Part 1-4 weeks and 5 days how things are going
Today is Sunday, we stayed home this week-end and sitting in the new 5er watching television I’m reminiscing over the last 4 weeks and 5 days since we took delivery of the new puppy.
I posted back then my initial thoughts on the subject about 5er’s being easier than TT, or actually, all the reasons they are NOT easier. Lots of responses and comments, and I appreciated every one.
Lessons learned, trial and error, and taking advice from the members of these forums, it’s been a fun ride, almost, 5 weeks now. The only advice I rejected was to go back to a TT. That’s just not going to happen.
So, after almost 5 weeks I’ve taken a mental inventory of all the adjustments, switching from a TT to a 5er, what’s different and how we’ve overcome that, what we’ve had to do to fix things on the new 5er, what we’ve added to make life easier, what kind of changes we’ve done to the original 5er design, towing, care, and storage.
As you can tell, it’s been a long 4 weeks and 5 days for us, very busy, but accomplished much. I can honestly say, I absolutely have no interest in returning to a TT. That has never been an option to even remotely consider.
So, I’m going to post a few threads, add some photos, and share my experiences. You have to remember, I’ve been a TT owner all my life or had association with TT’s and utility trailers of many types. But this is my first 5er, ever.
So, to start? Maybe the most impressive thing about this 5er, and I think it’s designed on purpose, it simply does not feel like a “camper.” It feels like a house inside. Even after 4 week, my wife and I made the comment just yesterday, “This camper still does not feel like a camper, does it? It definitely feels like a house, doesn’t it?”
Second, giving up the bed of the truck for a 5er hitch turned out to be a non-issue after all. The shell had to go, the stuff on the shelves in the shell were relocated in the 5er, and bed of the truck carries only 3 items now: a ladder, the blue tote, and the sewer hoses. And of course the 5er hitch. Things got much better after we put a foldable cover over the truck bed to hide the hitch and I purchased a 4 foot step ladder to reach the jaws release and deal with the break-away cable easier.
Photo of the truck with the construction shell and the previous TT:
Photo of the new 5er and the truck with the new cover:
We’ve come a long, long way since these days:
I posted back then my initial thoughts on the subject about 5er’s being easier than TT, or actually, all the reasons they are NOT easier. Lots of responses and comments, and I appreciated every one.
Lessons learned, trial and error, and taking advice from the members of these forums, it’s been a fun ride, almost, 5 weeks now. The only advice I rejected was to go back to a TT. That’s just not going to happen.
So, after almost 5 weeks I’ve taken a mental inventory of all the adjustments, switching from a TT to a 5er, what’s different and how we’ve overcome that, what we’ve had to do to fix things on the new 5er, what we’ve added to make life easier, what kind of changes we’ve done to the original 5er design, towing, care, and storage.
As you can tell, it’s been a long 4 weeks and 5 days for us, very busy, but accomplished much. I can honestly say, I absolutely have no interest in returning to a TT. That has never been an option to even remotely consider.
So, I’m going to post a few threads, add some photos, and share my experiences. You have to remember, I’ve been a TT owner all my life or had association with TT’s and utility trailers of many types. But this is my first 5er, ever.
So, to start? Maybe the most impressive thing about this 5er, and I think it’s designed on purpose, it simply does not feel like a “camper.” It feels like a house inside. Even after 4 week, my wife and I made the comment just yesterday, “This camper still does not feel like a camper, does it? It definitely feels like a house, doesn’t it?”
Second, giving up the bed of the truck for a 5er hitch turned out to be a non-issue after all. The shell had to go, the stuff on the shelves in the shell were relocated in the 5er, and bed of the truck carries only 3 items now: a ladder, the blue tote, and the sewer hoses. And of course the 5er hitch. Things got much better after we put a foldable cover over the truck bed to hide the hitch and I purchased a 4 foot step ladder to reach the jaws release and deal with the break-away cable easier.
Photo of the truck with the construction shell and the previous TT:
Photo of the new 5er and the truck with the new cover:
We’ve come a long, long way since these days:
