New guy from MI

[Overspray]

Hey all,
New guy, I (we) just picked up a 2018 Hideout 308BHDS. First camper, first fifth wheel, although I’ve towed plenty of trailers large and small. We have two little ones (3 and 1) as well as two 70lb labs. We will grow into this camper in the years to come. I modify pretty much everything and am looking foreword to adding things to this camper.

First mod will be a Reese GooseBox straight from the dealer lot, as well as a 4” offset ball. Next will be an observation camera setup as I’d like to avoid having the wifey guide me whenever possible.

TV is a 2002 F250 Super Duty, CCSB, 7.3PSD, 2wd, 6” lift, 22x9 Desert Rattler wheels on 37x13.5 Toyo M/T, AFE intake, banks power elbow and complete exhaust, 6 position chip, 4.56 gears, B&W turnover ball gooseneck. I’m sure there’s plenty that I’m forgetting. It’s a nice rig, and I’m sure I’ll upgrade eventually as the kids get older and we plan to tow further from home.

I’ll get some photos of the rig and 5er once we take possession next week.

[MarcS]

Welcome to the forum from Fowlerville Michigan!

[Nuke]

Welcome from the great metropolis of Southwest VA! You've just joined a group that is full of knowledge and not afraid to share with others. Enjoy both the new rig and the knowledge you'll gain!

Now get out there and go camping!

[Tinner12002]

Congrats on your new RV and welcome to the forum from NW IN.

[Overspray]

Here she is the first day at the dealer. Sorry about the sideways pic. I’ll learn the ropes on posting pics on this forum as I go.

[Overspray]

And a couple of my rig. Helped my boss move his camper from storage to our shop. Again with the darn sideways pic.

[Chaos1]

Welcome from Whitby Ontario Canada
----------------------------
Terry And Elaine
26RBPR
F150 Centennial Edition

[Chief Mole]

Welcome from the Midlands of South Carolina! :camping:

[CrazyCain]

Welcome to the forum from Commerce Twp, Mi..
enjoy the new hideout!!

[Gegrad]

Welcome to the forum from North Carolina!

[5J's]

Welcome to the forum from SE Texas and a fellow 308BHDS owner. Be sure to stop by some scales on your first outing and check all the weights. I've got a 1997 F350 7.3 PSD 4x4 CC long bed and I run about 1000lbs over weight. [emoji33] You need a GVWR of at least 10000. Maybe that'll help you get that new TV. [emoji6]

[Overspray]

Welcome to the forum from SE Texas and a fellow 308BHDS owner. Be sure to stop by some scales on your first outing and check all the weights. I've got a 1997 F350 7.3 PSD 4x4 CC long bed and I run about 1000lbs over weight. [emoji33] You need a GVWR of at least 10000. Maybe that'll help you get that new TV. [emoji6]

Haha, thanks for the reply. I figured it would be close, especially with 37’s on the truck. 2wd will help as well as short bed but not that much. With the kids being so small we figure we will be local for the next two years (not that it makes it any better I suppose). New rig by then. How’s your 7.3 tow that camper? Every search I googled anything pertaining to F250 Super Duty 7.3 fifth wheel came up with your posts.



Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! This week I received my GooseBox, safety chains, and a 4” offset ball for my B&W turnover setup. Today I’m expecting my Furrion observation camera, and a new 7pin wiring harness for the bed. I’m scheduled to do my PDI on Monday at 3:30. I hope all goes well, as I inspected A LOT of it when I was at the dealer last time, but will be going over everything again.

[5J's]

Haha, thanks for the reply. I figured it would be close, especially with 37’s on the truck. 2wd will help as well as short bed but not that much. With the kids being so small we figure we will be local for the next two years (not that it makes it any better I suppose). New rig by then. How’s your 7.3 tow that camper? Every search I googled anything pertaining to F250 Super Duty 7.3 fifth wheel came up with your posts.



Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! This week I received my GooseBox, safety chains, and a 4” offset ball for my B&W turnover setup. Today I’m expecting my Furrion observation camera, and a new 7pin wiring harness for the bed. I’m scheduled to do my PDI on Monday at 3:30. I hope all goes well, as I inspected A LOT of it when I was at the dealer last time, but will be going over everything again.Well....I love my 7.3 and it gets the job done. It's simple and reliable. If it's the only "modern" diesel you've had you'll be fine. My work truck is a 6.0 and I must say I love how peppy it is but, I hate the hassle. I wish the 7.3 had more giddy up but, it is 20 years old and was the start of the modern diesel technology. Yours is the last generation 7.3 and I know you've got quite a few more horses than I do. I also see you've got a 4:56 set up where I'm at 4:10, so I think that'll help but, don't expect to win any races. I'm in a tough spot, I found my truck 3 years ago and found nearly exactly what I was looking for. Then we found the trailer we were looking for exactly but, the two really don't match. I thought the GVWR and pin weight are fairly small for a trailer this size and I've got a one ton, no problem right? I'm on the fence about an upgrade. I thought about springs and bags for mine but that doesn't change the GVWR. Maybe I just keep this one and add to the line up. [emoji23] The first thing I did to my trailer was the Reese goose box also. I've not been real pleased with it so far. When it works right its all good and real smooth but, mine keeps losing air. I've done some reading up on it and found out some folks had air leaks at the relief valve so, that's on my list to do this week because we leave out on Friday for the Memorial day weekend. Let me know how the camera set up works for you. I've been thinking about doing that also. Happy trails. BTW, my GVWR is 9200. Loaded with the trailer I'm at 10,800 with a total of 18,xxx.

[Overspray]

I’ll have to get mine weighed at the movers next door. I figured I would remove the air valve on the goose box, to be honest it seems a bit silly. I’ve done plenty of air suspension installs on vehicles, and there’s never a “relief” on the individual springs. Pressures will vary with ambient temperature and compression. Just because you hit one big bump, one time, doesn’t mean that your air bag will explode. If they’re using such a cheap airbag that they need to worry, then I’ll replace that as well with something better suited.

My GVWR is 8800, GCWR is 20000. We’ll see where I wind up. I’m sure I’ll be over but unsure how much.

[Overspray]

Side note, this is my first diesel truck. I had a diesel Cruze (hardly counts). This old girl will be hard to get rid of since she’s pretty clean for being in MI, as well as has lots of new parts (trans, rear end, injectors, GPR, IPR) and the list goes on and on. But I guess if I need to move up, then so be it. Been looking at/dreaming of a Cummins with the manual trans lately...

[Overspray]

Well we brought her home today. Towed like a dream, and the GooseBox install was a breeze. I’ll have to get my ball out and install my 4” offset ball soon for a bit more turning radius.


Got my first experience backing her up also, pre camera install... in the rain, in the dark, into my driveway (that’s under construction). Talk about a feat, and didn’t even fight with the wife. We look foreword to taking it out this weekend and next with the kids/dogs.

[5J's]

Congrats! That is a good looking setup and it looks like you've got plenty of clearance even with the lift. We'll be out this weekend as well. Enjoy it.