Full timing FW

2oldman wrote:

noplace2 wrote:
OTOH, we despise A/C,

Why, money?

I believe I explained in my post that it has nothing to do with expense. We simply don't enjoy artificial cold.

This does however give an opportunity to include something that I failed to in my original post. We are all different and experience these things in myriad ways. While people can offer their opinions based on how THEY perceive it, NO ONE can give you any valid information, because they are not you.

We have been full timing for about 8 years and here are some of our must haves: 8K Moryde IS Suspension, 17.5 tires, hydraulic disc brakes, rooftop satellite, Onan 5500 LP generator, stackable washer and dryer, big kitchen, lots of storage, large holding tanks, and TV across from our recliners. These are our must haves. I would not be without some sort of washer and dryer. Have you seen the condition of public laundries? This means that you will have to find an RV rated for full time use and most of those manufacturers have gone out of business so you may have to look at the used market. (Think Carriage, NuWa, Teton, Travel Supreme, Excel). And I think Arctic Fox is also a good unit. A full timing unit will be heavy and require a big truck (think one ton dually). Just my opinion.

jnharley wrote:
We have been full timing for about 8 years and here are some of our must haves: 8K Moryde IS Suspension, 17.5 tires, hydraulic disc brakes, rooftop satellite, Onan 5500 LP generator, stackable washer and dryer, big kitchen, lots of storage, large holding tanks, and TV across from our recliners. These are our must haves. I would not be without some sort of washer and dryer. Have you seen the condition of public laundries? This means that you will have to find an RV rated for full time use and most of those manufacturers have gone out of business so you may have to look at the used market. (Think Carriage, NuWa, Teton, Travel Supreme, Excel). And I think Arctic Fox is also a good unit. A full timing unit will be heavy and require a big truck (think one ton dually). Just my opinion.

Thanks! Going on the used market brings up a "chicken and the egg situation." How do you take possession of a 5th wheel without a tow vehicle, and how do you purchase the right tow vehicle without knowing the numbers--eg weight--on the RV that you do not have?

We purchased a used Nuwa Hitchhiker from Kansas RV Center. They refurbish used units before reselling. This is the former factory location for Nuwa. We were able to hold our unit for later pick up after our truck arrived. Doing this, we knew exactly what we were buying and what we would need in a truck. How big will you want to tow? We wanted to use a SRW 1 ton diesel, so we chose an appropriate RV to fit. After being FT for 2 years, we wish we had skipped the W/D. I can do our laundry 2 times a month in about 2 hours each. One small load in our combo w/d takes 3 hours... We don't boo dock, so we don't need a generator. We do love having a heat pump, 2 a/c s and a fireplace. Your choices may be different. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Just my personal opinion that if you are going to buy a big heavy RV for full timing, you will probably need a dually. Any of the big 3 will work although one needs to be careful with used models since there have been some well documented problems with some like the 6.0 Ford diesel. Are dually trucks a pain to park, yes! The security when towing is worth it. I will also give a shout out to Kansas RV in Chanute, KS. They morphed into a dealership after closing down production for HitchHiker 5th wheels. They honored all warranty claims after shutdown and kept open their stellar service department. Make an appointment, show up at the appointed time, and a team is assigned to work on your rig. That is where we go when we need service. By the way, we have stackable washer and dryer and they work well. The dryer is 110 so it takes longer to dry than a residential model. And we dry camp on occasion so the generator is great but that need can be taken care of by a portable unit. We worried about theft so we added the built in generator.

jnharley wrote:
Just my personal opinion that if you are going to buy a big heavy RV for full timing, you will probably need a dually. Any of the big 3 will work although one needs to be careful with used models since there have been some well documented problems with some like the 6.0 Ford diesel. Are dually trucks a pain to park, yes! The security when towing is worth it. I will also give a shout out to Kansas RV in Chanute, KS. They morphed into a dealership after closing down production for HitchHiker 5th wheels. They honored all warranty claims after shutdown and kept open their stellar service department. Make an appointment, show up at the appointed time, and a team is assigned to work on your rig. That is where we go when we need service. By the way, we have stackable washer and dryer and they work well. The dryer is 110 so it takes longer to dry than a residential model. And we dry camp on occasion so the generator is great but that need can be taken care of by a portable unit. We worried about theft so we added the built in generator.

Duallies a pain to park? Is that because of the with added by the extra set of wheels?

wannabervin wrote:
Duallies a pain to park? Is that because of the with added by the extra set of wheels?

The basic problem with dually pickups is that they are physically much larger than the average vehicle, and parking spaces in parking lots are getting smaller.

It's not just width. Most duallies run 21 to 22 feet long. A LOT of parking spots are only 18 feet long today.

With my hitch for my TT - the truck is 22' 4 1/2" long.

From outside to outside of my towing mirrors, my truck is 8' 9 3/4" wide. Quite often we fold in the mirrors. Though not a dually, I need at least 9' 6" to park if I can get a long straight shot into the parking spot. And then I can only use one door. I really need 11' of parking spot width.

Duallies also have long wheelbases so they take a wider lane between parking spots to get turned into.

There were many places in New England last year where I took up four spots in the parking lot.

I'm starting to see some newer parking lots in Texas, where my truck is too large for a standard spot.

(For me, it is easier in tight quarters to back the truck into a parking spot.)

These trucks are darned expensive and of course you do not want damage so finding an adequate parking spot is difficult. We always park way out and have to take up 2 spaces for length. Parking garages are just about out of the question. If it is a pull in spot, we usually back in because it is easier to pull out. I agree with PawPaw that spots seem to be shrinking in size and trucks seem to be getting bigger. Be prepared to walk from the back of the parking lot.

Understand! We drive a Suburban, and it requires a two-step approach to get into a parking space: turn and pull up to the next car over, back up and point into the parking space, then pull in. I look for two contiguous spaces, even if it is further out, to avoid the "Suburban two-step" dance. I can imagine that the duallies would be even more of a hassle.

On another thread someone is complaining about the high cost of campgrounds. Actually I call them RV/mobile home parks. If you get a big rig that is where you will stay. There are plenty of choices for small rigs that have solar and will allow you to stay virtually anywhere. Of course, you will give up the laundry. Instead I made an investment of about $100 and have a months worth of underwear, socks and T shirts so a visit to the Laundromat is infrequent.