 7.3, which he ended putting on 4xx miles before selling.

Shit, never even got them broken in.

[davidg 4,057]

7 minutes ago, G650 said:

Shit, never even got them broken in. emptied the first tank.

Fixed it.

Edited May 19, 2020 by davidg

[troph 25,128]

Oh, and the mattresses on RV beds are notoriously painful.  We ditched the one that came with ours and replaced it with this one, which I absolutely love.
https://www.amazon.com/DynastyMattress-10-inch-CoolBreeze-Mattress-RV-Queen/dp/B0172MII34/ref=sr_1_18?dchild=1&keywords=dynasty+mattress+rv+queen&qid=1589907406&s=home-garden&sr=1-18
 
 
 

Yeah we plan to upgrade mattresses for sure.

[utee94 16,078]

29 minutes ago, troph said:

Yeah we plan to upgrade mattresses for sure.

Kids don't mind the relatively thin pads in the back, heck they'll sleep on the ground outside in the tent when we let them.  But the master definitely required an upgrade.

[troph 25,128]

Kids don't mind the relatively thin pads in the back, heck they'll sleep on the ground outside in the tent when we let them.  But the master definitely required an upgrade.

How old are your kids? I have three boys 15, 12 and 10. The 15 cares, 12 year old is starting too, the 10 year old is still light enough to sleep on anything.

[utee94 16,078]

12yo girl, 10yo boy.  The boy prefers just a sleeping bag rather than an air mattress when we go tent-camping for Scouts.  The girl tells me the thin mattress is "comfortable" and declined when we offered to buy a new one.  

On their normal beds in our house, we actually bought the the same brand that we have on our master in the RV, so they know what a "good" mattress feels like, they just don't care about them in the RV.  Granted we only use it for a max of a week at a time and things could certainly change as they get older.

 

[troph 25,128]

It’s ours!

[dingleberryswitzer 2,724]

8 hours ago, utee94 said:

Oh, and the mattresses on RV beds are notoriously painful.  We ditched the one that came with ours and replaced it with this one, which I absolutely love.

https://www.amazon.com/DynastyMattress-10-inch-CoolBreeze-Mattress-RV-Queen/dp/B0172MII34/ref=sr_1_18?dchild=1&keywords=dynasty+mattress+rv+queen&qid=1589907406&s=home-garden&sr=1-18

 

 

 

I had just gotten a 3 or 4 inch memory foam topper.  Cut it to fit if needed.  Like you could probably cut a queen in 3 to fit in bunks, but ymmv.  

[troph 25,128]

Okay so we are home and I had to take this one at the gas station. Already in love with this thing.

[Texaus 389]

Niiice! Next up is onboard compressor and train horn. You will start to notice the idiots occupying the only diesel pump in the otherwise empty gas pumps now.
http:// https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/IwI2RCysmuBOBJAhqLZYRkXGhmkKlgssJXLavMHQ0Is

[Gil Bang 26,227]

7 hours ago, G650 said:

 

Cam position sensor, and I believe we have only had it go out once.

 

The single biggest upgrade I feel these trucks can take is a transmission aftercooler. Anything on flat road is nbd, but hills will start warming it up pretty quick with a big enough load. We pulled about 14k (so 20k ish gross) with it with the last boat and getting into crossing mountains took a fairly soft pedal foot.

something about your mom warming up after my big load.

[fattyflattie 4,640]

24 minutes ago, troph said:

Okay so we are home and I had to take this one at the gas station. Already in love with this thing.

Damn that’s a good looking truck. Well done. 

[Texaus 389]

My all time favorite park was a place in Kerrville. It’s been many years and can’t remember the name of the place. It was on the river, so days were lounging down in river. Had a bar and locals would come and do karaoke and shit at night, lots of fun. Had like three swimming pools, one of them adult only.

Palmetto state park is also nice rv spot for a nice easy weekend getaway.

[Texaus 389]

Only went once, but the matagorda bay nature park was also cool. Kids can do crabbing and shell hunt on beach. The rv spots were literally on the Colorado river delta with gulf. Very cool location

 

[troph 25,128]

Only went once, but the matagorda bay nature park was also cool. Kids can do crabbing and shell hunt on beach. The rv spots were literally on the Colorado river delta with gulf. Very cool location
 

That sounds pretty choice actually.

[Texaus 389]

I know! This thread is making me want to rv shop. Dammit