Hi y’all! We just wanted to share some of the great artwork that vivek0401 has done for us. We found Vivek on fiverr.com, and we hired him for a “gig” to take my logo sketches, and turn them into, you know, real art. Here’s what he had to work from:
So now that we’ve bought a rig, we need something to tow it with. Since we chose a 21,000lbs GVWR monster of a trailer, the decision was pretty straight-forward: which 1-ton dually truck do you like best?
Why such a large vehicle? Well, it needs to be able to safely pull that 21,000lbs rig in a 5th-wheel configuration, with probably about 4,000lbs pin-weight (which is effectively payload directly on the truck’s rear axle). That carrying capacity puts us into dual-rear-wheel (DRW), or dually, territory immediately. So, we hope on over to the towing guides, and take a look, as well as the tech specs for the payload portion.
First, some terminology: GVWR is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, or the maximum weight the vehicle is rated to be, when adding payload to the curb weight. The curb weight is the “total mass of a vehicle with standard equipment and all necessary operating consumables”ref, or effectively the weight the vehicle most likely is when it’s parked at your curb. So the difference between the GVWR and the Curb Weight is your maximum usable payload. For a 2022 Ford F-350 Super Duty DRW Crew Cab 6.7L diesel, that should be:
GVWR: 14,000lbs
Curb Weight: 8,500lbs (approx)
Max payload: 14,000 – 8,500 = 5,500 lbs
So even if we have a pin weight approaching 4,000lbs (estimated), we should still be in the clear, with plenty of room to spare. This should be a fairly pessimistic estimate as well. It is clear however that the 3/4 tons can’t do the job (max payload 3,500lbs), and the SRW (single-rear-wheel) models are borderline (maxt payload 4,300lbs).
What about the RAM 3500, and GMC 3500? I tried them, but the Ford just felt better. And the payload capacities are superior on the Fords: 4,900lbs for the GMC, 5,500lbs for the RAM, and these numbers are optimistic, unlike my pessimistic curb weight estimate for the Ford above.
2022 Ford Super Duty F-350 DRW Crew Cab Long Bed King Ranch
Besides, the Ford King Ranch package just looks awesome! So, that’s the one. We’ve ordered it, and also hope to receive it by the end of the year… and hopefully, before we get the trailer. There’s hope yet, for the Ford chip shortage to be resolved!
Step 1 of moving into an RV full-time? Buy an RV. We toured quite a few models during our last US road trip, mainly focusing on 5th wheel bunkhouse and toy haulers.
The main reason for looking at 5th wheels was for safety during travel. We have two little ones, and it seems very few motorhomes (Class A/B/C) are well-equipped for safely holding a car seat in the direction of travel, secured to the frame. With a 5th wheel, the tow vehicle has standard auto safety features, so car seats are no problem.
A second reason for a 5th wheel is that we then have a separate vehicle for moving around when camped, without the RV part. Having that as a single vehicle for both purposes makes things simpler, especially when it comes to making it comfortable for the children.
A third reason is space: 5th wheel RVs have a ton of it! Eric is relatively tall at 194cm (6’4”), and most 5th wheels have tall ceilings that avoid the closed-in feeling, especially in the master bedroom. And the living room ceiling is easily in excess of 2.4m, generally taller than most ceilings in Switzerland. And let’s not forget that 18cu-ft refrigerator! The size of our refrigerator in Switzerland? 10cu-ft. That’s standard.
So it came down to bunkhouse models versus toy-hauler models. The bunkhouses are cute, but we liked the versatility of the toy-hauler garage for being able to use it for a bunkhouse, office and/or playroom. The rear patio options are icing on the cake!
The final point that sold us on a toy-hauler was carrying capacity. So many of the RVs being sold barely have carrying capacity for actual full-time living for a family of four. The toy-haulers, especially 3-axle variants, have in excess of 3,000lbs of carrying capacity. That’ll do, without having to make too many compromises.
So, we ended up choosing the 2022 Grand Design Momentum 397TH, a 43-foot triple-axle 5th-wheel toy-hauler with a 13-foot garage and a raised rear patio option. It has enough space for the four of us to live comfortably, and it looks like a luxury hotel room on wheels!
It’s on order, and we hope to receive it by the end of the year. Next up: a tow vehicle.
We’re a family of four, currently living in Switzerland, but with a big adventure ahead of us: we bought an RV in the US, and plan to move into it “full-time”.
We had been trying to figure out where to “settle down”, and buy a house, but nothing felt quite right. We knew we probably would end up in the US, but didn’t know where. So, why choose?! Let’s explore instead!
Besides, at least our refrigerator will be bigger.
Our first draft for our logo. Eric is showing his artistic side!
Time for a round of introductions! We’re Nadine & Eric, and our two boys are Tyler & Aidan, aged 3 & 1 at the start of our adventure. Three of us have Dutch citizenship, though Eric plans to apply for it as well, making us the Roving Dutchmen!
We hope you enjoy following us on our adventures, which we’ll try to detail here. Time for adventure!
