dshizzel wrote:
Wow, great suggestions so far, and I couldn't be more appreciative! I've started looking at the CC's online and will add them to my list of candidates.
My thinking on the SRW, SB was that we plan to use the TV unhitched quite a lot for sight seeing and some city travel. I felt that the DRW may prove a little touch to navigate with in the cities, parking, cornering, etc.
I do understand the stability advantages of towing with DRW, but having towed cross country with the Sunnybrook 31BWFS and a '99 QC Cummins 2500, I didn't see it as a challenge then, from a handling perspective.
I moved up from 3/4 ton to 1 ton based on advice in this forum regarding tow and cargo capacity.
I selected the SB because most new 5'ers have the angled front caps and the more forward pin box and I felt I could use a standard hitch without slider with those features. I also felt the SB would be a little easier to maneuver around cities.
I'm more than willing to entertain a 2-3 year old DRV if I can convince DW. She has opened up her mind to the CC now, so that's good.
We'll both be 60 when we pull the trigger next year, and we're very anxious to start this new phase of our lives.
Thanks to everyone, and keep 'em comin'!
DS
My wife and I retired at 57 in 04 and intended to snowbird from Canada to the southern states so ordered our dream rig from scratch. We ordered a Cab Chassis International 4400 and had a body custom built with a Bike cabinet behind the trucks cab for a Harley Ultra, storage cabinets and a roll out generator tray. We also visited the factory and ordered an '05' Doubletree Mobile Suties 38RL with all the options you've named and most everyone else on here have suggested. See "view profile" clicky under our profile name etc..
My list of musts after RV'ing for well over 10 years first with a CC Custom 36' and a Duramax crew cab long box then followed by that toter and Mobile Suites would be twin A/C's, washer dryer either combo or separate units, A sleep number bed with a queen being adequate and check your floor area for whether a king would trap your feet beside the bed getting in or out of it. Level-up option and YES MorRyde versus the Trailair.
Don't go for any kitchy slide-out storage drawer in the main bay, as the stupid drawer takes up more room than it's ultimately worth in convenience. You can always put one in later if so desire.
We had the Trailair and there are just too many steel-on-steel pivot points without grease nipples or bushings to mitigate wear in the Trailair system; turned to worn out junk in less than 5 years of back and forth to Yuma from Ontario Canada.
Generator prep package-YES. Dual pane windows-YES. You will be rv'ing in some cold and with propane being a wet cooking fuel and two large dogs you will not want to be wiping your single panes down every morning to keep the water from running down the walls.
Investigate the residential refrigerator versus one of those Dometic Norcold pieces of crap! Talk on forums about the pros and cons of a res fridge over a propane/electric combo and if intending to drycamp for even a portion of your time please consider the benefits of a larger bank of 6 V Trojan type of batteries and an invertor dedicated to the fridge.
That's my laundry list and along with everyone elses, it'll have your single rear wheel truck groaning in pain. Haaar!
Almost forgot...... in the winter of 09/10 we had to go back to staying in Florida in case wifes elderly mother took a turn for th worse after a hip replacement and we needed to get a direct flight home. Ended up liking Florida all over again so bought a house there and sold all of the above rig within a month of returning home to Canada. I miss driving the truck only!
So the post about wasting time making plans also does have some merit to it. Planning is fun and you should enjoy the whole experience but don't go overboard if there is even the slightest of chances things could change, as these are
not "appreciating assets".
Good luck and Good hunting.
