I Am Officially PUMPED!!!!

[terry and jo]

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As per my updated signature, our new Mobile Suites is NOW parked on our camper pad. It came into Oklahoma City on Tuesday, April 27 and after having all prep work done, installation of the washer and dryer, and matching the truck to the trailer, we picked it up today.

Now we begin the process of learning all the systems that are a part of it and begin to "lighten our load" stuff-wise. A neighborhood garage sale is scheduled for next Saturday, and we hope to sell a lot of that stuff plus some furniture.

Still wishing and hoping for a buyer on our home, but we will begin preparation anyway to possibly move into the fifth wheel and practically empty the house of furniture.

I also hope to be able to start a Smugmug account soon and post some pictures of our RV equipment and other photos that I have taken over the years.

Also, let me congratulate those that have recently gotten their units. Life is good, and my annual physical yesterday shows me to be in excellent health, especially for someone nearing 64.

Now, we hope that we can still afford our plans for a 2 week vacation in Colorado in August. Then, we can really give the Mobile Suites a shakedown.

Again, my sincere thanks to all of you that helped us choose our RV Dream unit by answering my seemingly unending questions. You have all been a huge help. Thank you all and may God bless you with more than you could imagine.

Terry

[bstark]

Congratulations to you on your new baby! May it give you many years of troublefree enjoyment. Let the fun times begin. :lol:

[wingnut60]

Terry,
I don't recall any others that have asked all the questions you and Jo did before the MS purchase--certainly you have covered all the bases.
Hope you enjoy many troublefree trips with the new trailer.
Joe

[terry and jo]

Terry,
I don't recall any others that have asked all the questions you and Jo did before the MS purchase--certainly you have covered all the bases.
Hope you enjoy many troublefree trips with the new trailer.
Joe


Joe,

I asked the questions because I had very few answers already. While Jo and I have camped for years, some with small travel trailers, tenting, and so on, our first fifth wheel was the Rockwood. Plus, we only bought it for planned vacations.

For this one, we were planning for our future home since we will be "static" full-timers for some years to come here in Oklahoma City. Then, when we retire, we'll hit the road in a very serious fashion.

While there have been some frustrations and disappointments along this two year saga, overall it has been fun and we now see the culmination of the search.

I was really pleased with the performance of the F450 in pulling it home, although we didn't drive very many miles and it is mostly pretty flat here. If we get to go to Colorado in August, then I can report on its performance in the mountains.

Terry

[wingnut60]

Terry,
Suggest you quickly get a base weight before you begin putting most of your items, then you will know how much you are adding to it.
One of the things I have noted with my 450, the Pin Weight has settled the springs to where the truck is no longer higher in the rear when the trailer is off, but not squatting the truck much either.
Joe

[Motor31]

I second the idea about getting a real empty weight of the rig. Don't trust the published figure in the cabinet, it's just a guestimate. BTW my pin weight turned out to be 4,200+ lbs on our rig. Since the newer units are rated up to 20k lbs your may be higher.

[wingnut60]

Terry,
Your 450 should do just fine towing in the mountains. One thing I have noticed on my '09--when climbing long grades and it comes time to downshift, I have to make it shift by pulling the lever into 3. I cannot make it downshift by putting the pedal to the floor, and when doing it this way, I think it skips 4 or Drive and drops from OD to 3. Not sure about this sequence, but the truck won't do it by itself until it has lost way too much speed. Might keep this in mind when you start climbing passes up there. I intend to take this up with Ford, but itsn't a priority for me til I go to UT in June or CO in July. Several others on some Ford forums have mentioned this quirk.
Joe