Another Exciting Episode in Audrey's Great RV Adventure

[REWahoo]

Nice to hear you made it with no further problems.

Your description of the Tom Sawyer park - and the adventure of getting there - is exactly what some friends told us about the place. They said it was a great park but you'd wondered what on earth you were getting into as you neared your destination.

 

[HFWR]

Nice to hear you made it with no further problems.

Your description of the Tom Sawyer park - and the adventure of getting there - is exactly what some friends told us about the place. They said it was a great park but you'd wondered what on earth you were getting into as you neared your destination.

Exactly my thoughts about West Memphis...

 

[audreyh1]

Your description of the Tom Sawyer park - and the adventure of getting there - is exactly what some friends told us about the place. They said it was a great park but you'd wondered what on earth you were getting into as you neared your destination.

It's gorgeous! We're along a wide curve in the river and the views are impressive.

Audrey

 

[Bestwifeever]

Glad you made it safely without a flatbed delivery, Audrey! From your comments it sounds like those brakes had been on the fritz for a while--so fortunate that you were able to safely get off the road when you realized they weren't behaving properly.

 

[Nords]

Photographic memory for dead threads. Amazing .

I developed my highly selective memory with the reactor-plant-manual versions of Grey's Anatomy and DSMIV...

It was either that or the comment about "I don't know what was happening outside the windshield, but I can tell you what the tire pressures were!"

It's gorgeous! We're along a wide curve in the river and the views are impressive.

If you make sure the airbags are fully inflated and pull forward a little more, could you get the discount version of the RV barge?

 

[audreyh1]

If you make sure the airbags are fully inflated and pull forward a little more, could you get the discount version of the RV barge?

Probably not and not going to try it! But if you put me on one of those barges I don't think I'd have to worry about height clearance!

That RV Barge looks pretty cool!

Does anyone know how the lower Mississippi barge traffic works? It's dark now and there seems to be a very long string of upriver traffic. Is it one way barge traffic only at certains times of the day? I can't seem to find anything out by searching the internet.

Audrey

 

[cantlogin]

Has your fuel mileage and acceleration improved now that you’re not driving around with the brakes on?

 

[audreyh1]

I'll know better after a while. The thing is that we didn't notice it had really degraded much. Most days we were still getting above 8 mpg which we consider "normal" and on the few we didn't it was either a short run or we had driven through some mountainous or curvy terrain which always drops the mpg. Only on Sunday did the mpg finally seem "off".

The thing is, the problem was very intermittent which is why it was so darn hard to figure out. A week of heavy rains and the resulting high humidity may have contributed to Sunday being worse - there was some corrosion in our brake linkage.

But yes, I'm expecting to maybe get all the way back up to 8.5 mpg now! Especially since we are back on flat terrain.

Audrey

 

[TromboneAl]

we managed to drop another 3 to 4 inches by dumping the airbags.

I presume we're not talking about the safety devices in the steering wheel and dashboard.

 

[REWahoo]

I presume we're not talking about the safety devices in the steering wheel and dashboard.

You are correct. Audrey is referring to the air suspension system.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

You are correct. Audrey is referring to the air suspension system.

Yes, much like the fresh water tank, it is there so that you can boondock for a few days where air is in short supply.

 

[REWahoo]

Yes, much like the fresh water tank, it is there so that you can boondock for a few days where air is in short supply.

And also like the water system, the limiting factor in how long you can boondock is the size of the waste air tank.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

And also like the water system, the limiting factor in how long you can boondock is the size of the waste air tank.

And who doesn't have a beginners's story about getting careless and ending up with air all over your shoes.

 

[audreyh1]

I presume we're not talking about the safety devices in the steering wheel and dashboard.

Yes! LOL! Unfortunately Class A motorhomes are not equipped with steering wheel/dash safety airbags.

If you look at the close-up side photo of the motorhome on the flatbed trailer (second photo original post), you'll notice that the tires are actually up inside the wheelwells. Like REWahoo said, we have airbags in our suspension system. It's a very nice ride!

A cool part of setting up to camp is the automatic leveling system. You just press the "LEVEL" button twice, and then first the RV "dumps the air bags", lowering the RV with a nice big slow "whoooosh" sound. Then the leveling system detects how out of level you are side-to-side and front-to-back, and then extends the correct jacks to bring each axis to level. It can look real impressive to a newbie neighbor camper who has never seen something like it before.

OK - the rest of you - quit with the "air waste tanks" innuendos - ugh! Yes, handling your own waster water is one of the "downsides" of RVing - something you usually don't have to worry about in a house. This motorhome is not equipped with air waste tanks. But it has impressive waste water tanks. 100 gallons grey water tank and 78 gallon black water tank. Sometimes we are carrying a whole lot of sewage around. We don't even bother to leave the sewer hose connected because it's usually at least 10 days between dumps. 100 gallon fresh water tank also.

Audrey

 

[REWahoo]

And who doesn't have a beginners's story about getting careless and ending up with air all over your shoes.

Oh yes. Not such a big deal if it happens when dumping the gray air tank, but if it's the black air - look out!

 

[TromboneAl]

You know what the single most dangerous part on a motorhome is?

 

[REWahoo]

The monthly payment.

 

[TromboneAl]

cleaned it up, greased it, added a zerk to grease it in the future.

I always get two.

 

[TromboneAl]

You know what the single most dangerous part on a motorhome is?

Audrey knows: It's the nut that holds the wheel.

 

[audreyh1]

Audrey knows: It's the nut that holds the wheel.

Yep - Al's got that exactly right!

Audrey

 

[IndependentlyPoor]

.. it has impressive waste water tanks. 100 gallons grey water tank and 78 gallon black water tank. Sometimes we are carrying a whole lot of sewage around. We don't even bother to leave the sewer hose connected because it's usually at least 10 days between dumps. 100 gallon fresh water tank also.
Audrey

One of the very few things that is less trouble on a cruising sailboat than on an RV is waste water. Grey water just goes right overboard all the time. Once you are three miles out, you can just open the valve for the blackwater.
Really cool places like Key West have a boat that comes around once a week to pump out your tanks for free!

 

[RonBoyd]

Oh yes. Not such a big deal if it happens when dumping the gray air tank, but if it's the black air - look out!

Is this one of those "pull my finger" tricks?

 

[REWahoo]

But it has impressive waste water tanks. 100 gallons grey water tank and 78 gallon black water tank. Sometimes we are carrying a whole lot of sewage around.

Thus revealing another reason I fear the consequences of a front blowout resulting in a high speed collision with another vehicle. But then I suppose there would be some small conciliation in the validity of my final exclamation.

 

[Janet H]

And who doesn't have a beginners's story about getting careless and ending up with air all over your shoes.

They sell special protective shoes for this instance, I am certain.

 

[brewer12345]

I always get two.

Oh, you are killing me! Actually made me laugh instead of attempting to murder the beancounter that rejected my expense reimbursement because I screwed up the travel date by one day.