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Thanks Dennis and John for the replies

Gives me more to think about. After reading and considering all this advice, I have decided to mark off the B class; it's just to small. I have also marked off the pull type RV; I don't have the size truck to pull one and don't have the money to buy larger truck and RV, plus it's just too big. This is beginning to sound like a "Goldie Locks" story.

I thinking that a low mileage ('98to'04) 27' Lazy Daze Mid-bath MH with Ford V10 will be just right.

1. It's got enough power to pull steep grades and pull a toad or carry bike if I decide to go that route.
2. It will provide separate sleeping areas for kids (bunk over cab) & wife and I in rear lounge. (makes into double)
3. Rear lounge will be good place for kids to read, school work and big windows to look out while moving.
4. Small enough to park in most parks, stop at pull outs. ( if no toad).

The reason I keep going back to the Lazy Daze is it's the only one I know set up with a rear lounge/seating area that doubles as a sleeping area under 27'. Some Toyota RV's have that also but they are just a little too small.

Our tour start will be from Sept through April when US kids are in school so the parks should not be too crowded; I hope. Could someone give me some feedback on that thought? 40 years ago crowding wasn't to much of a problem but I think that has changed from what I read.
Thanks again.
 
The hunt is over

Arrived in US a month three weeks ago and began my hunt. After traveling all over Texas looking at RV's, I found one in my hometown. It's a 1999 Four Winds 5000 Series M-28D E450 ,Ford V-10 with 34,000 miles on the clock. It fits most of the criteria I was looking for, bunk beds and area for kids to study, under 29ft to be able to park in most NP's and in good shape at an affordable price. So, in August 2019 I will bring the family over and begin our journey. Now to buy all the other stuff that I need to go with it. Pics attached. Thanks for the conversation.
 

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Adventure trip

We just returned from an annual NW Arkansas trip in our Toyhauler. Dogs, two Thumpers,two Mt. Bikes and all got workouts. All in all a other great trip in spite of a few challenges.

Had first incident in first ten minutes...a blowout on RV:banghead
Dang Apple photo is sideways and a blowout is a blowout...not NASCAR level, but ripped a section of fender off and the tire slapped the siding a bit...H was not impressed

Spare was good enough to get back home. It was a five year old unused tire. The 10 ply tires ( NOT Carlisle)on the RV were three seasons old and pressures were good. Unit is stored under a large carport and the side that let go was away from any sun exposure. My thoughts were maybe a square edge from sitting dormant about three months since last use...WAG and moved on. The unit will be off the tires if it sits longer than a couple months next time.
H, on a Sunday, headed to pick up two new ones...did not have four and the others still look fine after checking again. We headed out Monday again with H's sister following with her new Micro Minnie Winnie Jeep Diesel rig.
Slowing in traffic about three hours into trip she pops on the radio and says the inside of the other side tires has a bulge she can see as it rotates slow:banghead
Punched in Walmart and was stopped within ten minutes...no tires in stock, but a Discount Tire was across the street and did...so, two more new tires and back on road in just over an hour.

Rest of way into Ozark country was fine and a little less stressful being on four new shoes.

All the activities in Arkansas went well and after a week plus, we planned a two day run back to try to miss next cold front and it's weather. Two 300+ days instead of our usual one day run suited the rookie in the Winnie and me with weather being a factor as well as short daylight days.
The front rolled in right as we were preparing leaving after overnighting in Denison, hometown of President Eisenhower on Lake Texoma, but it was just east of us and the rain was lagging.

We had ended up with a almost level space so we stayed hooked to the truck...rarely do that. It comes up again later.

As I went to start truck at sunrise, a big solid nothing.Great. A fellow in next space tried to jump my dual batteried diesel with a F-150...it laughed. The parks employee stopped in a half ton and I asked if the dually I saw at the office was here...he returned in it with a second set of cables and the Dodge came to life.

We convoyed south for about ten minutes again when my voltmeter went to zero and the engine warning lit up...Great. A search had auto parts and anotner Walmart four miles ahead...we pulled into Wallyworld.
Opened hood and belt still there, but my multitester showed 8v. BTW, two batteries were replaced last November...one year. Truck wasn't running past idle when I tried to get closer to auto side of store.

At this point, asked H to move dogs and her sweet face into her sisters Jeep/Winnie and head home. I was hoping batteries were done and not alternator...had tools but it was cold and rainy by now. H was one more vehicle breakdown away from a meltdown and I could manage a broken tow vehicle better alone. If I replace batteries and the alternator is toast, did not expect to get far. I had alternate transportaion in the toyhauler if needed.

Had warranty on batteries, nowever the auto parts I needed was not in area. So, two new Wally batteries and back out to rain and underhood activities. The truck came to life, but engine warning on...I ditched the raingear and started trailing H's route. I almost caught up with them before we got home as they were in the front and driving slower and I was behind the storms.
Never shut the truck off the rest of trip as the voltmeter was above 12v and my multimeter had shown the alternator was working at first fuel stop.I wasn't chancing it.

Had batteries tested at local shop the next day and they were discharged but tested fine after a long recharge.
My troubles pointed me to the dual batteries on RV, that were 2012 models and weak. Looks like me leaving the tralier plug connected overnight had depleted the truck batteries...who knew

So, reminded me of years of floating vessels I have owned and the constant attention and cash input needed. When all goes well, a great time can be had...if not, well another chance for an adventure:thumb
 
So, reminded me of years of floating vessels I have owned and the constant attention and cash input needed. When all goes well, a great time can be had...if not, well another chance for an adventure:thumb

I've always seen RV's as being like airplanes: i.e. too many systems that can give mucho trouble.

Glad you got the rig back home.
 
The Ford V8 and V10 spark plug problems are in part due to the 100,000 mile recommended replacement. Many were not installed exactly right at the factory. These were never checked by owners, until there was a problem. Remove and replace your spark plugs now, put anti seize on them and torque to exact spec. No more problems!

Wait too long and the spark plugs can gall into the aluminum and strip the threads when removing them.

There is a reason the Ford V 10 is used in about all the gas motorhomes. Chevy no longer has the 454 big block. That engine had a bit more horsepower, but not a big difference in torque. The V 10 has proven to be very durable when run at high throttle openings. That is where the 454 would show its age sooner.
 
Maintenance..........

Especially for the fella taking his family and first time RVer……………

All of these machines have a need for taking care of. Some have a reputation for being "cheap" and others are put together with heavy duty materials, mechanisms, and techniques. For me, they all have a need for replacement of several devices or systems. PLEASE check them out and dont blame the manufacturer of the device or RV...….
My RV is an 88 Airstream that has seen a lot of use; but if you look through the various times I have posted pictures, it LOOKS modern and "new"...…..The exterior is an example of parking it in a barn when not traveling and keeping it clean and waxed. It looks like that.

Replacement items for the 30 year old "home" have been: a wooden floor to get rid of that grey industrial carpet

The AC has been replaced with a heat pump. Yes, why not use "their" electricity for heat instead of propane. Got the largest available for cooling down the "heat sink" in the summer sun.

HEATER BLOWER UNIT....Had to replace the whole unit just to repair a fan bearing. They dont make or have replacement parts for the exact reason so you have to replace the whole thing...….lousy......

A Toilet of course

Batteries every 2 years. Replace them with the largest Marine that will fit in the compartment.

TIRES. Every 5 years if it sits a lot and every other year if traveling. Nothing worse than being in the middle of downtown Albequrque at the 40 split and a blow out happens, in the middle of nowhere UTAH, or anywhere. A blow-out will destroy your wheel well or worse. Yes, it is simple to do and expensive. REPLACE THE WHOLE SET BEFORE HEADING OUT...………

Axles....This doesn't happen often; but it does every so often. 15 to 20 years or 50K miles or so. The Axles, torsion, Dexters, are in the $500 to $899 range and then the labor of doing the job. Did this a couple of months ago and breaking those 30 year old nuts loose was more than I could do. A dealer wanted around $2000 to do the job and got a local truck repair fella to do it for $300 cash money.

Engine: I drive an F250 V-10. I have a couple hundred thousand miles on these engines and power train and have been pretty happy. The last trip down to the Everglades last winter I lost a valve spring on a cylinder that took about 3 days to repair. You always have a place to stay with an RV so it's OK...….The comments about plugs and such is true; but I just look at it as, they pull the head, work on the plugs, and $1500 or so, I am back on the road..

NO I AM NOT WEALTHY. HAVE VERY FIXED INCOME BUT YOU HAVE TO DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO...………

Yes, there is lots more. My unit is tidy and easy to take care of. I dont have one of the big buses that run in the more than $100K. It's kind of like having a /2. The thing gets you there and anything more is just more than I need but others do...……...Thanks for reading and hope you understand...…...God bless......Dennis

Oh......See you in the Everglades December through January. There is a Folbot flotilla going on the end of January down there that is super fun...….
 
There is a kit to fix the stripped spark plug holes on the Ford V8 and V10. Fits a Helicoil thread repair into the head making it stronger than new. Best part is that they can be fixed on the engine without removing the cylinder head!

Spark plug thread repair
 
This was our answer to getting back into the RV scene after several years of absence from it when the kids grew up and left the nest. My wife missed the camping and never let me forget it, so last winter I started looking around and found this 2016 Jayco 222SL on Craigslist in western MT. Since that's only a hop skip and jump away from us we went and had a look see and knew immediately it was perfect for us. I pull it with a GMC 1500 with the 6.2L engine and it pulls it effortlessly. The camper weighs in a hair over 5200#. After spending a summer towing this around and getting in a whole ton of fun, I am very pleased with our setup. We make occasional trips to the Black Hills to ATV and this was the perfect base camp. I plan on retiring in another year, and we are going to be spending a whole lot more time enjoying this rig! And yes, the GS will be getting rides in the back of this thing too.

IMG_3759-XL.jpg

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This was our answer to getting back into the RV scene after several years of absence from it when the kids grew up and left the nest. My wife missed the camping and never let me forget it, so last winter I started looking around and found this 2016 Jayco 222SL on Craigslist in western MT. Since that's only a hop skip and jump away from us we went and had a look see and knew immediately it was perfect for us. I pull it with a GMC 1500 with the 6.2L engine and it pulls it effortlessly. The camper weighs in a hair over 5200#. After spending a summer towing this around and getting in a whole ton of fun, I am very pleased with our setup. We make occasional trips to the Black Hills to ATV and this was the perfect base camp. I plan on retiring in another year, and we are going to be spending a whole lot more time enjoying this rig! And yes, the GS will be getting rides in the back of this thing too.

View attachment 71583

View attachment 71584

That looks like a great setup :thumb
OM
 
Looks like there's room for the ATV or bikes, inside?

Yes indeed. For a camper classified as a 25 footer, it is actually quite spacious. It will easy hold our ATV which you see sitting beside the camper in the photo above, and I think if you wanted you could fit two motorcycles in it instead of the ATV. I have seen photos of a 50" wide side by side in the back, but it was pretty tight with the length.

My plan, when it presents itself with enough time to make it worthwhile, is to haul the ATV in the rear of the truck and then put the GS in the toy hauler. We may never want to come home. :clap


Shot found on web:

222%20Rear%20Shot-M.jpg
 
It’s time for a mice/rodent check. It’s been a busy season for them around here.
🐀🐿
OM
 
A few years back when on motorcycle trips, I would sheepishly look at RVs with motorcycles attached either via the hitch or on a trailer and think..."this may not be too bad"! Seemed the only time I thought this when I was riding in the rain and knew I had quite a few hours to go before I hit the campground and knew I was going to be wet for quite some time! Fast forward to 2015 (or so) and we started the RV life with a truck slide-in camper on a 3/4 RAM and pulled an enclosed trailer with the two bikes in it. Our first trip was to the Minneapolis National MOA Rally and I thought it worked great, my wife, not so much...which I understand completely. Next stop was a 28' Rockwood UltraV bumper pull camper, which was awesome BUT, at 52' total length coupled with it was a pain to load the RV bike (F650GS) into the back of a 3/4 ton truck with a 42" high tailgate....by myself! If you were at the Des Moines National Rally, you may have seen me...I was the one who dropped the bike while loading it! I ended up dropping it one more time that trip while trying to load it in Wall, SD. At 64 years old, loading a bike by myself has gotten to be a challenge and I am past the days when I just rode it up! Hopefully, the last RV will be our 24' Class C Sprinter based motorhome....as so far, we love it! I can either put the F650GS or R12GS and a couple kayaks on the small aluminum open trailer (Aluma - awesome trailers!) and life is good! We can then put the bicycles on an upper bumper hitch and take all the junk with us. I just bought a 500# capacity hitch mounted motorcycle carrier which we can use if not taking the kayaks or bikes and just put either bike on it and not pull a trailer. Just one more thing to not have to be concerned about. I have used this hitch mounted carrier once for the Beta 125 RR-S and it works great! If you are on the fence about this whole RV thing, I recommend you try it but, do your homework first as it will safe you a few bucks!
 
Made a TWO WHEELER out of it

Since early December been checking out South Florida in our Airstream. Before we left I put on new axles. The old ones had been on since 1987 and was feeling that the torsion in the rubber had gotten brittle and worn out. In addition one of the arms had become broken and the thing was ready to fall off.
The new axles took that second bounce out of the freeway whoop-de-doos. Best of all they took some of the "lean" out of the unit in curves and it made the ride smoother in the truck by handling bumps and such better...…………
Okay, so we were in the Everglades, Naples, Marcos Island, and mostly down at Flamingo Campground using the Folbot. The Folbot is a collapsible 2 man kayak/sailboat. Perfect for the shallows and getting back into the islands to fish and just have fun...…..Time to head home:

On our way back from Florida on the Florida Turnpike, there is a section of road that is being repaired. In that process there is a 5" edge of the road where the road ends and the shoulder begins. A truck was passing us and was going to clip the front of the truck as he was pulling back over into the lane we were in.
We braked and dodged over to the edge of the road and onto the shoulder. We didn't realize that there was a 5" edge of the pavement and when we came back into our lane from the shoulder, the tires of the truck and trailer "grabbed" that edge. The trailer tires "caught" that edge, hung up on it for a second or so as the truck continued on after catching the edge itself.

The sway from hell began!!! In perhaps !/4 mile we went across the 3 lanes 5 times with the trailer on 2 wheels for at least two of those oscillations. People behind us that stopped to see if we were having a heart attack were in total shock that we were OK. They said that the trailer had gone into the air at least 5 feet and came down on 2 wheels. Then the weave across the 3 lanes began with me fighting to slow down and as the trailer went one way to fight it from going into the center median or guard rail. Doing this was so we could attempt to go back the other way. It took 6 times of going back and forth to do this and fight the movements until we got the thing stopped...….

FINALLY I GOT IT STRAIGHTENED OUT!!! I slowed down, off onto the shoulder, looked back to see traffic at least 1/2 mile back, and then, checked out my shorts......The contents of the trailer were as if a mini-tornado had gone through the unit or imagine that the trailer is a clothes washer on the spin cycle and the contents of the trailer the clothing...…….frig doors off, drawers open and the contents everywhere, clothes from the closet and cabinets hanging where no one had thought of or on the floor soaking up spillage from the frig or cabinets. On and on; but just imagine the most well made drawers broken and their guides torn off the framing. The exterior shows nothing except the tires have wear/rubbing all the way from the tread up to the tire wheel/rim obviously caused by the trailer riding the tire on it's side...……


What can I say...…...God is good...…..
 

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Nice job on rescuing your rig from a “tail wagging the dog” situation.
Good luck on getting things ready for the next trip.
Gary
 
Good job. Those kinds of edge traps kill people. The trailer probably saved you from having a nasty roll over accident. The front tire climbs back on and the rear tire doesn't which swings the back of the truck around and the vehicle rolls. The trailer would help keep the rear of the truck from swinging around. Again good job.
 
Good job. Those kinds of edge traps kill people. .

Yep, edge traps are also dangerous for motorcycles and bicycles.
I've noticed more and more contractors use a beveled edge now when placing asphalt.
 
Glad it did not turnout far worse; must have been a very stressful event. Hope the Cheerios and Cheese Puffs were salvageable as well.
 
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