New Open Range 5th Wheel

Just signed the paperwork to purchase a new 2013 Open Range Light 5th Wheel.  Even though I don't have a hitch installed in the truck yet, I had to back under and take a picture.  The hitch gets installed in the truck the first week of April.  I am also replacing the 26 gallon fuel tank on the truck with a 45 gallon tank.  It goes in the same place the original is located, and uses the original fill access and recalibrated fuel gauge.

 

What prompted this purchase and upgrade is an overwhelming feeling that I have to take my mother and father to Alaska this year.  They are both 76 years old and are in great health.  When I was a kid growing up, dad would talk about driving the Alaska Highway to Alaska, but life was too busy and money too short, so we never made the trip.  Back in the 60's, it was quite the adventure with a lot of rough gravel roads and wilderness.

The trip is easier now.  The road is paved (seal coat) all the way, and a large support system of fuel stops, restaurants and campgrounds has grown up around supporting all the retired baby boomers making the trip.