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Old 07-08-2013, 05:07 PM   #1
TandE
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11 days, 8 states, 3,904 miles, good times.

Well the DW and I just completed a little trip across the west coast to go to a family reunion in New Mexico. This would be the first time she has ever done something like this as her dad didnt like taking 4 kids on long car rides so they flew everywhere.

Everything went according to plan and had no problems what so ever. BUT... A little background as far as the trailer goes. A few months ago I joined this site right after we purchased a new Hideout 22rb. We enjoyed it as we dont spend that much time inside but the dog hated it as she most likely felt claustrophobic as everything was close together and there was no carpeting anywhere but the bedroom. Again we enjoyed this trailer until our 6 day camping trip in may around memorial day. While she was cooking it just plain stunk as far as trying to get around her to go to the bathroom and i realized what many have said was true. Buy as big of a camper as you can afford, tow, and feel comfortable with. So i started looking at trailers again and found two that i like. One being the floorplan we have now the 27rbs but in the hideout form, the other the 31rbds hideout that has the full outdoor kitchen instead of the little one that the 22rb has. So i dragged her down to the dealer to take a look at them. We walked into the 31 first cause i was hoping that she would fall in love with it due to the outdoor kitchen which i love to keep the adult beverages in. She didnt like it at all. Less storage we have now although a ton more space inside. She asked well what about the other one? (I had already been to the dealer the day before and walked in the hideout version and hated the outside storage or lack there of.) She still said she wanted to see it. Not two steps into the rear bedroom of it she fell in love with it. Oh well. So we looked at the outback version of it and i liked the rear passthru storage because of the full wall wardrobe and she still loved the floorplan and then of course the one tub sink. Till she looked at the cabinets and they were two different colors and we both said no. She ended up having an appointment and had to leave but i still wanted to see the cougar version. As soon as i saw it i knew she would love it besides only having one door to the bathroom (the hideout and outback also has a slider door in the bedroom the cougar only has it in the hall.) I also kinda fell in love with it since it has more outside storage than the outback but tons more than the hideout. So a deal was made and we were to pick it up on the 18th of June.

Well...... We were to leave the 19th to head to New Mexico so no shakedown trip first to make sure everything worked. Spent 2 and a half hours on the PDI and felt it all was up to par except the doors. You cant latch them with the awning open. I have to get back to them and see if they can fix them or just try to add the Gas strut to the door as the DW loved that feature.

Anyhoo, We left the morning of the 19th and 3 hours later i rolled 150,000 miles on my 2005 F250 6.0 powerstroke. and drove straight to New Mexico while stopping somewhere in Idaho or Utah at a rest area for the night, good thing it was cold as i forgot to get fuel for the generator. The next morning we awoke and I did a walk around to make sure everything was alright and noticed something that pissed me off. When i traded in the other trailer i had an EAZ lift hitch with 800 lbs bars. They were still on there. The trailer spec sheet on keystones web site states a dry tongue weight of 940 lbs. Couldn't do anything in the middle of no where so we continued on. Stopping again for the night in Shiprock New Mexico. This stop it was in the 80's at 10 at night but we just opened windows in a parking lot that others were staying in too for the night and slept OK. Again up again and drove away to Albuquerque New Mexico. Arrived around noon on Friday and setup camp at Enchanted trails RV park. While it was a nice park it definitely was different than the parks i have been to in Washington. Stayed till Tuesday morning and off to California we went.

Boy was it hot when we passed through Phoenix, at 6:30 at night it was saying 107 on my truck dash. I couldn't do it and heard about 4 days later it had hit 119 No thanks. Stopped about 10 miles outside of phoenix to fill up at a small station and i was looking for a truck stop app on my phone to have an easier time filling up and next thing i know BANG and the trailer is rocking. Some girl in a rental car with her mom backed into the bumper on the trailer. Put a nice hole in her bumper but no visual damage to the trailer. Continued on and stopped about 45 miles or so into california where it was still reading about 98 degrees on my truck and the camper was right there with it. Good thing i Filled the generator up now hopefully it works. I bought it used it is a champion 3500/4000 watt one but is 7 years old. It powered my dads for about 30 minutes but i had no clue if it would all night long. Woke up the next morning with a comfortable camper and a generator humming away. I was pleased for $100. Continued on to Escondido where we stayed at All Seasons RV park that was located on a lake. It was a real nice campground but had way too many Full timers with all of their crap they have collected over the years. Spent a day with some of my old friends and a day with the DW's cousins.

Left friday morning to head home which is easy Just a straight shot up I-5. Made it home Sunday around 1 pm.

Was a great trip to see Family and friends i havent seen in a while. But i would not do this again. Too many driving days at 600-800 miles on the full days. I wish i was retired but having to be back at work July 1st i had no choice but to do it. Dog hated being in the truck those days but she also hates my truck as it is too loud for her.

All in all very happy with the Trucks performance. Towed up any hill at 60 mph even in the heat coolant temp never rose above 222 oil temp never went above 230 and tranny temp never went above 190. Very pleased with this truck.

Thanks for reading sorry it is a long read. Pics to come Shortly!
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Old 07-08-2013, 05:17 PM   #2
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Here's a couple pics.


Kinda scary at first but everything worked flawlessly.


A sun dial in a rest stop in Arizona.


Same rest stop.

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Old 07-08-2013, 05:22 PM   #3
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Not part of the trip but this is what I did the Fourth of July.



13lb king.



A king and a sockeye on Saturday the 6th.



Had a couple visitors on Saturday morning.

I will get pics up of the trip soon the DW has the camera right now.
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Old 07-08-2013, 05:31 PM   #4
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Sounds like fun, except for the heat. Where did you stay where you could run the generator all night?

And, I've gotta ask, with a 250, why didn't you get a fiver? I'm thinking that's the route I'm going to take when it's just the wife and I.
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Old 07-08-2013, 05:43 PM   #5
TandE
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Quote:
Originally Posted by f6bits View Post
Sounds like fun, except for the heat. Where did you stay where you could run the generator all night?

And, I've gotta ask, with a 250, why didn't you get a fiver? I'm thinking that's the route I'm going to take when it's just the wife and I.
We stayed just at rest stops while on the road to the next destination since by the time we stopped it was 10 or later at night and didn't want to hassle with rv parks.

Honestly I really want a fiver. But I would need a toyhauler as I plan on using them in the winter for snowmobiling. With a TT I can still throw the sled in the bed and head out. Unfortunately I do not feel comfortable overloading my truck with a triple axle tow hauler as I would need at least a 12ft garage and it needs to be separate from the living area to please the DW. I do have the camper package in the truck and a door sticker says 2200 lb payload but the camper cert says 1650 lbs. anyways the point being all the toy haulers I like are around the 3000 pin weight range. This trailer will satisfy myself and the DW for a while till I can convince her that I need a 350 dually.
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Old 07-09-2013, 02:56 AM   #6
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Our Raptor has a 14ft garage ,but the pin weight is around 3425lbs..Great pics of your trip.
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Old 07-09-2013, 06:07 AM   #7
Kristi
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Glad you had a great trip!
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Old 07-12-2013, 03:55 PM   #8
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Heres a few more from the trip.

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Old 07-12-2013, 03:59 PM   #9
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Old 07-12-2013, 04:12 PM   #10
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Also forgot about our other problems we had. Sometime after we woke up the morning in California and headed out i cut the 7 way plug wire to the trailer. I know it worked at the rest area cause i checked it before we took off and also checked the lights when we filled up an hour or so later.

Sometime after the gas station to our campground in California it got cut. I had to make 2 really tight left turns, one at that gas station and then one in the round about in the campground and while i am hoping it was the latter im almost positive it happened at the station. So i probably ended up driving about 130 miles with no trailer lights.

The other issue is we came back to the trailer one night only to find ants all over the dogs food bowl. Went outside and saw that they were all over the trailer. That really sucked. The next morning i was outside drinking my coffee and saw two others that lived in the park spraying for ants. So it figures they went to the one that had nothing. The only good thing was since it was so hot out during the day they kinda went back where they came and i sprayed around the stabilizers, tires, and tongue jack.

Other than that pretty uneventful.

NEXT TRIP 8 DAYS AWAY!!!! though this one is only 225 miles away and we will be there for 8 days. Great opportunity to make sure everything is working the way it should.
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Old 07-12-2013, 05:49 PM   #11
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Love the pictures and I agree it's too hot down south right now.
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Old 07-12-2013, 07:51 PM   #12
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Glad you are taking a trip where you can relax a little! Sounds like you did have a good time, though, on the big trip.

We had a fifth wheel when we full-timed (see my sig) but went back to a trailer once we got off the road because it is easier to haul our toys in the truck. We can also more easily get into smaller campgrounds. Had to change plans in cg's more than once in the fiver because of over hanging branches and trees.
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