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Old 10-20-2006, 12:13 AM   #1
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1978 24' Argosy 24
Seattle , Washington
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Cross Country Trip with my '78 Argosy 24'

Hi Argosyers,
I have only posted a few times and was starting my dreamin' about a trip next year and wanted to see if anyone has experience/feedback/stories to share..
My soon to be husband and I have the chance to move to NJ/NYC for one year for an internship. We have housing (not on wheels) and were thinking of taking our trailer from Seattle to New Jersey with some family stops along the way...perhaps 2 weeks worth of driving...
The time would be September...not too hot, but before the rain sets in...Our current potential tow vehicle is a 1993 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon, but we will do all necessary upgrades to get her tow-worthy...I have mentioned this as a potential TV in other threads, and YES, have read all the words of caution, wisdom, and kudos...
Some random wonderings...
Traveling "light", will we be able to keep it under 5000# with full water tanks? We figure clothing, some food, a few books...we pack light...How have others fared with this kind of trip? What are some good routes? We must go through norcal to see my mom, Colorado to see his uncle and Illinois to see his grandma....other than that, we will just be moseying "in the slow lane" as Bernie warns.

I would love to hear...
Good evening,
Katy in Seattle with the
Airvermaker.
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Old 10-20-2006, 05:31 AM   #2
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Have a 78 24ft Argosy myself and that trip sounds wonderful. As everyone says, check out the running gear first. Have a professional that you trust check it out for you. Now, as for the "full" water tanks. Just take some bottled water for drinking and maybe a couple of gallons in the car if you want, but leave your tank dry. You should be able to stop at State parks along the way that would have showers and water if the temp is above freezing. Remember you also have to carry that water in your gray and black water waste tanks when you use it, so you'll need to find camp ground dump stations anyway. I envy you your slow trip across country. Sounds like fun. We love our "Twinkie" and it's a dream to pull with the Tundra. Watch those "hills" in CO. Don't envy you there. Let's see some pictures.
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Old 10-20-2006, 05:39 AM   #3
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shouldn't be a problem...

as I've said before, our 26ft'r all dolled up for our family of four is about 5,200 pounds... we've got 2 feet on you!

Tanks - depending on where you want to stay, you don't really need full tanks or propane for that matter. September? You can judge your propane use and fill up as needed (but that other tank shouldn't make that much of a weight diff either). Water... we rarely travel with a full tank. Just about everywhere we go has a water hookup, so we travel with about a 1/2 tank for our toilet use... and we have more bottoms to keep happy on our travels! Just hook up and use the water where you camp. The places we knew we didn't have a hookup, we would fill up our tank just as we left our current campsite. We use bottled water for our travels to drink from.

I'd also buy a blue tote tank... that black tank should be fine (dump before traveling that day), but the grey tank is awfully small. I just take the blue grey tank and dump it every day (again, that's for a family of four).
I'm not sure where you want to camp (i.e state parks, koa's etc...) but there are some good camping site books out there that will give you the low down. I'll figure out which books I use to rate ours and let you know.
Marc
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Old 10-20-2006, 08:25 AM   #4
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We did Boston to Tucson last year and one suggestion I would make is given your itinary I would plan on traveling for 3 weeks (or did you mean 2 weeks of actual driving?). I think I did this correct..... the link here will point you to a thread where I did a little trip report on our trip.
http://www.airforums.com/forum...=boston+tucson

Have fun, I am planning on doing this again only I will certainly take longer to enjoy the journey more.
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Old 10-20-2006, 07:48 PM   #5
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We took our Minuet to Northern California and back this past summer and found the worst mountains were on I-40 crossing from California to Arizona. You might do an alternate route through Nevada (miles and miles of miles and miles) and Utah to get to Colorado. If you do travel I-40, there are some neat byways in the Kingman area that are sections of old US 66. Not heavily traveled and a pleasure to drive.

We packed light, bought food relatively frequently, carried very little water in the tanks, used the laundry facilities at campgrounds, and had a wonderful time. I filled the two 20# propane tanks before we left and had plenty left after two weeks of use. I doubt we had anywhere near the 1000 pounds we could have carried. We kept a pretty steady 60 - 65 mph on the freeway, and whatever was safe and sane on the two lane roads.

Have fun!
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Old 10-20-2006, 08:13 PM   #6
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Hi, Katy,

It's not full tanks. It's a full TANK. You start with the fresh water tank, which can be full, not full, or empty. Since it's needed for cooking, washing, and flushing, it's good to have some. As that tank is emptied, the other tanks are filling in the same rate. The weight remains the same. Find a place to dump before you refill the fresh water tank, and the total remains the same, although it moves around some.

I always start out with full fresh water.

Lamar
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Old 10-22-2006, 12:47 AM   #7
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1978 24' Argosy 24
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Hi all! Thanks for the replies and advice...I may have misrepresented a bit...we are actually MOVING across the country, so although we will "travel light" it will be more than a trip and then return home...we are only going there for a year, so we will leave most of our books and heavy items at home, but we will have a lot of clothes and...well, maybe that will be the bulk of it...we won't actually be living in the Airvermaker while we are on the east coast...will read more and go into more detail as our plans solidify...
are there any books on routes and such? Argonaut posed some interesting factoids about old 66 and such...I would love to map it out in a trailer friendly path...I will continue my search on the forum, but if anyone knows of a book they recommend, I would love to hear! And as for photos...eventually I will figure out how to post them here...making that my project for the weekend!
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Old 10-22-2006, 08:22 PM   #8
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If you Google US 66, there is a lot of info about the old road and where you can still drive it. Maps and history of the road are interesting, especially to those of us that grew up on 66.

That may be too far south for you if you want to visit Colorado, but you can go from Flagstaff to the Four Corners area and on into Durango and the rest of Colorado. Another alternative is to cross Nevada and Utah to get to Colorado. No matter which way you go, you will have to cross some mountains - the Sierras and the Rockies - so you choose what is interesting to you to guide your trip. Get over the idea of 700 miles per day unless you are gluttons for punishment. Take it easy until you know how the trailer affects your car and your driving, especially in the mountains.
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Old 03-16-2007, 11:43 PM   #9
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I like the idea of "best routes" for people with campers. Also, the info on water tanks is confusing. The amount of water to take with oneself on a trip.Some people take water some do not..........What is one to do?
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Old 03-17-2007, 12:05 AM   #10
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Cross Country Trip with my 78 Argosy 24'

Greetings Katy!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gypsy1
I like the idea of "best routes" for people with campers. Also, the info on water tanks is confusing. The amount of water to take with oneself on a trip.Some people take water some do not..........What is one to do?
I always travel with my fresh water tank full (always try to empty waste water tanks before leaving campground). With my Minuet, it is particularly important as the weight of the front mounted water tank helps to furnish a good portion of its hitch weight. With both my Overlander (over-axle tank)and Minuet (tank below front lounge) there is a significant increase in the smoothness of the coach's ride when the fresh water tank is full (fewer things move about in cabinets and elsewhere in coach when the water tank is full for travel).

Even when towing with my '75 Eldorado or '65 Dodge Coronet 500, I find that keeping the fresh water tanks full is beneficial to the smoothness of the tow. It is also nice to have the handy fresh water available when strange things happen -- like when the exhaust heat riser valve in my Cadillac stuck in the closed position and resulted in an erruption like Old Faithful -- my spare parts bin in the trunk had the new radiator cap (the pressure relief valve in the cap blew as a result of the heat created by the stuck heat riser) and the Argosy had plenty of water for the radiator once the car had cooled sufficiently.

With a good weight distributing hitch such as the Reese Strait-Line or the Equal-I-zer, I don't think that your Buick Roadmaster (assuming it has the 5.7 Liter V8) would notice the difference with a full water tank (the tow may actually be smoother).

Good luck with your coach, and enjoy the adventure!

Kevin
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Old 03-17-2007, 07:12 AM   #11
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I prefer full fresh water tanks when towing, some prefer MT tanks. What you don't want is a half-full tank, it can start sloshing around, and contribute to sway.
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Old 03-17-2007, 07:45 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aversenti
Hi Argosyers,
...........thinking of taking our trailer from Seattle to New Jersey with some family stops along the way...perhaps 2 weeks worth of driving...
What are some good routes? We must go through norcal to see my mom, Colorado to see his uncle and Illinois to see his grandma....other than that, we will just be moseying "in the slow lane" as Bernie warns. .
Hi Katy,

Planning out this sort of trip is my kind of fun! I would be heilpful to know where you will be in CO and IL (IL is a big state and covers a fair amount of north south range). Also, what sort of things do the two of you enjoy? Scenery? wildlife? History? Itty bitty little towns? I have done the Il to CO trip more times that I can count and there are tons of varation on how it can be done. By the way September is a SUPERB time of year for trips like this.
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Old 03-17-2007, 07:52 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by overlander63
I prefer full fresh water tanks when towing, some prefer MT tanks. What you don't want is a half-full tank, it can start sloshing around, and contribute to sway.
Not only " can " the water start sloshing.....You WILL feel the weight shifting when you drive.

Destination New Jersey????!!!!!!!!!! Be forewarned that it might be difficult
to find a conveniant place to store your trailer in New Jersey. Many municipalities have codes restricting trailer storage. I ran into trouble having
my Argosy 20' in my own driveway.( it has to be behind the house)The town had a hard time issueing me a summons for storing a trailer because, like the wind , she was long gone in a the blink of an eye. Now she lives in hills of Pennsylvania.
I would consider leaving the trailer out west if it's just for a year. Airstreams
aren't meant for cargo, especially if you are light on tow vehicle.
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Old 03-17-2007, 10:27 PM   #14
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Thank you for the reply.....I will carry fresh water with me.
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