DCBarger
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Joined 12 years ago
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Re: Pickup Decisions...
My DW gets a new car about every 10 years, but I always buy used. Take your time, try to buy from the original owner and see how they take care of their stuff. Worked out for me so far. My DD is a 05 Tahoe I bought 3 years ago with 70k, got 130k on it now with only scheduled maintenance. My current dually I bought just over a year ago with 40k on it. Its a 2000, gas 454 that obviously never got driven. Would love to have a new diesel dually but with 2 kids in college, not in the budget. Used works for me....303Views0likes0CommentsRe: Disappointed in my new Lance
I've read this entire thread and enjoyed it a lot. I've owned 2 Lances; an early 90s 980 that we kept 10 years until it didn't fit the family. After owning a MH for a bunch of years raising kids, DW and I bought a 04 1121. We thought we'd like the slide, but really didn't after living with it for a while. After a few years, we sold it. Both campers served us well but like any toy, needed maintenance to keep up on stuff. I'd have to say the 04 had more problems than the early 90s one did. Had a leak in the fresh water tank and a relay went out in the fridge. I fixed both without much problem. We're now looking for another Lance. I've looked at the other brands and I guess after owning 2, we like the Lance's best...513Views0likes0CommentsRe: Any haulers with 20 foot cargo length?
The only drawback to a TC is they are not really comfortable to hang out in like if you got caught in bad weather. We were always doing something else and the camper was only for dining/showering/sleeping and they are perfect for that. Other than that, they are a great RV. No power train, registration and fairly easy maintenance. With wireless electric jacks, on and off really quick. We had 2 Lance Campers over the years. First one when the kids were young and loved it. I was racing cars at the time and also riding father/son enduros with my boys. We towed a 20' enclosed for the race car and a small utility trailer for the MCs. Never had a problem with it. Time went on, sold the first TC, did the MH deal while the kids were growing up. Sold it and bought another Lance TC. I had a 1 ton dually and never gave it a thought about weight. It was OK with our 4k lb ski boat, but couldn't imagine towing our current enclosed trailer behind it like we used to. IMHO Some of the new/larger TC's are to much for a 1 ton truck if you want to tow a bigger trailer. Do your homework on these. DW is saying to go for a toy hauler this time around. Still looking/thinking which way to go but a shorter/lighter TC is still a consideration.595Views0likes0CommentsRe: Any haulers with 20 foot cargo length?
Great thread as I'm in the same situation. Our "toy" is only about 18' but heavier at almost 3k lbs. I had a Lance 1121 TC but it was so heavy (almost 5k lbs wet & loaded) I was concerned about towing our 26' enclosed race trailer with it. Sold the TC and now considering either another smaller TC or going to a TH that will fit the race boat. Another limiting factor is our truck is a 2000 Chevy dually with a 454 gas motor. With 3 kids in college, buying a new truck is out of the question for the time being. Reading everything I can find on larger toy haulers or smaller TCs.595Views0likes0CommentsRe: GVWR; how close are you?
After years of lurking, I joined just because of this subject. I had a Lance 11'6" on a 94 Chevy C3500 dually years ago and never thought about total weights. We went everywhere in it and I pulled a big ski boat, a couple different race car trailers with never a problem. Got rid of the TC when family started growing but always missed it. After kids went off to college, picked up a Lance 1121 to go on my 2000 Chevy C3500 DRW. Had it a couple years been a bunch of places and really like it. Earlier this year, I had an inside dual blow and rip the fender off. Now I keep up on tire pressures, use good tires (the one that blew was a Goodyear with only about 5k miles on it). Pulled the wheels and the other side inside tire was cracked all around the sidewall. Naturally, now I'm kinda skittish about the whole weight deal and spent a bunch of time here trying to figure out if or how bad the tire problem is. Our truck with a camper shell and tail gate on is 6800 lbs with a full tank of fuel and me in the truck. I figure the shell and tailgate are 300-400 lbs or so. Pulled the shell, put the camper on and the truck is 10,720 with no water and only minimal stuff. That's about 720 over the GVWR but well under tire ratings (new Michelin tires rated at 2480 ea as duals).... So I'm trying to decide, sell the camper and buy something lighter. Kinda my preference as I like my truck and it's paid for. DW hates the idea of any camper with a wet shower. Alternatively, do I keep the camper and buy a new truck. Wife likes that idea but we only drive the truck about 5000 miles a year and I hate the idea of tying up $50k or so on something I don't use all the time.... We're off to Whiskytown lake over Labor Day and gonna try to come up with a plan...477Views0likes0CommentsRe: Anyone Full Time In A TC?
I've recently become seriously interested in the full time life style but it's gonna be a tough sell to DW as her home is a big deal to her. I do think some extended trips in our 1121 might help both of us decide. I love our camper, but have mostly used it while doing something else; water skiing, racing, and plain camping. Not sure I could full time in the 1121 as there's no where really comfortable to just chill.376Views0likes0CommentsRe: Photo Thread - Post a Photo of Your Truck Camper Here
Finally registered after years of lurking. Here's our camper, 03 Lance 1121. Recently traded the old 94 dually for a 2000 but don't have pics of the camper on the new (to us anyway) truck yet. Truck looks exactly the same, just not lowered. Also, the truck is parked in front of our race trailer, but not towing it. Hope to get to the point we can tow the race trailer with the camper, but we are still working on weights and stuff to be sure the truck is up to it. Photo width=640177Views0likes0CommentsRe: Review of my Ram Mega Cab 3500 DRW
campingken wrote: We have used both Timbrens and airbags. If you tow loads of various weights airbags can be adjusted. Because we sometimes don't tow the horse trailer, tow it empty, tow one horse, tow two horses, and really load the camper and trailer for long trips air bags worked best for us. Same here. I've had air bags on my truck since the late 80s and have learned a lot of lessons. If installed properly (lots of clearance around the bag), with a lot of attention to hose routing, monitor the pressure with an on board gauge, and have a small compressor to adjust the pressure when needed air bags can be trouble free for years of hard use. Short cut any of this, they can make life difficult...372Views0likes0Comments
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