Jump'n in with both feet

[Bugcatcher]

Well my wife and I have put our house on the market, going all in on full time RVing(word?). Anyway I don't know much about the lifestyle so any tips and advice will be welcome. We are looking at new DRV's. Right now we have a F-250 diesel. From what Iv'e heard a 1-ton dually is what I should have to pull a DRV. What type of hitch is best? We are sure that we want a gen unit but are unsure of other options, such as 2nd awning 3rd air conditioner and things like that...
Thanks,
Tracy and Kathy

[missourijan]

Welcome! Good luck with the sale of your home. We have been fulltime for 9 1/2 years, no regrets, really like it. You need to read every rv forum you can find, www.rv.net (http://www.rv.net), www.escapees.com (http://www.escapees.com), www.Irv2.com (http://www.Irv2.com). You will see blogs from those that are fulltime, read those. There's a Facebook group, Living the rv dream. the couple that started it, the Huggins, have a blog. Start reading the daily blog of Nick Russell, he writes a bimonthly newsletter about rv'ing. He's been fulltime about 11 years. I'm going to be the first to confirm your statement, yes, you need a 1 ton dually. Have you rv'd before, have you rented rv's? While the new Drv's are very pretty, it's really hard to know what floorplan would be good for you until you spend time in it. Just as a suggestion, buy a late model used Drv, keep it for a year, then you will know what you like about the floorplan. You can always buy a new one later. You found this forum, also look at the THOR forum that has a Drv thread. There's a website for Suites owners, www.suitesowners.com (http://www.suitesowners.com), but it's been upgrading to a new server and has been down for a couple of months, there's so much information on that site. The best info is from actual owners. Yes, on the 2nd awning, no on the 3rd AC. You can't run all 3 ac's at the same time, so I can't figure out why the dealers are pushing them. If you MUST have a new one, get dealers to bid against each other. Rolling Retreats, Wheels RV and RV's for Less seem to be the best dealers. Wheels RV and Rolling Retreats have excellent service dept's

[Stripit]

Full time traveling is wonderful. We made it 8 years before finding a deal on a home we just could not pass up. The first year of travel was like we were in vacation mode, lots of moving and trying to see as much as possible. Then it dawned on us, hey, we have no need to be in such a hurry, and we slowed way down. Would spend a minimum of 2 weeks in one location and site see a 100 mile circle, see as much as possible in that area, then move about 250-300 miles and start over seeing that area. We saved a bit by staying longer than a day or two in the rv parks and could unwind and actually "SEE" the area as opposed to being in a hurry. There is so much to see in the USA and even staying for a few weeks in some areas I'm sure we missed a bunch. If you only have 1/2 as much fun as we did your going to really have a blast.

[Bugcatcher]

Thank you for the input! As for rv experience, yes to a limited amount! We had a 28' class C for a few years while we were both still working and raising kids, sold that, nothing for a while, to busy! While this house was being built we had a Montana for about ten months. We didn't realize how much we enjoyed living in a RV until about a year after we sold it! Time to start over, kinda scary at 61 years old, but ready for it, soo ready! Can't wait!
I will check out the other sites that you suggested, thank you again.
Tracy and Kathy

[rvdon]

Yes you can run 3 airs on 50 amp service. Since 50 amp has 2 hot legs, you have 12000 watts available. One air will use approximately 1600 watts. 30 amp has 1 hot leg, thus only 3600 watts available.

Don

[Bugcatcher]

rvdon,
Thanks for the info. You have the floor plan that I'm looking at, do you have enough counter space around the stove or do you find it cramped? I love the location of the steps to the bedroom and the walk-in closet. I was just concerned about the counter space. Also how do you like the F-350 for pulling the 5th wheel? I have a F-250 and know that I will have to get a dually, just not sure if it will be a Ford or a Dodge.
Thanks,
Tracy

[rvdon]

My wife finds the counter space around the stove adequate. She loves the island. Our truck is the F350 with high capacity towing package, which is the same as the 2014 F450. This gives you the wide front axle for shorter turning radius and 4:30 rear axle. We have no problem towing with a weight of nearly 19,000 lbs. We have the Morryde independent suspension and don't need the 2" riser. If you choose to go with Dodge you will need the 2" riser.
We have had our Mobile Suites for 6 weeks and so far we are happy.

Good luck with the adventure.
Don

[Cummins12V98]

http://i.imgur.com/QVWYtZkl.jpgRAM/Cummins/Aisin trans and 4:10's. True medium duty engine and transmission. SAE J2807 rated to tow any Mobile Suite safely and dependably.

B&W RVK3600 hitch locks into the frame mounted puck system. 25K towing and 6,250# pin. Top quality US Made product.

FYI Ford 250/350's do NOT comply with the SAE towing standards but the F450 does.

SAE chart for the RAM 3500 crew cab dually.

http://i.imgur.com/slPkvlbl.jpg

9,580# sitting on the 4 rear tires. The factory rear air ride keeps the truck at this level up to max rear axle rating. 32,500# combined, all within axle and towing limits.

http://i.imgur.com/93CLnJ7l.jpg

[Bugcatcher]

Thank you all for the information. Gets me thinking for sure!

[terry and jo]

Another source of information on full-timing would be to check out RV Dreams (http://www.rv-dreams.com/). It is a website and forum started by a couple in their 40's who chose to sell everything and go with an RV. Their names are Howard and Linda Payne. Howard has a lot of information under their "Site Map" that regards all kinds of technical information and all.

Howard also keeps a journal on the website, and over the years, he's not been shy about sharing information, including mistakes he has made. The forums are made up of all kinds of folks using all kinds of RV's, so there can be answers for just about everything there as well.

Terry

[DBL Z]

I am so thankful I didn't get another 1 ton dually! (we've had 3) :grin:

http://www.5thwheelforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_19677_0_75667c5eeaa66234a598041da611c931.jpg

Just returning from a 5K mile Shake-down run with the M 2 and our first 5th wheel, I never felt so secure, confident, and safe as I did with this truck! :D ... Something I know could NEVER have been achieved with anything less!!

[Stevencoles]

We have been running with a 2015 Ford 350 SuperDuty DRW Deisel and 26K Reese Hitch for a year now, (about 8K miles) love the truck no problems. Ram has a more towing capacity though, just had bad Chrysler experience in the past so I went with Ford. Good Luck, Full Timing is a great life style.

[Bugcatcher]

Thank you for the reply Terry. Do you pull your Expedition behind your 5th wheel? We are thinking of doing that with a motorcycle trailer, if you do how does it work for you?

[Bugcatcher]

What is a DRW Diesel?

[Bugcatcher]

DBL Z Love your set-up

[Cummins12V98]

I am so thankful I didn't get another 1 ton dually! (we've had 3) :grin:

http://www.5thwheelforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_19699_0_75667c5eeaa66234a598041da611c931.jpg

Just returning from a 5K mile Shake-down run with the M 2 and our first 5th wheel, I never felt so secure, confident, and safe as I did with this truck! :D ... Something I know could NEVER have been achieved with anything less!!

I am confused, you have had three Dually's. This is your first 5th wheel. You say your experience with the M2 could not be achieved with anything less?

What were your last 3 dually's. Hard to compare if you have not towed a 5er with anything less.

I know my combo is completely safe and rock solid but I can't say it's better or worse than a MDT.

The trend is changing since the DRW's are so much more capable these days like the F450 and RAM 3500 DRW's that are SAE certified to do what they claim.

Very happy for you!

[Cummins12V98]

"DRW" = Dual-Rear-Wheel Or "Dually"

[Bugcatcher]

Gotcha!!! Which you no longer have!

[Bugcatcher]

Sorry Cummins, I didn't read the post!

[darrylwt]

I just retired and I picked up a 2015 new 3500 Chevy long bed and added the wireless air bags but found out I didn't need them with my new 305RL Montana HC and I got a 20K Pullrite non-slide. Love the truck but not happy with the Montana the refrigerator is not working it won't get under 48 degrees and the vinyl flooring is starting to lift and buckle in places and there is no leaks so I think it was bad flooring or glue. You would think Keystone would do something about it but nothing.

[darrylwt]

I am confused, you have had three Dually's. This is your first 5th wheel. You say your experience with the M2 could not be achieved with anything less?

What were your last 3 dually's. Hard to compare if you have not towed a 5er with anything less.

I know my combo is completely safe and rock solid but I can't say it's better or worse than a MDT.

The trend is changing since the DRW's are so much more capable these days like the F450 and RAM 3500 DRW's that are SAE certified to do what they claim.

Very happy for you!

Very nice!!!

[Stevencoles]

Full time traveling is wonderful. We made it 8 years before finding a deal on a home we just could not pass up. The first year of travel was like we were in vacation mode, lots of moving and trying to see as much as possible. Then it dawned on us, hey, we have no need to be in such a hurry, and we slowed way down. Would spend a minimum of 2 weeks in one location and site see a 100 mile circle, see as much as possible in that area, then move about 250-300 miles and start over seeing that area. We saved a bit by staying longer than a day or two in the rv parks and could unwind and actually "SEE" the area as opposed to being in a hurry. There is so much to see in the USA and even staying for a few weeks in some areas I'm sure we missed a bunch. If you only have 1/2 as much fun as we did your going to really have a blast.

You will find full time living much more enjoyable if you slow down, we also have found that it's ok to sit around your RV and just do nothing...your not a tourist anymore!

[terry and jo]

Thank you for the reply Terry. Do you pull your Expedition behind your 5th wheel? We are thinking of doing that with a motorcycle trailer, if you do how does it work for you?

No on pulling the Expedition behind the fifth wheel. Too much weight there for the DRV hitch system, and I don't think the Expedition would tow four-down.

When we retired and moved to Colorado, we had a Ford F150 pickup as our second vehicle, but Jo wanted 4WD while here in Colorado. (We'll be here perhaps another year or two.) We use our second vehicle as a scout vehicle and she follows me in it so she can keep an eye on things from behind. It's also our daily driver and has been invaluable for trips to Idaho and Oklahoma to see family. While the F450 is comfortable to ride in, I'd hate to pay that much in fuel for family trips.

Terry