Newbie, what makes me nervous
we had a 28' class C for a year and then decided to go with a 5th wheel. purchased a Outback 32' along with a F350 long bed truck to pull with. we've been on 3 relatively short trips. I don't hav...
Forum Discussion
Here's a few things to consider -
1. Interstates generally have a maximum grade limit of 6%. No such limit on the other primary highways.
2. You should measure your rig for clearance purposes and know exactly, to the inch, how high you are. Measure when it is hooked up to the truck.
3. If you are no higher then a semi trailer (13'6"), then you can safely travel on the interstates and clear the overpasses. I believe there MAY be some exceptions to this.
4. Get the laminated Trucker's Atlas. It contains a database of low clearances, categorized by state. Texas wins. Most importantly, it shows all the roads that a semi trailer rig can travel on without any clearance problems. Be like Dorothy and just stay on the yellow highlighted roads. Get the Atlas at Loves, cheaper then thru Amazon. Laminated so it lasts longer and so you can use a dry erase marker to map out your route.
5. My .02 opinion follows. I buy fuel at the end of the day or the next morning after I have unhooked and set up. I ain't never gonna mess with a regular filling station when hooked up. And I'm not too thrilled about truck stops either. Noisy, dirty, diesel all over the ground so it gets on your shoes, those lovely high flow nozzles, and I can't just swipe my Visa card, fill up, then leave. I have an RDS combo 40 gallon gravity feed auxiliary tank/toolbox in the bed. If I need fuel during the day, I just pull into a rest stop and flip the switch to 'on'. Easy-shmeezy. I fulltime and have been doing it this way for 2 years. I know that others do it differently. Luckily we all live in a free country and have choices.
I don't mean to give the impression that I only travel interstates because I don't. But they can be handy. They are more relaxing I think. And a quick way to get from point A to point B.
I also use Gas buddy; also have the Allstays Low Clearance App on my phone too.
Tim
1. Interstates generally have a maximum grade limit of 6%. No such limit on the other primary highways.
2. You should measure your rig for clearance purposes and know exactly, to the inch, how high you are. Measure when it is hooked up to the truck.
3. If you are no higher then a semi trailer (13'6"), then you can safely travel on the interstates and clear the overpasses. I believe there MAY be some exceptions to this.
4. Get the laminated Trucker's Atlas. It contains a database of low clearances, categorized by state. Texas wins. Most importantly, it shows all the roads that a semi trailer rig can travel on without any clearance problems. Be like Dorothy and just stay on the yellow highlighted roads. Get the Atlas at Loves, cheaper then thru Amazon. Laminated so it lasts longer and so you can use a dry erase marker to map out your route.
5. My .02 opinion follows. I buy fuel at the end of the day or the next morning after I have unhooked and set up. I ain't never gonna mess with a regular filling station when hooked up. And I'm not too thrilled about truck stops either. Noisy, dirty, diesel all over the ground so it gets on your shoes, those lovely high flow nozzles, and I can't just swipe my Visa card, fill up, then leave. I have an RDS combo 40 gallon gravity feed auxiliary tank/toolbox in the bed. If I need fuel during the day, I just pull into a rest stop and flip the switch to 'on'. Easy-shmeezy. I fulltime and have been doing it this way for 2 years. I know that others do it differently. Luckily we all live in a free country and have choices.
I don't mean to give the impression that I only travel interstates because I don't. But they can be handy. They are more relaxing I think. And a quick way to get from point A to point B.
I also use Gas buddy; also have the Allstays Low Clearance App on my phone too.
Tim
