As a F150online member you could upload your pictures to your f150online member gallery and then "grab" the picture from there. Go to Photo Galleries -> Create your own gallery -> put in your username password -> upload a couple of pictures to an album. Easy to do.

 

I'v just returned from a 10 day 600 mile trip with our new TT. It was my third time out with it. I used to pull a 21ft Ultralite (2700lbs) dry about 3500 camping weight. This new one is a 26ft Wildwood that is 4800lbs Dry weight. I had the Fresh water Full, lots and lots of gear, I mean lots of gear. I figured the whole thing now weighed easily close to 6500 lbs. I was really supprised at how very little difference there was compared to towing the Ultra-lite except that this trailer feels much more stable eventhough my old Ultra-light had a double axle also.

I could easily maintain 105km/hr (65mph) No O/D, @ 2500rpm with the cruise on. When I got to a fair sized hill, I'd take the cruise off, an get it up the hill manually, the speed would drop to about 60mph and stay there usually without droping out of 3rd or even unlocking for that matter. I even passed a few chevys with trailers but I needed a good stretch of clear highway since this was only a 2 lane highway. But aroud here there are not many monsterous hills to contend with.

Anyway, all this to say that I am very very pleased with my towing setup. And I am also very comfortable when driving it and it is in no way any more tiresome than if I was driving just the truck.

I'll eventually add pics of my new setup in a few days.

Dpostman

P.S. Man when I get started, I just can't shut-up

 

I'm very happy towing with my 05 f150 scab tow about 6000lb get 12 to 14 mpg,quite, smooth , ride. towed through the sierra's 7000ft plus still had good power. glade I didn't spend thousands more for a 250 smoker, I towed with my friends 250 diesel and it wasn't that much better and it was noisy rough riding and the fuel made a mess. And cost ten thousand plus more than mine.It may be better towing a 12,000 lb trailer, I know very few people that tow over ten thousand,we tow race cars all over the states. Beside when I'm not towing I have a nice street cruzer.Also I don't plan on keeping it the rest of my life, no more than five years, probelly in three I'll trade it in when the warranty is over repairs are to much these days, besides I like having a new truck. Who knows they may come up with something even better in a couple years.

 

As promised, here's a few pic of my setup

Trailer 26ft Wildwood (No Slidout) front Queen Bed, rear Bunks. 4800lbs Dry or as per sticker : UVW (Unloaded vehicle weight).





Dpostman

 

Hey Sidewinder FX4,
We looked at a Keystone Outback 21' at the dealer this weekend. I must say they are one of the nicest travel trailers out there. What can you tell me about the weigth distributing hitches and all the gotchas that aren't included in the price of the trailer? The more I learn the more expensive this thing is looking to buy. Thanks.

 

Yes, you have just found the first expense with RV'ing.... The WD hitch can range from $200 to over $3000 depending on what you get..... This is from a simple WD setup to either a Pull Rite or a Hensley setup. The difference is that the later incorporate a sway control device that's built into the WD setup. There is another out that that has an incorporated sway control called the Reese Dual Cam. It comes in for around $400 or so...... Way too much detail to go into on this subject alone. Tons of info on the 'net and if you visit some "RV Forums", you will have weeks worth of reading to do on this subject alone....

What else will come out of your pocket after you buy the trailer of your dreams?? Start off by insurance and making sure your truck is up to the task of towing what you just bought.....

You might get a basic 'start up kit' thrown in the deal... I did... Well, it was a $50 voucher to buy whatever you wanted from the dealers parts department.... I was able to get a simple bubble level, water pressure regulator, black tank deoderant and a 25' drinking water hose.... That's it!

I then had to go out and buy a sewer hose and fittings, stabilizer jacks (most trailers come with these now a days..) a second 25' drinking water hose because it would not reach my house when I got it home.

That's another thing... Storage... Where do you plan on keeping it?? I thought I was all set with keeping it in my side yard... I just cleared a space and parked it... Well, I decided to make a perminate spot for it so I leveled it better, brought in 10 yds of 3/4- added a 30 amp electric and cut down some trees, put up a nice little fence to help block it and separate it from the street.....

Now you have to equip the trailer..... My wife was mostly in charge of this, and yes, you can use your kitchen stuff, but that gets old real fast having to pack it in and out each trip.... The wife wanted her own kitchen stuff for the trailer... The good thing is that it does not have to be fancy stuff, and we pretty much got setup by going to Wallmart.

I like having my own set of tools to bring along. Yes, I could just bring all my garage tools along, but I felt the same way as my wife about her kitchen stuff...... It's a lot easier to just bring along a dedicated tool box and leave the garage tools in place...

Now you will have the camp fees and the gas to get there..... On average, our state parks run around $22 a night for a full hookup site. Tent sites run around $16. But, you have to reserve months in advance if you want any site in the summer time... We can do that online, but it costs an additional $7 to do that. I also get around 10 mpg towing my setup. Wtih gas being around $2.60/gallon around here, it adds up real fast!

I've really only touched the surface of all the expenses that go along with owning and using an RV..... But, if you take a page from that Visa comercial where they go along and list out all the prices of what the person is doing and then gets to the "Priceless" part, that's how I feel when I'm sitting under my awning, sucking down a beer and being away from work and the hassels of 'real life' even for a long weekend, it's all worth it!!

Happy Camping!

Mitch

 

THANKS MITCH!!.... Lots of good info. I did join the rv.net forum and started checking out the tons of information there. I also picked up a copy of "Idiot's Guide to RVing."

Mitch, sounds like you have the same size trailer my wife and I are looking for. What hitch setup do you have? I found this picture in your gallery. Is it easy to unhook from the truck? Say your gonna stay somewhere for a night or two and want to use the truck to run around.

 

Norman,

I don't actually have that specific WD setup. That's the Reese Dual Cam that I mentioned above. I use just your basic WD setup (cost me $250 installed by the dealer, but I could have done it myself if I had too.... ). It's an EAZ-Lift and is similar to the above, except it does not have the additional bracket setup between the chains and the ball. It's just got the long bar and chain setup..... This is what I use.



All I do is weekend camping and it's real easy to hitch and unhitch. Takes the wife and I about 5 minutes to back in, drop the tongue, set the bars, chains, plug in and check the lights. Just the reverse when unhitching. Most time conuming part is jacking up the tongue to set the tension on the bars. You have to raise it up so that it's actually lifting up the truck in order to get enough tension on the chains when you lower it. That's what levels out the rig and distributes the weight to the front axle of the truck.

My trailer is pretty basic, but is all two people would need.... Front queen bed (walk around) rear bath and a middle dinette and kitchen. It's got A/C, microwave, cable tv, and all the other stuff to feel like home, but just a little more compact.... Sure, a rig with a slide would be nice, but I've found that we don't spend a whole lotta time inside the trailer anyway.... Works well for us!

Mitch

 

I forgot to ask in my previous post. What about brakes and brake controllers. What do you got? I have the 2005 stock tow package and connections. Do I need to modify anything? Where do they go on the truck? What was this harness pigtail the sales gal handed to me when I picked up the truck from the dealer? I should search the towing and hauling forum but that takes forever.

 

You would just need the brake controller. The pigtail that you got would splice into the wires coming out of the controller. You then plug the pigtail in under the dash. I'm not sure on the new trucks, but it should be up right around where your right leg is as you are sitting there. It might also be right next to the com port where you would plug in a diagnostics scanner.

You might also have a bag full of fuses and relays. These plug into their respective slots under the hood, or might be a kick panel on the new rigs??

I use the Prodigy brake controller and it's just great. I bought the optional 'Ford' wire harness, so all I had to do was mount it and then plug it in. Follow the simple setup instructions and away you go. You can find them on the 'net for around $100 and the wire harness is another $10 or so.

I've got some Autometer temp gauges too. Water and Trans. Mostly for piece of mind while towing...... Lets me know how hard I'm working the truck and better then waiting for an idiot light to come on, as that's all you'll get from the stock POS gauges..... Well, maybe they "fixed" that in the new trucks, but somehow I doubt it....

Mitch

 

Brake controller.......another hundred bucks. Gauges.... It never ends. I've thought about using a xcal2, a laptop and the live wire hookup as gauges. I think you can grab real time data off the PCM while your driving. Peace of mind cost money.

 

You got that right!! How about the LT rated tires? Or the mirror extensions? Then there is the rest of the camping stuff..... BBQ, folding chairs, folding table, bike rack, food, beer.......

It never ends and I've never really added it all up, but it's something that I enjoy doing, so it's worth it to me. Besides, a lot of the expense is a one time thing and the more you use it, the more value you will get out of it. I try to get out about once a month, even in the winter time.... So, the site fees, gas, food and beer are the only reccuring expenses, plus whatever thing you find you need but don't have as you go on!

Mitch

 

Norman311,

Sorry...I stepped away from this thread for a while. But,I see my man Mitch answered your questions.

The short answer is "There is definitely a lot of initial expense in RVing"

If you were looking at the Outback 21RS, you definitely do NOT need any fancy Weight Distribution System. I use a Husky system with 800lb bars and a single friction sway controller on my 28BHS.

We moved up from a large pop-up (coleman niagagra), so we had to buy all of the WD and sway controll "stuff" when we got the camper. I use a Drawtite Activator II brake controller. According to the "reviews" that I have read, if I had it to do all over, I would get a Prodigy controller....I think this is what Mitch is using.

I have found the Outback to be a very well-made unit and although it isn't the cheapest unit out there, I feel that it is a good VALUE" I would rather tow this RV than my old pop-up. The ride is much smoother because of the double axles.

If you want more info regarding the Outbacks, go to outbackers.com. You can find owners that have the same set-up as you are contemplating and you can ask them what is and is NOT working for them. It's much like here...honest answers, whether you want to hear them or not.

Happy RVing,

Sidewinder

 

Hmmm.... I understand I don't need a WD hitch for the weight I'll be towing but would it improve the drivability significantly enought to be worth the $250. Don't plan on just staying on the interstate. Would you put one on?

Thanks for the outbackers.com....got to check that out. Thanks again for confirming the good reports on the prodigy. One less thing to figure out.

 

I'm sorry...I wasn't as clear as I should have been. I didn't mean you don't need a WD system...you will! My point was that you won't need one of those that is very expensive. A "run-of-the-mill" WD system in the $250-$350 range will serve your purposes just fine. I was just trying to keep someone from selling you on a $1200.00 WD system -- that's all

Sorry for the confusion,

Sidewinder,