Running generator for 12+ hours?

copeland343 wrote:
Fla 904.
I drive 55-63 mph. At the end of the day I only get 50 mph. I have tried to do better but pulling trailer, stops, fuel and traffic I only go 50 mph average for the day. You are not going to want to drive that long with a RV. We travel 250-350 a day that is 5 to 7 hours. Enjoy the trips, we have a beautiful country to see.

I went from west palm beach to jacksonville fl in the rv when I bought it and that was well over 300 miles and it took me 3 hours going between 60 and 65 mph using the cruise control. maybe everyone drives different, idk.. I do not tow anything tho that could be why..

I also count on 50 mph average door to door for drive planning.
If you arrive an hour early than expected that is fine too.

300 miles in 3 hours if flat moving. More like 90-120+ depending on conditions. btdt in an old Mach I Mustang :B

Fla904 wrote:

copeland343 wrote:
Fla 904.
I drive 55-63 mph. At the end of the day I only get 50 mph. I have tried to do better but pulling trailer, stops, fuel and traffic I only go 50 mph average for the day. You are not going to want to drive that long with a RV. We travel 250-350 a day that is 5 to 7 hours. Enjoy the trips, we have a beautiful country to see.

I went from west palm beach to jacksonville fl in the rv when I bought it and that was well over 300 miles and it took me 3 hours going between 60 and 65 mph using the cruise control. maybe everyone drives different, idk.. I do not tow anything tho that could be why..

It's 284 mi. and in a car, without any stops, should take you about 4.5 hrs at 65 mph.

I think you'll find that everyone on the Interstates driving the speed limit average about 50-55 mph in a days travel. In fact, if you drive 70 mph, you're not going to increase those averages by much. It's the down time at fuel and feeding that kills the averages.

westend wrote:

Fla904 wrote:

copeland343 wrote:
Fla 904.
I drive 55-63 mph. At the end of the day I only get 50 mph. I have tried to do better but pulling trailer, stops, fuel and traffic I only go 50 mph average for the day. You are not going to want to drive that long with a RV. We travel 250-350 a day that is 5 to 7 hours. Enjoy the trips, we have a beautiful country to see.

I went from west palm beach to jacksonville fl in the rv when I bought it and that was well over 300 miles and it took me 3 hours going between 60 and 65 mph using the cruise control. maybe everyone drives different, idk.. I do not tow anything tho that could be why..

It's 284 mi. and in a car, without any stops, should take you about 4.5 hrs at 65 mph.

I think you'll find that everyone on the Interstates driving the speed limit average about 50-55 mph in a days travel. In fact, if you drive 70 mph, you're not going to increase those averages by much. It's the down time at fuel and feeding that kills the averages.

Meant to say 4 hours not 3 lol was not doing a hundred in the RV lolll. But ya we plan only to stop for gas we will have food on board. Hopefully the gen holds up, has been running good this past week. Any recommended oil for it? 98 microlite 4000

Meant to say 4 hours not 3 lol was not doing a hundred in the RV lolll. But ya we plan only to stop for gas we will have food on board. Hopefully the gen holds up, has been running good this past week. Any recommended oil for it? 98 microlite 4000

Gotcha. The thing is in figuring the travel time, it's not only the time at the pump. You'll be slowing down to get to the station, positioning at the fuel island, maybe going in to pay. In the mean time, passengers will be in the restrooms or trying to find that one special kind of younameit on the shelf and so forth. Then its back slowly onto the road and back to speed.

You can estimate on your own but I've driven with a few different combinations across the US and it always averages about 50-60 mph average on the total. That's even in a car out West with the hammer down.

If you have an owner's manual. there should be recommendations in there for oil. With the small quantity needed and the lower prices of synthetics, I run synthetics in my small engines and cars. I use Motorcraft syn-blend in my truck because that's what the mfg calls for.I'm old school and still do my own oil changes so do them more frequently than the mfg's schedule.

The only thing I could add is to remember that genny's shut down when you get to 1/4 fuel left in the tank so factor that into your equation.

Fla904 wrote:

I went from west palm beach to jacksonville fl in the rv when I bought it and that was well over 300 miles and it took me 3 hours going between 60 and 65 mph using the cruise control. maybe everyone drives different, idk.. I do not tow anything tho that could be why..

300 miles in 4 hours (your correction) is not 60-65mph, it's 75mph, and was likely done in one shot, non-stop, point to point (and even then, 75 is really cookin' in an RV, since to average 75, you must be moving 77-80 much of the time). ANY slow downs eat into your average much more than most realize.

You'll likely only get about 8mpg, so you will need to stop for fuel at least 2X, maybe 3X during that 800 mile day. Every time you pull off the freeway for fuel, you slow, stop, wait at traffic lights, slowly drive to the station, wait in line and maneuver to the pumps. Pump (40+ gallons), pay, then maneuver out of the station, back down the surface streets, waiting at traffic signals, and finally get back on the freeway and back up to speed. All of that significantly hurts your overall mph average.

Your optimism is refreshing (if not a bit humorous), but 800 miles per day is likely to take at least 13-14 hours under the best case scenario. And I certainly wouldn't want to do it for more than 1 or 2 days max. Just "sitting on your butt" for 14 hours gets tiring real fast, putting everyone around you in jeopardy.

To put it in perspective; About 10-12 years ago, I did a non-stop trip from SoCal to Oregon, right at about 1100 miles, class C with no toad/trailer. We drove non-stop, other than for fuel, and those stops were right next to the freeway offramps. I would drive for a tank, pull into a station, fill up, then climb into bed while my brother-in-law took over the wheel for the next tank. Repeat every 250-300 miles. No stops for food, no stops for bathroom. Cruise control set at 67mph. But it took just under 18 hours, which is just a bit over 60mph average.

However, be sure to check back in after the trip and tell us how it went; Curious if your youthful exhuberance wins out over our old world experience! :)

4x4van wrote:

Fla904 wrote:

I went from west palm beach to jacksonville fl in the rv when I bought it and that was well over 300 miles and it took me 3 hours going between 60 and 65 mph using the cruise control. maybe everyone drives different, idk.. I do not tow anything tho that could be why..

300 miles in 4 hours (your correction) is not 60-65mph, it's 75mph, and was likely done in one shot, non-stop, point to point (and even then, 75 is really cookin' in an RV, since to average 75, you must be moving 77-80 much of the time). ANY slow downs eat into your average much more than most realize.

You'll likely only get about 8mpg, so you will need to stop for fuel at least 2X, maybe 3X during that 800 mile day. Every time you pull off the freeway for fuel, you slow, stop, wait at traffic lights, slowly drive to the station, wait in line and maneuver to the pumps. Pump (40+ gallons), pay, then maneuver out of the station, back down the surface streets, waiting at traffic signals, and finally get back on the freeway and back up to speed. All of that significantly hurts your overall mph average.

Your optimism is refreshing (if not a bit humorous), but 800 miles per day is likely to take at least 13-14 hours under the best case scenario. And I certainly wouldn't want to do it for more than 1 or 2 days max. Just "sitting on your butt" for 14 hours gets tiring real fast, putting everyone around you in jeopardy.

To put it in perspective; About 10-12 years ago, I did a non-stop trip from SoCal to Oregon, right at about 1100 miles, class C with no toad/trailer. We drove non-stop, other than for fuel, and those stops were right next to the freeway offramps. I would drive for a tank, pull into a station, fill up, then climb into bed while my brother-in-law took over the wheel for the next tank. Repeat every 250-300 miles. No stops for food, no stops for bathroom. Cruise control set at 67mph. But it took just under 18 hours, which is just a bit over 60mph average.

However, be sure to check back in after the trip and tell us how it went; Curious if your youthful exhuberance wins out over our old world experience! :)

We left Florida at 5am were now in Dallas at 8pm. Went 63 mph three fill ups and stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner.

Not if you left from Jacksonville...

westend wrote:
Not if you left from Jacksonville...

Ya I'm sure he's lying about it?.......lol who cares?
To the op, fix the propane line. No way it's anywhere near $500 unless a bunch of other stuff is destroyed. From the regulator, on or near the tank, out it is low pressure. You could fix it with hardware store parts pretty easily I'm fairly sure. As long as you get the connections tight and sound and test the repair for gas leaks you're good.
IMO that's one of the best features of a RV you're missing. Fridge will run on propane for a long time with no additional input, generator etc. besides you have no stove, hot water or heat without the propane, right?
For the nit pickers, I know the water heater could be electric. Not the point.