Pros and Cons of living full-time in a Motorhome?

Tom-D said:
Tell me that won't do every thing a Super C will, with better living quarters. at a much lower price.
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Not even close Tom. I'm perfectly willing to give up a little room in exchange for safety, smoother ride, more power, better weight distribution, more hauling/towing capacity, etc. The hitch on that coach you pictured is only a 10K hitch. Good enough to pull a toad and that's about it. The interiors/amenities and slides are basically the same, except you have about 8 ft. more livable space than what I would have. So you have a bigger living room than what I would have. Not a big deal! It's not like I'm going to spend 24 hrs. a day cooped up in the inside of my coach. That's the beauty of having choices. I want a class 8 chassis based coach, you want a bus. Am I going to fault you for your choice? No... those are nice rigs, but they're not for me when there are options in the marketplace for exactly what will serve my needs. ;)
 
azblackbird said:
Not even close Tom. I'm perfectly willing to give up a little room in exchange for safety, smoother ride, more power, better weight distribution, more hauling/towing capacity, etc. The hitch on that coach you pictured is only a 10K hitch. Good enough to pull a toad and that's about it. The interiors/amenities and slides are basically the same, except you have about 8 ft. more livable space than what I would have. So you have a bigger living room than what I would have. Not a big deal! It's not like I'm going to spend 24 hrs. a day cooped up in the inside of my coach. That's the beauty of having choices. I want a class 8 chassis based coach, you want a bus. Am I going to fault you for your choice? No... those are nice rigs, but they're not for me when there are options in the marketplace for exactly what will serve my needs. ;)
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Alright, buy something and post pics. ;)
 
Tom-D said:
Where is this ?
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Branched Oak Lake in Nebraska. 8 nm due northwest of the Lincoln airport (KLNK). Over 300 paved sites and we were the only people there. The state only mans the park from memorial to Labor Day...but they leave the power and water on..a guy could probably park there all winter for free without anyone ever saying anything.
https://nebraskastateparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/branched-oak-sra/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NE&parkId=230034

As much as people like to make fun of Nebraska’s scenery...I think it’s quite beautiful.

I wanted to be close to home as I expected to have problems. Ended up running home four times for various tools.

Same place as I slip the boat.
 
tspear said:
With a lot of the discussion focused on getting around when retired, how long do people expect to be able to drive around the RV? I know in the yacht world, most people are back on land by the early 80s due to health. How long a run can you make generally make it with the RV?

Tim
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For our in-laws it was until the crash that scared them but amazingly left them unharmed. Rolled a Yukon and a 30’ bumper tow trailer in a ditch outside of Phoenix.
 
jesse said:
Branched Oak Lake in Nebraska. 8 nm due northwest of the Lincoln airport (KLNK). Over 300 paved sites and we were the only people there. The state only mans the park from memorial to Labor Day...but they leave the power and water on..a guy could probably park there all winter for free without anyone ever saying anything.
https://nebraskastateparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/branched-oak-sra/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NE&parkId=230034

As much as people like to make fun of Nebraska’s scenery...I think it’s quite beautiful.

I wanted to be close to home as I expected to have problems. Ended up running home four times for various tools.

Same place as I slip the boat.
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Thanks, but who would want to spend the winter in Nebraska? snow birds go where it is warm. so-cal/ Az/ south Texas etc.
 
I guess I'll be the bad guy here... @jesse what you have pictured is a very severe case of the "tail wagging the dog". I know all the P/U manufacturers these days like to tout the towing capabilities of their respective model lines. What they fail to educate their buyers on... it's not all about the towing... it's all about the stopping! Can you get away with towing the trailer that you have pictured with the P/U you have... sure you can. But can you do it safely? Not in a million years! I wouldn't even think about pulling that trailer with anything less than a 1 ton P/U. At the very least a well speced and set-up 3/4 ton.

If you value your family, I strongly suggest upgrading your tow vehicle if you plan on doing any sort of extensive traveling. For your family's sake.

Alrighty... all you numbnuts here can start piling on me for making such a brash statement. I'll gladly take it! :p
 
azblackbird said:
I guess I'll be the bad guy here... @jesse what you have pictured is a very severe case of the "tail wagging the dog". I know all the P/U manufacturers these days like to tout the towing capabilities of their respective model lines. What they fail to educated their buyers on... it's not all about the towing... it's all about the stopping! Can you get away with towing the trailer that you have pictured with the P/U you have... sure you can. But can you do it safely? Not in a million years! I wouldn't even think about pulling that trailer with less than a 1 ton P/U. At the very least a well speced and set-up 3/4 ton.

If you value your family, I strongly suggest upgrading your tow vehicle if you plan on doing any sort of extensive traveling. For your family's sake.

Alrighty... all you numbnuts here can start piling on me for making such a brash statement. I'll gladly take it! :p
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We towed a Big Foot 25 foot trailer with our 2002 dodge 2500 diesel. (2X4) when we had the trailer in tow we could panic stop shorter than the empty truck.
 
azblackbird said:
Alrighty... all you numbnuts here can start piling on me for making such a brash statement. I'll gladly take it! :p
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Growing up we had a 26' Prowler, pulled by a mid-70's 3/4 ton Suburban "trailering special." I can state that Jesse's truck has more braking capability and a better frame and suspension than that old Suburban. Hell, it could hardly stop itself let alone with a trailer, but we somehow all survived. With due caution he'll be fine.
 
Bill Jennings said:
With due caution he'll be fine.
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You betcha, his trailer will have the new anti-loc/anti skid electronic brake systems and will stop shorter attached than by the truck its self.
 
If the trailer brakes are set correctly.....the vehicle doesn't need to stop the trailer.
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
If the trailer brakes are set correctly.....the vehicle doesn't need to stop the trailer.
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right,, AZ's worried about Jesses stopping distance when he's wanting a 300,000 pound monster, with air brakes. which have a whole set of their own problems.
 
Bill Jennings said:
With due caution he'll be fine.
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WITH DUE CAUTION! Why play the odds? Get a tow rig that's fully capable and not have any worries.;)

Tom-D said:
We towed a Big Foot 25 foot trailer with our 2002 dodge 2500 diesel.
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Well duh Tom... it's a big Dodge. You'd better be able to safely tow a 25 footer. He's got a 1/2 ton that Ford tries to pawn off has having 3/4 or 1 ton capabilities. :rolleyes:

Checkout_my_Six said:
If the trailer brakes are set correctly.....the vehicle doesn't need to stop the trailer.
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I'm guessing nobody here has ever been across the plains of NE, WY, MT, SD, ND, CO when the wind is whipping along at 60+ mph. The truck/trailer combination he has pictured is an accident waiting to happen if he plans on doing any sort of extensive travel.

Tom-D said:
AZ's worried about Jesses stopping distance when he's wanting a 300,000 pound monster, with air brakes. which have a whole set of their own problems.
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LMAO... unlike the rig you have pictured, my rig is made to tow/haul those kind of weights. Uhhh... FYI... air over hydraulic discs... on the trailer and the coach. Never mind the professional race teams have the same/similar type rigs. I'm guessing they know a little about traveling while carrying heavy loads and how to do it in a safe manner.
 
azblackbird said:
WITH DUE CAUTION! Why play the odds? Get a tow rig that's fully capable and not have any worries.;).
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We already know your propensity for over killing reality.

and your willingness to spend way too much money to get it done.
 
azblackbird said:
I'm guessing they know a little about traveling while carrying heavy loads and how to do it in a safe manner.
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So does Jesse, he has a very safe rig. his biggest problem is high side winds, not stopping.

Do weather follow signs and he will be safer the you.
At 60 miles per hour, what's your stopping distance. I'll bet it's 2 to 3 times his.
 
No worries he’ll learn soon enough ....;).... the internets can’t do it justice.
 
I pulled my 26 foot 5th wheel with a '93 half ton GMC. Something blew the fuse for the trailer brake control, and it was panic time trying to stop.

With the '05 GMC 2500 it wasn't a panic moment stopping without the trailer brakes.

I try to always start stopping using the hand control for the trailer, just to make sure it works. And maximum speed for me is 65 mph.
 
Tom-D said:
We already know your propensity for over killing reality. and your willingness to spend way too much money to get it done.
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I'll be spending about as much as a comparable late model luxury diesel pusher with a stacker trailer goes for. If you'd care to look at the market, you'd see that they're very similar in price for what I want in a coach, wether a pusher or Class 8. I just happen to like the Class 8's (and am willing to pay a little more) just because they're way safer than your regular pushers pulling the big stackers.

Tom-D said:
So does Jesse, he has a very safe rig. his biggest problem is high side winds, not stopping.
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That's kinda my point Tom. He get's in to any winds/gusts greater than 20 mph, and he'll be slung around like a rag doll (sway bar or no sway bar) with the tow vehicle he currently has. You'll still feel it in a 3/4 or 1 ton P/U, but not as bad as getting whipped around in a little 1/2 ton.

Tom-D said:
At 60 miles per hour, what's your stopping distance. I'll bet it's 2 to 3 times his.
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For chrissakes, I'm driving a 70K pound rig. Common sense will tell you I won't be stopping on a dime. That all goes with the territory of driving something that big. Even your coach is the same. You can't stop on a dime, so don't tell me any different.

Zeldman said:
I pulled my 26 foot 5th wheel with a '93 half ton GMC.
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5th wheels are a little more stable. TT's... eh not so much.
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
I hope you have training.....70k is lots to be flinging around.
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LOL... I use to haul 170K lb drilling rig rig subs and 120K lb. power plants that power those rigs. I think I might be able to manage 70K lbs., especially since I'll have a chassis that's designed to haul/tow that much weight. Unlike your diesel pusher buses. They're just not made to haul/tow that much weight, and those that do are playing with their lives.
 
There were only 30 tractor trailers blown completely over in Wyoming... last week. More to come.

Weight means jack crap when you get real wind and high profile vehicles. And the new truckers get to learn that the hard way, every winter month up there.

But Boeing took the opportunity to fly the new 787 into CYS and test the autoland in all that wind.

Tractor trailers on their sides in the ditch is a Wyoming pastime, kinda like cow-tippin’ elsewhere.
 
denverpilot said:
There were only 30 tractor trailers blown completely over in Wyoming... last week. More to come.

Weight means jack crap when you get real wind and high profile vehicles. And the new truckers get to learn that the hard way, every winter month up there.

But Boeing took the opportunity to fly the new 787 into CYS and test the autoland in all that wind.

Tractor trailers on their sides in the ditch is a Wyoming pastime, kinda like cow-tippin’ elsewhere.
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I’ve always wondered, do the truckers lose their jobs over something like that? Or have to pay damages or anything?

I got caught in a storm in Arkansas one time and all the trucks around me blew over. We were all stoppped but there wasn’t much anyone could do about it. I drove down into the median and pointed into the wind because I thought my SUV was going to tip. But the big trucks didn’t have that option.
 
Tom-D said:
BS..
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Whenever I see a diesel pusher pulling a big stacker trailer, it always reminds me of this... :lol:

donkey.jpg
 
jesse said:
As much as people like to make fun of Nebraska’s scenery...I think it’s quite beautiful.

I wanted to be close to home as I expected to have problems. Ended up running home four times for various tools.
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I do think it's beautiful too.
when we got our coach we lived In it a week next to the house, continually in and out to log what we wanted.
I always carry my tool box, but there are tools that never leave the coach.
 
Zeldman said:
I pulled my 26 foot 5th wheel with a '93 half ton GMC. Something blew the fuse for the trailer brake control, and it was panic time trying to stop.

With the '05 GMC 2500 it wasn't a panic moment stopping without the trailer brakes.

I try to always start stopping using the hand control for the trailer, just to make sure it works. And maximum speed for me is 65 mph.
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While my experience is limited given my age, my experience thus far has been about the same. With our 00' f150 we used to have, if we tried to pull anything over 3000lb without trailer brakes, it was very sketchy. Now my 99' Ram 2500, pulling a borrowed car trailer(which for some reason has no brakes) with a lifted jeep on top(around 5-6000lbs total, maybe a little more), I feel comfortable in my stopping capability. In the future though, in preference of not burning out my brakes, I plan to try to get a car trailer with brakes, even though they seem hard to find around here.

In regards to speed, in my stock 99' cummins, I'm lucky if I'm not already at about full throttle at 65mph when pulling our 26ft camper :D

Of course all of this is just childs play compared to the huge trucks these guys are talking about :rolleyes:
 
azblackbird said:
LOL... I use to haul 170K lb drilling rig rig subs and 120K lb. power plants that power those rigs. I think I might be able to manage 70K lbs., especially since I'll have a chassis that's designed to haul/tow that much weight. Unlike your diesel pusher buses. They're just not made to haul/tow that much weight, and those that do are playing with their lives.
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so....why aren't you teaching us? o_O
 
Matthew K said:
While my experience is limited given my age, my experience thus far has been about the same. With our 00' f150 we used to have, if we tried to pull anything over 3000lb without trailer brakes, it was very sketchy. Now my 99' Ram 2500, pulling a borrowed car trailer(which for some reason has no brakes) with a lifted jeep on top(around 5-6000lbs total, maybe a little more), I feel comfortable in my stopping capability. In the future though, in preference of not burning out my brakes, I plan to try to get a car trailer with brakes, even though they seem hard to find around here.

In regards to speed, in my stock 99' cummins, I'm lucky if I'm not already at about full throttle at 65mph when pulling our 26ft camper :D

Of course all of this is just childs play compared to the huge trucks these guys are talking about :rolleyes:
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You are right at the place we were in most all the time we had kids at home.
your 3000 pound observation is why most states require brakes on any thing towed over 3k. my 2002 5.9 would tow up to 14k, and be right at the limit at 65, any thing higher, and it was shifting down and rev-ing up. but it would hold the speed.
we tow a 18' flat bed which we have loaded to 7k of 7500 limit on the trailer, and the 8.3 -350 horse cummins didn't even know it was there. even when we crossed the north cascade pass, on highway 20.
The use of electric brakes requires a bit of training, our coach has a grade retarder in the tranny. When you use it on a long grade the trailer brakes won't be used because the require electoral power from the brake light circuit. So they are only on when you foot is on the pedal.
This is the case on all brake types except a surge brake system, they apply brakes any time the trailer tries to push the tow vehicle. these are used by U-haul mostly on light weight trailers because of the ease of hook up. and dependability.
 
azblackbird said:
Better than being irrational and wrong. Hmmm... wonder who here fits that profile. :lol:
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Who has shown they have BTDT.
You've yet to show us what your actual load will be.
You've yet to show us the coach you want in your budge.

we know there are those who have, and those who dream. and we know a troll when we've been had.
 
Tom-D said:
You've yet to show us what your actual load will be.

You've yet to show us the coach you want in your budge
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Who is this "us" that everybody keeps referring too? :dunno:

Do you carry a mouse around in your pocket like Lenny in the movie "Of mice and men"?:eek:
 
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