New Member - 2005 Safari

[wrochdvm]

We, my wife Sarah and I, Wayne, purchased a 2005 Safari SS two weeks ago. We take delivery of our new 2011 F-250 diesel this afternoon. We hope to pick up the AS next week in NJ and bring it home to MA next week, weather permitting.

Sarah and I have been active cruising sailors for several years but decided to sell our 38' boat and do some land cruising. We have one more long sail planned on someone else's boat this winter then plan on setting off next spring to see as many national parks as possible, eventually ending up Alaska late June or early July. Boondocking will be our preferred method of setting up camp.

We are impressed with the internal volume and space of the AS compared to the boat. But, are a little disappointed by the lack of storage. I guess you can't have both. However, we don't anticipate needing as much gear on the AS as is required on a cruising boat.

I'm really impressed by this site and more so by the apparent sense of community that exits among AS owners. A trait we truly enjoyed in the boating community.

Thanks for all the help and information I've already found on this site, and for what I'm sure I'll find in the future.

Look forward to seeing you on the road
Wayne and Sarah
LY/Mary Joan

[Jammer]

Welcome to the forums. If you're a veteran of cruising you should find your 'stream to be comfortable and familiar.

You may find as I do that you don't need much storage space for gear. Bear in mind that unlike cruising you can reliably resupply every 4-5 days in most cases. Also, you will have the storage in your truck.

[tintent]

Welcome. If you should ever make it to the land-locked state of Iowa, you may see golden fields of corn and waving wheat prairies, but sorry, no waves of blue. However, we can offer you a place to park with eletric hook-up.

[Kevin245]

Welcome Wayne,

Glad to have you and Sarah with us and congrats on the rig. We have several nautically talented members here as well, so hopefully you will find that you have more in common than initially thought.

Regards,

Kevin

[blmitch5]

Congrats and welcome! You will love streaming and as for storage, I use click clack containers to make the most of my space. There are lots of good ideas on organization on here as well. Happy trails!

ClickClack Storageware | ClickClack Group Limited

[F450Harley]

Congratulations,
You will definitely enjoy your combo so post pictures after your delivery today and next week. By the way, what kind of sway control you plan on as weight distribution is kind of optional for your set up (F250) depending on the size of your Safari.
Enjoy it.

[wrochdvm]

Thanks for the very warm welcome.

The AS was my Admiral's life long dream. She has put up with my water logged adventures long enough. So, I thought it was her turn.

F450Harley, I'm looking at a very simple Reese sway control. The dealer gave me literature about the Henley, but my take was that he thought it would be overkill. The 25' Safari (listed at 6,300) should not come close to maxing out the truck.

In the 1960's, our family had a 16' big box trailer that we towed with a ford Country Squire with a simple sway bar system. At 17 y.o. I towed that rig. Sometimes had white knuckles, but I always held on.

Took delivery on the F250 this afternoon. I'm in heaven. It's smooth, quiet and very luxurious. The dogs will love the crew cab, just need to find a way that they can look out the window.

Tintent, I lived in KS for 7 years and Sarah is from MN. We plan to swing south toward CO next sprint then move north to make Alaska. But, the return could bring us close to you. Thanks for the invite. We'll keep it in mind.

blmitch5, we have used containers very much like those on the boat. Together with a label maker, organizing and finding things was easy. We had so many stowage compartments on the boat that we had a database that we could print out so we could find that spare part or piece of equipment when we needed it. Should be much easier on Mary Joan.

I'll post pictures soon.

[tpi]

Welcome...
I enjoy my 25' Safari SS. If you have questions about the unit don't hesitate to post it here. You're always welcome to PM me to look at something or other for you. I keep some storage items in bed of truck, particularly dirty items: BBQ, outdoor mat, chairs, container for hitch equipment, generator, etc. I find it just about as packed towing the trailer as when I used to tent camp.

I pull mine with 99 F250 diesel. It pulls easily and approaches 15 MPG on flat/windless conditions. Your newer truck should do as well or better.

Enjoy your travels!

[KL's 77]

Welcome

[wrochdvm]

We picked up our new to us AS yesterday from Colonial in NJ. Everything on the punch list had been take care of and the orientation got us up to speed in short order. Having not towed a large trailer for many years (more than 30), we decided NOT to go through NYC. We went well west of the Big Apple to just east of Newburgh, NY. Fahnestock State Park was still open, rest rooms and showers were still open. Dry camped overnight. It was very cold, 22F overnight. We turned the furnace down to 45 when we turned in (we had good down sleeping bags for our comforters).

Took back roads to Lee, MA then east on the Mass Pike.

The Reese dual cam hitch seemed to work great. No sway and excellent control on all the turns, no trouble keeping us between the lines. Had the breaks set at 8.0 and breaking seemed smooth.

Only downside was it was snowing as we crossed the Berkshires and the roads, while clear were wet and had been salted. Washing the salt off in 28F was not fun. We'll do a proper wash this Saturday when it's warm enough.

[F450Harley]

Wayne,
Congratulations on your new F250 and Safari SS SE. Try not to use high pressure hose while trying to rinse the salt off your AS. You know this already, just take this as a reminder.

[AIR-Quarius]

Welcome!