The R V Before the Tow Vehicle
(Or.. The Cart Before the Horse)
We knew before we bought our fifth wheel that the truck we had at the time would not be sufficient to do the job. We owned a '95 Ford 350 crewcab dually, diesel, which we originally bought to pull horse trailers. When we decided to semi-retire from the horse business, we had a great truck with nothing to pull! So, to fill that void, we went shopping. After much research we ended up with a 34' triple slide coach that weighs 12,000# dry. That is far more than the 10,000 pounds of horses and trailer we had planned to pull. Terry started his research , and concluded that we would probably need a small Freightliner or equivelant, but that seemed like such overkill for what we had. He didn't relish the idea of our only vehicle being a "tractor", although I thought it might be fun. I always wanted to drive a big rig!! My opinion on this matter was over-ruled when Ford came on the scene with their new 450 diesel cab and chassis. We had found the right truck!!
Now came the fun part. Again we got to plan what to put on that big, bare frame. We wanted 4 wheel drive and Terry felt that the original transmission could be improved, so he opted for an auxillary transmission which would give us back some of the fuel economy we lost on the new truck. Also, it gave us an upper gear range. He figured the money spent would be recouped by better fuel economy within a few years, depending on how many miles we drove. We added an exhaust brake, air bag suspension and a second fuel tank with a transfer-flow system. With 70 gallons fuel capacity we should never need to fuel up with the coach in tow. We can always add another tank if we feel it is necessary.
This truck is to be our only vehicle, so comfort and storage were a primary concern. The air system gives us the option of a smoother ride when we don't have the coach in tow. It also gives us an onboard air compressor. All of this was the easy part, Terry made the decisions, all I said was "Yes, dear, whatever you say, dear." What do I know about engine torque, rpms, gear ratios and air pressure? Not much yet, more than I did know and will learn a lot more!!
Now comes the bed part. Because the truck came with no bed, the choice was up to us. We knew basically what we wanted, and definitely what we did not want..no pickup bed on this baby!!! So, do we opt for a premade R V bed or utility bed? How about something in between? The Rv beds had no storage, at least not the amount we would need, and the utility beds were too big. We looked at every magazine ad we could find, searched the yellow pages, made trips to utlility bed fabricators, and still couldn't find what we wanted. Then Terry got on the internet and got some better ideas, at least closer to what we envisioned. One fabricator was only 60 miles from us and not only built custom beds but could do all of the other work, too. This was a big factor because the truck had to leave the dealership in San Diego, be taken to Escondido and left until the work was completed, then back to the dealer. The fewer people involved, the better.
We made the trip to Escondido to talk to the fabricator and get a bid. His final design was just what we wanted and he was great to work with. The job took longer than projected to complete, but that was not unexpected. We ended up with a beautiful, one of a kind vehicle that will do the job. The truck was delivered back to the Ford dealership and sat on the lot for a week before we could get in to pick it up. Apparently it was the "talk of the town"! The dealership owner said if we decided not to take the truck, he had a waiting list of people to buy it!
The bed is aluminum with aluminum diamond plate on the upper surfaces. The cabinets have shelves and one was built to accomodate the generator. There is plenty of room for Terry to take his "garage" with us. An air compressor, generator and his tools, what more do we need?
We now have the "cart" and the "horse" to pull it. If we aren't sucessful at RVing, it won't be because we don't have the proper equipment to do the job.
At the time we ordered the truck we were a multicar family of two. The dually, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, a '54 Chevy flatbed and Terry's patrol car. Of course I wasn't allowed to toodle around in the black and white, and I refused to drive the Chevy. Not only have I never figured out how to shut the driver's door and have it stay shut, I don't like the idea of having to manually (or is it womanly?) having to put it in gear, via the engine compartment , when it decides to not go into the gear it should be in, let alone the fact that it doesn't have seatbelts!! So...I usually drove the Jeep to work or wherever, unless I had to deliver feed, or take trash home form the store. We decided that we would sell both the Jeep and the dually, to help finance the truck.
Another research project! (Do you get the idea that we are big into research?) Enter the internet again...Kelly Bluebook this time. We got the current values on both vehicles. The Jeep would go first. We figured it might take months to sell, our area does not have a lot of traffic in the summer..rather warm, you see. But if it did sell we could get by with one vehicle.
I went to the local hardware store and bought two For Sale signs, stuck them on the Jeep and parked it on the street in front of the store in the morning. By that afternoon the Jeep was sold, and the money in the bank!!! I didn't even have a way to get home, sold it right out from under myself!!! I had to call a friend to come get me from work..taxis and buses are nonexistant here.
Next was the dually...didn't even buy a sign for that..a friend wanted it as soon as we got the new truck. So once again, I was almost without wheels. Terry delivered the dually to him the day after we picked up the new one. Things were moving right along......
More to come...