CPhilip: I just don't understand it. I ordered my truck and then called my husband after I'd signed the papers!!! If my husband came home with that truck I'd be holding my hand out for the keys Guess what I've just done to my truck??? Went and had decals put down both sides!! They look like gold checkered flags rippling down the sides of my dk green truck. My husband didn't have a clue until I showed him the truck that afternoon!! Also Andthensometoo sent me some custom decals for the tailgate. These really liven up those hugh expanses of paint!! Your white truck looks great Don't you think the SD has that "LOOK of POWER"??!!! It's too bad your wife doesn't like it. Please tell her that if she will drive it, that more men than she can shake a stick at, will STARE at her & truck

 

cphillip:
Your truck looks EXACTLY like mine..
(same color, mirrors, wheels, config etc)
I'll probably clip this so I can send a pic to my family in AK so they know what my truck looks like..

Oops, I see one difference.. I have a wal-mart special short antenna to keep from scraping the garage door roof.

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Y2K F250 XLT SC 4x2 5.4L 5sp 4.10LS

 

Well Tina, She worries about money too much. I and she have a good living and save a lot and have no debts out side of a small mortgage (20K) and our vehicles. But she still worries. Also I have to confess that this is my third truck in three years! The first was an F150 XL that I became dissatisfied with the lack of creature comforts in and bought the larait F150 4X4 that I kept now for jsut over two years. I am happy with this truck and it is maybe everyones dream truck but my recent interest in the Camper and traveling has lead me to consider and purchase a "towing" truck. She worries that I will never end this quest for the perfect truck, and really, who ever does? She has valid concerns but I am into trucks. That has become my hobby. I guess. I do not know, nor can I say, that I will never buy another truck and that is a problem for her. So now you see. My name is Phil and I am a truckaholic!

R bess, I will take some more pictures and link them. This one was taken in the early morning and in the shade so the new ones will be better. Feel free to use them and say hello to the "Folks" for me.

 

cphilip: understood I'm sure that once you and the wife start going places w/the new truck that she'll start to see it's merits. We too are looking for a travel trailer to buy (and pull) Looked at new ones and thought the salesmen were supporting drug habits or something. Now we're chasing down all leads on used ones. I know our "cheap" camper is out there, we just gotta find it. There are great deals on the internet but most seem to be out west. Almost had one in Tenn. but when I contacted the guy, he'd just sold it. Good luck on finding your camper too!!

 

Oh... I already have the camper. I was just not happy with the way the 4.6L F150 4X4 was pulling it. It did it but not with great zeal. I only took it out on a short trip (80 mile round) once so far and I live in the hilly area of upstate of SC so I was worried I would eventually burn the thing up if I did a lot of towing (which I want to do) I just picked up the Super Duty this morning. One problem of note was I used almost an eigth of a tank of gas going to work at just 20 miles. I am hoping that the salesman just did not fill it all the way up. It was barely on the full mark and went down to an eigth rather quickly. Hopefully it is not going to be as bad as that!

Here is my camper. It is a 1999 Fleetwood Prowler "lite" 24 footer. Weighs 3800 pounds dry and has a max GVWR of 5600 pounds.Good luck finding yours. You are ready to tow just about anything. What size and features are you looking for? I will keep my eye out for one around here for you.

 

cphilip: good looking camper you got there. We're looking for something that will fit for me & hubby and 2 kids (6 & 12yr old) Leaning towards one with bunk beds for them. And around the 28 to 30 footer plus or minus. (no 5th wheels) I found a really nice "new" Rockwood ultra lite that was perfect (except for that "new" price tag!!) I'm kind of hoping with the high prices of gas that a lot more people will be putting their campers on the market. (something good has got to come from those high prices) If you run across anything, let me know.
About the fuel usage and movement on the gauge. On mine, I can fill up, drive for about a hundred miles and the needle doesn't budge. Then I get to be first off at the stop light, I'll floor it (bad case of lead-footitist) and later notice the fuel guage has moved to the 3/4 setting. Beats the heck out of me how that fuel gauge can move like that!! I'm trying not to panic every time I floor it and the needle moves. I think it's that turbo sucking in the fumes. I've found it's much better to just check the milage whenever I fill up!! Of course with that V8, you may not even want to do that Just don't run it out of fuel!!

 

Sounds just like what a I wanted and got. This one has the two bunks and one fold down one in additon to the queen size bed in a seperate room. This eliminates the need to tie up the dining area but you could fold it out for another one. Nice set up. The 24 footers are the smallest one you can get this feature in. Absolutely perfect for 4. This site shows my floor plan. I paid $12,500 new for this one and that included hitch, elect brake and system install on my F150. Is this like what you want?

http://fleetwoodrv-info.com/prowler/lite/824z.html
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2000 F-250 Super Duty, Super Cab XLT, Oxford white with grey cloth captains chairs, 5.4L Triton V8(260 HP version!), 4R100 4 Speed Automatic Transmission, Deluxe Aluminum Wheels, Trailer Towing Package, Class IV Hitch, Reece load distribution system, Escort Sensor II Electronic Brake control,K&N filter, "White-White" head lamps.

[This message has been edited by cphilip (edited 03-15-2000).]

[This message has been edited by cphilip (edited 03-15-2000).]

 

You won't have any problem towing that trailer. I tow a 34' 5th wheel with a 1920# hitch weight and 12,100# GVW and I have not maxed out the truck's capabilities!
Happy traveling!

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1999 F-250 XLT Super Duty Crew Cab Long Bed
V-10, Automatic 4R100, 4.30 Limited Slip.
GVW = 6700# Towing Capacity = 13,300#
4 Wheel ABS disks + Reese 15K hitch
Dark Hunter Green. Ford Running Boards.
Grey Rhino-Liner. Captain's Chairs. CD+Tape
Polished Stainless Steel Wheel-well Molding http://members.home.net/jchartier/jnctrk.html

 

That's what I am counting on J-C! Only problem will be "feeding" related! Probably will have to camp a lot in the driveway until gas prices go down. All dressed up and can't afford to go!

 

cphilip: yep, that's almost like that rockwood we looked at. It had a slide out where the couch is. None of the used ones I've looked at have the bunk beds. We'll just keep searching. If you find anything similar, let me know: e-mail: pmason7@bellsouth.net Thanks T

 

Tina,
My wife and debated about getting an ARE top and Trailer or just getting a 5th wheel rig.
California has RV shows every other weekend it seems and we quickly decided on a 5th wheel - so we never got the ARE.
We love our 5th wheel. They tow so much nicer than a trailer. If you want bunk-beds for the kids, there are very few 5th wheels to choose from, so you're probably better off with the ARE and a Trailer.
Happy Camping to you...
I will RETIRE at the end of the month and then be a Full Timer in our Truck/5th Wheel. The house is up for sale and we've already sold much of our furniture!

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1999 F-250 XLT Super Duty Crew Cab Long Bed
V-10, Automatic 4R100, 4.30 Limited Slip.
GVW = 6700# Towing Capacity = 13,300#
4 Wheel ABS disks + Reese 15K hitch
Dark Hunter Green. Ford Running Boards.
Grey Rhino-Liner. Captain's Chairs. CD+Tape
Polished Stainless Steel Wheel-well Molding http://members.home.net/jchartier/jnctrk.html

 

Congrats on your impending retirement. You know I had not noticed the lack of a fixed bunk bed option in the fifth wheels until you mentioned it. Wonder why there is not one?

Tina J-C is right about the distribution of a fifth wheeler. But you can get very close with spring bars and keep the bed open for stuff. Any trailer over 4000 pounds must have a load distribution system to make the truck level and handle well. The spring bars are great for this and only around $175 a set with the tow bar and all. Here is a picture of the set in use with a regular hitch arrangment on my old F150.



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2000 F-250 Super Duty, Super Cab XLT, Oxford white with grey cloth captains chairs, 5.4L Triton V8(260 HP version!), 4R100 4 Speed Automatic Transmission, 4 wheel ABS, Deluxe Aluminum Wheels, Trailer Towing Package, Class IV Hitch, Reece load distribution system, Escort Sensor II Electronic Brake control, K&N filter, "White-White" head lamps.

 

J.C. Retirement My husband retired 2 years ago and since then has worked the hardest My truck is a daily driver for me, running kids around, putting their stuff in the back, and grocerys too. I didn't need that 5th wheel hook-up back there. I do prefer the layout of 5th wheel trailers plus they pull so much better. A Reg. travel trailer will do just fine if I can just find a relatively cheap one that fits our needs. After you retire, are you gonna travel the US?? If you come out to the east coast, make sure you look us up. You could even park your camper on our lot and visit the beaches ect. while you're here. Of course if a hurricane came along while you were here, we would let you in the house

 

cphilip: thanks for the picture. I don't know anything about spring bars so I guess it's time to start doing some research. I've already been pulling a flat trailer (I think it's rated to carry 10k lbs) with a skid steer on it. I wasn't paying that much attention to how it was connected though. I'm also looking at brakes. My husband has a controler in his truck, for his trailer brakes. He can dial in just how much braking force he needs depending on the load.

 

They are realy a neat thing. Basically you hook the ball (it has a special bar for reciving the spring bars) up to the trailer's hitch, then lift the back end of the truck up 6 or so inches by using the trailer's tounge jack and fasten the chains of the spring bars to a hook on the frame of the trailer tounge and lower the weight back onto the bars by jacking the trailer back down. This causes the springs to tension and forces the weight of the trailer on to both axles instead of letting all the weight load onto the rear axle. Results are the truck sits level and the ride and handling is much improved. You control the weight distribution by how many links of the chain are in the hooks. You start by measuring your bumper height and then try to achieve within 1/2 inch of that after you lower the weight back on. You experiment with more or less tension (links of chain in the hook) until you get it right (level or within a half inch)and from then on you remember which link you used and you are set up. Rides almost as good as a fifth wheel. No moving around in the breeze of passing 18 wheelers and wind and your front wheels are solid on the road. Very cheap and safe way to go.