Another Exciting Episode in Audrey's Great RV Adventure

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo You do have huge waste tanks - and that's a compliment!

Yeah - people often tell me I'm full of sh--!

Audrey

[Rich_in_Tampa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo You do have huge waste tanks - and that's a compliment! I think we have 55 gals of gray, 40 gals black. Works fine for how we "camp".

We're at 65b/53g and find that 3-4 days is what we get from the gray tank. If we are very careful, 5 days tops.

If we find we are doing more state / national park camping in the future, probably will get a 10 or 15 gallon tote for occasional use. But for now we almost always have full hookups, so it's not a concern.

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa We're at 65b/53g

Another (big) difference between "Travelers" and "Campers." The fuel required to haul that much weight around is waaaay outside my budget. I try to keep the storage tanks as empty as I can and use the water available at my destination. (Obviously, the Black Water tank is an exception as it requires a couple gallons as SOP.)

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd Another (big) difference between "Travelers" and "Campers." ...

YES. I know that we will be travelers and not campers. We "camped" out at our 2nd home in the boonies enough.

I would not rule out a smaller class B for ourselves if I run across a good used one. However, the Roadtreks and the Winnebago Rialtas that I mentioned command premium prices. On eBay, they usually go for higher than Nada average prices. On the other hand, the class Cs usually sell below what Nada suggests. Ditto for class As. So, a used class C seems to be in our sweet spot for the value.

We also like to go into nearby cities. We are not nightclub nor bar goers, but like to visit downtown areas. Nature is cool, nature is good, but we certainly can have too much of it (nature can be cruel, and I like humanity). So, a class B would solve the problem of towing a dinghy. I do not see us boondock for more than 2 or 3 days. And one can just do a sponge bath over such short periods, right?

Ron, what kind of gas mileage do you get with your Roadtrek?

[Rich_in_Tampa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd Another (big) difference between "Travelers" and "Campers." The fuel required to haul that much weight around is waaaay outside my budget. I try to keep the storage tanks as empty as I can and use the water available at my destination. (Obviously, the Black Water tank is an exception as it requires a couple gallons as SOP.)

You may be surprised: the weight of your rig from added items including water has a fairly small effect on mileage. You hear all the time how even towing a 2000 lb toad with a 500 lb tongue weight only causes a 1 mpg drop in mileage. Weight is a factor but often not a big one.

We will try to minimize fresh water etc before long trips when it's convenient, but don't really fuss too much about it. Indeed, one trip the water source at the campsite was not functioning, and we were glad to have that fresh water on hand to use until we were able to switch sites two days later.

[audreyh1]

Since our rig weight is almost 30,000 full tanks don't have that much effect on our mileage.

And our long term average is 8.1 mpg and that is pulling a 4000 pound towed. Actually, I think we get around 8.5 mpg these days. Fuel mileage on these diesel engines improve over time and we rarely see below 8.5 these days.

The wind factors have the most effect on our mileage - a side wind or head wind really causes a drop.

Assuming the 8.1mpg number and a $2.75 diesel fuel price, it costs us $340 to travel a thousand miles. Our annual average mileage is around 10,000 - so $3,400 per year for motorhome fuel.

Audrey

[audreyh1]

We had a Forerunner that got over 20 mpg - don't remember exactly. Pulling a 2500lb (or thereabouts) Casita the mileage dropped down to 14-16 mpg which I don't consider terrible at all.

Audrey

[NW-Bound]

A drop in gas mileage from 20mpg to 14mpg would not be bad. I could live with that. Were you driving slow?

The first TT I seriously consider was the new R-Pod by Forest River. See picture. The R-Pods are actually a series of TTs with similar shapes, but of slightly different lengths and floorplans. They are light enough to be towed by small SUVs.



This new TT Series has a fan club. I went to their forum and read about their experience. Reports of gas mileage ranged from 8 to 10 mpg. So, what went wrong?

It could be that many people drive too fast. My neighbor who has a popup camper admitted to towing it at 80mph and blew up both of its tires on a trip.

On the Web, I read about an RV'er bragging about having enough power in his truck+fifth wheel to be able to pass anybody he wants to on the freeway.

Good grief! I have read a few articles proposing theories on how the USA is a country of impatient if not ADD people. But I digressed...

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound A drop in gas mileage from 20mpg to 14mpg would not be bad. I could live with that. Were you driving slow?

No, not really. I didn't drive super fast either. I usually drive the speed limit up till 55 mph, and then not much faster.

It might have been 13 to 14 mpg with the 4Runner, it might have been the Sequoia that got 16 mpg pulling the Casita - and it would often get 21mph highway without towing. With the Sequoia you didn't even know the Casita was back there!

Anyway - I didn't think it was bad at all considering what we were carrying with us.

Audrey

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound This new TT Series has a fan club. I went to their forum and read about their experience. Reports of gas mileage ranged from 8 to 10 mpg. So, what went wrong?

Who knows? Could be the Casita had much lower air resistance since it is shaped like a boat hull clamshell. I doubt the Casita is lighter as it appears to be much more substantial than the rPod - we walked by some at a dealer the other day.

Could be that Toyota SUVs get better gas mileage that what these other folks were towing with?

Who knows?

Audrey

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 NW, if gas mileage is your priority, drive a 4 cyl and pitch a tent. RVs and trailers get crappy gas mileage and there is no breaking the laws of physics allowed. FWIW, most fulltimers seem to stay several days to a couple weeks in one place, so gas is a much less substantial expense than you would guess.

Gas mileage is not a priority, but a factor. The way I look at it is that if a TT costs me 8-10 mpg, then I should get a used class C which gives me the same. Purchase price is higher with a class C, but it has more room, convenience, etc...

As I said, I will not be a camper but a traveler. I am thinking about zigzagging North America from Alaska to Prince Edwards Island. Many places to go, many interesting people to see... Out here in the West, a thousand mile trip does not get you very far. Just a road trip from Phoenix to Long Beach to visit a relative is a 1,200 mi round trip, including some in-town driving, sightseeing. Heh heh heh... Of course gas mileage matters. I want to drop by the fly-over states too. They've got to have something worthwhile.

About gas mileage of different types of RV, it's all about trade-off. In my engineering work, we have to consider everything. In a previous job, we had to study failure effects of each electronic component in a complex system. Not only you build it to work, you have to think about what happens when a bitty thing fails. There are human lives at stake, potential for huge liability lawsuits, gummint regulation, etc... Old habits die hard. Heh heh heh..

Plus as I said earlier, I have time to study this to death. What else can I do? My wife can't yet go on this grandiose trip that I have in mind. And I need to work on a couple of projects that were recently revived, to make a few more bucks while I still can.

So, I surf the Web, read people's blogs, find out about interesting places, try to define what I will want to do, where I will go, etc... I need to maximize the utility of my money, particularly if I will not be making more.

So far, I have a lot of fun by learning something, and have yet to spend a dime.

Audrey, isn't that a mystery? People reporting all different results about towing

[dm]

My gas mileage dropped from 20 to 12 pulling my 26' travel trailer with my Chevy Avalanche. My trip home after buying it was around 60 miles and it was flat interstate traveling around 60 mph.

[brewer12345]

NW, if gas mileage is your priority, drive a 4 cyl and pitch a tent. RVs and trailers get crappy gas mileage and there is no breaking the laws of physics allowed.

FWIW, most fulltimers seem to stay several days to a couple weeks in one place, so gas is a much less substantial expense than you would guess.

[. . . Yrs to Go]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 FWIW, most fulltimers seem to stay several days to a couple weeks in one place, so gas is a much less substantial expense than you would guess.

Yeah, my idea of a good time isn't driving an RV everywhere. So much better, in my view, to park the RV for a couple of days, weeks, or months and use a toad to explore the area. My guess is I'll burn a similar amount of gas with a Class A + small toad than someone traveling an equal number of total miles in a Class B.

[audreyh1]

I don't know what to tell you NW-bound! I don't think my results were that different from other Casita owners but that was a long time ago.

We went with a class A motorhome because we expected to be traveling around quite a bit even though we would be fulltimers. It seemed more amenable to traveling than having a 5th wheel. That seems to be the breakdown between big rig and/or fulltime owners. Folks who tend to stay in two major places a year and then travel between (like snowbirds) tend to favor 5th wheels - you get a lot more living space for the length. Folks who like to travel a lot of the time tend to get motorhomes. The difference seems to be that it takes longer to setup a 5th wheel in a campsite.

Of course, we really didn't want to have to deal with a larger pick-up for towing either!

But us constant travelers tend to do twice the miles of the snowbird types. 5000 miles a year is more typical for them. 10,000 for us traveling fulltimers. So we use a lot more fuel!!!!

Audrey

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 But us constant travelers tend to do twice the miles of the snowbird types. 5000 miles a year is more typical for them. 10,000 for us traveling fulltimers.

In this essay, we are divided into two groups -- Campers and Rvers:

RV Travel: Are you a camper or an RVer?

I still prefer "Travelers" to "RVers" but Mr. Woodbury does have a point.

[NW-Bound]

There might be a third and much smaller group: people like Steinbeck who make a long-distance trek but in a relatively short amount of time. Will I fit in that class? I do not see myself becoming an RV full-timer. I like to travel to remote locations, but then must return to my permanent place from time to time to resume some navel gazing. However, I hope to make more than one trip (I think Steinbeck never made another RV trip after Travels with Charley and died a few years later).

The more I think about it, the more a class C like George's Tioga or Andy's Lazy Daze makes sense for my purpose. It would give us enough room, conveniences, and comfort, while not being overly large like a class A that would limit mobility. Add a car behind that class C and it would be complete.

Class C owners, I would like to hear from your experiences. Thx.

The Adventures of Tioga and George

Skylarking

[heyduke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound There might be a third and much smaller group: people like Steinbeck who make a long-distance trek but in a relatively short amount of time. Will I fit in that class? I do not see myself becoming an RV full-timer. I like to travel to remote locations, but then must return to my permanent place from time to time to resume some navel gazing. However, I hope to make more than one trip (I think Steinbeck never made another RV trip after Travels with Charley and died a few years later). The more I think about it, the more a class C like George's Tioga or Andy's Lazy Daze makes sense for my purpose. It would give us enough room, conveniences, and comfort, while not being overly large like a class A that would limit mobility. Add a car behind that class C and it would be complete. Class C owners, I would like to hear from your experiences. Thx. The Adventures of Tioga and George Skylarking

Interesting following your thread here on your thoughts about buying a class c... I too am going thru the same mental issues and have read the miranda blog above... thanks for the other class c blog link as I have plenty of time to read and research too...

[Martha]

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Originally Posted by audreyh1 I haven't read Andy's blog. You don't hear much about people having trouble with their tow setup (other than forgetting to do something like release the parking brake, or having trouble with the tow bar - which is why you inspect it regularly and keep an eye on the tow in the rear camera). A lot of people seem to choose vehicles that are "designed" to be towed. But I see a lot vehicles that must have been modified as well, and the owners didn't seem to think that was a big deal either. Audrey

Quote:

Originally Posted by heyduke Interesting following your thread here on your thoughts about buying a class c... I too am going thru the same mental issues and have read the miranda blog above... thanks for the other class c blog link as I have plenty of time to read and research too...

I recommend Andy's website. He is a good writer and there is a lot of good information on his site. He wanted to install his own brake system. The system he ordered, which would have allowed him to do that, did not fit in his Honda Fit. So, now he has to go for a professional installation.

His story of early semi retirement is interesting as well. He retired on not much money and a very small pension. He needs to supplement his income to get along. He does that through web site development and some other ventures that he has experimented with. I am thinking about purchasing his rv'ing hints and tips ebook as I like his clear writing style and excellent illustrative photography.

I have a LazyDaze as well so I am especially interested in what he has to say about his life in a LazyDaze.

[heyduke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha I recommend Andy's website. He is a good writer and there is a lot of good information on his site. He wanted to install his own brake system. The system he ordered, which would have allowed him to do that, did not fit in his Honda Fit. So, now he has to go for a professional installation. His story of early semi retirement is interesting as well. He retired on not much money and a very small pension. He needs to supplement his income to get along. He does that through web site development and some other ventures that he has experimented with. I am thinking about purchasing his rv'ing hints and tips ebook as I like his clear writing style and excellent illustrative photography. I have a LazyDaze as well so I am especially interested in what he has to say about his life in a LazyDaze.

a similar story can be found at the rv dreams site...