Better RV Brands?

[Grizzly]

The best RV for a trip to Alaska and especially if you get on the rough roads like the Top of the World Hwy from Whitehorse to Dawson City in the Yukon and then on to Chicken, Alaska, is a truck camper. No extra wheels and axles. When tied down properly the camper will goes where the truck goes. Just make sure you have the right truck under the camper.

 

[HBarlow]

Yeah, I agree. Especially for the trip to Chicken.

I don't think I'd want to carry a slide-in on my C&C though. The CM flatbed on my truck, and probably most of them, raise the floor 7" higher than the floor height of a pickup bed.

Flatbeds have 4" rails front to rear that sit on top of the truck's frame rails then 3" side to side rails (floor joists) on top of the four inch rails to support the bed floor.

That additional seven inch increase in height might have an adverse effect on the camper's center of gravity and make side to side sway more pronounced.

A C&C would make an excellent platform for a slide-in camper but if I was going to use a slide-in camper a lot on a C&C I would forego a flat bed. I would simply attach a 3/8" or 1/2" steel plate to the top of the frame rails the size and shape of the footprint of the slide-in. The camper could be mounted on the steel plate.

That would save the cost of the flatbed, almost 7" of height, and almost 1000 lbs. of weight.

 

[CUMMINZ]

The GY tire in the photo sure appears to have struck a road hazard. [/QUOTE]



Got a call from Goodyear rep end of last week and he said tire blew out from the inside. Will cost me $55. 00 to replace tire.



As to Forest River quality, About any rig will get beat up after a while, my DayDreamer was wearing driver side tires like it was out of align. Forest River is replacing both my 7k axles with 8k axles, replacing all four tires and all four aluminum wheels. Axles were Dexters.

 

[Bill Carlyle]

Thanks for all of the advice and encouragement. We retired with a 35 ft Avion trailer and movedup to a 94 and then a 98 Avion 5th wheels. all this time we blonged to the Avion Club. In 2005 we could see the club going down so we started looking and talking to different people who owned Mobile Suites. We ordered one in Springdale, ark. If we go to Alaska it will be right before we think we might be trading or like Harvey says, buy a used truck camper. I had rather take my 5th wheel with all the comforts of home with me. Anyway thanks for all the information and encourgement.

 

[Grizzly]

Alway happy to swap camper and Alaska stories with you Bill, and I know Harvey is also.



george

 

[HBarlow]

Thanks for all of the advice and encouragement. We retired with a 35 ft Avion trailer and movedup to a 94 and then a 98 Avion 5th wheels. all this time we blonged to the Avion Club. In 2005 we could see the club going down so we started looking and talking to different people who owned Mobile Suites. We ordered one in Springdale, ark. If we go to Alaska it will be right before we think we might be trading or like Harvey says, buy a used truck camper. I had rather take my 5th wheel with all the comforts of home with me. Anyway thanks for all the information and encourgement.

I bought a pristine used Avion 32 around 2001 or 2002 and was also a member of the Avion group for awhile. The crowd was in decline and mostly a geriatric club at the time.

Avion trailers were good units though.

 

[Chas]

my wife and I are 12 year full time rvrs. We have a 34 foot Cameo 5th wheel. We tow with a 09 2500 2wd 6. 7 6sp stick. 6500miles so far love it. New to TDR. Really get a lot of good info from it.



Chas and Kathy



























chas





















































































































































































t

 

[Grizzly]

Welcome to TDR Chas and Kathy. The more you participate, the more you will enjoy it and the more you can learn.



george

 

[Bill Carlyle]

Welcome to the life of fulltiming Chas and Kathy. We knew right quick that we could not travel all year so that is why we bought a lot in a park with other's that have like interest. Hope we meet somewhere durning our travels. Enjoy the TDR and hope there will be another rally east of the rockies soon. After one trip I found it to be to early to head out to May Madness the last of March. Maybe you live closer because that is a great rally.



Bill & Billie Carlyle

 

[CUMMINZ]

My first camper experience was with a 10. 5' overcab camper with an 85 Ford diesel. I thought the 6. 9L was a great truck. The compactness of a pickup camper I actually like. My wife's thought are totally different. That is why we tow one that is 40 feet long. We had often said that if we make that tough trip to see Sarah Palin it will be in a nice overcab. I have seen some that had slides and all kinds of dodads. One thing for sure after owning our Day Dreamer we have added softer suspension to the coach and a good quality in bed air hitch.



Welcome new guy. :-laf

 

[Chas]

Thanks to all who answered. I am new at emailing, so will be slow to respond at times. 12 years on the road and Carriage is our ride of choice. Good day to all chas

 

[Grizzly]

Thanks to all who answered. I am new at emailing, so will be slow to respond at times. 12 years on the road and Carriage is our ride of choice. Good day to all chas

Welcome to TDR Chas. This site has great information and entertainment.

 

[Grizzly]

My first camper experience was with a 10. 5' overcab camper with an 85 Ford diesel. I thought the 6. 9L was a great truck. The compactness of a pickup camper I actually like. My wife's thought are totally different. That is why we tow one that is 40 feet long. We had often said that if we make that tough trip to see Sarah Palin it will be in a nice overcab. I have seen some that had slides and all kinds of dodads. One thing for sure after owning our Day Dreamer we have added softer suspension to the coach and a good quality in bed air hitch.



Welcome new guy. :-laf

My first RV was a 10. 5' Cab-Over-Camper, which I hauled on my F250 gasser. The camper was an old, very heavy, Travel Queen. Anyone ever heard of the round top Travel Queen?

 

[HBarlow]

Yeah, I remember the old Travel Queen slide-in and a lot of other ones as well.

A few years ago a friend, the guy who owns and operated the Avion website, told me about an Avion/Cayo slide-in truck camper for sale up in Indiana. It had been left in a barn when the original owner passed on. It was for sale cheap. It was in overall good shape, an 11 footer, but had some wood rot.

I pulled a flat bed trailer up to northern Indiana in the winter on snow and ice and bought it. The seller loaded it on my flat bed with a tractor front end loader IIRC.

I brought it home, looked it over, and decided I wasn't interested in the massive rebuild project to replace all the rotted wood. The Avion/Cayo was bad about rotting the wood in the side overhangs.

I sold it for five times what I paid for it and both the buyer and I were happy. I think the buyer rebuilt it and put it to use.

 

[Grizzly]

That 10. 5' Travel Queen was way too heavy for my F250 Furd. I put a stack of overloads and super single tires on the 3/4 ton truck to try to stabilize it, but it was still white knuckle driving through the Rocky Mountains. All in all, it was a good camper, but not self contained.

 

[Bill Carlyle]

I am thinking about putting a High def. sat. ant. on top of my trailer. I have HD tv's and when we travel durning the summer I use a tripod that is not HD. The only thing about the tripod is that I can place it out away from trees. My HD sat. is on a pole on my lot next to my trailer. Has anyone tried taking one of those heavy 5 sat. slimline's on a tripod that has to be tilted to get lined up or should I just get the automatic.



Bill

 

[ChrisOlson]

chicken top of the world Dalton highway Haul Road

The best RV for a trip to Alaska and especially if you get on the rough roads like the Top of the World Hwy from Whitehorse to Dawson City in the Yukon and then on to Chicken, Alaska, is a truck camper. No extra wheels and axles. When tied down properly the camper will goes where the truck goes. Just make sure you have the right truck under the camper.

Not related to OP post but this is for HBarlow and Grizzly

Took the dodge and the lance Truck camper and a poorly built forest river utility trailer on a trip all over alaska and chicken. and top of the world highway, and to prudohe bay up the haul road



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this picture is in Chicken.



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Album 2

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I did lose 2 tires on the trailer however.



Sorry I have not posted for a while I was on another trip from Bellingham WA

to Dallas Or. then to miles city MT and back to bellingham with my junky Forest river Toyhauler



but I am back

enjoy the pictures.



I still stand by my recommendation of the forest river product

Chris

 

[Grizzly]

Good post and great pictures ChrisOlson.



This is when my wife and I were in Tok, AK after having gone through the Top of the World Hwy through Dawson City, crossing the Yukon River and Chicken, AK on our last trip in 06.

 

[Bill Carlyle]

Chris



The pictures are great. Thanks for sharing them. I have looked at 200 of them so far.



Bill Carlyle

 

[mwilson]

Beautiful Pictures!!!! Nice Job and glad that you shared them with us.