Hi, Mike! I’ve been wanting to drop a line to tell you that I’ve really been enjoying your website since I initially discovered it about two to three months ago. Probably the best site that I have seen that is “all things truck camping.” My wife and I had been through two travel trailers and finally decided that we wanted a truck camper. I think that what clinched it for her was when we took a wrong turn in Mt Rainier National Park last September and drove down a dirt road for several miles because there was absolutely no place that we could turn the rig around. We finally came to a barricade where the road was blocked because of a landslide. We removed the barricade and walked a little further and came to a place where we could actually turn around. Then we drove in and managed to turn around and drove out. My wife was really frightened by the experience, and I have to say that I was wondering how it was going to turn out. The point is that if we would have been driving a truck camper, we could have turned around immediately. This was just the last of several times that we drove into situations that had us worried. There were also camping opportunities that we had to pass up because the space would not accommodate a rig the size of our 28 foot trailer, plus the truck.
By the way, you and I have something else in common. I, too, owned an F-250 that just was not going to be enough truck, payload-wise, to haul a hard side truck camper with a slide. I tried it, but after adding airbags and stable loads I was still not comfortable that I was driving a rig that was safe. I went out looking for a Ram Tradesman 5 days ago, and ended up with a 2014 Ram Laredo 3500 4×4 diesel with a crew cab. It was really painful to give up the F-250, but there is a lot more peace of mind with having the right truck. And the dealer gave me a pretty good deal on the Laredo due to end of year clearance, incentives, a good rebate. and a good trade for the “250.”
Mostly I wanted to let you know that I am really glad that I found your site and that I am learning a lot from it, My wife and I are anxious to get back on the road and especially interested in going to Arizona and Utah to explore some of the areas that you talk about on the site. We are retired for this past year so we want to see all that we can of the National Forests and Parks, as well as the BLM areas.
John in California
Lance 855s
Hi mike just wanted to touch base with you on a couple of things. 1st I’ve enjoyed your website over past year & it had a big bearing on my wife & I buying a tc. We researched all rv types starting couple years ago & narrowed to tc last summer then focused on which one we wanted. We live in Tulsa Oklahoma & you don’t see many in this part of the country anymore. People that see ours comment on how grandpa, uncle etc had one when they were kids. We travel a decent amount in new mex & colo & see more tc’s out west. I was happy to read your post about buying a Northstar Laredo as that is what we settled on & actually bought the unit billy Mackaill had in Phoenix. We had already made the deal with him in May but wasn’t able to pick up until June 25 since I had to trade trucks so in the interim you wrote about billy & Northstar. We camped for a week in various places on our trip home (mogollan rim, el morro etc) but haven’t been able to take back out yet due to prior commitments. We actually were going to buy this winter & order one but in conversations with billy his demo had most equipment we wanted & he made us what we felt was a good deal, we hated to pass up so that’s why I expedited selling my 1/2 ton, getting new truck etc. read your talon install article before installing mine & that helped some also although I have 2015 Chevy 2500. Sorry, I’ve been a little long winded here to get to couple of questions. Doesn’t look like you’ve picked your ns up yet but what are you going to install a 2nd battery & if so where? We haven’t been able to use ours enough to figure out how long the 1 battery will last us. Ours doesn’t have solar(you probadly looked at our unit at Billy’s?!?!) but am thinking of getting a portable unit instead of rooftop so can camp in shade when possible as summers are hot here. Most of our trips will be weekenders then maybe twice a year week to 10 days to mountains, natl parks etc. & we tend to roam more than stay at 1 location more than couple days so I think 1 battery may serve our purpose for now?!?! Also looking at TV & stereo equipment that I will install myself most likely since mine has none (but is prewired). Any suggestions, comments are appreciated. We’re looking forward to trips out west over next few years & will be using some of your routes in no. Ariz & Utah as that’s what our plans have been. We are 59 & 58 yrs old & (unfortunately) have to work a few more years but if all goes to plan will be using more over the next several years. Hope I didn’t bore you with tmi. Look forward to reading about your Laredo. Keep up the good work. Tim & Kathi Burton
Hi Tim, and thanks for your very kind words. Yes, we almost looked at your Laredo, but we had already decided that we wanted one by looking at one at a local dealership. We are have the factory wire our batteries up so they’re under the dinette seat. There’s plenty of room there for two batteries plus they’ll stay warm there. I would get another battery. Since you only have room for one battery, I would enroll in my drawing for the Torklift HiddenPower unit. The drawing enrollment period ends August 17, so you still have time to enroll. The link to the contest drawing is here: http://www.mellomikeadventures.us/2015/07/announcing-the-2015-torklift-hiddenpower-giveaway/
That's really nice. I'm sure there are many others you've helped or influenced that you will never hear from, but it's sure good when they do leave a message like that. 🙂
Thanks, Barb. I agree.