newk
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Re: Mt Rushmore to Yellowstone mid Sept
I think I'd get a 5-gallon jerry can. 150 miles isn't very far in some parts of the west, especially if you want to pass thru a town without filling up now and then. I do think you could make it without the extra fuel, but your mind would be on that fuel gauge half the time. You can't "boondock" in Yellowstone -- must be in a campground.514Views0likes0CommentsRe: Your biggest truck camper mistake?
Be sure to have proper tie-downs on your truck. For years I used the bed stake holes, but on long trips they'd often wobble just enough to loosen the chains a bit. Once, while driving in strong and gusty wind conditions on a thousand-mile trip, both of the driver's side tie-down chains got so loose that they detached. I came over a hill on I-35 in Iowa and glanced in my driver's side mirror to see the camper lifted up about two feet and still going! I slammed on the brakes and made a fairly hard right turn onto the shoulder and it settled back down. (Whew!) I drove the rest of my trip at about 30 mph and purchased a set of good, frame-mounted tie downs. I could go on and on ...like the time I drove the pickup to my insurance agent's office to turn in a claim (from backing my truck camper into my car) and smacked the overhang/sign on the front of his office. (One of my more embarrassing moments!) Or the time the refrigerator door came open enroute and a jar of pickles fell out and crashed onto the floor. (Pickle juice is STICKY!) But I won't. ;)656Views0likes0CommentsRe: A new solution to the "jacked up" truck
I saw one of those a few years ago owned by the owner of body shop. I like it and have suggested here that Ford, GM and Dodge could offer such beds on new trucks. Trucks seem to get taller every year, and 5th wheel manufacturers can't seem to keep up with them.454Views0likes0CommentsRe: Illinois to Wyoming sites to see?
*scratching head* I can't for the life of me understand why everyone is recommending I-80, ESPECIALLY when you've stated that you'd like to visit the Black Hills. I would recommend I-90, probably after crossing Iowa on I-80/680, then taking I-29 north to Sioux Falls, SD/I-90. Traffic, especially truck traffic, will be much lighter on I-90, and it will take you directly to the Black Hills (still an excellent vacation spot). I'd also recommend a drive-through tour of Badlands National Park, 60 miles east of Rapid City. Driving through (possibly with a short hike) won't slow you much -- maybe figure an extra 2-3 hours including a stop at Wall Drug, the granddaddy of all tourist traps. ;) The Black Hills has plenty to entertain for a week, but I'd think you'd want to pare that down to 2-3 days to leave more time for Yellowstone/Grand Teton NPs. Rather than recommend what you should see there, I'd suggest that you Google "Black Hills" and decide as a family what you want to see. Certainly Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument and Custer State Park should not be missed, but whether you want to include one or both of the NP caves (Jewel and Wind), Deadwood, Devils Tower, etc -- that depends on time available and interest. Continue on I-90 west to Buffalo, WY, then take U.S. Hwy 16 across the Bighorn Mountains. It's a good, all season highway with not too many steep hills nor sharp curves. Continue on to Cody where again, you can choose from rodeos, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, etc. Sorry, I've got to go, but that'll get you started -- and nearly to Yellowstone.380Views0likes0CommentsRe: Yellowstone in late July with no reservation--Am I crazy?
I'd also recommend making the reservations at Madison Campground. It's about as well centered as any. In fact, if you need hookups I'd point to West Yellowstone (or further), which is another ~20 miles west of Madison. As others have said, start out early in the morning. I used to visit several times each year, and we'd be out of camp before sunrise, then back in camp at 10 or 11 a.m. until 3-4 p.m., then back out until dark. We were concentrating on photography, and the best photos usually are found in early morning and late afternoon. Just so happens that's also the best time to avoid the mid-day crowds/traffic. :)384Views0likes0CommentsRe: Help finding the right "horse"
If you won't be driving the truck much, high mileage is probably okay, but expensive stuff does go kaput on these high mileage trucks, and I would STRONGLY recommend you not plan to drive a high-mileage pickup too much. I traded off my 2000 F250 PSD 4x4 a year ago following the second year of $10K repairs! I bought it new and only drove it 6K-7K miles per year for the first decade, but then I took a new job and drove it 30K miles per year for three years. It was nothing too major (clutch was the most expensive), but it was a host of $1,500 repair bills. Seemed I couldn't go for two months without some $1500 repair job. It had 151K miles on it when I traded it, and it needed another $8,000 or so in repairs -- turbo waste gate, clutch again (damaged this time by a leaking waste gate), 2 injectors and some routine stuff that was about due, like front suspension work and new brakes. It was clean and rust-free. I got $3,500 for it in trade. I figured a brand new one would have been cheaper. (If you're a DIYer, repairs wouldn't have been so bad, but I always took it back to the dealer.) My extensive repairs began at around 100K miles. Had I continued to drive it 6-7K miles per year, the repairs would have been manageable at $2,000 or so per year, but multiply that annual mileage (and repair bills) by five and it wasn't feasible to keep it.84Views0likes0CommentsRe: Drive Through or Around Yellowstone
I live near I-90 in eastern Wyoming. Our standard trip to Yellowstone is over the Bighorns (Hwy 16 or 14), then through Cody and the East Gate. While I prefer to drive through Yellowstone bobtail, there are lots and lots of others driving through with their campers, and I can do it too -- and enjoy it. That's what I'd recommend to you. Hwy 16 leaves I-90 at Buffalo and is a fairly gentle mountain drive across the Bighorns. Hwy 14 leaves I-90 about 50 miles NW of there at Ranchester and is a little steeper going up and coming back down from the Bighorns, but it's not hairy-scary. Both are about the same distance, whether measured by miles or time, and both are good, wide, scenic, all-season highways. If you choose Hwy 14, DO NOT take 14A at the top. It's too steep for your rig, imho. This recommendation comes with the assumption that you're fairly experienced at handling your rig (gathered from your profile) and that you've done some mountain driving with your rig (w-a guess). :)481Views0likes0CommentsRe: Hill Climbing on Dirt Road
Here's another in favor of using 4LO, especially coming down! Inching down a steep trail with 20K+ pounds can be too much for your brakes. (Ask me how I know.) ;) Yes, I did it once. I had a 2500 lb. slide-in camper on an F250. I'd been down that 4x4 canyon trail dozens of times before, but this time my girlfriend (now wife) was riding along. She's scared to death of steep and narrow mountain trails, so when she started freaking out I slowed down. I don't remember whether I was in 4LO or 4HI, but I'm thinking it must have been 4HI, as I rode the brakes a little too much... and suddenly they were GONE! Luckily I was almost at the bottom of the canyon when they left me, and I was able to find a place where I could leave the trail and head up a little hill until we came to a complete stop. Were it not for that little hill, I'd have been plowing into cars, people, or maybe a very swift stream. And you're talking about doing it with a 14K trailer. Don't do it in 4HI! If this is a 25% grade, you need 4LO. This is why you have it. As for the front tires grabbing in a turn, let 'em. On a dirt road it's not going to hurt a thing.492Views0likes0CommentsRe: Which 5th Wheel Camper? - Recommendations?
OP, you need to tell us how you're going to use it. If it's for a few days at the lake and back home for a month, you won't need much in the way of size nor quality. If you were to take off for a year of traveling, then decide to winter in the south, etc., etc., you'll want it bigger with more load capacity, and you'll want flooring, cabinetry and everything else to stand up to heavy use. One thing I would recommend is that you don't decide on a 3/4-ton truck too soon. That's what I did with my last truck. I was sure 3/4-ton trucks would haul whatever I'd want. So we were stuck with smaller 5ers than what we really wanted.358Views0likes0CommentsRe: Light 5th Wheels
Camper117 wrote: So, what I'm understanding is that because it is called an F250, the most GVWR that will be on the sticker is 10000 lbs,, even if it had a greater capacity than that, right? And also, since this truck has the same engine, transmission, tires, transmission, ect as an F350 (I'm assuming) the whole issue is about payload. If this is true, would adding some type of auxiliary springs or airbags take care of the problem. Thanks I don't know about the first paragraph. I've never before heard that statement but can't say it's not true. My old (2000) F250 PSD with camper package had an 8,800 pound GVWR. They've been inching upward since (and before) then. However, I'm fairly certain that your assumption is wrong about an F250 having the same wheels and tires as an F350. That's one place you can beef up fairly easily, however. I installed slightly larger tires on my old F250, as I drove it the last few years considering to buy a larger 5er and wanted the highest load-carrying capacity I could get for a few bucks -- so if I found one I could carefully tow it home and park it until I got the bigger truck. You can also switch wheels to get even heftier tires. And add a spring leaf for stability. I'm not positive, but I think that would give you the added capacity that you'd get with an F350 (wheels, tires, leaf). A neighbor of mine "converted" his F250 to an F350 dually by getting a wrecked F350 and switching out the bed, axels/wheels/tires/differential/springs. I kept driving past it seeing the "F250" on the side of it and "F350" on the tailgate. Then he put a for sale sign on it, and I had to stop and ask about it. I think he said it only cost him about $2000 for the upgrade, doing it all himself. I think he found a bargain for the upgrades. The last (3rd) 5er I towed with my 2000 F250 had a GVWR of 10K pounds, and I thought it was about perfect (at 8-9K pounds loaded). It was small enough to get me into most FS campgrounds and large enough that we never wanted for more room during weekend and 1-2 week vacations. It was 27' long with a small slide-out. I was slightly over the truck's GVWR but only by a couple hundred pounds. I started with a smaller one, then got a larger one, then got one "just the right size." :)444Views0likes0Comments
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