RV History

So far, we’ve towed the 5th wheel trailer 12,722 miles. This is my first experience towing a 5th wheel trailer and the most notable thing is how stable it is. You can barely feel crosswinds but headwinds are very noticeable. After all, it has the aerodynamic profile of a brick. The 2005 RAM 3500 seems to pull it fine though the added weight of the trailer has introduced some unexpected repairs. More on that in a future post. We've made lots of mods and changes since it was purchased and is fairly roomy and comfortable especially when compared to other RVs we've had.

But for background, here is a summary of my RV history. The next three images are from the Internet as this was all in the film days. You didn't take a picture unless there was a good reason. And there was rarely a good reason to take a picture of your vehicle. At least until blogging...

The first RV owned was a 1978 Chinook built on a Toyota chassis. Single rear wheels were cheaper at toll booths. Not too bad. It was sort of self-contained with a kitchen, bathroom (no shower) and you could walk through from the cab. The icebox needed blocks of ice and it could not pass up a gas station due to the minuscule gas tank and mediocre gas mileage. It made several round trips to the lower 48 and was very convenient for traveling especially compared the minivan we used for the prior trip.

The next RV was a Grasshopper travel trailer that I bought from my parents after they decided that they weren't going to be camping anymore. This was more self-contained as it had the predecessor of a cassette toilet, a 3-way refrigerator and fresh and grey tank. It had a rear door so the setup was more camper-like but it made it easy to carry bicycles. Only used for one trip north. Less convenient than the Chinook but much more livable space. The lack of tandem axles meant that it took a real beating when towed up the highway behind a 1-ton crew cab. Lots of things needed to be screwed back together after getting it up to Alaska. It was sold to a local dog trainer as she really liked the convenience of the rear entry.

The next "RV" I couldn't find a picture of. It was an older 11' cabover camper. This is 3' longer than the bed of the truck and didn't include the queen size bed over the cab. It weighed a ton and was carried on our '91 Ford F350 crew cab which carried it fine until you tried to go up a mountain. The truck was a naturally aspirated (no turbo) 7.3-liter diesel. On its first trip down the Alaska Highway, a frost heave caused the wood for two of the camper tie-downs to fail. In Watson Lake, I drilled through the floor of the camper and the bed of the truck and just bolted the camper to the truck. That worked really well.  So well that even after rebuilding the camper frame, I still used the bolts through the floor. With this old camper, we were back to an ice-box, a porta-potty, and a freshwater tank. It did have a propane furnace, which was a first for us, but only used it once. It made a couple of round trips and was used for several trips within the state. To me, the main problem with a camper is the hazards associated with putting it on and off of the pickup. Especially something tall like that F350.

The next RV was a Wilderness travel trailer. I was looking for something towable by a 1/2 ton Suburban and this sort of qualified. The Suburban didn't do a very good job as a tow vehicle contrary to what GM advertising may claim. This trailer was also our first foray into fully self-contained. 3-way refrigerator, furnace, A/C, water heater and a full bathroom including a tiny tub. With this trailer, I learned how fast a furnace runs through propane and that a single deep cycle battery won't run the furnace through the night. But we used it for two round trips to the lower-48. And for a couple of summers, we used it in our driveway during fire season as it had air conditioning. It was sold to be replaced at some future date by a fifth wheel trailer.