Trip report new RAM and 5th wheel, in route to Arizona

[Me_Again]

We did our first long distance trip with the new RAM towing the trailer. Passing thru Seattle and Portland and out to the coast at Winchester Bay. 440 miles. Mileage was around 12 MPG and 60-63 MPH. Still getting use to how the new exhaust brake works, and not sure that the Banks brake on Old Blue did not work better. AND Old Blue may have ran away and hid from Cherry in a drag race even with the trailer do to torque management.

Did I like it today? You bet! Nice ride!

More in the next few days. Into the Redwoods tomorrow.

Chris

[Marv_Hoag]

Chris - Leaving Thursday for a brief stopover in Fresno, scheduled to arrive in Gold Canyon on the 12th. We will be in our usual space.

Marv

[Me_Again]

Settling into our winter park in Gold Canyon, AZ. Love the new RAM. Only short coming is the 31 gal fuel. Low fuel prices coming down from Washington was a bonus. Chris

[Me_Again]

Got to finally pull a mountain pass with the trailer today. Walked up CA-58 to Tehachapi at 58 MPH in 4th at 2100 RPM with tons of extra throttle. Quiet and smooth.

We stayed at a Passport America site in Chowchilla, Ca that was very rustic and had RR Track next door!

We are in Desert Hot Springs now for three nights.

[FishOnOne]

lbrjet wrote:
Hey Fish, that was actually pretty funny.

LOL...I'll tell you what is funny.... Cherry! LMAO :B

[lbrjet]

Hey Fish, that was actually pretty funny.

[Us_out_West]

Me Again wrote:
We had snow on the sides of 101 South of the Red Woods and 32 degrees. We did a little over 300 miles today to the central valley on 99. Chris

You should put together your own blog...might be nice.

[FishOnOne]

Me Again wrote:

Us out West wrote:
Is this a thread for the Snowbirds Forum?

Well we are on our way the Arizona, and FishOnOne will not find it here and start again slamming RAMs yet again.

Received a tip that the Ford hater referred my name. :W

[Me_Again]

We had snow on the sides of 101 South of the Red Woods and 32 degrees. We did a little over 300 miles today to the central valley on 99. Chris

[Me_Again]

We did 314 miles today down Southern Oregon and Northern CA coasts. A lot of road sluffing on 101 in Oregon. Raining pretty hard here at South end on Red Woods. Darn Smart Phone is not easy to type on! Chris

[BarbaraOK]

John&Joey wrote:

Me Again wrote:
We did our first long distance trip ...440 miles. Chris

That's an oxymoron. Might want to post this in the beginners forum instead if you're trying to hide from some other poster.

What is wrong with you? .....edit.....
I agree that's a lot of miles for a fulltimer, but not for a snowbird who wants to get out of the snow and is headed for Arizona.

[FlatBroke]

We leave with a winterized trailer but the first night we stay in LasVegas NM and figure we are good to go so it's dewintereized. Next day we are in south NM and no worries then. This late the temps are too low so the first night we will use the KOA facilities. Can't leave our trailer in the street to load over 48 hours. Which is a big pain. Probably use a bunch of propane just keeping it warm enough not to freeze stuff before we leave.

[Me_Again]

FlatBroke wrote:
Keep us up to date on your trip report. Hopefully leaving Wednesday. Way later that usual due to health reasons. HATE having to judge the arival of winter storms. It's also a pita to load our stuff up when there is ice on the ground and it dosent get above 25*. Like to see how others deal with it.

Many leave Northern area's with their trailers still winterized and stay in motels until out of freezing weather. We lived in the trailer for three nights before leaving to check everything out and find out what was missing. So 2-3 hours at high elevations in the Siskiyou's at 20 degrees did not have much appeal. If you get hung up in a traffic backup you can sit there for hours, as it is a main West Coast North/South truck route, and can be really nasty at times.

Chris

[FlatBroke]

Keep us up to date on your trip report. Hopefully leaving Wednesday. Way later that usual due to health reasons. HATE having to judge the arival of winter storms. It's also a pita to load our stuff up when there is ice on the ground and it dosent get above 25*. Like to see how others deal with it.

[Me_Again]

Well yesterday mid day we decided to go to the coast and bypass the Siskiyou Mountains. It is 21 degrees up there this morning.

"TODAY
CLOUDY. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW THIS MORNING...THEN SNOW THIS AFTERNOON. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 1 TO 2 INCHES. HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 30S. SOUTH WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW 80 PERCENT."

This is a decision that most NW snowbirds face this time of year. This is the third time in 7 trips south this time of year that we have headed to the coast. When conditions are iffy they require one to carry chains for the trailer also. No thanks!

A friend from Eureka suggested highway 38 thru Drain, Or as the lowest and best route to the coast and 101 I few years ago and we have taken it several times now. I would really rather still be on I-5 as the driving on 101 is a lot more "work"! We should have bought fuel at the 76 in Reedsport yesterday as this morning will back track those 3-5 miles for 1.99 per gal diesel. DEF stop at Walmart in Crescent City later today. 316 miles of coastal highway will put us at a resort in the Red Woods in North Calif tonight.

Going to try to hit the OR DOT scale North of Coos Bay this morning as the numbers yesterday did not look right for drive axle at 6950. I know we are loaded heavy but I do not think our 29' Cardinal has 32-3400 pin weight. A trip to the CAT scales lightly loaded had drive axle at 59xx.

For those so quick to judge, enjoy your lump of coal! Sorry I was not clear enough for you in the beginning.

Chris