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RE: Crossing Colorado on I-70
Mricemaker;
Have you ever taken US-285/US-50 down to Ridgeway? Making our first trip to Ridgeway SP in July, and thinking of the 285/50 route.
We with be towing a 30' TT (about 9,000lbs.) with a K-3500 Duramax/Alison, so we can pretty much handle the grades I think, but not familar with the road conditions.
Ken Gasbarri
Ken,
Yes I have (although not recently, and not with the boat.) 285 (I am assuming you are coming out of the Denver area) will have you on 4 lane divided highway for about the first 20 miles or so, and then it goes to some pretty narrow 2 lane - but not too bad. You will go over Kenosha Pass (won't notice it probably) and then thru South Park (yes - THAT South Park.) Although the highway is pretty straight, watch the wind - it can come out of nowhere and really let you have it. The weather in South Park is just wierd - I drove thru there yesterday (towing just the boat coming back from Memorial Day weekend at Navajo State Park and it's 15,000 acre lake)and watched a woman do a 720 degree flip in her minivan due to the 2 inches of HAIL on the road. Delayed an hour due to the EMS activities and the fact I was the only one close enough to see it happen...she left in an ambulance....but I digress.....
At Hwy 50, you will head west - this will put you over Monarch Pass, which is (in my humble opinion) not as bad as some of the other passes in the state, but due some respect. With your truck, you shouldn't have any issues. The road (in summer) is a pretty easy drive. Ridgeway has a great lake, and you are only about 10 miles from Ouray, and 35 from Silverton - which is my favorite place to visit in the entire state. Make sure you drive (truck only) from Ouray to Silverton - narrow road and 1000 foot drop-offs. I have driven with the fifth wheel over this pass, but I wouldn't do it just for the experience....narrow with no guardrail, and a sheer cliff 6" off the side of the pavement. Beautiful though, and OTR drivers take 53' trailers over it all the time....and may cross into your lane on the switchbacks....
If you go to Ouray or Silverton, make sure you go thru a mine tour - Silverton also has a GREAT mining museum. Ouray has a neat hot springs pool, and you can rent jeeps from either location to explore ghost towns (or take a guided jeep tour if you don't feel like driving.)
Ridgeway is one of my favorite parks in the state because there is so much you can do in the surrounding area - or just stay at the park and enjoy the lake and scenery!
Mark
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MrIcemaker
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05/26/09 10:41pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Crossing Colorado on I-70
I am going to add just a little to the very informative post that Washboy wrote:
I towed the rig that is pictured in my signature from Denver to Ridgeway (south of Grand Junction off I-70) several times every year for the past 4 years. Even though your rig is heavier than mine was, I added a boat behind me for some extra excitement!
Washboy's description of the hills you will encounter is spot on. I noticed that you have an exhaust brake listed in your profile. Use it on the downhill portions that he listed, (hold your speed to whatever you are comfortable with - stay under 40 on those big hills or what is specifically called out) and you will be fine. It isn't as scary as it is made out to be IF YOU ARE CAREFUL. Use your brakes only as needed (here is where the exhaust brake will come in handy!) and watch your exhaust gas temperature on the climbs....
I usually stop several times to take a break (and give the truck a rest) - these are:
Once you go thru Eisenhower Tunnel and down thru Silverthorne, you start to climb again - you will have a rest area / parking lot on your right at the top of this hill - it is well signed (you have a great view of Lake Dillon on your left.)
At the top of Vail Pass, there is a nice rest area (with bathrooms - again, well signed.)
Also, the 3rd (last) rest area in Glenwood Canyon will handle a large rig - there are parallel spaces (along the road once you enter) that I could even put my rig with boat attached, and you don't have to back up. Walk down to the river and enjoy some of the best views that our state has to offer.
Enjoy the scenery, but don't let that remove your concentration from the road. These are steep grades, but from the equipment on your signature, you shouldn't have any problems.
Mark
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MrIcemaker
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05/26/09 06:51pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Is this worth the money? Need Help PLEASE
NADA comes up (without any options) at an average retail of $800 - so I would have to say this is a bit on the high side. Of course, it depends on what it is worth to YOU that determines value....
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MrIcemaker
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05/09/09 09:40pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Sad News... :(
Wes,
I also just sold my 5th wheel and truck due to a variety of reasons - but that doesn't mean that I am going anywhere. I will some day (hopefully soon!) have another camper and spend more time enjoying it, but in the meantime I plan on monitoring this forum and helping out others where I can. I hope you will consider doing the same!
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MrIcemaker
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05/08/09 04:23pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: picture of double towing
The photo below still has my old truck and old boat, buy you get the idea.....
My profile has a larger picture taken from the rear if you want to see it.
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MrIcemaker
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04/06/09 09:24pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Bummer--90 gal gray water is really only 45------help
I had 2 gray water tanks on my fifth wheel also. Since they drained thru the same outlet pipe, I added an additional dump valve as shown here:
Dump Valve
This way I could shut the new valve, and open both gray water tank valves - effectively combining them. It also came in handy for rinsing out the black tank!
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MrIcemaker
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03/24/09 07:19pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Americamp still in business?
I had the web site bookmarked, and it has been taken over by another company (re-directed).
We have hundreds of nights spent in ours (2004) with tens of thousands of miles towed and are still very pleased with it.
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MrIcemaker
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02/26/09 08:45am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Tell Me About Ameri-Camp Products
Hey Guys,
I am looking at a used 2006 Ameri-camp 321QBS fifth wheel. How are their products? If anyone has this model do you know what your fresh and waste water capacities are? Going this weekend to look in person.
Ameri-Camp was started by a few ex-Carriage employees in 2003. From then until late in 2005/early 2006, they built a very high quality, mid priced trailer - mostly using commodity RV components. They got themselves into financial trouble (I don't know the EXACT facts, and don't want to speculate or tell stories - and there were alot of other things that led up to this) and wound up being sold to the parent company of their largest dealer on the east coast. A complete management personel change later, and their quality seemed to suffer greatly. They went out of business last fall, and the owner/dealer wound up with the remaining inventory - some of which is still for sale as new units.
Based on my knowledge of how the original units were made, I still feel that these campers were some of the best "quality for the dollar" units ever manufactured. I purchased one because of that - in effect putting my "money where my mouth is". Almost 5 years later, I still feel that way....and I still own one.
To answer your questions, the 321QBS came with a fresh water tank holding 37 gallons, a black water tank holding 37 gallons, two gray water tanks holding 37 gallons each (total of 74) and a 10 gallon hot water heater holding an additional 10 gallons of fresh water (total of 47 gallons of fresh water.)
I can't attest to the quality of the 2006 units. As everyone else will tell you, take some time and look it over - decide for yourself. This model has some interesting features (like a TV you can actually watch from the couch without turning your head 90 degrees, and the ability to get to every storage compartment with the slide fully in - especially helpful for loading and those roadside stops!) My only complaints were the crappy OEM tires, and the fact that the bedroom was a little chilly on cold nights - which is fixable fairly easily.)
If you want to see mine, check out the following link:
2004 Ameri-Camp 321QBS
Whatever you decide, make sure that it is the right unit for YOU.
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MrIcemaker
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01/27/09 08:49pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Anti Virus?????
Another vote for AVG - I have it on 5 computers (along with CCleaner and Ad-aware) and have not had any problems. Good luck with getting the Norton off your machine - it is almost as big a virus as AOL software.... ;)
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MrIcemaker
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01/26/09 07:44am |
Technology Corner
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RE: Cameo by Carriage
Some good friends of ours live in theirs about 8 months out of the year (and have for the past 4 years). They love theirs, and having seen the quality for myself, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one or recommend one to a friend.
(For the record, I don't own one or have any interest in anyplace that sells them!) :)
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MrIcemaker
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01/11/09 08:14pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Shortest fith wheeler out there?
Check out the Sun Valley 5th wheels - as small as 19' 7":
Model XF190
Not the easiest web site, but you can at least see the floor plans and spec sheets....
I have no experience with these, so this isn't a recommendation - just repeating the information......
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MrIcemaker
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12/28/08 07:18pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: macerator pump for 5er
I built one of these myself inside a large plastic tool box. Purchased the pump on-line, and the hoses from these folks. Works great, and it pumps uphill at the house (70 feet away and 10 feet uphill)!
RV Sani-Con
I use a large tote in the back of my truck when camping for longer times and pump the waste into it for dumping. Then I drive to a dump station and use gravity off the truck to empty it.
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MrIcemaker
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12/13/08 06:10pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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