Introduction

[LuckyDog23]

We are a retired couple in the East Bay Area of Contra Costa County, California, with a planned sale and move/downsizing to Lincoln Hills in Placer County, California. We just need to close escrow on the first house, since the new one we already own. I am a former registered nurse who spent 30 yrs working evenings and nights in a dark windowless room. - either an ICU, a radio communications room, or at a tele desk. I’m ready for some light in my life! Husband spent more years in a dark primarily window less cubicle as an engineer in bio tech. He got to escape for business travel which abruptly ended with being sent home to work due to Covid shut downs. That lasted from March 23 to Aug 31 when he retired. He never went back. When the first inklings of Covid rumors reached us, I quit as well. And here we are, looking for a small fifth wheel and a rather grandiose plan. Step one is move to the new house. It will be our base until we relocate again. California has become an inhospitable place to live on so many levels that my husband wants to move out of state. I’m happy staying here because my family is here. He has no family still living. I have a sibling with grown children, a married daughter and a married grandchild all within a few hours drive. So hopefully we can travel to a few states and check them out since he’s adamant about getting out of California.

Husband has never pulled a trailer except for three rentals! First was a tent trailer we rented, second was a bobcat to build rv parking next to our current house for a small Winnebago gasser, which is getting old and showing her age and she loves burning gas at a prodigious rate, said gas is hovering at about $5/gallon. The last time he pulled a trailer was a u-haul to bring home kitchen cabinets for a remodel. A drive of 20 min. Suffice to say, that doesn’t come close to backing up a miniature fifth wheel. Hence, we are considering the. 33 ft Alliance models. I want a trailer good for long trips, not just weekends which up till Covid we did quite frequently. After Covid we jumped head first in a full gut renovation to bathrooms and kitchens plus other fun stuff like crown molding, all new LVP flooring, new windows, new 6 panel doors, closet systems (home built). And we acquired a fair amount of skills along the way.

Our Winnebago’s water heater went kaput, the fridge is balky and totally unsuitable for more than a couple days, has no ice maker. Microwave decided to self immolate, so we replaced it. The converter died. Batteries being batteries were replaced twice in ten years. It’s become a money pit and it’s time for it to retire as well. Our super duty gets about 17 mpg — same as my Ford Edge. I’m happy with that. I’m sure towing a trailer will make that 17 mpg go down.

So we are this week traveling to two widely spread dealerships to take a look at the two Alliance models. I am getting excited!

So, with this rather unorthodox intro (most people write one sentence LOL) that is us. Hello everyone!

 

[CornCrib]

We pulled a 14' popup for 18 years, all across the country. I find the 35' 32RLS easier to control while backing into a site. Much more predictable and forgiving than a wagging popup.
We're averaging 13.3mpg in 6000 miles towing the CornCrib with our '22 F350 6.7 SB... current weight of trailer is 12,700#. We stay at 65, or what ever the speed limit is below that. That helps alot. MPG drops to 10 or below if we crank it up to 70mph +.

 

[LuckyDog23]

Our son in law swears longer trailers are easier than short one and he’s had both, bumper pull and fifth wheel toy haulers. My DH bless his heart is very stubborn. Personally I think you can just as easily wreck a 33’ as a 35’ but he’s not budging. There is the state park factor length restrictions. Here in Calif they are really bad. Like 24’ bad.

Our truck is an F-250 Lariat 4x4 with towing tech package plus upgraded suspension which I failed to include. I’m thinking that a smaller trailer will give me more weight leeway when it comes to adding a generator or larger propane tanks. I’ve read these tend to be pin box heavy. Air bags are on order. Right now it’s getting paint blems fixed. We ordered a 2023 in January and eventually gave up, found this one on our dealership lot when I went in for service on the Edge and I literally bought it that very day.

Agree on speed. Around here there are morons who weave and do 80 in a 65. When we drive the coach we just get in the truck lane, I get my ear buds and an audiobook going (no conversation possible in the noise of that thing. We even dynomatted the shroud. It’s about 65 dB according to my Apple Watch. Top fuel dragsters are about 110 for comparison although a very short duration. Talk about mileage lol. Driving sanely allows you to have a more generous reaction time especially with the crazies we have. For some odd reason the numbers of crazy young males with big fart pipes have skyrocketed since Covid. Gotta keep eyes open.