The site/internet was really slow last night, so I only have a handful of updates for today.
It’s been a few days since I’ve been in the shop working on the FC. Things first came to a stand still when Ann’s cousin and his family to drop by for a visit. We all had a good time. The kids wanted a ride in the race jeep, so I zipped around the property with them, which, by the large smiles on their faces, they seemed to enjoy.
On Wed night we discovered one of our calves (spending the summer at a neighbor’s pasture) had gotten pink eye in the same eye that had it last year. So, we spent Thursday morning prepping our chute and corral, then cowboy’d over all three calves to our pasture. The hurt one got an antiobiotic shot in the chute. We ran the other two through the chute for practice (to their credit, they went through pretty easily).
Ann’s cousins left Thursday following our cattle rustling. After a shower (it’s still hot here, so I’ve been sweating tonsl) and a nap, I spent some more time looking through toy haulers, class A and class C motorhomes. We still haven’t decided how much of a rig we want to get (how much will we really use it, how much do we want to spend on upkeep, what’s the most practical, etc). I also wasn’t quite sure how much our tilt trailer and race jeep weigh together. So, yesterday I decided to get them weighed.
It turns out the race jeep weighs 3140lbs
The tilt trailer weighs 3180lbs (10k GVWR)
The truck weighs 7760lbs
We originally bought the dual axle, heavy duty tilt trailer for the tractor and the zero turn mower. That it could tow the race jeep (or be winched onto the trailer) was a bonus. However, if we had the race jeep on an aluminum dual axle trailer (it looks like they run about 1500lbs or less), our total weight would be 4600lbs, allowing most motorhomes to be able to tow the jeep and trailer without modifications (5000lbs max towing capacity seems fairly common).
Ann’s mother’s 27′ class C Forest River motorhome (Ford 4350 chassis) worked fine for our travels, though it was uncomfortable for me to drive at times due to the short seats. We also never towed anything with it. And, the low quality build elments were beginning to show some wear by the time we sold it. So, I’m not in a rush to get a cheap Class C.
Here’s what we do know … We know that when we go east with the FC Tour Jeep, it will be pulled by our truck, either on the tilt or on the three wheeled trailer that came with it. My guess is that the Tour jeep will prob come in around 4500lbs, so with either trailer, I’d plan on the pair weighing 8000lbs.
Beyond that, we can either get a used Class A (preferably with new tires and upgraded suspension parts at the very least). With it, we’d probably return to making some longer spring and fall trips (we plan to sell the breeding cows and switch to just raising a few summer cows … this will give us more freedom);
OR a Class C (if we can’t find the right Class A), which would likely be a cheaper option and likely having us use it locally for a race event;
OR a Toy Hauler, but one that has a 3500 ramp and cargo capacity, which we could tow with the truck.
We hope to make a decision soon, as I’d like to take the race jeep to summer convention this year.
Decisions, decisions.
