Motor homer switched to 5th wheeler. 1st long trip.

[el_Rojo]

Just wanted to say thanks for the responses on my height thread and give an update on our first long trip.

We traded in our Vectra MH and bought a Solitude by Grand Design. After a few short trips to remember to pack the toilet paper and such, we took off for Colorado. We have rv'd for 25 years but never had any kind of trailer. Not sure why I started with the biggest I could find 39'. LOL. Oh and the only way I could get the 4 wheeler up there was to double tow. Go for the gusto...right. Well we had a great trip. We went to Sargents, CO first. the west side of Monarch Pass to meet up with our first of 3 other couples. I'm pulling all this with a 2010 Ford F-350 dually 6.4. I wasn't sure about the grade but the dealer said put it in tow/haul and go over the pass. WOW.. 3000 rpm, 40 mph and the temp never moved from normal on the engine or trans. Now the fan clutch came to life but I was impressed with the truck.

From there we went to Taylor Park to meet everybody else. They're all MHers. Guess where we ate, yep the 5th wheel. Rode the heck out of the 4 wheelers then on to South Fork for more riding. We ended the trip in Silverton, CO. Hated to come home but work called.

The only mishap of the trip was when the 2nd trailer kissed the corner of the 5th wheel. I did this going forward. I had no clue you could jack knife a trailer going forward. Just a PSA for the double towers.

Over all very great trip and glad we made the move to the 5th wheel.

Happy travels y'all.

[Atom_Ant]

hoopers wrote:

el Rojo wrote:

Atom Ant wrote:
el Rojo,

Did they get the paving done yet to the west of Taylor Res? Last year I went through there the road was under construction and near unpassable with a trailer, and the east is gravel for miles.

On your 2nd trailer, is the hitch just too close? Thinking of trailering a Ranger behind mine and heading back to Taylor.

No the road from Almont wasn't finished yet. The by-pass road wasn't too bad though if you go slow.

Yes the trailer was too close and the low boy style trailer had a square railing around it to make matters worse. Not knowing it would hit I just made a real sharp turn. After knowing better I didn't have any problems.

I am on my 2nd double tow setup. Previous fifth never hit the ATV trailer behind me. Now on my current rig, if I turn hard on the truck, the atv trailer will hit the fifth. But by just a inch or so. So maybe I need a longer receiver hitch. I don't think it would take much.

El Rogo, maybe you can look at lengthening your hitch a little bit.

I've seen those extensions for the receiver, wonder if that would help? Not sure what they are rated at.

[hoopers]

el Rojo wrote:

Atom Ant wrote:
el Rojo,

Did they get the paving done yet to the west of Taylor Res? Last year I went through there the road was under construction and near unpassable with a trailer, and the east is gravel for miles.

On your 2nd trailer, is the hitch just too close? Thinking of trailering a Ranger behind mine and heading back to Taylor.

No the road from Almont wasn't finished yet. The by-pass road wasn't too bad though if you go slow.

Yes the trailer was too close and the low boy style trailer had a square railing around it to make matters worse. Not knowing it would hit I just made a real sharp turn. After knowing better I didn't have any problems.

I am on my 2nd double tow setup. Previous fifth never hit the ATV trailer behind me. Now on my current rig, if I turn hard on the truck, the atv trailer will hit the fifth. But by just a inch or so. So maybe I need a longer receiver hitch. I don't think it would take much.

El Rogo, maybe you can look at lengthening your hitch a little bit.

[mpierce]

Atom Ant wrote:

wschoonv wrote:
Congrats-we just bought a 369 but still at dealer waiting for our inspection and pickup...can't wait...any issues? Bought a new F250 6.7 TurboDiesel with it...we are ready!

Hate to say it, but you would have been money ahead to jump to at least the F350 for that trailer.

2600# listed empty weight. It will be real close to max rear axle rating, if not over a little on a 250. Too bad that for $1000 did not go to 350. You will be alright, but close.

Fill things up, put stuff in, people, etc in truck, then head to scale, and see what each of your axle weights are. Especially the rear axle on the truck. That one is the one that goes over first.

Good luck.

[stro1965]

Our Place wrote:
We did this same think back in 2011, sold the class A and went to a 5th wheel. We love it as well but sometimes I miss the simplicity of the motorhome. We took our first looong trip this year and went to Mt.Rushmore and had a blast, campground sucked but other than that it was a great time!!

Momentary hijack....which campground? I stayed at the KOA right down the road from Mt Rushmore a month ago.

[waltbennett]

We were originally thinking of a DP, so we could tow a car or cargo trailer. (Can't double tow around here.) After looking over floor plans & prices of 5er/truck or DP, LOML wanted a 5er. I figured total price was a wash between the two. The additional room is great and with a Softopper I still have an enclosed bed when I need it. The dually isn't as easy to get around town in as a car, but does get around 17 mpg in urban driving. Haven't tried going up a serious grade yet, but we've had one 3,000 mile trip so far and everything worked well.

[Atom_Ant]

wschoonv wrote:
Congrats-we just bought a 369 but still at dealer waiting for our inspection and pickup...can't wait...any issues? Bought a new F250 6.7 TurboDiesel with it...we are ready!

Hate to say it, but you would have been money ahead to jump to at least the F350 for that trailer.

[wschoonv]

Congrats-we just bought a 369 but still at dealer waiting for our inspection and pickup...can't wait...any issues? Bought a new F250 6.7 TurboDiesel with it...we are ready!

[el_Rojo]

Atom Ant wrote:
el Rojo,

Did they get the paving done yet to the west of Taylor Res? Last year I went through there the road was under construction and near unpassable with a trailer, and the east is gravel for miles.

On your 2nd trailer, is the hitch just too close? Thinking of trailering a Ranger behind mine and heading back to Taylor.

No the road from Almont wasn't finished yet. The by-pass road wasn't too bad though if you go slow.

Yes the trailer was too close and the low boy style trailer had a square railing around it to make matters worse. Not knowing it would hit I just made a real sharp turn. After knowing better I didn't have any problems.

[el_Rojo]

Our Place wrote:
We did this same think back in 2011, sold the class A and went to a 5th wheel. We love it as well but sometimes I miss the simplicity of the motorhome. We took our first looong trip this year and went to Mt.Rushmore and had a blast, campground sucked but other than that it was a great time!!

We didn't get interested in 5th wheels until we saw the automatic jacks. I'm getting use to backing the FW. I've backed trailers all the time at work but a FW is different.

We went to Mt. Rushmore 2 yrs ago. Loved it. Also weent to The Badlands, Custer State park, Deadwood "could only afford 3 nights, too many casino's". From there we went to see the Battle of Little Bighorn. Very nice drive thru park. Read the signs of the events/battles that took place. Then the wife says we're only 200 miles from Yellowstone ---Here we go. Had a blast there and the Grand Tetons.

[el_Rojo]

JohnBoyToo wrote:
Might do what we are considering - a replacement under bed tank like the titan.

only consideration is will it put you over weight ???? 50 gallons of fuel weighs a lot 🙂

I thought of that but really want a bigger tank. Probably won't get another long trip until next summer, plenty of time to decide. Thanks for the thought.

[el_Rojo]

slarsen wrote:
el Rojo, thanks for the posting. I enjoy it when people report on special trips, and the first trip in a trailer after a period in a MH is doubly enjoying.

In a few weeks, we will meet up with friends who traded in a gas MH on a DP model. I didn't like their gas MH at all in comparison with our rather modestly priced Mountaineer trailer. I'm looking forward to seeing what that diesel brings to the party.

Something about the big diesel just feels good. The air ride and the quietness of the motor while driving. Not to mention just getting a new unit.

[Jerry_B]

We went from a nice motorhome this summer to an even nicer Mobile Suites. We love the fifth wheel and our feelings right now is we will never go back to a motorhome. Much quieter, smoother riding, greatly improved gas mileage and reliability. We can now depart on a trip and reasonably be assured we will not have failures.

[Atom_Ant]

el Rojo,

Did they get the paving done yet to the west of Taylor Res? Last year I went through there the road was under construction and near unpassable with a trailer, and the east is gravel for miles.

On your 2nd trailer, is the hitch just too close? Thinking of trailering a Ranger behind mine and heading back to Taylor.

[Our_Place]

We did this same think back in 2011, sold the class A and went to a 5th wheel. We love it as well but sometimes I miss the simplicity of the motorhome. We took our first looong trip this year and went to Mt.Rushmore and had a blast, campground sucked but other than that it was a great time!!