ray and margaret
03-04-2007, 08:10 PM
Hello to all!
Margaret and I picked up our new 5er in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania last weekend. We actually arrived there on Saturday and "moved in" at the dealership. On Sunday we had three inches of snow and early Monday morning we heard sleet hitting the roof. Margaret thought we would have to come back later to bring it to North Carolina. Well, the storm went north late Monday and we pulled out on Tuesday. This was my first experience at pulling a 5er. I had expressed concerned on this Forum earlier about the ability of my F-250 Super Duty 6.5 liter V-10 gasoline with 6-speed automatic transmission truck to pull all that weight. Two weeks agao I had my rear end change from a 4.10 to a 4.30 and I added a second transmission cooler. This action boosted my GCWR to 22,500.
Tuesday when we left Martinsburg I drove straight to the TA Gateway Travel Plaza in Breezewood and pulled onto the CAT scales. My concerns about pin weight were needless. My rear axle GAWR on the F-250 was 6,100# and the front axle was 4,800#. My total GCWR was 22,500#. I rolled off the scales with a big smile on my face. The total weight was 20,800#. My F-250 front axle weighed in at 4,340# and my rear axle weighed in at 5,900#. I suppose the real test came when I hit that 7 mile incline at Fancy Gap, Virginia. I was in tow/hail mode and I dropped it down into third gear and pulled that mountain at 55 mph turning 4,000 rpms. The only downside is I get about 6.5 miles per gallon of gas when towing the 5er but you can't have everything.
We are delighted with our Prairie Schooner. I have it stored in a well-lit, fenced facility where I have all four slides out and access to 50-amp power and water.
We already have five reservations at five different campgrounds in eastern North Carolina this summer. In addition to that, in May we was going to attend the weeklong RV Life on Wheels Conference at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. We are in the process of slowly downsizing from a 2,000 square foot home and plan to move into our 5er full time sometime in October to get it exactly like we want it. On December 26th, after spending Christmas with the family and five-year-old grandson we are taking off for somewhere warm, whether it be south Floriida, Brownsville, Texas, soouthern Arizona or southern California. In the spring we will return to Raleigh for a couple of months and then head up to Massachusetts and Maine vfor the summer.
We are tremendously excited about our soon-to-be new lifestyle and have already gained a wealth of knowledge from the fine folks on this Forum and for that we cannot thank you all enough. We are open to any suggestions and questions.
Ray and Margaret
and Max and Xena, our two kittycats.
Margaret and I picked up our new 5er in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania last weekend. We actually arrived there on Saturday and "moved in" at the dealership. On Sunday we had three inches of snow and early Monday morning we heard sleet hitting the roof. Margaret thought we would have to come back later to bring it to North Carolina. Well, the storm went north late Monday and we pulled out on Tuesday. This was my first experience at pulling a 5er. I had expressed concerned on this Forum earlier about the ability of my F-250 Super Duty 6.5 liter V-10 gasoline with 6-speed automatic transmission truck to pull all that weight. Two weeks agao I had my rear end change from a 4.10 to a 4.30 and I added a second transmission cooler. This action boosted my GCWR to 22,500.
Tuesday when we left Martinsburg I drove straight to the TA Gateway Travel Plaza in Breezewood and pulled onto the CAT scales. My concerns about pin weight were needless. My rear axle GAWR on the F-250 was 6,100# and the front axle was 4,800#. My total GCWR was 22,500#. I rolled off the scales with a big smile on my face. The total weight was 20,800#. My F-250 front axle weighed in at 4,340# and my rear axle weighed in at 5,900#. I suppose the real test came when I hit that 7 mile incline at Fancy Gap, Virginia. I was in tow/hail mode and I dropped it down into third gear and pulled that mountain at 55 mph turning 4,000 rpms. The only downside is I get about 6.5 miles per gallon of gas when towing the 5er but you can't have everything.
We are delighted with our Prairie Schooner. I have it stored in a well-lit, fenced facility where I have all four slides out and access to 50-amp power and water.
We already have five reservations at five different campgrounds in eastern North Carolina this summer. In addition to that, in May we was going to attend the weeklong RV Life on Wheels Conference at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. We are in the process of slowly downsizing from a 2,000 square foot home and plan to move into our 5er full time sometime in October to get it exactly like we want it. On December 26th, after spending Christmas with the family and five-year-old grandson we are taking off for somewhere warm, whether it be south Floriida, Brownsville, Texas, soouthern Arizona or southern California. In the spring we will return to Raleigh for a couple of months and then head up to Massachusetts and Maine vfor the summer.
We are tremendously excited about our soon-to-be new lifestyle and have already gained a wealth of knowledge from the fine folks on this Forum and for that we cannot thank you all enough. We are open to any suggestions and questions.
Ray and Margaret
and Max and Xena, our two kittycats.