Too Much?

[Brokedown]

No worries if you don’t want to disclose, though.

We don't have a specific plan, we just want to be able to do what we want to do when we want to do it. Basically, I'm looking for the most flexible setup that I can buy.

We live in FL (in the motorhome) for 6 months of the year and travel during the summer months. This summer we were in The Dalles for 4 months. We spend every weekend in a hotel so that we can explore different areas of the region. Next year I hope to have a truck and TT. We would still book a spot for the summer but we would take the TT for our weekend exploring.

Next year, we will be near Spokane WA for 4 months. Mountain roads, remote camping, 4 wheeling, SxS adventure imagine the possibilities.....

 

[ccw]

We don't have a specific plan, we just want to be able to do what we want to do when we want to do it. Basically, I'm looking for the most flexible setup that I can buy.

We live in FL (in the motorhome) for 6 months of the year and travel during the summer months. This summer we were in The Dalles for 4 months. We spend every weekend in a hotel so that we can explore different areas of the region. Next year I hope to have a truck and TT. We would still book a spot for the summer but we would take the TT for our weekend exploring.

Next year, we will be near Spokane WA for 4 months. Mountain roads, remote camping, 4 wheeling, SxS adventure imagine the possibilities.....

So that all sounds fantastic, but as someone who has spent a healthy amount of time on forest roads in the Cascades and did a multi-day trip in Idaho - all of my trips doing almost exclusively dispersed camping - it’s not going to be super easy to find room to park everything you have listed out.

Large enough dispersed sites definitely exist, but with a 30 foot travel trailer you’re going to be limited in how off pavement you can take it. Forest roads get narrow and the best spots are at dead ends. And the more accessible sites, at lower elevations, fill up fast. And of course the dispersed sites large enough for that much equipment aren’t super plentiful to begin with.

On top of that, you were already limiting yourself further by considering a dually truck. Once again, a combo that will limit how far you want to take it off pavement (I know you’ve gone back towards Tremor, but it shows the compromises you consider within reason).

So I guess that’s why I asked the question I originally did. Once you account for all the space taken up by a Tremor, bumper pull camper, Jeep, and SxS trailer I wonder if you would take up less space with either a motor home or fifth wheel with garage, therefore giving you more flexibility.

Worth remembering that a fifth wheel can be longer than a bumper pull and still result in the same rig length because some of the trailer is over the truck.

(For context, I’m ultimately going to put a slide-in camper in the bed of my Tremor for back-roads exploring so I don’t need to worry about navigating a trailer on forest roads. It will be a smaller, lighter one, so that I can get far off pavement to find the good dispersed sites.)

 

[ccw]

So that all sounds fantastic, but as someone who has spent a healthy amount of time on forest roads in the Cascades and did a multi-day trip in Idaho - all of my trips doing almost exclusively dispersed camping - it’s not going to be super easy to find room to park everything you have listed out.

Large enough dispersed sites definitely exist, but with a 30 foot travel trailer you’re going to be limited in how off pavement you can take it. Forest roads get narrow and the best spots are at dead ends. And the more accessible sites, at lower elevations, fill up fast. And of course the dispersed sites large enough for that much equipment aren’t super plentiful to begin with.

On top of that, you were already limiting yourself further by considering a dually truck. Once again, a combo that will limit how far you want to take it off pavement (I know you’ve gone back towards Tremor, but it shows the compromises you consider within reason).

So I guess that’s why I asked the question I originally did. Once you account for all the space taken up by a Tremor, bumper pull camper, Jeep, and SxS trailer I wonder if you would take up less space with either a motor home or fifth wheel with garage, therefore giving you more flexibility.

Worth remembering that a fifth wheel can be longer than a bumper pull and still result in the same rig length because some of the trailer is over the truck.

(For context, I’m ultimately going to put a slide-in camper in the bed of my Tremor for back-roads exploring so I don’t need to worry about navigating a trailer on forest roads. It will be a smaller, lighter one, so that I can get far off pavement to find the good dispersed sites.)

Or, as others have mentioned, if you ditch either the SxS or Jeep, just taking one then you open up a bunch more options. Requiring both at the same time is what makes the setup particularly challenging.

 

[2020Tremor]

I would agree that a 450 is a good fit for the application and also say for long distance running with that much weight the 6.7L would be my choice engine in the Ford. With that said from experience I would not recommend tandem towing, or triple if you go by the RV guys, with a bumper pull. Very prone to wagging the rear most trailer or Jeep in your case, a 5er adds a massive amount more stability for that application. Another thing to consider if you are limited to 30’ you are going to need to take the tongue in to account which is going to be another 3 to 4 feet which puts you in a 26’ or 27’ TT.

Since it is not my money what about a Motorhome and a stacker trailer for all the toys .

In all seriousness if wanting to bring everything and set on TT driving both rigs with trailers is probably the safest option especially when you hit the windy mountain roads since you are going to need to be able to stop all that stuff as well.

 

[Apparition]

Toterhome w/stacker

But really an F550 with flatbed for the RZR makes more sense than a rack on a normal bed. You can have 38's or even 40's mounted on the F550 with super singles and you'd be very capable off road. I've been told that these F550's are much more reasonably priced than you'd imagine too.

If it were me I'd also sell either the SxS or Jeep.

 

[Brokedown]

So that all sounds fantastic, but as someone who has spent a healthy amount of time on forest roads in the Cascades and did a multi-day trip in Idaho - all of my trips doing almost exclusively dispersed camping - it’s not going to be super easy to find room to park everything you have listed out.

Thanks for the insight.

Do you live full time in the camper or do you have a house that you leave from? It makes a difference. Fulltime RV living is all about compromise. I may not be able to "go at it" as hard as someone in a house that is taking exactly what is needed for a particular trip. We have to make do with what we got.

We need to consider two things. Living and adventure. The living part will be the 30' TT on our summer spot. We have been doing this in the motorhome for 5 years and love it. We already have the next two years booked. Spokane for the summer of 2022 and Anacortes for the summer of 2023. We will be in large parks with plenty of on lot and overflow parking. For living, the wife will need a car (she is not a fan of driving a truck to do all of the stuff she has to do (doctors, shopping, laundry, etc. That is where the Jeep comes in.

Adventure is on the weekends. If we are going to a state park, we would know in advance if they have overflow parking, etc. If we are going dispersed, we could leave the Jeep and SxS on the lot that we have rented for the summer.

I considered a truck camper the living part got in the way. We visited the Host factory. Very nice unit. The wife said no way is she living for 6+ months at a time. I still love the idea and in part why we considered the F450.

The good news is that I have time. We will not leave FL until April 2022. If it is not done by then, we will do what we did this year. Weekends in a hotel and exploring in the Jeep. While not ideal, it was fun.

-B

 

[Brokedown]

Toterhome w/stacker

View attachment 32353


But really an F550 with flatbed for the RZR makes more sense than a rack on a normal bed. You can have 38's or even 40's mounted on the F550 with super singles and you'd be very capable off road. I've been told that these F550's are much more reasonably priced than you'd imagine too.

If it were me I'd also sell either the SxS or Jeep.

We considered the Super C and Stacker. WAY too big. I have a hard enough time finding a spot for a 45' motorhome.

I still love the 550 idea and have considered all that you are talking about.... but that ride is pretty harsh. I am not sure I would want to drive that thing across Alaska (future plan.) BTW: You are correct, The price difference between a 350, 450 and 550 is minor. If you get an upper end 350/450, it will be considerably more than a 550. But, by the time you single it out and add a flatbed, you are up over $100K.

 

[Ilkhan]

There's not a lot you can do with a jeep that either the SxS *or* the tremor can't handle. The jeep is redundant. A tremor is plenty of truck for a good sized trailer, but semi reasonable as an explore vehicle. Get your wife comfy driving it..then the SxS is your toy for off road. If it's road legal you are golden for shorter expeditions.

 

[Apparition]

We considered the Super C and Stacker. WAY too big. I have a hard enough time finding a spot for a 45' motorhome.

I still love the 550 idea and have considered all that you are talking about.... but that ride is pretty harsh. I am not sure I would want to drive that thing across Alaska (future plan.) BTW: You are correct, The price difference between a 350, 450 and 550 is minor. If you get an upper end 350/450, it will be considerably more than a 550. But, by the time you single it out and add a flatbed, you are up over $100K.

But that 550 is likely more capable for 100K.

 

[Loshad]

Buckstop near Bend, OR does a nice F550 super single on 41s for about $20K. I was close to going that route to carry a Host Mammoth on a Sherptek flatbed. Sherptek (Eugene, OR) actually will coordinate the Buckstop conversion so it is a one stop shopping trip.

 

[ccw]

Thanks for the insight.

Do you live full time in the camper or do you have a house that you leave from? It makes a difference. Fulltime RV living is all about compromise. I may not be able to "go at it" as hard as someone in a house that is taking exactly what is needed for a particular trip. We have to make do with what we got.

We need to consider two things. Living and adventure. The living part will be the 30' TT on our summer spot. We have been doing this in the motorhome for 5 years and love it. We already have the next two years booked. Spokane for the summer of 2022 and Anacortes for the summer of 2023. We will be in large parks with plenty of on lot and overflow parking. For living, the wife will need a car (she is not a fan of driving a truck to do all of the stuff she has to do (doctors, shopping, laundry, etc. That is where the Jeep comes in.

Adventure is on the weekends. If we are going to a state park, we would know in advance if they have overflow parking, etc. If we are going dispersed, we could leave the Jeep and SxS on the lot that we have rented for the summer.

I considered a truck camper the living part got in the way. We visited the Host factory. Very nice unit. The wife said no way is she living for 6+ months at a time. I still love the idea and in part why we considered the F450.

The good news is that I have time. We will not leave FL until April 2022. If it is not done by then, we will do what we did this year. Weekends in a hotel and exploring in the Jeep. While not ideal, it was fun.

-B

Ahhh I see. The fact you’ll have a lot to live on where you can selectively leave things for your weekend trips changes everything, and makes your plan for two trailers make a lot more sense.

Sorry if I misread earlier in the thread, but that’s the part that was missing for me. I was under the impression you were taking everything with you everywhere, but you’re kind of setting up a “home” and then traveling from there.

So everything needs to make it to that “home”, but then you have flexibility.

 

[gSwift]

Toterhome w/stacker

View attachment 32353


But really an F550 with flatbed for the RZR makes more sense than a rack on a normal bed. You can have 38's or even 40's mounted on the F550 with super singles and you'd be very capable off road. I've been told that these F550's are much more reasonably priced than you'd imagine too.

If it were me I'd also sell either the SxS or Jeep.

Ole Cleetus...Thats a helluva rig he's got.

 

[Apparition]

Ole Cleetus...Thats a helluva rig he's got.

Hell yeah brother

 

[Brokedown]

Ahhh I see. The fact you’ll have a lot to live on where you can selectively leave things for your weekend trips changes everything, and makes your plan for two trailers make a lot more sense.

Sorry if I misread earlier in the thread, but that’s the part that was missing for me. I was under the impression you were taking everything with you everywhere, but you’re kind of setting up a “home” and then traveling from there.

So everything needs to make it to that “home”, but then you have flexibility.

Exactly.

We pulled the trigger on the trailer today. Outdoors RV Black Stone 250RKS Titanium.

Based on this thread, I am leaning towards a F350 Tremor 6.7.

To your point, the activity would drive the mix. Is we are going remote up a forest road, we might bring the Termor and ORV. If we are going to Moab, we might bring it all. If we are staying in a hotel in Ouray, we might bring the Tremor and SxS.

Options... I love options.

 

[Brokedown]

Buckstop near Bend, OR does a nice F550 super single on 41s for about $20K. I was close to going that route to carry a Host Mammoth on a Sherptek flatbed. Sherptek (Eugene, OR) actually will coordinate the Buckstop conversion so it is a one stop shopping trip.

I talked to Buckstop and I really love this idea. The problem (for me) is that the truck would be too purpose built. I think a Tremor with a cap, a SxS and trailer (for the SxS) and the Jeep is what I am going to do... for now.