amarie1

hi all, thank you for the advice. I tried to find the area to enter my rig info for the footer but didn't see it. I'll try again. AM

no time to add batteries at this point. Before my next big RV trip I may, which would probably be in the early spring of 2021. Well I guess I don't need to use the slides or awning. 😉 So assuming I don't, and I use the water pump carefully, then do you think I can run the rest (yes stove and fridge are propane) without running the generator? AM

(and open/close the awning and slides too ...)

i don't have any solar on my 30 ft motor home. I have one house battery that was in good shape when inspected last month. It's the one that came with the rig (a 2017), a lead-acid, maintenance-free one. So ... if i want to have lights, and light the stove, and run the water pump, and my fantastic fan, and run the fridge, can I do so for an afternoon/night off of the house battery alone? Or do I need to run the generator (4000 Onan) the whole time? I ask because I'm planning a long trip and there's a dispersed camping spot I'd like to stay at for a night near the Tetons. But I'm on my own and I've never done that before. Also I've heard that if anyone is near me (there are 5 spots in this location), generator used is frowned upon. Note: I do have a small solar generator, a RockPals 300watt, that I bought to keep my CPAP running for a night via 110, and that can charge my phone and laptop. Thanks, AM

Yes, I-80 was open all the way when I came here in mid-August, when the fires were just starting. I've been in Oakland since then and haven't heard of it closing at all. On that route, my favorite RV stop was Welcome Station RV Park just west of Wells, Nevada. Two retired Full-timers opened their own little RV park (only about 20 spots I believe) and are sweet as heck. Closed from Nov-March because they take off for other climes. Their little patch of green in the desert is welcome ... and they have a creek and little waterfalls that you can sit by and chill out. Small laundry room and showers too. The morning I left one of the owners was going around with a basket of blueberry muffins she had just baked, offering them to anyone who wanted one. The solo female traveller in the spot next to me is a resident and said she was one of the founding members of Escapees. Her name was Gail, very helpful. Also they're a Passport America spot so the fee is 1/2 off their already reasonable $35/night charge, if you're a member. https://www.wsrvpark.com/ AM

Thank you everyone! It's much clearer to me now, after reading all of your well thought-out and details posts. Interesting. I will try the off/on in that case. I did notice that when I needed to exit and slow down quickly to 30 or 20 mph, the engine felt strange and made some strange noises as I pressed on the brake firmly for a while. Like it didn't believe I really wanted to go that slow, or it was coming out of a tow/haul fever dream. Disconcerting AM

I am familiar with manual stick shifts. But the "D 4 2 1" in the auto trans display throws me. Which of these is 1st gear? I assume "1" correct? So you're saying, put the trans in 1, then start from a stop. When the rpm gets to 4K or so, move it to 2. Yes? When I'm going up a steep incline, and I'm in D, and I can hear the engine straining and my speed is dropping, should I move the shift from D to 4? Or don't do any downshifting on an incline. When going downhill, to have my engine do a lot of the braking, when I see the car is speeding up on its own (not holding down the accellerator), should I then downshift from D to .. 4? And so on ... if it keeps speeding up, move it to 3? errr 2? AM

Thank you, Kirk ❤️

I'm here for a few weeks, then back home! Siblings and parents I miss. But will plan another trip that's more leisurely, I guess for next spring? You can't really start out on a trip from Chicago in January can you? AM

As I posted in another thread here, I survived! lol I made it ... I'm in Oakland now, arrived yesterday afternoon. Thank you all so much for your help. I ended up not shifting to anything since I didn't know what I was doing. I let Tow/Haul do its job. I turned off cruise control on the uphills and just used manual acceleration. At one point, the Check Engine light started flashing on the dash board display, toward the beginning of the trip. It flashed for about a minute, which was a long time to me! lol I'll bring it to a service station but I'm curious if anyone had heard of this. I hadn't just filled up my tank (which I know sometimes a loose gas cap can cause that). I had just heard the engine rev up as it doing its thing going up the first incline. I don't know if that was coincidence. It never did it again, and I was paranoid about it. Thanks for all your help! I will learn more about downshifting while I'm here 😉 so I know better when I return to Chicago in a couple/three weeks. AM

Thank you all! Yes Kirk I did arrive, yesterday around 2:00 pm (left east of Reno around 9:00 am). Thank you all so much. I survived the Donner Pass, thanks to all your great advice. I ended up never shifting from D because honestly I didn't know what I was doing so preferred to just leave it there, and let Tow/Haul and manual acceleration do the job. I did use cruise control at 50-55 mph going down the big drops though. Surprisingly there was much more smoky air near Reno than I found in Sacramento/Vacaville/Oakland. I saw later that there were fires out there too. It was so dense it was like fog. Dissapated after an hour or so. I-80 was open all the way, fairly light traffic all the way through. (Great advice to stick to the main route!) I didn't see any smoke though I could smell it. Vacaville was surrounded by black hills instead of golden ones. Eerie. Can you tell how much I want to thank you all? LOL I keep saying it, here and in other threads. Very grateful to have your experience and advice accompany during this trip. I admit I was frightened at times, especially in those mountains. But I kept hearing your calm wisdom in my head. It really helped. One strange fright 15 minutes after leaving my last RV place on the way to Oakland, the Check Engine light started flashing on my dash. My heart about stopped. It flashed for about a minute, and I was trying to think, now what ... pull over? Am I going to melt the engine? I was just creeping up into the foothills. But then it stopped flashing, and it never flashed again the rest of the trip. I will bring the rig to a service center while I'm here to get all the fluids checked etc., and I'll ask them about that. AM

All done! I'm in Oakland, RV parked in front, later to be moved to a storage lot while I'm here. All together it was a 9-day trip, including two rest days in a couple RV parks. I drove an average of 4.5 hrs a day, mostly set cruise control at 65 mph. It was exhausting but a "throw her in the deep end" kind of schooling for hooking up/unhooking up. 😉 Still a lot to learn, though. Thank you all so much! I'm sure I'll be posting more questions for my return trip home 🙂 AM

Ok thank you everyone! Send good thoughts 🙂

Okay, tomorrow (Friday) is THE DAY. Last day of this journey, and the day I do the Donner pass. I'm just outside Reno right now, and plan to leave tomorrow morning for Oakland, driving around fire zones if necessary. So about that ... today while driving I took Mark & Teri's advice and turned off cruise control while going up steep grades. (Tow Haul on, always.) I just kept the pedal to the metal, but not pushing it too hard. Then at the summit, I'd get to my comfort zone speed (around 60 mph), put it on cruise, and let the Ford and Tow/Haul do the work. Now I just saw a video from a couple RVrs about mountain driving where they said they downshift when going up steep grades, even with Tow/Haul mode on. I thought Tow/Haul did the downshifting for you? I've never downshifted in my life. My auto trans shows D, 4, 2, and 1. When I'm going uphill and the engine's trying hard, should I move it to 4? Is that a single downshift? If it's still having trouble, move it from 4 to 2? And then when I start downhill, move it from 2 or 4 back to D? Can I jump from 2 to D if I'm going downhill? I hate to be in the dark about this. Thanks once again for any help. AM

Advice, other than to turn around? LOL ... I can't. Friday will be day 9 of my 9-day journey from Chicago to Oakland CA, where my daughter and her family await me. It's my first RV major trip, doing this solo, me and my doggos. I have a 30 ft. Class C, 2017. I *thought* my main challenge on Friday would be Donner Pass ... I'm traveling I-80 West from Reno to Oakland. But just yesterday, they shut down I-80 at Fairfield CA, both ways, due to smoke/fire. It's open now. I keep thinking well there are hundreds, thousands of people, all those truckers at least, going the same way I am. If they can do it I can do it. My plan B would be to leave I-80 at Sacramento, taking I-5 south to 205/580 around. I thought I'd post here on the off-chance anyone has advice or has driven my alternate route, driven during evacuations, etc. Or at least, some good thoughts for me and encouragement. What a world, you know? AM

Here's the update. I ended up sticking w/I-80 through Wyoming and Utah (didn't do the I-84 bypass), and experienced the grade up and down. (Donner Pass to come in a couple days.) I lived 😉 so thank you! What I ended up doing, and I hope this is what I gathered is correct from this thread, is 1) always drove in Tow Haul mode; and 2) 90% of the time kept it in cruise control at 60 or 65, except for those "50 mph curves". It seemed to me that the combination of cruise control and Tow Haul turned on the Ford's shifting intelligence and kept me going at about that speed. I admit the engine did make some strange sounds sometimes, like "rowrrr!" when the RPM went up to 4000 or 4500 for a bit to keep the speed up while going up an upgrade. Was that not good? Should I turn off cruise control on the upgrades/downgrades? Also, from what I understand, I either use Tow/Haul mode, or I manually downshift/upshift, not both. So I kept my hands off the shifter, left it in D the whole time. Correct? Or not. AM

Hmm that's a good idea, Al. I do have a water pressure regulator. But what I've found is that in these hot temps in the west, the fresh water tank's water is hot! I can't get cold water out of the tap. I have to add ice (assuming I have ice). AM

Kirk, I'm at a campground at the Sweetwater Events Complex in Rock Springs, Wyoming. I found it on Campendium: https://www.campendium.com/sweetwater-events-complex

Hey guys here's an update, I'm halfway there! I decided to just take 80 all the way. Boring but direct. I'm writing this from an RV park in western Wyoming. I left Chicago last Wednesday August 12, later in the day than I wanted (all that last minute packing), so stayed the first night in a little place in Davenport IA on the Ill/Iowa border. Thursday I stayed in Ashland, Nebraska (east Nebraska), Friday and Saturday I stayed in Holiday Park in North Platte, Nebraska ... wasn't feeling well, and needed a day to organize my stuff. 😉 I haven't done any sightseeing, really. Sunday (last night) I was in the KOA in Cheyenne Wyoming, my first KOA "experience." The lots were just on gravel with picnic tables, but by the entrance they had a small enclosed dog park, a free miniature golf course with a western theme, horse shoes, and a pool that was open ... looked inviting. And they also had a small coin laundromat open 24 hrs, so I took advantage of that. Hoping it will be just 3 or 4 more nights till I get to Oakland. I'm using RV Trip Wizard (thanks for the recommendation!) and Campendium, mostly, to find places to stay, looking in the morning before I leave, usually. It is exhausting traveling this way, every day having to set up and tear down, but I've got my eye on the prize 😉 seeing my daughter, my SIL, and grandson ... they're very excited and following my journey with some GPS thing. And I'm becoming an old hand at hooking up electric and city water, and dumping every few days. Oh and today while at a truck stop for gas, I weighed Bessie (my rig) on the scales, and was happy to see I am about 1000 pounds under the limit. AM

Okay but you're all talking about leaving the grey valve open while you're connected to a sewer, right?

Thanks all. Question for @Pat & Pete: why if ever would someone leave valves open?

Hmm. I do not know about the construction or mounting of them.

Ok, thank you Chalky.

Hi! I’m on day 3 of an 8 day road trip, driving about 5 hours a day and staying mostly in Rv parks. Some have city water, others I use my freshwater tank. Im driving solo in a 30 foot motor home. Should I be (do I need to) dump my tanks every day, before I leave to drive another 350 miles? Or should I wait until they’re half full or so. I am careful to add water when I flush, and I toss paper separately. thanks

yes I'm in a Class C. It's a big bike and I have 2 dogs and I'm bringing so much stuff. LOL. But ... possible. I'll see. Starting to load it up this morning.