Thanks, I have seen the born free models before, but nothing this nice and big. This one has a lot of great aftermarket stuff and love the drag wheels welded onto the back, for those whoop dee dooos that catch the rear bumper. No doubt that many of those 50k miles were driven off road. With this size vehicle, I have to look at sleeping spots, 3 young kids and the two adults. I dont mind a squeeze, but they are only getting bigger and more pushy as they grow up. I could make this rig work for a few years though, and it would hit all my good Baja spots, with the right tires as you suggest.

This would end up being about the same price as a similar Mercedes platform RV with the after market 4x4 done, so in the ballpark I'm willing to go when the time comes. The only drawback is it is a ford diesel, and not a cummins. But maybe that isn't an issue anymore, used to be in the old days..

I found that one doing a random search of Ford F550 RVs. Not many on 4wd truck chassis and that one looked like good quality. A problem with many makes is that they start falling apart on rough roads... just aren't made for it. Born Free made larger ones too. Ya, can't say if the Ford diesel is any good. I see plenty of them around here anyway.

A search for Ram 5500 RVs turned up this.

https://www.rvuniverse.com/...s-class-c-motorhomes

Back when I worked for Rev3, we drove a fleet of F450s with the PowerStroke 6.7 diesels.

Phenomenal motors. Would effectively re-locate your house off it’s foundation if you asked it to. That said, they have a known fault with the glow plugs dropping and grenading the motor. So long as you weren’t an unlucky one where that happened to you, they were great trucks.

I now have a 150 SuperCrew with the 2.7 EcoBoost. Getting awfully tempted by the Coleman Lantern trailer with the off road package.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Send one of those to U-Joint Off Road and they'll go anywhere



ETA - I see UJOR has already been put in this thread. Oh well, never a bad thing with more pics

If you are referring to the one in the photo above, it is already 4x4.

I definitely wouldn't trust just any RV (even the ones from Ujoint) to hold up offroad. 4x4 gives you better traction for sure, but most RVs are pretty crappy construction, and they do not hold up to rough treatment. A couple hours on rocky/washboard roads is enough for them to start coming apart.

One situation I encounter a lot, is a trail that crosses a ravine or ditch at an angle. This puts an extreme amount of twist on the vehicle frame and camper. The vehicle (van or truck chassis) will be designed to twist; HD chassis have open C-channel which twists very easily so you can keep all the wheels on the ground. The camper on the other hand will not be designed to twist. Rigs designed of offroad use have a subframe added that pivots on the frame, allowing the camper to isolated from these forces.

This is an example of a simple 3 point subframe with a rear pivot that keeps the bed surface flat.

Fast forward from my August 2020 post. We ended up buying a 38' diesel "Super C" motorhome in April 2021. Super C's are basically RV's on an 18 wheeler style chassis, with ours being built on a Freightliner chassis. We tow our Jeep Wrangler behind it and are able to carry 4 bikes with us (2 inside the Jeep; 2 in the bunk area of the RV).

I really thought we'd buy another towable, but I prefer the motor home now that we've had it. More features, huge storage, etc. I couldn't figure out a good way to store 4 bikes inside with a truck / 5th wheel, and it's much nicer having a small Jeep to drive around rather than a huge truck once we're at a destination. The motorhome is so much better on travel days, along with being easier to set up and tear down.

One pain is that the RV is so large that my wife and I had to get Class B driver's licenses, which involved passing a written test and driving test. The tests were easy, but dealing with the local DMV was ridiculous.

No input on retiring early, but commend you for realizing time is limited & realizing there is more to life than just the 9-5 corp. America B.S. What you found you value more is making a life rather than a living. Covid has brought on some pretty wonderful side effects for people in general as a wake up call--but destroyed many lives. Not to discount those who lost so much, but the gains in many aspects may never have happened without Covid. Realizing you are following your heart rather than what society *thinks* you should follow. Congratulations--many have arrived where you have come to now. As for medical--this is another reason health care should not be tied to employment but as a citizen of your country. Imagine the freedom others would feel if they knew they could move between jobs and not worry about losing health insurance--or just take some time off to be with their kids raising them in the younger years.