Red Rover the Truck

click to enlarge

So there we were at the 2004 Spring Maryland Good Sam Samboree and the co-pilot says. "get a truck, we are going with a fifth-wheel."   Well I had been doing my research and I was prepared.

There was a lot of considerations in deciding to buy a truck like the Volvo 770.  This section discusses those considerations; from the very important  why, to purchasing it, and to what to do after.

Since we are now full-timing and pulling our trailer Tige with Red Rover, we have really gained an appreciation for his abilities.

In the west we ran into 7% and 8% grades where we dropped a few miles-per-hour but kept going up the hills.  More importantly was coming down the hills.  With the Jake (Jacobs) Brake on, we used the three positions of the Jake Brake controller to adjust our speed of descent.  We don't have to use the brakes for speed control and that leaves them ready for emergency conditions, quite a comfortable feeling.

Since our first tow vehicle was Red Rover, we have never experienced the "white-knuckle" experience of coming down a grade with an overloaded pickup,  That is one experience in life we just as soon miss.