Differences between 2500 & 3500?
Hey guys. I'm currently towing with an F150 5.4L V8, and will be looking to upgrade to an HD truck in the coming year or two. I was wondering what the ride/handling differences are between a 2500 or 3500 truck? This also applies to the F250 vs. F350.
We're a family of 4 with 2 small boys, and we don't have the luxury (yet) of owning a dedicated tow vehicle, so that means my wife and I will have to share daily driver duties with the HD truck. We could go used I suppose, but given the fact that our boys are only 3 years old, I wouldn't mind biting the bullet and purchasing a new truck that will last us 10 years or more. My friends are split on advising us whether to get the 2500 or 3500. The 2500 is priced much better and will likely be able to haul anything we ask it to. On the other hand, a 3500 will have a much greater payload and probably will get about the same gas mileage.
Are there a lot of noticeable trade offs between the 2500 or 3500 in regards to drive quality? My 120lb wife will be the primary daily driver of the truck, and while she sees the benefit of having a burly truck to haul the boys and their muddy gear, she also doesn't want to lose her fillings every time she hits a pothole.
Any advice from those of you out there who use HD trucks as daily drivers?
RE: Question on 2010 Jayco 324BHDS
Wanna talk small tank sizes? I've only got 31G/31G/23G fresh, gray, and black tanks, and we tailgate for football games. You know what? We can still go 3 nights dry with our configuration and not be inconvenienced. I'd like to have bigger tanks, but I also like having a 32' foot trailer with a rear queen slide that only weighs 6,500lbs loaded.
RE: 5th Wheel to TT
The only advantage to a TT over a 5er in my book is the cargo space in the rear of the truck.
The only advantage? Boy, I don't agree with that. Here are some other advantages to owning a TT over a 5th wheel:
* Lower purchase price
* Smaller tow vehicle requirement
* Lower roof line and easier roof access
* No stairs within the coach
* Cheaper to heat, cool, and tow well built TT's
* Available storage space in truck bed is priceless
I'm not saying that TT's are better than 5th wheels across the board, but in our case a TT makes more sense. I'm 5'9, my wife is 5'3, and our twin boys are 3 years old. Why would we care about higher ceilings? I have a "low end" spring bar hitch, but I can still be hooked and ready to roll in 15 minutes (and I've only been doing this for one season).
I'm always researching our next truck/trailer combo or motor home, but I can't get past the ease of ownership associated with TT's. If I were full timing, I'd probably look at a deluxe Class C or a Class A before a 5th wheel.
RE: Towing Trailer across River
Not to necessarily defend the driver, but it was probably a situation where he parked his rig on the beach, lost track of time, and had to scramble to beat the tides. I've seen that happen here on the Washington coast. Once people start partying on the beach, anything is possible.
RE: Storing Camper
I'm sure you've already considered this, but why not just leave it parked out front? If you've already winterized it, you won't do any harm by leaving it outside.
RE: Where are you guys putting your gennys when in use?
I keep our Yamaha 2400 chained to the TT. If they cut the chain and steal it, so be it. It cost me $999, not $9,999, so I'm not going to obsess about it beyond chaining it up. I will say that I rig my chain and lock so that it will make considerable noise if someone tries to cut and run with it in the dark. The sound of the chain sliding on the TT frame echoes throughut the camper. They'd have to grab and go pretty quickly.
RE: Battery tender question
I would suggest buying an extra cable with the rings. Part #081-0069-6
You could move tender between batteries with no tools or polarity thinking.
Yup, I think that's the best solution. Didn't even think about it. Thanks.
Battery tender question
I just purchased a battery tender jr to keep my 12v tt batteries charged in my garage during the winter. My question involves the clamps. The battery tender comes with 2 different charging cables. There's a oval ringed cable that you can thread to the battery with wing nuts, and there are also clamps that look like mini jumper cables.
Since I'm maintaining 2 batteries with only one battery tender, it would be much easier to use the jumper clamps and not deal with screwing/unscrewing the wing nuts. With the clamps, I can quickly alternate which battery I'm charging every 2 weeks or so. Is there any downside to using the clamps? I wouldn't think so.
RE: Quick water heater bypass question
Thanks for the reply. Since I've already drained the water heater, I think what I'll do is run a fresh water test to make sure I've flipped the right switches. I'll flip the switches on the bypass to where I "think" they should be, and pump water through the system. If the water heater starts to fill, I'll know I did something wrong.
Quick water heater bypass question
I'm on my way to winterize our TT for the first time, and I can't remember if I have a one valve or three valve bypass installed. Our camper is stored off site, and I know it has one but I just cant remember (typical) the type.
Anyway, the single valve bypass is easy. Just flip the switch the vertical position. The 3 valve system confuses me. Since I've never touched it before and everything works well, I "assume" that I should just flip (reverse) all 3 valves from their current settings. Is that true, or do I just flip the top and bottom valves and leave the middle one where it is?
Thanks.
RE: Yamaha Generator (will this one run a/c)
Mine ran the AC the first time we tried it, but hasn't run it since. I'm pretty sure that a hard start capacitor would help; however I'm now considering a Honda 3000. I love my Yamaha though, and hate to unload it. I just think the Honda 3000 would be better at dual duty. Occasional dry camping and home backup power.
RE: Should slide be let out for winter storage.
The only reason I can think of why people leave their slides out during winter is that they likely pull their batteries out for storage and don't have any way to open them.
Still, it doesn't make a lot of sense to leave the slides open.
RE: Ever-Lite TT
Not sure if they're related in any way, but their website is designed in the same way that Pilgrim/Cirrus had theirs before they went under.
I bet they resurfaced under the Evergreen label. If so, that's probably a good thing. I've heard a lot of positive reviews about Pilgrim trailers.
RE: Decisions, Decisions? Rockwood or Jayco?
Don't stress about warranty repairs. Remember, we're not talking about an engine here. Most of the warranty repairs are annoying things like separated cabinets, loose screws, drawers that don't slide, etc. I had a couple of small leaks to deal with, but you know what? It taught me how to fix them myself in the future. I brought my rig in, got them all fixed at the same time, and it hasn't been back since.
Like someone else said, the best advice anyone can give a new RV owner (me included) is to take ownership of your rig and learn how to address the routine maintenance items.
RE: Duro Tires
I'm surprised a new TT would come with bias tires. I had good luck with them for many miles however. Good on Schwab for their advise.
Yea, I'm ticked off at Jayco for putting 13" tires on a 31' travel. Not sure what they were thinking, but thus far things have gone well. I was going to knee-jerk the decision and purchase 14" wheels and a set of Maxxis tires; however the guys at Schwab actually talked me out of it. Tires were the last thing I was thinking about during our TT search, but it will be something I factor in when we purchase our next trailer.
Did I really say "our next trailer" after less than one year of ownership? Good Lord, I've been hanging around this site too long. :)
RE: Duro Tires
Our new Jayfeather has the Duro Bias Ply tires, and right out of the gate I had a slow leak. After doing a search on here, I was sure that the problem was directly linked to the crappy Duro tires, but upon further review, there was a screw puncture in the tire causing the leak. I replaced the tire with another new Duro and we made it through the season without any further issues.
The guys at Les Schwab Tires here in the Seattle area were very cool about it. They said to monitor them closely, keep them properly inflated, but not to rush into replacing them. I'm going to take their advice. If we have a tire related issue, they're gone and I'll switch to radials. Otherwise, it seems hasty to dump them right out of the gait; particularly if they haven't given you any reason to doubt their performance.
Just my .02c.
Quick winterization question - Tanks
We're just finishing up our last trip of the year tonight, and I'll be winterizing our rig next weekend. We store our TT at a nearby facilty, and when we conclude our trips I like to thoroughly clean the tanks before we back into our storage spot.
After I clean the tanks tomorrow, I'm considering pouring a gallon of pink stuff into each tank to keep them from freezing and to keep the bottoms of the tanks from drying out. Is this something you guys do? It seems better than keeping the tanks empty all season, and I'm not sure if it's a good idea to store the rig with a couple gallons of water with chemical added. It'll freeze up, and even though there's room for expansion, it still concerns me. We have small tanks, only 30G (gray) and 22G (black). Is one gallon of RV antifreeze in each tank enough? Seems like it should be.
RE: Decisions, Decisions? Rockwood or Jayco?
You're comparing 2 of the better regarded brands out there, so pick the floor plan and interior that you (and especially your WIFE) prefer. If you still can't decide, let things like tank sizes, tongue weight, GVWR, and storage guide you to the right choice.
We purchased our new Jayfeather in March, and out of the gate we had some warranty repairs that initially made me second guess the choice. In retrospect, the issues were easily repaired and Jayco was easy to work with. They authorized the work and it was done. The issues I'm speaking of had to do with windows/vents that left the factory without being caulked, the kitchen sink plumbing elbow wasn't fully tightened and came apart, a cabinet separated at the trim, etc.
Since the initial wave of minor but frustrating issues, the camper has been rock solid for 25 nights, including some winter camping in very cold temperatures. I guess my point here is that as long as you purchase your trailer from a reputable company like Jayco, Forest River, Nash, KZ, Heartland, etc. and you make sure to watch everything like a Hawk during your first few months of ownership, you'll be fine.
That's my .02c anyway.
Do you guys worry about tank hoses freezing?
Apart from winterizing, which I'll be doing next week with the full antifreeze treatment, I was wondering if those of you who cold weather camp concern yourselves with the exterior tank hoses freezing? I'm not talking about the plumbing, but rather the flexible hoses that connect your freshwater tank fill nozzle to the tank itself.
Our Jayfeather has an enclosed underbelly that won't freeze when we're using the trailer. The only possible concern is that there are a couple of exposed flexible hoses that do freeze up when we camp. So far it hasn't been a problem, as we've camped in our rig in 14 degree weather a few nights. The hoses froze, but nothing was damaged when they thawed. I'm thinking that the material expands enough to prevent any serious problems, and I guess even if there were to be an issue, the fix wouldn't be too difficult.
