So my girlfriend and I have finally bought our first rig. We got a 2008 gulf stream conquest supreme. We had to accommodate our aging Great Dane. We are moving out of our apartment in a few weeks to go full time. We are still looking for a suitable campground nearby until we are ready to leave the area in Nov. We were forced to buy the rig before the tow vehicle, since we want a Touareg. The timing is perfect though! We are both in our early 30's, into hiking, kayaking, and traveling. We felt that we wanted to downsize and be as close to nature as possible (with some comfort lol). Currently, we are cleaning and packing, and getting ready to pick up the rig in a few days. I need to convert the upper bunk in the bunk house into a snake cage first. Then I want to rip out the bottom bunk to install an office. Being a freelance drafter, and an artist, I need my work area! She is thrilled about it and I must also install a small folding table so she can use her sewing machine. But I'll do anything for her, so, NO PROBLEM! In November the fun really starts, as we start to transverse the country. Any advice, tips, warnings, or encouragements will be well received!
-- Edited by Scott82 on Wednesday 14th of January 2015 11:05:14 PM
Jim and Barb said
10:38 PM Jan 14, 2015
Congratulations on the new rig and working towards living your dreams!
TRAILERKING said
08:22 AM Jan 15, 2015
Welcome aboard
marianne57 said
05:14 PM Jan 15, 2015
Congrats to you and good luck on your plans!
Terry and Jo said
08:16 PM Jan 15, 2015
Scott,
First of all, welcome to the RV Dreams forums. You will find this to be a good source for information because there is a lot of knowledge in the minds of the forum participants that frequent this place. Good luck with you planning.
Unfortunately, I have a couple of questions for you. What is the weight of your travel trailer, and will the Touareg be heavy enough to handle that weight? It isn't enough to just be able to tow the trailer, but it must be able to also handle it in crosswinds and safely stop it, should the trailer's brakes fail for some reason.
Terry
pkhalin said
08:19 PM Jan 15, 2015
Congrats! Wish I had had the cajones to start in my 30s. So what if I waited 30 x 2 + 2. Better late than never.
Have fun.
Camper Chronicles said
08:40 PM Jan 15, 2015
Congratulations and good for you guys doing this so young !!!
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Thursday 15th of January 2015 08:41:12 PM
Scott82 said
08:42 PM Jan 15, 2015
Terry,
We have done quite a bit research on this. The gvw of the conquest is 7700 lbs the same as the towing capacity of the touareg. The reason we want this is so the dog is comfortable on trips and the gas mileage of the tdi is phenomenal. An independent study found it got 16 mpg towing 4200. The touareg's tow package has an oil cooler, tranny cooler, and heavier springs. We will continue looking into it further before purchasing! Thank you for your concerns!
Scott82 said
11:29 PM Jan 15, 2015
Terry,
After a few more hours of in depth research (and a few minor arguments, lol), we discovered that the payload capacity of the touareg is only 1100lbs. So thats out of the equation now. Back to the drawing board. Our needs, an suv, tdi, 1500+ payload capacity, 7700+ gvw towing capacity, with high mpg. Any suggestions, anyone?
BiggarView said
11:25 AM Jan 16, 2015
Off the top of my head a Tahoe or Suburban, or similar from other builders will probably fill the towing bill and SUV duties. High MPG? That could be a challenge.
FWIW, Brian
bjoyce said
04:38 PM Jan 16, 2015
"Our needs, an suv, tdi, 1500+ payload capacity, 7700+ gvw towing capacity, with high mpg."
Break these down individually and decide which are "must haves" and which are "would like to have".
RonandBee said
10:06 PM Jan 16, 2015
I know I'm new to this, and I could be wrong, but do "RV" and "High MPG's" even go together? Hahaha
Alie and Jims Carrilite said
06:08 AM Jan 17, 2015
RonandBee wrote:
I know I'm new to this, and I could be wrong, but do "RV" and "High MPG's" even go together? Hahaha
RV is usually associated with GPM's (gallons per mile). An average best guess across the whole industry would be 7-8mpg. That's the class A's, C's,B's, pickups that pull the 5th wheels and all the vehicles that pull the bumper pull trailers.
Scott82 said
09:42 PM Feb 8, 2015
Alright time for an update! We will be getting a 3/4 ton diesel to tow at the end of the year. Thank you everyone for your input!
In one week we are moving to our first campground to live fulltime in the rv! We are so excited! I already have all the boards cut to make the snake cage and I am going to use the lower bunk framing for my desk framing.
Second Chance said
12:59 PM Feb 9, 2015
Scott,
You don't necessarily need a 3/4 ton for what you're planning - but you won't be sorry you have it, either. Several of the American automotive companies are planning scaled-down turbo-diesels in their mid-size truck in the next year or so, too. I've watched a lot of people in your situation work through the tow vehicle dilemma... payload is always the stumbling block.
Rob
Sushidog said
08:13 AM Feb 11, 2015
Welcome Scott82,
I think a 3/4 ton diesel is a great choice for what you have in mind, and allows room for growth if you should want to go a little bigger. After all, it's the one I made too. ;) We are planning on full timing in a TT and have purchased a good used 2008 F-250 6.4l supercab long bed (for a good price) to do it. Right now we get around 15-17mpg towing our tiny Aliner. But most experienced TT folks say to expect around 11-12mpg towing a 10-11,000 lbs., 30+ ft. TT with a 3/4 ton diesel, as we have planned.
Driving habits greatly affect mileage, as will the aerodynamics of your rig, but to a lesser degree. I plan on building a tall, aerodynamic topper over the bed of the truck to house our 2 small motorbikes, generator, tools, etc. This will act as a wind deflector to ease the flow of air around the TT. Many Airstream owners use this technique to improve their aerodynamics. We also plan on adding Coroplast wind diverters (flaps with air tabs) extending back toward the trailer on the top and sides, and will be building a Coroplast tail cone for the rear of the TT to complete the aerodynamic package, similar to what you see on many big rigs these days. Hopefully this will reduce our drag enough to stretch our diesel by 1-2mpg more. Time will tell, but it certainly can't hurt.
Chip
-- Edited by Sushidog on Wednesday 11th of February 2015 08:14:17 AM
shystywolf said
12:07 PM Mar 7, 2015
welcome. and congrats. A happy wife is a happy life. Good luck
So my girlfriend and I have finally bought our first rig. We got a 2008 gulf stream conquest supreme. We had to accommodate our aging Great Dane. We are moving out of our apartment in a few weeks to go full time. We are still looking for a suitable campground nearby until we are ready to leave the area in Nov. We were forced to buy the rig before the tow vehicle, since we want a Touareg. The timing is perfect though! We are both in our early 30's, into hiking, kayaking, and traveling. We felt that we wanted to downsize and be as close to nature as possible (with some comfort lol). Currently, we are cleaning and packing, and getting ready to pick up the rig in a few days. I need to convert the upper bunk in the bunk house into a snake cage first. Then I want to rip out the bottom bunk to install an office. Being a freelance drafter, and an artist, I need my work area! She is thrilled about it and I must also install a small folding table so she can use her sewing machine. But I'll do anything for her, so, NO PROBLEM! In November the fun really starts, as we start to transverse the country. Any advice, tips, warnings, or encouragements will be well received!
-- Edited by Scott82 on Wednesday 14th of January 2015 11:05:14 PM
Congrats to you and good luck on your plans!
Scott,
First of all, welcome to the RV Dreams forums. You will find this to be a good source for information because there is a lot of knowledge in the minds of the forum participants that frequent this place. Good luck with you planning.
Unfortunately, I have a couple of questions for you. What is the weight of your travel trailer, and will the Touareg be heavy enough to handle that weight? It isn't enough to just be able to tow the trailer, but it must be able to also handle it in crosswinds and safely stop it, should the trailer's brakes fail for some reason.
Terry
Congrats! Wish I had had the cajones to start in my 30s. So what if I waited 30 x 2 + 2. Better late than never.
Have fun.
Congratulations and good for you guys doing this so young !!!
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Thursday 15th of January 2015 08:41:12 PM
Off the top of my head a Tahoe or Suburban, or similar from other builders will probably fill the towing bill and SUV duties. High MPG? That could be a challenge.
FWIW, Brian
Break these down individually and decide which are "must haves" and which are "would like to have".
RV is usually associated with GPM's (gallons per mile). An average best guess across the whole industry would be 7-8mpg. That's the class A's, C's,B's, pickups that pull the 5th wheels and all the vehicles that pull the bumper pull trailers.
You don't necessarily need a 3/4 ton for what you're planning - but you won't be sorry you have it, either. Several of the American automotive companies are planning scaled-down turbo-diesels in their mid-size truck in the next year or so, too. I've watched a lot of people in your situation work through the tow vehicle dilemma... payload is always the stumbling block.
Rob
Welcome Scott82,
I think a 3/4 ton diesel is a great choice for what you have in mind, and allows room for growth if you should want to go a little bigger. After all, it's the one I made too. ;) We are planning on full timing in a TT and have purchased a good used 2008 F-250 6.4l supercab long bed (for a good price) to do it. Right now we get around 15-17mpg towing our tiny Aliner. But most experienced TT folks say to expect around 11-12mpg towing a 10-11,000 lbs., 30+ ft. TT with a 3/4 ton diesel, as we have planned.
Driving habits greatly affect mileage, as will the aerodynamics of your rig, but to a lesser degree. I plan on building a tall, aerodynamic topper over the bed of the truck to house our 2 small motorbikes, generator, tools, etc. This will act as a wind deflector to ease the flow of air around the TT. Many Airstream owners use this technique to improve their aerodynamics. We also plan on adding Coroplast wind diverters (flaps with air tabs) extending back toward the trailer on the top and sides, and will be building a Coroplast tail cone for the rear of the TT to complete the aerodynamic package, similar to what you see on many big rigs these days. Hopefully this will reduce our drag enough to stretch our diesel by 1-2mpg more. Time will tell, but it certainly can't hurt.
Chip
-- Edited by Sushidog on Wednesday 11th of February 2015 08:14:17 AM
welcome. and congrats. A happy wife is a happy life. Good luck