75RamRunner
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2023
- Member Number
- 6815
- Messages
- 187
Dream a dream with me.
Current set-up is a 21 ram 3500, grand design momentum 349 (12' garage 40' overall). I have a 2 seat can-am and my ramcharger (100" wide and 116" wheelbase ish).
The wife is getting more into the off-road stuff in terms of driving, she's always been a fan of the offroad scene and we have a 1.5 year old boy that loves anything with an engine. Long future of offroad stuff is the jist.
Currently i cant bring both toys without 2 tow rigs and that sucks. The 2 seater can-am is also going to be short lived, we have a bump seat in it now so we all fit but the kid is tracking size wise that of a 4 year old and im 300lbs. So a 4 seater of some variant is in the future.
Scenario 1:
Sell 5th wheel
Buy 5th wheel with open floor plan/bigger garage
Pros: Already have ram, lowest downtime option, fits 4 seat SxS
Cons: Doesn't solve Ramcharger issue, most 5ers with that much space are 43'+ and that severely limits out recreational camping sites we can get into. Fine for KOH. Moab, etc but sucks for the mountains , most expensive option new 5ers are 110+ in that size.
Scenario 2 :
Sell 5er
Buy small travel trailer and tandem dual flatbed gooseneck with deck on neck, build crawler hauler
Pros: already have Ram, can put the 2 seat on the neck and the Ramcharger on the deck, can still take the gooseneck on regular camping trips and have a built in patio off the dirt.
Cons: 43'+ overall, likely cant fit the 4 seater SxS on the neck, downtime to integrate the trailer into each other, buying two trailers now but can get used for both and probably net even purchase costs with sale cost of 5er
Scenario 2.5:
Same as above but figure out a way to make the travel trailer removeable and connect to the gooseneck via frame, etc so i can easily swing the axles back under it and bolt the springs back into the hangers and go. I have a crane easily and readily available as well as multiple 12k reaches. I realize this is not feasible for 90% of the population but the actual picking up and on the gooseneck would be a "easy" task.
Scenario 3:
Fire sale everything
Buy Semi, single axle it (or leave it duals dont really care) and build a 12-14' deck to put Ramcharger on
Buy bumper pull toy hauler with pull through garage for 4 seat SxS
Pros: I get a real truck, bumper pull can be kept <30' so easy recreational camping pulling with the pickup, can pull both rigs and living space, can load ramcharger and drive cross country with single rig if staying in hotels etc, purchase costs should net even again with that of the 5er. I get a real truck.
Cons: Have to build a bed for the deck, been watching the Tiny thread and id mimic a lot of that but would be awesome to make it removable and intergrate into the 5th wheel plate. Again i have easy access to heavy equipment to lift the bed on/off without too much hassle.
Before we get too deep the easy answer is a Kenworth/Peterbilt Toterhome with a 30' trailer. But i aint got 500k+ to play with.
I have my class A and can float gears fine. I'm no OTR trucker but i can double clutch. I've been wanting a 80-90s mechanical semi for GTFO purposes anyways. Range/Size are very appealing. I think i need to find one with at least a 36" sleeper so the kid/s can be in the truck during the drive. From what im seeing im going be pushing very close to the 65' overall max length. Anyone have experience with that?
Scenario 1 basically solves the 4 seat problem, tough luck butter cup if i want to bring the truck
Scenario 2 solves the issue at hand, but im stuck lugging a 43-45' trailer everywhere. The momentum is 39'6" end to end and i already take it places i shouldn't.
Scenario 3 solves all fronts, but I'm not sure im taking all factors into consideration.
Also dont really know where to begin as far as what rig. I like mechanical diesels, and with CA forcing them out there seems to be a ton available at decent costs. I've only used 10 speeds but im pretty confident i can figure out a 13/15. 18 seems way overkill for my uses. I think i need a small sleeper? Also would like enough frame to mount the bumper pull to the factory frame rather than my custom built flatbed/hitch but thats not really a deal killer.
If you stuck around and read all that word vomit here's you cookie.
Cliffs TLDR: You have 65k to spend, you have to get a 4 seat SxS, a full size crawler, and living accommodations for a family of 3-4 to a trail. What are you doing?
Picks of rigs because everyone needs them
Current set-up is a 21 ram 3500, grand design momentum 349 (12' garage 40' overall). I have a 2 seat can-am and my ramcharger (100" wide and 116" wheelbase ish).
The wife is getting more into the off-road stuff in terms of driving, she's always been a fan of the offroad scene and we have a 1.5 year old boy that loves anything with an engine. Long future of offroad stuff is the jist.
Currently i cant bring both toys without 2 tow rigs and that sucks. The 2 seater can-am is also going to be short lived, we have a bump seat in it now so we all fit but the kid is tracking size wise that of a 4 year old and im 300lbs. So a 4 seater of some variant is in the future.
Scenario 1:
Sell 5th wheel
Buy 5th wheel with open floor plan/bigger garage
Pros: Already have ram, lowest downtime option, fits 4 seat SxS
Cons: Doesn't solve Ramcharger issue, most 5ers with that much space are 43'+ and that severely limits out recreational camping sites we can get into. Fine for KOH. Moab, etc but sucks for the mountains , most expensive option new 5ers are 110+ in that size.
Scenario 2 :
Sell 5er
Buy small travel trailer and tandem dual flatbed gooseneck with deck on neck, build crawler hauler
Pros: already have Ram, can put the 2 seat on the neck and the Ramcharger on the deck, can still take the gooseneck on regular camping trips and have a built in patio off the dirt.
Cons: 43'+ overall, likely cant fit the 4 seater SxS on the neck, downtime to integrate the trailer into each other, buying two trailers now but can get used for both and probably net even purchase costs with sale cost of 5er
Scenario 2.5:
Same as above but figure out a way to make the travel trailer removeable and connect to the gooseneck via frame, etc so i can easily swing the axles back under it and bolt the springs back into the hangers and go. I have a crane easily and readily available as well as multiple 12k reaches. I realize this is not feasible for 90% of the population but the actual picking up and on the gooseneck would be a "easy" task.
Scenario 3:
Fire sale everything
Buy Semi, single axle it (or leave it duals dont really care) and build a 12-14' deck to put Ramcharger on
Buy bumper pull toy hauler with pull through garage for 4 seat SxS
Pros: I get a real truck, bumper pull can be kept <30' so easy recreational camping pulling with the pickup, can pull both rigs and living space, can load ramcharger and drive cross country with single rig if staying in hotels etc, purchase costs should net even again with that of the 5er. I get a real truck.
Cons: Have to build a bed for the deck, been watching the Tiny thread and id mimic a lot of that but would be awesome to make it removable and intergrate into the 5th wheel plate. Again i have easy access to heavy equipment to lift the bed on/off without too much hassle.
Before we get too deep the easy answer is a Kenworth/Peterbilt Toterhome with a 30' trailer. But i aint got 500k+ to play with.
I have my class A and can float gears fine. I'm no OTR trucker but i can double clutch. I've been wanting a 80-90s mechanical semi for GTFO purposes anyways. Range/Size are very appealing. I think i need to find one with at least a 36" sleeper so the kid/s can be in the truck during the drive. From what im seeing im going be pushing very close to the 65' overall max length. Anyone have experience with that?
Scenario 1 basically solves the 4 seat problem, tough luck butter cup if i want to bring the truck
Scenario 2 solves the issue at hand, but im stuck lugging a 43-45' trailer everywhere. The momentum is 39'6" end to end and i already take it places i shouldn't.
Scenario 3 solves all fronts, but I'm not sure im taking all factors into consideration.
Also dont really know where to begin as far as what rig. I like mechanical diesels, and with CA forcing them out there seems to be a ton available at decent costs. I've only used 10 speeds but im pretty confident i can figure out a 13/15. 18 seems way overkill for my uses. I think i need a small sleeper? Also would like enough frame to mount the bumper pull to the factory frame rather than my custom built flatbed/hitch but thats not really a deal killer.
If you stuck around and read all that word vomit here's you cookie.
Cliffs TLDR: You have 65k to spend, you have to get a 4 seat SxS, a full size crawler, and living accommodations for a family of 3-4 to a trail. What are you doing?
Picks of rigs because everyone needs them
Last edited:
) but this would work mighty fine for Scenario 1 as it was made to haul full size rigs/buggies and a SxS (albeit a single 2 seater and a trail bouncer).
