We were also retired military when we made the switch from a 2300 sqft home to a 38’ fifth wheel hauled by a dully truck. We sold our - paid for - car and compact truck and purchased a used Dodge dully with the Cummins diesel. It was in pristine condition inside and out and had 75,000 miles on it.
In the 15 months we owned it we lost an igniter on I95 near Fayetteville, NC. That ends your day. For us it was a week. However, the Cummins was still under protection from a 100,000 mile warranty and all we had to pay was the towing costs. A few months after that we lost the anti-locking brake system.
Not wanting to wait for failure #3 we traded for a new Dodge. A little more power hooked up with a .410. Twelve years later and more than 200,000 miles and it’s still going strong. Wore the tires out 4 times and the same for the brakes. Nothing else.
Here are some pictures. Notice how level the new black truck was with a 2700# pin weight.
We were 60 & 63 when we started our RV trek. Wouldn’t trade those years for any others. Went to all 48 connecting states and a hand full of CDN provinces‘.
This was the used silver truck.
http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=32883
The always reliable black truck.
http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=32882