DougC

Driving a 2014 Fourwinds 31L. Would like to improve jittery ride... suggestions welcomed. Thanks

2014 Four Winds 31 L house on a 2013 E450 chassis. I did purchase the Banks Stinger package (the Stinger excludes headers), and also purchased the OTTMIND engine calibration module which matches the fuel curve to airflow improvements by the Stinger upgrade. Between the two items I think I got about 70% of the performance benefit of the full PowerPack option. Both were installed by Banks in Azusa, CA. We then took a 600 mile trip using highways and back roads, I did notice improved engine performance on uphill grades, in that there were fewer down shifts (seldom to 2nd gear, most down shifts were 4 to 3) along with staying in the higher gears and maintaining speed for a longer period of time and distance. Substantial gas savings was not noticed.

I have a 2014 Four Winds class C 31 L MH on a Ford 450 chassis. Yesterday I drove (speed usually 50-60 mph)from Las Vegas to San Diego CA on I-15, a windy highway in the open desert.... and felt the wind... I thought there must be some after market product that would help with the rocking of the MH.. my reaction to the wind was to slow down under 50 mph... not sure what else to do. Doug C

Looking for feedback on how well the Banks Engine Performance upgrade has performed? Ford E-450 6.8L Chassis class C MH.

Want to add jacks to a new class C Fours Winds 31L. Any advice on products or pros/cons are welcomed.

Howdy, We are also wanting to RV to Alaska and would prefer sharing the trip with small group. We've looked at professional caravans but prefer something less formal and structured.... I've been RVing since 2003. We are based in Palm Springs, CA. and have a 2014 Four Winds Class C, 31 ft on a 450 Ford Chassis(I've had 3 class A's, a travel trailer), the toad is a 1990 Isuzu Trooper stick with 4 x4. During the past 5 years we've been to Washington DC, Vancouver, and this year spent 3 mos. on the road touring NorCal. Please let me know the status of your planning .... Thanks and Merry Christmas. Doug

We thinking about doing a Alaska Caravan trip during the summer of 2014.... there are a number of websites to look at... anyone had good or bad experiences with caravans?

Thanks for the email. We had the same experience with our dog Dale.... it took a few days at the beginning of the trip for him and us to get his daily routine adjusted... and part of that meant not running out of the RV when the door was opened... the times we did get to a dog run and he could run without a lease he got to the point where he would do his business, sniff around a while and come back to me for his lease... I think the lease provides security to dogs. Doug

Hi Tip70775 To keep it short.... Both of us are in our late 60's, Trudy continues to work part time... and I'm ending a long time career at the end of July. Sometimes I get stressed and anxious about the retirement and so I may get pushy about maintaining schedules and staying productive every minute of every day. I.e., up at 6 am and ready to go do something by 7 am... to keep the mood relaxed and fun during the trip I had to learn to relax, and not over schedule each day.... for example, I knew that every other day was "hair day" for Trudy.... which meant I should not plan any activities (going places) until about 11 am.... and Trudy was flexible... As a workaholic for 50 years... slowing down has been difficult for me.... but there are not many other options.... Trudy and I both plan to continue to work but at something where we can manage our time. In my opinion and after talking with a lot of folks on the road... we have to keep the RV trips fun and stress free... but that does take some work.... otherwise who wants to sit in a RV day and night with a grouch or a stressful atmosphere. Even Dale the dog needs his time outside. I'm not saying we are perfect... however, learning to be more mellow is a good thing. Doug

... and the adventure comes to an end July 5, day 37: A drive day from Las Cruses, N.M., to Tucson, Ariz. Nothing exciting along the way. July 6, day 38: A drive day from Tucson to our home in Cathedral City, Calif., 380 miles on I-10. So ends a great 38-day adventure. We drove 6,822 miles and traveled through 14 states. We had set a trip "on the road" budget of $7,600, or $200 per day, for food, fuel and park fees. However, we actually spent $6,900. The savings was in fuel ... we had budgeted $3800 (6 miles per gallon), but we ran at 8 to 9 miles per gallon; hence the savings. For RV park fees, we had budgeted $1,900 and spent $1,672, and for eating out the budget was $1,900 and we spent $1,959. The trip was a eye-opening experience for us. We did learn that we could live together in a RV for at least 5 weeks and still be talking to each other at the end of the trip. Even Dale the dog is OK, his tail is still wagging The RV itself did not have any major problems. On the last day of the trip the front air-conditioner unit's squirrel cage did lock up, but that is an easy fix. Other than the AC issue, the RV worked as it should. When we first walked back into our home, we had "bigness shock" -- the house is only 1,350 square feet, but compared to the RV, which is about 300 square feet, the house is a mansion Once back, we had the chore of unloading (ugh ) the motorhome, which will continue tomorrow. So long for now. We are deciding where to go next .... Dale, Trudy and Doug

...and the adventure continues, Thursday, July 2, day 34, Thursday is a drive day from San Antonio TX to Fort Stockton TX. We arrived at The Fort Stockton RV Park, in Fort Stockton in the mid-afternoon. It's located right off of I-10. The park met our needs and I need to mention The Roadrunner Café at the RV Park... we thought we were sitting in a house with home cooking! The menu is limited but very good. Everything was homemade, like fried catfish and biscuits and gravy... we had dinner and breakfast, they were some of the best meals we had during our adventure. Friday, July 3, day 35, A driving day from Ft Stockton TX to Las Cruses NM. No excitement... just rolling along at about 60 mph... up the hills and down the hills and the flat lands... just 60 mph... but, we are averaging 9 mpg. When setting up the fuel budget we used 6 mpg for a dollar budget of $3,000 for the trip. At an average of 9 mpg it looks like we'll use about $2,000 in fuel. Saturday, July 4, day 36, Today we used the toad to roam around Las Cruses... a very beautiful area... we drove up into the hills where there were huge housing developments and a lot of empty lots and empty completed homes, a very visual reminder of the housing bust. The views from the residential streets looking into the mountains was spectacular. Tonight we ordered a pizza and watched the fireworks from the RV park. ... not too much excitement these last fews days... we are seeing some amazing countryside as we drive along I-10... West Texas and New Mexico have been great drives. Tomorrow we are heading to Tuscon for the night and then the last leg takes us from Tuscon AZ back to Cathedral City (Palm Springs) CA. ... stayed turned, Dale, Trudy and Doug

... and the adventure contineus... as mentioned before, Sunday June 28 was a driving day from New Orleans to Austin TX. We arrived at the Austin Lone Star Carefree RV Park about 8 pm... we set up the RV and then turned in for the night, Monday, June 29, day 31, We got ready to go into the downtown entertainment area of Austin... however the temperature and humidity were very high... so we knew that walking around outside in the downtown area would be difficult... so we drove around a number of popular tourist areas (Georgetown, Hill Country) and then went back to the RV for a few hours. Later in the day, we did some online searching for places to eat and entertainment... and decided on a place called "County Line BBQ" about 10 miles out of town and located on the edge of a river. The meal was fabulous.... Trudy had Memphis BBQ Pork Ribs and I had Texas style beef ribs... ending with peach cobbler and fresh made ice cream By the way, when we got back to the RV Dale (the pooch) was given a beef rib bone, which he thoroughly enjoyed and gnawed on for several hours Tuesday, June 30, day 32, Today we traveled from Austin TX to San Antonio TX, about 80 miles. We are staying at the Travelers World RV Resort. We get in about noon, set up the RV and then pondered what to do next. We took a trip down to the Riverwalk area and we took one of the boat rides that tours the canals and passes the many stores, hotels, and restaurants that line the canals. After a couple of hours we were melting from the temperature and humidity, so we got back in the car and drove around the Riverwalk area... later in the day we had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant that was very good. Later in the evening we made a trip to the local Super Walmart for a few supplies. Wednesday, July 1, day 33, Planning our day, we made sure we had plenty of water and Gatorade with us. We got down to the Alamo historic area about noon and toured the Alamo. We then wandered into the Riverwalk Mall to cool down... next we ended up at Pat O Brians Restaurant for a cold beer and finger foods. Then to beat the heat for a couple of hours we went to the movies (the opening day of Ice Age), afterwords, we again walked along the Riverwalk area. We wanted seafood for dinner, so we settled on "Landries Restaurant" were we shared stuffed mushrooms with crab meat, and Trudy had oysters on the half shell, we then shared the seafood feast of crab, shrimp, crab cakes, and a stuffed crab, and of course a couple of cold draft beers. Thursday, July 2, day 34, Thursday is a drive day. From San Antonio TX to Fort Stockton TX. ... stay turned as we continue our adventure, Dale, Trudy, and Doug

...You may notice that the adventure has now been extended a few more days... until Saturday July 4... we just couldn't make the desired stops and maintain the schedule... Thursday, June 25, day 27, today is a driving day and we left Defuniak FL and arrived at Ponchartrain RV Park, on the edge of New Orleans. We caught the RV park's 6:45 pm shuttle to the French Quarter and the driver let us off at Pat O'Brien's Restaurant, a popular place for music, food and a large patio with water fountains that change color. We had dinner and went into the dueling piano bar for several hours. Friday, June 26, day 28, Again we took the park's shuttle into the French Quarter and we spent time walking around the French Quarter and took a steam boat ride on the Steamer Natchez, about three hours of fun, food, and seeing the river shoreline in the evening. After the cruise we walked down to the Café Du Monte, famous for coffee latte and beignet (Louisiana donuts) that are fried dough then topped with lots of powder sugar... yummy! I should mention we also went into Harrah's Casino (Trudy worked in the casino business for 32 years, and had worked for Harrahs) and we took a few minutes to throw quarters into the poker video slots at the bar... and we came away with a little more money then we started with... that is a first for us! Saturday, June 27, day 29, We took a Grayline Super City Bus Tour and the driver was a good tour guide... next we walked around the French Quarter, up and down Bourbon Street, stopping at a number of bars to hear the music. The big event for us is that we had dinner at "Court of The Two Sisters" Restaurant. The food was very good, especially the desserts, Trudy had Bananas Foster and I had Cherries Jubilee After dinner we walked around the French Quarter in order to stay awake after the dinner we had. Oh yes, we also searched for fresh pralines and now we have a number of them to munch on during the trip Sunday, June 28, day 30, Today is a driving day. We left New Orleans and headed to Austin TX, about 500 miles, which makes for a looooonnnng driving day. ... stayed tune, Dale, Trudy and Doug

... the adventure continues and we are having a lot of fun On June 22, day 24, we had a large fried lunch before leaving Charleston and drove to Savannah, about 2 hours away. We got in late and after setting up, we crashed for the night... June 23, day 25, we planned to spend a full day in Savannah and did just that. The Savannah Oaks RV Resort, is located about 15 or so miles from downtown Savannah. I've come to love the Garmin we have... I just plug in an address and "Jill" (the Garmin's voice) tells how to get to the location. Editorial comment: Between mobile access to the Internet and Garmin technology, both have changed driving habits for many of us. We got down to the Old Market/Slave Market area and starting walking around (it was very hot and humid)... Georgia Pralines was at the top of Trudy's sweet tooth list... and boy, we found them! We then found the horse and buggy staging area, and we hired a horse and carriage for the two of us... and took the buggy tour through the historic area of Savannah... the tour guide did a good job.... and we had a good time. For lunch, we wanted to do something different or go someplace unique. We walked the Ole Market place for awhile and passed the Wild Wings Restaurant, Mama and Sons (Paula Dean's place)(they were all booked up), and looked at Bubba Gumps. As I usually do, I asked total strangers or shop folks where to eat... and we knew we wanted seafood... ... we got directed to Charlie's Crab Shack on Tybee Island, about a 15 mile drive... it was an interesting drive to and on Tybee Island. We were totally impressed as we drove up on the Crab Shack... it's sitting right on the water, it reminds us of a location in Tahiti, very tropical, with an alligator farm in the front of the restaurant. We sat outside under large trees with misting fans blowing all around us and other diners. There are lots of ferns and bamboo. The tables are wood with a hole cut into the center of the table where there is a trash can under the table, over the table top hole is a wood shelf for the food. With all of that we knew we were in for a good time. ... we ordered a couple of beers and took a few moments to look at the menu... and settled on the Sampler Platter, which consists of six types of seafood, corn, and potatoes, everything is boiled together. We did start with a cup of crab soup. The seafood included shrimp, mussels, crayfish, and three types of crab! Within minutes we had crab and shrimp shells flying into the air and eventually going down the hole in the center of the table. A very enjoyable lunch in an excellent location and atmosphere. We topped off lunch with a piece of key lime pie. We also took some some soup and their BBQ pork with us back to the RV... and nothing was fried! After lunch we were back in the car and enjoying the scenic drive back to the RV park where we settled back into the motor home. June 24, day 26, is a drive day. we are headed to New Orleans, about 650 miles west, to keep the drive manageable we stopped for an overnight stay at Sunset King Lake Resort in Defuniak Springs Fl., about a 400 mile drive. ... stay tuned, Dale, Trudy and Doug

It sure seems like I'm making a lot of blog entries... I found if we wait too long to make an entry, then it takes too long to write the blog. Anyway, moving along to days 23 and 24 of the adventure ... Sunday, June 21, day 23, a driving day from Williamsburg VA to Surf City NC. We mainly drove on US Highway 17 so we through a lot of small towns which we enjoyed seeing. We stayed at the Lanier RV Park in Surf City... a nice area and the park is right next to the water and staff was friendly. After walking to the store for a pizza and salads we then stayed in the RV for the evening... Monday, June 22, day 24, Today was more interesting do to the variety of stuff we did. First, we were up early and on the road by 8ish am.... our goal was to stop in Charleston SC for lunch and to see the Charleston Old Market/Slave Market in the downtown area and then continue to drive on to Savannah GA and stay at the Savannah Oaks RV Resort. The stop in Charleston was interesting... since we didn't know what downtown Charleston was like or were to park the RV with a Toad... we opted to stay at a local RV park close to Charleston, paid the day use fee of $11, and then drove the toad into town... and it all worked! We got downtown about 2 pm, found parking right at the Old Market/Slave Market and started walking around. For lunch we had previously researched Bubba Gumps, Wild Wing Café, and Charleston Crab Shack, all three were within a block of each other. We settled on the Charleston Crab Shack because Trudy wanted a "soft shell crab sandwich" which they had, and I like any fried fish between two pieces of bread. So, for lunch we had Soft Shell Crab Sandwich with coleslaw, I had a Grouper Fried Fish Sandwich with Fries, we also started with two Palmetto Amber beers, and an order of Calamari, and "She Crab" soup. After stuffing ourselves, we waddled out of the restaurant and waddled over to a dessert/coffee/bar place called "Kaminski's". At Kaminski's Trudy had a latte' and I had a black coffee, buuuttt, we shared a piece of "Chocolate-Almond-Oreo Cookie- Raspberry Cake, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate" Yum While trying to stay conscious after eating all of that food, we drove back to the RV, let Dale out for a run, put the car back on the tow dolly, and then headed out to Savannah GA about 6 PM. We arrived at Savannah Oak RV Park about 8:15 pm, found the site and set up for the night... By the way... we skipped a late dinner... after that lunch we may not eat again for several days... but who knows... I hear the Waffle House has a great breakfast!!!! .... the adventure continues.... Dale, Trudy and Doug