Travel Trailer

[Ryan Mooney]

I was thinking a dump trailer and either tractor with front loader or a skid steer

The dump trailers are a LOT heavier. but luckily you've got the torque to make that work. They are super handy if you're moving a lot of dirt, gravel, or compost around (although sometimes its about as cheap or cheaper to have it delivered if you're buying a lot.. last year they delivered 9yds of compost for free after the price of the compost - I think free delivery kicked in around the 3-4yd size within the local area).

 

[Vaughn McMillan]

Dude, your travel trailer has a better router setup than most people's houses. Looking good, Darren!

 

[Darren Wright]

Last night I finished up the cables going outside. I decided to go through the back wall, rather than the roof, so used a cut-in box inside the linen closet. I wedged a board in to hold my backer piece in place so I could insert the outdoor connectors.


I also installed the Flag Buddy mounts on the ladder and tested out the painters pole. I may get one that is a bit shorter, but will make due with this one for now, Just need to 3d print a couple of spacers to help keep it from wobbling/spinning.


I also got all the back wall table parts cut out and did a test fit of the brackets.


I just need to use some of the cut-offs and test out a few stain colors to see if my wife likes any of them.

I just need to install some electrical in the closet and can finish with the network stuff.

 

[Darren Wright]

So first off, I was a bit in shock when I walked into the electrical isle at the blue borg this evening. only about two boxes of new construction electrical boxes were left on the shelf.


I did manage to find a couple of shallow outlet boxes, but I'm going to have to 3d print some extension rings for them. I had one oops, didn't realize a box on the other side was so wide, half was behind the wall, so will have an extra cover plate in the closet.


I got the network rack installed, and the access point hung on the bottom of the shelf it sits on. I still need to drill a hole to run it's wire up from below rather than around the front.


Lastly I moved the wifi antenna outside and have it pointing at the house to repeat it's connection to the trailer.

 

[Ted Calver]

I've been seeing quite a few empty shelves at my two blue borgs and the orange one too. Supply lines must be stretched thin. Demand is there, so I guess we can look forward to increased prices on things other than lumber, which is already high.

 

[Darren Wright]

I got the outlet box extenders printed and installed today. Yes, there is a brown outlet vs. black in the closet, but it's what I could find in stock.


Also got my wheel well liners for the truck and installed them. They clean up the look of the bed a lot and do help with all the wear and tear from the gravel roads.

 

[Darren Wright]

So filled up the water tank with "bleach" water, ran all the faucets (after figuring out all the extra shutoffs out), and let it set most of yesterday. I dumped it late last night, refilled with about 15-20 gallons of fresh water, and flushed all the lines out.

The grandkids spent the night last night, but the grandson has been having issues with GERD. He's suffered episodes with it since he was little, just seems to flare up every so often. We ended up packing up our camp late last night after he threw up (luckily in a bucket) and moving back into the house. Got him some meds today, so hopefully he'll be feeling better this week.

I plan to hook up the RV to the truck tomorrow and see how much drop I'll need for a new hitch. It looks like I can pickup a new drop section to work with the rest of the setup, but they aren't cheap. I may go ahead and drive it down to the scale a few miles away, and see where it sits and how it pulls.

 

[Darren Wright]

Hope everyone had an enjoyable Easter Sunday. After the grandkids left I spent a little time finishing up a little wiring on the truck's dash cam and installed a 12v barrel connector jack for the RV backup camera.


I 3d printed a bracket for the monitor, which I plan to just hang from the rear view mirror, can't see anything in it with the trailer back there anyway, so seemed like a natural place for it to go. No dangling cords to distract me either.

 

[Peter Rideout]

New England is a nice place to visit. Boston is a beautiful city. Vermont and New Hampshire is beautiful. Mystic Seaport is awesome.

Gone with the Winns - started as a RV channel then morphed into a sailing channel.

And if you get that far, you might as well keep on rolling to the Canadian Maritimes. Lots to see and do here. The ocean’s all around us, so the seafood is wonderful. That looks like a great unit. Fun times ahead!

 

[Paul Douglass]

I have a 25 foot Artic Fox trailer... 2008. I had a 3/4 ton Chev truck with a 6.0 (2007) when I go the trailer.... Artic Fox are heavy and a little wider than some.... They are like towing a heavy brick down the road.... Everyone told me no problem that will tow it... One time I headed for the Oregon coast, around 300 miles from me.. Into a head wind... I made it 110 miles on a tank of gas....Biggs Junction....you know it, Ryan, hoping I saw a station soon... 45 was the best I could do without blowing the engine... Pulled into the station with the "gas" light blinking... Got home and started looking for a diesel.. This has nothing to do with the thread other than RV's but there is a lot to be said about a diesel.... I can pull anywhere with it and I could probably sell it now for what I paid for it back in the day...The trailer.... maybe if lucky I could get 10th what I paid for it...

 

[Ryan Mooney]

Biggs Junction....you know it, Ryan

Heh, you were just getting close to where it can get really windy, less on the front wind but the side wind coming around some of the corners west of there can get really really exciting! I suppose a heavier trailer would be a slight advantage for that.

Travel trailers do seem to have mediocre resale value, my neighbor tends to churn used ones to some profit though...

 

[Darren Wright]

.The trailer.... maybe if lucky I could get 10th what I paid for it...

You'd be surprised what they are going for right now. The orders are backlogged about 6 to 8 months from the factory. Same for big trucks. My dealer even sold his own personal F250 this past week as they just aren't getting them from the factory fast enough right now. He told me in a month if I decided I wanted to sell mine, he probably could get over what I paid.

 

[fred hargis]

Darren, will the new truck ft under a 7' door opening? I now you showed parked inside, but I hve no idea how tall the door is.

 

[Darren Wright]

Our first little camp site.

Really like this Overland Propane Firepit. This pic was just after turning it off. It still put off heat for about another hour.

Darren, will the new truck ft under a 7' door opening? I now you showed parked inside, but I hve no idea how tall the door is.

Sorry, yes, my front shop door is 6'-6", fits about an inch under it, but mostly because the driveway starts to slope just outside the door.

 

[Darren Wright]

Btw...The new truck averaged about 12.5 mpg. Not bad for heading uphill, into the wind, both ways. I did get behind a Prius and was able to draft on it for a few miles, seemed to help.

 

[Ryan Mooney]

I did get behind a Prius and was able to draft on it for a few miles

When we bought the school bus some years back LOML noted how fantastic the gas mileage on the SUV was on the way home. I was like "well yeah.. you were drafting a school bus the whole way".. "oooooh! right!"

Now you just need a school bus

 

[Brent Dowell]

Our first little camp site.
View attachment 115992
Really like this Overland Propane Firepit. This pic was just after turning it off. It still put off heat for about another hour.
View attachment 115991


Sorry, yes, my front shop door is 6'-6", fits about an inch under it, but mostly because the driveway starts to slope just outside the door.

Looks like a great time! Where did you go?

When we bought the school bus some years back LOML noted how fantastic the gas mileage on the SUV was on the way home. I was like "well yeah.. you were drafting a school bus the whole way".. "oooooh! right!"

Now you just need a school bus

You have a school bus!?!?!

 

[Bill Satko]

You have a school bus!?!?!

Yes, my response is the same as we have been recently watching on YouTube people living in converted buses. You can't just throw this out there without some explanation and possibly it's own posting.

 

[Darren Wright]

Looks like a great time! Where did you go?

Mansfield, MO Right across from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum (Little house books). It's only about 15 miles from the farm. And no, never have visited the museum in the 30 years I've been going down there, nor has my wife in her 50+ years. It's on our list of things to do, along with visiting some of the lakes just south of there. Seems like every visit is filled with family stuff. We did drive around quite a bit this time and made notes of other places to visit at least.

Laura Ingalls Wilder RV Park Reviews updated 2023

Laura Ingalls Wilder RV Park, Mansfield Missouri. See 12 traveler reviews, 8 photos and blog posts

www.campendium.com

You have a school bus!?!?!

 

[Ryan Mooney]

You have a school bus!?!?!

It's both a longer and shorter story than it might be and there is less to tell than I'd like. The really short version is that when I bought it, it was 20 years old, now it's 30 years old and hasn't had all that much work done on it.

The longer version is that converting a schoolie has some challenges due to the form factor and design. What I have is basically a slightly elongated E350 van with the passenger side butchered so as to be unusable (problem 1, how to setup the co-pilot seating.. I need a co-pilot ).

The gearing is super low which is fine for short trips but kind of terrible for long, it gets a solid 11.5mpg if you keep it under 55 (uphill, downhill, wind, no wind..) but if you try to hit 60 or forbid 65 you can literally watch the gas gauge start to move (this isn't an exaggeration .. the first time I did it I had to back off then try it again just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating).

The deck is quite high (on the one I have) which makes designing ingress/egress challenging for some folks (this is what sort of put the brakes on the project when loml broke her leg and has had some issues with that long term..).

And there was perhaps more than a bit of lost inertia when we moved houses :/