2011 July » tgif: let's RV

Big Decisions Ahead

Jul 272011

I just found out this week that my workplace is closing it's doors in 60 days. This isn't my first rodeo as in the past I've been at 3 jobs where they have closed down. I can see on the faces of some of my coworkers that it is really affecting them. While it will never be a comfortable situation I'm now used to it enough that I can look beyond the immediate crisis.

It's still too early to have exact timelines nailed down but I can see I have a wide range of options available to me. What I know is that I should have 8 weeks of employment left ( I could be separated before that), then I will have an additional 8 weeks of separation pay. After that I will be able to collect unemployment.

I have found out that I can take a position in one of the company's other facilities. Cincy and Orlando are two that were brought to my attention that I could move to. But over the past couple of years I have looked forward to the day that I could retire and travel. This may just be situation that has me doing it sooner then later.

I have a new trailer, I have a newer truck, there is nothing but a house and it's possessions that are holding me back. I have no intentions of changing my plans of going to Florida this winter and that will give me some extra time to decide what to do. It would be easy to come back home in March, sell everything in the house and put it on the market. I believe that I could dump my home fairly quickly which would leave me free to do as I want.

While still very early in my planning process I could see going back to Xanterra and working at one of the National Parks in the summer like Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Zion or the Grand Canyon.

Nothing is set in stone and I'm staying flexible. While this could be a scary time, it is also an exciting time. The possibilities are endless.

Deal Of The Year On New Trailer Tires

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Jul 252011

Saturday I went and got new tires on the trailer and got the deal of the year. You may be wondering why I'd want new tires on my trailer since it is new. The OEM tires on all but high end trailers are cheap Chinese made tires that have a poor record on durability. We call them China Bombs! While they may be OK for those that don't travel far, I'll be putting a lot of miles on my rig so I wanted something better.

A few weeks ago Discount Tire had a sale on tires, buy 4 get $100 off so I stopped in to buy a set. I ended up buying BFG Commercial T/A truck tires. A lot of people have had good success with these tires and they are each about $80 cheaper then Michelin's. While the Michelin's are a better tire (full steel carcass) I don't feel they are $80 apiece better. Discount Tire didn't have 4 of the BFGs in stock but that was OK since my trailer was in the shop at the time.

Champion 3500 Watt Generator Review

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Jul 202011

For the past few years I have used a Yamaha 2400 watt inverter generator. It has worked great but when I got my new trailer I found it wouldn't power my 15K BTU air conditioner. I needed to find something that would handle the A/C chores but I just didn't want to spend a couple thousand bucks on a new inverter genny.

After reading a few RV forums and the opinions on various generators I decided to pick up a Champion 3500 watt generator. I found it available at the local Farm and Fleet store for $300.00, not bad for 3500 watts. Model #46514 has a surge rating of 4000 watts, has a 30 amp RV outlet in addition to a 20 amp outlet and a 4 gallon fuel tank. At 100 lbs. it is no light weight and it is noisier then the Yamaha or Honda inverter generators.

I was able to give it a good workout last weekend as I spent 3 nights at an RC race where the temperatures were in the upper 80s most of the weekend with night lows in the mid 70s. The A/C was needed to make the weekend bearable. The noise was not super bad, in fact not much nosier then my Yamaha when it is running fully loaded. I just put it on the other side of my truck and it was just a low hum.

Stateline RC Race Shakedown Trip

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Jul 182011

Was finally able to get a shakedown trip with the new truck, the repaired trailer and get to do a RC race at the same time. Not bad being able to kill 3 birds with one stone. The RC race race was at the Stateline RC Raceway in Fremont, Indiana. The track is about 75 miles away so it was a nice trip to see how the truck tows and test out the how well the frame modifications on the trailer work out.

Thursday morning I picked up the trailer from the Crossroads factory. I checked it out before I left and the frame modifications cut the pinbox movement more then half. The reassembly of the front cap and overhang skin looked better then new. We did have to raise the pinbox an inch so the trailer would be travel level when hooked up to the new truck. Once home, I packed up and headed out to the Stateline track.

The trip to the track was uneventful. The GMC D/A dually pulled the coach like a dream. Very little tugging and the Dumamax diesel didn't even break a sweat. I normally traveled at 61 MPH with the old Dodge/Hemi as it was the speed that allowed me to stay in overdrive on level roads. I was able to do 64 MPH with the Duramax and it never shifted out of 6th gear, even on the hills. The mileage towing was 11.5 MPG which is a good 30% improvement over the old Dodge Hemi. Needless to say I super happy with the Jimmy.

5th Wheel Hitch Installed

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Jul 132011

I got the 5th wheel hitch rails installed today and am ready to pick up the trailer from the shop tomorrow morning. I dropped the truck off last night and picked it up this evening. The hitch fits nice and tight in the rails so I shouldn't have any problems with clanking from the hitch moving around.

When I purchased the truck there was a plastic bed liner in it. The liner was removed to install the hitch rails and next week I'm getting spray in bed liner installed. I had the plastic bed liner in the RAM but didn't really like it as it was very slick and things slid around a lot. Hopefully the spray in will have a bit more traction so I don't have to worry about that as much.

You can see the bed is scratched up a bit but there isn't much denting.Almost looks like concrete was being hauled what you see is a white powder. The bed liner will get rid of all that. Can't wait to get my first pull tomorrow and see how well the truck handles the coach.

New 2008 GMC 3500HD DRW Duramax Tow Vehicle

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Jul 102011

This has been coming for a month or so as I evaluated my towing situation and future uses. My current trailer weight was at the limit of my Dodge Hemi and I had a choice to make. Towing limit of the Dodge is 9500 lbs and I estimate my trailer is at that weight now and I could see it getting heavier as load up for my winter trips.

While the Dodge worked fairly well in the flat lands of the Midwest I know that the ride through any mountains would not be an enjoyable ride. I could have changed the differential gears to gain a couple thousand pounds towing but that would have also cut the gas mileage but reading shows that it still would have required a lot of time at 4500-5000 RPM range when climbing. So a month or so ago I started investigating getting a diesel.

I went and looked a dozens and in the vast majority of cases they had high miles and looked like they were beat to death. If I want a truck that would last me 10+ years I sure don't want to start out with one that already has 200K miles on it. Finally on Saturday I found what looked to be what I needed, in fact it was more truck then I really needed but I would rather have more truck then not enough.

It is a 2008 GMC Sierra SLT 3500HD Dual Rear Wheel Crew Cab with the Duramax diesel engine. It has every option available save for a couple minor ones (power pedals and rear window) with 80K miles on it. While a bit high miles for an '08 it still has a lot of miles left on it. After a few hours of negotiations we agreed on a price and I purchased it. It still has to go back to the dealer to install the hitch rails, spary in bed liner and front receiver that I had them throw in, then I'm ready to hit the road.

A short 60 mile trip empty got me around 19 MPG empty which is better then the 16 my Hemi got plus it should have a lot better towing mileage then the Hemi. At least the extra MPG will offset the higher price of diesel fuel. Can't wait to hookup the trailer and see how it does.

Truck Battery Died

RV Maintenance & Repairs No Responses »

Jul 032011

I went out to start the truck on Friday and the battery was deader then a doornail. Since it is the original battery I guess it was time for it to meet it's maker. I had the choice of just going to Wallyworld and getting one there or stepping up to something better. I went with a Sears Diehard Platinum AGM battery.

They are expensive but the Platinum AGM battery (made by Odyssey) can supply more amperage for starting and take the abuse of heavy discharge better then a wet cell battery so figured I might as well spend the money now then risk later problems. I have two 100 Ah Platinum deep cycle batteries in the trailer and have been very happy with them so I feel it is money well spent.

Trailer Repairs Completed

RV Maintenance & Repairs No Responses »

Jul 022011

I got word that the modifications to my coach is complete. It is not all put back together yet but I do have some pictures of the work that was done. While I have not seen it yet Randy claims the changes reduced the movement from 1 1/4" at the front of the pin box down to 3/8" or less. If that is the case I'll be happy. Here are some pictures.