pirlbeck
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Hwy 54 in Kansas vs Hwy 56
Hwy 54 and 56 both go diagonally across Kansas and they are approximately 30 to 40 miles apart. I will be pulling a 36' 5th wheel with a Dodge diesel and a Polaris Ranger on a small aluminum trailer behind the 5th wheel. Starting in Mesa, AZ and heading to west central Iowa. Which road is the better option? 4 lane or passing lanes and good surface conditions are what I am mostly concerned about. I have searched this topic on this site and all the results I find are 10-15 years old, so looking for some updated info. Thanks!2.3KViews0likes3CommentsRe: Iowa to Mesa,AZ- I40 or the "southern route" with 5th wheel
Thanks for all of the replies and the info on different routes. We will definitely keep an eye on the weather as we go. Right now I am thinking regardless of the weather we will drop down to I-10 and hit Mesa from the south via Tucson. Thanks again!892Views0likes0CommentsIowa to Mesa,AZ- I40 or the "southern route" with 5th wheel
My wife and I are heading to Mesa, Arizona later this month and want opinions on the different routes. Will be pulling a 36' 5th wheel with a Dodge diesel and possibly a Ranger on a small aluminum trailer behind the 5th wheel. Still debating about taking the Ranger down. I bought it new and this truck has never been driven in the winter, so it has never been driven on salty roads and I don't really want to start now. It is a 2006 and has zero rust and I would like to keep it that way. That being said, I do plan on giving it another coat of Fluid Film before we take off. Anyway, the shortest route is diagonally through Kansas and then hit I40. This route is 1385 miles and with good weather 21 hours and 21 minutes according to Google Maps. My concern is the higher elevations and the possibility of winter storms and/or high winds along with pulling a 5th in the mountains. I found this route listed below on an RV forum and it is 1781 miles and 27 hours. This forum post was from 2004. I think we are a lot less likely to hit winter weather on this route and I think for the most part it misses the steeper mountain grades. I have never pulled this 5th wheel in the mountains so I have no real experience with that to fall back on. I have traveled the mountains with this truck and a pickup camper on the back and the exhaust brake worked very well, but this 5th wheel is a LOT heavier then the pickup camper. Are these still good roads or is there a better way to avoid I40 in eastern AZ and western NM? ******************************************************************* Here is a copy and paste of the post from 2004. "My wife and I drive this route some two times a year from DFW to Jamestown ND and it's well worth the try. Take I-29 south thru Omaha down to Mile Post #10, then NE Hiway 2 west to Nebraska City. Turn south on US 75 to Topeka KS. At Topeka you can take the Kansas Turnpike which is I-335. Continue on I-335. At the OK state line it becomes I-35, stay on I-35 all the way to Denton TX, then take I-35W to Ft Worth, then to I-820W to I-30W. Don't take I-35E to Dallas, the traffic and construction is nightmare of unbelievable proportions. Stay on I-820 until you get to I-30 West to Weatherford TX. I-30 plays out and becomes I-20. If you miss I-30, then take the I-20 West exit which is about 5 miles further south. Continue on I-20 west to Van Horn TX, where it runs into I-10. Was just up there a couple of months ago. There's very little construction of any major stretch. Anything along I-40 from Little Rock to Gallup NM, this time of year is a roll of dice, especially between Amarillo and Albuquerque. Hope this helps, enjoy." ****************************************************************** Should I just plan on taking the extra time for the southern route, or is the I40 route no big deal so long as we watch the weather forecasts and wait any bad weather out? Thanks!2.6KViews0likes8CommentsRe: Slide out to non slide
brholt wrote: I have an AF1150 with a full wall slide. However, for two people the slide makes a big difference as you can easily pass each other. In the 865 you are constantly getting in each other’s way. This is exactly what we run into with ours...whenever we need to pass by, someone needs to move into the dinette area a little. And it is not that we are huge people. If camping alone it would not be a problem.746Views0likes0CommentsRe: Slide out to non slide
The only regret we have had with our Lance 845 is that we did not get at least one slide to open up the kitchen/table area. I was very concerned about overloading the truck under it, but as well as we have got along, I think a single slide would of been fine. It is usually just my wife and I, but we did take a 7 year old grandson on one long cross country trip. If I was traveling alone, a slide probably would not be necessary.230Views0likes0CommentsRe: Jan-Feb-March in Mesa, AZ- few questions about heat sources
OK, thanks for the replies. Yes, I am aware that in sub freezing temps the LP furnace will be required to prevent freeze up and damage to the plumbing and the water supply line will need either heating tape or need to be disconnected over night. While I realize long cold spells are always possible, I don't think it is the norm. One thing I did not mention was when I talked to the park office, the gal I talked to said the refilling of LP tanks on site is not permitted. I am not sure if this is a local ordinances or an RV park rule. So if I did obtain the 100 gallon LP tank it would have to be swapped out. Thanks again!1KViews0likes0CommentsJan-Feb-March in Mesa, AZ- few questions about heat sources
My wife and I are looking into taking our 36" fifth-wheel to the Phoenix area next winter. My wife spent some time in the area last month and knows where she would like to be, which is at a park in Mesa. Her sister and her sisters husband spend March at this park, and another couple we are friends with are down there for the month of January, so this is where she wants to be. As I am self-employed and still running a business, I will be flying back and forth some and a concern I have is her dealing with the propane fills if needed when I am gone. This unit has 2 roof AC units and I have installed the "Chill Chasers" heat strips in both units and it also has an electric fireplace. I know some people say these chill chasers heat strips are a joke, but we have used them some for fall camping and while they are very slow to warm up the unit, we never had any trouble keeping the unit comfortable at the temps we experienced, which may of been lows in the 40's. Looking at historical temp data the lowest temp recorded in Mesa is 20F and the coldest high temp is 44F. The average Jan temps are 39F for a low and 66F for a hi. The park says the electricity cost is .08KW and that electric is the cheapest way to heat. Anyway, I am looking for "real life" experiences as far as amount of propane and electricity costs from those that snowbird in this area. Sorry about the length of this. Thanks!5.1KViews0likes13CommentsLooking at new 5th wheels....does anyone build a ?????
My wife and I are looking for a new 5th wheel and are not having much luck finding the floor plan exactly like we want and have now. Here is what we are looking for. 33-34ft length give or take a foot or so. Not a bunk house. 2 slides minimum, 3 would be preferred. Large U-both dining with seating on wall side. No free standing kitchen island, we want the open floor space. Needs to sleep at least 4, 6 would be better. This is because all of our kids and grand kids live out of state, but do camp with us once or twice a year. Don't want to give up space for a bunkhouse for once or twice a year. It seems almost all floor plans now have the free standing island or don't have the large u-booth. I have inquired about ordering something custom made and it seems that is only an option with some of the very high end manufacturers and that would be out of our price range. Thanks!4.8KViews0likes10CommentsRe: Reno, NV to Fresno, CA route help please
OK, thanks for the route ideas, I will copy and paste these suggestions into my word doc that I have for info on this trip. As far as the 7 year old, we realize that it is going to be a lot of riding for him, but we are hoping to not be too rushed and have too big of days driving. We are taking a personal DVD player and a number of kids DVD's. Also, we have a number of kids books about the states and some follow along type maps, with one that is a scratch off as we travel through the states. Grandma also borrowed some hand held video games from a friend just for this trip. He normally does not get to play with games of this type, so we hope they will help keep him from being bored. After the CA portion of this trip we are heading up the coast and ending up in the Portland area where our oldest son lives with his family. We want the 7 year old to be able to spend some time with his 2 cousins. The older one is about his age and unfortunately they do not get the opportunity to see each other as often as we would like. Thanks for the help! Edit to add: Yes I am aware of the temps most likely being 90-100 in the area we are heading, but that is still 5-15 cooler then Vegas. And I just serviced (recovered, vac, recharge and cleaned condenser) my truck AC over the weekend.982Views0likes0Comments
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