First trip and a thank you to all

[docque]

Well, we made it through our first outing in the RV and we found out we were worried about nothing.

We were concerned the dog would be stressed and bark a ton. She was way different than she is at home. It was like she knew she was on vacation. We went for walks, she met new friends, she slept everywhere.

Towing? A little white knuckle because you guys scared the heck out of me with your comments. But it was not bad. Truck has plenty of power to pull the camper. I did about 62 on the Thruway, had a few cross winds blow me a little but nothing crazy. Then the big trucks came barreling at me. Oh, no. This is what you warned me about, we are going to die. Truck did pull us a little but really nothing more than a car would.

Camping? Went WAY better than expected. As you have seen I ask tons of questions here. May be a bit annoying at times but each question had a purpose. With your input we had no issue at all camping. We had the proper equipment, no need to run to Walmart to get extras.

Here are some things I learned:
Get an F-250 or bigger. This is not due to my F-150 not being able to handle the trailer, we had no issues with sway or power at all. What we did have is a "boating" effect. Like a car with bad shocks, hit a bump and you bounce up and down for a little. Nothing bad, just a little. I think Airbags may help with that but a bigger rig definitely would.

Since my trailer has three tanks it would be better if I had a Y connector so I wasn't switching the hoses a few times a day. I did learn that best to not drain the grey water tank for the bathroom to help when flushing the black water tank.

Again, thanks to all of you that gave me input. It REALLY helped with our RV experience. When we were driving home our Wife booked our next outing.

[Soundsailor]

Glad your outing went well. It may be appropriate at this time of year to say: "you're gonna need a bigger truck (boat)".

[docque]

Glad your outing went well. It may be appropriate at this time of year to say: "you're gonna need a bigger truck (boat)".

Meh. Not really. What it was doing was not potentially dangerous and not really that bad. Bigger is in the future for sure. Truck and RV.

[Soundsailor]

Meh. Not really. What it was doing was not potentially dangerous and not really that bad. Bigger is in the future for sure. Truck and RV.

Sorry, poor attempt at humor. I'm probably dating myself, but that was a reference to the movie Jaws. After the shark takes a bite out of the boat, Brody says to Quint: "You're gonna need a bigger boat." It's a classic summertime movie from the 70s, but I shouldn't have assumed everyone would know what I meant.

OK, as far as trucks go, while I could have pulled my trailer with my old Silverado 1500, my "bigger truck" is a 2500 HD which tows much better.

[Redapple63]

Sorry, poor attempt at humor. I'm probably dating myself, but that was a reference to the movie Jaws. After the shark takes a bite out of the boat, Brody says to Quint: "You're gonna need a bigger boat." It's a classic summertime movie from the 70s, but I shouldn't have assumed everyone would know what I meant.

OK, as far as trucks go, while I could have pulled my trailer with my old Silverado 1500, my "bigger truck" is a 2500 HD which tows much better.

I totally got the reference!! I grew up in that neck of the woods.

Bill

[docque]

I totally got the reference!! I grew up in that neck of the woods.

Bill

I got the reference also. One side was a couple that had a.. Suites Estates (?) fifth wheel. Bought an F-450 had it repainted to match the trailer. Other side was a single woman in a teardrop (Little Guy) traveling around the country with her bulldog. We all chatted for hours.

Of course some guy shows up in a small Tiffin motor home. He steps out and you knew he was one of those that says, "Look at me and how much I make". He was out long enough to hook up power and water and we never saw him again. The guy we were chatting with said, "Guess he didn't have enough money left over for a generator and larger water tank.

[Stealth13777]

Glad you had a good first trip!

As an F150 owner, the stock shocks are lacking when loaded up. We did Bilstein 4600s rear and it helped. But then I did the front as well and it made a much bigger difference than anticipated in calming the bouncing. Of course, experience and getting the hitch and trailer loading dialed in has also helped. The 4600s are the yellow ones, no change in ride height. The rears are super easy to change.

The other big thing is the barebones suspension Grand Design uses. It just doesn’t ride well, and there are better options. We added the Dexter EZ Flex equalizer (other companies also make a similar product) and I have found it to help with trailer weight transfer causing bouncing, especially on bigger bumps. To my simple mind, that means it must be smoothing stuff out in the trailer too - certainly a good thing.

Even with all that, towing isn’t the same smooth ride as unloaded, that’s for sure! But at least I eliminated most of the repetitive bouncing.

[docque]

Glad you had a good first trip!

As an F150 owner, the stock shocks are lacking when loaded up. We did Bilstein 4600s rear and it helped. But then I did the front as well and it made a much bigger difference than anticipated in calming the bouncing. Of course, experience and getting the hitch and trailer loading dialed in has also helped. The 4600s are the yellow ones, no change in ride height. The rears are super easy to change.

The other big thing is the barebones suspension Grand Design uses. It just doesn’t ride well, and there are better options. We added the Dexter EZ Flex equalizer (other companies also make a similar product) and I have found it to help with trailer weight transfer causing bouncing, especially on bigger bumps. To my simple mind, that means it must be smoothing stuff out in the trailer too - certainly a good thing.

Even with all that, towing isn’t the same smooth ride as unloaded, that’s for sure! But at least I eliminated most of the repetitive bouncing.

Here I go off in another direction. I was told that Airbags would help. Of course that is advice from a company that only installs airbags. It just seems that a stiffer shock would work better. But it would make the ride not towing stiffer also.

[Captcolour]

I'm always one for the bigger truck, but you ought to think long term. A F250 would allow a bigger trailer later but not a 5th wheel. If there is any interest for a 5th wheel at some point, then make the F150 work with upgrades and skip the F250. When ready to go bigger, then a F350 diesel dually or F450 for the 5th wheel if you go that direction.

[Ynot4me2]

I'm always one for the bigger truck, but you ought to think long term. A F250 would allow a bigger trailer later but not a 5th wheel. If there is any interest for a 5th wheel at some point, then make the F150 work with upgrades and skip the F250. When ready to go bigger, then a F350 diesel dually or F450 for the 5th wheel if you go that direction.

I fully agree with this statement. Plus it's not the best time to be buying a truck right now. We plan on going bigger in a few years so we will size the truck accordingly. In the meantime, it's LT tires, new shocks and maybe air bags in the shopping cart.

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk