Brand new RVers headed to Mexico, requesting advice

Posts above talk about it....

A good first night could be in Matehuala, south of Saltillo. Take the Monterrey and Saltillo bypasses. Las Palmas Midway Inn

Where is Las Palmas?

Be aware that Las Palmas has quite a few bad electrical outlets in their RV area. If you plan to plug in you should be sure to check polarity. I only found a couple that are properly wired. Not good to plug into poorly wired outlets.

Sam and Derba wrote:

Kidoo wrote:

Canadian Rainbirds wrote:
A good first night could be in Matehuala, south of Saltillo. Take the Monterrey and Saltillo bypasses. Las Palmas Midway Inn

For our route this year and others see our blog

Nice Blog, haven't read it yet but plan on doing tonight probably. Thanks

We're coming to Zihua! Leaving SA Friday late afternoon, and following your route. Staying overnight at the Texas Tourist Information Center, and driving to Matehulala the next day is a great idea. Before we leave, I have to ask, is there a vacancy at the rv park in Zihatenejo?

Be good to see you here! I just spoke with Edmundo and confirmed a space for you. The restaurant is closed on Wednesday so the gate is kept closed though the padlock should not be latched. I'll make a point of being here.

I'll also review the blog and see if I need to add anything. I may need to add details here and there.

Yes. We are across the street, and the RV park at El Manglar has space.

It's a ways down, but check the Canadian Rainbirds blog for all of the details.

Kidoo wrote:

Canadian Rainbirds wrote:
A good first night could be in Matehuala, south of Saltillo. Take the Monterrey and Saltillo bypasses. Las Palmas Midway Inn

For our route this year and others see our blog

Nice Blog, haven't read it yet but plan on doing tonight probably. Thanks

We're coming to Zihua! Leaving SA Friday late afternoon, and following your route. Staying overnight at the Texas Tourist Information Center, and driving to Matehulala the next day is a great idea. Before we leave, I have to ask, is there a vacancy at the rv park in Zihatenejo?

Canadian Rainbirds wrote:
A good first night could be in Matehuala, south of Saltillo. Take the Monterrey and Saltillo bypasses. Las Palmas Midway Inn

For our route this year and others see our blog

Nice Blog, haven't read it yet but plan on doing tonight probably. Thanks

Ted white certianly appears to be the most knowledgeable

The key word hear is "appears". What else do we know? My question is, was, and always will be - what happens in the long term if you put 500 ppm into a system designed for 15 ppm? I have heard it can be expensive. Is the person giving the advice going to pay for any repairs due to his advice?

Here's what research over the years has told me... Vehicle manufactures and the EPA were trying for years to reduce emissions. They could not design a system that would work until fuel refiners were able to reduce sulfur to 15 ppm. They could not come up with a system that would work at higher ppm. So if you continually put 500 ppm into this system are there long term damages to the system? NOTE that 500 ppm is over 30 times as much as the system is design for. We have heard that truckers using these newer trucks with these systems eventually have to replace parts even though they are using the proper ULSD fuel. So what happens if you put improper fuel in and how much does it cost? We have not had this question answered on this forum since 2007 when this discussion began. I am asking about long term problems that could shorten the lifespan of expensive components - not necessarily long term use of the wrong fuel but if it will contribute to maintenance and repair costs somewhere down the road.

If you call the engineers at the manufacturer you may get some idea of what damage could be done to the system and how much it would cost to repair it. They certainly are not going to tell you to go ahead and use the fuel. But they can probably answer the question about what damage could occur and the cost of repair.

I am not trying "cluck" at anyone - my original post said I could not provide advice because I did not know details about the specific vehicle - my intent was to try to get the original poster to provide more information. Then another poster on this form said to Google to find the info. But that may not tell me exactly what details might be needed about the original posters specific vehicle - year - make - model - fuel - etc. Google will not tell me this. Only the owner of the vehicle can tell us this.

Ted white certianly appears to be the most knowledgeable onthis subject and he has not led me wrong yet. I take dozens of rigs into mexico on cravans including those requiring ULSD. The only issue is the DPF filter, not the negine and from my observations those who keep the unit under load have no problems, those who do not do. The are edge tuners which will force a manual regen on both chev & Ford, but not for Dodge that I can find. Apparently about 405 of the diesel being sold right now in Mexico coems formt he uS and is ULSD, but there is no way to determine which. The Mexican web site for Gulf mexico, the biggest neew competitor was stating they will be selling ULSD, but I have yet to encounter one of thsoe stations. Pemex is claiming it will be selling ULSD at the end of 2017, but I will believe that when I see it. As far as mercedes is concerend, Pierre Blais who runs Amigos Rodantes takes 2 caravans a year throguh mexico and has a late model Sprinter diesel.He has had no issues.

Clucking and scolding isn't going to endear newcomers to this forum. We were all new to RVing in Mexico at one time and we've all asked questions that might have irritated the forum old timers. We've all also lamented how few folks RV in Mexico anymore. Maybe a little patience with posters might bring a few more posters or even a few more RVers to Mexico.