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Old 06-01-2013, 08:17 AM   #1
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First outing for our 325RES

Hello friends.
I thought I would share our first experience with our new 325RES for those interested.
I've learned so much from this forum and thank all those who have helped out with information. This community has made our experience a much richer one and we could not be happier with our purchase.

The first trip was an extended Memorial Day weekend (wednesday-monday) which started out very wet when we arrived on Wednesday afternoon at Cran Hill Ranch near Big Rapids, MI.
One of my major anxieties was how my TV would do with the Crusader, and I could not be happier. I found that the comfortable speed for my 6.0L Silverado 2500HD was ~65mph and I was able to run in overdrive at 2,000rpm on flat ground, including some minor grades which I was very pleased with. Some of the larger Michigan hills on US131 required dropping down to 3rd gear at 2500rpm. My tranny temp never got above 160, and I got 8.5 mpg round trip (~190 miles). Overall I'm stoked.

Arriving at a wet campground


The weekend went real well and all of the 5er systems worked as they should.
We were right next to the lake and with all of the windows in our Crusader we were able to enjoy the view - another reason we picked this layout.
The furniture was comfortable, the bed was great with the addition of a 3" memory foam pad, and we LOVE our kitchen!





My LED strip install worked great. I'm happy with putting them on the awning roller as the lighting is very effective this way.


hooked up ready to go home


We are looking forward to at least 4 more trips this summer with family and friends.
Thanks again, everybody!
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Old 06-01-2013, 08:28 AM   #2
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Great pics! Glad you enjoyed the w\e. Best of luck with your new rig. I have a question for you. Where did you pull the electrical from your awning LED's from, the power awning hot lead? Is there some sort of on/off switch?
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Old 06-01-2013, 08:30 AM   #3
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Great to hear!



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Old 06-01-2013, 08:45 AM   #4
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Sounds great! Im glad everything went well.

I just wanted to mention that your RV tires probably have a Max Speed rating of 65 in case you didn't know. You can check the tire manufacturers web page to be sure.
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Old 06-01-2013, 08:49 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BarryD0706 View Post
Sounds great! Im glad everything went well.

I just wanted to mention that your RV tires probably have a Max Speed rating of 65 in case you didn't know. You can check the tire manufacturers web page to be sure.
I'm aware, thanks. That is the very fastest I plan to go. The tires on my Silverado are pretty tall (285s) and I know my speedo is off because of that, so I keep it at ~ 60mph.
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Old 06-01-2013, 08:56 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rattleNsmoke View Post
Great pics! Glad you enjoyed the w\e. Best of luck with your new rig. I have a question for you. Where did you pull the electrical from your awning LED's from, the power awning hot lead? Is there some sort of on/off switch?
I pulled power from my amber light above the door. That way I can use the switch inside to turn them on and off. I bought an extension cord off the Bay to simply hook it up after the awning is deployed. Very simple to do.
One of the neat features of the LED controller is that it remembers the last setting it was on, so interrupting the power while it is on allows it to go right back on when you reapply power.
Here's my setup:


and I made a custom power tap using a bulb base, so I can still use it as stock if I want to.
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Old 06-05-2013, 05:22 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zs325RES View Post

I pulled power from my amber light above the door. That way I can use the switch inside to turn them on and off. I bought an extension cord off the Bay to simply hook it up after the awning is deployed. Very simple to do.
One of the neat features of the LED controller is that it remembers the last setting it was on, so interrupting the power while it is on allows it to go right back on when you reapply power.
Here's my setup:


and I made a custom power tap using a bulb base, so I can still use it as stock if I want to.
This is a great idea! Thanks for this tip. I have the Crusader 295RST and want to add the led lights. The spot by the lake looks great Here is our seasonal site


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