The RV
A 2010 Forest River Sandpiper 35Loft. See A Rigged Decision – Part 2 for more information about why we chose this trailer. We had the dealer install slide awnings to protect the seals. We also added vent covers to the Fantastic Fans, so we can have the vents open in the rain.
The Truck
2006 Ford F-350 Super Duty with the Lariat package. We bought this used, with about 55,000 miles on it. As of 25 Nov 2010, I can’t give you towing MPG, but we get about 18 MPG highway and about 12 city.
The Van
2001 Chevy Express, AKA The Bus, or the Big Blue Bus. We bought it new, some 120,000 miles ago. When we bought it, we had 4 kids and didn’t know how many more we’d have. we had a Ford Windstar at the time, but we also had 4 kids in car seats. We bought the 3500 Extended Wheelbase based on a neighbor’s recommendation. They had 6 or 7 kids and a 12-passenger van, but wished they had the extra space for cargo. We took the rear 4-seat bench out early on, and used that extra space for groceries, luggage, and so on. For a short time, we had the back bench in, and the front bench out, just because the kids thought it was cool. We’ll probably store the rear bench with the other household items. I can’t justify carrying the deadweight.
The Cargo Trailer
We don’t have this yet. I’m expecting to end up with a rig about 16 x 8, towed behind the van. This will carry our bikes (9 bicycles take up a lot of space) and anything else we need that won’t store in the RV.
