Hybrid-000
Eat to Live Do Not Live to Eat
I am thinking of retiring (after 50 years working) and doing part-time RV. What do you suggest? North America....................
No wheels yet.
DBB
No wheels yet.
DBB
Going to retire
- Thread starter Hybrid-000
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Git-er-done!
Git-er-done!
By all means! Make sure you have a plan B! I thought I had retired at 53 years old but found the place I wanted to live at most of the time required I work there to stay! Still seasonally working at 70 years old! Have fun but plan well!
SierraCamper
Active member
Great idea David. Retire and go part-time and get a feel for it. I would suggest if possible either trying out some different vehicles for a bit or buying an older unit and testing it out to make sure its the right type of vehicle. Everything is a compromise when it comes to vehicles. Figure out what is important to you and what is not.
Wish you the best.
Wish you the best.
Hybrid-000
Eat to Live Do Not Live to Eat
My wife and I have been living internationally since 1978. Now looking to return to USA & can buy a new vehicle. I am liking the Durango with trailer package. Got a home in AZ currently rented until Jan 2023. No trailer yet. Own some mountain acreage in northern AZ. no hook-ups though.
Manufacturers of tow vehicles often “overestimate” the weight there products can tow and carry. Manufacturers of trailers often fail to consider the weight full timers carry in their trailers. I would recommend you choose a trailer, load it and weigh it before buying a tow vehicle. Before buying a tow vehicle rent/borrow/test drive a similar vehicle while towing the trailer at highway speeds up and down steep grades on warm days to be sure it will do the job necessary for you to feel comfortable when towing. Most any salesman will tell you what you “can” pull as most anything will move with wheels under it. It has been my experience that the next size larger truck than what is recommended is generally what works best and has the fewest brake jobs, transmission repairs, breakdowns/repairs over the life of the truck for people that tow once or twice a month. Unless you are towing a very tiny trailer you will most likely need at least a 3/4 ton truck in my opinion. I started with a Toyota Tacoma which became a Toyota Sequoia which became a 3/4 ton Suburban then modified it to 1 ton. Pretty expensive learning curve if you under estimate what you need in my opinion.
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Hybrid-000
Eat to Live Do Not Live to Eat
Any comments on the Dodge---???My wife and I have been living internationally since 1978. Now looking to return to USA & can buy a new vehicle. I am liking the Durango with trailer package. Got a home in AZ currently rented until Jan 2023. No trailer yet. Own some mountain acreage in northern AZ. no hook-ups though.
6500 ft
Hybrid-000
Eat to Live Do Not Live to Eat
The Durango has a 5.7 l V8 Hemi that could likely tow anything 2 people need (under 20-ft). Mileage is not too much worse than the V6. (19-21 mpg). Trouble in the AZ mountains is that with the drought, you have to haul in your own water, although power is available at the property line.
We towed an older 1991 18’ camper trailer loaded with everything we owned down the Moki dugway in Utah to Page Arizona with a 360 cubic inch V8 Grand Wagoneer after nearly going over the ledge we took a different route coming back towing it with a 1 ton Uhaul. If you are traveling to places you are unfamiliar with or in unusual weather you may find you need more. Rent a camper trailer off Craigslist as well as a rental Durango for a weekend and take a test drive with the trailer up and down a little mountain road and over a freeway at speed. It may cost you a day and a few hundred bucks but may save you thousands as well. Most people on the reservation without water tow a trailer/tank with a minimum of a 3/4 to one ton truck. It is just too much wear on the vehicle suspension to haul it on the vehicle. Don’t plan on much over 10 MPG towing by the way.
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