November 24, 2021
Keep on truckin'
Tucson day off
Well can you believe it? Tucson had rain overnight! It wasn't much though, just enough to get the pavement wet and cool things off a bit.
We're taking the day off from riding since our legs and feet were sore from the previous 2 days. So we'd put together an activity that we've been discussing for the past couple of months - that was truck shopping. Oh yeah, tons of fun, looking at new trucks in the midst of a pandemic!
I think I've mentioned the rough ride we get sometimes in our Toyota truck and would like to make it better. We've talked to many truck owners in our campgrounds, and they seem to like their Dodge Rams and Fords.
They've said that both brands offer a comfortable ride and depending upon the model, can give us a bigger payload capacity and a longer bed. They also can come in diesel models.
Don's been researching online and reading Airstream forum discussions to see what others are saying about their tow vehicles. He thought he would like to go to a diesel truck.
So we thought that if it was possible we would like to test drive a few trucks and see for ourselves what they felt like on the road. Don located a few dealers in town that sold both brands and we headed out.
It ended up that both of the Ford dealers had no new trucks on the lots for us to drive or even look at. Don had zeroed in on 2 models and they didn't have either one in stock. We kind of expected that given the supply chain shortage. So scratch the Fords.
Only the Dodge dealer had trucks available so we were able to drive 2 different ones. We had found a rough section of the interstate that worked well for our test drive.
Unfortunately both trucks felt bumpy on the rough section - nearly the same as our Toyota, although the truck that had air suspension was a little smoother. We're just not sure that it would be worth the extra money to buy one these.
So, a disappointing outing. Maybe we'll look for the Ram models we would prefer when we get home, or not. We've got a lot of things going on with the trailer as soon as we return to Denver.
We made one other stop on the way back to camp which was at the Golden Goose thrift store in Catalina. I had seen it advertised as the 'best one in Tucson' and wanted to see what they had to offer.
Unfortunately as soon as we walked in the door, they announced that they were closing in 15 minutes. So we had little time to shop the large store. I couldn't figure out why they were closing at 2 pm, but maybe it had to do with the holiday tomorrow. I did find a cute skirt that was 50% off, so at least I came away with something today!
Back at home, we didn't do much for the rest of the day, except enjoy another nice sunset. I decided to just include sunrise and sunset pictures for today.
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I kind of have to agree. We've always bought Fords and have had several trucks. They are purpose built and their purpose isn't to be a smooth ride.
What about a Ford Expedition? Would that pull an Airstream?
2 years ago
No, our 27 ft trailer is heavy. Empty it is 6600 lbs but the tongue weight adds another 1000 lbs. You have to add the weight of gear, people in the truck etc. etc to figure out the total payload capacity needed. We've weighed both the truck and trailer, loaded on a CAT scale. Our towing capacity is a little over 10,000 lbs.
So no, a big SUV would not have the towing capacity we need. Plus it wouldn't have a bed to store things like our generators, propane bottles, grill etc etc. Plus we put the tandem in the bed when we drive to the start of rides. You'd have to put a rack on an SUV which you can't do if you have a rack on the back when you have a hitch.
Nice idea, but not workable for us. We'll have to do more thinking on the truck. At least our Tundra works well, tows well - even up mountain passes.
2 years ago