Highland Ridge Open Range RV 275RLS
We looked at this 2025 RV yesterday, but the only reviews we could find refer to 2022-2023 RVs. Almost every review grades 2 out of 5 stars for quality and manufacture's warranty. We can’t find any reviews on 2024-2025 models. Is it wishful thinking that these older models were constructed during COVID when everyone was buying an RV and the manufacturers couldn’t keep up, or are the newer models still junk?
Chevy/GMC bed height
Anybody out there have a 20/21 Chevy or GMC 2500 double cab standard bed 4wheel drive. If so what is the height of the bed rails from the ground. I don't want to order a new truck if it is too tall for my 5th wheel. Nobody at the dealership can tell me and they don't have one in stock.
Towing Capability Question
It appears that a Chevy 1500 5.3 has a higher towing capability than a Chevy 2500 6.0. Chevy site says a 1500 CC std box 5.3 3.73 4X4 will tow 11700 lbs. 2500HD CC std box 6.0 3.73 4X4 will tow 9400 lbs. Am I reading the data wrong? Is there any engineering explanation for these towing specs that seem to defy logic? Or is this just one of the marketing strategies for the 150 / 1500 market. I thought the society of auto engineers had come up with a method for establishing standards for tow ratings for light trucks. It looks like the sales side of the company is not listening to the engineering side of the company. Or maybe I'm missing something that I should be able to clearly see.
Towing with Ford Escape
I have a 2013 Ford Escape 2.0L EcoBoost. According to Ford, it develops 240hp and has a tow capacity of 3500# and GCWR of 7626 lbs. What are your thoughts about using that vehicle to tow a Forest River rPod RP-179, with the following specs: hitch wt. 285 lbs., base wt. 2630 lbs., GVWR TBD lbs., load capacity 1155 lbs. I don't quite understand why the GVWR is TBD, when they give the base weight and load capacity. And I understand that the base weight and cargo capacity add up to 3785 lbs. We currently carry about 600# of gear in our TC. If transferred to the trailer, that would put us at 3230 lbs. Add 100 lbs for propane, battery and enough water to flush the toilet while traveling. That puts us at 3330 lbs. The Escape weighs in at 4000lbs with me and DW aboard. So, what do you think? Is this a reasonable idea?
Suburban 2500 (GMT900) towing build - 11th gen -
So we have been rolling with our 2006 Expedition for the past several years. Great truck. Really like it. Super durable and comfortable for the family. Towed like a champ. I would buy another one in a heartbeat if they had a greater tow capacity. Needing a bit more family room and tow capacity, but still and SUV. As you all know, the list is short. I didn't want a vehicle as old as the Excursion, so that left the 3/4ton Suburban. We found a super clean, loaded, 2011, with low miles. As many of your know, these things are unicorns. Very rare. Only a small percent of the Suburbans went out as 3/4 tons, and of those an even smaller percentage went out decently optioned. Of those, even rarer are ones that haven't been wrecked or beat down. Happiness. First part of the build was easy. Bistein B6 or 4600 yellow shocks. Hellwig front sway bar. Absolutely transformed the handling. Then on went 275/65-18 BFG All-Terrain tires wrapped over some 8.5" wheels with a little less offset. This widened the track just a bit and added just about 1/2" of overall tire height, which is about all the more the truck will take without rubbing. Also wanted to not increase the effective gear ratios. Now the biggie... The truck is a beast. 14 bolt rear end, stout frame, strong motor. And then they put this wimpy hitch receiver on the thing. It's only rated to 1,000 lbs tongue weight and visual inspection shows the factory hitch to be uninspiring to say the least. This combined with some internet horror stories about poor performance, led me to find a solution. Obviously, full custom is an option. What I found is that, a quality aftermarket receiver from the previous gen Suburbans (GMT800) are a very close fit. They pickup factory hard points in the frame, but the frame does need to be clearanced in a couple spots. No big deal, the modification are obvious and can be handled with a grinder and sawzall in a few minutes. So here is when the hassle starts. The aftermarket hitch will sit about 5" below the factory hitch. This means it runs into the factory bumper cover, which will require some trimming or other mods to get the hitch to sit below the bumper. So this is where I sit. I am exploring my options for getting a more robust aftermarket hitch to fit. I am leaning towards trimming the bumper cover, but there is no emergency and I want to stare at it for a long time before cutting anything. So you all now, the PN for the Curt hitch is 15324. Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, experience appreciated.
Swivel seats in pickup for MOHO experience?
I have a crew cab dually and tow a big fifth wheel. I am always waffling about getting a motorhome to make long drives (>3k miles) more comfortable. It occurred to me that if I could make my pickup more comfortable then it might kill off some of my reasons for wanting a motorhome. The interior of my f350 crew cab is really pretty large, but the seats take up a lot of room. I have a family of four (wife + two kids). The idea popped into my head that if the front passenger seat was narrower and could swivel and if the rear seats were individual and could swivel then it would allow for those chairs to be positioned (rotated) to face each other. Then a very small table could be placed in the middle of those chairs to allow for card games, etc. Swivel seats might also allow for the rear seats to recline a little to let the kids nap better. Has anyone ever seen this sort of modification? I know that there are safety considerations but, hey, I ride a motorcycle and have been known to drink expired milk. So, please be easy on the safety comments and bring me creative observations and ideas.
