Thoughts on our long trip

[lsbrodsky]

Below are some thoughts on our just completed 3700 mi trip to PEI and Maine. Nothing about destinations or sightseeing... this is nothing for you veteran travelers but maybe some newbies can benefit.


1. ½ ton TV more than adequate for any mountains in the East, including previous trips through Smokies
2. Almost all cg’s provided better views out rear so FB good arrangement
3. Sleep Number bed a delight
4. Some nasty main roads out there calling themselves Interstates
5. Avoided interstates through metros but around Boston and DC still horrible
6. Expected to see more Airstreams than I did
7. Gas mileage 12.5-14 depending on terrain. Hard tonneau increased about 1 mpg
8. I normally drive only 250 mi/day; carried a 2 gal gas can for a couple of exceptions to avoid interim fuel stops. Never really needed it, but it was a comfort.
9. My cell phone did not work in Canada; disposable cell phones there are expensive but useful
10. Unofficially, Airstreams prefer Silverado, a few Fords, a few GMC, little RAMs
11. With wifi ranger got Wi-Fi almost everywhere
12. But there are still campgrounds without or that charge so I was happy I also had a cell hotspot
13. Smoke alarm is a nuisance, pull the battery.
14. I have EZPass, don’t leave home without it

Despite all that I have read and seen about AS quality problems, ours behaved almost flawlessly for the whole trip making the travel a delight and a lifetime experience. Yes, I have a few minor maintenance items awaiting my attention and I had to fix a few minor issues on the trip. But, everything worked and nothing broke.

Larry

[moosetags]

Good report. Thank you.

Brian

[Meeks]

Thanks, Larry. Appreciate your write-up and so glad you had a great trip!

[Plasma800]

Good to hear on the Half Ton.

Do you by chance know what your loaded weight of the trailer was?

[lsbrodsky]

I have never weighed the rig loaded out for such a long trip but based on my previous CAT scale ticket plus guesstimate I think about 6300 or so.

Larry

[Loden]

On the highway, what was your targeted cruise speed?

[RamblinManGa]

Hi from AZ. . . good report Larry, we too completed long trip this summer & agree with most of your comments/points. My FC28 was heavier (the way She loads for a trip ,) the F150 Eco boost did great thru Rockies, Canadian Rockies, etc. We bought the Verizon international plan for one phone, expensive, but needed something up there, eh ? Urban Interstates EVERYWHERE are a pain. . .rough and congested. I'll never do I-15 thru SLC again ! Loved Canada, EXCEPT for gas stations (American credit cards didn't work at pump, pre-pay, guess how many liters you need, blah blah blah.) Canadian beer is really good, and really expensive . Roads in Alaska are worse than you've heard, really. Planning the next adventure now ! travel safe, Craig

[meandmine]

Love it!! Useful, although I expected Airstreams to prefer Rams more than reported.

[Rocket53]

I also have the F150 Ecoboost. Interested in how you towed through the high elevations. Always in tow/haul or in manual and selected the gears yourself?

Mike

[lsbrodsky]

I drive 55 mph, period. I stay in the right lane and let the traffic whiz by. My moving average for a whole day is consistently 50. We stop every couple of hours for bladder relief and stop about 30 minutes for lunch, typically an hour total in a day. 6-7 hours total is my limit, 5-6 is better. I always use tow-haul. I do not use cruise control on grades, but use it on mostly level road including moderate hills. Downshifts to 5th are common, sometimes to 4th on steeper grades. Only been down to 3rd in the steeper Smokies.
Larry

[A W Warn]

Another thought:
This summer I had a flat tire on my Safari, the first on any camping trailer in 40+ years of towing. I found out those 12v compressors take forever!!! I'll have a 120v compressor next time I tow.

ps: Some low life person stole the spare from my Excella while it was in storage.
I hope they have tire separation and their lug bolts break!

[Deserthiker]

We are newbies! How far in advance do you make reservations at an RV park? On a long trip do you alternate between RV parks and dry camping at Wallmarts etc?

[jimdaher]

Nothing wrong with Chevy as I've owned many. My 2015 Ford F150 eco boost is a marvel though. The 1st gas engine truck to produce more foot pounds of thrust than HP is wonderful to drive.

[rodsterinfl]

11. With wifi ranger got Wi-Fi almost everywhere

I had a different experience with mine. This summer I had a 3000 mile trip and most times it did not work. I am amazed that so many campgrounds get by with saying they have wifi and yet the signal is available at the registration building. That has been MOST places I have been.

[QUOTE]This summer I had a flat tire on my Safari, the first on any camping trailer in 40+ years of towing. I found out those 12v compressors take forever!!! I'll have a 120v compressor next time I tow.
[/QUOTE

I got the big kahuna Slime model- 1.9 cfm.v $69 on Amazon. It is fast:

http://slime.com/346/products/2x-pro...nflator-40026/


It certainly is not the only brand out there. I saw one similar at harbor freight. There is another brand VIAIR is popular but expensive. 2 1/2 minutes for a tire fill 225/60/18. It is 1.47 cf.

We are newbies! How far in advance do you make reservations at an RV park? On a long trip do you alternate between RV parks and dry camping at Wallmarts etc?

Don't know about Ibrodski but I go for about 2 mths in advance and I contact the places I want to dry camp too, get a name and get clearance.

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by Rocket53

I also have the F150 Ecoboost. Interested in how you towed through the high elevations. Always in tow/haul or in manual and selected the gears yourself?

Mike

I also have a 2012 F-150 with Eco Boost pulling a 2013 30' International. With a full tank of water and our stuff the trailer weighs in at 6,900 LBS. We have traveled almost exclusively out west through the Rockies crossing every pass out there about 20,000 miles.
You need to keep the TowHaul mode engaged for the turbos to kick in and for the cooling system to work correctly. In the beginning I tried to be slick and work the trans manually and ended up overheating both the engine and trans.
Also you get the engine break to kick in downhill automatically. On smooth roadways I don't use the tow haul because the up shift lags too long.
I have 80,000 miles on my F-150 Platinum and absolutely love it. I have fun kicking it in the butt and passing up hill sometime. I only get out climbed by the 3/4 ton diesel machines. The turbos are excellent at high elevations.
BTW I just love 36 gal. tank even in hard driving I get 300 miles out of a fillup.

[JKSophie]

We just hauled our 2015 Flying Cloud 23FB on a 3,000 mile trip from Florida, up the Natchez Trace, into Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina and back.

Our TV is a 2014 RAM 1500 with the Pentastar V-6 (gas) engine.

Everything worked flawlessly and we averaged 15 mpg for the entire trip (seriously, I'm not exaggerating). I set the cruise control at 62 mph on interstates.

I will certainly not argue with those who WANT a 3/4 to diesel to pull their Airstreams, but we are very happy with our setup. If we ever move up to a bigger Airstream (something in the 27' or 28' range), we will probably look for a new RAM 1500 with the gas Hemi. Until then, the V-6 gas engine is perfect.

I too have read about all the maintenance issues with Airstreams, but I am happy to report ZERO issues so far.

We are definitely "Happy Campers."

[WestieHouse]

We also recdntly completed a trip to PEi and ME (on our way from Seattle to Newfoundland) with a 23 FB. I second the comment about the smoke detector. BUT, we always replace the battery immediately afyer the cooking is done.

WiFi often promised but rarely works. We don't count on it.

We had 3 instances where our tests showed ground and/or reversed polarity. Two CG managers responded positively and one insisted nothing was wrong, but allowed is to relocate our site.

Our Jeep Grand Cherokee (3.0 l) Eco Diesel provided a total overall 16.5 mpg for the 13,700 miles. No problems across the Rockies. Not a Ram, but in the family!

Our experience with fuel in Canada was that you simply pulled up and fueled, then went inside to pay.

I lock my spare tire with a small cable lock. Easy to cut by a determined thief but may deter the casual opportunist, especially when in more visible areas. I also installed locks on propane tanks, rear bumper panel, and battery cover. Seems like something AS should make standard.

Think US Interstates are bad? Try western NL. I bent a tv wheel in a large pothole obscured diring heavy rain. Needed to order a wheel from Toronto. Decided to replace all tires a little early. Cost was considerably higher in Canada - way beyond the currency exchange rate savings.

We enjoyed the mussels ever on PEI!

Atlantic Provinces are wonderful - people, history, scenery, wildlife, topography, and culture. Roads? Not so much.
D2

[RamblinManGa]

hi again from AZ. . . I used the towhaul on downhills always. not so much up hill. Rarely used CC, and had no overheating issues. The only reservations we used were very popular places (Denali NP) & holiday weekends (4th of July). . .60mph was usual, maybe 65 on decent interstates. . .Our trip was over 11k miles.....And a good 12v air compressor is essential, IMO.. . .My '11 Ecoboost now has 72K miles on it. Travel safe, Craig

[rodsterinfl]

Everything worked flawlessly and we averaged 15 mpg for the entire trip (seriously, I'm not exaggerating). I set the cruise control at 62 mph on interstates.

You did well. I drove from Fort Myers, FL to Jackson Center and averaged 12mpg@69mph average speed (GPS speed figure- I go faster with the 16" LT tires at bit) calculated at the pump in my old truck '09 4.6L 3V V-8 pulling a 25' water tanks and LP full. I was happy with that figure. I expect my new ecoboost 3.5 truck will get the same or perhaps 1 mpg more according to what I have read others have experience though with a lot more power.

[pcskier]

Read with interest, thank you. I'm spending the weekend here in Eugene, Oregon in my new-to-me 2013 Flying Cloud in the seller's driveway. Then I'm leaving it here with my TV (2000 Tundra) and flying to California for a wedding...then will be back in a week to do our maiden voyage on the Oregon coast before a 900 mile pull back home. Look forward to providing a trip report.

So far from this weekend, 2 little things:

1. Systems monitor shows no output for Gray Water tank. No light on next to "Gray Water", and pressing the button for a full report on each system skips the Gray Water tank. Not that the reading is inaccurate, there is no reading at all. Ideas?

2. Front burner on 3-burner range won't ignite, had to use a lighter. Other two light up fine. Easy to get to/fix the ignitor?

Peter