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GpnAZ's avatar
GpnAZ
Explorer
Jul 02, 2013

Camping - Arizona Mogollon Rim

We needed to get out of town this last weekend, predicted 115 degrees in Phoenix. So we headed up to Canyon Point Campground on the Mogollon Rim, by Forest Lakes, Arizona. It's approx. 7000' in elevation and temps were in the high 80's and low 90's during the day and 50's at night, still a great relief of the alternative in Phoenix. We have friends that are campground hosts up there, so nice to visit with them also. We went exploring with the Jeep on Saturday and Sunday, a lot of dirt roads to go and explore. This was the first time I have flat towed the Jeep behind this camper, it definitely was maxed out power and weight wise. I have a Brake Buddy I use when I tow it behind the MH, so that was a help on some of the steep downhills. I had 1 uphill going and 1 uphill coming back that I barely could keep it at 40 mph and then it would kick down into 1st gear and run the rpm up to 6200 rpms to get it back to 2nd gear, not a pleasant experience, but not wanting it to lose anymore momentum either. The other unpleasant experience was checking the gas mileage, overall was 7.0 mpg. I won't be towing the Jeep unless it's really needed, I think it will be easier to offload the camper and use my pickup truck to explore with. I have flat towed my Jeep probably 30,000 miles over the last 17 years, but usually behind the MH or pickup truck with FWC camper (1600 lbs lighter then Lance). I was surprised that the 5.7 L Hemi and 4:56 gears didn't do better, although it did alright except for those 2 uphills. I also kept my speed at 55 & 60 mph to try and optimize my gas mileage. This is my first post with pictures, so hopefully this will be successful. Ah, it worked, thanks to preview!



20130628_PW&GPNAZ4 by GpnUSA, on Flickr


20130628_PW&PEANUT by GpnUSA, on Flickr


20130629_CANYONPTCAMPSITE1 by GpnUSA, on Flickr


20130630_CANYONPTCAMPSITE8 by GpnUSA, on Flickr
Truck Campers
  • GpnAZ's avatar
    GpnAZ
    Explorer
    Jul 03, 2013
    Jefe4x4- It was fun comparing rigs at the OX13, you're right about picking your poison when it comes to vehicles and campers. Hope to run into you in the future also.

    69 Avion- N. AZ is a great place to escape the heat. I think I might have to think about a diesel in my next vehicle.

    Mello Mike - Those are all great places to camp, enjoy your time camping! I use a tow bar that was built by my steel fabricator 16 years ago, we wired the Jeep to plug into a 4 pin flat plug on the towing vehicle and I use a Brake Buddy for braking on the Jeep.

    Dadwolf2 - Peanut would have loved Bonnie to be there to play with, LOL!
  • dadwolf2's avatar
    dadwolf2
    Explorer
    Jul 03, 2013
    Bonnie says HI to Peanut and she wishes we could've been there with you!! :B
  • Mello_Mike's avatar
    Mello_Mike
    Explorer
    Jul 02, 2013
    Nice pics. We'll be up there soon. For weekend getaways we like the Rim Lakes area and the area around Clint's Well. For longer trips we like to camp in the Big Lake area.

    What flat tow system are you using?
  • 69_Avion's avatar
    69_Avion
    Explorer
    Jul 02, 2013
    I was up on the rim about 3 weeks ago and it sure is pretty country. Those hills are steep for any loaded vehicle. My f-350 Diesel sure felt the hills but we were able to maintain 65 mph. Having said that, we weren't pulling a Jeep. That is a nice rig you have, and without the Jeep you probably wouldn't have had any issues.
  • jefe_4x4's avatar
    jefe_4x4
    Explorer
    Jul 02, 2013
    GPnAZ,
    Having been in your camper, I can say that I have TC envy of the first water. You have a great setup: Compact and gorgeous inside. For a Lance, it's so well thought out. For a hardside, it's a great set up for off-road and all-season camping. Not too heavy. You chose well. I too feel cooler just seeing your pix. Looking ahead, you should get great service even in a couple feel of snow, what with lockers all around and mongo off-road grabbing tires. The low mpg is the trade off between a gasser and and oil burner. Unloaded, a gasser is great. Fine acceleration and nimble. Load it up to the max and the mpg numbers and power plummet quickly. An oil burner just says, "Duh, what happened?" and suffers little when loaded to the max (if you keep the speed down). Of course, the diesel is still an 1100 pound boat anchor you must carry around, thru thick and thin. We pick our poison.
    It was great to see youse guys at OX2013.
    Hope to see you down dee road.
    regards, as always, jefe
  • GpnAZ's avatar
    GpnAZ
    Explorer
    Jul 02, 2013
    rickjo - I seen that road on the map, fr 300 I believe, that will be one we go on next trip up there.

    hikerdmb- Thanks!

    mikemck- Thanks, I get 11 mpg average around town unloaded. You're right about only expecting 7-8 mpg with that load. Yes, you should have kept your 69' Bronco - that's a classic!

    BuckBarker- Quite a change from Overgaard to Florida, I'm sure their is times you miss it.

    harley-dave- That last climb you talked about was the same hill I struggled up 35-40 mph.
  • harley-dave's avatar
    harley-dave
    Explorer
    Jul 02, 2013
    Good Morning

    We have camped at Canyon Point before and its nice. We have a 31 ft. class C and that last real climb just before you get to the top is a tough one. We're usually down to 35-40 and she's working hard (high RPM) on that section. I don't think there is any easier way to get there from Phoenix. We get between 7 and 7.5 with the V10 ford
    on trips to Canyon Pt.

    Dave
  • BuckBarker's avatar
    BuckBarker
    Explorer
    Jul 02, 2013
    We moved from Overgaard, AZ three years ago and Canyon Point was our most favorite place to go. It was close to home but felt like a thousand miles away.
  • mike_mck's avatar
    mike_mck
    Explorer
    Jul 02, 2013
    GpnAZ wrote:
    We needed to get out of town this last weekend, predicted 115 degrees in Phoenix. So we headed up to Canyon Point Campground on the Mogollon Rim, by Forest Lakes, Arizona. It's approx. 7000' in elevation and temps were in the high 80's and low 90's during the day and 50's at night, still a great relief of the alternative in Phoenix. We have friends that are campground hosts up there, so nice to visit with them also. We went exploring with the Jeep on Saturday and Sunday, a lot of dirt roads to go and explore. This was the first time I have flat towed the Jeep behind this camper, it definitely was maxed out power and weight wise. I have a Brake Buddy I use when I tow it behind the MH, so that was a help on some of the steep downhills. I had 1 uphill going and 1 uphill coming back that I barely could keep it at 40 mph and then it would kick down into 1st gear and run the rpm up to 6200 rpms to get it back to 2nd gear, not a pleasant experience, but not wanting it to lose anymore momentum either. The other unpleasant experience was checking the gas mileage, overall was 7.0 mpg. I won't be towing the Jeep unless it's really needed, I think it will be easier to offload the camper and use my pickup truck to explore with. I have flat towed my Jeep probably 30,000 miles over the last 17 years, but usually behind the MH or pickup truck with FWC camper (1600 lbs lighter then Lance). I was surprised that the 5.7 L Hemi and 4:56 gears didn't do better, although it did alright except for those 2 uphills. I also kept my speed at 55 & 60 mph to try and optimize my gas mileage. This is my first post with pictures, so hopefully this will be successful. Ah, it worked, thanks to preview!



    20130628_PW&GPNAZ4 by GpnUSA, on Flickr


    20130628_PW&PEANUT by GpnUSA, on Flickr


    20130629_CANYONPTCAMPSITE1 by GpnUSA, on Flickr


    20130630_CANYONPTCAMPSITE8 by GpnUSA, on Flickr


    Really is a nice looking rig.

    4.56 gears wow. I assume you went oversized on the tires. What kind of mileage do you get unloaded?
    I would think most gas trucks loaded as you were could expect 7 to 8 MPG driving from Phoenix to the rim.

    Thanks for sharing the pics. I just sold my 69 Bronco. seemed like a good idea at the time. Now not so sure.

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