1 year, cross country and back- Now or Never

[ependydad]

Whoa, I haven't updated this thread in a while. We left St. Louis and headed to a Fulltime Families rally in Branson, MO:
Now Or Never - an RV Tale: Branson, MO & the Fulltime Families Rally

From Branson, we went to see my wife's aunt in Kansas City and also did a couple of things there (Lego Discovery center, Hallmark Welcome Center, and a restaurant called the Beer Kitchen!):
Now Or Never - an RV Tale: A short week in Kansas City, KS

And the final update, we started on our way to Colorado Springs, but it was further than I wanted to drive in a day so we stopped in Goodland, KS and checked out something called the Mammoth Rocks (which turned out to be very, very cool):
Now Or Never - an RV Tale: Goodland, KS - the Big Easel and Mammoth Rocks

[ependydad]

Continuing on. We spent 2 weeks packed full of sight-seeing in Colorado Springs. In fact, so many pictures resulted in me splitting the blog post into 3 parts:

http://nowornever.learntorv.com/2015...rt-1-of-3.html

http://nowornever.learntorv.com/2015...rt-2-of-3.html

http://nowornever.learntorv.com/2015...rt-3-of-3.html

[doc73]

Very neat. One day... Hopefully before I am old and gray! Thanks for sharing.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by doc73

Very neat. One day... Hopefully before I am old and gray! Thanks for sharing.

Welp, I'm gray but trying to not believe I'm old yet (35!).

[doc73]

It's that touch if gray thing.. Like George Clooney! [emoji41]

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[ependydad]

It's been about 6 months since my last weighing. Since we were 3 miles from the campground and stopped for fuel anyway, we stopped and got weights. Looks like I'm maxed out on the truck (40 lbs. over GVWR) and am 1,000 lbs. over on the camper's GVWR (maximum weight carrying capacity). Camper axle weights historically have carried about equal amounts, so they should be just shy of being maxed out; my tires are fine with the upgrade to 17.5" wheels. And I'm under all of the other truck ratings (GAWR, GCWR, maximum trailer).

Fresh water tank (42g) and water heater (10g) were full. All 3 gray tanks were empty or close to it. And black tanks both had about 8g of water in them. That accounts for over 550 lbs. of the weight- but it is typically how we drive down the road.

http://towingplanner.com/ActualWeigh...&w2da=4060&a=2

[Kenny kustom]

Your ram is a dually, isn't it?
What's your gvwr?
Should be around 14k.
I'm shocked, you are over your truck!
I thought you would have lots of room.


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[Kenny kustom]

Looking at your link.
You have 1640# in your truck?

Somethings not looking right here.

14k gross
9360 truck
3k pin
=1640.



2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

Your ram is a dually, isn't it?
What's your gvwr?
Should be around 14k.
I'm shocked, you are over your truck!
I thought you would have lots of room.

Back in my day, son, GVWRs weren't like these new fangled machine a dings. Mine is 12,300.

[Kenny kustom]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Back in my day, son, GVWRs weren't like these new fangled machine a dings. Mine is 12,300.

Really?

What year?
What gears?

The current ones are 14k.


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[Kenny kustom]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Welp, I'm gray but trying to not believe I'm old yet (35!).

Son?
I'm older than you!
(36)


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

Really?

What year?
What gears?

The current ones are 14k.

2012, DRW, 4.10 gears, 4x4, long bed, crew cab, Laramie.

The bigger numbers came in 13 and jumped again in 14.

[Kenny kustom]

Originally Posted by ependydad

2012, DRW, 4.10 gears, 4x4, long bed, crew cab, Laramie.

The bigger numbers came in 13 and jumped again in 14.

So, you have as big as they offered.
Interesting the jump.
My srw 3.42 is 11,700


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

So, you have as big as they offered.
Interesting the jump.
My srw 3.42 is 11,700

Yeah. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't have opted for the 4.10s, but I didn't fully understand the numbers that I was learning about early on. I likely didn't need them.

[Kenny kustom]

Unless you factory order, sometimes you take what they have.

There's a 9k towing diff between the gear sets.

I'm still looking at a dually.
I would like the 3.42, but rarely seen. Usually 4.10.


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

Unless you factory order, sometimes you take what they have.

There's a 9k towing diff between the gear sets.

I'm still looking at a dually.
I would like the 3.42, but rarely seen. Usually 4.10.

I actually did factory order at the time- there were no trucks in a really large area that had what we wanted.

[Davidg]

Shoulda got a Ford..... <snicker>

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Davidg

Shoulda got a Ford..... <snicker>

There's truth in that- 2012 and older Dodge/Rams are known for their lower payload numbers.

But, Momma didn't like the look of the Ford (inside and out). Truthfully, I agree. Felt like a work truck vs. a more lux people mover.

[Davidg]

Yep, I have a buddy with a 2012 Ram 2500, 6.7 cummins. Seems like the engine just gets better and better. he's having troubles with the rest of truck though. I keep trying to get him to buy a set of SuperSprings and I'll help him install them. Although that wouldn't technically change payload, it would certainly help with the sagging springs he's having with load.

[Davidg]

I have used/driven both trucks, and although the Ram has some "pretty" attributes, I just felt so much better with the "work" truck. It just seemed so much more solid to me. I wished that Ford could have used the Cummings diesel. Although it's not as powerful, it's more than adequate, and would outlast either truck body easily. But so far, it looks like the Ford 6.7 is proving itself to be a reliable engine. Ford badly needed a winner after the prior two disasters.