Category: Technical Stuff

Our Rig is our Home!  It took us months to figure out exactly what to go for, and with a family of 6 (4 humans, 1 cat, 1 dog), we needed to be sure that we had everything we needed.

The fifth wheel is a 2015 Forest River Sandpiper 365 SAQB.  The manufacturer specifications can be found here, but the basics are that it is 41′ 7″ long, 13′ tall, and weighs in at 15,500 lbs GVWR.  With these specs we needed a brute of a truck!

Our truck remained elusive for some time.  We were looking at a used Ford F250, and a F350 Dually at a local dealer lot.  The Dually was sold by the time we were ready to buy, and the specs on the F250 only just met the towing requirements (we knew we would add more weight with additions we were planning).  We did not know what to do but, we knew that just the right truck would surface at just the right time.

This is a common theme – it’s commonly called “Faith” and, trust me, it does not come easy.  Faith also does not always result in the outcome we expect.

One day, I walked into our office (“bricks and sticks” version) and Denise, our Director of Communications, tells me about her brother-in-law’s truck.  He was wanting to sell it.  I did not call him until the Dually disappeared from the lot, but I sure am glad that I did!  The truck was low mileage for a 2009, had been kept in covered storage, and was already kitted out for towing.  Perfect.

So, here are the specs on our AWESOME truck:

It’s a Chevy Silverado 2500HD LTZ with the 6.6 liter diesel engine partnered with an Allison transmission.  This means that the truck has 660 ft lbs of torque and has a towing capacity of 22,000 lbs.  By comparison the 2500 HD with the V8 only has 380 ft lbs of torque.  There are some extras on the truck, but that is for another post.  Safe to say that it pulls Our Moving House really well!

It has only let us down once, but that was not the fault of the truck.  A four-legged creature was involved.  But, that’s another story.