White class 8 pulling a DRV 5th close to clear lake CA

[DynoDragn]

Was up yesterday near clear lake and saw a white class 8 pulling a DRV mobile suite trailer and was thinking he must have been on here asking what truck to get. lol seriously though if your here you have a pretty cool setup and pulling through those curvy mountains makes for some good driving.

[Cummins12V98]

Chad Heiser wrote:

BarneyS wrote:
In looking at that picture, it looks to me like the stabilizer jacks in front and behind the wheels on the passenger side have not retracted all the way. They look awfully low to me. Might want to check them out. Great looking rig! 🙂
Barney

Thanks for the compliment. The jacks are all the way up. They are set a little lower than usual because we added the two inch suspension riser to our rig when it was built. DRV lowers the jack mounts to compensate for this. I also have RV Snap Pads on the jacks, so they look even lower because of that.

We did not change ours after MORryde added the 3" risers. I do use these!

[Cummins12V98]

jims1 wrote:
"Of the finest leather" in a Ram? not even close...
Try Katskins https://katzkin.com/
That is the bottom of good....
If you want real leather seats send me a note and I'll pm a custom upholster.

YES it's VERY nice! LongHorn or Limited have the nice stiff.

[Chad_Heiser]

For those of you who asked, I have started a new thread describing my solar/inverter system. It is here.

[Chad_Heiser]

BarneyS wrote:
In looking at that picture, it looks to me like the stabilizer jacks in front and behind the wheels on the passenger side have not retracted all the way. They look awfully low to me. Might want to check them out. Great looking rig! 🙂
Barney

Thanks for the compliment. The jacks are all the way up. They are set a little lower than usual because we added the two inch suspension riser to our rig when it was built. DRV lowers the jack mounts to compensate for this. I also have RV Snap Pads on the jacks, so they look even lower because of that.

[Chad_Heiser]

azjeffh wrote:
Thanks for stopping by to talk with us Chad. Really enjoyed meeting you and Jen. Well done on the additional equipment added to your trailer as well.

It's pretty infrequent on this forum to hear you have too much truck. Glad to see you smile about some of the posts 🙂

Safe travels and hope we run into you two again someday. Shot a pic of you leaving today.

Thanks for the picture. We enjoyed meeting you guys as well. I don't get the opportunity to talk to another DRV owner around here very often. I wish we could have stuck around longer. Have fun exploring the area. Feel free to hit us up next time you are in the area.

[jims1]

"Of the finest leather" in a Ram? not even close...
Try Katskins https://katzkin.com/
That is the bottom of good....
If you want real leather seats send me a note and I'll pm a custom upholster.

[burningman]

That wasn't meant as an insult, turbodiesel pickups are amazing and I love mine.
But seriously, the big Cat will make 2000 ft/lbs, and can do it under a heavy load uphill all day.
Whole different world of power.

Braking? Also a whole different world... plus the jake on a BIG diesel provides a lot more whoa than an exhaust brake.

The biggest problem people have when using a real truck for an RV is they give the trailer more shock and tend to be hard on them. The cab is air-ride and the seats are air-ride but the 5th wheel hitch isn't. I suppose you could install an air-ride hitch meant for a pickup if you didn't want to use it as a truck anymore.

I do agree, for most including myself it makes more sense to use a pickup for the RV.
But it ain't in anywhere near the same league.

[Cummins12V98]

OK I may be driving a "JOKE" but "I" don't think so. I tow most grades along the West coast at 55 or more but the steepest over 6 percent. I descend even 14 percent grades without requiring the use of my service brakes. I have towed in well over 45mph side winds with complete control. My trailer brakes stop the trailer, my truck brakes stop the truck. I am at or under axle ratings and within combined. I use my truck for a daily driver. My truck has a high end luxury interior of the finest leather and very comfortable seats that allow me to drive all day if I so choose.

I think I will keep my "JOKE" at least until the 19's come out. :B

[burningman]

I carry my camper with a one ton dually for the reasons mentioned about being able to also use it as my regular daily driver, I don't need a big truck often enough and it wouid sit around rotting and drying up. But I do drive big-trucks all the time, hauling a horse trailer, driving crane truck, etc. and let me tell you, you might think a Ram or Duramax or Powerstroke makes easy and light work of towing an RV, but wait 'til you see what a C15 Caterpillar can do.

If I were going to drive a whole lot with a really big 5th wheel, I'd do it in a Peterbilt 379 with a C15.
Pickup trucks are a JOKE in comparison. And - you can buy a clean nice used 379 for less than a new diesel dually and it'll still have more miles left in it than the new pickup has.
However, as was also stated, big trucks aren't for everyone. If you're not familiar with them and/or work with them, it's biting off a pretty big morsel to chew.

For occasional use, I agree... not worth it, use your one ton. But it's a whole different world in a real truck.

[azjeffh]

BarneyS wrote:
In looking at that picture, it looks to me like the stabilizer jacks in front and behind the wheels on the passenger side have not retracted all the way. They look awfully low to me. Might want to check them out. Great looking rig! 🙂
Barney

I believe he has rubber pads attached to them which makes them look lower than they actually are. When I zoom in on the pic, they're up as far as they can go.

[BarneyS]

In looking at that picture, it looks to me like the stabilizer jacks in front and behind the wheels on the passenger side have not retracted all the way. They look awfully low to me. Might want to check them out. Great looking rig! 🙂
Barney

[azjeffh]

Thanks for stopping by to talk with us Chad. Really enjoyed meeting you and Jen. Well done on the additional equipment added to your trailer as well.

It's pretty infrequent on this forum to hear you have too much truck. Glad to see you smile about some of the posts 🙂

Safe travels and hope we run into you two again someday. Shot a pic of you leaving today.

[Chad_Heiser]

BarneyS wrote:

Chad Heiser wrote:

Snip...I have a full write up on it on the Escapees forum.

I enjoy doing solar/inverter/RV electrical work and have done several installs for friends as well.

How about doing a copy/paste from that forum over to our ***Link Removed***. Solar is a very popular topic among our members. I am sure they would love to see what you did and be able to pick your brain. 🙂
Barney

I'm in the trailer again this weekend in Willits. When I am able to get in front of a computer again (instead of just my phone) I will post the information.

[mike_kellie]

sorry about that. Trying to post from my phone. That's quite the test...dishwasher included! Looking forward to hearing more of the solar side. We have a single panel on our camper. I'll be looking out for you combination truck and 5th. I travel river road twice daily and always see many rigs heading towards the coast.