txiceman

trikeflyer, and have you weighed the truck and trailer to see where you are on rear axle GAWR? What does your Spartan weigh? Ken

And I have seen plenty of 80,000 lb tractor trailers blown over due to high winds. The motorhome is a false sense of security. Our 5er weighs in at a bit over 19,000 lb loaded. Ken

We replaced and older CRT with a flatscreen several years back on a 5th wheel. The hardest part was building a mounting bracket/brace as I did not want to support the TV and bracket off the trailer wall. Ken

dd69, a motorhome is not much safer than a trailer is a tornado. I have seen photos of both trailers and motorhomes toppled by tornadoes or straight line winds. Ken

A few shots of Fireball will help seeing lights and and a few other things. Ken

But you do have to remember....Not my monkey, not my circus. Ken

Those sissor type devices are not meant to be used as a jack. All they are is stabilizers. Ken

What gripes me is lazy parents that send little Johnny or Susie out to walk Rover and the kid does not have a bag or even a clue that they are supposed to pick up the mess. Ken

We have had both class As and 5ers and for full time living, the 5er is more comfortable, more residential feel, more storage and can set in moths in one place without being driven. We have been full time for 5 years now and the dually is our daily driver. Ken

I would go with the Bilstein. The Monroe will not last as long. On the E450, you have dual rear wheels so that is the one you need. Ken

You will have a loaded pin weight of 3200# (20% of the trailer GVWR) so make sure the trucks rated payload is over 3200#. The payload will consist of passengers, cargo, hitch and pin weight. A newer 1 ton single rear wheel may carry the load, but I'd personally go ahead and get a 1 ton dual rear wheel. A 3/4 ton (F250 or 2500 series) will not have sufficient payload capacity. You will see lots of unknowledgeable people or those that do not care pulling big 5ers with 3/4 ton trucks/ My advice is do not do it. If you want to play with the big boys, you need big toys. Ken

I hear all too often, that they do not want to drive a dually, but Mama wants a 19000 lb 42 ft trailer. So because they do not want a dually, they overload a single rear wheel (SRW) and then come on the sites and tell you they added air bags to the rear and it pulls it like it is not even back there...ha ha ha. Had one the other day on a forum post his scale tickets and his 3/4 ton truck was 1500 lb overloaded with a new trailer before they added the supplies. The salesman told him, he could pull it just fine. You try to help these folks and the SRW truck advocates jump all over you for being the Weight Police. I am a retired mechanical engineer and firmly believe in manufacturers ratings. Ken

The lights flickering could be cause by a poor ground at or near he furnace. Yearly, I go through both 120 vac and 12 vdc panels and check for tight connections. Shaking the trailers down the road will shake wiring and plumbing loose. Ken

We need to all sit around a campfire and discuss this over a few adult beverages. Ken

Crazy slow internet here...... Sorry for the double... Ken

jleamont, I am a retired mechanical engineer and do not see any major issues between a large modern 5th wheel and a large diesel truck. We all use the same appliances, and same systems for water and waste. My 5er has hydraulic levelers, residential fridge, PSW inverter, solar panels, automatic satellite dish, hydraulic slides, etc. The diesel truck has coolers for the transmission and engine, filters, brakes, tires, etc. The 5er has suspension and brakes that are designed for a 5er, not a motorhome, so here are some differences. But there are more similarities than differences. A towable and a motorized unit towing a dinghy each have issues parking and maneuvering. Having had motorhomes, bumper pulls, 5ers, pop ups and tents, each is a little different and you get what is suited to the way you travel and RV. As I continue to age, I will probably migrate back to a smaller motorhome just for the ease in moving about. As for the RV lifestyle, we all enjoy the comradeship of others. We have met great people in all sorts of RVs and then we have also met some really undesirable people in all sorts of RVs. We find lots of construction workers following their jobs and they always have towables and use the truck for work. I am a ham radio operator and we are facing issues in trying to get more people in the hobby. The governing bodies are looking to open up more frequencies to the lowest class license holders. This is not setting well with those of us that have studied and passed the exams to operate on these frequencies. Here the new guys are getting a free ride. Is this right? We will find out over the next year. Have a great day folks, in what ever type RV you use. Ken

Well dang, some people really have a way of making all of use poor trailer trash feel welcome to the formerly exclusive motorhome only group. Sure makes me have seconds thought about joining a group with such resentment. We used to have a class A and belonged to FMCA, but decided for fulltime living a 5th wheel was better suited to what we wanted. Maybe the group needs to have another vote and kick the trailer trash to the curb and refund our dues. Ken

We had a 1999 Minnie Winnie class C on the Ford chassis and it had no insulation in the cab floor. The carpet was glued directly to the metal floor. The engine dog house had a thin metal heat shield. I pulled the seats and all of the carpet. I ordered a 1/2" thick fiber heat insulation with a foil backing, high temperature spray adhesive and foil tape to better insulate the chassis. I added it to the floor and reinstalled the carpet. I lined the engine cover with the insulation and sealed the edges with the foil tape. I added insulation to the firewall everywhere I could reach on the inside. I made an big difference in the heat and sound. Ken

We would have liked to attend, but with Susan's knee replacement surgery, she is not able to travel far yet. Her Doctor will not release her until early April, if he approves at that time. Maybe next year it can be in the cards. Ken

Central Texas is HOT and DRY in the summer. You can have temps over 100 degF and not rare to see 110 degF. Extended periods of no rain. Before you move, i'd check it out with a visit in July and August. Ken

Our Congress has no concern about seniors wanting to travel and fish. I have given up writing them Ken

I generally do the live chat with Dish to get local channels. I have a prepared text I copy and past with the local address. The thing you have to watch with the morons at Dish is they will sometimes (pretty often) also change the billing address even though you carefully explain this is a temporary service address change only. Ken

We had our rig through the Escapees Smart Weigh program two years ago. Easily done, and totally painless. Ken

Our 32# standard schnauzer was really good around other dogs when on leash. Over the last 3 years, she has been attached by larger dogs that were off leash, in an are where leashes were required. Since the attacks, she has become leash aggressive to most other dogs. I continue to work with here and she is doing better since it has been a while since the last attack. She loves all people and kids, just certain dogs. Dogs that she met and new before being attached are no problem, regardless of size. The dogs that were off leash were large mixed breed with pitt or rott in them. So I have no use for these breeds and try to stay away from them. When we are walking in an area that is somewhat unknown to me, I carry a 5' long maple walking stick to fend off unleashed dogs....and I will protect my dog. We know Wayne's dog, Miya and she is great around people. We keep our dog away, knowing they both have issues. Our Abby is doing better.now, so Wayne, Miya may be able to improve as well. Ken

Tried Centramatics on my DRW truck and it was no help. Actually vibration was worse over 70 mph (not towing). Took them off to get back to a smother ride. It had been 5 months but they took them back. Ken