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Silver Otter · 09-23-2011, 03:40 PM

Sharp, Brian, very sharp and crisp.

**moosetags** · 09-23-2011, 11:10 PM

Today we hooked Lucy up to Fred and Ethel, and headed out on our Moosing adventure.

We departed Denver and headed north into Wyoming. We have stopped for the night in Casper on our way to Buffalo, Wyoming. We will make our base camp with Lucy in Buffalo. From there we will head out into the Bighorn National Forest in search of Mooses. We will now be able to spend the night deep in the Forest and have all of the comforts that we have become accustomed to in Lucy.

Fred did very well on the 300 mile trip up here today. This was his first time towing Lucy with Ethel on board. Fred handled very well on the highway even in some severe cross winds. I'm still getting a feel for this combination, but I am very pleased so far. Fred got 11.3 mpg on today's run which is not too bad for a brand new truck with this kind of load.

Here is a group picture of Lucy, Fred, and Ethel as they prepared to leave the campground this morning.

Brian

xrvr · 09-24-2011, 08:01 AM

Moosetags uses the AS as a base camp while he travels into the outback with the truck camper. I hope this is correct? jim

Denis4x4 · 09-24-2011, 08:46 AM

Here's my Hallmark at St Verain State Park in May of this year. It's my understanding that the people at Hallmark and Outfitter are related and agreed to disagree at some point in time. So far, I've used this truck/camper when I've pulled a speedster back to Lincoln NB for a meet and when I head over to La Veta and Lathrop State Park with my pontoon boat next week. Yet to pull the AS with this rig even though the GVWR is in the ballpark with a 25' Safari.

For the record, the Hallmark is one of the very few major purchases (including the AS) in the past 10 years that exceeded my expectations as far as quality and value go. Interestingly enough, our very first RV was a Scamper pop top camper on a 1985 Ford F-250 4x4 diesel long bed extra cab. Looking back, we used that rig more than any other RV we've owned since!

Lily&Me · 09-24-2011, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zigzagguzzi

Moosetags uses the AS as a base camp while he travels into the outback with the truck camper. I hope this is correct? jim

I believe this is correct, this is what I understood he was doing.

A perfect set-up, the best of both worlds.

Maggie

Mikethefixit · 09-24-2011, 08:54 AM

Moose
Did ya check the turning radius ??? I ran into problems with my flatbed when I added an aluminum box on the tongue. You added length to the truck bed. So be careful in a jackknife situation. I wasnt so fortunate. I knocked out one taillite before realizing I had turning problem. I had to add length to the drawbar/ballmount in order to turn. As soon as I can find an extention I am going to at to the Drawbar/ball mount for the Airstream also as I cannot open the tailgate without un-hitching.
Opps almost forgot"NICE LOOKING OUTFIT"

**moosetags** · 09-24-2011, 10:52 AM

That is correct. Lucy (the Airstream) will be our base camp. We will use Fred and Ethel (the truck and truck camper) to venture out into the back country and be able to stay overnight.

Brian

**moosetags** · 09-24-2011, 11:03 AM

That's a nice looking Hallmark, Denis. We also shopped the Hallmark, and were impressed with its quality. We decided on the Outfitter mainly because of the north/south sleeping arrangement. We found the Outfitter to be of similar quality. Both Hallmark and Outfitter are at the top end of the pop-up truck campers.

I believe that Bill Ward of Hallmark and Bob Ward of Outfitter are brothers, and that they were both raised in their father's truck camper company. I'm not really sure of the reasons that they went their separate ways.

So far, the Airstream seems to pull very well with the truck/truck camper combination.

Brian

**moosetags** · 09-24-2011, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikethefixit

Moose
Did ya check the turning radius ??? I ran into problems with my flatbed when I added an aluminum box on the tongue. You added length to the truck bed. So be careful in a jackknife situation. I wasnt so fortunate. I knocked out one taillite before realizing I had turning problem. I had to add length to the drawbar/ballmount in order to turn. As soon as I can find an extention I am going to at to the Drawbar/ball mount for the Airstream also as I cannot open the tailgate without un-hitching.
Opps almost forgot"NICE LOOKING OUTFIT"

Thanks for the info. We are watching our turning clearance very carefully realizing that the truck camper sticks out a little extra on the corners. We tow with a Hensley Arrow on the Airstream which give us a little more separation between the trailer and tow vehicle. If it weren't for this extra distance, we would not be able to open the camper door while hooked up.

Brian

Lily&Me · 09-24-2011, 01:39 PM

How 'bout some pictures of the inside?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Maggie

perryg114 · 09-24-2011, 07:48 PM

I remember turning too sharp with our slide in on the truck and one of the jacks hit the end cap of my 5x8 trailer we were towing and put a dent in it. The trailer was not as wide as the slide in and it made backing very hard to do. The wife as supposed to be spotting me.

Perry

Quote:

Originally Posted by moosetags

Thanks for the info. We are watching our turning clearance very carefully realizing that the truck camper sticks out a little extra on the corners. We tow with a Hensley Arrow on the Airstream which give us a little more separation between the trailer and tow vehicle. If it weren't for this extra distance, we would not be able to open the camper door while hooked up.

Brian

**moosetags** · 09-27-2011, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doug&maggie

How 'bout some pictures of the inside?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Maggie

Here are a few shots of Ethel's interior.

Brian

Lily&Me · 09-28-2011, 06:05 AM

Very nice! Looks quite comfy.

Love your blankie.

Maggie

slowmover · 09-28-2011, 03:26 PM

I'll imagine you've already seen TORKLIFT hitch receivers and extensions. I can't get the pics above to magnify this go round, so look forward to how it's done, as I am also interested in this option to some extent.

Will look forward to scale weights and comments. Have my fingers crossed for luck on your behalf that the initial trip finds no serious problems.

**moosetags** · 10-02-2011, 11:24 AM

Ethel's maiden voyage continues. Lucy is still camped in Buffalo, and we are are venturing out in Fred and Ethel in search of Moose. The Moose search is not going very well, but we are in the process of learning the ins and outs of truck camping.

We have now spent a couple of nights out in the forest in Ethel. The space is tight, but we are learning how to deal with it. Ethel's bed is quite comfortable, and we have slept well out in the forest. We have utilized dispersed camping with Ethel and have not stayed in the Forest Service Campgrounds. It's a matter of just pulling into the woods and making camp.

Here are a few campsite photos.

Brian

Lily&Me · 10-02-2011, 12:01 PM

Love it!

You are going to so enjoy the flexibility that Ethel gives you, the ability to pull in anywhere and spend the night.

You are able to do real backroads with Fred, too, which I am envious of (also your dinette). We have to skip the logging roads, although they always look quite tempting and like the wildlife spotting would vastly improve. Aaah, well, one can't have everything.

The biggest adjustment to the Interstate was how narrow it is inside. 4 1/2 years later, we have it pretty well down to an art form. You learn to synchronize your movements forward and aft, to stay in one place while doing meal prep, etc.

Travel safe, and happy Moose-ing.

Maggie

Antique Pedaler · 10-02-2011, 01:12 PM

Ethel reminds me of our second camper (1st was a VW) which was a Coachman slide in. We were a young family of 5. We parents slept in the cab over, our daughters on the fold out dinette, and our son in the upper bunk. There were 5 cupboards across the front of the cab over. Each of us had our own storage and when it was full, that was it. We camped in that rig extensively for many years and never once spent a night in a campground
with hookups.

**moosetags** · 10-02-2011, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antique Pedaler

Ethel reminds me of our second camper (1st was a VW) which was a Coachman slide in. We were a young family of 5. We parents slept in the cab over, our daughters on the fold out dinette, and our son in the upper bunk. There were 5 cupboards across the front of the cab over. Each of us had our own storage and when it was full, that was it. We camped in that rig extensively for many years and never once spent a night in a campground
with hookups.

That sounds like some really nice memories. When our four boys were young, we had a great time tent camping. A camper was not in our budget in those days. We still have great memories though. The boys are all in their 30's and 40's now, but when we all get together, the camping trips always come up.

Brian

**moosetags** · 10-03-2011, 08:05 AM

On our trip so far, the Moose sightings have been non existent. We had decided to move our camp down to northern Colorado and check out the Moose population there. Yesterday evening, we made one more run up into the Bighorn National Forest. We took an 11 mile dirt road loop deep into the forest. Low and behold, we found two Moose cows hiding in the trees. We were able to get a photograph of one, but by the time we saw the second one, it had gotten too dark for a picture.

We came back to Lucy last night to start packing up for departure. This morning, we are breaking camp and heading down into Colorado.

Brian