Introductions?? (NEWBIE)

Poppa,

Just an update on your purchases. I just moved my Lance TC from a 2004 F-350 Crew Cab long bed diesel to a 2019 F-350 Crew Cab long bed gasser. I couldn't be happier. Bed capacity for my new truck is 6500#. NO porpoising (older Ford frames and other brand frames flex in the middle) and excellent cornering, etc. First trip was thru Colorado Mountains and zero performance issues.

Advice? Get Torklift tiedowns. Worth the cost. I self-installed the frame components but your TC dealer can do it. You do have to unhook the one by the gas tank filler to insert the gas nozzle, but it is an extra 10 seconds or so. No BIG DEAL.

I hope you have many years of enjoyment with your new rig.

Rick

Welcome

Pretty similar to our set up, 2013 F350 dually, CC, 6.2 l gas engine. It carries our AF 1150 very well with only upper stable loads.

With that AF1140 definitely do the dually and go AGM batteries. I use Lifeline 6 volt AGM’s.

jplante4 : Thanks for those links. I will have to check out a few local to me to test the validity of the list. I had read about the less traction debate for a dually, but as the wife kept going larger and larger with the camper, the dually was the only option. So far we have been getting 11 mpg without the camper so i am disappointed with that, but there's sacrifices all over this game.

Camp woof: yeah i dream about it all the time for the past 40 years or so...! I am currently out of work on disability so i view quite a number of youtube videos on fishing Alaska and other remote areas. Bought some flyfishing stuff (haven't flyfished since i was in high school) and am looking forward to spending some time learning to tie flies.

AGM batteries vs. LiFePO4 vs. standard lead/Acid... paid for AGM but reading has me leaning towards lead/acid as the maint isn't really that much and the difference in life suposedly isn't that far apart. i guuess it all depends on which website you look at. I ordered the AGM and just may keep it that way, but i'll decide tomorrow when i head to the dealer to have the camper installed!

Also because an empty 2WD duallie is about the worst vehicle for ice and snow; dirt roads or sand: not enough ground pressure or enough weight over the drive wheels.

I could not disagree more..Last year in the snow and ice we did a test between my sons Chevy HD 4X4 in 2 WD with Toyo tires and my 2 WD Ford dually with AT3's siped...The dually did way better and my son was speechless..

Logging we had crummy dual pickups that never saw 4X4 when the single tire trucks had to use it..I saw how they worked daily in the mud/snow and ice..

That statement is simply not correct atleast in the Idaho mountains.

Welcome to the forum..

Hi Rob,

I'll say hi, we are sailing on the same boat! I just put dep. down on bigfoot 10.4 for very end of June. Truck, I'm trying to figure out why I'm leaning towards Ram 3500 duallie diesel 4WD ... is Ram a bit lower priced than the others?

National Parks, I'll avoid like the plague during summer, and the parks hate dogs to boot!

Staring July, probably spend a lot of time in Oregon. Yeah, National Forests and BLM seems to be the way to go.

So I share in your excitement, I can hardly wait! Work was great, will be 55 next year and what's next while I still have my fitness. So do you daydream about this all during the day?

Big decision is AGM batteries or just go LiFePO4 batts, leaning towards easier to use AGM until I gain experience in where I'm going to be wanting to go!

Cheers,
Dave

Rex,
if you are indeed going to do some boondocking I hope you ordered a 4WD truck. Also because an empty 2WD duallie is about the worst vehicle for ice and snow; dirt roads or sand: not enough ground pressure or enough weight over the drive wheels.
My guess is there are more than a handful on here that have faced that dilemma head on. Keep us informed of your current condition, and remember that time changes our paradigm so a poor decision is usually better than no decision . This educational point clarifies the difference between wants and needs. Off the beaten path in Death Valley 2015:
jefe

Welcome. Pretty good batch of people here. Your plan to do mostly boondocking will work once you get out of the northeast :) I found that the Benchmark series of map books very helpful in finding public lands. Also FreeCampsites and Campendium online sites have a lot of info.

Good luck on retirement. I tried to retire, but it didn't take.

fpoole : no, we are from Massachusetts but have traveled across the country several times in the car and love the western half of the states (Not that there's anything wrong with the east!). I worked in Yellowstone when i got out of high school back in 75 and learned that there is just as much to see and explore if one doesn't stick to the National Parks.

Thanks everyone for the welcome!

Pics will come as we take delivery (10 weeks for the truck to be built.)

Monkey44 - yep, will definitely buy the national parks pass. Always been a value.

fpoole asked: where do you hail from?
Sounds like the western half of US if you're talk'n Boondocking etc...

fpoole - nope... eastern born an bred (Massachusetts) but i worked a summer in Yellowstone as a kid (75) and spent some time in Seattle when in the service, fell in love with the Cascades and Olympics.