3000 miles and counting

[captd]

Monday morning all should be locked and loaded. With an eye on the weather we will ajust our route to dodge the snow , wind, rain and tornadoes as best we can. !st stop will be Panama City then on to Wefings Marine in East Point. Mark said he has the auto pilot with remote waiting to be installed. Astor will be the next stop. Store the Lucky Fin for a few days and go fishing with old friend in Ocala.
After that we hope to begin the leisure trip down the St. Johns to Jax, south on intercoastal to Key West. We will stay down there until global warming truly becomes evident. Then St Lucy canal to Ockachobie. If all things are cool, the 1st of April , cross the stream to the Abacos. That will take care of April and May. We had this part of the plan last year, but didn't make it.
Mark said he personaly would come to where ever we are with any necessary parts and fix what ever needs to be fixed to continue on with the plan. He would bring his fishing gear along with. You better bring Doug along to do the work. 😉
captd
PS. Mark didn't actually say that, but I thought he might make the next post and volunteer to do it. :twisted: 😉

 

[CaptMac]

Best of Luck Captd!

Be sure to bring us along on your journey - we are looking forward to it!

Mac

 

[captd]

The first weather dodge is today. Wind on the other side of the divide can be and is horrible. If you are taking that kind of wind head on you will spend about twice the money on fuel. From the side it can turn over a camper or a semi. Last year coming home I got as high as 19 miles per gallon, with the wind behind us.
To be honest , it is so sloppy I can imagine what the new Lucky Fin would look like after a day on the road, I don't mind waiting another day. Montana sands its roads with gravel. (rocks). I have had chipped windshields to many times when hitting the road at this time of the year. From home to the freeway is about 175 miles. Once on the freeway, I got it made. The platform off the back end of the camper sets the boat back about 3 1/2 ft. and keeps rocks from going too high and protects the boat from some of the gravel. Wish the shrink wrap was still on the boat. 🙁
Suppose to snow again today and the wind forecast is to die down tonight. I will keep my fingers crossed for tuesday.

captd

 

[notaclue]

capd, locked and loaded, haven't head that in some 40 years , fond , and not so fond memories ...... any how, good luck on your overland,, may the wind always be at your back, and may the road rise up to greet you... skipper steve.... 10th special forces group 1970-72....as usual, i have....notaclue

 

[captd]

We are about 500 miles down range. We will spent the night in Billings Mt.... Slush, slop , but not to much black ice. Wind about 55 mile an hour around Livingston on hyw 90. From the side. Huge sign said" All towed vehicles and those with large surface areas , exit now" That detour was a good one About 6 miles and we were back on 90. At that point it was a tail wind. 9.4 mpg. All the passes were dry. Storm is suppose to be coming. If you don't hear from us by Wed. night send out the dog teams. ( with Sarah Palin on the sled.) One weather report said wind gusts to 70 miles an hour, with a big snow fall around Billings.. About two more days and we will be in good shape. Sheridan Wy. is next shot and on to Cheyenne. Wy.

The slop has made the lucky Fin look like *hit. All the shinny new is now looking like an old tug boat. I don't think I have picked up any rock chips so far. I did mention that Mt. sands with gravel , not sand.

By the way , it took us two days to get here. the first night we spent in a truck stop in Missoula, Mt. Leaving home I pulled the Lucky Fin right into the snow bank on the side of the road,(making the corner out of my driveway. ) A little shoveling and the 450 ford pull'er right out. The slop was between home and Kalispell. From there on ....No complaints.

Tonight the Honda 2000 watt gen set is getting the first tryout. I love it. Got two new Peloris heaters , only need one. They are great heaters and very small . Best I have found for campers. $79.00 apiece. Couldn't get online last night.

I will take picture of the Unluck Finn to show you how fithy it is.

captd

 

[captd]

Boy, T...h...i....s c.....o....m....p....u...t....e...r i....s s...l..o...w. 500 more miles down range. We are in Cheyenne, Wyo. 100 miles of ice. Wind blowing like stink.

Honda purring along. Can not even hear it. Heater has warmed the coach up. Having a glass of wine. Wind shaking the camper from time to time. Life is good. Temp was about 34 tonight. Got'er made.

1st RV car wash this boat, camper and pickup is going to to get a bath.

I am probably bloviating and of interest to no one, but I got nothing else to do. It is only 6:21 pm. To early to go to bed.
Would take all night to load a picture. In fact , I think this will take an hour to post if it does it at all.

Talk to you tomarrow night.
captd

 

[captain's cat]

Hang in there, been there, done that!! Stay warm and keep the wine flowing.

Happy New Year...

charlie

 

[Trinity]

The light at the end of the tunnel is worth it all! Can't wait to hear about the great boating adventures ahead of you!

Nancy and Kerry

 

[captd]

74 degrees today, It was worth it. We are in Arkansas. Wyo was a bitch. Ice, snow pack. We waved a one finger solute as we went into Neb. And it was a dream and a straight shot. Found a KOA at Motel 6 Prices. $35.00. But we needed to flush the anti freeze out and fill up with fresh water.
30 minutes of air time and then you must pay. For $35.00 they ought give me a lap top for the night.
Storms in Mississippi and Florida pan handle, should be over by the time we get there.
Could not get on line last night. Boxed in by trucks may have been the problem.

Here may be some info of interest: Nebraska Carrier Enforcement said:
Front axle= 5280 lbs
Rear axle+ 8920
Boat and trailer 9500

23700 Gross
I am a couple thousand lbs lighter overall, Boat and trailer a couple hundred heavier. New Easy Loader

Time to eat
captd

 

[CaptMac]

Excuse my ignorance, but is the "boat and Trailer" weight really the total weight of the boat and trailer? Or is it missing the tongue load?

Mac

 

[captd]

Mac,
The tongue weight is on the rear axle of the pickup. Those weigh stations are busy and I didn,t want to fool around with detaching. I never got seperate weights on the Mis Dee either. Have you?
captd

 

[CaptMac]

No - never taken my boat to a scale. I still only have my F-150, so I only trailer from home to the ramp here on Whidbey. I'm still trying to decide which truck I should get - will a 250 be enough, would I be happier with a 350? Of course, I need to wait for the stock market to recover first, so it may be along wait.....

Mac

 

[Stella Maris]

I took mine to a truck scale on the way home from Seattle to Las Vegas. The boat was empty with the exception of a half a tank of fuel. The total weight of the boat and trailer was 9900#. I would definitely buy the biggest truck you can afford. We tow with a Dodge Ram 3500 dually. We have the large cummins with a six speed standard transmission. We also have an exhaust brake. We average 12 MPG pulling Solitude along at 55 to 60 miles per hour.

I can drop it into four wheel low on the ramp and just let out the clutch. I do not need to give it any gas to get it up the ramp. The truck just crawls right up the ramp.

 

[j&lgray]

We have taken the Laurie Ann to the truck scale just before our 2,000 road trip from Seattle to Iowa. The boat/trailer combo while hitched to the truck weighed 8,400 pounds. The King Trailer weighs 1,100 pounds according to the manufacturer. The truck was not on the scale. We were heavy with dinghy, outboard motor, folding bikes, lots of food, dive gear and full water tank but the fuel tank was only 1/4 full.

We pull the Laurie Ann with a Dodge Quad Cab, 4 by 4, 1500 series with the 5.7 L Hemi engine. We added air pillows under the rear suspension that we inflate to stiffen up the ride for the long towing. We love the 4 by 4 for the long, steep ramps that are slippery. The truck is rated to pull 8,400 pounds. We know that we are at the top of the tow range therefore we take it easy and lower our expectations. For the weeks of towing across the country we drove at 60 MPH and got 9.5 miles to the gallon.

If I was buying a truck today for the Laurie Ann, it would be the Toyota Tundra. It is rated to pull 10,000 pounds. Our boating friends have a 26 foot Rosborough, a very heavy boat and they rave about it. They have had several tow vehicles with different boats and love the Toyota.

 

[norbhat]

What's your opinion on my towing my Ranger 25 on EZLoader with my Ford 450 V10 motorhome? It is rated at 22,000. I weighed it, full fuel but otherwise mostly empty, at 13,000. I'd upgrade the hitch to handle the necessary weight. Would this be cutting things too close?

Norb

 

[captain's cat]

What does the literature say about its towing capacity?

Charlie

 

[Sam Walker]

Hi Norb, I am w/ Charlie. What does your literature say? The most capacity that I have ever seen in a motorhome w/ a gas motor is 5,000 pounds. Generally, there are two things at work that limit tow ability w/ motorhomes. One is the chassis is already almost at max capacity. There will be an interior sticker in a cabinet somewhere that will tell what the coach weighed dry. Normally, there is anywhere from 1100 to 5000 pounds available between the dry weight and the GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight). As you stated 22,000 pounds. That is pretty standard for a 31-36' gas coach. Your towing capacity will be expressed as the weight difference between the GVW and the GCVW (Gross Combined Vehicle Weight). Your Ford Chassis probably has a GCVW of 26,000 pounds. If this is so, you would have 4,000 pounds of towing capacity, unless you are not a full GVW.

The next part of the equation is how much can the aft end of your coach really take? Some MH manufacturers add on to the chassis length in creative ways. Some purchase the chassis in the right length for the job. Some cut out the frame in the middle, put in an extension piece of frame and weld it back up. Others, add frame to the hind end. This must be taken into account when the manufacturer certifies the trailer hitch. It must also be taken into account when you are going change a hitch in an attempt to increase the towing capacity.

There is another aspect to consider here. I, like you, have wrestled w/ how to get all of the toys to the toy spot. Along w/ that, I have contemplated how I intend to launch my boat, should I ever get there. I, myself, cannot stomach the thought of putting my big ol' motorhome on a ramp to launch my boat. It makes me nervous thinking about it.

To me, there is a big difference between, "will it work....... this time........." and "Is this reliable and safe to the point where I do not have to worry about it every time that I want use the combination".

Let us know some of the details of what you find out. I will be curious to find out.

Sam Walker
Ranger and C-Dory Wannabe

 

[captd]

No - never taken my boat to a scale. I still only have my F-150, so I only trailer from home to the ramp here on Whidbey. I'm still trying to decide which truck I should get - will a 250 be enough, would I be happier with a 350? Of course, I need to wait for the stock market to recover first, so it may be along wait.....

Mac

Lots of 250's pull 10,000 lbs. If a slidein goes in the pickup box, a one ton dually would probably keep you happy.
I had a 11.5 Artic Fox with a slide out. Loaded it was around 5000 lbs. I had a one ton dually. Now I have a 450
(1 1/2 ton) dually with a 6 speed manual. The Northern lite is lighter and narrower and shorter ( 9.6). I can see the boat sides through both mirrors.
I like the rig I got now. I get about 10 miles to a gal average. 4x4 is a big plus at the ramps. I used 4 wheel drive to get out of my driveway. Had to drag the boat and trailer through the snow bank to make the corner.

We are now in Panama City. Spent all day washing boat, camper and truck. Well all morning anyway. The lap top gots so slow, I could not get on line and post. I'm useing Mis Dee's new one. She is just going to have to share.

Autopilot goes on Thursday and Friday.
captd

 

[notaclue]

when it comes to choices in towing vehicles , everyone has their own biases usually towards the one they own. i towed my 25 ranger from anacortes to sac ca over several mnt. passes with a 5 yr old chevy duramax which worked out extremely well. it does have air bags with an on board compresser and an allison tranny. the only word of caution i would pass on to norbat would be that with every ford truck i've owned, the weak link has always been the tranny. they are extremely expensive to rebuild. i would check with the factory before towing any great distance particularily if your warranty is an issue, skipper steve, still don;t haveaclue

 

[rupunzal]

We tow with a 2500 Dodge Ram, 6.7 diesel, 6 speed electric tranny, exhaust brake, 4.10 rear end. Boat and King trailer scaled at 9800#. The towing capability of this trailer and truck is great--wish I got better mpg 🙁 --RPM 1800, Mileage 9.5 to 10 towing-65 MPH/non towing 14 MPH. I would not consider anything less than a 2500 and a 4x4 pulling this heavy a boat up a ramp. There is no fear factor when driving to a distant launch ramp guessing if the tow vehicle will be able to launch and/or retrieve the tug.
Solitude--what rear end do you have?

Tuggin aweigh
Taylorville, Illinois