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Forum
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RE: Montana Front Living question...does the bumper hit often
@40' long and the axles towards the center that leaves a big section from the axles to the bumper. If the 5er is a couple inches high in the front that will compound the issue.
FWIW I have a 31' TT with the axles more towards the center vs rear. Just exiting my driveway one of my stab jacks almost drags. I'm running 16" tires and a robust suspension and my driveway's not steep at all.
My thinking is the guys pin high vs level and thats causing the rear bumper to drag more often.
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goducks10
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01/20/21 11:15am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Montana Fifth Wheel
A little write up in the RV magazine rating the Montana Fifth Wheels in the top eight for cold weather camping . I never felt my previous 2008 Montana was very good in sub freezing weather. Apparently they have improved with their Arctic package.
Having owned a Montana previously, and taking into account my brother has a 2019 Montana High Country, they have improved nothing. Its all a load of BS just the same as the spew Keystone puts in their brochures and on their website.
RV magazine is owned by Camping World, Camping World is a Keystone dealer. Not hard to figure out.
A Montana is simply an upgraded Keystone Cougar imo.
So an F250 is just an upgraded F150?
I'm not a big fan of Keystone but a Montana is a completely different animal than a Cougar.
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goducks10
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01/19/21 05:37pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Drill Holster (tip)
Ever see stab jacks down on an RV lot? I don't. All the slides are usually out too.
If we overnight and stayed hitched I just drop the rear stabs for a little stability inside.
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goducks10
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01/19/21 10:02am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Honda 2000i tips and tricks for changing oil.
Go solar. I haven't used my Honda 2000W gen since adding 400w of solar. YMMV
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goducks10
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01/18/21 10:37am |
Beginning RVing
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RE: Trailer too long for truck?
I`m waiting for the 4500/5500 guys to show up and say how dangerous it is to tow anything with the puny 3500 dually! LOL
a properly equipped 1500 at ???? % of max capacity is just as safe as a 2500/3500 at the same ???? % of max capacity.
That may be true, but it sure doesn't "feel" that way. I haven't ridden or driven in a lot of 1500's loaded heavy, but when I have, it sure feels less "secure" than a HD pickup loaded heavy. All that is really subjective, but given the choice of running a 1500 at 90% of capacity or a 3500 at 90% capacity, no question which one I would prefer to be in.
Using RAWR and GVWR most 1/2 tons are at GVWR when reaching RAWR. Not so with 3/4-1 tons.
I've towed with a 1/2 ton 50 lbs under RAWR and GVWR and it was not fun. Truck and trailer never felt like they were on the same road. It was a two handed tow 90% of the time. Moved up to a 3/4 ton and it was back to a comfortable one handed drive.
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goducks10
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01/17/21 01:38pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: East Coast Road Trip????? Pandemic?
The SE is not locked down and imprision'ed.
Walmart is a big corp and given free reign to be open with 1,000's roaming the isles and touching everything, while smaller business with much less traffic and better sanitation are often closed.
I have not heard of any walmart not allowing overnight parking due to a virus.
SE resturants are open, but they just sit at every other table.
People wear mask a lot but otherwise life goes on normally.
Be advised that some national forest "primitive camping" or "roadside camping" is not allowed and somehow this is to help prevent someone catching a virus. You can shop walmart, touch things in a store, but can't go out in the middle of nowhere and isolate yourself from the general population and camp for days. dim logic does not make sense but that is who we are now
Not sure about your area but here in where I live they shutdown the FS camping for awhile because of staff shortages. It's all open now but then again it's winter so most all FS CG's are closed anyways.
I don't think Covid it's self played a part in the decision.
It did with our state parks because early on campers were heading into local towns grabbing TP and stuff. All thats passed now and most everything's back to normal camping wise.
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goducks10
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01/17/21 01:27pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Quality Decline since Covid
I think you got lucky with your last TT. I've always said that you can have two RV's of the same make and model side by side on the dealers lot and one will be a gem and the other could be a headache.
Thus the reason why people are all over the place when asked which brand is best.
I have a pre-Covid TT that's not lived up to it's reputation. Prior I had a 2013 5er that did live up to it's reputation.
I suggest looking for another TT of the same model at a different dealer. Chances are it could be the gem.
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goducks10
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01/17/21 10:07am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Drill Holster (tip)
Kinda depends on the layout inside. Some trailers with multiple slides are not usable when the slides are in. Stabs should go down before the slide goes out.
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goducks10
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01/17/21 10:02am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Converting to 12v fridge Canada question
I went straight 12V vs 120V and an inverter. Why run the inverter if you don't have to. Yes you can run the 120V fridge on 120V elec hookup while camping. You can run the 12V fridge on 120V as well using the TT's converter.
If the inverter goes out you'll be out of a fridge if dry camping.
Also an inverter draws a small amount of power when running.
I looked at it like using the lights in the trailer. You can use them whether the TT's plugged in or not.
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goducks10
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01/16/21 06:14pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Converting to 12v fridge Canada question
Sorry, yes I mean the new absorption fridge. Current fridge is 2 way, so I'm thinking the 12v wiring is pretty light.
goducks10 What model GE did you go with? Haven't looked at them yet.
https://www.rvupgradestore.com/General-Electric-GPV10FSNSB-Refrigerator-Freezer-p/gpv10fsnsb.htm
I actually bought it from a local appliance store.
I paid right around $950 with a 3 year warranty.
It may not be the most efficient but for us it works great.
FWIW I put some 1" thick Styrofoam on the inside of the exterior black fridge vent panel to help with weather proof.
This is before finishing all the trim.
https://i.imgur.com/gqWDaNul.jpg
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goducks10
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01/16/21 12:40pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Towing capacity vs max cargo weight rating
Who says debris gets spread around in every RV wreck?
All one has to do is rear end someone at a stop sign/light and cause injury.
Only thing messed up is the front of the truck/SUV. The trailer would still be 100% intact.
In this case, regardless of "over-loading", the person would be 100% at fault anyway.
For them to further blame it on trailer weight, they'd have to prove it. It'll likely involve hiring an engineer as an expert witness. Why would they when it takes no effort to prove the driver is already 100% at fault?
Technically everything non-OEM on your truck can be blamed, I don't understand why we always emphasize on trailer weight. When's the last time any of us checked all brake friction materials exceeded OEM spec? What about over-sized tires? Lift kit? Tires with lower friction than OEM? Inertia brake controller at correct angle? Corrosion on electric brake wiring? You name it, with enough money behind a lawsuit, they can lay the blame on!
Agree, my point was that not every RV wreck results in a totaled RV as some seem to think will always happen.
Knowingly towing over weight is different than towing under when causing an accident. Still the drivers fault but for different reasons.
If I can't stop because I was distracted vs I knowingly towed over my trucks ratings IMO I think the latter would bring a more serious charge. I'm not a legal expert so fire away.
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goducks10
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01/16/21 10:46am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Converting to 12v fridge Canada question
Novacool out of Coquitlam, B.C. makes good quality 12V fridges. A little spendy down here.
My Norcold quit working so I went with a GE 12V RV/Off the grid fridge. I will say it's very quiet. Not silent like an absorption fridge but you barely hear the compressor unless it stone quiet in the TT
I ran my 12V wire to a 12V breaker in the fuse panel. You could easily run a wire directly to the batteries if you wanted.
I had a 8 cuft (Really 7.5 cuft) and the GE 10 cuft fit right in the Norcold slot.
You'll never hear the fridge that far away.
One big plus is that it cools down very fast. About 2 hours to 34-37*
Our Norcold took most of a day to do that.
I only used it for 1/2 the summer last year but did do some dry camping with it. I can easily go 3-4 days with four 6V GC batteries and 400W of solar. We run what we want when we want so we don't conserve power when out camping. I would say with my setup I could easily go 5-6 days or longer if the days were always sunny. Not sure but I would think with conservation and out in the open on sunny days I could go forever with the 12V fridge.
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goducks10
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01/16/21 10:30am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Opinions on Grand Design Fifth Wheels
I read somewhere that Heartland Landmark is now using Azdel instead of luan. That would push me their way as most other things are about the same. This is my first full body paint and any others will be as well.
Right from their Landmark page,
"Lightweight, non-wood Azdel laminated sidewalls with laminated slide-out and rear end walls"
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goducks10
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01/15/21 03:38pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Opinions on Grand Design Fifth Wheels
When GD started business they knew they couldn't build a rounder wheel so went the CS route. They basically said we'll take care of you better than other RV brands will. That worked great early on until like 'minnow' said they got too big.
I joined their forum back when they started and yeah they had great CS. They had actual reps on the site that would help you through the warranty process.
I don't see any reps anymore and the issues I read about are the same issues that other brands have.
There's only so much technology in the RV process.
GD makes good ones and bad ones just like the rest of em do.
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goducks10
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01/15/21 09:47am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Towing capacity vs max cargo weight rating
Who says debris gets spread around in every RV wreck?
All one has to do is rear end someone at a stop sign/light and cause injury.
Only thing messed up is the front of the truck/SUV. The trailer would still be 100% intact.
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goducks10
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01/13/21 04:56pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Opinions on Grand Design Fifth Wheels
We've been shopping recently for a used 5er maybe 2-3 years old. We like certain Montana models, Forest River Cardinal, and others.
We've seen some Grand Design models pop up and wonder how they compare to the others and if owners are generally happy.
We're looking for a full time model in the class of Montana, Big Horn, Big Country, Cardinal, Cedar Creek, etc.
Cruise over to the Grand Design Owners Forum. Lots of koolaide drinkers like any brand, but you will soon realize that GD's are just like the rest as far as reliability.
One thing I did notice from hanging out is replacing the suspension seems to be the most popular mod.
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goducks10
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01/11/21 05:31pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: August cammping
Being an Oregon camper I found all parks maxed out. State parks are always full during summer so no change there. It was the Fs types that were packed. It was trending that way for the last 3 years. 10 years ago you could arrive on a Friday night around 6:00 pm and get a spot. In the last 3-4 years the show up times decreased and most of the FS campgrounds we frequent started filling up on Thursday afternoon.
Last year was a mess and even some of the RV parks we frequent were packed all summer even during the week.
With record sales predicted again for 2021 and many newbies still enjoying the RV lifestyle I don't see much changing here.
YMMV in other states.
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goducks10
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01/04/21 09:17am |
RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions
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RE: Ford F-250 7.3 Gas Engine Axle Ratios
One more element I might add regarding the new 10 spd transmission is you can lockout gears on the fly which is ideal for towing.
Can't you do that with any of the HD trans?
But yes it is a nice feature.
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goducks10
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01/02/21 06:03pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: I just got the new RV Magazine
I will not be renewing my subscription. Had TL for the last 7-8 years.
Even it was marginal.
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goducks10
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01/02/21 05:59pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: V6 Silverados
I would tow a 9,000 lb travel trailer about 3-5 miles to my house, unhook and take the Silverado down to the nearest Chevy dealer and trade it in on a 2500 or 1 ton Silverado.
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goducks10
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12/29/20 01:35pm |
Tow Vehicles
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