Sold my truck and 399 - now what??

[TheLexx]

I've been thinking of boondocking as well. Look into composting toilets like the Natures Head. That way you can connect the gray and black tanks together for more storage.

Another consideration is fifth wheels are generally not that great for off-road terrain. A travel trailer is much better suited for such travels.

Check out the McHitch. It's a really cool travel trailer coupler that allows virtually unlimited articulation.
https://www.mchitch.com.au/product-p...omatic-coupler

Black Series Campers makes a toy hauler that's very off-road capable. I've not seen anything else in the US that has such a robust suspension.
https://www.blackseriescamper.com/tr...ers/hq22t.html

[FT4NOW]

I've been thinking of boondocking as well. Look into composting toilets like the Natures Head. That way you can connect the gray and black tanks together for more storage.

Another consideration is fifth wheels are generally not that great for off-road terrain. A travel trailer is much better suited for such travels.

Check out the McHitch. It's a really cool travel trailer coupler that allows virtually unlimited articulation.
https://www.mchitch.com.au/product-p...omatic-coupler

Black Series Campers makes a toy hauler that's very off-road capable. I've not seen anything else in the US that has such a robust suspension.
https://www.blackseriescamper.com/tr...ers/hq22t.html

That McHitch looks like a u-joint more than a hitch, very interesting concept.

I've looked at those Black Series campers and they do look great, but a bit pricey. I'm sure you get some quality for what you pay, but we decided to try to keep overall price down this time. Our camping season here is mainly May - October, and the camper stays winterized the rest of the year. Winter camping when we lived on the East Coast wasnt too bad, but we really dont desire to spend a weekend camping where we are now in single digits temperatures. Also, if I don't have to tow in the snow, that's a plus.

We have taken our 399 dry camping plenty of times on some some national forest land and really enjoyed it. There are just more spots we would like to go that are better suited for a TT. I've scouted out some of those places, and the turns would be very difficult for a large 5th wheel and there isnt necessarily a place to turn it around if it didnt work out.

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[TheLexx]

Understood. That's why I suggested the Black Series Camper with a McHitch. It's got the capability of going wherever you might want to venture off-road in your boondocking travels. Yeah it's expensive, but what other camper gives you that capability with that suspension?

An alternative would be to essentially build your own custom rig. You can buy Dexter or Timbrens trailing arm torsion axles that will probably perform ok off-road if you add a shock kit to them. If you need more clearance just have a welder build you a subframe to raise up the suspension. Then finish out the inside with a composting toilet and whatever else you want in there. Or buy a used rig and customize that. The biggest problems are holding tank capacity and suspension.

That McHitch looks like a u-joint more than a hitch, very interesting concept.

I've looked at those Black Series campers and they do look great, but a bit pricey. I'm sure you get some quality for what you pay, but we decided to try to keep overall price down this time. Our camping season here is mainly May - October, and the camper stays winterized the rest of the year. Winter camping when we lived on the East Coast wasnt too bad, but we really dont desire to spend a weekend camping where we are now in single digits temperatures. Also, if I don't have to tow in the snow, that's a plus.

We have taken our 399 dry camping plenty of times on some some national forest land and really enjoyed it. There are just more spots we would like to go that are better suited for a TT. I've scouted out some of those places, and the turns would be very difficult for a large 5th wheel and there isnt necessarily a place to turn it around if it didnt work out.

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[Jon21G]

Have you considered the Momentum toy hauler TT's? The 21G or 25G seem to fit your requirements. Large holding tanks, built in generator and fuel tank for filling the toys. Set up properly, you would barely know it is behind your truck. We downsized from a 33' fifth wheel to the 21G for the same reasons as you are considering. More access to every where. Only complaint is lack of outdoor storage but turns out we were hauling alot of crap we didn't need. Having the garage and back of truck more then make up for it.

[FT4NOW]

Have you considered the Momentum toy hauler TT's? The 21G or 25G seem to fit your requirements. Large holding tanks, built in generator and fuel tank for filling the toys. Set up properly, you would barely know it is behind your truck. We downsized from a 33' fifth wheel to the 21G for the same reasons as you are considering. More access to every where. Only complaint is lack of outdoor storage but turns out we were hauling alot of crap we didn't need. Having the garage and back of truck more then make up for it.

I have considered those and some other brands with the same type of floor plans. I'm not against them, though it seems like most of them dont have a pantry. It drives me nuts that manufacturers dont think you will need to put your food somewhere. I'll see what the used market is like when we are ready to purchase and I can get a chance to physically walk some of the models. Luckily there is a GD dealer about 15 minutes from me, so I can check some out. I like the 31G travel trailer, but it seems like there will be little CCC as it seems like a heavy unit. We dont plan on carrying a ton of stuff, but if we plan on dry camping mostly, I know I will be traveling with either fresh water or gray/black tanks full and need to consider that weight.

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[nomadlife]

Same boat. 395M and DRW (completely useless in the snow) sold in Feb. Always wanted to escape the winter cold, ran some numbers was cheaper to buy a house in Florida with room for RV than rent a site, if you can find availability!

Missing the road however. Had such good luck with GDRV I’d be interested in what you get next that competes. I can’t tell what separates an Imagine XLS from an Imagine, other than model size

Bought an F150 which I would call a mistake for towing but the deal, rate and warranty could not be passed on. So we’re going small TT and use the heck out of it and get back to the spots 13’6 or 28klb couldn't make.

[TheLexx]

Do a search for Australian travel trailers with off-road capable suspensions like Black Series and Kimberly Kampers. Their build quality is higher than anything the Indiana mfgrs put out and you can drag these things over all sorts of bad terrain.

Same boat. 395M and DRW (completely useless in the snow) sold in Feb. Always wanted to escape the winter cold, ran some numbers was cheaper to buy a house in Florida with room for RV than rent a site, if you can find availability!

Missing the road however. Had such good luck with GDRV I’d be interested in what you get next that competes. I can’t tell what separates an Imagine XLS from an Imagine, other than model size

Bought an F150 which I would call a mistake for towing but the deal, rate and warranty could not be passed on. So we’re going small TT and use the heck out of it and get back to the spots 13’6 or 28klb couldn't make.

[nomadlife]

Do a search for Australian travel trailers with off-road capable suspensions like Black Series and Kimberly Kampers. Their build quality is higher than anything the Indiana mfgrs put out and you can drag these things over all sorts of bad terrain.

I’ll check it out, thanks

[FT4NOW]

Guess I figured it out. I had a list of about 30 trailers I liked and showed my wife 10 of them, mainly the ones without floor vents. Then somehow we ended up looking at the Reflection 311 and she loved it, wasnt on my list. Well we put a deposit down on a 2021 311 today that was on the lot. Got 20% off msrp which worked for us, price ended up being lower than some of the 2019s listed on RVTrader. The dealer is about 10 miles from us and will bring it to our house whenever we want...I still need to get another truck. So much for getting a used camper, o well. Hope the used truck plan works out better, I dont want a NEW truck payment.

Some bonuses already on the 311:

Oven looks like a better design than the typical suburban version

Goodyear tires

Morryde CRE3000

Lippert Tire link (their version of TPMS) not sure how it works yet, salesperson seemed to not know a few things I asked about.

There was a Lippert One Control LCD screen in the basement area which didnt turn on when I was looking at it, curious what all it controls being located in the storage compartment

We LOVE the manual switches for everything compared to the One Control on our Momentum, I never had problems with it, but I always wanted real switches

The master bed is actually comfortable and not a layer of fabric

Unfortunately this only has 1 AC due to the shortage, but being in Idaho, it's ok, I'll add another eventually.

The bunkhouse has a switch on the wall for the vent fan, so switching it to a Max Air fan should be super easy.

I wasnt a fan of the half bath toilet, but it's for the kids and works for them.

I am concerned with the leveling jack height, they are low and might be an issue boondocking. I'll see if I can order the shorter versions if it becomes a problem.

I forgot to check if they used Morryde HD shackles, if not, I'll be getting some to be safe.

Now....we still have dirt bikes, but 90% of our camping doesnt involve them. Since my wife wanted this and not another toy haauler she committed to driving separate with a trailer for dirt bikes if we want to bring them camping, either that or double tow, it is legal in Idaho.


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[Canyonlight]

@FT4NOW - well, well, well......didn't expect to see this so soon but good for you ! Look forward to your future reports !

Dan