Fifth Wheel Trailer Or ????

We own a 32' fifth wheel, as well as a CD-22. We use the same truck (a 3/4 HD Sliverado PU) to tow both units.

We carry an inflatable double kayak when we are traveling in the fifth wheel trailer, so we can get out on the water.

Longer stays--like wintering in the south--I would consider leaving the fifth wheel somewhere in the south (rather than towing it home). It provides for comfortable living, not just camping. Then--once set up--I could tow the CD-22 south and north again, camping in it en route.

(This is my present thinking, as we prepare for retirement next week!)
 
Marty, the Mac thing is a given! I will never willingly go back to Windoze!

But don't they all pretty much have lug nuts?? :lol: :lol:

Sooner rather than later is dictated by the need to get Austin through his senior year of high school and then college - once he gets to college, we'll maybe take another look at what is possible, but right now that is five years away.

Keeping in touch - the easy part, as long as Bill and Mike keep this place running!


 
I have been following this thread for a couple days & find it very interesting. I believe we all have the dream of one day "breaking away"!

I drove tractor-trailer for 29 years. Pulled doubles across the mountains of PA for 14 of those years.

My thoughts on this subject? El & Bill have the right idea. When pulling doubles (or a 5th wheel and a boat) you have more tires, bearings, brakes & axles that can have a problem.

If you pull "doubles" when you get to your destination you must drop the boat, then drop the 5th wheel, then reconnect to the boat & back it into the water.

With a pickup camper you can back the boat into the water BEFORE you set up camp.

One additional thought; if you want to drive your truck around and see the sights why set up camp at all? Do not most campers have "holding tanks"?

So you could put the boat in the water & in a slip. Then use your truck (with the camper still mounted) to go to dinner, see the sights or whatever.

Stay in the campground for 3 days and do not connect anything until you leave. At that time you could connect the sewage hose and empty that tank. Connect the water line and fill that tank. Then back your trailer down the ramp & load your boat.

All that is left is waving good-bye to your newfound friends.
 
Pat,

Yer old Duster bud has done this in spades. Years and years - from Newell class A on down to a tent camper.

Money no object - Hank's Sea Skipper and Earth Roamer would be at the very top of my list. After that I'd probably recommend one of the expanding truck campers so you could tow the 25. I've only towed a boat behind the 5th wheel once. Never again!! I've towed many boats behind our various motorhomes, but that means renting wheels or breaking camp to get around... not a good situation IMO. And launchng the boat with a front hitch on the motorhome works, but certainly not my cuppa.

Surprising how much useable room there is in a truck camper. We lived in one for months and enjoyed it. It seems natural for Brats to also be RVers...

Dusty
 
For those of you unfamiliar with Hank Brook's work and boats mentioned in Dusty's post above, here is a photo of them. I still like the truck/camper and boat combination for ultimate flexibility as I stated in the second post on this thread!

Sea Skipper and the Earth Roamer Camper: (Sea Skipper is for sale!)

Yakima_1.jpg

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
At some point, you have to say to yourself, "What can't I leave behind?" We hauled a sailboat (38' long on the trailer) behind a 40' motorcoach, and Joan drove separate with our SUV so we'd have a daily driver. We did that for a couple years, and it became a giant pain in the butt... too long to fit in most campgrounds and driving separate sucked.

When your RV is also your daily driver (as with a Class B, small motorhome, or truck camper), you have to unhook each time before you leave the site. Even if you don't mess with water and sewer each time, most of us want electricity at the site. That gets old after a while, too.

Getting enough towing capacity to handle a 25 or larger boat is another problem. Most Class A's have a 5,000 pound (or less) towing capacity, until you get into the bigger diesel pushers. The Earth Roamer and some of the new "Super Cs" are certainly capable of towing more, but then you are back to the "daily driver" situation, especially problematic when you stay in one place for a while.

We are not big on using the boat as our camper... it works fine when you are enroute to another great boating place, but it certainly isn't going to be a workable solution if you intend to stay in one place on land for a while. As I've mentioned before, we have run into RV parks that wouldn't allow us to stay in our boat.

I agree with Dusty, Bill & El, that the truck camper is the easiest "down the road" solution, especially if you are towing a 22. (Not a fan of the "beefed up" stinger-rods for towing a heavier load with the camper.)

Our solution: decide which is more important. Are you going to spend the season boating or RVing? If you want to go to the Sunbelt, park in a nice RV park, and enjoy the activities and the weather, a "livable size" RV is the best solution. 5th wheel or motorhome with a separate bedroom, bath, living area and kitchen will give you comfort while away from home. There is a LARGE community of full-time RVers and that is their only home. We did winters in the south in our coaches for a lot of years and really enjoyed that lifestyle.

If you are going to spend the season boating, get to where you want to be, put the truck and trailer in storage, and go cruising.

We are content with our small toy-hauler for our summer work situation, but it isn't what I'd want to spend the winter in if we were going to extensively RV. There are plenty of people who leave an RV in the south, have it hauled to storage, and drive their car or truck back north in the spring. That could certainly be a workable solution if you were going back to the same place each year, and you could still haul your boat back and forth.

At some point, you just have to choose how hard you want to work at traveling. I miss having Wild Blue with us, but we would have froze to death early on here at Yellowstone. Since I spend long days on the big boat, when we have time off, we are enjoying the land exploring (and the motorcycling). 3 1/2 months on one lake wouldn't be my idea of fun with our boat. However, there are plenty of folks here who are doing just that - and having a nice "cabin on the lake" for the price of a seasonal slip. I don't see many of those folks going out on their boats very often... but I wave at them while they are having drinks in their cockpit or up on the flybridge. :D

I don't consider our current situation "RVing"... and I am anxious to get back to Wild Blue and get her wet again.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
To be clear, there is no way we would even try to pull a double - i.e., no boat behind 5th wheel - that would be insane for me even to attempt. Probably no way either boat is going to be in Yuma (or wherever). I guess I can always throw in the Alaska Series and 2 hp Merc for my boating fix! Sure would like to have Crabby Lou on the Colorado River, but Jim and others are right, we will just have to choose. And right now, I am thinking a camper on the pick up just would not cut it for us for extended stays...
 
Hi Pat. We bought our Lazy Daze for the express purpose of towing the Jenny B, our HHR, or a C-25 should we get three footitis. Not only is it sufficient, it's "retro" look goes well with the C'Dory jaunty look.

Basically, ours is a 23.5 ft. version with the Ford V-10, so it isn't much longer than our long bed extended cab Silverado and can be parked almost anywhere. It's fully self contained and typically can do a week's dry camping without a visit to a dump station.

Inside, it is arranged much like our 29 Alpenlite was, and we love the views when we back into a site. We do NOT use the overcab bed as a bed except for guests. Otherwise it's great storage. The only special preparation was to have a quality welding shop convert the tow receiver to one capable of towing 7500+ lbs. In keeping with "simple", there are no slides and they are not missed. I have one 100 watt solar panel on the roof and a 4kw generator on board.

Unfortunately for you, the LD is factory order only so you either have to wait until I show up and show you ours or you can fly down to Monrovia and visit the factory. Basically it drives like a "Doolie" and has a reputation for very high quality. Check the standard features, they are built by RV'ers for RV'ers and are very "turnkey." There are several owners up in your neck of the woods and any of them would love to show theirs off.

As I said in my earlier post, nephew, we've RV'd over 35 years as well and found that we agree more with El and Bill than those with Class A behemoths and/or 38 ft. 5th wheels. The "little grey LD that could" is everything we need for several months at a time and like me, it's simple.... Getting away to enjoy it - well, that's another story.

Don

ldtow.sized.jpg
 
Pat,

Lots of time for decision making, eh? With our truck campers we always took the camper off the truck at our final destination, a ten-fifteen minute task, so we could run around in the truck. Most of our living -- entertaining, sundownering, BBQ, etc. (lots of etc) -- was done outside under the screened canopy. We towed one 5th wheel over 100,000 miles between WA and TX, and much preferred that to a motorhome, except the motorhome was better while going down the road, with the toilet, shower, bed all convenient when underway.

Each has advantages and disadvantages. Lots of choices, and all good. One of our daughters and her hub use a small Winny diesel - 20 mpg and all the goodies are readily available to use while on the road. BUT --- it doesn't tow much!

Good luck!!!

Dusty
 
Don,

Great lookiing rig and Lazy Days is considered one of the best in our RVing community experience. Bet that V-10 is welcome at gas stations!! :wink:

At 11+ bucks a gal, which my Brit friend now pays, that rascal would spend very little time on the road with this old guy driving.

Gotta get a hot cuppa -it's 49 outside, and want to sit on the deck and watch the whales. :thup

Dusty
 
Dusty, We were floating off the east side of Hat Island this past Tuesday, just sitting there enjoying the soaring eagles, when we saw (and heard) these whale spouts between us and the island. Just wonderful the joy this little boat brings. (Sorry about being off topic)
 
Sawdust":2pwlt2p9 said:
Don,
Bet that V-10 is welcome at gas stations!! :wink:

Dusty
Click to expand...

Indeed it is, Skipper. Two credit card limits worth right now. :roll: I get as good gas mileage as Charlie does in his big Dodge Ram gasssss hog. 10mpg in a strong following wind. Fortunately our stimulus check arrived so we'll be careful to buy at Volero gas stops (American oil, also refined here) and take off for a trip soon. Not far, since we have to be within an 8 hour radius, but pleasurable none the less.

Coffee? Hmmm, it's 67 here. Time to go down to the beach and watch the flocks of full breasted Zonies arrive for their daily workout. Birdwatching has always been more fun than whale watching, oh ancient one.

Don
 
Don, I have heard many great things about the Lazy Daze. They have an active user community like ours. What is the towing capacity of your rig? Last time I looked at the LD website it didn't look like it would be enough to tow a C-Dory.

Warren
 
Doryman":qouo8gje said:
Don, What is the towing capacity of your rig?
Warren
Click to expand...

G.C.W.R. (Gross Combination Weight Rating) of the V10 equipped E450 based chassis is 20,000 lbs.

Actual weight of my rig, loaded for extended travel, full fuel, water, and empty grey/black tanks was 11,100 lbs last time I weighed it. 3850 on the front axle and 7250 on the rear axle. That leaves 8900 lbs capacity left over for towing and/or carrying rocks or Dusty's retirement gold bars, or towing Mike's Dodge to the dealership.

The concerns, as usually posed by the "Weight Police" are hitch rating (4,000 lbs) and rear axle weight. I deliberately bought the 23.5 over the more popular 26 ft. midbath because I wanted plenty of excess rear axle weight capability more than extra room. As for hitch rating, yes. the Lazy Daze supplied hitch is essentially a bumper mounted receiver and IMHO very close to real maximum at 4,000#.

A local welder (Mel's Welding) is highly qualified and experienced with RV hitches, tow hitches, boat and toad towing issues. He modified and rebuilt the bumper hitch into a very sturdy frame-welded hitch that I would not fear towing a loaded C-25, let alone my little Jenny B or that HHR. I don't think it cost me more than $200 and I feel both safe and confident with anything I now or foresee towing.

Yes, there is an active Lazy Daze online Yahoo group. Actually two. One for the chatty Kathy's and the other more technically oriented. A third source is the Lazy Daze Caravan Club. The last outing of theirs I attended had 67 Lazy Daze dry camping for a week and they said it was the smallest gathering this year. They're monthly around SoCal and there are other affiliated clubs. One up in WA as a matter of fact. They DO remind me of C-Brats on wheels....

Don
 
Oh my!

Dusty's gold bars??? Bars I understand. Like Charlie (over on the hot side of the world) I can roll my eyes just sniffing a good single malt, :lol:, and usually can tell you the vintage and brand.

On topic - very nice looking Lazy Daze in Fife, but 30' is much too big if you want to tow a 22 or 25. Price is right, of course. The demand for big thirsty rigs seems down right now. "How much do I have to pay you to drive it off the lot?"

Come on up, Don, and help me clean and de-head all these shrimp. Might even chow down a bit!! One pull, 4 pots = 4 limits, averaging about 8 to the pound. :thup

Dusty
 
Hi Folks,

This is a great subject, because we all have the sense of adventure in us that makes us want to see the world. El and Bill have done it right.

When I was up on the Erie Canal, Pat and Fred showed up towing a 22' C-Dory with a 170 Roadtrek. At the time I thought that it was the best way to go. Then the gas prices shot up. I heard of a guy who spent $1,200.00 on fuel towing a fifth wheel back to Cape Cod from Florida.

I then started thinking (Most of this thinking is Life After InnKeeping thinking.) what way would I go now. My wife Sheila pointed out that with our Jet Blue Credit Card, we can put together two or three round trips to anyplace in America. That could be for a cruise in Florida, or where ever.

My problem is, like many of you, I am an adventurer, and I want to see America, wether by land or by sea. That means that whatever vehicle I get, it "should" be able to tow my 22' C-Dory. It "should" be able to sleep two, and it "has" to be economical.

I started to look at small pickups. Ability to tow plus a slide on camper. Then when I checked out a "cute" Ford Ranger, I found out that the milage was worse than some of the larger pickup trucks. Then the problem with the slide-on campers, the only place to sleep is over the cab. There are some places that as soon as you put up the roof, the Police comes and tells you to leave. With the roof down, it looks like nobody is home. ( I owned a VW Bus and a VW Vanagon for about ten years. It was the best ten years of my adulthood. I found that you could park it anywhere in America and if you did not raise the roof, you blended in. For example, one night I parked in a bowling alley parking lot. A very interesting conversation took place just outside my camper. Never once did somebody think somebody was in the camper. The top was down.)

The Class B, like the Roadtrek's might still be the best answer. They also blend in. If one can buy it cheaply enough, one could afford the cost of gas.

I shall just wait and see what happens.


Fred
 
Fred-Those Roadtrek Class B's sure do look good. In my case it just ain't gonna happen, not in this lifetime anyway. I do hope however, to spend a few days on Nantucket and in Sitka, Alaska . I hear there are innkeepers there who have C-Dorys.
 
Doryman":3bvo303c said:
I'd like a lead on a Class B that will pull a C-22. Haven't found one yet!

Warren
Click to expand...

Hi Warren,

We recently sold our 2002 Leisure Travel Class B. It was on a Dodge 3500 (one ton) van chassis (no longer made). It had a tow rating of nearly 8,000 pounds (Class 5 hitch), with the heavy-duty towing package. I don't know if Ford still makes their diesel van, but Chinook used to offer that, and it had a tow rating well above the current Sprinter van chassis.

We enjoyed our Class B; they are great for traveling - you have all the amenities of a Class A coach in a much smaller package. And that is also their drawback: spending extended time in them. Our couch in back was electric and made into a king size bed... but when it was down, there was no other place to sit (besides the front seats). I get up before Joan in the morning. There is no place to go to sit up without remaking the bed into a couch. Yes, there are certainly different floorplans... ours was a wide-body and was great while traveling... just a bit crowded if you were in one place for more than a couple days. The new Sprinter conversions are narrower and taller (and less towing capacity) - not an improvement from my point of view. The "big 3" (Roadtrek, Pleasure Way, and Leisure Travel) are all very similar.

Just as you can get too small with a boat to be comfortable for cruising, you can get too small in an RV. Ours had a separate bath with shower. Functional. A great driving machine. Loved to be able to go to the fridge, run the microwave, or take a nap while going down the road. They serve a function, but they do not have the storage or space necessary (for most folks) for extended time RVing (such as spending a winter down south).

Of course, everyone's idea of "necessary space" differs... the reason we have a CD-25 instead of a 22 or smaller.

I agree, a Class B and a CD-22 would be a great traveling combo. You may have to go to a one-ton chassis to get the necessary tow rating.

Disclaimer: I have not been in the market for a Class B, so things may have changed since I did my research. We towed our trimaran and our catboat with the Class B - no problem.
 
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