Arizona trip 03/ 22

[Sentry]

Starting to wonder about my house heater.
I think the one propane tank may have been out this morning. It was 56 in trailer. Taking forever to heat up after turning on new tank. Hot airbus coming from exhaust. So I guess it’s working.

It’s been pretty well rattled around by bumps in roads and sounds worse than I remember.

[71_340]

Invest in two space heaters and save your propane.

I am just wondering......why does 1100 lbs tongue weight concern you in a 3/4-ton truck?

I like it when people use military time.

[Sentry]

Originally Posted by 71_340

Invest in two space heaters and save your propane.

I am just wondering......why does 1100 lbs tongue weight concern you in a 3/4-ton truck?

I like it when people use military time.

The wdh is the 1000 lbs equalizer. Just trying to keep it within its limits.

[wyocamper]

Originally Posted by 71_340

I like it when people use military time.

It's 2120 hours here right now.

[Sentry]

Originally Posted by wyocamper

It's 2120 hours here right now.

Interesting, my phone says 2113 right now… how are you ahead of me? Are you a time traveler?

[Sentry]

Had another interesting Occurance. We make it to Pheonix after all the freezing weather further north. Even snow in flagstaff.

Went to turn on the A/C for the first time and the thermostat would not show anything. I checked fuses, breaker switches, had 120 power to other 120 appliances. Eventually got curious and opened up the A/C filter to see what if anything.
Found some wires tucked behind a box in there. Turns out one was not connected, and found a single wire with a connector. I contacted the two together and viola, the thermostat lit up.
I crammed the wire back into its home, crimped it better and all good now.
I’d call that dumb luck really. But I think all the shaking from road conditions is really shaking things up.

[Sentry]

Pretty much a nothing day. Changed oil in truck, wife and son are flying back to Florida so he can compete in a band compatitiin. And return tomorrow. So gonna have a beer and burgers to night with daughter

[Sentry]

Half a day from home

[Sentry]

Mar 12, after the weather calmed down in Fl, we departed. In route to Valley of the Gods, Utah, Goose Necks State Park, Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Pheonix, and White Sands, NM.
Tow vehicle was 2012 Chevy Silverado 2500HD
Trailer, 2022 Winnebago 2301BHS which weighed in at 6880 lbs with fresh water full.

Gas mileage ended up around 7.3 mpg going out there, 7.9 coming back. 5500 miles round trip.

Prior to the trip, we removed the front A/C replaced it with a Maxx Air Fan 7500, as well as the bathroom fan was also replaced with the same.
I also removed the 190 panel on the roof, replaced that with 4 175 watt flex panels ran new 10 g wire through the front cap.
installed a Victron system, 12v Multiplus inverter charger, Lynx Distributor, 150|70 charge controller, Bluetooth dongle, and BMV 712 with 4 100 ah battleborn batteries.

I can't say I had the true opportunity to see how long the solar system would truly last as we left a day later than planned. So that put us behind.

Either way we finally arrived at Valley of the gods.
Arriving late, we took the first spot available




sunrise





veiw from the dinette window in the morning


drone view

[Sentry]

When we first arrived at VOG I was a bit intimidated by the entrance, and we attempted to camp at Goose Necks, but there was a sign saying NO RV's past that point. Found out the next morning, that we could have made it, they placed the sign way to far ahead.



We did have the water heater fail in NM, we were able to pick up parts to fix it in Albuquerque, NM





Flagstaff was a treat for the kids, as there was a bit of snow.

[Sentry]

Painted Desert


Native American petroglyphs


Old car my dog took a lot of interest in. Probably looking for lizards


Used the awning for the first time in Phoenix


The batteries drained once to 2% and took most of the day to recharge after we were on shore power in Texas.
we had driven 12 hours that day with one of th fans in the trailer and both fridges running on electric.
This is prior to everything being connected

White Sands was the last stop


I learned a lot about the truck. Let the cruise control do what does.
learned how to used the manual gears for downhill grades. We did use weight distribution, equalizer 4 10k lbs. worked out well, I wish I had gotten the smaller trailer though. I think I may have seen 10 mpg then.
though the hills and mountains took away much of it.

[Fred 2106DS]

It appears you and your family had a memorable trip. Thanks for sharing your pictures!

[Sentry]

Originally Posted by Fred 2106DS

It appears you and your family had a memorable trip. Thanks for sharing your pictures!

Thank you for the help Fred

[Fred 2106DS]

Originally Posted by Sentry

Thank you for the help Fred

Your welcome!