New to the whole RV lifestyle, howdy!

You don't say whether your F350 is SRW of a dually. I hope it's a dually. For rear axle load support and help in smoothing out some of the bumps in the road, take a look at Sumo Springs. I've used them on 2 trucks now and really like them. Here's a link: http://supersprings.com/supersprings_fitchart_ford.asp

I like your go big or go home attitude.

Happy trails,
Bill

Your truck should be fine without air bags. You definitely picked a great hitch. Wish I had started that young. Go and enjoy. You will learn a lot just reading the forum, but also just through experience,

Thank you all for the kind words and especially thank you Golden_HVAC for the wealth of knowledge you've taken the time to provide!

Welcome to the RV lifestyle. We jumped in as you did nearly four years ago with 40' fiver and haven't looked back. We pull ours with a 2008' GMC 3500 DRW. She only squats two inches and that's with 90 gallons of diesel on board. I just installed StableLoads on the truck and now she squats only an inch. They should improve the handling and test this next week when we head to the lake.

We have Whirlpool washer and dryer in our fiver and wouldn't be without them.

Good luck and have a great time.

I don't have any answers but I will offer a congrats on the purchase and I hope you have tons of fun with it!

This is Milepost.

I suggest getting one very soon, and reading it to prep for the Alaska trip.

Milepost 2016

It gives mile by mile what to expect once you get into Canada. It would say mile 55, look out for the steep decent into the valley 6% grade. Mile 97 last chance of getting diesel until mile ???

From what I hear, it is best to keep a fairly full tank of fuel - the most expensive fuel is further along the trail, farther from Anchorage and the Canada Border (they have rail transportation of fuel to Edmonton).. Avoid buying it at places where it is over $4 per gallon. Then wait until you get closer to the Alaska border to fill up, and top off closer to Anchorage.

You can usually get the DEF fluid at truck stops in bulk (fill the 3 gallon tank just like you fill a lawn mower at the pump). You should have plenty if you fill up before going into Canada, then top off in Anchorage, then fill up back in the US. No need to buy it someplace in the middle, and pay for trucking charges to have it delivered to the middle of nowhere so you can buy it at top notch pricing!

Fred.

For a generator, it might be a bit more expensive, but easier to use. A pair of Honda 2000 watt generators with a adapter to link both together to share the load when you run the A/C unit. It will only run one A/C at a time. Best part is they only weight about 47 pounds each, in two easy to carry parts! Many of the contractor generators are not only really noisy, but also in the 150 pound difficult to steal range (but not impossible). The Honda is only about 55 Db, or less than your truck at high idle. The contractor special is 85+Db and annoying to you and your neighbors! Solar is much quieter!

You only need to start one to recharge the batteries, or watch TV or something.

For running just the satellite TV or TV and DVD Player, or charging a laptop, I would highly recommend a silent 500 watt inverter, that plugs into a cigarette lighter receptacle. I bought some extra receptacles at Radio Shack, and put them in the RV using #10 wire and 20 amp fuse. Next to my TV, I found that Fleetwood installed #8 wire to a 20 amp fuse in my RV fusebox. SO I was good there.

If you plan on a lot of dry camping, then upgrading to a pair of golf cart batteries is almost a must. It will provide fast recharges, and plenty of water in the battery to avoid overheating them in a quick charge, or if running the inverter to charge the laptop, ect.

Also I have a DeLorme Topo program and GPS receiver that I use with my 17" laptop screen. A LOT easier to plan a trip, and see the route on the 17" screen. About $120 last time I checked for the program and USB port GPS receiver. DeLorme.com

Mayberrys.com sells the Honda generators for a great price, including shipping. Give them a call to get a quote on a pair of Honda 2000's and the cord to connect them to a 30 amp RV plug. You will need a 30 to 50 amp adapter for your RV.

For the washing machine, I just had one shipped out from Staber in Ohio. By going to my local Fed Ex terminal, I was able to pick up the washing machine there, and save a truck residential delivery fee of $50 and a tailgate liftgate fee of $75. So I saved $125 and picked it up when I wanted to get it. I am lucky that there is a Fed Ex shipping terminal 12 miles from my house, and I have a liftgate to pick up the washer with it.

Have fun camping!

Fred.

Hi,

I would not get the air bags, you do not need them.

When I put my camper on my 1975 F-350 SRW, it would squat about 4", this is normal, and expected as the suspension compresses about 1" per 750 pounds of load.

When I was driving back to Pea Ridge one summer, I was getting tired just west of Oklahoma City, and found Red Rock State park just south of I40, it turned out to be a great find!

My Grandmother grew up in NW Arkansas, and I stayed at Beaver Lake, a great campground. It is just upstream of Table Rock lake, outside of Branson MO. I would recommend all three as a good place to shake down the RV! You can get some experience towing through a small town along the way. .

Have fun camping! And don't worry about missing all the crowds on the holiday weekends. In retirement, you learn not to camp those weekends! Much quieter the following week!

I have 400 watts of solar that I installed myself. IT is pretty easy to do, and I used the refrigerator vent to run the wires down to the solar controller, then to the batteries. My solar panels back in the 90's cost a arm and leg. 120 watt was $428 back in 1999. Now you can buy a 140 watt panel for about $229. The dealerships charge a arm and leg for a system, the manufactures are stuck in the 1990's pricing, and want to charge $1,100 for a 90 watt panel, so forget them!

SunElec.com has the 140 watt panel with a aluminum frame and 12 volt nominal output last time I checked it was about $230.

I would recommend a PWM controller, they are only around $20, and you can spend more money on the panels, and get more power. AliExpress.com Search for PWM 20 amp solar controller, and then search by free shipping and lowest cost.

You can get #10 UV resistant wire at Home Depot, and I cut 4" long 2" angle aluminum for brackets.

This is my front pair of panels. 120 watt mounted on a curved roof, 102" wide.



This is the mount it is held on with three rivets into the frame, and then the bottom half is 6" long aluminum, with nutsert in the upper piece, bolt you can not see from the outside edge pointing inward.









This picture shows the bigfoot panel mount sold by RvSolarElectric for $35 a set back in 1994. I wonder what they cost today?


This picture shows the panels tilted while I was working on the roof.

Have fun with your new RV! I hope you have a great time going to Alaska. Did you get a copy of Milepost yet? It will be very helpful in planing the trip. Because you want to be back to the US border by the middle of September, it might be a little to late to consider a trip this summer, unless you really get ready fast. It is a trip of a lifetime, and I would recommend staring by visiting Yellowstone, then Glacier National Parks, followed by crossing into Canada in June.

Then take your time, get to Alaska in a week or two. Spend time at the lakes and fish. You are not allowed to bring handguns into Canada. I am not sure about shot guns or sporting rifles. I would plan on leaving them at home. I did bring a boating flare gun - I figured any bear would be afraid of it.

Unless you plan on letting them search your RV for a REALLY long time at the boarder crossing, I suggest that you search your RV and make sure there is not one stray bullet left rolling around in a cubard or something. If they find a bullet, they will search to locate the gun it fits in, and then arrest you for bringing in a gun to Canada.

Fred.