Seems like I've read this post before. Anyway; My suggestion is a 3/4 ton crewcab with a short bed. 6k lbs is a lot of weight for any 1/2 ton to handle. I seriously doubt the suspension, brakes and tranny can handle it over the long haul. The 3/4 ton not only will handle that load with ease, it will also make you, the driver, more relaxed while towing. After a couple of hours, being relaxed could be the difference in you avoiding a wreck.
These trucks have been built for years, so it's a matter of how long do you want to look for one and how much do you want to spend.
Sorry for the repeat in posts! thanks to everyone who has given advice it's all appreciated. One more thing Is there any noticable difference in the rear seating from a 3 dr pickup to a 4 door or quad cab?? That was a concern with triing to chose between a pickup or an suv. We'd prefer a pickup over a suv as far as hauling would be concerned on those rare occasions- I think from what I see a 3/4 ton would be the best. dumb ?? though is that like a 1500 or 250 as you can tell we haven't chosen a make or model yet either.
A three or four door extended cab will not be very comfortable for your backseat adults. You need a crewcab, or whatever name it has in the brand you choose. Four full size doors. Ford offers this in the F-250 and Chevy has it in the 2500. Chevy also has a 1500-HD that has four doors. I don't know how capable it is to tow. Dodge has a four door truck in the Ram series, but they are not full size doors, basically just a glorified extended cab. Their numbering scheme is similar to Chevy, the 2500 is the 3/4 ton.
IMO: Whatever you choose, make sure you get at least a 3/4 ton chassis. Whether it is a Chevy 2500 or an F-250, an Excursion or a 2500 Suburban. Very few folks ever regret having too much truck, but most regret having too little truck.
When I had a Jeep Wrangler I would winch the hard top (#150) up to the top of the garage and leave it there all summer. I suppose someone (not me) could do the same with a truck camper although I would image I would be more at ease if there was at least a small sliver of lumber holding it to the rafters.
You almost have it right Mike but the truck is in the driveway and the car is in the street. The car is just a Taurus but the truck is, well, My Truck!
I totally agree about the 3/4 ton truck. From your comments I thought you were wanting a smaller SUV, if you can call a Tahoe smaller, which I believe only come as 1/2 ton. You need to step up to a Suburban class to get 3/4 ton.
My dad pulled a 25' trailer with a 1/2 ton mid 80s Blazer and he was happy enough with it. But I sold it for him and had to take a lower price because of the transmission condition. According to the buyer GM put the 4-speed car transmission in that truck and it just isn't up to towing like the older 3-speed was. Anyway I bet that isn't true today as I've never heard anything bad about the GM 1/2 ton units. But your trailer plus cargo is near the limit for a 1/2 ton truck and it's always good to have some margin.
You should go try out a GM extended cab truck. The current body style (year 2000 an up) have the most rear seat room of all the brands. See how it works with your passengers. If acceptable, those are abundant in the used market, even 3/4 ton.
My dad tows a 6200# trailer with his Silverado 1500. He has done it for many years without problems. What amazes me is that he gets a 3.42 final drive and still pulls that trailer. Eastern Iowa has plenty of hills, and he claims he pulls them in Drive and doesn't have his foot on the floor. Of course, he generally drives 55-60.
The tongue weight is only 600-900#, no problem for a 1/2 ton. The trailer weight is well within the truck's ratings. A weight distributing hitch is mandatory (according to him). Properly set up trailer brakes mean you don't overload the truck brakes.
I have both a 1/2ton and a 3/4 ton Silverado. I like both. The 3/4 ton is more like a truck, the 1/2 ton is more like a car with a big, open trunk.
Drive both, see what you think. Talk to people with similar sized trailers. Find out how they drive and what they drive. Either one may work for you.
Don't forget to look at the door tag, it will tell you the GVW for the vehicle which is critical info for towing. I pull a 28', 6600# trailer with a 3/4 ton extended cab Silverado with no problems. Ray T.
Since I got my 00 2500, the clutch pedal has had too much free play - 2-3". Since it released before the floor, it meets GM specs. Bleeding had no effect.
Last time I used the truck was in Death Valley and since then the truck sat for about 5-6 weeks. When I got back in it, the clutch was worse - 3-4" free play and releasing right on the floor.
Since I still thought it had to be air in the concentric slave cylinder (aka the throwout bearing), I wanted to try again to get the air out. Since bleeding still didn't help, I decided to try a different method. I made a dummy clutch master cylinder cap with a seal and a port in the middle. I hooked up a vacuum pump to the port a put 30" of vacuum on the master cylinder. I was hoping the vacuum would make the bubbles much larger, and then they would come out. After a couple of minutes of vacuum, I pulled the cap off - I could actullay see some small bubbles coming up!
And now the clutch is perfect!!! About 1" free play and the release point is about 1/2 way down. Better then when it was new.
The vacuum worked so well that I'm going to try it on a motorcycle brake system that has always been difficult to bleed.
I'm not sure the bleed port for the concentric slave cylinder is all the way at the top of the cylinder.
I was very interested in your method for bleeding the clutch hydraulics. In the last few years I have found three clutch pedals (a Ford 150, a 250 and an Explorer) that went to the floor without disengaging the clutch and in each case the master and/or slave cylinder was replaced to correct the problem. I wonder now whether any of these were simply air bubbles that could have been bled. In each case the failure was rather sudden, usually overnight, with complete or nearly complete inoperability coming on over a few pedal depressions. The questions: How did the air get into your system if a cylinder wasn't leaking? any ideas? (For instance, it would be easy for a guy with a syringe and a small bore tube to introduce some air during a routine grease/oil change if his shop needed some business.) And would you put a vacuum on the master cylinder to see if bubbles appeared in every case where the clutch pedal suddenly goes to the floor without disengagement?
My clutch pedal was low from the 1st time I drove it. After several attempts at bleeding, I just gave up and drove it that way.
Only after sitting for several weeks did the pedal change for the worse. It is possible that I could have bled the extra air out of the system and gotten back to where it was. But, I tried the vacuum instead and it worked.
Putting a vacuum on the master cylinder was easy enough to do, I'd certainly do it before replacing anything.
Of course, my reasoning may be wrong. Maybe the master cylinder wasn't able to fully retract, and the vacuum pulled it hard enough to clear the obstruction - or???
The only way I can think of air getting into the system is with the brake fluid. If the fluid got low and air got in; or maybe really rough roads got enough air into the fluid. Then using the clutch distributed the air to the slave cylinder where the air came out of the fluid (temperature or air pressure changes?) and caused the clutch to suddenly get worse.
I can tell you that the two motorcycle brake system that I tried this on - one is now working great, and the other needs a master cylinder!
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Dorothy bought me a book at the HP Book Faire - Backcountry Adventures Northern California. It lists tons of backroads, giving road conditions, scenery, etc. They list roads from 1 (any passenger car) to 10 (highly modified 4wd required, expect body damage). This book doesn't show any roads above a 7 because that is not the target audience. It seems to be a great resource - so good, that I went onto Yahoo and ordered Backcountry Adventures Southern California. They also have one for Utah and another for Colorado.
Now we need to try some of these roads.
Tom S's book gives remote campsite, and this shows campsites that are on the roads, but you still need Tom's book for a description of the camps.
Next time you're nearby, stop in and check out the new reference.
We haven't heard from you in a long time. My son and his family are headed for Anchorage this summer and want to rent a truck camper for a couple of weeks. He doesn't like the price from the one company he has checked with. Do you have any leads?
I'm trying to figure when we can go camping. Not this month - a wedding next weekend, April is probable, but because Dorothy put in for some camping time at Little Basin. Probably the 11th (my Friday off), only one day so we can check out the place and decide which campsites are good, and how the hiking is, etc.
May we are going to Hawaii for a couple of weeks. So, how does June sound? I have the 6th and 20th off for three day weekends.
All the way out to June, that's quite a while but okay. Little Basin is nice enough, decent sites and hiking and a rec room if you want. Off season the place is almost empty. In season it may be a bit of a zoo since it's family oriented. They refuse to let my furry friend through the front gate however so I rarely go.
We are going to check it out for the first time. Later, we could go and have the family group camping in a fairly close location. Will know better next month.
Went up to the Sierra's over the weekend. Had a wedding to attend on Sat, so we went up on Friday and camped out. The weather was perfect! Clear and 70 in the day, clear and 40 at night.
We went and checked the place out. Right now it is OK, and fairly empty. Only two other campsites were in use. We could still hear the kids when they were playing. Must be something else with 20-50 young'uns screaming at the same time.
We walked the Tanbark Trail twice, once all the way around and once taking the Pig Ridge cutoff. Easy trails mostly. Except for a section that is mostly washed out, we could drive the trail - it is that wide. Probably they were/are fire roads or maintainence roads. Pig Ridge cutoff had a section that was too steep for us to drive up, yet at the top we noticed 3-4 old car hoods, a couple of doors, a grill and a bumper (nice looking rear bumper with oval exhausts coming out both sides of the bumper). A mile or more of power line, intemittently down on the trail. Since the lines were wrapped around each other at one point, I decided they weren't live - then we found breaks in the lines. Want to salvage a couple of miles of 6 x 10ga aluminum wire? All you have to do is cut it and carry it out.
All in all, not the best camping experience, but it has a good price, and it is fairly close.
I am happy to hear about others getting campers for their small trucks! I have a 7.5' hard-sided camper with fridge, stove and furnace for my 2001 Ranger Supercab 4x4. The camper sticker says 520kg (about 1150 pounds) wet weight. The Ranger handles the weight OK with the stock suspension - the truck is slightly lower in the back than the front, but there is no swaying side to side, and lots of travel left. The one thing I will do this year is upgrade my P-rated Pirelli Scorpion A/T tires to a load rated tire, probably the BF Goodrich A/T. The 207 HP 4.0L engine handles the weight and the wind resistance fine, although fuel mileage drops into the 14-15mpg range. The camper meets my needs for now, and allows me to tow my watercraft on it's trailer. My planned camper upgrades for this year include a 12v pump to replace the hand sink pump, a porch light, and a 200watt Pioneer sound sytem for the party events!
I've almost finished the installation of the AirLift compressor on my 2500.
Mounted the compressor on a 1/4" aluminum plate the is sandwiched between the parking brake cable bracket and the frame, just behind the driver. No holes drilled in the truck.
Mounted the dual gauges at the bottom, middle of the dash. Right in front of the shifter. Used two existing screws, so no holes drilled.
Routed the wiring/plumbing into the cab through a drain plug at the driver's side back of the cab. Then down the wiring channel under the sill plate, across under the top of the carpet and to the gauges. Coiled the excess up behind the air ducting on the passenger side.
I still have to hook the airlines up to the airbags. I will run them inside the frame and tee into the existing lines and leave the fillers at the license plate bracket.
Vince, I'm not too interested in the trails at Little Basin, or to intested in Little Basin for that matter. I can see how it would get very noisy in the summer.
I have a 2003 Silverado 2500HD duramax / allison crew cab long box. Man, it sure used to be easier to say I've got a pick-up!
I've been seriously considering switching from a motorhome to a pick-up camper. I like the Lance slideout models but I am concerned about the wieght. My truck is obviously a single rear wheel design. The load rating is about 3100 lbs in the bed. The camper would probably end up about 3500 lbs. I can get below the 3100 by opting for a non slideout model. I would definately prefer the extra room though and I have no desire to have a dually truck.
Has anybody hauled one of these around in a SRW truck? Did you add airbags? How did the truck handle it? I would like to be able to bring my boat and still have a truck to drive while camping. This seems like a great way to do it. The camper needs to sleep two big adults and my six year old twins.
Where do you get the 3100lb load rating? I really doubt it is that high for just the camper, rather that is probably for the passengers + cargo + camper. Look on the sticker in the glove box for the camper rating. I have a 2000 2500 reg cab 4x4 and the camper rating is about 300 lbs lower than the GVWR - curb weight.
You will be way over with the Lance slide out. I have a Lance 9.4 foot stickered at under 2500 lbs and with two large adults the total rig is 9100 lbs, 500 over the limit. This is due to cargo, tools, food, etc. I guess. The truck does fine with that load but it sounds like you would be even more over the limit.
The camper is great and fully meets my needs but it would be crowded with 4 people. You should look at the second bed in the slide out area. I've never seen one made up but I know the seating area is smaller than in the non-slide out models. If you can put the kids in a tent then the camper would be fine.
So you finally went for the compressor! I wish you had put in one of those fancy high volume models so we could use it on our tires. That way we could air down to smooth out the washboards. I think you'll enjoy using the airbags to help level, it's often enough for me.
You mean one of those expensive high volume units? Actually, the cost of the big compressor isn't that much more. What you really get with the AirLift model is the low pressure sensors, gauges and pre-plumbed kit for easy installation.
Easy is a relative word. I'm into my kit for about 8 hours with another 2 to go. I'm very fussy about how I install something. I must have 5-6 hours into making and fitting the bracket I mounted the compressor onto. But, I'm happy the way it worked out.
Why airbags? I thought your camper was fairly light weight - especially for a 2500. By the way, I'm getting ready to go to Alaska; any tips on the trip and camper setup? I think I've got mine mosquito proofed and have finally stopped the roof from leaking.
The camper is fairly light, but with water, food, clothes, pots and pans, it is 16-1800#. The airbags allow the truck to be leveled side to side (the side with the refrig, stove, hot water heater, furnace weighs more than the side with the dinette and closet). I also use the airbags to level at a campsite. I can get 3-4" easier with the airbags than I can with 2"x6"s.
Do you have a route picked for Alaska? Or places to visit in Alaska? How much time do you have? We took 7 days to get to Alaska - 3500 miles.
I would recommend the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. It is well paved gravel and less traveled than the Alaska Highway - its also about 3-400 miles shorter and quite scenic.
If you are on the Alaska Highway, either way, stop at the Liard River Hot Springs and soak in the natural hot water for awhile. Enter the water more downstream and work your way up.
I would suggest you enter Alaska via the Top Of The World Highway. Takes you through Dawson City. We found the campground at Minto (on the Yukon River) quite nice. They open the campground about Jun 1, you can check in Whitehorse at the visitor center for information. It is a glorious drive up and over the pass entering Alaska.
In Alaska - If you can, take the drive up the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay. Take the tour of the oilfields and Artic Ocean for $25. We were the only ones on the early morning tour and it was well worth it. If you go up the Dalton, there is a campground in Fox (just north of Fairbanks) and they have a sweet water spring just outside the campground. Fill your water tank with that wonderful water.
Denali National Park is a must see. Sometimes the easiest way to get into the park is to agree to camp for 3 days at the furthest in campground. Otherwise, you may have to wait a day or two to get a campsite.
Seward was just too crowded for our tastes. Spend some time in Homer - camp at the end of the spit, on the water. We took a ferry ride from Whittier to Valdez. You have to get reservations for the train ride (with camper) to Whittier and for the ferry to Valdez. One phone call got both reservations.
We found gas and supplies easy to come by. If there is something special, a certain brand you want, you may want to stock of on that - otherwise, it is available as you go.
We found the portions served in restaurants to be huge! More so in less populated areas. And the costs were about the same as here.
Seward was as close as we came to a 'bad' time. And it was worth seeing the Aquarium (or whatever it is called). Just the miles of RV's parked along the water was depressing. We stayed out of town at a small campground.
A lot of the roads are gravel. And the gravel roads have soft spots from melting ice and snow. Watch for 'wet' spots or holes and slow way down and go around them. On any gravel road, slow down and pull over when approaching traffic. The traffic throws up rocks, and you hit them at the speed you are traveling. By slowing down and pulling over, you can save your windshield.
Good, fairly new tires are advised. As is a good spare. We didn't have any flats (on new LT tires) while others did.
Take your time and take lots of pictures - you will have a great time!
You can send me an email if you want to come down to Santa Clara and see our Alaska trip photo album. But, I'm out of town from the 6th to the 21st.
Has anyone ever repaired a Suburban furnace to eliminate a horrid screeching when it starts up? It seems to be common on older units as both my campers have the problem.
Could it be as simple as a plain bearing in need of lubrication? The heat and vibration (that makes the screech) of the shaft wobbling in the bearings could cause some residual oil to migrate into the bearing and lubricate it - for a little while.
I'd take it apart and try to lubricate both support bearings. Then test it before you put it back together.
Found another popup camper - called an Aliner. You've probably seen those small popup a-frame type trailers; well they've removed the wheels and stuck it in the bed of a pickup. You can see it at www.aliner.com. It's called the Truck Cabin Freedom. Be prepared for an extremely slow web site.
Mike - Thanks for the info. We haven't decided on a definite route as yet, we were thinking of driving northbound and taking the Alaskan Marine Highway southbound for part of the way. It sounds like a lot of fun to be able to ride one of those ferries. My wife and I collect ferry rides anyway and this seems like an excellent chance to ride one more.
My job deteriorated into a 100% travel position, so last Nov. I decided enough was enough and retired. I said that to say that I have no timetable - I was just going to wing it as far as the time was concerned. We're going to take it easy and just enjoy the trip.
I have been to Alaska a couple of other times (on work contracts) and I was able to do some sightseeing on those trips, but I do want to travel the Haul Road to Prudhoe Bay. Where did you stay in Deadhorse? Interesting name: Deadhorse. The name conjures up some unpleasant images although the real explanation for the name is certainly mundane. The Milepost says that the area has been overrun with grizzly bears the past few years - I'm not telling my wife that part until we get there. If I told her before hand she would say 'I'm staying in Anchorage, pick me up on the way back'.
Yes Mike I thought the same thing. Getting to those bearings is another thing though. Once I do get in there I wonder if a little oil will be a long term fix. The right way is to replace the bearing and maybe the shaft but that could be difficult for a variety of reasons.
Thanks for the tip, what an interesting idea. I can't say it's particularly good looking on the truck when folded down but that's not so important. I wonder how much it weighs when optioned out. The 500 lbs specified is for almost an empty shell.
I sat in one of the trailer versions at an RV show. It's small inside because the A-frame design is inefficient but I liked it anyway. One thing I noticed is you really need the skylights in the roof because that is where your head goes when sitting on the seats!
Sorry for the tardy reply, we've been out of town for two weeks.
We stayed at the 'Prudhoe Bay Hotel' or some name like that. There are two places to stay in Deadhorse. One is used by the tour buses, the other was used by us. It was $190/night, which sounds high and I'm known to be cheap. But, it wasn't that bad. The room included meals and snacks. Which would have run over $60/person/day. So, the room was only about $70 and had a private shower. The food was very good - isolated people need good food or there will be big problems. The night we were there, they had prime rib or baked salmon. Of course, you can order cold sandwiches or hot, made to order off the grill. Fresh fruit, cakes, pies, cookies, chips, salads and more.
The tour of the facility was $25/person and worth it. There is no other way to touch the Artic Ocean. Take the early tour (7am?) to avoid crowds from the our buses. We were the only two on our tour.
You can stop many places along the way and camp, but we chose to drive straight through from the campground in Fox (just north of Fairbanks - fill up with sweet spring water) to Deadhorse. It is a long day, but do-able. To do it again, we would take more time and camp along the way.
How is everything in the town of my birth? You didn't know I was born in M-town? Deaconess Hospital (gone I believe).
Here in California we are still waiting for the summer weather to show up. Mostly low 70's day and hi 50's at night. No more real news here. Still trying to schedule some summer vacation. Enough work that they don't want me to take off, and I have enough vacation that I don't want to work. And they are changing the rules, so any vacation not used by the end of the year will be cashed out on Dec 31. I hate changing rules.
Dorothy is off work, she doesn't know if they will ask her back in August or not. Maybe she will have a long vacation.
My dad bought a new Airstream 25' and he seems to like it. He claims he gets 2mpg better (12 vs 10mpg) than with his old square trailer. And it tows better in the wind than the square ones did in the calm.
Is your Chevy still running? And your trailer still getting used? And your plane still flying? How many hours do you get to use it annually?
Do you still have the same email address? I'll let you know if/when we are coming out this summer (hopefully mid July or August).
New Airstream -- Thought I saw something silver shinning down their --
The HD is great. Have a 30ft w/3 slide Excel by Peterson industries. Don't remember if we still had the Old Hitchiker when you were out.
Traveled down to Smith Center KS for Factory Customer appreciation get together along with 600 ohters first part of June. Planning AZ for March.
Teaching 12yr old grandson to fly the Skyhawk these days. Lots of fun for grandpa. Our youngest Daughter was back from Mission work in Jan so lot of flying with her. In an out of St. Louis IFR couple times etc -- about 50hr a year.
Same home e-mail. We'll be at Oshkosh last week July/first week of Aug. Yeah-let me know when your back.
an awning that slides into the extra awning rail on the 5th wh before Oshkosh--Not fasted to it like the carefree style already their.
Several of us had them years ago--we used them on our pop up campers. Sears had really nice 10'x16' & 10'x20' (Not just the ones that came out 6' or so) that came with aluminum support poles that were extendable (up&down) and looped over the top and connected to the other side. You could use them as free standing with two or three sets of pole supports or connect one end into the camper awning rail and extend the rest out and over the other sets of poles. The 16' or 20' really gave a lot of coverage area.
I've been searching the net everywhere but can't run accross anything but the short ones that can't be free standing when wanted.
Anyone know what I'm talking about??
I've checked camper world type places with no luck.
Thanks Mike -- However I'm just looking for the plain ol 10'x16' 0r 20' flat piece of awning with one end such that it can be pulled into an Awning Rail Slot then removed and folded back up for next year so to speak when I would use it again. The Sears one I mentioned had real nice set of poles that came apart for easy carring.
I am considering buying a short 24-26ft fifth wheel trailer and tow my 21 boat behind it. I am wondering if anyone has experince towing a similar triple, and what I should consider before I buy the 5th wheel. I know the truck can handle the weight (I expect total for 5th and boat to be between 10.5 and 12K lbs.) I am more concerned with overall length, sway on the highway, weight distribution, etc. BTW, my truck is a 96 Chev 1ton xcab 4wd dually with 7.4L and auto tranny. Thanks in advance for any input.
Meeting for M/R would be great again. Would have to be the 23rd as I have to pick up the GKids on the 24th and we'll leave for OSH either Thru. Nite or Early (5am) Friday the 25th.
Or how 'bout getting them to Go and Meeting at the Hangar. That way I could have Katchup on mine. Maybe a short ride or something again. If you get this before you have leave let me know.
I carry Wk Cell 641-485-2122 nearly all the time so call me on that.
Sorry I didn't get your reply until now. I got laid off on the 1st of July, and normally got to these boards from work.
I couldn't get my vacation approved until the last minute - too much work - then I got laid off. Go figure! $45K severance takes some of the sting out of it - I wonder how much of that my good ole' uncle will want?
We got to Iowa on the 24th, and made a family reunion on the 27th. Then off to KC so my wife could fly home (she made plans before my vacation finally got approved). I got home yesterday.
I've got a couple of leads on jobs, but I kinda like the idea of staying home - at least for awhile.
Sorry to hear that kind of news. We left for OSH on the 24th -- Sorry to have missed you. This company just closed down a plant in Connecticut after having it for 20 yrs. In our case, CEO Greed and duplicate product planning doomed it for the beginning. You can bet the CEO management group didn't miss a bonus over their stupid moves. Sign of the times I guess.
I just looked at a Lance 1161. This model had a slide-out, 150 watt solar panel, 3.5kw generator and rear-view camera system. The salesman qouted me a price of $31,275. This is considerably higher than what I was expecting. For this price, I can buy a 28' to 30' fiver and have twice the room. Are these things really that expensive? I realize a certain amount of engineering takes place in a slide-in that does not in a travel trailer or fifth wheel, but this seems excessive.
Comments
Starting to sound like my used car lot.
Mike L
These trucks have been built for years, so it's a matter of how long do you want to look for one and how much do you want to spend.
IMO: Whatever you choose, make sure you get at least a 3/4 ton chassis. Whether it is a Chevy 2500 or an F-250, an Excursion or a 2500 Suburban. Very few folks ever regret having too much truck, but most regret having too little truck.
My dad pulled a 25' trailer with a 1/2 ton mid 80s Blazer and he was happy enough with it. But I sold it for him and had to take a lower price because of the transmission condition. According to the buyer GM put the 4-speed car transmission in that truck and it just isn't up to towing like the older 3-speed was. Anyway I bet that isn't true today as I've never heard anything bad about the GM 1/2 ton units. But your trailer plus cargo is near the limit for a 1/2 ton truck and it's always good to have some margin.
You should go try out a GM extended cab truck. The current body style (year 2000 an up) have the most rear seat room of all the brands. See how it works with your passengers. If acceptable, those are abundant in the used market, even 3/4 ton.
The tongue weight is only 600-900#, no problem for a 1/2 ton. The trailer weight is well within the truck's ratings. A weight distributing hitch is mandatory (according to him). Properly set up trailer brakes mean you don't overload the truck brakes.
I have both a 1/2ton and a 3/4 ton Silverado. I like both. The 3/4 ton is more like a truck, the 1/2 ton is more like a car with a big, open trunk.
Drive both, see what you think. Talk to people with similar sized trailers. Find out how they drive and what they drive. Either one may work for you.
Mike L
I pull a 28', 6600# trailer with a 3/4 ton extended cab Silverado with no problems.
Ray T.
Last time I used the truck was in Death Valley and since then the truck sat for about 5-6 weeks. When I got back in it, the clutch was worse - 3-4" free play and releasing right on the floor.
Since I still thought it had to be air in the concentric slave cylinder (aka the throwout bearing), I wanted to try again to get the air out. Since bleeding still didn't help, I decided to try a different method. I made a dummy clutch master cylinder cap with a seal and a port in the middle. I hooked up a vacuum pump to the port a put 30" of vacuum on the master cylinder. I was hoping the vacuum would make the bubbles much larger, and then they would come out. After a couple of minutes of vacuum, I pulled the cap off - I could actullay see some small bubbles coming up!
And now the clutch is perfect!!! About 1" free play and the release point is about 1/2 way down. Better then when it was new.
The vacuum worked so well that I'm going to try it on a motorcycle brake system that has always been difficult to bleed.
I'm not sure the bleed port for the concentric slave cylinder is all the way at the top of the cylinder.
Mike L
Thanks, Ross
Only after sitting for several weeks did the pedal change for the worse. It is possible that I could have bled the extra air out of the system and gotten back to where it was. But, I tried the vacuum instead and it worked.
Putting a vacuum on the master cylinder was easy enough to do, I'd certainly do it before replacing anything.
Of course, my reasoning may be wrong. Maybe the master cylinder wasn't able to fully retract, and the vacuum pulled it hard enough to clear the obstruction - or???
The only way I can think of air getting into the system is with the brake fluid. If the fluid got low and air got in; or maybe really rough roads got enough air into the fluid. Then using the clutch distributed the air to the slave cylinder where the air came out of the fluid (temperature or air pressure changes?) and caused the clutch to suddenly get worse.
I can tell you that the two motorcycle brake system that I tried this on - one is now working great, and the other needs a master cylinder!
Mike L
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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Now we need to try some of these roads.
Tom S's book gives remote campsite, and this shows campsites that are on the roads, but you still need Tom's book for a description of the camps.
Next time you're nearby, stop in and check out the new reference.
Mike L
I'll take a look at the book on Amazon. I need to order Tom's anyway as mine is old and in two pieces now.
Ross
I'm trying to figure when we can go camping. Not this month - a wedding next weekend, April is probable, but because Dorothy put in for some camping time at Little Basin. Probably the 11th (my Friday off), only one day so we can check out the place and decide which campsites are good, and how the hiking is, etc.
May we are going to Hawaii for a couple of weeks. So, how does June sound? I have the 6th and 20th off for three day weekends.
Mike L
We are going to check it out for the first time. Later, we could go and have the family group camping in a fairly close location. Will know better next month.
Went up to the Sierra's over the weekend. Had a wedding to attend on Sat, so we went up on Friday and camped out. The weather was perfect! Clear and 70 in the day, clear and 40 at night.
Mike L
We walked the Tanbark Trail twice, once all the way around and once taking the Pig Ridge cutoff. Easy trails mostly. Except for a section that is mostly washed out, we could drive the trail - it is that wide. Probably they were/are fire roads or maintainence roads. Pig Ridge cutoff had a section that was too steep for us to drive up, yet at the top we noticed 3-4 old car hoods, a couple of doors, a grill and a bumper (nice looking rear bumper with oval exhausts coming out both sides of the bumper). A mile or more of power line, intemittently down on the trail. Since the lines were wrapped around each other at one point, I decided they weren't live - then we found breaks in the lines. Want to salvage a couple of miles of 6 x 10ga aluminum wire? All you have to do is cut it and carry it out.
All in all, not the best camping experience, but it has a good price, and it is fairly close.
Mike L
My planned camper upgrades for this year include a 12v pump to replace the hand sink pump, a porch light, and a 200watt Pioneer sound sytem for the party events!
Mounted the compressor on a 1/4" aluminum plate the is sandwiched between the parking brake cable bracket and the frame, just behind the driver. No holes drilled in the truck.
Mounted the dual gauges at the bottom, middle of the dash. Right in front of the shifter. Used two existing screws, so no holes drilled.
Routed the wiring/plumbing into the cab through a drain plug at the driver's side back of the cab. Then down the wiring channel under the sill plate, across under the top of the carpet and to the gauges. Coiled the excess up behind the air ducting on the passenger side.
I still have to hook the airlines up to the airbags. I will run them inside the frame and tee into the existing lines and leave the fillers at the license plate bracket.
Vince, I'm not too interested in the trails at Little Basin, or to intested in Little Basin for that matter. I can see how it would get very noisy in the summer.
Mike L
I've been seriously considering switching from a motorhome to a pick-up camper. I like the Lance slideout models but I am concerned about the wieght. My truck is obviously a single rear wheel design. The load rating is about 3100 lbs in the bed. The camper would probably end up about 3500 lbs. I can get below the 3100 by opting for a non slideout model. I would definately prefer the extra room though and I have no desire to have a dually truck.
Has anybody hauled one of these around in a SRW truck? Did you add airbags? How did the truck handle it? I would like to be able to bring my boat and still have a truck to drive while camping. This seems like a great way to do it. The camper needs to sleep two big adults and my six year old twins.
Any ideas on what works and what doesn't?
You will be way over with the Lance slide out. I have a Lance 9.4 foot stickered at under 2500 lbs and with two large adults the total rig is 9100 lbs, 500 over the limit. This is due to cargo, tools, food, etc. I guess. The truck does fine with that load but it sounds like you would be even more over the limit.
The camper is great and fully meets my needs but it would be crowded with 4 people. You should look at the second bed in the slide out area. I've never seen one made up but I know the seating area is smaller than in the non-slide out models. If you can put the kids in a tent then the camper would be fine.
Easy is a relative word. I'm into my kit for about 8 hours with another 2 to go. I'm very fussy about how I install something. I must have 5-6 hours into making and fitting the bracket I mounted the compressor onto. But, I'm happy the way it worked out.
Mike L
By the way, I'm getting ready to go to Alaska; any tips on the trip and camper setup?
I think I've got mine mosquito proofed and have finally stopped the roof from leaking.
Jim
Do you have a route picked for Alaska? Or places to visit in Alaska? How much time do you have? We took 7 days to get to Alaska - 3500 miles.
I would recommend the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. It is well paved gravel and less traveled than the Alaska Highway - its also about 3-400 miles shorter and quite scenic.
If you are on the Alaska Highway, either way, stop at the Liard River Hot Springs and soak in the natural hot water for awhile. Enter the water more downstream and work your way up.
I would suggest you enter Alaska via the Top Of The World Highway. Takes you through Dawson City. We found the campground at Minto (on the Yukon River) quite nice. They open the campground about Jun 1, you can check in Whitehorse at the visitor center for information. It is a glorious drive up and over the pass entering Alaska.
In Alaska - If you can, take the drive up the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay. Take the tour of the oilfields and Artic Ocean for $25. We were the only ones on the early morning tour and it was well worth it. If you go up the Dalton, there is a campground in Fox (just north of Fairbanks) and they have a sweet water spring just outside the campground. Fill your water tank with that wonderful water.
Denali National Park is a must see. Sometimes the easiest way to get into the park is to agree to camp for 3 days at the furthest in campground. Otherwise, you may have to wait a day or two to get a campsite.
Seward was just too crowded for our tastes. Spend some time in Homer - camp at the end of the spit, on the water. We took a ferry ride from Whittier to Valdez. You have to get reservations for the train ride (with camper) to Whittier and for the ferry to Valdez. One phone call got both reservations.
We found gas and supplies easy to come by. If there is something special, a certain brand you want, you may want to stock of on that - otherwise, it is available as you go.
We found the portions served in restaurants to be huge! More so in less populated areas. And the costs were about the same as here.
Seward was as close as we came to a 'bad' time. And it was worth seeing the Aquarium (or whatever it is called). Just the miles of RV's parked along the water was depressing. We stayed out of town at a small campground.
A lot of the roads are gravel. And the gravel roads have soft spots from melting ice and snow. Watch for 'wet' spots or holes and slow way down and go around them. On any gravel road, slow down and pull over when approaching traffic. The traffic throws up rocks, and you hit them at the speed you are traveling. By slowing down and pulling over, you can save your windshield.
Good, fairly new tires are advised. As is a good spare. We didn't have any flats (on new LT tires) while others did.
Take your time and take lots of pictures - you will have a great time!
You can send me an email if you want to come down to Santa Clara and see our Alaska trip photo album. But, I'm out of town from the 6th to the 21st.
Mike L
I'd take it apart and try to lubricate both support bearings. Then test it before you put it back together.
Mike L
You can see it at www.aliner.com. It's called the Truck Cabin Freedom. Be prepared for an extremely slow web site.
Mike - Thanks for the info. We haven't decided on a definite route as yet, we were thinking of driving northbound and taking the Alaskan Marine Highway southbound for part of the way. It sounds like a lot of fun to be able to ride one of those ferries. My wife and I collect ferry rides anyway and this seems like an excellent chance to ride one more.
My job deteriorated into a 100% travel position, so last Nov. I decided enough was enough and retired. I said that to say that I have no timetable - I was just going to wing it as far as the time was concerned. We're going to take it easy and just enjoy the trip.
I have been to Alaska a couple of other times (on work contracts) and I was able to do some sightseeing on those trips, but I do want to travel the Haul Road to Prudhoe Bay.
Where did you stay in Deadhorse? Interesting name: Deadhorse. The name conjures up some unpleasant images although the real explanation for the name is certainly mundane. The Milepost says that the area has been overrun with grizzly bears the past few years - I'm not telling my wife that part until we get there. If I told her before hand she would say 'I'm staying in Anchorage, pick me up on the way back'.
I sat in one of the trailer versions at an RV show. It's small inside because the A-frame design is inefficient but I liked it anyway. One thing I noticed is you really need the skylights in the roof because that is where your head goes when sitting on the seats!
I added the site to the camper list.
HARDSIDE:
http://www.bigfootrv.com/
http://www.lancecamper.com/
http://www.fleetwoodrv.com/truck_campers.html
http://www.skylinerv.com/2weekender.htm
http://www.wrv.com/products/index_atc_ltd.html (Alpenlite)
http://www.starcraftrv.com/hardsidetc.html
http://www.northern-lite.com/
http://www.nashtraveltrailers.com/campers.html (Arctic Fox)
http://northlandcampers.com/index.shtml
http://www.summerwindcampers.com/
http://www.hallmarkrv.com/
http://www.okanaganrv.com/camper.htm
http://www.shadowcruiser.com/
http://www.kz-rv.com/truck_camper/truck_campers_index.htm (Sportsman)
http://www.s-scamper.com/
http://www.wcrv.net (Adventurer)
http://www.six-pac.com/
http://www.camperking.com/ (2 bedrooms!)
http://www.roamercorp.com/
http://www.thorindustries.com (use pulldown) (Corsair, Citation)
POPUP:
http://www.fourwheelcampers.com/
http://www.palominorv.com/
http://www.phoenixcampers.com/index.html
http://sunliteinc.com/
http://www.northstarcampers.com/ (RC Willet)
http://www.alaskancamper.com
http://www.lite-craftcampers.com
http://www.hallmarkrv.com/
http://outfittermfg.com/
ALTERNATIVE:
http://www.rockytoppers.com/truckcampers.htm
http://www.sportmasters.com/tonneau.htm#campalong
http://www.outbackproducts.net/index.html
http://www.aliner.com/page37.html (popup hardside A-frame st
We stayed at the 'Prudhoe Bay Hotel' or some name like that. There are two places to stay in Deadhorse. One is used by the tour buses, the other was used by us. It was $190/night, which sounds high and I'm known to be cheap. But, it wasn't that bad. The room included meals and snacks. Which would have run over $60/person/day. So, the room was only about $70 and had a private shower. The food was very good - isolated people need good food or there will be big problems. The night we were there, they had prime rib or baked salmon. Of course, you can order cold sandwiches or hot, made to order off the grill. Fresh fruit, cakes, pies, cookies, chips, salads and more.
The tour of the facility was $25/person and worth it. There is no other way to touch the Artic Ocean. Take the early tour (7am?) to avoid crowds from the our buses. We were the only two on our tour.
You can stop many places along the way and camp, but we chose to drive straight through from the campground in Fox (just north of Fairbanks - fill up with sweet spring water) to Deadhorse. It is a long day, but do-able. To do it again, we would take more time and camp along the way.
Good luck and have fun -
Mike L
How is everything in the town of my birth? You didn't know I was born in M-town? Deaconess Hospital (gone I believe).
Here in California we are still waiting for the summer weather to show up. Mostly low 70's day and hi 50's at night. No more real news here. Still trying to schedule some summer vacation. Enough work that they don't want me to take off, and I have enough vacation that I don't want to work. And they are changing the rules, so any vacation not used by the end of the year will be cashed out on Dec 31. I hate changing rules.
Dorothy is off work, she doesn't know if they will ask her back in August or not. Maybe she will have a long vacation.
My dad bought a new Airstream 25' and he seems to like it. He claims he gets 2mpg better (12 vs 10mpg) than with his old square trailer. And it tows better in the wind than the square ones did in the calm.
Is your Chevy still running? And your trailer still getting used? And your plane still flying? How many hours do you get to use it annually?
Do you still have the same email address? I'll let you know if/when we are coming out this summer (hopefully mid July or August).
Later,
Mike
The HD is great. Have a 30ft w/3 slide Excel by Peterson industries. Don't remember if we still had the Old Hitchiker when you were out.
Traveled down to Smith Center KS for Factory Customer appreciation get together along with 600 ohters first part of June. Planning AZ for March.
Teaching 12yr old grandson to fly the Skyhawk these days. Lots of fun for grandpa. Our youngest Daughter was back from Mission work in Jan so lot of flying with her. In an out of St. Louis IFR couple times etc -- about 50hr a year.
Same home e-mail. We'll be at Oshkosh last week July/first week of Aug. Yeah-let me know when your back.
Loren / 75V
Several of us had them years ago--we used them on our pop up campers. Sears had really nice 10'x16' & 10'x20' (Not just the ones that came out 6' or so) that came with aluminum support poles that were extendable (up&down) and looped over the top and connected to the other side. You could use them as free standing with two or three sets of pole supports or connect one end into the camper awning rail and extend the rest out and over the other sets of poles. The 16' or 20' really gave a lot of coverage area.
I've been searching the net everywhere but can't run accross anything but the short ones that can't be free standing when wanted.
Anyone know what I'm talking about??
I've checked camper world type places with no luck.
HELP
75v
http://www.fiamma.it/usa/index_usa.html
Checkout the website and see if it meets your needs.
Mike L
However I'm just looking for the plain ol 10'x16' 0r 20' flat piece of awning with one end such that it can be pulled into an Awning Rail Slot then removed and folded back up for next year so to speak when I would use it again. The Sears one I mentioned had real nice set of poles that came apart for easy carring.
Loren/75v
We are planning on being in Iowa about the 23rd-28th of July.
Are you up to a Maid-Rite?
Mike L
I am more concerned with overall length, sway on the highway, weight distribution, etc.
BTW, my truck is a 96 Chev 1ton xcab 4wd dually with 7.4L and auto tranny. Thanks in advance for any input.
Meeting for M/R would be great again. Would have to be the 23rd as I have to pick up the GKids on the 24th and we'll leave for OSH either Thru. Nite or Early (5am) Friday the 25th.
Or how 'bout getting them to Go and Meeting at the Hangar. That way I could have Katchup on mine. Maybe a short ride or something again. If you get this before you have leave let me know.
I carry Wk Cell 641-485-2122 nearly all the time so call me on that.
loren / N1575V
I couldn't get my vacation approved until the last minute - too much work - then I got laid off. Go figure! $45K severance takes some of the sting out of it - I wonder how much of that my good ole' uncle will want?
We got to Iowa on the 24th, and made a family reunion on the 27th. Then off to KC so my wife could fly home (she made plans before my vacation finally got approved). I got home yesterday.
I've got a couple of leads on jobs, but I kinda like the idea of staying home - at least for awhile.
Later,
Mike L
Any immediate job opportunities?
Loren
What do you think?