What did you do WITH your Ranger today?

[9zero1790]

Needed a cement mixer for some furnace refractory at the local Smithsonian affiliated industrial museum, so I loaded mine up on Pepper for the 30 mile trek to Bethlehem. The mixer's been sitting outside in the weather by my woodpile since I got it out of the dumpster at work in 2005...amazingly I plugged it in and it worked! The service guy from the refractory suppler had a nice blue Ranger as a company vehicle. We mixed about 1000 lbs of material in 50 lb batches, and carried buckets up portable steps to dump in the furnace shell. Got home, Pepper had 12 miles to empty, I was on E also, my bones are even tired. Why am I the only one that's dirty? Hated to get in my truck like that.

its ed harris again !

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[AzScorpion]

Me an Annie went out to lunch then over to the RV show at State Farm Stadium. This is their big outdoor show where the whole West side parking lot is full of RV's from the stadium all the way to the 101 highway. I was surprised they didn't have many travel trailers only a handful of Winnebagos. There were mostly 5th wheels, Conversion Vans and a lot of Class A&C motorhomes. Some really nice stuff but with a hefty price tag.

 

[Jhbryaniv]

Me an Annie went out to lunch then over to the RV show at State Farm Stadium. This is their big outdoor show where the whole West side parking lot is full of RV's from the stadium all the way to the 101 highway. I was surprised they didn't have many travel trailers only a handful of Winnebagos. There were mostly 5th wheels, Conversion Vans and a lot of Class A&C motorhomes. Some really nice stuff but with a hefty price tag.

So, which one did you buy?

 

[AzScorpion]

So, which one did you buy?

We've been looking at them for a while now but still not ready to pull the trigger just yet. They're still way overpriced and honestly really not built all that well unless you get up into the high dollar ones. Even then it's still questionable but I have a bad habit of comparing them to the custom homes I'm use to. For the money they want they should be close in comparison. lol I think if I was to get one it would be a Lance travel trailer pre 2020. Those seem to be built pretty good and have some good reviews.

 

[Jhbryaniv]

We've been looking at them for a while now but still not ready to pull the trigger just yet. They're still way overpriced and honestly really not built all that well unless you get up into the high dollar ones. Even then it's still questionable but I have a bad habit of comparing them to the custom homes I'm use to. For the money they want they should be close in comparison. lol I think if I was to get one it would be a Lance travel trailer pre 2020. Those seem to be built pretty good and have some good reviews.

We were looking at one of the small teardrops - but we found in order to get what we wanted it had to be custom built. And the prices doubled or tripled at that point.

I laugh and say "They sure are proud of their trailers" when we get >45k for a teardrop...

I think we will end up in a small travel trailer. I like to think we will take it offroad and explore with it, but the truth is I probably won't.

A cousin went from a ~20ft tow behind upto (several steps in between) a 5th wheel monstrosity that is nicer than my house (and about the same size I think). It sure is nice. He also had to buy a 90K SD to tow it. . .

 

[AzScorpion]

We were looking at one of the small teardrops - but we found in order to get what we wanted it had to be custom built. And the prices doubled or tripled at that point.

I laugh and say "They sure are proud of their trailers" when we get >45k for a teardrop...

I think we will end up in a small travel trailer. I like to think we will take it offroad and explore with it, but the truth is I probably won't.

A cousin went from a ~20ft tow behind upto (several steps in between) a 5th wheel monstrosity that is nicer than my house (and about the same size I think). It sure is nice. He also had to buy a 90K SD to tow it. . .

Funny because we started out a while back looking a teardrops. Then when we get inside we think "well maybe something a little bit bigger" and before you know it we're looking at 5th wheels. lol

There were some really nice 5th wheels there and yes, they were very nice inside and I could defiantly see myself spending a few months traveling in one of those. But like you said with the $80K+ price tag and then needing a Super Duty to pull it that's to rich for me right now. For now we just keep looking and gathering more info so if/when the time is right we'll be that much closer to pulling the trigger.

 

[Jhbryaniv]

Funny because we started out a while back looking a teardrops. Then when we get inside we think "well maybe something a little bit bigger" and before you know it we're looking at 5th wheels. lol

There were some really nice 5th wheels there and yes, they were very nice inside and I could defiantly see myself spending a few months traveling in one of those. But like you said with the $80K+ price tag and then needing a Super Duty to pull it that's to rich for me right now. For now we just keep looking and gathering more info so if/when the time is right we'll be that much closer to pulling the trigger.

Our retirement plans include driving cross country in a motor home.... Specifically a class A and towing a jeep behind...

I am OK holding off until than to get one and using a ground tent. Even the idea of a rooftop tent doesn't sound appealing to me... Those gazelle hub tents that pop up and down are looking more appealing... We already have the 8 person screen room gazebo thing from them and it is fantastic, we probably use it in the backyard more that camping.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Funny because we started out a while back looking a teardrops. Then when we get inside we think "well maybe something a little bit bigger" and before you know it we're looking at 5th wheels. lol

There were some really nice 5th wheels there and yes, they were very nice inside and I could defiantly see myself spending a few months traveling in one of those. But like you said with the $80K+ price tag and then needing a Super Duty to pull it that's to rich for me right now. For now we just keep looking and gathering more info so if/when the time is right we'll be that much closer to pulling the trigger.

Glad you’re doing the research Dave. But then, of course you would.

My parents made the mistake of not doing enough research and pissed away a good portion of their retirement savings with three different fifth wheel/dually setups in five years - that’s a crap ton of depreciable assets to lose money on without doing your homework.

They ended up living in a Park Model in Yuma - not their first choice.

 

[AzScorpion]

Glad you’re doing the research Dave. But then, of course you would.

My parents made the mistake of not doing enough research and pissed away a good portion of their retirement savings with three different fifth wheel/dually setups in five years - that’s a crap ton of depreciable assets to lose money on without doing your homework.

They ended up living in a Park Model in Yuma - not their first choice.

Sorry to hear about your parents making a huge financial mistake. It's very easy to do with these especially when you're looking at some of these higher end models.

I still think we're going to rent a travel trailer a few times to make sure we really like it. I figure even if we rent 3-4 times it's money well spent. If we don't like it it saves us the headache of trying to sell and then the depreciation of it. If we do it'll give us a good basis on size because every one we look at we "think" we need something much larger. lol You saw my June trip pictures and how much stuff we Annie takes never mind the souvenirs.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Sorry to hear about your parents making a huge financial mistake. It's very easy to do with these especially when you're looking at some of these higher end models.

I still think we're going to rent a travel trailer a few times to make sure we really like it. I figure even if we rent 3-4 times it's money well spent. If we don't like it it saves us the headache of trying to sell and then the depreciation of it. If we do it'll give us a good basis on size because every one we look at we "think" we need something much larger. lol You saw my June trip pictures and how much stuff we Annie takes never mind the souvenirs.

Yeah, Annie sure likes to be prepared. ? Renting is a great idea - I mean, what if it turned out you didn’t like it as much as you thought you would? ?

 

[AzScorpion]

Yeah, Annie sure likes to be prepared. ? Renting is a great idea - I mean, what if it turned out you didn’t like it as much as you thought you would? ?

You're being kind....She's a shopaholic! ?

That's what I'm thinking too. I mean it looks fun and I'm sure we'll enjoy it but there's a lot of work involved between set up, tear down and prepping and maintenance. Sometime's it just easier to get in the truck and stay in a hotel and let them take care of everything. Yes, I'm showing my age again.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Glad you’re doing the research Dave. But then, of course you would.

My parents made the mistake of not doing enough research and pissed away a good portion of their retirement savings with three different fifth wheel/dually setups in five years - that’s a crap ton of depreciable assets to lose money on without doing your homework.

They ended up living in a Park Model in Yuma - not their first choice.

Hi Duke,

Welcome to Green Valley Rv Park....same scenario...

We spent 10 months there in our RV until our house was built...Park Models around us were of people that could not do their "homework".

Best,
Phil

 

[Cmar]

Did some more maintenance today, changed engine oil and filter, - filter sure makes a mess on the 3.2 diesel, it's in the same spot as on the Ecoboost, but doesn't have a little gutter underneath it to catch the oil.

Thus it spills oil all over the chassis when you unscrew it. It's a cartridge in a plastic housing so it dumps quite a bit of oil. I think it might be some sort of automatic ghetto rust proofing system by Ford, like the ghetto cooling system for the auto that dumps the aircon condensate on top of the auto casing.

Changed the oil in the front diff too - yes I know Ford says it will last 240,000 Km but I'd rather change it half way through and dump out all the little bits of swarf (there were a few little bits) and clean the mud off the magnet. Oil itself was actually pretty clean. Rear diff was quite a bit dirtier when I did it last oil change, I would have done the front then but all my stuff is 1/2 or 1/4 drive and I didn't have a 1/2" to 3/8" reducing socket and the plugs on the front are 3/8 internal square plugs.

Also did a part change of the auto oil - yes ditto the service period, except that unlike the diff, the auto oil at 112, 000 Km was dirty - not burnt, or full of particles, but pretty dirty, I might give it a week and do another part change. Probably not unreasonable as I tow a caravan and so did the people who had it before me. That stupid little dipstick hidden under a big nut, and behind the exhaust pipe is a pain to get to on the 6R80 auto. Doesn't help that a lowland gorilla did that cap up to 10,000 ftlb of torque - needed a breaker bar to loosen it. Didn't even try to set the level with the engine running, measured carefully what I took out, and put the same amount back.

Did the air cleaner and diesel filter last week. At least Ford put those two items up top sensibly located, and and easy to access and replace.

Anyway took her for a run and nothing seems to leak, and everything seems to work, so job done!

 

[Synfulz]

Started first time in 6 days and let idle for 15 minutes.

 

[Doc]

You're being kind....She's a shopaholic! ?

That's what I'm thinking too. I mean it looks fun and I'm sure we'll enjoy it but there's a lot of work involved between set up, tear down and prepping and maintenance. Sometime's it just easier to get in the truck and stay in a hotel and let them take care of everything. Yes, I'm showing my age again.

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