Our Next RV Project

Okay Time Go Big

Knowing that I have the RV bug, I think it’s time to move two steps up the ladder and go for a bigger rig. After all, if we are going to live in our RV for three or four months at a time, without killing each other, then we are going to need more space. The first thing is to make a list of everything that we want to take with us in the trailer. For me to be happy, all I needed was my motorcycle, my riding gear, and of course a car for the days that it might be raining. Now that doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you think about the stuff that is going to be in the trailer: bed, sofa, TV, large refrigerator-freezer, pots and pans, and who knows what else. I think we might have a problem, we need a bigger truck.

The Right Truck For Me

To pull a trailer that big, I have a few options, go out and spend eighty to ninety thousand dollars on a new one-ton truck that any salesman would tell me will work. (But he’s not the one driving the 30 thousand pound rig). Any one-ton truck pulling that kind of weight would only get about 6 or 7 miles to the gallon.

I had a better idea, I went out and bought a used semi-truck, did a little work on it, and ended up with a truck that gets better fuel mileage, more room in the cab, and would handle that kind of weight without even blinking an eye.

The work I did wasn’t much, I took the front drive axle and moved the rear axle forward so I could connect the drive shaft. Next, I had a RV truck body custom-made and then mounted an air-ride fifth wheel to hook the trailer. The last item that was added was a thirty-five hundred pound winch so I could pull the car up the ramps onto the RV body.

That was fun to do, now my wife and I have to go out and find a toyhauler trailer that meets our needs. Living in New Hampshire at the time, we started going to all the winter RV shows to see the different makes and models. Deciding on the right trailer was a lot of work. We wanted one that had a Queen-size bed, full bathroom, a kitchen with stove and oven, microwave, center island, with a sink in it and still have enough room for meal prep. Other items that we wanted were a 45″ TV, a table with four chairs, and two recliners. The search began around the middle of February and ended the first week of August. The trailer that we liked was built by KZ. It was a forty-three-foot Escalade Toyhauler. We picked up the trailer the first week of November and began loading it for our four-month-long winter trip. Our heading was the west coast, California to be exact. Soledad Canyon, where my wife was going to run the camp store for six weeks, in return for the free campsite. Campgrounds all over the US offer different kinds of jobs, some are working in the office or campground store, while others could be taking care of the gardening or mowing the lawn. If you would like help or have questions about a truck or trailer you are looking for, just email me at rodonisd500@gmail.com. I would be happy to help.