Today is Tuesday, April 1, 2025, and I’m bringing our camper home today.
After a week of owning a fifth wheel RV, I’m finally getting the chance to bring it home today.
Before this morning, I didn’t have any way of getting the trailer home. I have a 2 1/2 inch hitch receiver in the truck but no fifth wheel hitch. I asked the seller of the trailer for recommendations on a hitch installation, and he gave me a couple of names. I called them last week to get price quotes and I decided to go with VanderBeek Truck Accessories in Pella.
Being in Pella, I figured they’d be a little more expensive than the place I called in Knoxville. The place in Knoxville MAY have been a little cheaper (I couldn’t get anywhere near a final quote from the guy), but he had a longer lead time, saying he wouldn’t be able to get us in for a couple of weeks. In an effort to try to make the seller’s life a tad easier and to get the thing out of his garage, I decided to take the day off today and get all this done.
I’m taking Craig with me. I’m set to leave in about an hour (8:00 am, CDT), have to stop for gas and coffee, then will pick him up and will be on our way. I’m expecting to get to the seller’s house around 1:00 or so, then, figuring an hour and a half to hook it up and get it home, I’m looking at about a 2:30 arrival back home, just in time to avoid the after-school traffic. I’m sure I will be taking up the entire street for a long time as I maneuver the massive trailer into the driveway.
I am exceedingly excited to get this thing out and on the road. Having never towed anything of this size, it will be a challenge, but I’m eager to take it on.
More to come!
-Phil