Pre trip preparations...

[Desert_Captain]

We managed to score 5 days in the Zion Watchman CG for next week so today and tomorrow are dedicated to the requisite pre trip preparations. We have not used our coach since last fall, had to cancel Quartzite due to Covid and then had a frozen pipe burst in our house which took 7 weeks to completely repair/replace and obviously kept us at home...grrrr.

I am lucky enough to be able to store the 24' Class C on our property with a dedicated 30 amp connection. We often have temps down in the mid to low 20's and have seen mid teens a couple of times so... Last December I winterized the coach even going so far as to blow out the water lines with my compressor. Drained the 40 gallon water tank and 6 gallon water heater. Filled the traps with RV antifreeze and added half a gallon to both the black and grey tanks. No need for anti freeze in the lines so did not have to blow them out again.

Ran the generator for an hour under a decent load, cranked up the 35K btu furnace for 45 minutes, fired up the tank heaters for half an hour. After refilling I ran the water heater on AC and LP and basically ran/checked every system in the coach with no issues. :B Given the recent spike in fuel prices I'm glad I already had full fuel and LP tanks. It's been raining off and on all day so topping up the tires{ 60 on the fronts and 65 on the rears} can wait until tomorrow. I will verify 25 psi in the air bags as we are traveling with a medium load of about 11,000# which includes a full water tank.

Spare keys, meds, cash etc go into the safe. I'll grocery shop in the morning and then all that will be left is to load food, clothes and toys. Hope to be on the road {332 miles} by 0730 and in our site by 2. The weather is going to colder than originally forecast but winter camping is not new or a problem. The heavy snow that fell in Zion this weekend should leave the park an amazing winter wonderland. Can't wait!

:C

[EMD360]

Nice pre-trip reminders. Absolutely beautiful park. Good to be there before the most visited season. We were there last week and had one gorgeous day and one socked in sleeting and snowing day. Our grey water valve did freeze but the black didn’t. Luckily we only had a little bit of water in the tank. I’m going to figure out how to prevent that in the future.
The water pump in our Minnie Winnie 25b froze on the way south and I used a battery warmer pad to keep it from happening again. It’s 120 volt so need to have an electric hookup. Also ran the furnace and an electric oil heater in the bathroom with the cubboard doors open. Left the hot water heater on all night too.
I made a small mistake with my meds though. Didn’t have as many morning boxes as I thought I did. So maybe next time I’ll take all the meds and not just fill the boxes. Could have been a worse mistake.
The watchman campground is beautiful. Sites are level and not too close together. Had one young male group that did not realize how loud their voices were though. Kept up their partying until after quiet hours. But could have been worse!

[Phedley]

Yea it’s wheel base is 159” at 23.5 foot length height 10’9”. Weight empty 10500 lbs

[Desert_Captain]

jdc1 wrote:
We were in AZ during the snow in Prescott a couple of weeks ago. If you are driving through frigid weather, might your water freeze? Our jacks on the fifth-wheel were iced up as big as a basketball. Does your tank heater work on 12V? Mine is insulated, so I had no problems there. I remember being up in Big Bear Ca ions ago and my father's fresh water froze solid. We cut that trip short for that reason.

We got 6-7" on that one, enough to be beautiful but not much work and a lot of fun out in the Rzr SXS. My water tank is 40 gallons and full so no worries about it freezing. All of the water lines are inside the coach and it stays nice and toasty. The tank heater is 12V and draws about 2.8 - 3 amps. Our site in Watchman comes with 30 amp AC.

When it gets seriously cold, 20 or below I plug a shop light with a 60 watt bulb in and hang it in the dump station plumbing compartment and I keep a gallon of anti freeze in the black and grey tanks. Most nights at Zion next week will be in the mid twenties with highs in the 40 - upper 50's. Great weather for a roaring campfire.

Oh and I won't forget mom and the kids.... my daughter is 50 and lives in San Diego and we no longer have da pooch...sigh. After 52 years forgetting my bride just does not happen. :B

Just finished wrestling with the air chuck and my 135 psi compressor to top up the tires and air bags... it's 41 degrees out there so wasn't much fun but I now have 60 on the fronts, 65 on the rears nd 30 in the air bags. With the full water tank and lots of food and beverages the coach rides like a limo... OK would you believe a large SUV? Can't wait to see Zion rimmed out in snow and the Virgin River ripping right through the CG.

:C

[jdc1]

We were in AZ during the snow in Prescott a couple of weeks ago. If you are driving through frigid weather, might your water freeze? Our jacks on the fifth-wheel were iced up as big as a basketball. Does your tank heater work on 12V? Mine is insulated, so I had no problems there. I remember being up in Big Bear Ca ions ago and my father's fresh water froze solid. We cut that trip short for that reason.

[dennyida]

check the camber and caster on your RV. Had the same problem with our class C until we found the right amount of degrees that should be on the front end. I can`t rember what the settings are but I know someone out there should know. Good Luck

[larry_cad]

"all that will be left is to load food, clothes and toys."

In your rush to leave, don't forget to load mom and the kids!

:B:S

[pianotuna]

Phedley wrote:
Yea sorry. 2006 Dodge/Mercedes 3500 23H

And the length and wheel base are?

[Phedley]

Yea sorry. 2006 Dodge/Mercedes 3500 23H

[Rick_Jay]

Desert Captain,

Good Luck on your trip. I envy you. We probably won't be leaving the driveway until at least June...if even that. The rig really hasn't moved in the past 2 years or so. Wifey & I have been sleeping in it most nights, though, so most systems are being tested occasionally. And yes, it's expensive to run the electric heaters...but I've become an expert on how to keep the water flowing in that rig down to sub-zero temps! 😉 We're giving the kids practice to live in the house on their own! LOL

Safe travels!!!

Phedley wrote:
Also will change my tire psi.

Please take their entire recommendation to heart. You don't just "change" the tire pressure. You need to weigh the rig as loaded ready to travel. Individual corner weights if possible, but that's usually not too easy to do. The next best is to get each axle weight. Then use those weights to find the proper pressure from the tire manufacturer's website.

I don't believe you've informed us of the chassis or size of your RV.

Please weigh it first, then adjust the pressures, though if you're the typical E350/E450 Class C, having the rear tires at 80 psi seems to be a common requirement/recommendation for the longer (28') rigs. But it really depends upon the size and weight of your rig.

Good Luck,

~Rick

[Hank85713]

you actually need to experiment with the air pressures for best results. I run 60-65 in front and 65-70 in rears. 60-70 in airbags. we do not load heavy only carry about 1/3 tank of water and empty grey/black.

dont know if you have new/used rig so hard to say much more. If used may need new shocks to help. Some say buy the high dollar stuff I have read reviews on monroe shocks and they sound to be good. again if used check if you have a front stabilizer it may also need r&r.

[Phedley]

I read the reviews on the air tabs. Impressive. Also will change my tire psi. Thanks

[pianotuna]

Phedley wrote:
The RV still does not handle well especially in the wind. It is all over the road. I’ve driven 18 wheelers before and they handle like a corvette this RV not so. I’m driving about 55-60 mph. Any ideas as to why it handles the way it does?

You may want to try Air Tabs. They didn't save me a dime on fuel--unless there was a tail wind, but they did improve handling with oncoming big trucks.

The tabs also improved cabin noise--quite dramatically.

https://www.airtab.com/application-rv.htm

You report 70 lbs in the front. I find that too high for my 28'5" class C. I run 65 in the front and 80 in the rear. My rv feels as if I'm driving on top of a round ball with too much pressure in the front.

Think about weighing all four tires individually. My total is 13,750 pounds fully loaded with all tanks (waste and gray) with two passengers. At that time, there were 455 lbs of house batteries. Rear axle rating is 14,000.

What is the ratio of wheel base to length? 55% is ideal (27 foot with 176 inch wheel base). As one approaches 50% handling gets worse--quite rapidly. Below 50% and it is a nightmare.

[Desert_Captain]

Phedley wrote:
In response to the pre-trip air pressure. We are new to the class c motor home. We are running 70psi front and rear with the air bags at 60psi. The suspension has the heaviest sway bar that you can by I think that it’s 1 1/2” dia. Heavy duty shocks front and rear. The RV still does not handle well especially in the wind. It is all over the road. I’ve driven 18 wheelers before and they handle like a corvette this RV not so. I’m driving about 55-60 mph. Any ideas as to why it handles the way it does?

Without knowing what coach you have it is hard to guess but... Until you weigh your coach loaded as you normally travel you will no idea what the proper psi should be. Take your scale weights to the tire manufacturers load/inflation table and air up accordingly. Lots of folks {and I am one of them} add a 10 percent fudge factor for good measure.

Sounds to me like your front tires are probably over inflated for the load they actually are carrying which will exacerbate that "pig on skates" feeling. If you have a Ford 350/450 you would also probably benefit from some additional caster. The right should be around 4.8* and the left about 4.5*. Happily it is a simple matter to correct both of these and costs very little to do so.

Give us the specifics on your coach as that will make it easier for us to speculate further. Good luck!

:C

[Phedley]

Yep knew that. So are you agreeing that a class C rv should be all over the road?