Joe wrote:
> The wife and I want to do something similar but where they had a Club we
> will have a Quad and where they had a 690lb "Eagle" we will have a 500lb
> "Falcon" (http://fourwheelcampers.com/falcon.htm). Our list of add-ons and
> mods will also be considerably shorter and thus lighter than theirs. We
> would still have to take some care in what else we carry so as not to exceed
> GVWR but it seems like there would be enough payload left for a reasonable
> amount of other "stuff"
>
> We do not envision any extensive off-road "boonie busting" of the kind seen
> on the Jeep commercials but we do want some back-road capability to
> confidently get into and out of places that scare off the trailer-towing
> sedans and minivans.
>
> As I said earlier, slide-in camping is not the reason we are getting the
> Quad but it seems like there might be a chance that this may be an extra
> added bonus. Is this doable or would I be better off making reservations at
> Motel 6?
$7200 for that thing? Wow. That seems...high. For about the same
money you could have a pretty decent pop-up trailer. Just how rough is
the terrain you're hoping to tackle, and would it really be inaccessible
w/ a trailer? And where would you carry all your gear/supplies in this
setup?
Looking at my '03 brochure (ok, it's the Canadian one (Thanks Norah &
Jason!) but still...), the GVWR on my 4x4 4.7L 6010 lbs - that's
"properly equipped." Break it down:
Truck: ~4500 pounds
Gas: ~140
Camper: 500 (does that include the options you may select?)
People: ~325 for you and your wife (taking a wild guess)
Water: The Falcon has a 12 gallon tank, 8 pounds per is another 100 pounds
Total: 5565
So now you have 445 pounds to work with. You still need luggage, food,
pet, weight of any options on the camper, etc. You're rapidly
approaching 6010.
Add in the fact that you probably don't want to have yourself loaded to
the rated max (many serious RVers have a rule of thumb where they stay
at something like 80% of their total payload/tow rating as a safety
factor), nor do you want to raise your center of gravity if you're going
to be bouncing around on a trail, and you need space to carry your stuff...
I'm not telling you not to do it, nor saying it's a bad idea - just make
sure you run the numbers and then ask yourself if you honestly think
this is a good idea.
-- -andyhttp://home.twcny.rr.com/andylevy/dakota - andy-dml@levyclan.us -------------------------------------------- "Whatever Adam does, do the opposite and you'll be fine" -Bob Tom --------------------------------------------
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