Where to purchase everything in Texas

[Mik68]

Hi there, We will be landing in Dallas Texas in end of March 2014 & will be purchasing a tow vehicle Probably 2nd hand 2011 or 2012 Dodge Ram Megacab, Turbo diesel. And a Fifth wheeler ( I know this will depend on which brand) but in general who has had a really good experience & have been fully supported by a dealer in & around Texas, it doesn't have to be in Dallas, I am willing to travel a little. We will also need to fully set up this rig from pots & pans (probably Walmart ey?) to tow hitch & what ever else is needed, if anything? Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

[Mik68]

sdetweil wrote:


so 210 days, travel 1/3 of the time, 250 miles a travel day gives you about 17,500 miles of travel distance.

thats certainly enough to do a big swing thru the states and Canada.
with some time to spare on travel. (even travel every 5th day gives u approx 10,000 miles of travel distance. 5k used Dallas to NY, then NY to LA.).

I think tow vehicle fuel will be the biggest annoyance. My 2012 Ford F350 Dually gets about 10mpg towing my 5th wheel. (I think this is typical). and my 38 gal tank makes it 300 miles comfortable before looking for fuel. I already want a 60 gal aux tank to get refill distance up near 1000 miles (and ability to price select, $3.60/gal in Oklahoma, $4.19/gal in Michigan). I use Gasbuddy and iExit phone apps to look ahead.

We have mapped out a rough route on RoadtripUSA & our total milage was 14,500 so with side trips, shopping & sightseeing etc. You are probably right on the money with your estimate of 17,500 miles devided by 10mpg @ say $4/gal = US$7,000 ($8000 Aussie dollars at todays exchange rate) US$250 per week on average. Does that sound right? plus accommodation, 7 (nights) x roughly $30 per night (mostly State & Nat parks, hopefully) = US$210 P/W plus food & sightseeing.
Are these realistic figures so far do you think?

[randy328]

I purchased my rig at McClain's, just north of the DFW area (about 20 miles from the airport). Great folks, good deals, no issues with trailer or service. I bought a used truck last year at Carmax, just west of the airport in Irving. Huge inventory.

There's a WalMart and Camping World about 10 miles north of McClain's.

[Allworth]

You should probably set aside one day a week to:

do laundry
Restock the pantry and linen closet
Get the oil changed in the truck (not EVERY week, of course, but more often than you might think)
Minor repairs to the trailer
Clean house
rest

We do this even when on the road for just six weeks or so. We keep a pad by the door for the Wal-Mart list and it can be startling how quickly it grows.

(PS: Another vote for PPL)

[sdetweil]

Mik68 wrote:
...
We have a rough plan. We want to travel right around US & into parts of Canada & finish in LA in a 7 month period. We have 3 kids, so are very aware that constant moving isn't ideal. It will be trial & error at 1st until we've worked out what we can all tolerate. I appreciate that less set up/breakdown would be better for all, but also need to keep moving at a certain pace to see through our plans. We thought our max travel time on one given day would be 4 hours & have allowed for extended stays of 1 week on a fairly regular basis.

so 210 days, travel 1/3 of the time, 250 miles a travel day gives you about 17,500 miles of travel distance.

thats certainly enough to do a big swing thru the states and Canada.
with some time to spare on travel. (even travel every 5th day gives u approx 10,000 miles of travel distance. 5k used Dallas to NY, then NY to LA.).

I think tow vehicle fuel will be the biggest annoyance. My 2012 Ford F350 Dually gets about 10mpg towing my 5th wheel. (I think this is typical). and my 38 gal tank makes it 300 miles comfortable before looking for fuel. I already want a 60 gal aux tank to get refill distance up near 1000 miles (and ability to price select, $3.60/gal in Oklahoma, $4.19/gal in Michigan). I use Gasbuddy and iExit phone apps to look ahead.

[sdetweil]

Mik68 wrote:


Cheers for this info, this is exactly what I was after. Were does one purchase such items? Camping World?
We have a rough plan. We want to travel right around US & into parts of Canada & finish in LA in a 7 month period. We have 3 kids, so are very aware that constant moving isn't ideal. It will be trial & error at 1st until we've worked out what we can all tolerate. I appreciate that less set up/breakdown would be better for all, but also need to keep moving at a certain pace to see through our plans. We thought our max travel time on one given day would be 4 hours & have allowed for extended stays of 1 week on a fairly regular basis.

the RV dealer should have a parts department and a brick & mortar floor where you can get all this stuff. I had a list of stuff I needed and then asked the parts department to walk me thru (I had called them in advance to ask what I had on board after pickup was completed). I had looked up prices ahead of time, so the only thing I didn't buy there was a power cord extension (50 amp service) cause I could get it for 1/2 that cost online. you may not have that luxury.

we had stocked up on other things.. plates, silverware, broom, ...
and had the tow vehicle packed with storage containers of stuff to move into the rv. (as it was 1300 miles from home)..

we still ended up going to the hardware store and walmart for other stuff. toilet paper holders!

edit:
as part of our packing, we looked at all the features of the 5th wheel and brought something that would allow us to test it out.
metal something for the microwave on convection,
something small to cook on the stove (pots & pans, utensils)
DVD for the dvd player.

we needed heat the 1st night, and a/c the second night.
(600 mile daily travel, its harsh, but we had a schedule to keep).

[2112]

There is a CW about 20 miles west of ppl in Houston. And I'm sure there are 3 or 4 walmarts between them.

[Mik68]

sdetweil wrote:

Mik68 wrote:
Also, how much roughly does it cost to be hitched & ready to roll? Once TV & FW have been purchased. Is the installation of a tow hitch all that's needed? And who does the installation?

the RV dealer can get your hitch installed for you. They do this all the time. You should be able to get them to include it in the deal.. (add the hitch or we go somewhere else).
My truck (purchased used) had rails already, so I bought a new B&W Patriot hitch for $400 and assembled and installed it myself, but I have tools and time.

you may also want to consider some kind of RV shock isolator on the pinbox.. Mor/ryde or trailair, see Pinbox comparison,
these greatly reduce the impact of road/trailer movement.
(I have the triglide).

I just went thru that new to rv startup.

the rv dealers also usually don't supply things you will need on the road.. water hose, sewer drain hose, tank treatment chemicals, water pressure regulator (when hooked up at rv parks, there is no standard water pressure, some are too high), some kind of rug (plastic grass) for outside to help keep the dirt out of the RV.

do you know what your travel strategy will be? travel, park, sightsee around that location, repeat.. move every xx days?
fewer setup/breakdown things will make life easier overall if you need to do it often.

Cheers for this info, this is exactly what I was after. Were does one purchase such items? Camping World?
We have a rough plan. We want to travel right around US & into parts of Canada & finish in LA in a 7 month period. We have 3 kids, so are very aware that constant moving isn't ideal. It will be trial & error at 1st until we've worked out what we can all tolerate. I appreciate that less set up/breakdown would be better for all, but also need to keep moving at a certain pace to see through our plans. We thought our max travel time on one given day would be 4 hours & have allowed for extended stays of 1 week on a fairly regular basis.

[sdetweil]

Mik68 wrote:
Also, how much roughly does it cost to be hitched & ready to roll? Once TV & FW have been purchased. Is the installation of a tow hitch all that's needed? And who does the installation?

the RV dealer can get your hitch installed for you. They do this all the time. You should be able to get them to include it in the deal.. (add the hitch or we go somewhere else).
My truck (purchased used) had rails already, so I bought a new B&W Patriot hitch for $400 and assembled and installed it myself, but I have tools and time.

you may also want to consider some kind of RV shock isolator on the pinbox.. Mor/ryde or trailair, see Pinbox comparison,
these greatly reduce the impact of road/trailer movement.
(I have the triglide).

I just went thru that new to rv startup.

the rv dealers also usually don't supply things you will need on the road.. water hose, sewer drain hose, tank treatment chemicals, water pressure regulator (when hooked up at rv parks, there is no standard water pressure, some are too high), some kind of rug (plastic grass) for outside to help keep the dirt out of the RV.

do you know what your travel strategy will be? travel, park, sightsee around that location, repeat.. move every xx days?
fewer setup/breakdown things will make life easier overall if you need to do it often.

[Mik68]

Also, how much roughly does it cost to be hitched & ready to roll? Once TV & FW have been purchased. Is the installation of a tow hitch all that's needed? And who does the installation?

[Mik68]

RedG wrote:
There are lots of RV dealers in the DFW area as well as several 30 miles north of Dallas in Denton.
I got a good deal on a new Jayco Designer back in 2008 from Nichols RV in Dallas. Very nice people and good service.
Also, if you're going to have to fully stock a unit, you might consider hitting a Goodwill of Salvation Army store in the area. It's a good place to buy pots & pans, silverware, dishes, etc. for pennies on the dollar.

Great idea, thanks RedG.

[Mik68]

bob_nestor wrote:
If you can manage to get into Dallas by the end of Feb 2014 you could find a lot of good deals and RV "stuff" at the Dallas RV Super Sale running Feb 20-23 at Dallas Market Hall. Almost all the dealers and RV related support businesses in the surrounding area set up booths and displays for the show.

This sounds great but unfortunately Feb is too early for us to start. Apart from weather & planned route etc. we would like our kids to get at least 1 term of school in before we embark. Thanks anyway.

[Mik68]

wny_pat wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
For the RV check these folks out........motorhomes, 5'vrs, trailers etc.

PPL Motorhomes

Houston is a long ways from Dallas!

Thanks Old-biscuit, PPL look pretty good. We live in the most isolated city in the world. So travelling long distances to do or buy stuff is pretty normal for us. 🙂

[RedG]

There are lots of RV dealers in the DFW area as well as several 30 miles north of Dallas in Denton.
I got a good deal on a new Jayco Designer back in 2008 from Nichols RV in Dallas. Very nice people and good service.
Also, if you're going to have to fully stock a unit, you might consider hitting a Goodwill of Salvation Army store in the area. It's a good place to buy pots & pans, silverware, dishes, etc. for pennies on the dollar.

[JC2]

wny_pat wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
For the RV check these folks out........motorhomes, 5'vrs, trailers etc.

PPL Motorhomes

Houston is a long ways from Dallas!

They're also in New Braunfels,Tx.

[bob_nestor]

If you can manage to get into Dallas by the end of Feb 2014 you could find a lot of good deals and RV "stuff" at the Dallas RV Super Sale running Feb 20-23 at Dallas Market Hall. Almost all the dealers and RV related support businesses in the surrounding area set up booths and displays for the show.