RV And Truck - Love To Wander RV

RV’s and Truck Detail

This page is dedicated to our current and past RVs. Here you will find the modifications, repairs, upgrades, and general information about our rigs.

Let’s start with our current setup. The fifth wheel, Deloris is a 2021 Grand Design Solitude 310GK-R. Our previous RV Natasha was a 2017 Highland Ridge Open Range Roamer 347RES. We are towing with Boris, a 2016 RAM 3500 Laramie Longhorn Crew Cab 4×4 Long Box.

RV and Truck Specs

Grand Design Solitude 310GK-R “Deloris”

RV Video Tour

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Our GD 310GK-R

I finally got around to filming our Solitude 310GK-R. We have been hard at work over the last few years with upgrades to the OEM package. You will find them all in this video.

RV Upgrades Deloris

Our Grand Design Solitude 310GK-R has just arrived and we are hard at work making it feel like home. This rig is 4′ shorter than our Open Range Roamer. That does not seem like much but you find out in a hurry that places you stored this and that is just not the same. The modifications are beginning and of course, the breakdowns or glitches are showing up early. Let’s start running them down.

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Kitchen Drawer Dividers

Simple and cheap way to get those drawers organized.

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Leaf Spring Issue

Let the shakedown of the new rig begin. We have some leaf spring issues right out of the box

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Power Upgrade

The first order of business once we had decided on the Solitude 310GK-R was a Power Make Over

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SoftStart Install

This proved to be a quick and easy install on our ColemanMach ACs.

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MorRyde Independent Suspension

We were bound and determined to upgrade our suspension on our new rig. Here is the story

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RV Maintenance Schedule

Here is a quick link and short post regarding my Checklist

Four-Part Series About Buying A New Rig

Here I have detailed our complete start to finish buying decisions and moves we made to bring Natasha 2.0 home.

RV Arrives

The manufactures were having difficulty keeping up with demand. Undaunted, we forged ahead with our plans and made our purchase decision. Now for our final installment in this series. After the promised, 10-12 week build schedule our Grand Design Solitude 310GK-R has arrived in Cookeville, TN. Here are the details of the delivery, PDI, and our Shakedown run.

RV Purchase

Welcome to Part 3 of this four-part series of posts featuring our attempts to find a new rig. In our first post, New RV Search we ran down the reasons we wanted to make the move. We also found out that the journey was going to be a rocky road. RV For Sale we took you through the efforts we made to sell outright or go the trade-in route.The surge of RV sales brought on by COVID-19 diminished inventories at the dealerships. The manufactures were having difficulty keeping up with demand. Undaunted, we forged ahead with our plans.

RV For Sale

Welcome to Part 2 of this four-part series of posts featuring our attempts to find a new rig. In our first post, New RV Search we ran down the reasons we wanted to make the move. We also found out that the journey was going to be a rocky road. The surge of RV sales brought on by COVID-19 diminished inventories at the dealerships. The manufactures were having difficulty keeping up with demand. Undaunted, we forged ahead with our plans.

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Highland Ridge Open Range “Natasha”

RV Video Tour

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Exterior Walk Around

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Interior Walk Around

I hope you enjoy this walk through of Natasha our Open Range Roamer 347RES. We are just opening her up for the 2020 season.

RV Upgrades Natasha

We have made a number of modifications to the RV as issues arise or creature comforts are needed. In the early stages of owning the RV, I was in a rush to buy items that I thought I would use. After taking a breath and seeing how we would be camping and using the rig our purchases and upgrades had a new focus. Below you will find posts for each of these and more. As new ones come up I will continue to post and review.

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Vortex Bathroom Fan

Powerful and easy to install. Perfect upgrade for those OEM fans.

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Air Conditioning Silencer

Those Dometic’s are loud. These might be expensive but worth the cost.

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TST Tire Monitor

We found out the hard way that this is a must have. We do not regret the purchase.

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Magna Shades

Our rig did not come with interior sun shades. Magna Shade is the solution.

RAM 3500 Laramie Longhorn

6.7-Liter I6 Cummins Turbo Diesel Engine

The 2016 Ram 3500 is built for big things. It has a 3.73 rear axle ratio that has a GCWR rating of 27,300 lbs and a maximum 5th wheel trailer rating of 18,660 lbs. There is plenty of pulling power to help us up almost any incline including the mountain ranges of the west. We are currently pulling 14,300 lbs of Roamer.

100% Leather Seating - Driver Side PWR 10-way w/Memory & 6 Way Pass Seat

The reason we landed on a fifth wheel was the comfort that this truck offered us for the long haul. The front seats are heated and ventilated and give a tall guy like me the support I needed. The rear seats recline are heated and fold to expose a flat load floor keeping Zoey very comfortable during a long haul.

Titan 55 gallon fuel tank

The tank features an exclusive low fuel trap design. This TITAN™ tank only hangs approximately 2.5“ lower than the bottom of the stock (OEM) tank. This is one of the best purchases we have made to date. We now have the extra range that will give us the confidence to take those back roads we once avoided due to fueling issues.

B&W Companion Model 3600 Trailer Hitch

Designed to fit the Ram OEM hitch platform, this Companion hitch is known for its effortless installation and removal, thanks to a cam-actuated latching mechanism and simple two-piece design. Other features, like 1″ thick cast-locking jaws, provide a strong connection and a smooth ride. Ratings – 25,000 trailer weight, 6,250 tongue weight.

You might ask, “why the dually”? Your pulling under 15,000 lbs and there are plenty of single axle trucks that will handle the load.

We started our trailering adventures with a gooseneck dual horse trailer and Ford F250 Crew Cab. That was plenty of truck for that trailer and the two horses we would cart around. However, we did notice that during high winds and such it was becoming a white knuckle ride. We did not want that with our RV. The RAM 3500 Dually offers the stability we were looking for. We have encountered some very high winds during spring in Texas and New Mexico. The truck pulled through with flying colors while we noticed single axles had their hands full.

Our Yearly “Fixes” Blog Post

The repairs, fixes and what I call faux pas (newbie mistakes) can be found below. Each year I start a new list that is a living document and becomes the year-end recap.

Leaf Springs

Having gone through the suspension issue on our first rig it was imperative that I take a hard look under the rig prior to leaving the dealership. I did crawl under and took a good but frankly not through look at the suspension. I did not find anything out of place, broken, or leaking.

2020 Repairs, Fixes and Faux Pas

2020 started out to be what looked like a banner year for travel. The rig I felt was in good condition. There were a few issues I wanted to address prior to leaving for the season. This year I had plenty to time as I had injured myself and was in a walking cast for almost 6 weeks. Typically I am out west getting my ski on for a couple of months prior to heading out for the RV season. So let’s get to the early issues and upgrades prior to the COVID-19 lockdown.

2019 Repairs, Fixes And Faux Pas

We are going to try a little something different with this post. Rather than waiting to the end of the year, I will update this as we go this year. The reason, things happen, they happen fast and it’s worth writing down. I will keep this updated with anything new that pops up.

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