Well here’s the final trip report. I’ll start w the easy stuff. The truck, 2018 HO Crew Cab, SBed 3500 Ram Bighorn. It performed extremely well. 11.4 mpg for nearly 2100 miles. Set in tow haul with 6th gear locked out, it ran at 67 mph mostly on cruise control with just a few shifts to 4th gear. Honestly cruise control for the first time was as good as my foot. Transmission never got over 163 degrees F. The new fuel tank just was amazing. Love it and a great investment.
The trailer weighed 13900 before the final load up and I can’t imagine it weighing more than 14500 lbs. Maybe 2900lbs on the pin, but because of the fuel tank near it’s GVWR.
It handles anything the road threw at it, very poised and convinced me I don’t need air bags but I will need to keep and eye on the shocks as it gets older.The braking is just great, I just barely keep my foot on the brake and it downshifts aggressively and the exhaust brake brings the whole thing to stop not even hardly using the truck or Creek brakes.
Over all I can’t be more pleased.
Most of you know I got hit in the Keys Palm Campground because a nice lady left her truck in drive. I’m glad no one was hurt and I hold them both no ill will. It has cramped my style camping and I’m missing my 6 day trip to Hocking hills over Memorial Day. Kind sad really.
I dropped the trailer off at Orvan’s yesterday toured their shop got a punch list done for the repair and also went over all the warranty work with Orvan I could think of. I also am having some of his enhancements done. Wow he exudes confidence to get it done right. Looks like the brunt force of the truck was sucked up by the rear slide report, no fiberglass damage but the skirting and the mechanism needs replaced plus normal safety checks and looking at everything underneath. I spent lots of time under before dropping out and nothing structural is visually bent. We are shooting for mid June to pick it up.
Hopefully I can have it ready for our 4th of July trip.
I’m not going to add airbags now, I may go with a different pin box although chucking was not an issue except on some crazy washboard roads in Ohio and KY.
This trip was expensive and but an adventure. I had to stop on the freeway to remove the black tank holder that was falling off west of Miami. The screws on the one side must of not been big enough. But I had ample space and the traffic was only moving 3 mph.
Hit a massive swarm of love bugs around Orlando and my truck and the front of the camper were black.
Met some Creekers on this forum coming home and they had good advice. I felt like a newbie at this campground, half hooked up my black tank wrong and had a spillthat I had to clean up. Ridiculous.
I got out of sorts w those love bugs. Wet bounce sheets was the answer to removal both truck and trailer.
Plus the Wal Mart from Hades and a leak in a not supposed to leak place. But I met a lot of nice people along the way.
Every campground I met someone who has just or just a short time ago went full time. Wow.
The Keys were nicer than I expected and I do expect to be there next year again for a longer period. Keys Palms Resort is gorgeous.
Any questions, please ask.
Peace
Mike
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