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wildebill308

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Posts posted by wildebill308


  1. Well the OP hasn't filled out his profile so no knowledge about his coach.

    I self insure I have seen too many claims disallowed. By the time you get done with the fine print on deductibles and what they will pay for repairs. I think if you put the money in a savings account you will come out further ahead. Yes you need a roadside assistance plan aka Coach Net. Yes you need to do all your preventive maintenance.

    Bill


  2. “ But one interesting thing in this discussion is mpg vs. safety and law. If you are towing in California, the speed limit is 55. In some states, a vehicle as large as the ones you are discussing should obey the 'truck' speed limit. I know that this discussion is about getting the best fuel mileage, but safety and law should have some place in this discussion.”

    Cookie, perhaps you need to re read my last post and explain to me what I was doing wrong. I was one of the only people following the 55 speed limit and truckers were in the majority in violating the speed limit laws. You can also explain why you think it is safer to be the rolling road block driving 50-55 in a 65 or 75 mph speed zone rather than maintaining the speed and flow of the rest of the traffic.

    "Is it 'safe' to drive your coach at 65 miles per hour, even when the auto traffic is traveling at that speed, in congested city traffic, just to get good mileage? It is unfortunate that manufacturers gear their rigs so that the best mileage is achieved above safe and/or legal speeds."

    I am wondering where you came up with this gem. I can find nowhere in the preceding post where anyone talked about doing this.

    Bill


  3. I have run the 5% before because it was all that was available. was in Missoula Montana a couple of weeks ago and the Flying J had 4 different diesel fuels on the pump. They were pushing the 50-50 blend as that was price on the big sine. They had red dye diesel for off road diesel numbe1 and 2. I ended up paying $4.35 for straight #2 as I didn't want to run the 50-50.

    Has any one run the 50-50 blend?

    Bill


  4. DCotton,

    Welcome to the forum. Diesel fuel will foam much more than gas. You can get foam overflow even on car type pumps. You just have to get use to slowing down the flow or stopping and letting the foam die down then trickle in a little more. I have found some truck pumps that you can't slow down the flow they are 100% or nothing. I also had the experience like Brett pointed out. I had filled up just before parking my coach and later smelled diesel a found it dripping out. I decided to run (exercise) the generator to reduce the level in tank and get some use rather than let it drip on the ground.

    Bill


  5. Bill,

    What I think they are trying to say is if you don't drive it you will still have a fixed cost. Say you only drive 1500 miles a year you still have to change the oil, filters and tiers as they age out. If you drive 15,000 miles you have a lower cost per mile because you have traveled more miles. Yes things do wear out and break you just budget for the un expected. I have found most diesel coaches are extremely robust and have few problems if you do your maintenance as required.

    Did you mean 40,000 in 1 year verses 40,000 in 3 years? All that would cost me is 2 extra oil changes at 15,000 intervals.

    Bill


  6. Well just a little update. I am camped on the banks of the little Bighorn river tonight. My last post was leaving Yosemite. I spent about a month in California where the max speed when towing is 55. I decided to drive at 55 or slower just to see if it made a improvement in mileage. As I have posted before I can't shift into 6th till 65 so I never got out of 5th gear in California. I got around 8.8. I since have driven 101 to Washington then back East to Yellowstone and now at the little Bighorn river tonight. after LEAVING Washington my mileage has gone up to 9.829. I have crossed lots of high passes and have tried to cruse at 65-66. I don't get any benefit from running 55 in 5th gear as my time in California proved.

    Bill


  7. How many coaches have you driven? You might want to drive a couple of other coaches as a comparison. There are rattles and noise in new coaches unless you are careful in how you load pots and pans it he racks in the oven and microwave can make lots of noise. We use rubber shelf mats in-between pans and dishes where we can.

    There are roads in CA that will make any coach rattle try to find a smoother area to test drive.

    Bill


  8. Going back to the OPs question I think Brett has the best answer. I certainly would like to see some oil pressure before firing off an engine that has set for a year. Like I posted earlier I would run a rich mix of biocide and run the generator assuming it is a diesel per the manufacturer's recommended exercise program. Question of filling the oil filter you don't have to worry about contaminates in the new oil if you fill the filter properly the oil will pass through the filter medium just like it came from the pan. I will continue to fill my filter before installing.

    Bill


  9. Ann and Larry, welcome to the forum,

    We stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park last month great park. then was able to move to the Trailer Village in the park. Trailer Village is the only Recreational Vehicle (RV) facility inside of Grand Canyon National Park. Trailer Village offers pull-through paved sites with full hookups for RVs up to 50 feet in length. Trailer Village is conveniently located near the Canyon Village Market Place and Camper Services, and is just a half a mile from the canyon rim.

    The free bus service stops in the park and will allow you to see places that are not accessible by car. Did I mention the FREE shuttle service. Definitely call before driving up with your RV. When there visit the EL TOVAR hotel get something cold to drink and sit out on the porch In a rocker and watch the tourist.

    Bill


  10. ObedB,

    Welcome to the forum. Lots of good info but I can't drive 55. Well I have been doing that while in California just to see and it is the speed limit if towing. I haven't done my mileage yet and I may not do to good. I have been running lots of hills like going up to Yosemite on 120 and another road with lots of hills Ca.154. I normally (where I can) drive 65 at 1600 rpm in 6th. At 55 I am running 1600 in 5th. almost always run cruise and econ mode.

    Bill


  11. "Are you using any of that BioDiesel added fuel? Biodiesel has much less BTU content than regular diesel fuel. When they add biodiesel to fuel to make it "green", it mostly just adds green to their bank account. You will actually burn more fuel per mile, so any "over all" pollution mitigation or "green" aspects are highly questionable."

    I agree but you won't be going very far. I don't think I have found a station that didn't sell Bio of one level or another. I think if you do a little research you find this is a Federal mandate brought to you by your friendly EPA.

    Bill


  12. Welcome to the forum gmarsha2.

    You haven't filled out your location so I have to guess that you are in Canada. If you drive south of the border you might be shocked at how your mileage drops. We had friends who couldn't believe how good mileage they got when traveling in Canada. I hated to tell them the difference between a Imperial gal and a US gal. That 9.5 would be in the range of 7.910

    Bill


  13. 1) I don't know how anyone could think there is going to be a "payback point" when talking RVs. I have proven on paper that for shorter 10-14 day trips it is cheaper to fly rent a car when you get there and stay in a nice hotel. But that is not what I want to do. I have done some mods on my coach because I wanted to do them not because of some mystical "payback".

    2) Bless those who buy new-- without them there wouldn't be the nice coaches out there when I look for a different/ newer coach. When I was at Perry this spring my neighbor bought a new coach. When he drove off the fairgrounds he lost more money than I paid for my coach.

    3) philand, BY the way welcome to the forum. The new electronic controlled diesel engines have few if any problems of yesterdays engines. The newer DEF engines actually seem to get a little more mileage/power than the afterburner engine. I think it is because they don't have to be dialed back as bad for emissions. I have a 2003 5.9 Cummins and have had no problem with low sulfur diesel nor have I heard from a reliable source anyone having a problem.

    Bill


  14. Guy's I need some advice, we are considering our first diesel coach, looking at a new unit with the Cummins ISB, I am scared to death to buy this thing and it spending all it's time behind a tow truck. I am a diesel tech and I work on Ford products.

    I have no experience with the Cummins product, anyone have any advice? We want something that will give us good years of service, since I am still full time employed it won't see more than 6000 miles a year,. When we do go camping we run long distances, reason for the diesel, the v10 we have now struggles and its too small. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks

    First this is not a Ford you don't have to work on them all the time. :D What make and model is it? Second I would by used to save that big depreciation when you drive off the lot.

    Bill


  15. About oil change I own a 2012 Hurricane V-10 Just came back from Florida put 4,550 miles.

    My question: Is it better to go to Castro Edge oil Full Synthetic 5-W 30. Total Engine miles 9,200.

    Love this site very helpful.

    Have coach will travel.

    I would recommend Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W-20. This oil is guaranteed protection for 15,000 miles. You should change your oil according to your owners manual while under warranty.

    Bill


  16. I would recommend looking at a used coach to possibly move up in quality from a entry level for the same price. The big problem with quoting mileage figures is they vary greatly from coach to coach. The more a coach weighs the less mileage you are going to get. I think you can expect a range from 6 to 10 mpg. There are so many variables it is hard to say.

    Bill

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