Gibbys Road House

plowboy
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8/8/2018 5:49pm Edited Date/Time 8/10/2018 7:26pm
GuyB is gonna clue us on his summer home in this thread. The good, bad, and ugly of dragging a house on yer bumper.
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GuyB
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8/8/2018 6:13pm
I need to head home to get dinner started, but here are some photos from the summer to get things rolling.










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plowboy
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8/8/2018 6:18pm
Good pics. That drone is getting a work out. How do you like that slide out? How many spare tires are you hauling around? Those tandem axles just eat them alive. Thanks buddy.
GuyB
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8/8/2018 6:30pm
plowboy wrote:
Good pics. That drone is getting a work out. How do you like that slide out? How many spare tires are you hauling around? Those tandem...
Good pics. That drone is getting a work out. How do you like that slide out? How many spare tires are you hauling around? Those tandem axles just eat them alive. Thanks buddy.
The slide is good. Without it there would have to be some coordination of movement inside the trailer with more than one occupant. It also feels a little more like living and a little less like camping.

I only have one spare with me, but have only had two flat over eight years of towing. I keep the tires pretty fresh, and try to get good ones. I also try Not to overload it.
plowboy
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8/8/2018 6:33pm
You do know that to a lot of us you are living the dream? We don't see all the work, travel...but being at every race and talking to the teams/riders is beyond cool.
1

The Shop

GuyB
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8/8/2018 6:35pm
plowboy wrote:
You do know that to a lot of us you are living the dream? We don't see all the work, travel...but being at every race and...
You do know that to a lot of us you are living the dream? We don't see all the work, travel...but being at every race and talking to the teams/riders is beyond cool.
It has its good points for sure, but leaving my significant other at home for 2 1/2 months every summer isn’t one of them. ?
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plowboy
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8/8/2018 6:36pm
plowboy wrote:
Good pics. That drone is getting a work out. How do you like that slide out? How many spare tires are you hauling around? Those tandem...
Good pics. That drone is getting a work out. How do you like that slide out? How many spare tires are you hauling around? Those tandem axles just eat them alive. Thanks buddy.
GuyB wrote:
The slide is good. Without it there would have to be some coordination of movement inside the trailer with more than one occupant. It also feels...
The slide is good. Without it there would have to be some coordination of movement inside the trailer with more than one occupant. It also feels a little more like living and a little less like camping.

I only have one spare with me, but have only had two flat over eight years of towing. I keep the tires pretty fresh, and try to get good ones. I also try Not to overload it.
Do you do your own cooking or just head to the nearest Applebys or Chilis? Or do you get invites from the team's to chow down?
GuyB
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8/8/2018 6:39pm Edited Date/Time 8/8/2018 7:34pm
plowboy wrote:
Do you do your own cooking or just head to the nearest Applebys or Chilis? Or do you get invites from the team's to chow down?
I eat out far more than I cook. Cooking inside the trailer when it’s really hot out doesn’t always feel like the best plan. I think I have a total of one meal With the team this summer, and that was with the Kawasaki boys. B cooks up a pretty mean spread.
plowboy
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8/8/2018 6:41pm
plowboy wrote:
You do know that to a lot of us you are living the dream? We don't see all the work, travel...but being at every race and...
You do know that to a lot of us you are living the dream? We don't see all the work, travel...but being at every race and talking to the teams/riders is beyond cool.
GuyB wrote:
It has its good points for sure, but leaving my significant other at home for 2 1/2 months every summer isn’t one of them. ?
I hear ya. I travel a bit with my job. A couple of weeks now and then is ok...being gone for as long as you are is a drag for sure. At least there's Skype nowadays.
plowboy
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8/8/2018 6:45pm
plowboy wrote:
Do you do your own cooking or just head to the nearest Applebys or Chilis? Or do you get invites from the team's to chow down?
GuyB wrote:
I eat out far more than I cook. Cooking inside the trailer when it’s really hot out doesn’t always feel like the best plan. I think...
I eat out far more than I cook. Cooking inside the trailer when it’s really hot out doesn’t always feel like the best plan. I think I have a total of one meal With the team this summer, and that was with the Kawasaki boys. B cooks up a pretty mean spread.
Try trolling the privateer pits. I bet you could get lots of free grub there. Robbie Reynards mom handed out a lot of sandwiches...lol.
GuyB
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8/8/2018 7:36pm
plowboy wrote:
I hear ya. I travel a bit with my job. A couple of weeks now and then is ok...being gone for as long as you are...
I hear ya. I travel a bit with my job. A couple of weeks now and then is ok...being gone for as long as you are is a drag for sure. At least there's Skype nowadays.
Yeah, we get our share of Facetime. She made one trip out after Lakewood, and I went home for a few days after RedBud.
newmann
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8/8/2018 8:13pm
Heck, I don't think I would mind the 12 plus hour workdays if the scenery was always changing! Same stuff every single day starts to wear on you after 30 years...lol.

Tell us about the travel trailer and the Tundra. I love the hell out of my TuRD PRO Tundra, but every week it seems I find one more reason to hate the 5.5 foot bed. So many positives, with the simplicity and lack of foo foo options being a strong selling point for me but just a few things that keep killing it. Since the hurricane and flood last year, finally after 10 months of a dozen plus insurance adjusters assigned to my motorhome claim, it has gone away for good. I'm now in the market for a toy hauler trailer of some sort. Don't want anything huge, but kind of digging the slide out on that somewhat small bumper pull of yours. Give me some details on it.
GuyB
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8/8/2018 8:59pm
newmann wrote:
Heck, I don't think I would mind the 12 plus hour workdays if the scenery was always changing! Same stuff every single day starts to wear...
Heck, I don't think I would mind the 12 plus hour workdays if the scenery was always changing! Same stuff every single day starts to wear on you after 30 years...lol.

Tell us about the travel trailer and the Tundra. I love the hell out of my TuRD PRO Tundra, but every week it seems I find one more reason to hate the 5.5 foot bed. So many positives, with the simplicity and lack of foo foo options being a strong selling point for me but just a few things that keep killing it. Since the hurricane and flood last year, finally after 10 months of a dozen plus insurance adjusters assigned to my motorhome claim, it has gone away for good. I'm now in the market for a toy hauler trailer of some sort. Don't want anything huge, but kind of digging the slide out on that somewhat small bumper pull of yours. Give me some details on it.
During the summer, the bed’s the right size for my mountain bike, a pair of five-gallon gas cans, and the Yamaha 3000w generator. Gas mileage isn’t great, but it pulls (and stops) fine with the trailer. My dad gave me some sage advice years ago...that it’s not what the towing capacity says you can pull, it’s what you can stop.

The trailer is a Fun Finder 214 WSD. Probably 26’ overall length, but travel trailer only, no toy hauler capability. Dual propane tanks, dual batteries. I’d like to do solar at some point, and change to golf cart batteries so I could plug in the laptop and/or phone charger and maybe occasionally use the microwave without having to hook up the generator.

I don’t have any photos of the interior, but one of the things I like about it is that it’s fully functional even when the slide is in. While shopping for this one, I saw a couple models where you couldn’t make your way from the front to the back (and the bathroom) if the slides were in. Or you couldn’t access the fridge. Weird stuff like that.
scooter5002
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8/8/2018 9:22pm
Climbing Kootenay Pass in southern BC, grossing 70 ton, 5-7% grades, speeds of about 15 mph. In the distance, coming down the hill, I can see a pickup, following a car, and it’s a little.......hazy......behind him. Gets closer, he’s flying, and this fella’s brakes are billowing smoke, tailgating the car in front, guessing it’s all he can do to keep from pasting it. Looked like it was at least a 3/4 ton, by memory, and the trailer was a large relic. (read, not mechanically fit) That hill is the kind where a mistake can have you shooting off into an abyss. That driver probably could’ve used some of that sage wisdom about stopping. New pair of underwear, too.
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APLMAN99
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8/9/2018 5:41am
Climbing Kootenay Pass in southern BC, grossing 70 ton, 5-7% grades, speeds of about 15 mph. In the distance, coming down the hill, I can see...
Climbing Kootenay Pass in southern BC, grossing 70 ton, 5-7% grades, speeds of about 15 mph. In the distance, coming down the hill, I can see a pickup, following a car, and it’s a little.......hazy......behind him. Gets closer, he’s flying, and this fella’s brakes are billowing smoke, tailgating the car in front, guessing it’s all he can do to keep from pasting it. Looked like it was at least a 3/4 ton, by memory, and the trailer was a large relic. (read, not mechanically fit) That hill is the kind where a mistake can have you shooting off into an abyss. That driver probably could’ve used some of that sage wisdom about stopping. New pair of underwear, too.
Several years ago I made the mistake of using my F150 to pull my buddy’s 29’ Fountain to the boat shop for some minor repairs. The F150 was brand new and didn’t have a brake controller installed yet, but I was only thinking about the pulling, not the stopping!

Boat shop was about 15 miles away, only 1 stop light between it and me. Boat pulled great on the way in, definitely just about the max I would have wanted to pull, and didn’t have to use the brakes for the first 13 miles or so. Finally came to the only stop light and thankfully no one was in front of me. Started slowing early, but not early enough. Just touching the brakes started the trucks ABS into panic mode and the boat pushed me over 100 yards through the intersection. Thankfully a car coming from my right who was going to turn left across me saw what was happening and ignored his green light. Good thing he was smart and alert because after I realized there was no chance to stop, I rolled through the intersection and could hear a couple cars waiting behind him honking their horns at him.

I never pulled that boat with the F150 again, even after I had the brake controller installed.
scooter5002
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8/9/2018 6:29am
Pretty horrifying feeling, in that situation. At least no one was hurt, and most people might not have looked, before turning. You got lucky on that one.
huck
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8/9/2018 7:05am
Cool setup. A lot of people get a camper that's way bigger than they need...and causes them to have to do more work.

I'm looking into adding some solar to my boat, so I don't have to run my generator as much as well... From what I've read, it's getting pretty inexpensive and easy to do now, compared to even a few years ago.
GuyB
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8/9/2018 8:07am
huck wrote:
Cool setup. A lot of people get a camper that's way bigger than they need...and causes them to have to do more work. I'm looking into...
Cool setup. A lot of people get a camper that's way bigger than they need...and causes them to have to do more work.

I'm looking into adding some solar to my boat, so I don't have to run my generator as much as well... From what I've read, it's getting pretty inexpensive and easy to do now, compared to even a few years ago.
For the next one I think I’d actually go a bit smaller.
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huck
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8/9/2018 9:25am
huck wrote:
Cool setup. A lot of people get a camper that's way bigger than they need...and causes them to have to do more work. I'm looking into...
Cool setup. A lot of people get a camper that's way bigger than they need...and causes them to have to do more work.

I'm looking into adding some solar to my boat, so I don't have to run my generator as much as well... From what I've read, it's getting pretty inexpensive and easy to do now, compared to even a few years ago.
GuyB wrote:
For the next one I think I’d actually go a bit smaller.
I've gone from 40' class A, to a 45' toy hauler, to a 30' bumper pull. I currently don't have one, but my next one will be around 20' that I can pull with almost anything...

Amazing how priorities change as we get...more seasoned...
newmann
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8/9/2018 10:32am
huck wrote:
I've gone from 40' class A, to a 45' toy hauler, to a 30' bumper pull. I currently don't have one, but my next one will...
I've gone from 40' class A, to a 45' toy hauler, to a 30' bumper pull. I currently don't have one, but my next one will be around 20' that I can pull with almost anything...

Amazing how priorities change as we get...more seasoned...
I'm wanting something between 21-24 foot, bumper pull toy hauler. I've seen some really junky ones out there, any brands that seem to be higher end?
huck
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8/9/2018 10:47am
newmann wrote:
I'm wanting something between 21-24 foot, bumper pull toy hauler. I've seen some really junky ones out there, any brands that seem to be higher end?
I've never looked at the smaller toy hauler ones...as I always wanted a wall between my gear and the living area and didn't want to have to fold up the couches to put a 'toy' in there.

There is definitely some cheap/junk out there.
-MAVERICK-
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8/9/2018 10:50am
huck wrote:
I've gone from 40' class A, to a 45' toy hauler, to a 30' bumper pull. I currently don't have one, but my next one will...
I've gone from 40' class A, to a 45' toy hauler, to a 30' bumper pull. I currently don't have one, but my next one will be around 20' that I can pull with almost anything...

Amazing how priorities change as we get...more seasoned...
newmann wrote:
I'm wanting something between 21-24 foot, bumper pull toy hauler. I've seen some really junky ones out there, any brands that seem to be higher end?
huck
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8/9/2018 11:15am
huck wrote:
I've gone from 40' class A, to a 45' toy hauler, to a 30' bumper pull. I currently don't have one, but my next one will...
I've gone from 40' class A, to a 45' toy hauler, to a 30' bumper pull. I currently don't have one, but my next one will be around 20' that I can pull with almost anything...

Amazing how priorities change as we get...more seasoned...
newmann wrote:
I'm wanting something between 21-24 foot, bumper pull toy hauler. I've seen some really junky ones out there, any brands that seem to be higher end?
-MAVERICK- wrote:
My 43 foot toy hauler was a Jayco. I loved it. It was built way better than a lot of others out there. Some of the others had some 'flasher' features, but mine seemed much more solid.
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Falcon
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8/9/2018 4:27pm
I had a janky Fun Runner 20' that I loved. I had to fold the beds up to put anything in it, just like Huck mentioned but hey, that's what it is. It wasn't super plush but I only paid about $12K for it new. I only lived there two nights at a time max, anyway. Cool
MR. X
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8/9/2018 4:50pm Edited Date/Time 8/9/2018 4:51pm
newmann wrote:
I'm wanting something between 21-24 foot, bumper pull toy hauler. I've seen some really junky ones out there, any brands that seem to be higher end?
Gotta be careful these days ,my dad is really in to the camper scene these days and does all his own repairs as well as some of his friends repairs. Companies are trying to make everything super light weight so a 1/2 ton can pull them . Light weight means poor rigidity , he sees brand new models with mirrors falling off the walls ,cabinets that don't close right or close at all ,doors too.
newmann
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8/9/2018 5:20pm
newmann wrote:
I'm wanting something between 21-24 foot, bumper pull toy hauler. I've seen some really junky ones out there, any brands that seem to be higher end?
MR. X wrote:
Gotta be careful these days ,my dad is really in to the camper scene these days and does all his own repairs as well as some...
Gotta be careful these days ,my dad is really in to the camper scene these days and does all his own repairs as well as some of his friends repairs. Companies are trying to make everything super light weight so a 1/2 ton can pull them . Light weight means poor rigidity , he sees brand new models with mirrors falling off the walls ,cabinets that don't close right or close at all ,doors too.
And I see all the fiberglass skinned ones getting major gut jobs to repair rotting wood at the local RV repair shop down the road. What a fugging mess.
jgmxdad251
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8/9/2018 5:27pm
I want a travel trailer at the first of the year. Which brands are better quality? I like the rls models.
MR. X
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8/9/2018 5:50pm
newmann wrote:
And I see all the fiberglass skinned ones getting major gut jobs to repair rotting wood at the local RV repair shop down the road. What...
And I see all the fiberglass skinned ones getting major gut jobs to repair rotting wood at the local RV repair shop down the road. What a fugging mess.
My parents friends had to go through a major court battle with Jayco because the window leaked and filled the wall up with water . My parents just bought a brand new Jayco and it's an absolute shit show . My dad is fighting the urge to fix anything and possibly have the place they bought it from cancel the warranty , I'm not sure which is worse ,the service of the place they bought it from or Jayco build quality . Broken furnace ,broken screws on the ceiling fan causing it to spin out of balance and make a hell of a noise , just over all fit and finish is garbage for a 50k camper. I'd stay away from anything Jayco .
MJC
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8/10/2018 3:14am
MR. X wrote:
My parents friends had to go through a major court battle with Jayco because the window leaked and filled the wall up with water . My...
My parents friends had to go through a major court battle with Jayco because the window leaked and filled the wall up with water . My parents just bought a brand new Jayco and it's an absolute shit show . My dad is fighting the urge to fix anything and possibly have the place they bought it from cancel the warranty , I'm not sure which is worse ,the service of the place they bought it from or Jayco build quality . Broken furnace ,broken screws on the ceiling fan causing it to spin out of balance and make a hell of a noise , just over all fit and finish is garbage for a 50k camper. I'd stay away from anything Jayco .
Dunno why but I googled Jayco thinking they were an Aussie company. Turns out that of course I was wrong but that 3/4’s of the company workers are Armish/Mentonites. Not knowing Indiana, but those numbers astound me! Would that be a reason for the poor quality?
MR. X
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8/10/2018 4:33am
MJC wrote:
Dunno why but I googled Jayco thinking they were an Aussie company. Turns out that of course I was wrong but that 3/4’s of the company...
Dunno why but I googled Jayco thinking they were an Aussie company. Turns out that of course I was wrong but that 3/4’s of the company workers are Armish/Mentonites. Not knowing Indiana, but those numbers astound me! Would that be a reason for the poor quality?
Wouldn't surprise me , I'm not sure where the rumour got started about them being excellent craftsmen ,but it's not any where near the truth.
Brad460
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8/10/2018 4:50am Edited Date/Time 8/10/2018 4:54am
I’ve done my fair share of research on toy haulers and the aluminum caged trailers with fiberglass exterior is the type I would buy. The Hyper Lite XLR fits those requirements, as do a few others. I would not buy a toy hauler with a wood frame.

If I had unlimited funds I’d go with the Livin Lite Quicksiler toy hauler - no wood anywhere on those..

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