Forum Discussion
myredracer
Apr 24, 2016Explorer II
We tow a 29' travel trailer with a 3/4 ton truck. Went to Reno last year (from BC) and this summer are going farther down to Monterey and over to Vegas. There are many on the forum with waay more experience than us, but some things that come to mind below:
You haven't given details on the truck or trailer. If you have P rated tires on the truck, you want LT tires. You want a good brake controller like a Prodigy P3. Keep the trailer tires at the sidewall max rating (50 for LRC and 65 for LRD) and you want more pressure in the TV tires (we run 75 psi on front and 80 on rear, but everyone is somewhat different). You should have a good WDH with sway control. Add-on friction bars work, but there are better hitches with integral sway control like Equal-i-zer, Blue Ox and Reese dual cam. Make sure the WDH (weight distributing hitch) is properly adjusted so you don't have sway and/or handling problems (extremely important for both a long trip and someone new to towing). There is a great sticky in the towing section on setting up WDHs. I would suggest getting as much practice camping/towing as possible before doing the long trip. Is the trailer new or used? If used, some things may need attention. You will encounter lots of elevation change - make sure brakes on truck and trailer are working properly and serviced as needed and that the truck's cooling system and tranny can handle the added stress and heat. Taking a small 120 volt compressor with you would be a good idea and you should periodically check tire pressure and visually inspect the TT tires for anything unusual like abnormal wear, lumps, etc. (before each leg is best). An infrared gun would also be a good thing to have to periodically check bearing and brake temps.
It's a good idea to plan your route and campgrounds in complete detail before leaving. It's not really that hard to do. You especially should book CGs well in advance. You could just hook up and head off into the unknown but will likely at some point not find a CG and end up in a Walmart lot, rest stop or worse. Hours of travel per day depends a bit on age. I try to limit driving to 3-4 hours a day with only an occasional 7-8 hour drive. If you are not on a tight timeline to get back home, build in some time on each day's trip so you can make unplanned stops for interesting places you come across and for rest stops. If you have time, plan for a 2-3 night layover at some places like say Yellowstone Park for ex. The I-5 corridor is not good for finding CGs and as mentioned. There is a lovely KOA just north of San Fran. that allows for a day drive into town with the truck. (Expect to have trouble finding parking there with a truck though, lol.) If you can make to Vegas, you simply have to do it! It's such a ridiculously crazy place. There are CGs nearby. I know the Thousand Trails there has a shuttle bus to the Casinos as that's the CG we're staying at.
Last year was bad for forest fires and this year is looking like it could be as bad or even worse. Be prepared to have to uif needed . I would buy a membership in RPI, Coast to Coast, Thousand Trails or other one so you can find a new place to stay if needed while en route. Many membership CGs have overflow dry camping spots and won't turn you away. We have Thousand Trails and RPI, but there are no TT CGs in the central portion of the US. I highly recommend getting Verizon 4G mifi or alternate so you can get on the internet no matter where you are and having a laptop with you. This way you can get up to date traffic and road condition reports as well as forest fire reports.
Use the internet to completely plan the trip at home. There are websites that have video of sections of highways as well as descriptions (and also traffic reports). Google works for figuring out drive times of each leg of a drive. A GPS helps but don't expect it to be reliable 100% of the time. Myself, I like good ol' paper maps and I sketch the major freeways and highways to be on plus exits to change onto another section of fwy/hwy. Never take a secondary type road unless you have researched it first. It *might* look okay on a map but can be in rough shape with lots of slow/tight turns. I find GPS is better for when you are in a city or town. I still like to see it on a paper map too before heading off into an unknown city (and take the map with you). Do NOT take the trailer into major cities, esp. San Francisco.
Good Sam roadside assistance is good. We already have coverage from the credit card we have so don't have to pay more for using the TT.
Some places have a lot of exits and interchanges crammed into small geographical areas and you need to be really on top of signage, like around San Francisco and southward. Missing an exit can cost a lot of time, gas and aggravation.
California has agricultural inspection stations at various locations and some fruits, vegetables and firewood are banned. California is max. 55 mph if towing a trailer so factor that in when doing time calcs.
If you haven't traveled far afield yet, sooner or later you will come across low voltage at a CG. Get a voltmeter and check the voltage at a pedestal before plugging in. Normal is 120 volts, and the absolute lowest you should allow is 104 volts (some say 102). A plug-in voltmeter inside in a permanent location is a really good idea to monitor the voltage. Low voltage can damage AC units. An EMS unit like those from Progressive Industries are cheap insurance against the different power problems that can happen (open neutral, open ground, reversed polarity, high/low voltage, surges). If the voltage is too low in a CG, a Hughes autoformer can be used to boost the voltage and keep you running.
You're gonna have a fantastic trip! Don't forget to post a report when you get home. ;)
You haven't given details on the truck or trailer. If you have P rated tires on the truck, you want LT tires. You want a good brake controller like a Prodigy P3. Keep the trailer tires at the sidewall max rating (50 for LRC and 65 for LRD) and you want more pressure in the TV tires (we run 75 psi on front and 80 on rear, but everyone is somewhat different). You should have a good WDH with sway control. Add-on friction bars work, but there are better hitches with integral sway control like Equal-i-zer, Blue Ox and Reese dual cam. Make sure the WDH (weight distributing hitch) is properly adjusted so you don't have sway and/or handling problems (extremely important for both a long trip and someone new to towing). There is a great sticky in the towing section on setting up WDHs. I would suggest getting as much practice camping/towing as possible before doing the long trip. Is the trailer new or used? If used, some things may need attention. You will encounter lots of elevation change - make sure brakes on truck and trailer are working properly and serviced as needed and that the truck's cooling system and tranny can handle the added stress and heat. Taking a small 120 volt compressor with you would be a good idea and you should periodically check tire pressure and visually inspect the TT tires for anything unusual like abnormal wear, lumps, etc. (before each leg is best). An infrared gun would also be a good thing to have to periodically check bearing and brake temps.
It's a good idea to plan your route and campgrounds in complete detail before leaving. It's not really that hard to do. You especially should book CGs well in advance. You could just hook up and head off into the unknown but will likely at some point not find a CG and end up in a Walmart lot, rest stop or worse. Hours of travel per day depends a bit on age. I try to limit driving to 3-4 hours a day with only an occasional 7-8 hour drive. If you are not on a tight timeline to get back home, build in some time on each day's trip so you can make unplanned stops for interesting places you come across and for rest stops. If you have time, plan for a 2-3 night layover at some places like say Yellowstone Park for ex. The I-5 corridor is not good for finding CGs and as mentioned. There is a lovely KOA just north of San Fran. that allows for a day drive into town with the truck. (Expect to have trouble finding parking there with a truck though, lol.) If you can make to Vegas, you simply have to do it! It's such a ridiculously crazy place. There are CGs nearby. I know the Thousand Trails there has a shuttle bus to the Casinos as that's the CG we're staying at.
Last year was bad for forest fires and this year is looking like it could be as bad or even worse. Be prepared to have to uif needed . I would buy a membership in RPI, Coast to Coast, Thousand Trails or other one so you can find a new place to stay if needed while en route. Many membership CGs have overflow dry camping spots and won't turn you away. We have Thousand Trails and RPI, but there are no TT CGs in the central portion of the US. I highly recommend getting Verizon 4G mifi or alternate so you can get on the internet no matter where you are and having a laptop with you. This way you can get up to date traffic and road condition reports as well as forest fire reports.
Use the internet to completely plan the trip at home. There are websites that have video of sections of highways as well as descriptions (and also traffic reports). Google works for figuring out drive times of each leg of a drive. A GPS helps but don't expect it to be reliable 100% of the time. Myself, I like good ol' paper maps and I sketch the major freeways and highways to be on plus exits to change onto another section of fwy/hwy. Never take a secondary type road unless you have researched it first. It *might* look okay on a map but can be in rough shape with lots of slow/tight turns. I find GPS is better for when you are in a city or town. I still like to see it on a paper map too before heading off into an unknown city (and take the map with you). Do NOT take the trailer into major cities, esp. San Francisco.
Good Sam roadside assistance is good. We already have coverage from the credit card we have so don't have to pay more for using the TT.
Some places have a lot of exits and interchanges crammed into small geographical areas and you need to be really on top of signage, like around San Francisco and southward. Missing an exit can cost a lot of time, gas and aggravation.
California has agricultural inspection stations at various locations and some fruits, vegetables and firewood are banned. California is max. 55 mph if towing a trailer so factor that in when doing time calcs.
If you haven't traveled far afield yet, sooner or later you will come across low voltage at a CG. Get a voltmeter and check the voltage at a pedestal before plugging in. Normal is 120 volts, and the absolute lowest you should allow is 104 volts (some say 102). A plug-in voltmeter inside in a permanent location is a really good idea to monitor the voltage. Low voltage can damage AC units. An EMS unit like those from Progressive Industries are cheap insurance against the different power problems that can happen (open neutral, open ground, reversed polarity, high/low voltage, surges). If the voltage is too low in a CG, a Hughes autoformer can be used to boost the voltage and keep you running.
You're gonna have a fantastic trip! Don't forget to post a report when you get home. ;)
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