Ski RV's, who's sleeping in parking lots?

[TAFKALVS]

Sounds great.

I still want to get to Mission this season. Time is getting short for that I suppose. Mid l-April closing?

Mission is at it's best this time of year, love skiing up there when the entire mountain is smooth/fast/unsticky hero corn.

April 14-15 is closing weekend unless the snowpack holds out and management make the call.

https://www.missionridge.com/operating-schedule

Let's hope it does.

What did I miss?

Nice looking rig...

He got blitzed on the invaders and wanted to take a nap. He then proceeded to take an hour plus to put the top down when it was time to leave. I thankfully was sober and drove us back to the cabin.

Damn, you too?!

I'm behind but hoping to have a truck within a year and then I'll be needing the Bigfoot hookup.

Resistance in futile.

[babybear]

euro trustifarians

[GeezerSteve]

Mission is at it's best this time of year, love skiing up there when the entire mountain is smooth/fast/unsticky hero corn

Ditto. I gotta get over this crud and get my butt (and camper) up there. Is it still open Thursday thru Sunday?

[TAFKALVS]

euro trustifarians

I think Norseman, Flowing Alpy and I saw that rig on the drive home from BBI MT. See the world at 55 mph and 4 MPG.

[B6Fischer]

One day left, 1991 Ambo, under 4k now, quigley, 7.3L non turbo, 82k original, https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?f...28&acctid=4349

Sent from my SM-T580 using TGR Forums mobile app

[jackattack]

7.3 idi - you’d die before you got to the hospital, but no doubt you’d get there.

[babybear]

I think Norseman, Flowing Alpy and I saw that rig on the drive home from BBI MT. See the world at 55 mph and 4 MPG.

dis one was across the pond so musta been an american trustifarian you saw that time
cool set up but yeah might as well get a tour bus at that size.

[mooseknuckles]

I've been thinking of changing gears and getting a hard-side to replace the Alaskan since the space chocolate incident of 2017...

That was truly an impressive moment. I blame the asshole that kept trying to discuss your AK Camper with impeccable timing.

Sick score. Congrats

[TAFKALVS]

Our new to us Northern Lite. 1998, 9' 6".

[GPP33]

dis one was across the pond so musta been an american trustifarian you saw that time
cool set up but yeah might as well get a tour bus at that size.

It’s basically a 4wd tour buss, at least as close as you can get to one. It’s crazy where those guys take those things and how much they pay for them.

[babybear]

It’s basically a 4wd tour buss, at least as close as you can get to one. It’s crazy where those guys take those things and how much they pay for them.

totally. i really wanted to see what the inside looked like- lingered around for a while to see if I could ‘bump’ into the owners but never saw them. i pictured it being like snoopy’s doghouse inside - palatial

[Norseman]

Our new to us Northern Lite. 1998, 9' 6".

It may be the angle of the photograph, but it looks like the cabover is resting on the cab. Is that the case?

Prob best to have at least 3-4" to allow for bed flex, else crack the camper.

Nice setup.

[TAFKALVS]

It may be the angle of the photograph, but it looks like the cabover is resting on the cab. Is that the case?

Prob best to have at least 3-4" to allow for bed flex, else crack the camper.

Nice setup.

Mostly angle, however the cab over was really close, probably less than inch clearance. After this pic was taken we added some foam and plywood to raise it up a bit. The super duty trucks have really tall cabs. Both northern and bigfoot made a special model with more clearance for super duty trucks but they're hard to find in the age/price range we were looking. No signs of flexing/rubbing on the drive home so I think we're good.

Thank you. In our inaugural trip I was very happy with how it handled. The truck sits level, with the camper just starting to engage the helper leafs. So the ride is smooth but not tippy. The extra weight and drag of the camper is barely noticeable. We got an average of 17 mpg from Concrete to home, and had no problem going 70 mph on the highways and pulling Stevens Pass at 60.

Huge improvement over my old setup with the Chevy 2500 (gas 6.0 V8) and 8' Bigfoot. That barely got 10mpg if there was any wind, getting up to 60 mph took a while and the handling left something to be desired.

[GeezerSteve]

Nice looking rig. How much cabover clearance since adding shim?

[jackattack]

Mostly angle, however the cab over was really close, probably less than inch clearance. After this pic was taken we added some foam and plywood to raise it up a bit. The super duty trucks have really tall cabs. Both northern and bigfoot made a special model with more clearance for super duty trucks but they're hard to find in the age/price range we were looking. No signs of flexing/rubbing on the drive home so I think we're good.

In '93 the Super Duty didn't exist yet, but I loaded mine on the 4x6 lumber I used under the Alaskan and I have nearly 6" of cabover clearance. I think I'll get the thickest horse mat I can find and ditch the wood. That'll put me at ~3" and provide more friction to keep the camper from shifting as much as it does on the lumber.

[TAFKALVS]

Nice looking rig. How much cabover clearance since adding shim?

a smidge below 3". The f350 frame is super rigid and this camper is 1/2 my payload fully loaded, so I'm not worried too much about flex honestly.

Let's talk ski storage... our last Bigfoot had a bathroom with a tall enough ceiling that even my 192s could stand almost upright in there. New camper (since it's a wet bath) is a about 8" shorter in the bathroom. Not going to fit skis.

Few ideas I had (would love the RV mag hoard's input here):
Stick them on the floor of the camper for transport and move to cab of truck when camper is in use. (Annoying, drippy skis melting etc.)
Camper roof mounted ski box? (Maybe not ideal for height/COG/wind resistance considerations, but there is a ladder and a rack up there.)
Tail gate mounted ski box on a cargo rack? (Maybe not the best for entry/exit.)
Build lightweight raised platform for storage under queen bed? (Norseman raised concerns of too much weight over cabover, Mrs. LVS raised concerns of loss of headroom for sitting in bunk).
Delete bed and Build custom aluminum camper tray with ski length lock boxes on one side?
Purchase commercial flat bed and install custom ski boxes?
Have vallet service deliver skis to mountain daily?

[Norseman]

Purchase commercial flat bed and install custom ski boxes?

I like this option best.

[TAFKALVS]

I like this option best.

The tricky bit with that is most used flatbeds out there are steel and ultra heavy. So finding a used aluminum one is tricky. I'll need to open a second dental practice to afford a new one. But it's also a long game scenario I guess.

[GeezerSteve]

I like this option best.

Yeah, that'd be slick, although when we get a dedicated RV (Honey retirement) it'll likely be a class B. Until then, our PU truck is our 2nd daily driver, frequently used for light hauling. A flatbed would not be a practical vehicle for us.

I sewed a DIY 1000D cordura ski bag which slides in the back of the camper, stored underneath when camper is in use. We have the option of strapping sideways on a hitch-mount cargo carrier. The cargo carrier doubles as a porch.

[Not Neil_Armstrong]

The tricky bit with that is most used flatbeds out there are steel and ultra heavy. So finding a used aluminum one is tricky. I'll need to open a second dental practice to afford a new one. But it's also a long game scenario I guess.

Steel is durable, not as expensive, lots out there, not as tricky to modify with tools you already own. You're truck is a 1ton, and......Aluminum is expensive and harder to find second hand as you mentioned.
Buy a second hand steelie cut any useless weight. #shadetreefabrication some ski boxes. Baaaam

[Norseman]

Yeah, that'd be slick, although when we get a dedicated RV (Honey retirement) it'll likely be a class B. Until then, our PU truck is our 2nd daily driver, frequently used for light hauling. A flatbed would not be a practical vehicle for us.

Same situation here, and I agree that a dedicated Class B would be ideal. But LVS is into the Macho ManTruck for a few reasons and I think the used steel flatbed could be great.

Steel is durable, not as expensive, lots out there, not as tricky to modify with tools you already own. You're truck is a 1ton, and......Aluminum is expensive and harder to find second hand as you mentioned.
Buy a second hand steelie cut any useless weight. #shadetreefabrication some ski boxes. Baaaam

Yup.

[TAFKALVS]

Until then, our PU truck is our 2nd daily driver, frequently used for light hauling. A flatbed would not be a practical vehicle for us.

But LVS is into the Macho ManTruck for a few reasons and I think the used steel flatbed could be great.

I tow heavy things more often than I haul things, so I'm less worried about the lack of bed sides. And I needed them, some wooden stakebed side action wouldn't be too hard to shade tree. I also have a 12' utility trailer that is pretty useful if I need "truck bed" stuff hauled.

[North]

I saw a rig on rogers pass with a custom ski box/locker attached to the front of the truck with a hitch receiver. Maybe a decent short term solution.

[TAFKALVS]

I saw a rig on rogers pass with a custom ski box/locker attached to the front of the truck with a hitch receiver. Maybe a decent short term solution.

This sounds weird, but my driveway is kinda gnar and I'm not sure I'd be able to make on of the switchbacks without doing 8 point turn with such a contraption attached. Also, if I'm in a wreck it means my priceless 191 goats are potentially ruined.

[mooseknuckles]

Tail gate mounted ski box on a cargo rack? (Maybe not the best for entry/exit.)

We have this option but our exit path is out the side so it is not in our way. I did see and F350 w/a Northern Lite at Schweitzer the past few days with a bumper hitch mount with box for his gear. It caught my eye because they were using the same exact hitch carrier as we use on the rear.

We have the Let's Go Aero (https://letsgoaero.com/twintube-ubi-...ch-mount-rack/) hitch mount rack with yakima bar and rails on it and then an old yakima rocket box mounted on the bars. I attached a LED brake light strip that you see beneath truck tailgates to the Yakima box. This way when I step on the brakes the asshole getting coated in my road grime can see that he is about to have a shit ton of skis fly through his windshield while they drive right under the box and in to my hitch.