The Nomadic Life

[bigbill]

My lovely wife and and I are in negotiations to purchase a three horse living quarters trailer to replace the travel trailer once we get to Wyoming. Many of our trips in the summer involve two trucks and trailers. A horse event is usually a full weekend so we bring the travel trailer. A living quarters with a slide works for us, and we travel with two horses, so the third stall will be my "bike shop." We'll only need one truck and our costs for weekend events will be greatly reduced. We could reduce to my 2020 F250 and our 2018 Ford Escape. Long term, I'd like to find a good used AWD sedan for a daily driver and grocery runs to Cody.

[bigbill]

I got my trailer back from the RV repair place yesterday with a new fresh water tank. I realized something yesterday that maybe many of you have already know, but with the water drains open, changing the angle of the trailer with the jack will help drain more water out of the system. The repair guy says they now leave the tongue high when they're done with work since the batteries are often weak after a week or so, and it's easier on the battery to lower the tongue to the ball than to raise it up. Hooking up my trailer left a big puddle of water in the lot. I'm all good to go for the winter.

[Too Tall]

I hear this alot. Folks realize that the repair place was not kind to their batteries.

I’ll be home just in time to winterize this trailer for the first time. It is not rocket science thank dog.

I’ve got a few winter projects for the new trailer such as creating a slide out shelf for the Ecoflow battery and a weatherproof cable pass thru for starlink. Also, I’m pretty done with 120v outlets located in the dumbest places.

[bigbill]

In another RV group, folks were discussing traveling with an RV in subfreezing temps. I never really gave it much thought other than to travel with empty tanks on a trailer. One person said he dumped his tanks every day on his Class A when traveling and used gallon jugs for water. I mentioned using the weather app to avoid freezing temps unless they're absolutely necessary to get from point to point. I look at the weather this time of year in the Southwest and for the most part, it's not freezing. Flagstaff is 7000+ feet but doesn't get that cold and the snow usually arrives in heavy dumps and is gone a few days later. Occasionally they'll get a blizzard, but it's usually forecasted many days in advance. In 2019, I drove through almost white-out conditions on the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend, but again, it was expected. I thought one of the basic principles of RVs is to travel away from the cold. When we get to Wyoming this summer, the trailer will be on the property and before winter, I'll drain and blow out all the tanks and maybe pump some cheap vodka through the fresh water lines just to be sure. I'm torn between leaving it plugged in and just letting it get really cold so critters don't try to get in.

[Too Tall]

I'm with you, just don't understand towing when there is snow and ice.

Some trailers have furnace vents that warm tanks. Airstream trailers do have that feature however there are things which will freeze. Despite that kooks do camp in winter weather with tanks full. No thanks.

[merlinmurph]

I'm with you, just don't understand towing when there is snow and ice.

Oh man, brings back a memory.

In '16, we were at Zion in mid-November. Perfect weather, stayed a few days, had a great time. When it was time to leave, I looked at a map and planned a route. We took off and soon started climbing. And climbing. And more climbing. Started seeing snow on the road. Whoa, I was getting concerned. One good thing was that there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was doing its thing. Still, we kept climbing with some slushy snow on the road. I wasn't concerned about the snow then, I was more concerned about what was ahead. We finally got to the top, a place called Jacob Lake, elevation 7925'. We figured this was a good time to stop, take a break, get a coffee and let the sun melt everything because the downhill was next. Mind you, it was absolutely beautiful out, there was just some slushy stuff out there. Now that we were at the top, there was no ice and the air was warming up, I felt a lot better. We killed about an hour and the trip down was a breeze - and gorgeous.

But yes, I would want nothing to do with towing with snow/ice.

[bigbill]

Our offer was accepted on the house in Wyoming. We can avoid passes in the winter by dropping down to Casper, it just takes a lot longer. We won't take the trailer north until May when my wife finishes teaching. Last year, we had a few nights of freezing temps in May where our water hose froze, but it warmed up quickly. This time we're in a house.

The next question will be protecting the trailer from rodents in the summer. We'll keep it on our property but it's way different from the desert environment where we currently store it. I plan on cleaning out all the cabinets to make sure all the non-canned food is removed. I'll put repellent pouches everywhere. I have vinyl covers for all the windows and tires and our parking area is hard packed road base.

[Too Tall]

Good story about snow/towing. I can't imagine....
Others say those mouse repellant pouches work pretty great.
It's time for the old semi-religious debate of what truck do I need :) My 2016 Tundra will have 150k be the time we haul into the wilderness of Canada this yr. Total mileage and age has me circling new trucks. Light a candle for me ;)

[bigbill]

If I was towing less than 7500 pounds, I'd still want a 3/4 ton, but I'd seriously consider Ford's 6.8 gas. My experience is out west (Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, SD) but there are many travel stops with pull-through pumps with gas and diesel. Trying to get in and out of a regular gas station with my F-250 and 33' trailer can be stressful. Truck drivers must use some kind of corporate deal for fuel. Near Williams, AZ, there is an exit with a big Love's truck stop and a Maverick, both with pull through pumps, but Maverick is sometimes as much as a dollar less per gallon.

For mouse repellent, I'll throw some under the trailer as well. Worland is the weird part of Wyoming because it's not windy.

[Too Tall]

I'm moving up to 3/4 ton for sure and gas. Some folks leave a light on 24/7 under the trailer. I'm thinking a robotically controlled mini-gun loaded with subsonics is a reasonable solution.

[bigbill]

I'm moving up to 3/4 ton for sure and gas. Some folks leave a light on 24/7 under the trailer. I'm thinking a robotically controlled mini-gun loaded with subsonics is a reasonable solution.

We've been to the Tucson area with the trailer in the winter. The long termers have LED strings under their trailers. I've got 50' of lights. We'll likely travel down to the Tucson area for a month or two starting next winter. December though February are the worst months in Wyoming. We'll probably stay put through Christmas then hit the road with two trucks (horses/travel trailer).

[TonyP]

I'm moving up to 3/4 ton for sure and gas. Some folks leave a light on 24/7 under the trailer. I'm thinking a robotically controlled mini-gun loaded with subsonics is a reasonable solution.

A few years ago I met a fellow who had a scaled down .22 caliber Gatling gun, that might not have been a reasonable solution, but sure looked like a fun one.

[bigbill]

Last summer, our travel cat was "laser" focused on the trailer's kitchen cabinet. I looked in the cabinet with a flashlight and didn't see anything. About 30 minutes after we went to bed, I heard some rustling from the living room and found the cat with a mouse hanging out of her mouth. I had to take the dead mouse from her to throw it outside so she was pretty pissed for a while, but I didn't want to wait for her to field dress it, leaving a pile of guts on the floor. Once we financially recover from the new home purchase and the move, I plan on having a barn with room for a travel trailer. We will trap and fix some feral cats for the barn for natural rodent control around the hay and trailer. Barn cats rule.

[froze]

Good story about snow/towing. I can't imagine....
Others say those mouse repellant pouches work pretty great.
It's time for the old semi-religious debate of what truck do I need :) My 2016 Tundra will have 150k be the time we haul into the wilderness of Canada this yr. Total mileage and age has me circling new trucks. Light a candle for me ;)

If the truck is running good, there is no reason to buy another truck. That 5.7 V8 have a record of running over 300,000 miles, so hopefully you've only used half the engine life if you kept up on all maintenance.

The one huge problems with buying another truck, besides insane prices, is Toyota and Ford have gone with twin turbo engines, those engines, if used for towing will only last an average of 125,000 miles. Stay far away from those types of vehicles. You would be much further ahead in todays world to go with a Ford 3/4 ton truck with the old fashion V8 that will run for a long time. Also todays turbo diesels are not lasting like they did when they first came out. The first gen of the Dodge Cummins truck that engine would last a million miles, today about 250,000 is all you're going to get out them, the same as a gas powered V8.

Or find another used Toyota 5.7 V8, just check the internet for which years were the most reliable, there were few years that had more issues than normal. Or a used 3/4 ton truck with a V8. Finding a used truck will save you a lot of money on the purchase as well.

[bigbill]

Josh, gas 3/4 and 1 ton pickups don't hold their value but that works to your favor. A 2-3 year old 2500 or F-250 can be had for a decent price. If we get ourselves down to a single living quarters 3 horse trailer with slide outs, we'll only need one diesel truck, likely a one ton. The second (actually third) vehicle will be some kind of AWD SUV for the Wyoming winters. I think I'd like a smallish travel trailer that we can pull with the SUV. If we're going to take a bunch of dirt roads in the Bighorns to get to a fishing spot, we might as well stay for a few days.

[PaMtbRider]

If the truck is running good, there is no reason to buy another truck. That 5.7 V8 have a record of running over 300,000 miles, so hopefully you've only used half the engine life if you kept up on all maintenance.

The one huge problems with buying another truck, besides insane prices, is Toyota and Ford have gone with twin turbo engines, those engines, if used for towing will only last an average of 125,000 miles. Stay far away from those types of vehicles. You would be much further ahead in todays world to go with a Ford 3/4 ton truck with the old fashion V8 that will run for a long time. Also todays turbo diesels are not lasting like they did when they first came out. The first gen of the Dodge Cummins truck that engine would last a million miles, today about 250,000 is all you're going to get out them, the same as a gas powered V8.

Or find another used Toyota 5.7 V8, just check the internet for which years were the most reliable, there were few years that had more issues than normal. Or a used 3/4 ton truck with a V8. Finding a used truck will save you a lot of money on the purchase as well.

I have no doubt about the quality or long term reliability of the Toyota 5.7. The engine might be capable of 300,000 miles, but given the choice it wouldn't be my choice for towing a trailer around the country. There is much more to a truck than the engine. At 150,000 miles, suspension, wheel bearings, transmission.... can give problems at any time. All things I don't want to have to deal with or worry about while traveling the country.

A new truck is certainly no guarantee of trouble free travels. I chose a 3/4 ton gas Chevy as a tow vehicle. No turbos, just a proven gas guzzling v-8. So far so good.

New truck price are ridiculous, but so is everything else. You can't take it with you and we don't have kids to leave it to so we are going to enjoy the money we have worked so hard for.

[Markco]

While I was fueling my Sprinter once at a commercial truck stop, a pro in the next bay recommended the app. Mudflap.

He said it'd save me money if I use the big truck stops like Loves. He was right. You get the fleet rate which is sometime 2.00 cheaper than the sign price per gallon of diesel. Not a lot of downside with the set up, but depending on the stop, you may have to walk a little more. Since the van can hold over 45 gallons, the savings do add up on cross country trips.

[Too Tall]

@froze Thanks. You ain't wrong about my truck. I've towed across the USA without drama, the truck is adequate. Tundras have a weakness which is the amt. of cargo they can carry. If you have say 1500/1600 lbs capacity than subtract 900 for weight on the ball, 200 for the cap, 400 for "stuff" in the passenger compartment + passengers will leave you with scant capacity leftover to stuff supplies etc. in the bed. That's the big flaw of these incredible trucks. They tow great and stop fine.

Moving to a 3/4 ton gets me huge brakes and too much load capacity.

Honestly, if my Tundra was rate 3/4 ton I'd run the wheels off it.

[bigbill]

@froze Thanks. You ain't wrong about my truck. I've towed across the USA without drama, the truck is adequate. Tundras have a weakness which is the amt. of cargo they can carry. If you have say 1500/1600 lbs capacity than subtract 900 for weight on the ball, 200 for the cap, 400 for "stuff" in the passenger compartment + passengers will leave you with scant capacity leftover to stuff supplies etc. in the bed. That's the big flaw of these incredible trucks. They tow great and stop fine.

Moving to a 3/4 ton gets me huge brakes and too much load capacity.

Honestly, if my Tundra was rate 3/4 ton I'd run the wheels off it.

A Ford or Chevy 3/4 ton from the last 5-6 years has the ten speed transmission. My 2020 F-250 with the ten speed gets good mileage without a trailer and has smaller increments when engine braking. My wife's truck is a 2007 Chevy 2500 with a six speed and I find myself using the brakes more when descending because of the large jumps between gears. Newer Ford or Chevy, same ten speed transmission. 3/4 ton or larger trucks are built to tow with a heavy duty drivetrain and suspension, so if you're like me and only tow the trailer a few times a year, there's no reason why you can't drive the wheels off. Miles are not miles on a heavy duty vehicle. 200K of constant towing is not the same as 50K of 200K towing. I had my differentials and transfer case serviced over the summer at 100K miles. The front differential and transfer case was a fluid change, but the rear included pulling the cover and wiping out the housing. Everything was shiny clean and free of metal.

[Too Tall]

LOL stop you all are convincing me. I just changed all fluids, plugs, front springs/shocks and a new sway bar. The truck drives like new.
I need to think about this.