We finally made it to RETIREMENT!!! Now the FUN begins, and we have set out to make the most of the "Retirement Life 4 Us". We want our Retirement to be full of new adventures, exploring old passions, traveling to places new and old, seeing life's daily humor, embracing the simple pleasures, and most importantly family times. We are committed to being curious, always learning, and embracing the gift of time with respect and grace.
We hope to include from other retiree's we meet or know any insights or wisdom they would be willing to share into our content.
Finally, We have six children and a growing number of grandchildren. The channel will not only document our Explores and Adventures but will serve as an archive of those for our family.
460, 454’s ruled the road pulling back in the day no question gas can’t pull, but Diesel where it’s at now the fuel mileage and torque is just so much better.
Was the MPG on the 16 miles of 6% reset before that climb? If not you were not getting a real MPG for that stretch. I ask because I get less than that on less slope with the truck alone. 2024 F350 SRW 7.3. Got it 2 weeks ago but have not pulled the RV yet. Want to know real world numbers to prepare myself. Thanks for the video.
Great vidio, I also have a 2023 F350 SRW 7.3 gas, I towed in the mountians for the first time going to Yellowstone, I think it pulled fine, I was using the trans. in manual up and down the grades worked a bit better than in drive. I have a question in your weighs your steer weight is 260# more with your trailer the without, mine is the same with the trailer as without, do you know why? alse you can add the coolant & trans temp right under your gages on the main screen so you can easly keep an eye on them as you drive.
Your dry tongue weights of the 5th wheel should not exceed 50% of your trucks payload. Once your truck and trailer are loaded you’ll be about 75%. Which would be safe going down the road. If you max that out in bad weather conditions and hills would be unsafe.
@@user-em7ze5gu7r thanks for that info. After weighing everything at the CAT scales fully loaded we are about 78% of payload capacity. So we are close to the 75% you say is safe. Can I ask where you found the 75% metric? I have been wanting to read more on safe payload but have not found much on it.
I went with a F350 7.3 with 3.73 gears and GVWR 11499# and payload of 4333#. Coming from a F150 that the payload was maxed out when towing my current TT I didn’t want any doubts for when we upgrade to a larger rv.
Looking at the same set up but want to replace our 1/2 ton that can pull our 8K trailer at the speed limit up any hill with a 1 ton that can pull the Brinkley at the speed limit up any hill (and handle Utahs are 70-80 mph speed limits). Pretty sure the Diesel is what we need for that.
@@michaeljohnson8469 my truck can pull at speed limits I just choose to drive slower as I am new to pulling a fifth wheel. I could handle every hill we did in Utah climbing at speed limits with plenty of power. For me I am still learning best way to descend grades slowly with minimal braking. Used the tow/haul mode which worked but I am going to try manual shifting or locking out gears next time. Good luck I do love the Ford truck gas or diesel.
7:20 my infeed left side (gearbox side) roller bushing is completely fused and the outfeed left is semi-fused. This of course destroyed one of the outside gears. I also pulled the bear box to inspect and it seems fine. But 2 things: 1. How did you remove your fused bushing blocks? 2. Any tip/trick to putting the roller assembly back because that darn spring? :) Thank you for an incredibly helpful video.
Will all due respect you definitely made the wrong choice for what your wanting it for. If your towing like you say you are then u need a diesel with the torque and horsepower and a long bed . Also if you’re adding up every little pound because your close to payload capacity then you’re putting to much stress on the truck . Over kill is the best advice I can give you on this subject. 350/450 drw is your solution 👍🏽
I would have got the lighter 5th. Your drive train and your brakes would thank you. Being a gas that engine can't handle the duty cycle needed to go with the big 5th. The longer you own and tow with that truck you will see that issues will arise that a diesel won't have. I understand why you are doing it but this thing will have limits. Regardless what a salesman says or the brochure. I've towed with gas and diesel, you'd be better off with the smaller 5th. It's a nice truck hope your engine lasts cause that thing will scream going up and down hills.
Not sure where you are from but where I live you need a class a non cdl license towing over 10,000lbs. Not sure if you are required to have that where you are from. Just throwing that info out for you to check. Enjoy your travels.
I only know PA, but here the CDL regs are tough to read. Initially thought I might need Class A, but was wrong. Unrelated to licensing, there is an exemption that you don’t need to register a truck pulling a recreational vehicle in combination, not exceedingly obvious or easy to find, but saves a few hundred on annual registration. Just throwing out there maybe save someone some coin!
You won’t get the 3 weeks of down time and rentals back when the cp4 grenades or some other silly sensor goes out and shuts it down. Stick with the gas and keep the 10 grand
@@notalenthere we choose the z2900 for one main reason we wanted the shorter length. They both are beautiful I can’t imagine not being happy with either.
Just as a comp... Your mpg's are great ! I have a '21 7.3 Godzilla towing a 8400# tt Going thru hills up & down, I will manually shift. Coming back home from a 4k mile trip and going thru a lot of hills & a mtn pass , I started down shifting a gear at a time with the manual gear selection ( + & - on the stock) while still in Tow/Haul; as my rpm's would drop to stay in the 2500-3200 rpm range on small hills & 3500-3800 on the long steep ones. Works so much better and less issues with the sudden down shift of two gears at a time. When I leave it tow/haul it feels like it will just keep adding gas and then lug a bit & drop 2 gears at a time. When going down hills I rarely have to use the brakes except a few 'stabs' now & then using the transmission for compression. I averaged 10.3mpg's going 62-64 mph.
@@herb7877 really appreciate the info. I am going to try the manual shifting on descent next time out. Would be nice to smooth out the sudden down shifts. Thanks.
Have had the BW hitch for the 7 yrs of full timing. To unhook, I raise the trailer to approximately 1/4” off the hitch. It has never given me any issues doing it this way. When I hook up, I position the trailer about 1/2” below the plate level. Again, never had an issue.
It has much more power and can climb. I just wanted to take it slow as I am new to pulling a fifth wheel. Also wanted to see how the 10 speed transmission controls the descents.
I can raise the front landing gear on the trailer and watch the hitch. You should be able to see when the trailer is off the hitch. Stop and that point and pull out. It's something that will take a few times before you find the sweet spot.
I had the same problem with the jaws opening with my B&W. I found that if I pinned the handle in the open position the jaws open up. Give it a try and see if that solves your issue.
Great looking rig 👍 We just bought a new F350 black 7.3 2 weeks ago selling our motorcycle tomorrow and going to start RV shopping. I literally had to create a spreadsheet with options we wanted so I could keep track of floor plans we want to see 🤦🏻♂️ Keep the vids coming we will keep watching and learning . 😁 Safe travels.
Thanks for the question. We were under the speed limit on the hills for sure. On the freeways we drive between 55-60mph sometimes more. But being new at this I wanted to take it slower. The whole trip was about 11mpg but that includes unhitched driving too. I never got under 9mpg towing between refueling.
No way that shirt belongs to your helper she doesn’t look old then 35. I been watching a lot of cheese slicer videos to get ideas. I enjoyed your board ideas
I recommend the Gen Y goose neck hitch for your truck. Get the adaptor ball kit, this will bring the ball back slightly. It is an awesome hitch set up. I have the same truck you have and we pull a Brinkley Z 2900, pulls like a dream. Good luck with your new adventure.
Congrats on your new truck! As we retired, ordered ‘21 F350 7.3L Lariat CCLB 4x4 3.73 gears ; LB has 48gal gas tank, 11500# GVWR Then we bought ‘21 Rockwood Ultra Lite 2898KS 5th wheel ; 36’ , just under 12K max GVW; truck tows this with no problem, plenty of room for a retired couple . Strongly recommend that you allow plenty of “cushion” with the max weight of the camper you select. Take time to study the camper features, lots of choices, options. The longer your rig, the fewer campsite choices available, particularly in National Parks. Have fun, enjoy the process!
I have the '22 crew with short box running the 7.3 through 4.30 rear and GVWR of 11,300. It looks like most details have been covered but I would like to add an important consideration with your choice of 5th wheel. Many states like my home of PA require a non-commercial CDL if your combined GVWR is 26,001 and greater...that puts your maximum trailer GVWR @ 14,501 before you buy into the CDL...that number really helps the decision making process. Conveniently, with the 4.30 gear, a 14500# trailer is no problem with this 7.3 gasser. Between trailer and payload I roll [lighter] down the road with ease @ about 16,400# and average 11mpg with the cruise set to 65mph (9.9mpg @ 70mph).
Thanks so much for the info. Appreciate the info on the CDL. Your info gives us greater confidence and happy to hear it’s all working great for you. Thanks.
It depends on set up for require license. Class C GVWR is less than 26k but includes trailer less than 10k. Class B GVWR can be greater than 26k but trailer is still less than 10k Class A GVWR up to 80k and includes trailer weight. In my state, I can have a class C with an endorsement J which increases the trailer weight but still have to keep it below 26k GVWR. One person I heard that got pulled over and license checked was for towing a 5th wheel RV with a boat. That requires a class A with endorsement for doubles.
Did you get this mileage on flat roads? We pulled our 5th wheel (similar size) this weekend with our 2024 f250 7.3L 4.30 and got around 7mpg @65-68mph. This was in the Texas hill country so there was a fair amount of downshifting on many uphill grades.
The never went to Mauna Kea resort beach it seems. It is just up the road from Hapuna Beach. Much better than Hapuna. They did not hike to Makawena beach either. Not to far from Kua beach but it is a hike. 👍
Way too many people buy a truck then they ask what can I tow? You should consider what you plan on towing before you purchase your truck. That way, you get the best stable platform for your choice of trailer or truck camper.
We have the exact same truck as you except it's a 22. We bought it just like you with the expectations that someday we will buy a fifth wheel and tow it around the country. We still have a couple years to go until retirement so the truck is my daily driver and I wanted gas. 30,000 miles and no complaints. We decided that we needed to try renting trailers to see what we would like in the future. The first thing we rented was a 28 foot travel trailer and took it 500 miles away. It was the first time I had ever towed anything and it towed like a dream. It was then that i had to quickly learn about getting into and out of gas stations. We then rented a 42 foot fifth wheel and I bought a pullrite 16K superglide hitch. The hitch was heavy but hooked up beautifully to the puck system. We pulled the rig from chicago to north carolina and had absolutely no issues going up or down the mountains. The engine braking in the tow/haul mode worked perfect downshifting for me. I got into a couple tight spots because of my inexperience but the sliding hitch worked great and we were able to get ourselves worked out. After that trip I was convinced that the truck and the hitch work perfectly together and I now have my sights on a 35 foot brinkley to see the country. Hope that helps and happy journeying.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad to hear it is working so well for you and that the engine braking is doing its thing. Thanks for the hitch info as well. Really helpful info for us! Thanks
We have a 22 F350 crew cab long bed with the 3.73 gears. Our camper weighs just over 14k. The camper is 43.6 feet long and 13.2 feet tall. We just went to Florida and back from Ohio and the truck did amazing!! Could pull most hills at 80mph if I wanted too. Definitely did not. Just saying plenty of power. We use the Reese goosebox and love it! All our specs are in range. In my opinion, you can safely max out payload as these trucks are rated above the specified sticker. But to be safe and legal I would not exceed the max on anything. Good luck
For the record, I have a Wen PL1326 and while it may have had an extra step (the outer frame is three pieces rather than one clean shell), replacing the gearbox was essentially the *EXACT* same process. Thank you for this! FYI: Snap ring pliers help for getting those pesky C-rings off.
I am running a 2022 F350 Lariat SRW 4.30 standard bed crew cab with the 7.3 and 3996 payload. We are full timing in a Jayco Eagle 355MBQS (43ft / 15,300 lbs). Using a curt crosswing hitch attached using my factory goose ball setup. I run all the math on the weights using a spreadsheet and CAT scale regularly. Everything is in the green but we are close on payload. Everything else has plenty of room. Truck pulls like a dream and tow/haul downshift “engine braking” works better than I thought it would on steep hills. The crosswing gives us 7” of offset off the goose ball and weighs in at 127 total pounds but is easily removable by 1 person in 10 mins. Really like how easy it hooks up and unhooks. Super happy with this rig all the way around. No regrets.
Thanks so much for that info. I am pretty sure we will but just a little under those numbers so gives us more confidence. Glad to know the engine braking is performing on steep grades. Thank you!
@@retirementlife4us485One more thing. I installed Timbrens in replace of my factory bump stops above the rear axle. This limits the amount of squat possible and really helps steering. My previous 5er was a 16,300 Jayco Northpoint that I ran with a Reese goose box on the same truck. This was actually over my payload just a little and the squat was affecting my steering. The Timbrens are awesome and I love that I don’t have to mess with them like the folks that air bags up and down.
I just order a 24 F350 king ranch 7.3 srw longbed with 430 to pull a 43 for Montana 3901Rk 14.8 dry / 16 loaded I coming from a ram 2500 and 34ft cougar setup. I did a ton of research and ford was the best /only gas option capable of handling a rig north of 15k and still leaving some head room. I worry about the death wobble and lifter issues, but hope it’s resolved in the 24’s. I will be adding on some timber end after reviewing them and taking the recommendation of big truck big rv. I hope I love it as I hope u love yours, these trucks aren’t reasonably priced anymore and they r trending up!
@@vincew.6905I am at 40k miles and death wobble has not been an issue at all. Jury is still out on the lifter failure issue but I hear that is mostly from 7.3s that idle a lot (delivery vehicles etc). Before the Eagle we had a Northpoint that was 16,300 gross. I think you will lose a little payload to the long bed and larger gas tank so watch the pin weight. But I was able to pull the Northpoint without too much trouble other than high wind with the high profile Northpoint. The low profile eagle is easier to pull with my standard bed. Good luck!
@@vincew.6905 thanks for the comment. And thanks for the recommendation on the timbren. I am going to tow a little and see if air bags or timbrens are needed. I also hope your truck does great! Thanks for helping.
We had all the same questions a few years ago and we now tow a Montana 3121RL that weighs 12,100 lbs. empty, with the same truck, same trim with 3.73 rear end. Absolutely no issues towing. We use a Pullrite slider hitch which is nice because you don't need to get out of the truck to release anything when making tight turns. The hitch slides automatically. Downside is if you want to take it out of the truck it's heavy, you'll need help. But I'm not sure many or any hitches are able to be removed by one person. Good luck!
