2400 miles to our winter lily pad

 

Taking the long route - 6 overnight stops

With the condo sale proceeding, we left everything in the hands of the Realtor and our Attorney, packed the Roadtrek and headed to Arizona. I drove the Roadtrek and G drove the Chevy, which will replace the Malibu and will remain in AZ year around. We donated the Malibu to a veterans organization. It will be auctioned and proceeds go to vets.

We took the longer trek to avoid winter storms and sub-freezing weather.  In the past we've stayed at campgrounds which shut down all water, including the bathrooms when it gets below 32F.  We didn't want to repeat that experience.

We had prepared a travel itinerary.  It would take 6-1/2 days, with minimal stops.  We made reservations for each overnight stop.

The first leg of the trip, through Illinois on I-57 was a real pain.  Construction signs up and there were long stretches with the speed posted at 45 MPH.  It was a fitting "goodbye" to the state.  However, all real estate is local, and portions of DuPage County are near perfect places to live.  Just don't get run over by one of Chicago Mayor Lightfoot's shuttle busses, which drop off undesirables in the suburbs.  Chicago dumps them with a hotel voucher and an adios!  "Welcome to America".

Our first day was designed as a short-leg of 316 miles, which was helpful. We had packed non-freezables the night before and we got an earlier start to the day.  Temperatures were below freezing overnight, and the Roadtrek was off the grid.  I had installed Lithium-Ion battery technology during the previous summer.  The Battery Management System (BMS) of these batteries prevents charging at below-freezing temperatures.  It was about 21F when we started the Roadtrek.  I switched on the battery compartment DC heaters and we headed down the road at 10:15AM.

Heater test during installation last summer.  DC controllers are in C, AC controller is F

324 miles later we arrived at a KOA "Journey" at 3:30pm. This was a "Deluxe" site because of the length of the two vehicles.  However, because it was cold and end of season it was a nearly deserted campground with minimal amenities.  The current CEO of KOA is a "Glamping Queen" who has a marketing background.  It is her philosophy to increase prices by adding a slab, firepit and a couple of chairs and a picnic table to the sites.  This approach allows KOA to extract an additional $30 a night for a site, even when it is cold and snowing.  LOL.

I hooked up the AC and switched on the 120VAC battery heater.

The next morning it had warmed up and by 7:45am it was a balmy 39F. By 2:00 PM we had travelled a total of 656 miles and stopped at an independent campground in Grenada, MS.  It was 46F and overcast. We had a pleasant overnight stay and the campground hosts were very accommodating.  Overnight stay was $35.

And so it went.  Cool days, generally overcast with a little rain.  Nights at or below freezing.

Here were the daily miles for the route as shown above:

• Day 1 324 miles
• Day 2 330 miles
• Day 3 341 miles
• Day 4 341 miles
• Day 5 415 miles
• Day 6 407 miles
• Day 7 149 miles

We arrived at our location in Arizona at 10:00am local time; we had gained an hour due to time change.

We spent that day unpacking, hooking up the 5th wheel, etc.  I had purchased an improved, larger water filter before we left the previous season. I installed the new filter, regenerated the water softener, checked the anode in the hot water heater and flushed it once again.  Desert water contains a lot of minerals and an anode generally lasts for only one season.

I turned on the water, flushed the system of air (no need to winterize) and plugged in the Redwood.  I then ran the 5 slides out and turned on the refrigerator.  I removed the empty gallon jugs our summer care people fill periodically to assure that we have some humidity in the RV during the summer months and we were ready to move in.

Projects
This season I intend to add a reverse osmosis water treatment system to the Redwood.  I will also add another solar panel to the Roadtrek.  Etc. 

(c) 2022 N. Retzke

MPG Update 16.5 MPG when driving 55-65 MPH

Periodically I check the MPG we achieve.  I do this for trip budgeting purposes. I don't trust the computer generated MPG display, but it is helpful, so I use the gas receipts.  On a recent 2500+ mile trek I made a spreadsheet from the gas receipts and I thought I would share it here.

There are a variety of factors that impact the MPG. Some are:

• Driving habits
• Speed
• Stop and Go
• Terrain
• Onan generator use
• Idling
• etc.

On this trek we were generally level, on interstate highways and I did the driving. I follow the speed limits and will stay in the right lane on divided highways with two lanes going in our direction. In urban areas I generally drive the expressway second lane from the right to avoid those who simply don't know how to merge, or exit. As a consequence our speeds are consistent with little hard braking or flooring of the accelerator. On this trek our highway speeds were usually 55-65 MPH. However there were long segments where the speed limit was 70-80 MPH.  The initial day had about 40 minutes of stop and go 20 MPH on the expressway because of road construction and that decreased the MPG for the first segment at 55-65 MPH speed limits.

I do use 87 octane gasoline as recommended by Chevrolet. In portions of the west there is a choice between 86 and 88 octane. I usually fill up at about 1/2 tank level. I simply alternate fill-ups between 86 and 88 octane to keep 87 blend in the tank.

The weather was cool to mild for most of the trek, low of about 32F and high of about 75F. Little precipitation as our route allowed us to avoid some really unpleasant weather coming in from the West.

Perfect driving conditions as far as I am concerned.

From this trek with speed limits 55-80 MPH, I again observed the best gasoline mileage occurred at 55-65 MPH:

• 16.5 MPG - not bad!

At 80 MPH, which we encountered in the West, the mileage decreased:

• 11.0 MPG

The trip average:

• 15.2 MPG

Best mileage is achieved at 45-55 MPH, but we had few segments at that speed range on this trek, so I didn't attempt to calculate the MPG.

Original material:  https://roadtrek210.blogspot.com/

Winter Trek - Part I, 2500 miles

2550 miles to escape the cold

We had been lingering in the midwest. It is always difficult to say goodbye to family, friends and acquaintances. Departing also means acknowledging the end of summer and the impending arrival of winter. But then a nasty, early winter storm appeared in the weather forecast and it was time to move on.

We assessed the weather patterns and I chose to travel a greater distance to avoid ice, sleet, and snow. So we packed and travelled a more southerly route. This included segments we had never taken before and it opened up some new possibilities. So we did our trip research and made overnight reservations about every 500 miles.

We both like to do some exploring,  but freezing weather was predicted along much of our trek. So we opted to dispense with most of the sight seeing this time.

There are always surprises
We drove to I-65 and headed south. We didn't change our direction until we reached the Gulf of Mexico.

At Biloxi, MS we stopped at the Gulf Shores RV Resort. We arrived just before sunset on November 11, took a short walk on the beach and headed to dinner.

Sunset November 11

The resort is adjacent to a Waffle House and that was a call for Pecan Waffles. Resort stayers get a discount which was a welcome benefit. We split a waffle which was delicious.




The weather front caught up to us overnight, so there was some rain, but mild temperatures, thanks to the Gulf waters. We took another stroll along the beach before departing the next morning.

Biloxi Beach - very quiet morning

Ready to depart Biloxi

About two hours later we were crossing the Mississippi River

Baton Rouge, LA - Mississippi River

Lots of oil refining, chemicals and storage

It wasn't long and we were in Texas:

Our first night in Texas was at a private, family run campground we've spent time at previously.  We had a reservation and checked in. We were advised to disconnect our fresh water hose before retiring because there was a freeze warning. All well and good, we have experienced this many times. Then I asked "What about the bathrooms?" I was advised that all water in the campground would be turned off and the bath rooms locked as of 8:00 pm. 

Well, that was a new experience!  I've never been in a campground under a freeze warning where all of the fresh water services were shut down because of a freeze warning.

We have added this to the list of questions to ask when making reservations.

We dined at the Mexican restaurant across the street and had an excellent meal. LOL!

At Lucy Tequilas - "the Jared"

The night was uneventful and the low temperature was 33F. LOL!

Continuing on, we trekked to our next stop.

We spent a night at a KOA in Van Horn, TX. We've been at that campground before. Near freezing weather was predicted, so we put Reflectix in the windows. Our feathered neighbor didn't seem happy with the prediction. Freezing weather in this part of Texas is unusual in early November.

After a restful sleep, we got up early and prepared to continue.

Van Horn Texas at Dawn

The next morning we entered New Mexico.

Shortly thereafter we were on the downhill run and at a rest stop in Arizona.

This trek was different. We usually like to take our time and smell the roses. This trek we decided we wanted to avoid nasty weather and really cold. So we chose a route that accomplished that.

We made a few notes and hope to visit Biloxi again, in nice weather.

Our major goal was accomplished and we have arrived in our winter lily pad.



Original material:  https://roadtrek210.blogspot.com/