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.

[Ron3rd]

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

PPL Motorhomes

X2. Good people to deal with.

[sdetweil]

Mik68 wrote:

Yes we have been looking at floor plans for a few months now & have found quite a few that are under 33 foot & under 10,000 LBS with bunks & queen bed. Not at all interested at the couch, would prefer a bigger dinette but they seem to all come with one. In fact they are all very similar, there must be only one designer for all the manufacturers. :W

Yes, I think they are all given the same design tool and same required parts to layout.. bed, bathroom, kitchen, dining area, living room area, and the same space.. max 8ft wide and max 40 ft long.

And then some additional constraints.. State park spaces are smaller than commercial spaces.. 30-35 ft long. not as much room for slides.

Its like a puzzle.. you can add this part, but you have to shrink that part. We looked at bunkhouses for an additional room to have someone go to.. you will NOT be having fun ALL the time!! at home you can get away from each other.. a few weeks/months on the road and you'd like to be able to do the same. (me retired now). but the rest of the space gets shrunk too much with the bunkhouse design. DW space!.

If you really can stay under 10,000lbs then dually might not be as important.. Our Alpine 3720fb is 12400 empty.

[Mik68]

sdetweil wrote:


The Duallys are wider. here in the states max width is 7'11". and the dually rears are right out there.

I have seen a dually or two here in Perth W.A. so am assuming they are legal here but will definatly be checking it out first.

sdetweil wrote:
no problem.. just trying to give you info that might save you a few (but not much) dollars (10-20 cents/gallon, you will be consuming about 1700 gallons, so maybe $350 US overall. This particular card (pilot) demands payment in full each month. all this may not be helpful to you, so file it away as useful, but not for your trip.

Oh, now I know it saves me money I could be interested. Im all for saving some $$'s. 😄 Thanks again for all your great advise & info, it has been most valuable.

sdetweil wrote:
sleeping 4 or 5 means a bunkhouse model FW probably. My FW sleeps 2, and then there is the fold out couch. I wouldn't want anyone to sleep there repeatedly. But my FW is still 40ft long, the max allowed in Texas.

Yes we have been looking at floor plans for a few months now & have found quite a few that are under 33 foot & under 10,000 LBS with bunks & queen bed. Not at all interested at the couch, would prefer a bigger dinette but they seem to all come with one. In fact they are all very similar, there must be only one designer for all the manufacturers. :W

[sdetweil]

Mik68 wrote:


Is this somewhere else a brick & mortar place or as you have mentioned only online?
If so I can live with a $30 difference for the convenience... 🙂

In my case I was buying from the selling dealer showroom parts store.
anyone can buy from these 'stores'. But I consider them 'specialty' shops... You can buy septic system toilet paper at Walmart, you don't NEED to buy it at the RV dealer.

[sdetweil]

Mik68 wrote:

Thanks for all this very useful information, its all going down in our diary. So even if the FW already has tires I should be able to negotiate new G tires in the deal. What about the TV? Should I & will I be able to do the same?
Its won't take much convincing to get me into a megacab, they look hot, even the Mrs thinks so. Only reason I was thinking not to, was because I want to bring back to Aus & they look considerably wider. Are they? Also I have been told to get from 2012 onwards as there were many changes from that year?

don't think the tow vehicle will need any tire upgrades. The issue is the FW tires are really right at their limits. usually 7000 lb axles and 3750lb tire ratings.. Many here have experienced blowouts with relatively new Goodyear Marathon Load Range E tires (see topics on Tires in the FW section). I have had a lot of trouble with E tires on my enclosed car hauler (which only weighs 7,000lbs), I don't want ANY trouble on the 12-15,000lb FW.

The Duallys are wider. here in the states max width is 7'11". and the dually rears are right out there.

I know nothing about the Dodge truck towing capabilities. My only comment is safety for your family on such a compressed travel schedule. I am averse to losing a single tire on the TV putting anyone at risk. (its why we went to a dually, trading in my single wheel ford truck)

Mik68 wrote:

sdetweil wrote:
Pilot/FlyingJ provides a fuel discount card for GoodSam members, altho they are usually higher priced than the local fuel stations.
(and demand payment in full at the end of the month/billing cycle)
they do have truck pull thru, and that is way useful.

GasBuddy.com (web) can give u a tank fill plan for a trip too.

This all sounds a little foreign to me. I was just gonna pay as I go. Do they prefer payment at end of month instead? Also, I hadn't imagined not pulling FW through gas station to re-fuel but I guess this would be an issue with some gas stations?

no problem.. just trying to give you info that might save you a few (but not much) dollars (10-20 cents/gallon, you will be consuming about 1700 gallons, so maybe $350 US overall. This particular card (pilot) demands payment in full each month. all this may not be helpful to you, so file it away as useful, but not for your trip.

You will have to pay attention on refueling with the FW attached.
Many stations have you pull in facing the station, and you have to do a 90 degree turn to get out, (with cars lined up at the curb in front of you), or you have to back out.. which may not be as much fun as pulling in. I won't try anything not pullthru, or parallel to the roadway, with limited or no curbs. AND you have to be careful of overhead items. my FW is 13ft tall. Lots of stuff 'up' there I didn't pay attention to before. (already found some trees I am no longer fond of).

sleeping 4 or 5 means a bunkhouse model FW probably. My FW sleeps 2, and then there is the fold out couch. I wouldn't want anyone to sleep there repeatedly. But my FW is still 40ft long, the max allowed in Texas.

[Mik68]

happybooker1 wrote:
You could also look at Passport America. 1/2 price for a site for 1-7 nights. Rules & restrictions apply. Last price I saw was $44/year. Could be quite a savings for you.

Watch for campgrounds that will charge extra for your 3rd kid. Doesn't matter the age. A lot of private campgrounds are for 2adults, 2 kids. Extra person $X. State parks in TX are for 8 people so no worries there!

Yep Walmart has it pretty well sewn up in the we-have-everything dept.

State parks in Texas I would recommend are: Brazos Bend, Monahans Sandhills, Inks Lake, Garner, Balmorrhea, & Davis Mountain. Lots for kids to do at each.

Thanks for this info. We are hoping to start our camping experience from 1st night off the plane & hire a cabin or similar until we have our rig.
We already have a plan for the 3rd child syndrome. We are travelling with another family who only have 1 child, so in total there will be 8 of us. So one of ours becomes one of theres for a brief moment. 😉 This is more than likely how we will travel anyway so there only child has interaction with one of ours while on the road. Taking turns of course.

[Mik68]

sdetweil wrote:

Nice idea to use your current equipment for a list builder.

I consider the dealer floor and camping world the most expensive places. We go to camping world to look, then buy somewhere else.

Nothing is special to the 5th wheel except the power cord (due to the end connector if u have 50amp electric service).

I think I spent an extra $30 on the startup stuff ($150 vs 120) vs online, but I didn't have time to get it shipped and with me at pickup time. (I spent $1100 on fuel round trip, so $30 extra is noise).

Is this somewhere else a brick & mortar place or as you have mentioned only online?
If so I can live with a $30 difference for the convenience... 🙂

[Mik68]

sdetweil wrote:

yes, I think you are close. I did an estimate of your trip with $3.85 for fuel and $30 a night for residence..and came to $6500(US) roughly for each. You can stay with full hookup for less than $30/night. get a GoodSam membership. 10% savings so $27. (every $3 helps!)). I use Goodsam, RV Parky, Oh Ranger Parkfinder, and RV Camps Locator apps on my Android phone to plan our stops. iExit, GasBuddy, Pilot and Loves fuel apps to find fuel (usually start looking 100 miles til empty)

for this kind of travel, I would also insist on Load Range G tires on your coach. I had the Goodyear G614 installed on mine (Sailun and Michelin are good too). Too many tire failures reported with the E rated. you do NOT want to deal with this. the Load Range E ST tires are rated to 65mph. We towed at around 68.. so having the spare speed capacity on the G (to 75mph) was comforting. (again, you should be able to get that in your deal).

I saw you were doing MegaCab.. I assume for rear seat space for the kids. I think the megacabs also force shortbed. With 5 people, I personally would think hard about a dually (purchase price diff is negligible). I traded up my ford f250 to a f350 dually.. love the stability.

Also buy a roadside assistance package, GoodSam or Coachnet. ($100 for one year).

Thanks for all this very useful information, its all going down in our diary. So even if the FW already has tires I should be able to negotiate new G tires in the deal. What about the TV? Should I & will I be able to do the same?
Its won't take much convincing to get me into a megacab, they look hot, even the Mrs thinks so. Only reason I was thinking not to, was because I want to bring back to Aus & they look considerably wider. Are they? Also I have been told to get from 2012 onwards as there were many changes from that year?

sdetweil wrote:
Pilot/FlyingJ provides a fuel discount card for GoodSam members, altho they are usually higher priced than the local fuel stations.
(and demand payment in full at the end of the month/billing cycle)
they do have truck pull thru, and that is way useful.

GasBuddy.com (web) can give u a tank fill plan for a trip too.

This all sounds a little foreign to me. I was just gonna pay as I go. Do they prefer payment at end of month instead? Also, I hadn't imagined not pulling FW through gas station to re-fuel but I guess this would be an issue with some gas stations?

[Ric_Flair]

randy328 wrote:

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

Yep, and after you stock up on supplies at Walmart, you can camp there too.

It's free

[sdetweil]

Mik68 wrote:

We are going away for a week, next week in our little pop top TT we have & are going to make a list of everything we use in it as a start.
Will specialized items for the FW that you mentioned previously be cheaper from a dealer like PPl or Camping world?

Nice idea to use your current equipment for a list builder.

I consider the dealer floor and camping world the most expensive places. We go to camping world to look, then buy somewhere else.

Nothing is special to the 5th wheel except the power cord (due to the end connector if u have 50amp electric service).

I think I spent an extra $30 on the startup stuff ($150 vs 120) vs online, but I didn't have time to get it shipped and with me at pickup time. (I spent $1100 on fuel round trip, so $30 extra is noise).

[happybooker1]

You could also look at Passport America. 1/2 price for a site for 1-7 nights. Rules & restrictions apply. Last price I saw was $44/year. Could be quite a savings for you.

Watch for campgrounds that will charge extra for your 3rd kid. Doesn't matter the age. A lot of private campgrounds are for 2adults, 2 kids. Extra person $X. State parks in TX are for 8 people so no worries there!

Yep Walmart has it pretty well sewn up in the we-have-everything dept.

State parks in Texas I would recommend are: Brazos Bend, Monahans Sandhills, Inks Lake, Garner, Balmorrhea, & Davis Mountain. Lots for kids to do at each.

[bradnailer]

Had a friend get hosed by McClain's. Wouldn't use them on a bet.

FuntownRV in Cleburn is a good dealership as well.

[sdetweil]

Mik68 wrote:

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?

yes, I think you are close. I did an estimate of your trip with $3.85 for fuel and $30 a night for residence..and came to $6500(US) roughly for each. You can stay with full hookup for less than $30/night. get a GoodSam membership. 10% savings so $27. (every $3 helps!)). I use Goodsam, RV Parky, Oh Ranger Parkfinder, and RV Camps Locator apps on my Android phone to plan our stops. iExit, GasBuddy, Pilot and Loves fuel apps to find fuel (usually start looking 100 miles til empty)

Pilot/FlyingJ provides a fuel discount card for GoodSam members, altho they are usually higher priced than the local fuel stations.
(and demand payment in full at the end of the month/billing cycle)
they do have truck pull thru, and that is way useful.

GasBuddy.com (web) can give u a tank fill plan for a trip too.

for this kind of travel, I would also insist on Load Range G tires on your coach. I had the Goodyear G614 installed on mine (Sailun and Michelin are good too). Too many tire failures reported with the E rated. you do NOT want to deal with this. the Load Range E ST tires are rated to 65mph. We towed at around 68.. so having the spare speed capacity on the G (to 75mph) was comforting. (again, you should be able to get that in your deal).

I saw you were doing MegaCab.. I assume for rear seat space for the kids. I think the megacabs also force shortbed. With 5 people, I personally would think hard about a dually (purchase price diff is negligible). I traded up my ford f250 to a f350 dually.. love the stability.

Also buy a roadside assistance package, GoodSam or Coachnet. ($100 for one year).

[Mik68]

Sounds like there is no shortage of Walmarts & CW stores. Do they have any competition? or have they got it all sown up. :@

[Mik68]

sdetweil wrote:

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).

We are going away for a week, next week in our little pop top TT we have & are going to make a list of everything we use in it as a start.
Will specialized items for the FW that you mentioned previously be cheaper from a dealer like PPl or Camping world?