After 18 days and 3,700 miles...we're back!!

[LeBout]

Hey everyone! We made it home yesterday from our trip covering 18 days and 3,700 miles. I've created an online album of pictures that you can access here. (This is a Facebook album that does NOT require you to have a Facebook account to view.)

Things we learned on this trip:

1. Traveling with water in the fresh water tank really doesn't affect gas mileage much at all, and SURE is convenient to have.

2. Our fresh water tank stops pumping even when it shows 1/3 water remaining.

3. Wal-mart parking lots employ a parking lot version of a Zamboni that runs in the middle of the night and makes sleeping a challenge.

4. Driving across South Dakota in the May can be WINDY! (Now THAT affects gas mileage!!)

5. Forgetting to stow your television properly before leaving can be disastrous. Ouch!

6. We love having a generator but it might not be cost-effective to own one. (I borrowed two Honda 2000 watt generators from a friend for this trip.)

7. When boondocking we can last 3 days using lots of water and 5 days being conservative.

8. Hail can put a hole in your ceiling fan vents. 😞

9. Buying the Q Industries MV50 12-Volt Air Compressor and having a 50 foot hose is SO worth the money. I can reach my air suspension and all TV and TT tires from the battery of my TV.

10. The beauty of a campground is secondary to getting a good night's sleep.

(I will probably repost these 10 points in my "Things we've learned over the years" thread as well.)

[legolas]

rode2nowhere wrote:
My dream to make a trip like yours but still working and the enormous cost of everything.

assuming you already have the TT and TV I wouldn't classify the costs as enourmous. We did 6 weeks out west last year, from North Carolina along Interstate 70 thru Denver into Utah (Capital Reef NP and Escalante NM) Bryce Canyon, Zion NP, Grand Canyon(north and south rims) Sedona, Flagstaff and back to North Carolina along I40. 1 week driving out to Capital Reef and 1 week home from Flagstaff. Stayed in private campgrounds and KOA's mostly(in Sedona we actually stayed in Dead Horse State Park in the town of Cottonwood. Dead Horse is a great place to stay in that area, only about a 20 minute drive from Sedona.) The whole trip cost was 5606.86. When you factor in not spending money at home on groceries and discount that 744.82 the cost would be 4861. For me that is not bad for a 6 week vacation that includes the beauty of those parks and the trip itself.

[rode2nowhere]

My dream to make a trip like yours but still working and the enormous cost of everything.

[LeBout]

rode2nowhere wrote:
I am wondering on a long trip if you have roadside assistance of some type?

Yes. We have roadside assistance through Progressive Insurance AND through our Good Sam membership.

[rode2nowhere]

I am wondering on a long trip if you have roadside assistance of some type?

[LeBout]

wmoses wrote:
I notice you have air suspension. Must work well since the truck is nicely level when hitched up.

Airbag suspension works great! Levels out the TV/TT and makes the ride more stable.

Let me add that there are SOME roads in South Dakota that are barely fit for travel and I'm talking I-90. The good news is that the State is slowly fixing them, but the ride on some of those roads felt more like a trampoline than anything. :E

[wmoses]

LeBout - thanks for your precise answers to all my questions. Very refreshing.

My truck has a 7000# rating so I have less margin on an RV like yours, but on the other hand, as a daily driver it gets very decent mileage.

I notice you have air suspension. Must work well since the truck is nicely level when hitched up.

[LeBout]

mikefos wrote:
where did you get a 50' hose for this compressor? I have the same one and would love to have a long hose without tapping new threads for a standard fitting (they used some sort of odd ball size on this one) and thus getting a standard long hose.

Picked it up at Home Depot. I had to mess with adapters a little since I originally bought the hose for an older compressor, but Home Depot had all those too.

[mikefos]

LeBout wrote:

Things we learned on this trip:

9. Buying the Q Industries MV50 12-Volt Air Compressor and having a 50 foot hose is SO worth the money. I can reach my air suspension and all TV and TT tires from the battery of my TV.

Howdy, where did you get a 50' hose for this compressor? I have the same one and would love to have a long hose without tapping new threads for a standard fitting (they used some sort of odd ball size on this one) and thus getting a standard long hose.

Thanks,

Mike

[LeBout]

wmoses wrote:
I have to ask about the truck towing that trailer. What is the rear end gear ratio on the truck and what are its towing capabilities?

Rear end for my 2005 F-150 is 3.73:1 LS (limited slip). Properly equipped I'm rated to pull a maximum of 9200 lbs.

wmoses wrote:
I assume you have a 4-speed automatic.

Correct.

wmoses wrote:
How did the tow go especially over all those mountains, with the RV loaded including water?

It depended a lot on the grade and also on wind speed. When the wind was at my back I was able to get up grades with MUCH less effort. Most of the time I didn't push the pickup when pulling uphill and just let my speed decrease without dropping into a lower gear. But in some cases the pickup actually runs better by shifting down.

wmoses wrote:
Do you know what the weighed weights of the RV was?

I didn't actually weigh the RV. My dry weight is 5440 lbs. so if you figure 40 gallons of water at 8.35 lbs per gallon that comes to 334 lbs. Two 7 gallon propane cylinders weigh about 55 lbs each (total 110 lbs) and when you consider water in the hot water heater at 50 lbs, and all our junk both inside and in the front storage hold (let's say: 400 lbs) you come to 6,334 lbs as a conservative estimate--or let's just round it to 6,500 lbs. (Obviously that figure will be disputed.) 🙂

[wmoses]

LeBout wrote:
Hey everyone! We made it home yesterday from our trip covering 18 days and 3,700 miles. I've created an online album of pictures that you can access here. (This is a Facebook album that does NOT require you to have a Facebook account to view.)

Beautiful pictures of what clearly was a great trip. Thank for sharing!

I have to ask about the truck towing that trailer.

What is the rear end gear ratio on the truck and what are its towing capabilities? I assume you have a 4-speed automatic.

How did the tow go especially over all those mountains, with the RV loaded including water?

Do you know what the weighed weights of the RV was?

I ask these questions because I am thinking of a new RV and rather than go with another hybrid I might consider going with a conventional TT, and your truck's capabilities appear to be similar to mine on paper.

[Bama_bluejay]

I enjoyed the pictures, DH and I made a 5,000 mile trip several years ago. We saw the Arches, Yellowstone, Mt.Rushmore, Teton's, Canyonland, Sturgis, Monument Valley, Jackson Hole, Little Big Horn, 4 Corners, Cody Wy., many places I can't seem to remember. We hope to make the trip once again and spend more time, since we're retired now. The ironic ending to our trip was, we were within 5 miles from home, was involved in a bad wreck. A lady ran stop sign and totaled our vehicle. Passenger side was the worst. DH and I had some serious injuries. I was off work for almost a year.

[Passin_Thru]

I got 10.4 R/T VA to NW PA and back but it rained all the saay home, 350 mi.
EARPLUGS are a NECESSITY! I learned that too. THATS WHY I SHOUT!

[LeBout]

Dick_B wrote:
That's 200 miles per day. Did you stop to see anything?

Haha! Yes we did! We toured the Little Bighorn Battlefield, the Badlands and Grand Teton National Park. We also spent several days visiting family.

[Dick_B]

That's 200 miles per day. Did you stop to see anything?