F250 Heavy Duty vs Light Duty, vs F350 (1984)

[Nothing Special]

We're really hijacking this thread, if anyone cares...

Gary, if you do look at trailers of any flavor, one thing to consider is slide-outs.  I kind of didn't want any when I was shopping for a motorhome.  It seemed like it would be add complexity and more places for water and mice to get in.  That's all been true, but not as much of an issue (at least so far) as I feared, so I'm not too disappointed that our motorhome and my parents trailer both have one slide-out.

But something I hadn't really considered is how useable the camper is with the slide IN.  in our motorhome everything is accessible and usable with the slide in.  There's room for someone to work in the kitchen, but not enough room for someone else to walk past them.  And there's only marginal leg room for people sitting on the couch, and people walking by the couch need to be careful of other's feet and legs.  But you can get everywhere and use everything.

In contrast, in my parents trailer you can't open the fridge all the way, you can't open the bathroom door at all, and you can't get to the back bunk room without some gymnastics that I have a hard time doing at 56 years old (plus it's hard on the dinette).

None of this matters much when you're camping.  But it makes a huge difference travelling.  You're not allowed to "camp" at rest stops.  But you can stop for a while.  I feel a lot better not having to run the slide out when we do that.  And even just putting groceries away if you make a stop to resupply, it's nice not needing to take up the extra width.

So for me, any camper I buy in the future I'll be looking at how usable it is with the slide(s) in.  Not to say I won't consider one like my parents trailer.  but it would be a big strike against it.

[Gary Lewis]

Starliner - If you want I can start a new thread and move the trailer & camper posts there.

Bob - I would never have thought of the issues with a slide-out when it is in.  Thanks!

I remember so well stopping at grocery store on our trips, and not being able to put the groceries away w/o running it out would be a huge pain.  And we've stopped at lots of rest stops, and to have to put it out then could be a big problem as well.

But, you do like having a slide-out?  How big of a deal is that if you are out for two weeks at a time?  What about with kids?

In the back of my mind I'm thinking about our kids, who have kids.  So they might want to borrow one if we had it and we should consider them as well.

However, they aren't the experience trailer-pullers or RV'ers that we were.  Not that we've done it a lot, but when we've racked up a lot of miles to California, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Florida, etc.  And I say that to suggest I should keep the trailer smaller rather than letting it grow.  Both Big Blue and Blue have GVWR's of ~11,000 lbs so the trailer shouldn't come in more than 4,000 I would think.

[ArdWrknTrk]

GCVWR's....

[Nothing Special]

Gary Lewis wrote

....  But, you do like having a slide-out?  How big of a deal is that if you are out for two weeks at a time?  What about with kids?

In the back of my mind I'm thinking about our kids, who have kids.  So they might want to borrow one if we had it and we should consider them as well.

First off, it's hard to find campers without slide-outs now.  So especially if you're looking at used ones that aren't that old you'll have to take what you find.

As far as do I like slides in a camper?  Yes and no.  As I mentioned above, the practical side of me doesn't like added complexity (we did need to have the motorhome serviced once when the slide motors got out of synch and I needed to lean on it hard to get it to go back in so we could drive home).  And I'd rather not have a big hole cut in the side that needs seals on moving parts to keep water and rodents out.  But the extra room they offer is nice.  For just two people, camping for a week or so, if I could have my ideal it wouldn't have any slides.  But for a family with 4 kids, or for 2 people living out of it for a few months, a slide or two would be very welcome.

As to kids borrowing it, we went through that thought process as well.  What Lesley eventually convinced me of was that we should get a camper that would work well for us.  Anything that met that need would work well enough for our kids to borrow that the "beggars can't be choosers" rule would say it was good enough!

Gary Lewis wrote

However, they aren't the experience trailer-pullers or RV'ers that we were.  Not that we've done it a lot, but when we've racked up a lot of miles to California, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Florida, etc.  And I say that to suggest I should keep the trailer smaller rather than letting it grow.  Both Big Blue and Blue have GVWR's of ~11,000 lbs so the trailer shouldn't come in more than 4,000 I would think.

As Jim says, it's GCVWR that matters.  I don't know what Blue or Big Blue have (my '97 has 18,000 lbs).  But I agree that 4,000 lbs would be a good target.  I don't know for sure what my folks trailer weighs but it's a moose (above I guessed it at 5,000 - 6,000 lbs, it's rated for 7,600 lbs max).  But it sleeps 6 in beds, 10 if you add the couch and dinette as double beds, and could pretty easily accommodate a family with 4 kids on vacation.  At the other end of the spectrum, Lesley and I, with our two sons camped out of an 8' slide-in camper.  The boys slept in a tent after they got older, and we did all of our cooking and eating outside.  But there's a lot of room in-between those options.  It shouldn't be hard to find a 4000 lb trailer that would meet your needs.

[Starliner]

Alright,  since you guys successfully hijacked this, (LOL), I must add this.  A Non-Bullnose, Non-Ford dream vehicle made 2 years by Chevy as the Chalet, and GMC called Casa Grande, (opposite of Tiny Home), and I add this because Gary mentioned off-road camping and coffee.  These things are crazy cool.

 

A better image here:

70813_Side_Profile_Web.jpg

[Nothing Special]

Yeah, there were several of those kind of things back in the '60s and '70s.  I know there were versions based on the IH Scout.  And of course the VW van.  I'm not sure what others.  Definitely cool, but I don't think many of them have survived.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I can make a new thread for all this.
Just tell me where you want to cut it.

GM seem to have liked that pallete it the '70's




The TVS seemed so futuristic back then!
With a 455* fwd transaxle from a Toronado the floor was a composite skateboard just 16" off the ground.

[Starliner]

A mint one with 50k miles sold at Mecum for 10 grand.
I didnt realize that was a slide in, I thought is was one piece.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I always thought the 'Big House' was where you went after you were convicted?!?!  

[ArdWrknTrk]

I guess it's a Blazer?
Looked like a Shortbed with an overhanging slide in when you first pictured it.

I thought 'thats bizarre. Why kill your departure angle when you could have a flush camper in a regular 8' bed?

[Starliner]

That's probably why it only lasted 2 years.
I just thought is would be great to do a road trip where I could pull over at any scenic view, walk from the drivers seat right to making a coffee and drinking it by the big window.
And yes, they were Blazers and Jimmys.

[Gary Lewis]

Bob - Thanks for that.  Good advice.

On the campers, a young lady at church has several that her father purchased to flip - just before he passed away.  I know nothing about them, but I'm guessing they may have a slide-out given what you said.  We've talked about us looking at them, but haven't.

And you and Jim are correct, it is the combined weight.  But I think that's the 11K figure for both trucks.

As for the kids borrowing it, one set has 9 year old twins, and the other has a six year old.  So it wouldn't have to be huge.

[Nothing Special]

Starliner wrote

....  I didnt realize that was a slide in, I thought is was one piece....

It wasn't technically a slide in. I'm pretty sure the camper mounted to the Blazers "bed rails" and had no structure below that, so it used all of the space inside the Blazer, where a slide-in is only 4' wide below the bed rails and you have hard to access outside storage between the camper and the bed side.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

I guess it's a Blazer?
Looked like a Shortbed with an overhanging slide in when you first pictured it.

I thought 'thats bizarre. Why kill your departure angle when you could have a flush camper in a regular 8' bed?

Starliner wrote

That's probably why it only lasted 2 years....

I think there's your answer

[Nothing Special]

Thinking about it as I was changing lanes on my way home from work, it's not the weight that's the biggest issue for novice drivers, it's the length.  My folks camper is about 34' tongue to back of the camper body, 35' if you include the bumper and spare tire (I measured it this evening).  Hook it up to my ~20' long CCSB and you're pretty much at the old 55' max length for a single trailer semi!  I've driven quite a few big things, and changing lanes with this is no picnic, and I've never driven it in heavy traffic.  And I've gotten in a little trouble in a parking lot with it too, where I was going to hit something with the side of the trailer if I kept going forward.  Maybe something like a ~24' max overall length would be good if you were trying to accommodate novice trailer drivers.

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, I think 24' might be the max.  I'll have to measure the boat & trailer, but the boat itself is 25'.  It hangs off the back of the trailer at least 2' and the tongue extends past the bow by maybe 2'.  So it is probably 29' from ball to prop.  And I'd not want to turn either set of kids loose with that w/o several hours of driving instructions.

But with brakes on both axles it stops well.  And the electronics on Blue that gives sway control sure helps.  Had a couple of times on the trip when a semi went by us rapidly and there was just a touch of sway.  But the system brought the trailer brakes on just a touch and took the sway out immediately.  (It wasn't going to be a problem as I wasn't about to back off since I saw him coming, but it was comforting that it was there in case I had.)

[ArdWrknTrk]

U-techcenter has those LH nuts if your buddy flattened the cone.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F162824653684

[Starliner]

Thanks, I will get them to be safe.

[Starliner]

Hey Jim,
Is that link you sent me the lugnuts that I need?
The title says 26mm thread is 18 but there is nothing in the description.
They look right based on that part#, and the price is crazy good.
Thx

[ArdWrknTrk]

They are 1 1/16. 9/16-18 LH thread.

Look up the part number in the listing

[Starliner]

Yeah, I just did,  they are the right ones thanks.
Going to swap out the wheel studs too.
I just dropped the spare down to prepare for the swap.
Thank you again.