New member in S. Lousiana

[cadman70454]

[p]Greetings to all from the Strawberry Festival (this weekend in Ponchatoula, La).[/p][p]
[/p][p]I'm interested in buying a Bearcat 16 FK and have been reading this forum for a few months to get educated.  From the results of a previous post, I purchased a Killawatt to check energy use for my various accessories.  The results are as follows:[/p][p]
[/p][p]Dell T3600 workstation = 60-80 watts continuous, 3-4 watts standby[/p][p]
[/p][p]Canon Pro9000II inkjet 11 x 17 printer = 15 watts while printing, .6 watts waiting[/p][p]
[/p][p]Hp5000n LaserJet- forget it.  I might as well make some toast.  It peaks around 1450 watts.[/p][p]
[/p][p]
[/p][p]It's great that I see a couple of members with Bearcats so I can follow their trials & tribulations.  I've spoken to my local dealer, who rents travel trailers, and gotten a price so I just need to finalize the options and write a check.  He seems to be a competent mechanic as he maintains a fleet of travel trailers, LivinLite and others.  I just built a new shop with a parking pad for the TT and had the electrician put a 30 amp receptacle in the front wall of the shop.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I've got a 2009 Silverado crew cab that has a tow capacity of 6800 lbs so I'm hoping this will pull the 16' Bearcat.  I don't have any toys to load except 300 lbs of telescope & photography stuff.  And of course the rocks my wife collects on our travels.  I figure if I keep the loaded TT below 4500 lbs and tongue wt to 450 lbs, I should be good.  The hitch on the truck says 500 lbs max without weight distribution.  I'm still going thru the weight distribution thread trying to understand it all.[/p][p]
[/p][p]A disappointing thing about my 2009 Siverado is the brakes.  It's my 3rd Silverado (1999, 2003, 2009) and the first with drum brakes in the rear.  I didn't realize it until they started chattering going downhill in Pa.  I'm a bit apprehensive about using it as a TV.  The 2003 has 4 wheel discs and a tow capacity of 6200 lbs so it might be my vehicle of choice.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Thanks to all who post information that informs the rest of us.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Lowell[/p]

[dh50]

Welcome, Cadman....happy to be the first to welcome you to this LL forum!  We're pretty new ourselves, but don't think there's other LL forum posters from the great state of Louisiana.   So, here's an extra special welcome from the 'old lady' here, born in Shreveport and a short time during high school in Alexandria.  Lots of family roots in LA.  Lots of GOOD GOOD memories on Toledo Bend!  Yeah, good times!  From one 'hauler' to another.....HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! 

[davidb]

Welcome from Lafayette Louisiana, we have a 6x15 Toyhauler.
We don't haul any toys with it, it is perfect for camping with two people.

We stayed at Tickfaw State Park near you last year (my wife was concerned about the snake warning signs)

Clay and Monya at Campers To Go are some great folks to deal with.

[cadman70454]

[p]I lived in Lafayette for 10 years going to college & working.  Great place.  It's really grown since I left in 1981.  I get back once in a while for construction projects, seminars and visiting friends.

And gw, do you realize there is a town at the bottom of Toledo Bend Reservoir ?  I read that in a diving magazine a long time ago.  It was a dive destination.

I plan on ordering my Bearcat 16 from Campers To Go in Port Vincent.  I looked thru the 16db he rents and I like what I saw.  He maintains his fleet well.

I like the Bearcat 20 I saw here without the fold down sofa and will probably order mine without this item.  It's great having such a good source of experienced owners who share information, experience and expertise.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Thank you[/p]

[shovelhead]

Welcome from North GA.

[billmoore]

[quote timestamp="1429070125" author="@cadman70454" source="/post/9367/thread"][p]I lived in Lafayette for 10 years going to college & working.  Great place.  It's really grown since I left in 1981.  I get back once in a while for construction projects, seminars and visiting friends.

And gw, do you realize there is a town at the bottom of Toledo Bend Reservoir ?  I read that in a diving magazine a long time ago.  It was a dive destination.

I plan on ordering my Bearcat 16 from Campers To Go in Port Vincent.  I looked thru the 16db he rents and I like what I saw.  He maintains his fleet well.

I like the Bearcat 20 I saw here without the fold down sofa and will probably order mine without this item.  It's great having such a good source of experienced owners who share information, experience and expertise.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Thank you[/p][/quote]That sounds pretty much like ours, a Bearcat BC7X20 without the fold down sofa. We really like it this way. The fold down sofa isn't very comfortable as either a sofa or a bed, so we are happy not to have it. Instead we use a folding table and some beanbag chairs (the kind that hold an armchair shape, not the shapeless kind), and this is working out great for us so far. We just bought it in January, so we've only spent a total of 7 nights in it so far, but we are loving it.

[billmoore]

These are the bean bag chairs we have:

http://www.shopko.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=53469&utm_source=CI&utm_medium=PLA&utm_term=19051135&utm_campaign=Furniture&cm_mmc=Google-_-PLA-_-Furniture-_-19051135&gclid=CJTJ2o6GicUCFfRr7Aod6RYAaQ

Very comfortable for sitting for long periods (we had a very rainy long weekend camping trip a few weeks ago where we spent a lot of time indoors in the camper). Our folding table is adjustable height, which works well with them, since they sit you several inches lower than a normal chair height.

[rcarter1776]

welcome cadman