We are so glad we found this site, there is a wealth of information and lots of sage advice! 

We are new to this lifestyle and we really do consider this a new life style.  RJ & I have moved beyond the 'we should' stage to the we are doing it stage!  Wow, there is so much to do and learn.  You can trust we will be here a lot asking for your assistance, advice and encouragement!

RJ does contract work in the IT world so we have some flexibility in which jobs to accept, we just pray it is south in the winter and north in the summer!  I will pursue work as a virtual assistant/workamping and anything else I can find to add to our income, who knows I may just decide what to do when I grow up!

We just purchased our 5th wheel, a Lifestyle 36' with slides and there are so many questions about living in our new home, now we are looking for the right truck, (suggestions please, we are thinking Dodge 1 T Dually turbo diesel but what about: new vs. used, gas vs. diesel, bed length, type of hitch.....oh my, so many questions!)

RJ & Melinda

 

 

 

 

Hi, while we're retired (reached our full SS retirement age), I work as an expert witness & litigation consultant in a field in which my wife and I owned businesses for 40 yrs. We've been "on the road", F/T, for two years now, but in reality we "extended stay" for 3-4 months at a time, in various locations, between Las Vegas, NV and Tampa, Fla. Trying to locate based on where my "cases" are typically doesn't work, but we try. For example, we decided to stay west this summer to accommodate a case going to trial in California, only to learn it settled (no trial). I have cases in UT, Louisiana, Conn & Ohio, just now, have had others as far as western Alaska, but plan to be in Tampa for the winter. I try never to be more than an hour from an airport. My Protocol mentions that we travel via RV (does not say we fulltime, some people have weird ideas about this, even in 2013!),so I will come from wherever we are at the time if I need to testify. We maintain a virtual office in Nevada, which also forwards our mail & all other services we need. This has worked very well. We use the UPS store we used for years when still in the house. As a practical matter, it is hard to pick-up too often when in the middle of writing reports reviewing exhibits, etc. I don't know if that is a problem in your line.

Our Verizon JetPak mi-fi is superb. Never been without service. Most of what I get from lawyers is now sent electronically, which can be a lot, but so far, 5K has been enough data per month.

When selecting a tow vehicle, we tried to make the best possible compromise, knowing that vehicle would be our only vehicle.
everyone will have opinions on this. We didn't want a dually as our only vehicle, Hard enough to park the truck we have in some places. The truck we have, configured the way it is, has done well towing more than 20k of it's 50k miles currently on it. We bought it new. We maintain it properly and expect it to last. Everyone has a brand preference, mine is Ford. Since repairs to diesel trucks of this type are outrageously expensive, I'd opt for new if I could afford it, but if buying used, would make sure I bought it "right enough" to allow for repairs. Everyone will have opinions on this too. Likewise, I wouldn't tow a 36' 5er with anything but a diesel truck. If a shortbed, you'll want a slider hitch, if not just about any name brand will do. Everyone will have opinions about this, too.

Listen, ask, and most importantly, assess everything you learn objectively. What works for me might not for you, but I can tell you that you will love the adventure and 99.9% of the folks you meet along the way.

Richard

RJ and Melinda,

Welcome to the RV Dreams forums.  It is definitely a good site for asking your question, and don't be afraid to ask any question.  There are no dumb questions unless it remains in your mind and doesn't get asked.

I think Richard means that he Verizon JetPack MiFi is at 5 gig, not 5K.

As for trucks, if you want to travel safely, get the gross vehicular weight rating (GVWR) of your trailer and add it to the GVWR of any truck you are considering.  One should make sure that those two weights added together do not exceed the truck's GCVW (gross combined vehicular weight.)  Now, while a truck's GVWR can be pretty high, it doesn't mean that you will always weigh that much.  The best thing to do is weigh the truck with full fuel, all passengers that are expected to be on board (including pets), and any cargo that you may want to haul in the bed.

Trucks with dual rear wheels (DRW) will have higher weight ratings and they will be more stable when towing, turning, and handling any cross winds.  Duals also add to the truck's "footprint" for traction and braking.  If one's trailer is light enough, the SRW (single rear wheel) trucks can be fine as well.  However, take into consideration how much you will actually be traveling along with the weight factors.

Definitely, diesel trucks are more powerful and can tow more weight.  The diesel engines also should last longer than a comparable gasoline engine.  If you are going to tow in the mountains, you will likely want to have a truck equipped with either an engine brake, an exhaust brake, or a transmission with the "tow/haul" feature so that the transmission can do the job that an engine brake would do in slowing the truck down on the downgrades.

I prefer full length beds because one doesn't have to deal with a sliding hitch.  I've not researched them, so I don't know how much weight a sliding hitch is rated for with regards to towing.  Some like to have the air ride hitches, especially if the trailer doesn't have an air ride suspension or air ride pin box.  One does want to have a hitch that is rated higher than the GVWR of the trailer.

Good luck with your research and planning.

Terry