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Finally upgraded from our bumper-pull. Picked this up a week ago and set off on a 1,300 mile maiden voyage to the West Coast. We love the floor plan with two full-size bedrooms and two full baths and a 100" wide-body. I will be living in it two weeks a month for work out of state(Cali). Needless to say there were technical/mechanical challenges. You expect the dealer to do an adequate PDI, now being 24hrs from the dealer, thankfully I am handy and carry a full set to tools. We are looking forward to exploring the many destinations in the California area while we are here for the next few months.
2022 Avalanche 390DS
Glad you posted, I have not seen this floor plan and it might work for us.
Glad you posted, I have not seen this floor plan and it might work for us.
This unit checked all the boxes for us, except it is long and heavy. There are several two bedroom floor plans out there(Cardinal, Sierra, Elkridge) but the half bath always puts the TV at an angle to the recliners which was a no-go for the Mrs. This one has the full bath at the back and allows the TV to be directly across from the recliners. It also has a huge loft above the rear bedroom for the grand kids or just storage.
Finally upgraded from our bumper-pull. Picked this up a week ago and set off on a 1,300 mile maiden voyage to the West Coast. We love the floor plan with two full-size bedrooms and two full baths and a 100" wide-body. I will be living in it two weeks a month for work out of state(Cali). Needless to say there were technical/mechanical challenges. You expect the dealer to do an adequate PDI, now being 24hrs from the dealer, thankfully I am handy and carry a full set to tools. We are looking forward to exploring the many destinations in the California area while we are here for the next few months.
2022 Avalanche 390DS
What do you think of the difference in towing between the 5th wheel and the bumper pull? I didn't believe the hype until we went from our Springdale 32' travel trailer to a Montana 38' 5th wheel and the 5th wheel was so much easier and comfortable to tow.
Nice trailer! We have always loved the Avalanche and Alpine series from Keystone.
For anyone curious about the layout of the new rig chamdaddy has, it is below.
This unit checked all the boxes for us, except it is long and heavy. There are several two bedroom floor plans out there(Cardinal, Sierra, Elkridge) but the half bath always puts the TV at an angle to the recliners which was a no-go for the Mrs. This one has the full bath at the back and allows the TV to be directly across from the recliners. It also has a huge loft above the rear bedroom for the grand kids or just storage.
That's a big (great looking) trailer to tow with a SWB truck. Were you happy with how it handled? Did you happen to weigh the setup?
What do you think of the difference in towing between the 5th wheel and the bumper pull? I didn't believe the hype until we went from our Springdale 32' travel trailer to a Montana 38' 5th wheel and the 5th wheel was so much easier and comfortable to tow.
Kind of hard to compare, my bumper pull was only 33' and 7500#, this one is 43' and 16,500 GVWR. However it handled well considering the big difference in stats.
Originally Posted by KevinLK
That's a big (great looking) trailer to tow with a SWB truck. Were you happy with how it handled? Did you happen to weigh the setup?
Yes it handled as well as I could expect. This was my first time pulling a 5th wheel so it is going to take some getting used to, particularly backing it into campsites. I ran it across the scales at 16,080#. I added the TorkLift Stableloads to the leaf springs to assist with any squat, I was happy with the results. My 7.3L gas with 3.73's had no problems with it thru the moderate hills from TX to CA. I have a new F-350 on order with the 7.3L/4.30's that should handle it even better. I will definitely be looking at the new TransferFlow 60gal. replacement gas tank for the new truck, must have filled up a dozen times in the 24hrs of driving.
Finally upgraded from our bumper-pull. Picked this up a week ago and set off on a 1,300 mile maiden voyage to the West Coast. We love the floor plan with two full-size bedrooms and two full baths and a 100" wide-body. I will be living in it two weeks a month for work out of state(Cali). Needless to say there were technical/mechanical challenges. You expect the dealer to do an adequate PDI, now being 24hrs from the dealer, thankfully I am handy and carry a full set to tools. We are looking forward to exploring the many destinations in the California area while we are here for the next few months.
2022 Avalanche 390DS
Very nice Cham. How ya liking that 7.3? We love ours!
Edit: Just seen your comments above me. Glad you ordered the 4:30's. That's what I have. They are awesome. Next truck I get will have the Torklift Stableloads. I have bags now and want to try the Torklift. I upgraded my shocks too from factory. Made a huge difference going over bridges....
Very nice Ken. I hoped to post our first trip, but, forgot to take the pic! I'll post after our next trip which was supposed to be last weekend and it snowed here!
The truck and RV are both filthy as we're 2/3 of the way through a 3,650 mile cross-country trip, but I think it's the first "hitched up" photo of the rig I've had to post. Our 10- (or 11) year-old truck with 64,000 miles on it (no, I didn't leave out a digit) is still doing a good job of doing its job...
Just pulled into WinStar Casino RV park , doing a shake down trip before longer trips coming up .
Mind sharing what the pin weight on that beauty is? I keep looking at those NH wagons, but the pin weight gives me pause for a standard F-450. That and stopping it if the trailer brakes should decide to take leave of absence on the way down a steep mountain pass. What say you?
