Does anyone here tow? Post up your pics.

Haha the guy I do side jobs for is a bassist, and of course he has a vanity plate, but I always read it as the fish and get super confused when I see it

 

Our arrival in hot springs a few days ago. The decision to come here was based solely on it being about halfway to our destination in Texas. It exceeded my low expectations and we have had fun. The Koa is typical parking lot fare, but we have barely been here. Nice to get showers and dump the tanks though.

 

We're not to far from you on Beaver lake. There is another first gen here pulling a pop up. I think we are going to spend a few days in hot springs this fall.

 

All ya'lls AR camping brings back memories as a kid in summer on Lakes Norfolk, Greers Ferry, Table Rock....etc. The trips I really try to remember are the ones out west, SD, ND, WY and down to Tijuana.
The back of the camper, similar to the below setup, was full of State stickers we had visited, that we'd get from Stuckeys !

 

Look at the font axle hubs on that truck. They're not the typical manual locking hubs... they look like the hubs from a rear axle. I've never seen those before. I presume they're always locked?

 

The ones on Dads were similar to below. I can’t remember what steps were taken other than we did get out and manually turn that knob.....way toooo many years ago !

 

Yeah, they typically look like this.


I just don't think I've ever seen a one with always-locked hubs like in the GM brochure.

 

I just like the Egg in the background even with a Dodge? pulling it!

 

Those appear to be the heavy duty axles from a K20 or K30 series rather than the half ton axles. Makes sense for a camper truck. Weird to not see the locking mechanism.

 

Norfolk and Greer's are both on are list. Tablerock was our first camper camping trip. The Ozarks are pretty great.

 

Glad you noticed. I like lifetime campers. I told them I Liked it. There is another casita here too. Super strange. I rarely see fiberglass or aluminum campers.

The dodge truck seems like an odd choice to go with such a great camper.

 

https://www.2horsetrailer.com/2003-sundowner-trailers-8-wide-2-horse-gooseneck-horse-trailer-Yofk%7Cpge.html

Who knows what something like this would weigh? 2 horse aluminum trailer? Empty?

Why arent there many 1st gens pulling lightweight 5th wheels? moving the tongue weight above the axle, motorcycle in the back to balance against the tongue? If its light enough, would be worth converting to a single axle.

 

If this 18 x 7 footer weights 4,360, the 15' (lower floor length) x 8 footer gooseneck you posted probably weighs 4,500 - 5,000 lbs??? The dual axle trailer will provide better tracking and a greater safety margin if a tire goes flat or a bearing fails. Internet guesswork worth exactly what you're paying for.

https://www.sundownersuperstore.com/2021-sundowner-trail-blazer-1869-rv-5FZj.html

 

[QUOTE="
Why aren't there many 1st gens pulling lightweight 5th wheels? moving the tongue weight above the axle, motorcycle in the back to balance against the tongue? If its light enough, would be worth converting to a single axle.[/QUOTE]

Rear axle position in relation to cab is shorter than most trucks. Makes towing the 5th wheel trailers risky. Cab to trailer contact would be more likely when turning. Some have done this with a slider hitch for when they needed to back the trailer in to a spot.

 

Coincidentally, my grandparents retired to Hot Springs (Music Mountain specifically) in the 70s. When we visited the days were spent fishing on Lake Hamilton, Lake Ouchita and swimming at the CCC built damn and swimming hole at Charelton Recreation area. In 2016 I visited their house and spent a few hours reminiscing with the gracious current owners. Those owners had a 19' Casita. There you have it, at least one more Casita in AR.

Charleton swimming hole (recommended)...

 

Our stay in Sam Houston national forest yesterday. Was nice being out of the typical parking lot campground

 

Looking to go bigger...
Wife settled on the Bullet 273BHSWE... Now to just acquire it

 

Another angle

 

Hello fellow first gen tundra forum section browser. Here is another angle of my first gen towing a travel trailer.

 

^^^ A few words about the travel trailer? Did you restore it? What's the maintenance schedule to keep it shiny? Photos of the inside? How much does it weigh? I guess I need to meet you in a campground and then bore the heck out of you asking the same questions you hear everyday.

 

I did some of the mechanical work, Axle, plumbing, tanks. This is the first full year using the aluminum camper. We had an Forrest River before that. It was junk. I re-polished this last year. It took all of my free time for about 2-3 weeks, part of that was learning technique . It had not been polished for about 10 years before that. A weekend or so a year will keep a small one in great shape. Parking it inside would extend that to 5-10 years. The unpolished aluminum looks pretty great if you keep it clean, but it is not as fun. Yeah, you should come talk to me in campground.

 

Holy Toledo! What a world of difference. Nice move going back to half-moon hub caps (among dozens of other things other things). Thanks for the notes.

 

I am looking to rent a similar unit for a trip this fall. My '05 DC also has the 7,000 lbs. towing capacity. Did your truck feel "planted" when pulling down the road aside from the occasional passing big rig? The tricky part of pulling a rig like this is its wind profile versus pulling a car hauler or a boat.

 

Where and how far matter. My initial reaction is " your poor truck".

 

I tow my frame around, Mercedes around, and last month did 340ish miles to pickup an rotted 02 Tacoma.

this truck pulls like a dream! Even with the squat (I MAY do airbags. But honestly it handled it so well I may not)

 

Helping a friend

 

The culmination of our journey. My buddies wedding in shiner, Texas. Where they brew the beer. The city park actually has 12 full hookup sites. Quite pretty and quiet.

 

And our week on the beach in port Aransas, I didn’t take a pic at the campground, but it wasn’t anything fancy. Cheapest full hookups I could find available for the week. Worked out it was about a stones throw from the beach.