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wildebill308

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Posts posted by wildebill308

  2. Posted · Report reply

    We are leaving next week from Georgia to go to Nova Scotia. Having trouble crossing Hudson River to get to Boston. Any suggestions? Will be driving 36 foot Pace Arrow towing an Equinox. Thanks for any help and input.

    Wiley

    Welcome to the forum Wiley, Why are you having trouble? I recommend the Tappan Zee Bridge on 287. I just drove from DC to RI and used the George Washington on 95. The Tappan is cheaper.

    Bill

  4. Posted · Report reply

    We'll be picking up an Acme Tow Dolly in the next two weeks at the manufacturer in NC. It has surge type disc brakes, tongue weight of about 50 lbs, and weighs not much over 300. Will stand it on end in our home garage if need be. Towing a '14v Honda Accord. Used to tow '09 Honda CR-V four down with Roadmaster gear. Investigated other dolly mfgs. and this seemed to be best value for $$$$ spent. At $1500, also get spare wheel and tire. Put a hitch on the car to pick it up, and to use to move dolly when not enough room to store it with MH at campground. Would encourage anyone interested in Google their web site and talk with Jarad at Acme. We visited them last month (no hitch then) and were impressed with the small operation, friendly staff, pricing and the five year guarantee. I haven't any financial interest in the company, just think it a good buy and am looking forward to getting ours.

    Doc Mike

    Neenah, WI

    Doc, I have a Acme Tow Dolly and they do work well. Hear is a tip. When you are loading the car on the dolly leave about an 11/2 - 2 inch gap between the tires and the front bar. I know the instructions say to pull it up tight BUT I kept having a hard time getting the straps to stay tight. I diagnosed the problem down to the fact that the straps don't slide on the tires. If you leave a little gap and put the car in neutral when you are tightening the straps the tires can rotate forward and take all the slack out of the strap. After you have the straps tight put it back in park and set it up for tow. Using this method I never had a strap come loose.

    Bill

  6. Posted · Report reply

    I was just plain wrong! Heard some things in my part of PA (mostly Cat people here). Read some things on the net possibly by people with axes to grind, and although it happened many years ago, had a lot of trouble with a brand new big cam 400 Cummins in my first purchased Peterbilt. Left a foul taste, but I need to move on.

    Hey I am used to being wrong. My DW tells me all of the time.

    Thanks for the kind words.

    Not picking on you but too many people post hearsay and it confuses the people that don't know.

    Bill

  8. Posted · Report reply

    But is it more robust? Will it live as long as the N-14 Cummins or the Detroit Series 60? The more things that go up and down depending on an oil pump?

    I have not heard of any problems with a 24 valve engine because it had anything to do with design. I do think they run better. How robust do you need? No one is having problems.

    "I believe I read that 1998 to 2002 models had the most problems, but I would not swear to it." You need to have something to back that up as all you have posted is hearsay.

    Bill

  12. Posted · Report reply

    Welcome to the forum.

    I towed with a dolly for a couple of years. Some things to watch for, the dolly will track outside your rear wheels so leave a little extra room when making a turn. You don't want to drag the dolly over a curb or through a ditch, or worse hit a poll or other objects as you turn. Leave more room between you and the gas pumps to.

    You may have to adjust your position in your lane as the tow dolly wheals may be running on the white line or over it. Some roads have a rumble strip and you don't want to be dragging your dolly wheal over that for any distance. The trick to getting the straps tight the first time is don't pull the car tight agents the front stop when you load. The straps don't slide on the tier when you tighten them. After you have the straps around the tier and ready to tighten take the car out of park. Now tighten the straps. This allows the tier to roll forward and tighten the strap behind the tier. When done follow the tow dolly manufacture instructions on setting your car up to tow.

    You have to unload the car and disconnect the dolly before backing into a back in site. I always tried to get a pull through as I could just leave the dolly attached. This helps a lot when just overnighting in a place, much easier to get going in the morning.

    "How do you tell if the gas station you're trying to use is big enough to avoid getting dead-ended?"

    Start looking at gas stations now when you are driving your car around. Practice looking for clearance issues low canopy's how the pump islands are laid out, Do you have deep curbs steep driveway or other things that might cause a problem. Will it be easy to exit back to the road you want to be on. I always try to use an out side island. One big thing don't wait till you NEED gas before you start looking for a station. I start at 1/2 tank this gives you options.

    "How do you identify (in advance) other situations to avoid?" Practice when you are driving your car. Think like you are driving your coach with a dolly hooked behind it and you can't back up.

    I never had a problem with my surge brakes driving in the mountains.

    Bill

  13. Posted · Report reply

    The best way to do your oil analysis is to do it a couple of weeks before you change your oil. I have seen several people get reports back that had indications of problems or they just got a bad sample. The problem is if you do the sample when you change your oil and you get a bad sample you can't re test to see it is just a bad sample.

    So I send off my samples before I change the oil. If they come back good I can change the oil or if in doubt send a new sample for comparison.

    Bill

  15. Posted · Report reply

    Tony, great tips. Thank you. I had not thought about the oil boom and what that can mean.

    Bill, I haven't really thought much about the trip home. We don't need to return through the Denver/Fort Collins area. Based on the route you proposed, I would want to stop off in Cody and Thermopolis on the way home - the Wyoming tourist book makes it seem like those are sights to see. Not sure what else would be a do-not-miss between Northwest Montana and Alabama.

    I was talking about from Montgomery, Alabama to Denver.

  17. Posted · Report reply

    Bill, we are starting from the Montgomery, Alabama area and will probably take the most direct route to Denver (actually near Fort Collins - we have family in that area). And I do very much appreciate your detail of your trip. That is most helpful. The big question is how did you get from Yellowstone to I-90 to go to Glacier? What are the roads like on that side of the mountains?

    Thanks for your help here.

    Wayne

    Wayne,

    If you are going to be in the Fort Collins area north of Denver I would go East on I 80 to Cabela's Then take 385 to 79 to Rapid City to Mount Rushmore area.

    I was traveling the other direction from the Washington coast. I had several people tell me the easiest way into Yellowstone was from the north one lives in the area so that is how/why I went in the way I did. I 90 to Livingston Montana from The Bighorn Battlefield then south on 89 to Yellowstone. To get to Glacier just get back on I 90 West.

    The roads aren't that different than driving in the East. We just drove from Ft Worth to DC I 30 to Little rock then I 40 to I 81 then 66 to the beltway. Lots of hills in the East to. I am tired tonight spent all day in the American history Museum.

    Have you picked a route from home to Denver?

    Bill

  19. Posted · Report reply

    Thanks, Bill. That is certainly an option. I do plan to go to Little Bighorn Battlefield, too, as you suggested. I just know from what others have said that I will need to make my reservations for campgrounds and some special activities months in advance. That is why I am trying to plan all of this out now. If I were to wait until next April or May, I might not be able to get reservations. Keep those suggestions coming. This is very helpful.

    I stay outside the parks and drive the toad into the parks. The only exception was at The Grand Canyon where I was able to get into their RV Village in the park.

    Now back to your trip. Hear is the rout I used last summer (in reverse order) From Denver I used I76 to Sterling then 138/19 to Sidney and stay at the Cabelas RV park at their flagship store /world headquarters. Then take 385 to 79 to Rapid City. When you are done there take 90 west The Bighorn Battlefield. From there continue West on 90 to Livingston MT I then went south on 89 to Yellowstone. We stayed at Yellowstone's Edge RV Park. From there drove the toad into the park.

    You could relocate south of Yellowstone for easier access to the Tetons. I don't have any experience there.

    To go to Glacier I would head west from Yellowstone on 90 to just West of Missoula where 93 heads north to Glacier Good place to stop is Bob & Mary's RV park at the 93 exit.

    Here is contact info for most of the places:

    Near The Bighorn Battlefield

    7th Ranch RV Camp I-90 S Exit ,514 Reno Creek Rd, Garryowen, MT 59031,(406) 638-2438

    Yellowstone's Edge RV Park, 3502 US-89, Livingston, MT 59047, (406) 333-4036

    Jim & Mary's RV Park, 9800 US-93, Missoula, MT 59808, (406) 549-4416

    Bill

  20. Posted · Report reply

    I am planning now for a trip to Glacier NP in June & July 2016. I have never been in the Rockies, though I have driven the the Appalachians in the East. We plan to drive from Alabama to see family in Denver (2-3 days there), and go to Yellowstone & Grand Tetons (5-7 days there), Glacier (2-3 days there), and then Mount Rushmore/Crazy Horse (3 days). We could do it in that order or we could go in the reverse. What would be the best way to get from Yellowstone to Glacier? That will be important as I look for campgrounds. Some people seem to like West Yellowstone, some seem to like other areas. The way to get from Yellowstone to Glacier will influence which campgrounds I try to get into. I do know to take it easy and not plan for more than 300 miles in any day - probably less in the mountains. Any suggestions you can give will be most appreciated.

    Wayne

    Alfa SeeYa 38'

    2012 Ford Focus Toad

    Just my opinion but if you are going to Denver I would go to Mount Rushmore/Crazy Horse area before going to Yellowstone. Don't forget the Custer Battlefield in between Rushmore and Yellowstone.

    Bill

  21. Posted · Report reply

    ObedB, Come on down to Texas there is a reason they are building big wind farms hear. That little run I made from Fort Worth to Pharr Texas, it's only 497 miles, had us running in wind gust over 50 mph. That wasn't to bad as sometimes the wind blows hard. On the way home I ran into the last big sleet and ice storm temps went from 70 to 23. Had to spend a couple of days letting the storm wind down and the roads to clear.

    Brett, I would like to see 10mpg and will let you know after my next trip. We are going East/North this summer. The roads back east are not as easy to make good mileage on, in my opinion. I did make 9.3 towing my CR-V out west last summer. That was by dividing fuel into miles about 12,500. The only time my driving style was ABSOLUTELY MPG DRIVEN was in California where I tested the "drive slower in a lower gear to get better mileage" theory that keeps cropping up. For a little over 30 days while in CA I drove 55 or less. some roads in the flat valley at 50 I had to run in 5th gear at about 1600 rpm. I was hoping for some amazing mileage figures. Well they were down to mid 7s.

    Bill

  22. Posted · Report reply

    If you are getting over 10mpg at 65 I would lean back and enjoy the ride. As you noted there are so many variables that one tank or one trip will not give an accurate picture of mileage. In February I made a trip to south Texas. I was lucky and had a front blowing through both going and coming back. My mileage for that trip was not so good in the low 7s but I know conditions played a big part. I track my fuel usage and I like to use at least 10 fill ups to get a average.

    Bill

  23. Posted · Report reply

    Jo, what is your mileage at 64? We have different engines my little ISB 5.9 likes 65-66. It will hold 6th gear if you back off down to 62 but any increase in load will drop it into 5th gear and it won't shift up till it is back up to 65. Doing this waste more fuel than just maintaining my speed at 65. One other thing is check your speedometer for accuracy. I checked mine and found I need to use a correction factor of + 5.8% to get my actual speed/mileage.

    Brett, what engine are you running and what is your average mileage?

    Bill

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