Our Rig

Onan Blues, or why I would never buy another one.

Marc & I started our RV life with an old, 9.5 foot camper which we put on the back of a 4 wheel drive Ford truck & traveled the U.S. for six weeks in. We had such fun with that, it wasn’t long before it was replaced with a 28.5-foot new fifth wheel (brand to remain nameless since it was a great disappointment) and a new, one-ton dual-wheel Dodge four-wheel drive truck. The 28 foot fifth wheel was traded off in September 1998 for a new made to order 40 foot, two bedroom Travel Supreme with two slides.

We didn’t have a lot of options added to the Travel Supreme at time of order since Marc wanted to do most of the things himself and save money. We did modify the back bedroom so there is only one bunk bed, which then allowed space under that for an additional electric freezer and refrigerator. We have the optional king bed suite and have enjoyed that immensely. From the start and continuing to this day, with approximately 30,000 miles on the trailer, we’ve not had any major problems and feel the quality of this unit is excellent.

Freightliner & Travel Supreme, City of Rocks, ID-our rig goes off road frequently

Marc also had the factory plumb the propane line to the extra wardrobe closet in the bath suite so we were able to install a regular house stack washer/dryer. Our unit is a GE and has performed flawlessly, although it is quite heavy. The dryer runs on propane and this unit is the one thing I would never be without in an RV!

GE stacked washer/dryer

Managing our power source, since we frequently boondock, is an on-going project. We recently purchased three deep cycle batteries and a 2000-watt Heart inverter. From the beginning, we mounted a 10 kw Onan Quiet Diesel generator (see Onan Blues) in the back of the Freightliner. We have a large power cord that runs from the generator to the fifth wheel with a power switch inside so we can control the generator from inside the trailer. Marc is a former electrician so does all trailer wiring himself.

To haul a big fifth wheel takes a big truck, so Marc placed a six-month order for a 1998 FL-70 medium duty truck, which arrived to us as cab & chassis only. More detail on the truck specifications and how Marc built the RV bed can be found on the “Truck” page. The truck has also been a work-in-progress as we’ve added a boat rack, a hoist (to hoist a Honda scooter up onto the bed), & two 55 gallon water barrels. Marc is also able to carry a full assortment of tools, including air bottles and a welder.

Panel for generator, tools & auxiliary fuel tank in FL Water barrels & hoist

Scooter loaded, hoist loading boat

Fully loaded, our combined weight usually tips the scale at between 40,000-42,000 pounds. The Freightliner is rated to a total of 56,000 pounds so since we’re at capacity with what the Travel Supreme will hold we try and add any new addition to the truck’s storage compartments! Future plans are for Marc to change out the axles on the Travel Supreme to heavier ones and also add air brakes so the trailer matches up with the Freightliner. As a final note, we carry Marc’s Honda scooter on the extended back bumper of the Travel Supreme, along with the true mark of a fulltimer, an eight-foot ladder!