New Tenement On Wheels

[cheesy]

Got it home and I backed into the driveway without hitting anything, but there are some maple branches that need to be trimmed.

[TominMO]

That tenement would be considered luxury housing in many third world countries.

[Fast_Freddy]

Including the USA!

[bigdano711]

Stylin' and profilin'! When it comes to camping, no one said you HAVE to rough it!

[cheesy]

We FINALLY got to take the rolling hotel room out for a few days.




The Rt.66 trip wasn't going to happen this year so we opted for just a couple nights in S.Dakota that Mrs C picked out. She soon learned that 8 hours per GPS translates to 10 hours in real life.

Buster was a lot more laid back, too.



Pros. Beats the hell out of sleeping on the ground. Midday A/C. Easiest trailer I've ever backed up, even with Mrs. C 'helping'. Can take a shower. Easier to set up and take down than our pop up was.

Cons. 9 mpg. With holding tanks and a water heater, more maintenance. Being new, more 'strange noises' that Mrs.C feels it's necessary to wake me up to check out. Not tight spot friendly.

We stopped a few times for road construction. Buster was just happy to look out the windows.


The Ural, being a slow beast, has me appreciating the 'Blue Highways' over the interstates, so we opted for US and state roads on the return trip. Much more enjoyable albeit a longer drive time-wise.

The low point, though, was at our final gas stop on the way home when I mis-judged and caught the waste water tank drains on a concrete abutment at a pump and ripped them off.




I was pissed, but an old guy(probably younger than me) came by, put his hand on my shoulder and told me I wasn't the first guy to ever do that. He did the same the first time he filled up his motor home and hit the abutment with the car he was towing.

Insurance is now involved.

[dirtbkr188]

Well....now you can't do this until you get it fixed...lol

[GypsyR]

I embarrassed to admit that it took me two bumps to the right rear before I got a handle on the overhang and "swing" of my RV. And this from a guy who's been driving a rollback for years. Making me feel extra stupid.

I looks like the pipe tore out the opening of the black tank so that the entire black tank would need to be replaced. Id that what I'm seeing?

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by GypsyR

I looks like the pipe tore out the opening of the black tank so that the entire black tank would need to be replaced. Id that what I'm seeing?

Yup. And I am still swearing at myself.

I was talking about what happened to my insurance agent and she told me that shit happens. Then she related that her husband got way serious into bicycling and bought himself a $9K road bike. Well, said road bike was on the roof of his car when he pulled into their garage. The bike is now a bunch of broken carbon fiber tubes on the garage floor and the roof of the car is seriously bent.

[Sport Rider]

it coulda been worse. it could have been the black water tank.

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by Sport Rider

it coulda been worse. it could have been the black water tank.

It was. At least it was empty.

We're going to do what I didn't want to do after buying the trailer and that is replace the Chevy. I was going to look at a new Ram and use my Mopar Family Discount. Two things shot that down. Even with the discount, I was looking at almost $60K and my Dad said he couldn't recommend the new Rams. SIL has had nothing but trouble with his 2019 2500. Looking like engine #3 on the horizon.

So, used we go. I live in a small town and want to try and keep my money here. The local Chevy dealer has a few pick ups that have my interest. And a couple that don't. The F150s with the Ecoboost engines can stay on the lot. Both of those have the 2.7 engines.

The others are a pair of Chevys. One is 2017 1500 with the 5.3, 73K on it, bed cap,4wd, and a lot of toys. The other is a 2015 2500 HD with the Duramax diesel, 93K on it and 2wd. Drawbacks are both are close to $40K. The 2500 is set up for towing but it has a 5th wheel hitch in the bed, and the 2wd. There's stuff on the 1500 that strikes me as unnecessary, but I'm a curmudgeon.

The vehicle that has really piqued my interest is an 07 F350 SRW with a 6.0 Powerstroke. Comparable mileage to my Chevy and really clean. 4wd, Warn hubs up front, and an 8ft bed. And it's under $20K. Drawbacks are that it's a 1 ton and will require more costly Illannoy D plates along with twice a year safety inspections. It also has what looks like an unused snow plow on it.

Pics of the trucks.
The 1500.


The 2500.



The F350.



If we get the F350, I can flip the plow and cover registration for a few years. I could also flip the 5th wheel hitch on the 2500. Nothing to flip on the 1500 but I'd really have to get used to the tech.

[GypsyR]

Around here any sign that a truck has had a plow on it means... RUN!

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by GypsyR

Around here any sign that a truck has had a plow on it means... RUN!

Up here in da nort, it means extra income between November and March. Though I have no desire to do that anymore.

[XLsior]

If I had to choose i'd get the 1500... a truck bed cover = better security. 4wd
Also less fake plastic chrome...and ask them to put the 2500 rims on it...

engines are here or there... 5.3 - 'lifters'. Duromax diesel=higher servicing intervals common rail complexity.

Old fords...sure, new fords that arn't rebadged Mazda meh.

I'd still hold off buying any vehicles until next year...

There is going to be a flood of used repo vehicles as people can't make repayments car lots are going to fill up to overflow and the deals will start compiling.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by cheesy

Up here in da nort, it means extra income between November and March. Though I have no desire to do that anymore.

The snow season is starting later, getting shorter, but there may be the ocaisonal uber dump. Yup. Lots of desperate folks when that happens But it's changing.

I see DOZENS of practically new snowblowers and snowplows too, on Craigslist, LOL!!!
October and we are in the 80s. Reality begins to sink in. A shovel will do for what Winter offers in Missouri now.

[cheesy]

Mrs.C is making this difficult. it's her 'Three choices are not enough' thing that makes large purchases so annoying.

Her reasoning against the three trucks I'm looking at, and bear in mind that she will rarely drive any of them; the Ford is white. Quote, "There are too many white trucks in our subdivision". There isn't, but the white ones stand out. The plow isn't a big deal to her but I'd just as soon not have it.
The 2500 is 2WD and has the 5th wheel hitch in the bed. If we remove the hitch,"There's holes in the bed". Holes that can be plugged. "What if it snows?" Our Chevy is the first 4wd truck we've owned. I managed 40 years without it.
The only thing she has against the 1500 is that it looks like Suburban.

So, in her fashion, she's looking at a bunch of other dealerships at other trucks and pointing them out to me. And I'm playing her game with dislikes.

I haven't told her we could probably have the Chevy regeared with something like a 3.73 instead of the 3.42 that's in there and have the 'puter reprogrammed.

This may take a while.