Summary Of Extended Trip Out West

[Philip]

Hello Folks,

I thought it might be of interest to other campers to post a summary of specifics on a three month trip I just completed through the south/central western parks. I have always been curious at to costs and requirements(what works and doesn't) for an extended trip so I though I would share my experiences on this trip. Even though many items are subjective I hope this information helps other campers prepare for and aid in enjoying the extended camping experience.

I have a 2008 2720 towed with a 2005 Toyota 4Runner V8 with factory tow package, Prodigy brake controller and EZ WDH without sway control. We purchased the TM new in 2009 and this trip was the second time we used the trailer. The only changes I made to the TM prior to leaving was installing two new 4D Lifeline AGM batteries connected in parallel for a total capacity of 420 AH. These replaced the worthless battery supplied by the RV dealer I purchased the TM from. I also installed a Linklite battery monitor to keep tabs on the batteries.

Where did we go? I am only going to mention the major destinations so as not to bore you to tears. We left Pennsylvania on April 8 2010 and headed for our first National Park(NP) , Big Bend in Texas with stops in Nashville and Texas(to visit friends) along the way. Our path then went to the following in order: Sedona, AZ; Grand Canyon NP, AZ; Big Sur, CA; Yosemite NP, CA; Sequia NP, CA; Zion NP, UT; Bryce Canyon NP, UT; Capital Reef NP, UT; Arches NP, UT; Canyonlands NP, UT; Mesa Verde NP, CO; Durango, CO; Dinosaur NP, UT & Rocky Mountain NP, CO. We returned home on July 7 2010 after 12,800 miles.

What worked: The TM and TV were trouble free. I greased the bearings on the TM once during the trip. The battery upgrade served me well. Since we prefer to stay in state and national park campgrounds as they are generally more attractive and less costly, we needed the large battery capicity since many of these campgrounds have no electricity. With a full chage we are able to go at least seven days/nights before needing a charge. I only allow the batteries to discharge about 50% so as to get long life out of these expensive batteries. I also purchased an 11 gallon tote tank for waste water and an 8 gallon tote bottle for water. These worked great when we had no hookups at all. The TM does have the optional large 40 gallon water tank so we never had to get water too often. The TM towed great and stopped very well(evenly) during one emergency braking. The TV was plenty adequate for all hill climbs and long steep downgrades. Shifting the TV into lower gears made braking easy during steep/long decents.

What didn't work: The charging system on the TV could not keep up with the refrigerator demand while towing with the refrigerator on battery. I hesitated to run the refrigerator on propane when towing because of concern with propane while closed up and waste heat removal from the propane burner while closed up. I know people use propane when closed up but it makes me uneasy - further comments by other campers are welcome! So the batteries were always somewhat discharged(60 to 70% full) after towing for a day. I am investigating correcting this problem and believe I have the solution which was discovered by someone else. Another camper reported that he has always had the same problem and has solved it by increasing the wire size from the TV battery to the TM batteries(both plus and minus wires). The existing charging wires are too small and cause too great of a voltage drop which reduces charging current. You only have a rather small voltage difference from the TV regulator output(~14 volts) and the TM batteries(~12.5 to 13 volts) He increased the wire size on two TV's that he had and it solved the problem in each case. I don't have to increase the current output much to have it charge the TM batteries during towing.

The only other problem we experienced was with towing three bicycles on the TM with a hitch mounted bike rack. No bike rack is designed for towing on a trailer but we purchased a Thule revolver four bike rack because it was very convenient - it allowed us to open the trailer without removing the bikes and it appeared to be a strong rack. Alas, the pitching on the end of the TM was too much for it and it eventually failed on the Big Sur in CA. Fortunately it failed in a road construction zone where we were going slow and a construction worker flagged us down as soon as the rack failed resulting in minimal bike damage. What transpired from that point on is cocktail conversation for how wierd our luck was - this post is already too long.

Cost Summary: We kept detailed costs for the three people on the trip. Here is what we experienced: Campsite costs averaged 23 $/day for the 87 day trip. Average MPG for the TV for the total trip was 15 MPG. Total fuel cost was $2656. Average fuel cost was $3.12/gallon. I used mid octane fuel most of the time and premium gas while in the mountains. The TM met my requirements for an efficient trailer to tow. I would love to know what an equivalent box trailer with the requesite TV would average in MPG on a trip like this! I could belive less that 10 MPG. Daily cost per person above campsite and fuel costs was $30/day. This included all food(restaurants plus groceries), alcohol, repairs, maintenance, lodges, entertainment & misc. expenditures.

Tha, Tha, Tha, Thats all folks! Your eyes are probably glazed over by now - LOL!

In any event it is information I always wanted to know but could never find - so I thought I should share it.

Next year we hope to do the same type trip to the more nothern parks.

Take care,

Phil Friess