The Camper and Truck

Several people have asked me questions about the camper in the last few weeks so . . . . . I thought it might be a good idea to provide some pictures and information on our home.
The camper is a KZ Durango 1500 281RLT. None of that means anything to you but it tells you that it is a fifth-wheel trailer. This unit doesn't connect to the bumper of the truck-there is a special fifth-wheel hitch in the middle of the bed of the truck to improve stability.

Floorplan

1. This first picture is the floorplan and, YES, it is very small! Think of a very small one-bedroom condo and you've about got it. It has all of the necessary components but everything about it is small! The bedroom is on the right and is 2 steps UP from the living area. This is the part of the camper that goes above the bed of the truck. The bedroom is so small I can't get dressed there! I have to go the hallway entrance to the bathroom to even get dressed.

   

   The kitchen, dining room, and living room!

2. This pic is the kitchen, dinette, and living area. The kitchen is fully equipped with an oven, cooktop, microwave, and double sink in the center island. Toward the back (the center in the pic) is the living area. It has a sofa, two recliners, a big screen TV, and even an electric fireplace.

3. 

   The bedroom is so small you can barely walk around the bed!

Okay, what's a slideout? A slideout in an RV is a part of the floorplan that retracts inside the camper when you're going down the road. When you stop, the slideouts extend to provide additional living and storage space. Our camper has three slideouts-one in the bedroom you can see above, one in the kitchen and TV space and one on the other side for the dinette and recliners. You can see the three slideouts in the floorplan picture because they extend beyond the normal width of the trailer.

Okay, what systems does the camper have? Well, just like any home, it has plumbing, sewage, electric, and HVAC (heating and cooling) systems to make things comfortable. These systems are adapted to RV use so they are different from those you use in your home. For example, the refrigerator operates on electricity as long as you're connected at an RV park. When you drive down the road, you switch the refrigerator to propane and everything in the fridge stays cool. We have a generator for staying in places where there is no electricity. The RV has two roof air conditioners. One is vented to the bedroom and the other one is vented to the living and kitchen area. The largest storage area is "The basement." HUH, whazzat? Well, there is a storage area just about under the bathroom and hallway where we store everything else we need.

Okay, what else? 

The camper is 34 feet long, eight feet wide, and weighs about 8,800 pounds when it's empty. We have it loaded and it probably weighs around 10,500 pounds now. This includes the minibike we carry on the rear carrier. The truck has a maximum payload of 12,800 pounds so we're well within the specifications. Ah, the truck . . . . . 

The pickup is a Nissan Titan XD (heavy duty) 4-wheel drive with a 5.0L Cummins diesel engine. We can set the cruise at 60 mph on level ground and still get around 12-13 mpg. Diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline in Texas but less expensive in some other states.

I hope this answers most of your questions about where we're living for the next several years but let me know, in the Comments, if you have any questions about how we make do!