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Old 11-03-2015, 08:56 PM   #1
Bumala
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proud owner of a laredo 23RB

Hi All,
Last weekend my wife, Marian and I (Bob) drove over to Best RV in Turlock, CA and bought a 2016 Laredo 23RB. We're going to pick it up Saturday.
Since 1996 we've had a Catalina 250 trailerable sailboat, 25 foot long, and we've taken it to a great many of the lakes, the Bay, and Ocean, here in California. So I'm no stranger to towing something big and heavy. We've spent many an enjoyable weekend on the Miracle Max, but then my first mate developed Parkinson's disease. One of the symptoms of Parkinson's is a lack of balance, which is not good on a boat. So we've decided to move on to a land yacht.
We live in the mountains west of the SF Bay area, so that limited the rig to something I could get up the road. We decided to go with a 25 footer. In looking at the ones available, and practically every manufacturer makes a 25 footer with a slide out, and most have the outdoor kitchen, we really liked the large dinette of the Laredo, and the large shower.
For a tow vehicle, we have a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 3L Diesel. We selected that because we wanted to tow about 7000, be reasonably close to the ground, and get good fuel economy, while being able to accommodate 5 comfortably.
I plan on retiring in May, and we are going to take a trip up the Alcan to Alaska. I was raised there, and my Mom and Sister still live there. We will take about a month to drive up, a month visiting, and a month driving back down.
So here's to a new adventure!
Bob.
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Old 11-03-2015, 09:00 PM   #2
chuckster57
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Welcome to the forum! And congrats on your new purchase. Lots of good people and tons of great information here. Post pics when you get your trailer.
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Old 11-03-2015, 09:01 PM   #3
TonyCO
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Welcome and congrats on the Laredo, you're going to love it. Sounds like an awesome plan for the big trip. Good luck and safe travels.
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Old 11-04-2015, 04:42 AM   #4
theasphaltrv'er
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to the forum......you're gonna love your new Larado
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Old 11-04-2015, 08:23 AM   #5
14george
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welcome from W Va congrats
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Old 11-04-2015, 08:59 AM   #6
BirchyBoy
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Welcome!

I also have a GC but it's the Hemi. Do you plan on having 5 in the SUV while towing? The cargo capacity is a major limiting factor. Did you check that prior to purchasing?
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Old 11-04-2015, 05:13 PM   #7
B-O-B'03
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Hi Bob,

My best friend recently bought a Laredo 23RB and the wife and are going camping with him and his girlfriend, next weekend.

Congrats on your new trailer and welcome to the site.

-Brian
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Old 11-05-2015, 03:03 AM   #8
Harleyhop
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to the forum and congrats on the new rig!
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Old 11-09-2015, 08:36 AM   #9
Bumala
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We picked her up!

So we picked up our new RV and drove her back over the Altamont pass, and wow that Diesel engine is a beast! Because this is the first time I've towed anything with the Grand Cherokee, I took it easy, and set the cruise control for 55. It chugged up the pass running 1800 RPM didn't change. it got about 17 MPG all the way home.
We had a 9er game on Sunday, so we couldn't take her anywhere, so we had a christening party in the front yard. Being the wild and crazy folk we are, we put in a DVD of Cannery Row, and broke out the Dominoes. The attached (I hope) picture shows My Wife, her brother, and the dog Fozzy.
The storage is immense. We've been having fun getting all the stuff for it.
A couple of things though. Is there any trick to getting the hitch to disengage from the ball? I worked on that thing for almost a half hour, running the tongue jack up and down to release pressure, but nothing. It wouldn't disengage. I finally got it with a pry bar, but I thought the Jeep just became a permanent part of the trailer! The RV place didn't grease the hitch at all, so I'm hoping a little lube will make it go better next time. Any advice?
So as soon as we got the trailer set up, I got out the BBQ, and started putting it together. I finally got it assembled, my wife letting me know she was getting hungry, figured out how to mount it, and then tried to connect it up to the gas fitting in the back of the trailer. The male fitting was a couple of mills larger than the receiver. It does not fit. I noticed that the fitting on the BBQ is much smaller, and fits correctly into the hose coupling, but the male end of the hose doesn't fit.
Next weekend We're going to take her out for her shake-down cruise to the coast. A short 15 minute trip to Half Moon Bay. But I am very happy. This trailer is everything I expected and more.
Bob.
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Old 11-09-2015, 08:49 AM   #10
Bumala
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No, it's just My wife, the dog and me. The Diesel engine is amazing! I had a 5.9L Hemi in my RAM 1500 pickup, which was good, but I swear the GC would pull this 5500 lbs up a vertical cliff in 8th with no increase in RPM!
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Old 11-09-2015, 01:02 PM   #11
3muttsketeers
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Ditto

Hi Bumala,
We too just took our new Laredo 23RB out for it's "maiden voyage" and encountered the exact same issues - hitch won't come off the ball and gas hose fitting is the wrong size. We took the hose to the dealer and they (fingers crossed) say they have UPS'ed the correct hose/fitting and we should have it by our next excursion this weekend.
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