Finally making the transition from cabin to campsite! Time to buy a camper!

Teamubr said:

And you may say you don't need a diesel until you have one. Just the fuel mileage over a gasser is worth it to me. Now, if the price of diesel would go back below gas, then the math would really work out.

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I would prefer the Diesel but the cost difference in buying the truck (for us) was HUGE. $8K-10K difference in price. That buys a LOT of Gas. I will say, however, that I don't tow the camper (or anything else for that matter) that much and my truck is also my daily commuter vehicle. I wish I could have a dedicated Tow vehicle (diesel of course) and a more fuel efficient commuter, but with 3 cars already on the insurance policy, I don't think I can afford another vehicle at this point.

Oh well, maybe when the kiddos all grow up and fly from the nest, I might be able to get to that point.

peg110 said:

I would prefer the Diesel but the cost difference in buying the truck (for us) was HUGE. $8K-10K difference in price. That buys a LOT of Gas.

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That's why I said it's hard to make the math work out. If I didn't need a BIG truck for the race team, I probably would not have this dually. My truck wasn't a daily driver until recently when my car finally broke. It has 178,000 miles on it and needs a new head. Even if I do the work, it's close to $2,000 (BMW) and the car is only worth $3500 or so. Until I decide if I want to fix it (warmer weather will help), I'll drive the truck.

j

Unfortunately, I don't have an "Adequate" garage to do some of the work to vehicles that I'd like to, so I end up taking it to the "Shop" for everything. I think this year I am seriously going to look into building a "Pole Barn" garage and pouring a concrete pad. I think in the long run it will help with other things too.

If you have any questions about specific brands, let me know and I'll give you the down and dirty. Self-proclaimed know-it-all here.

SouthAlabama5er said:

hstrickland, glad we could be of help! Tell your husband to stop be a lurker and start chatting. I know several of us here on the board are truck guys, and we'll talk all about trucks all day. Right now I'm trying to talk Tiggerdad into tuning his truck and bring the 6.7 Powerstroke to life to handle that new 5er his wife is looking at! Haha!

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As I type, hubby is probably sitting in his tree stand in the woods, phone in hand, waiting on this monster buck....and lurking on the Camping Thread He actually is a Dis member....I think he's made around 4 or 5 post His name is WishIwasFishin

Flametamr said:

Search for an Open Range 305BHS. We almost bought that model. It has the outside kitchen. You just lose floor space in the rear bedroom with the bunk setup. That's the only real difference.

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Found it! Like it! My only concern is the closet dealership is Atlanta, and that's 4 hours away.

rajak73 said:

Congrats on finally crossing over! Click on the avatar, 2014 Keystone Cougar, 35 ft. Truck is a chevy 2500 duramax. Pulls just great. Made 2 trips from Nebraska to the Fort with no problems whatsoever. I'll agree about going to RV show, we spent many days looking at campers at our local dealer trying to decide what layout we like. DW said if she could combine our last 3 campers, kitchen in one, living room in this one, and bedroom in another, it would be the perfect camper. My DS just bought a 34' cougar taildragger this spring with bunk beds, nice layout, at the time he didn't have a truck to pull a 5er. We wanted the extra living space at the back since it's just the 2 of us now. Look at all kinds and pick something you really like, you can always upgrade later. Again, to the camping family!

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Thanks for the welcome....and yep, making the transition. Looking forward to the show - acres and acres of campers! Just curious, how many hours is it from Nebraska to the Fort?? That's quite the haul.

Teamubr said:

We may need to start our own forum for "Truck Talk", but we can certainly go on and on about them.

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....and so y'all did!! Fabulous idea!!

dmaxphil said:

If you have any questions about specific brands, let me know and I'll give you the down and dirty. Self-proclaimed know-it-all here.

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This is excellent news as we need a "self-proclaimed know-it-all" for information Here's your list...
Forest River Sandpiper (but think they are too heavy for our F350)
Forest River Rockwood
Jayco Eagle
Keystone Sprinter
Keystone Montana (again, too heavy)

Hubby would prefer a 5th wheel (with outdoor kitchen)

hstrickland said:

This is excellent news as we need a "self-proclaimed know-it-all" for information Here's your list...
Forest River Sandpiper (but think they are too heavy for our F350)
Forest River Rockwood
Jayco Eagle
Keystone Sprinter
Keystone Montana (again, too heavy)

Hubby would prefer a 5th wheel (with outdoor kitchen)

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Rather than highlight the negatives (if any) I will give you some pointers for looking through brochures.

1. Pay careful attention to what is omitted from construction features. For instance, aluminum framing is considered a positive. Plywood rather than OSB is a positive. If a manufacturer lists 5" truss roof without any indication of material, assume its wood framed there. Same with floor or any area not specifically mentioned. If they say 3/8" decking without using the word "Plywood" assume its OSB. If they list laminated floor or roof without providing the size of the decking, assume its one or two layers of really thin luan.

This does not mean wood framing is necessarily a bad thing. But if aluminum is used in construction, it will be listed specifically because it costs the manufacturer more. Same with plywood.

I like all the brands you listed. Sprinter has always been the red-headed step child of the Keystone family but they've recently made some changes to structure that I suppose could be considered improvements. Jayco is the best brand in my opinion from a warranty perspective (2 year + nicer people - all plywood) They also come with Maxxis tires IIRC.

I do not like OSB floors. This would seemingly rule out all Keystone products from my consideration, but form your own opinion.

Other brands I really like are Open Range, K-Z, Cedar Creek, Cardinal (Own one)

Another helpful tip: As you walk in the trailer, grab the door jamb to the left as you walk in and reach you fingers around to the wall. If the wall is the same approximate thickness of the jamb, it is at least 2" thick. If there is a noticeable gap, it's thinner. Most Columbus fw's have 1" thick walls - for instance.

I loved our Rockwood. It was not a 5th wheel, but had a fabulous outside kitchen. We now have a Wildcat 5th wheel with no outside kitchen - do miss the outside kitchen!!
get the picture LOL - outside kitchen - must have frig, sink goes into the gray tank, microwave, wonderful cabinet & great pull out cooktop!

Time to come out of "lurkdom" and say hello. I'm Heather's husband, Bill. Obviously I'm not much of a poster on the Boards but the camping threads seem safe. I'm hoping maybe one of you sensible guys can talk me out of buying a camper, or maybe not. Thanks for all the great info. The Tampa show was a help. I've been over on y'all's towing thread, too. Good info. Anybody know anything about Grand Design?

WishIwasFishin said:

Time to come out of "lurkdom" and say hello. I'm Heather's husband, Bill. Obviously I'm not much of a poster on the Boards but the camping threads seem safe. I'm hoping maybe one of you sensible guys can talk me out of buying a camper, or maybe not. Thanks for all the great info. The Tampa show was a help. I've been over on y'all's towing thread, too. Good info. Anybody know anything about Grand Design?

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First of all, Welcome Bill. I have read quite a bit about Grand Design. The seem to be well built, and well for the cost, should be. They are one I have considered purchasing if the DW and I go to RVing full time.

We here on the camping forum, promise not to bite, most of the time. We try to be helpful, some of the time. But there is a great group of people here in the camping thread.

WishIwasFishin said:

I'm hoping maybe one of you sensible guys can talk me out of buying a camper, or maybe not. Thanks for all the great info. The Tampa show was a help.

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Bill

I doubt you will find anyone here to talk you out of buying a trailer. We LOVE helping folks find their perfect unit. (Remember I am the guy who likes small popups and A-frames which is what your SIL is interested in).

Hang on, strap in, and stay within your towing limit.

Bama Ed

WishIwasFishin said:

Time to come out of "lurkdom" and say hello. I'm Heather's husband, Bill. Obviously I'm not much of a poster on the Boards but the camping threads seem safe. I'm hoping maybe one of you sensible guys can talk me out of buying a camper, or maybe not. Thanks for all the great info. The Tampa show was a help. I've been over on y'all's towing thread, too. Good info. Anybody know anything about Grand Design?

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Hi, some friends bought a Grand Design at that show. So far they love it. She did alot of research before choosing that brand.

Welcome Bill,

I don't know much about the "Grand Design" but I will try and talk you INTO buying a camper.

Everytime the DW and I Plan for a trip to WDW, we look at a lot of the options. Value Resorts, Moderate's (and even Deluxe although it's way more money then we want to spend.)

For us (and probably most) cost is a big issue. Now the DW doesn't like to Fly but would (for WDW), but for us the cost is about the same (or more expensive) then driving PLUS when we get there (if we fly) we would have to rent a car. (We do more than just go to WDW parks), so that's an added cost. (okay versus the travel time).

Our next trip (August 2016) for our Anniversary, without travel costs in consideration, we were still looking at about $1000 for accommodations. Fort wilderness was less than $600. Add savings of travel (about $300-$500 depending on gas prices at the time) Plus the convenience of having a kitchen at the ready (meals are much cheaper) , all in all, for us it's a no-brainer. PLUS, we really Really REALLY like the Fort. It's about as good as any moderate resort in our opinion. Okay, so you don't get "House Keeping". Most of the time we put the Do Not Disturb sign out anyway because we don't want our stuff moved around by the cleaning staff.

All in all we love our camper PLUS it makes going many other places much easier too. The added benefit, you always have a bathroom at the ready and you don't have to worry about the quality of the facilities at the rest stops (or gas stations or whatever).

Whatever you decide, I hope you have an awesome time.

The one thing to consider is this. If you are going out to buy an RV you have to ask yourself. In all truth, how much use will it get? If its one trip a year to WDW, then it is not worth it. But if you enjoy getting out and going camping and can get some decent use out of it through the season then by all means buy one.

I am more on the extreme side of RV use for a non full timer or snow bird. I use my RV at the race track alone 20-25 weekends a year, in addition to that our annual 2 week trip to Disney, plus at least 2-4 weekend trips through the season away from the track. (Last year was only 2 due to work obligations from August through December.) But we still got out and enjoyed the RV beyond the track. That is enough to justify the RV payments for me.

Bill welcome to the show. There are a lot of helpful folks here. We don't look for reasons to belittle people here like you find on the other forums (don't take kindly to those who make us look bad either).

Hmmm, need to be talked out of a camper huh? Seems like a familiar problem. I camped in a popup as a kid. Loved every minute of it. When I talked my wife into giving camping a try it took a while. Tent camping was definitely out. So we talked "campers" and she was in.

Now, in my head I saw a popup just like what we used to enjoy. A place to cook and sleep. Use the comfort stations for showers and restrooms. My wife saw basically a mobile home, full fridge, kids each have their own room, full kitchen, full size shower/tub, etc. So we had to do some compromising. We met in the middle on a model that gave the girls their own room with a slideout for more floor space. It has an indoor and outdoor kitchen so if combined she had a "full" kitchen. She still wants a bigger shower (typically only in a 5th wheel) but it gave us all what we wanted. My wife is a germaphobe. She does not wish to use the comfort stations and will not sleep in hotels as she has no idea what critters are living in the beds. Thus, the resorts and cabins were out unless we bring our own sheets and pillows (yes, she is that determined).

This bigger camper did require a bigger truck, thus the F-250 diesel. Now, here's the thing on diesel vs. gas. If you ever tow a trailer/camper with a gas burner and then pull it with a diesel you will not want to pull it with the gas burner again. The extra power of the diesel just leaves you feeling more comfortable on the road. You can accelerate faster and smoother and get better mileage, plus the added weight makes for better handling of heavier trailers. Yes, it costs more, about $10,000 more, I can justify the cost since I have land that needs regular tractor work to maintain. This means being able to pull big tractors on a trailer that I just can't do safely with an F-150 or similar. To offset the wear and tear on such an expensive upkeep truck, I still have my 1997 Toyota Tacoma to drive back and forth to work or to run simple errands. Some people can't justify the extra cost of the diesel, due to needing the same truck for everyday use which the diesel is not practical for. I will not argue with them on this point as they are correct to not be able to make the math work in that circumstance. For them, the smarter choice is to go with the gas burner.

I will suggest one thing though, if you get a trailer, and intend to make long camping trips, I suggest an auxiliary fuel tank to cut back on the fuel stops. It seriously helps make up some travel time and reduces the stress and headache of getting in and out of gas stations/truck stops.

P.S.
Quit being a lurker. We like to hear input from people, especially if it pertains to camping. We need your side of the story too. Your significant other has been a big help to others on the Dis for years so now it can be your turn. For us guys though it can sometimes be like watching an episode of Raymond or even Married with Children. We all like to joke and go back and forth at one another.

tiggerdad said:

yes, she is that determined

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Sounds somewhat like my DW. Part of the reason we have a TT is because since my DW had her "Gall Bladder" out at age 16, she needs her bathroom NOW! When it hits there is little warning. We'd go to a (relatively) local amusement park. There were a couple of different ways to go, and we'd have to go the long way because she knew where all the bathroom stops were. So an RV is ideal. The "John" is always with you and you know the quality of it. In fact the DW was the one that paid for the TT. (I however pay for the truck).

tiggerdad said:

Some people can't justify the extra cost of the diesel, due to needing the same truck for everyday use which the diesel is not practical for. I will not argue with them on this point as they are correct to not be able to make the math work in that circumstance. For them, the smarter choice is to go with the gas burner.

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This is me. I'd love a diesel for the power, but it's also my everyday vehicle. I'd like to buy a cheaper beater, but I already have 3 cars on our insurance, and even at a lower rate of liability only, I don't think it's in the budget. Not enough gas savings I think.

Thank ya for all the good info guys and the nice welcome. I really appreciate it. I've always enjoyed camping, but the wife not so much. Her idea of roughing it involves a tent with an air conditioner, toilet and wheels. AKA - a 5th wheel! When we started throwing the idea around about "camping", we went down to Camping World and looked at small travel trailers. That quickly went from small travel trailers to large travel trailers and then 5th wheels. And I will have to admit, the 5th wheels look really nice for a family of 5. The kids are into this camping thing full force. The boys would take a tent, but my little girl is too much like her mom. We plan on lots of weekend trips, and I already have my eyes set on Bluewater Key RV Resort in Florida for some tarpon fishing. As long as the wife has sunshine and water, she's good to go. She plans on extra trips to the Fort, of course. She swears she's gonna learn to back a 40 foot trailer so she can pick up and go when ever she wants. Knowing Heather, she'll do it. Not sure we'll be driving further than 9 or so hours. That long in a truck with 3 kids is sure to be a disaster.

As far as the truck goes, it's a diesel hands down. I've grown up driving all sorts of trucks and all sizes. Y'all are definitely right when you talk about diesel vs. gas. We're even tossing the idea around about trading in and getting a dually. Since I have a company vehicle, I don't drive my truck much. Hunting, fishing and pulling the boat. The 5th wheel that we really like has a pin weight around 2600. It's one of the High Country's. Lots of people are telling me that the F350 diesel is ok for towing it, but I'm not sure. Then we tossed the idea around about a toy hauler so we could throw the golf cart in the back. Would definitely need a dually for a triple axel. Too many decisions. The RV show in Tampa helped us narrow down what we want. Bunk house, outdoor kitchen, 2 bathrooms, 2 doors (this is the wife's list - she doesn't ask for much ) Thoughts on an outdoor kitchen?? We both like to cook, so I feel like we would use it. Would be nice to have a refrigerator outside for the beverages.

Thank ya again for all the advice.

WishIwasFishin said:

I've always enjoyed camping, but the wife not so much.

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Welcome Bill,

Your wife sounds just like mine. "Camping" must have A/C, a microwave, satellite TV and shopping within 30 minutes. I would stay in a tent and don't mind back packing in everything I needed. The good news is there is a WalMart within 30 minutes of everywhere, so I get to enjoy the outdoors and DW gets the A/C and shopping.

I just went through the new camper wish lists and finally found one I wanted. I saw the general layout I wanted (midbunk) last year at the rv show. Then I made up a list of what I really wanted. Since I've been RV'ing for a long time, my list of wants wasn't the normal list. I wanted the kitchen on the street side. My old 5er had the kitchen on the door (campsite) side. Other than in the bunk room and front BR, there was only 1 little window over the sink that looked out over your campsite. I wanted lots of insulation. Midwest heat and humidity is bad enough. Camping in the middle of a field at a race with no shade makes it really hard to cool a camper. Also wanted large holding tanks. We mostly camp at state parks and COE campgrounds. Most around here only have electric sites.

Then there were the smaller things I've learned to like. Slam latch basement doors. The little twist latch ones on my old camper were always a problem. And for some reason, my hands a never clean when I'm camping and there seemed to always be dirt and hand prints around the twist locks. I wanted an outdoor TV mount and hookups. I had an outside coax and power hookup on my old trailer. I added a mount to the outside. I use this a lot when camping. I also wanted a king bed option. I have a king at home and my DW won't sleep if there is anything within a few feet of her, including me. I want more than the edge of a bed.

I spent a lot of time going over web sites of every manufacturer out that had a midbunk model. I even made up a spreadsheet with rankings for each thing. 2 trailers came out above the other 15. We drove 3 hours up to see one and immediately didn't like it. The next weekend we drove 2 hours to see the "2nd place" and we brought it home 4 days later. I got everything I wanted except for a large fresh water tank. My old 5er had a 62 gallon tank. I could dry camp for 4 or 5 days on a tank. This new one only has a 48 gallon. I figured it was probably good for a 3 day weekend. If I find it's not enough, I may look into a portable tank for the bed of the truck with a transfer pump.

I also considered a leveling system, frameless windows and dual pane windows, but the price on those things didn't seem to be worth it to me.

j

WishIwasFishin said:

Her idea of roughing it involves a tent with an air conditioner, toilet and wheels. AKA - a 5th wheel!

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We call that "Roughing it Smoothly". No kidding, a friend of mine has a sticker saying that on the back his 5th Wheel.

Teamubr said:

I got everything I wanted except for a large fresh water tank. My old 5er had a 62 gallon tank. I could dry camp for 4 or 5 days on a tank. This new one only has a 48 gallon. I figured it was probably good for a 3 day weekend. If I find it's not enough, I may look into a portable tank for the bed of the truck with a transfer pump.


j

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You could always get a 275 gallon food grade container for the bed of the truck, oh wait with a 5er that may not fit. Could use a food grade 55 gallon drum and transfer pump.

A friend does something like that for extra water capacity. But he does it in 6 gallon jugs and an extra water pump setup to lift the water from the jugs to the water tank. He says that way he can usually go 4-5 days dry if needed and the bigger issue is usually dumping the gray by then. At the track we all dry camp but I have access to a hose bib to fill my tank and use a 42 gallon waste tote to take the grey and black to the dump station rather then moving the trailer every time.