REMEMBER WHEN
The RV Club was like a blog where the whole group typed their thoughts , and everyone else in the group could read and comment and relate their own thoughts . Primitive , yes , but at that time , it was new and exciting to communicate with other already experienced full-timers , those who had recently begun RV living or , like us “ newbies ”, were heading down that road . We met another couple , Bill and Harriet , who joined the RV Club at about the same time we did . Coincidentally , they lived in Salem , Oregon during their working careers and offered to show us around once we moved into our apartment . We quickly became friends , and that friendship became lifelong .
The “ RV Club ” didn ’ t last long before the internet surpassed the ability of the webmaster to keep up with the technology . Early on , the Club held two get-togethers . We attended both , even though we had still not purchased our new big rig . We had learned much from talking to those who had already begun their full-time lifestyle , and by listening to them and getting to see , firsthand , the different styles of RVs owned by the club members , we decided on what kind of rig we would like to purchase . Our decision was influenced greatly by one club couple ’ s rig . It was a large fifth wheel hooked up to a large Freightliner medium-duty truck . The owner let us nose around inside and out of their rig . It was great ! Very impressive !
I asked the owner why he chose a medium-duty truck rather than a pickup truck to pull his fifth wheel . Weren ’ t the medium-duty trucks substantially more expensive ? He said yes , but the extra expense was necessary to be within the legal weight limits . He explained that a 1999 Ford F350 pickup had a Gross Towing Capacity of 14,000 pounds . His medium-duty truck had a Gross Towing Capacity of 26,000 pounds . His fifth wheel weighed in , loaded , at 19,500 pounds . He continued , telling us that many big pickup truck owners , like the F350 Ford , pride themselves on how much they can pull up the mountain passes . None of them , however , brag about how easily they stop in a crisis . The determining factor is weight . The F350 curb weight runs around 5,000 pounds , and his medium-duty curb weight was around 12,000 pounds . The medium-duty is much more capable of a straight line stop in a shorter distance than the F350 .
We made our choice right on the spot . We would be seeking to buy a high-end fifth wheel to tow behind a custom-made medium-duty truck .
NOTE : In 1999 , the F350 was the largest pickup truck generally available . F450 ’ s were produced but without the pickup bed . Just the chassis . One could special order an F450 with a bed at a substantially higher cost , but it would not substantially increase the towing capacity . By about 2005 , Ford began to manufacture F450s with the bed included , and they beefed up their truck ’ s towing weight specifications to handle the heavier fifth wheels . However , the curb weight , still at around 5,000 pounds , remained much lower than the medium-duty trucks made by Freightliner and International . However , the RV industry was constantly improving its designs to offer larger fifth wheels with better braking systems and at a lower weight . Consequently , the use of medium-duty trucks began to fade out .
At that time , we were driving what we considered a sporty high-end car ( Not Rolls Royce high-end , just typical everyday high-end ). We had sold our truck , our camper , and our boat and , with the proceeds , purchased a new 1985 two-door Pontiac Grand Prix Limited Production Concept Car . It was truly one of a kind ( Maybe there were two or maybe even three ). It had four wrap-around bucket seats , removable smoked glass convertible T-tops , light metal flaking in plush gold paint fading to light brown at the bottom , and wheels designed just for this car . It was a great sporty car that got a lot of looks . I never saw another one in all the years we owned it ! It would come into play a short time later in Salem .
As it turned out , there happened to be an International truck dealership
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