Last Major Pre Retirement Purchase
The DW and I have decided we'll retire as my 58th birthday present in the spring of 2017. While the house is only 9 years old, we've fixed and upgraded everything we need here except the RV pad which we waited to have put in until we knew what the final RV would be size wise. We have now purchased the retirement machine so we can get that poured in the spring.
The new RV is a 2016 Bighorn 3270 fifth wheel, just slightly over 35 feet long, which was purchased to replace a Timber Ridge 240RKS bumper pull that measured in at 28'8". When hooked up to the truck the new Fiver is only 3 or 4 feet longer than the truck bumper pull combo, but it's noticeably less maneuverable especially on RH turns. I will also need to practice backing up a little more as I tend to stay jacked to far into the turn.
I also traded my 2011 Cummins Ram 2500 for a 3500 with the Aisin tranny and factory air assist in the rear. Hooking up to the Fiver with an Anderson ultimate hitch I find the ride height of the truck remains virtually unchanged unless I select the alternate setting where it allows the rear end to settle down about an inch lower than normal ride height. I had to set the hitch ball to it's lowest setting and turn the ball adapter on the kingpin to the forward facing position for clearance between the tailgate or bedrails and the back of the kingpin arm. I was afraid this would be an issue backing with clearance with the back of the cab since my truck is a shortbed, but on level ground I can get almost 90 degree turns. Bedrail clearance is slightly over 8 inches with the front of the 5er being about 2 inches nose high
Towing is smoother than I expected, and the truck/hitch combo seem to handle the weight well as far as maneuverability, crosswinds, passing semi's etc. That said, even though the new truck has noticeably more power it feels underpowered on the grades, onramps etc. My last combo was the first time I've ever had more than enough truck and I got spoiled.
I'm really impressed with the new brake controller on the 2015 Dodge compared to the piece of garbage on the 2011. The old controller was bad enough to be almost dangerous, and I can't imagine towing the 5er with it. The instrumentation on the truck is a significant improvement as well, however, the U-connect nav system still leaves a lot to be desired. Why the passenger can't input stuff into the gps while in motion is something I'll never understand, especially given that the voice commands it does allow work so poorly it causes a whole lot of frustration which can be just as distracting.
Finally, getting used to the new 5er is going to take a little time. Dry camping sites will be much more limited to us now due to size, and while the TT would operate everything but the microwave and Air Conditioning on DC battery power, the 5er needs AC for the recliners, TV's, etc. Given that we intend to transition from approximately 80 percent dry camping, to 80 percent RV park style stays however I think we'll somehow survive. We're quite looking forward to hitting an area and exploring in depth for weeks or months at a time now instead of being rushed to do as much as we can in relatively limited amounts of time.
The new RV is a 2016 Bighorn 3270 fifth wheel, just slightly over 35 feet long, which was purchased to replace a Timber Ridge 240RKS bumper pull that measured in at 28'8". When hooked up to the truck the new Fiver is only 3 or 4 feet longer than the truck bumper pull combo, but it's noticeably less maneuverable especially on RH turns. I will also need to practice backing up a little more as I tend to stay jacked to far into the turn.
I also traded my 2011 Cummins Ram 2500 for a 3500 with the Aisin tranny and factory air assist in the rear. Hooking up to the Fiver with an Anderson ultimate hitch I find the ride height of the truck remains virtually unchanged unless I select the alternate setting where it allows the rear end to settle down about an inch lower than normal ride height. I had to set the hitch ball to it's lowest setting and turn the ball adapter on the kingpin to the forward facing position for clearance between the tailgate or bedrails and the back of the kingpin arm. I was afraid this would be an issue backing with clearance with the back of the cab since my truck is a shortbed, but on level ground I can get almost 90 degree turns. Bedrail clearance is slightly over 8 inches with the front of the 5er being about 2 inches nose high
Towing is smoother than I expected, and the truck/hitch combo seem to handle the weight well as far as maneuverability, crosswinds, passing semi's etc. That said, even though the new truck has noticeably more power it feels underpowered on the grades, onramps etc. My last combo was the first time I've ever had more than enough truck and I got spoiled.
I'm really impressed with the new brake controller on the 2015 Dodge compared to the piece of garbage on the 2011. The old controller was bad enough to be almost dangerous, and I can't imagine towing the 5er with it. The instrumentation on the truck is a significant improvement as well, however, the U-connect nav system still leaves a lot to be desired. Why the passenger can't input stuff into the gps while in motion is something I'll never understand, especially given that the voice commands it does allow work so poorly it causes a whole lot of frustration which can be just as distracting.
Finally, getting used to the new 5er is going to take a little time. Dry camping sites will be much more limited to us now due to size, and while the TT would operate everything but the microwave and Air Conditioning on DC battery power, the 5er needs AC for the recliners, TV's, etc. Given that we intend to transition from approximately 80 percent dry camping, to 80 percent RV park style stays however I think we'll somehow survive. We're quite looking forward to hitting an area and exploring in depth for weeks or months at a time now instead of being rushed to do as much as we can in relatively limited amounts of time.
