just got our first camper

[Bob and Teresa]

Welcome and enjoy the camper. I know as a new owner to a first camper you will have plenty of questions. I am sure you will find a lot of good information and friendly folks here.

[Hills Family]

We already have! Thanks everyone for your kind words and encouragement!

[Jas]

gonan chicken out, I spent the last 18 hours rebuilding my entire drive line on the dodge, most of which was original with 290,000 miles . I rebuilt both the front & rear axles, tore down the tranny & transfer cases, new clutch and just for giggles I replaced the rear main on the engine. I also replaced all of the original hoses, thermostat & water pump. I'm glad I have all the tools it really helped. She's good for another 300k miles or 20 years which ever comes first.

We are going to pick up the camper this afternoon! The maiden voyage for the truck after the repairs will involve towing a 5,000 lb camper 60 miles on open highway. What could go wrong?

[Hills Family]

That's the spirit!

[Jas]

I'm pleased to report the trip went with only 1 incident. The mechanic installed the trailer plug but didn't put it in all the way so the cover latch never caught. It worked fine for the light/brake checks but the first 1 mile of interstate hand been gnawed by angry beavers...
It was about 10 miles further down the road before we needed to stop and I now know that the truck can stop itself and the camper in about 10' longer than normal without the camper brakes engaged.

Other than that I barely knew the camper was back there. Every once in a while i could feel a subtle tug but that was it. I will say that the Jeep would have been pushed all over the road at highway speed if there was any breeze. It's that extra 2,000 lbs of truck that makes the difference.

I also won a couple of bets with the neighbors as they didn't believe I could back it into the driveway, let alone the 10' wide gate with an 8' wide camper.