Getting Ready for First Trip - Need Some Hand Holding

[judatt]

Greetings, everyone. We had a big retirement dinner at our board meeting a couple of weeks ago. The board gave me a nice painting of a busy Bangkok street - we lived in Bangkok for 6 years and love the city. Had a luncheon yesterday with all the people here in Richmond I have been responsible for the past 3 decades! Have traveled over the past several months to visit the 4 teams I'm responsible for overseas and said our goodbyes to them. Now just have the official retirement event and reception tomorrow and then on Friday go in and sign some papers and I'm retired - most likely by 10 or so. Our kids and grandkids want to celebrate on Saturday which we will do (I think the plan is Maggiano's) and then we are hitting the road after church on Sunday. Since we are old already we go to early church so hope to be on the road by 10:30.

We have had our coach for a couple of weeks now. Slept in it a few nights and we are really loving it. We have built up our confidence in operating the systems while it is parked in the campground and connected to electric, water and sewer. However, that is all about to change. Not knowing how far we will be able to make it on any given day, we are planning to stop in Walmart parking lots on our way to Brownsville, TX. I have downloaded a really neat app that shows where they are and gives info about parking and whether it is allowed or not and if the lot is level or not and which part of the lot to park in. So, we will not be connected to sewer, water or electric. I think the fresh water and both black and gray water tanks will be fine and sufficient to get us there. What I'm concerned about are the electric systems.

As we are driving it is supposed to be about 50 degrees the first day and then mid 50s to mid 60s the next couple of days and by the time we get to South Texas in the mid 70s. So driving down the road I don't think we'll need to run anything other than what we have available up front. I don't think I have to do anything for the fridge to continue to operate?

Then when we stop for the night we don't plan to put the slides out or really do much of anything. Do I even need to put the levelers down if we aren't going to use the slides? If we decide we need the heat pumps at night (temps down around 50) I will turn on the generator and run the heat pumps. Can we turn the water pump on just when we need it or should we leave it on while we are parked? And if it is on does the generator need to be running?

We are really getting excited about our first trip. We have sold our Enclave and turned over our pickup to our son (my father gave it to me a few years ago so now I'm continuing that tradition - his son is 7 so who knows what may happen when he turns 16 or so ). Our daughter and her family plan to buy our house in the spring and our son and his family are buying our daughters house in June. He doesn't have one to sell so I think we have a good plan on the housing front!

When we come back in late Feb/early Mar to get the rest of our stuff out of our house we plan to buy a car to tow - continue to think about the Honda CRV (pre 2014) but have heard some good things about the Ford Edge. Always open to other suggestions.

Thanks again for the warm reception and great advice you have given us newbies. We hope to return the favor in a decade or two when we have learned everything we need to know about how to operate one of these things! I'll keep you posted and let you know when we get to South Texas!

David and Judy

[wolfe10]

Assume you have an absorption refrigerator-- if so, only time it should be set on anything but automatic is to turn it off when refueling.

If you are dry camping, use your propane heater to keep from having to run the generator to power the heat pump. The propane heater runs on 12 VDC from the house battery bank.

You are correct-- if the lot is reasonably level, no need for jacks if not deploying slides. And, particularly on asphalt pavement, do NOT use the jacks!

BTW, there are some inexpensive alternatives to "Walmart Camping" such as: http://www.passportamerica.com/campgrounds

That would allow you to hook up to potable water and electricity and sewer/dump. Make your first couple of days more enjoyable. And, if you run into questions, much more likely a neighbor can help.

Only other advice is to plan on reasonably short driving days unless bad weather is closing in. You can get a lot of information on temperatures, precipitation, etc here: http://graphical.weather.gov/sectors/midatlantic.php#tabs

That weather site also allows you to "forward" to see weather for the next couple of days.

ENJOY your new life-- sounds like you are adventurous, so suspect you really will embrace it.

[elkhartjim]

This link will give you some information on overnighting in Walmart. Please do not extend your jacks when parking at Walmart.

http://www.walmartatlas.com/rv-parking-at-walmart/

[wildebill308]

David and Judy,

Once again congratulations on surviving to retire. Has it sunk in yet?

What route are you planning on using? There are a lot of good RV parks along the way. I would plan on 250 -300 miles a day. You are retired and you don't have to hurry. 300 doesn't sound like much but will usually work out to a 8+ hour day. When planning I look out 250-300 miles and do a Google search for campgrounds. I may vary this based on what attractions are near by.

Get a membership in Passport America like Brett suggested and down load the app. http://www.passporta...com/campgrounds

I am using CoPiolt to help with navigation. I have found it very reliable and you don't have to use a lot of data as you can download the maps from WiFi

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alk.copilot.namarket.premiumusa&hl=en

Here is a good app for finding camp sites called RVparky

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rvparky.android2&hl=en

Don't forget Gas Buddy to find cheap diesel.

Once you find some place that you might stay you can look hear to see what others have to say.

http://www.rvparkreviews.com/

One good part of this app is you can go to an area and it will show the campgrounds in the area and the reviews of them.

Have fun and keep us informed on how it is going.

Bill

[blakeloke]

Congratulations on retirement! Sounds like you've earned every bit of it and I'm sure you'll enjoy every minute.

We find stopping at Wally World when on the road a lot less settling than finding an inexpensive campground. Although we've never encountered a problem at Wally's place, the traffic and noise is non-stop and some of the folks that shop at 2a are.....maybe a bit different minded than us.

Brett's recommendation of Passport America is a good one. Inexpensive and with full hook-ups!

So, when we do stop at Wally's, we try to find a parking area that has a curb or dirt area that we can parallel park towards. That gives us an option to push out a pair of slides on the "non-parking lot side". We always try to find an excuse to buy something in the store even if it only doggie treats.

In cooler weather running the generator to charge up your batteries after a days travel is a good thing. Remember to keep your fuel tank high enough to ensure you are able to run the genset when you need to. I'm m not sure about your coach but ours needs at least a quarter of a tank to keep the generator running.

Then once you have your batteries charged you should be good to go to run your furnace for the remainder of the evening if it's not too cold. Check to see if your generator has the option to auto-start when the batteries get too low. For example: if your batteries are at 40% charge (you set the %) your generator will start and then your charging system will kick in until batteries are full again. Then the generator will shutdown.

We recently retired and have really enjoyed "just slowing down". Meaning, if we feel like pulling over after just a couple hours of driving.....that's what we do!

Have fun!!

Blake

[wayne77590]

David and Judy, congratulations on retirement. I have never regretted it.

You have already been giving some good advice by previous posters. No question is a dumb question so ask away - I might even have a dumb answer.

If in your travels you come down through the Houston, TX area on your way South, be sure to stop for a day or two and give a holler. We like playing tour guide if we are in town.

[john_harris]

All good info above. Sounds like you already have a pretty good handle on things. On the heating, while driving in cooler weather, we find that the front heat does not do a good job so i run genset and heat pump to keep main cabin comfy. When boondocking overnight at walmart or rest area (where permitted), i only run genset needed for cooking or top off charge but rely on lp furnace with low power draw for heat. on great thing about motorhome travel is you can stop when you feel like it and drive as long as you are comfortable. one more very important thing. ENJOY!!!!!

[wildebill308]

David and Judy,

I got side tracked and didn't address your heating issues. I would just run the furnace and not run the generator so you can run the heat pumps. Put the refrigerator on auto and the furnace on what ever temperature you want. I run the dash heat to keep the windshield dry. You can improve how well it heats by putting it on recirculate.

At night just run your propane furnace.

Bill

[sgureasko]

Everyone has giving you good advice. You should also consider Cracker Barrel restaurants for overnighting.

Most have mentioned Passport America, that is half off pricing for overnighting in certain RV parks. Good company!

[lmsooter]

Congratulations on retirement. I highly recommend it!!!

Regarding your refrigerator, I do not remember if you stated in previous posts if you had a Dometic, Norcold or a residential model. We installed a new Samsung French door model a few months ago. All I do is turn on my inverter when we are going to be traveling and that works out well.

We try to go by a rule of 300 miles or 6 hours in a day. This has not always been possible but is useful in trying to plan stops.

You got great advice from the posters above. Now go out and enjoy your new lifestyle!!!

[judatt]

Greetings, everyone. Thanks for all the good advice. First thing I did based on this string of comments is join Passport America. With that done, we have decided to stop in campgrounds every 300 miles and take most of next week to get to Brownsville - we'll go to the Virginia/Tennessee line Sunday, Birmingham on Monday, Louisiana on Tuesday, Just beyond Houston in Victoria TX on Wednesday an on in to Brownsville on Thursday.

It still hasn't completely sunk in but as Wildebill said I am retired and I don't have to hurry. We will just have to have a change of mindset and this first trip may just get us off to the right start.

Three questions from this string of messages - I assume I put the refrigerator on auto somewhere on the refrigerator? or is it on the panel somewhere? Also, I assume we can run the generator while driving down the highway (genset is the same as generator?) Is the furnace automatically powered by the propane tank or do I have to tell it to use the propane? Still learning the lingo. Thanks again everyone. David

[wolfe10]

David,

ANSWERS IN SOLID LETTER CAPS

I assume I put the refrigerator on auto somewhere on the refrigerator? or is it on the panel somewhere? YOUR ABSORPTION-TYPE (I.E. RV) REFRIGERATOR MUST HAVE 12 VDC TO OPERATE. ON MOST REFRIGERATORS, IF THE LIGHT ON THE UNIT ARE ON, YOU HAVE 12 VDC TO IT. FROM THERE, JUST READ YOUR REFRIGERATOR OWNERS MANUAL FOR SETTINGS, BUT MOST ARE PRETTY INTUITIVE.

Also, I assume we can run the generator while driving down the highway (genset is the same as generator?). YES, GENERATOR= GENSET. AND THEY CAN BE RUN DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. BUT MAKE SURE THERE IS A REASON TO RUN IT. YOUR ENGINE'S ALTERNATOR KEEPS THE BATTERIES (12 VDC) CHARGED. THE PROPANE HEATER JUST NEEDS PROPANE AND 12 VDC.

Is the furnace automatically powered by the propane tank or do I have to tell it to use the propane? IF YOU HAVE A PROPANE FURNACE, ALL YOU NEED IS THE GAS VALVE ON THE PROPANE TANK OPEN. YES SOME ALSO HAVE AN ELECTRIC SOLENOID CONTROLLED BY A PROPANE DETECTOR IN THE COACH-- NO IDEA IF YOUR COACH HAS ONE. OTHER THAN PROPANE SHOULD ONLY NEED TO SET THE THERMOSTAT PROPERLY TO CHOOSE FURNACE AND SET TEMPERATURE. AGAIN, THERE ARE DIFFERENT THERMOSTATS OUT THERE, SO READ HOW YOURS WORKS.

[wildebill308]

After a couple of weeks you are going to smile as this all becomes almost automatic. I do much of this and it becomes so automatic that I had to set and think and visualizes what do I do when setting this or that.

Brett gave you some great answers. I was just working on clearing up a couple of things. Hope this helps.

“Three questions from this string of messages - I assume I put the refrigerator on auto somewhere on the refrigerator? or is it on the panel somewhere?”
Look at the control panel it should show options there I am betting the “Auto” is the default setting. There should be a light showing what the setting is on. If you are plugged in the light should show “electric” simple test when you disconect shore power in about a minuet the light should change to “gas”

“ Also, I assume we can run the generator while driving down the highway (genset is the same as generator?)”
Yes you can but why? You will have all the 12V power you need from the engine and the battery’s. When you stop for breaks and want to use the Microwave or any other 110 appliance then you will need the generator.

“Is the furnace automatically powered by the propane tank or do I have to tell it to use the propane? Still learning the lingo. Thanks again everyone. David”
I think you are doing great with the lingo. Let’s make sure the propane is on. Light the stove, if it lights you are good to go. If the stove doesn’t light find the Propane on /off button mine is by the propane filler valve. Look at your thermostat under “MODE” You were using the heat pumps before if I remember right. You may have to change to “GAS HEAT”. Do this for all “ZONES” Most common displays under “MODE” are AC, Electric heat and GAS HEAT.

One thing not talked about is yes you can run the hot water heater going down the road. Wives find it "NICE" to have warm water after stopping for a restroom break to wash there hands. Yes it uses a little bit of propane but not enough to make a big difference.

Bill

[JYeatts]

Congratulations on your retirement! One of the great things about an FMCA Forum post is the depth of knowledge of the membership. You are certainly in good hands with all of the advice being shared. Please also keep in mind many of FMCA's important member benefits. FMCAssist, the emergency medical and travel assistance program, may assist you if you become ill while on the road. This is covered with your annual dues. The FMCA Roadside Assistance program, an optional roadside assistance program, may help you if you break down while travelling. FMCA Mail Forwarding is also great in order to keep up-to-date with business and bills. And, although you may not need it immediately, the Michelin Advantage program may save you quite a bit of money on your motorhome and passenger vehicle tires.

Best of luck to you with your travels.

[wayne77590]

David,

Regarding propane: If the tank valve is shut off it will take some time for the propane to circulate and pressurize itself in the lines. The refer may not run for a while. When turning the propane valve on do it as slow as a turtle moves with it's head in the shell. (that's slow). This will allow the propane to displace the air in the line and equalize. Best test method is to turn on the gas burner on the stove but don't use the piezoelectric igniter. Instead, carry one of those butane grill liters. Ignite the lighter and hold it near the burner and turn on the burner. You may see nothing for a little bit but eventually a few of the burner holes will ignite, then the burner will ignite. Do this for the other burners and once they all light shut them of and try the electronic light. If all is well the fridge should power up on propane.

Be careful.

[judatt]

After a couple of weeks you are going to smile as this all becomes almost automatic. I do much of this and it becomes so automatic that I had to set and think and visualizes what do I do when setting this or that.

Brett gave you some great answers. I was just working on clearing up a couple of things. Hope this helps.

“Three questions from this string of messages - I assume I put the refrigerator on auto somewhere on the refrigerator? or is it on the panel somewhere?”

Look at the control panel it should show options there I am betting the “Auto” is the default setting. There should be a light showing what the setting is on. If you are plugged in the light should show “electric” simple test when you disconect shore power in about a minuet the light should change to “gas”

“ Also, I assume we can run the generator while driving down the highway (genset is the same as generator?)”

Yes you can but why? You will have all the 12V power you need from the engine and the battery’s. When you stop for breaks and want to use the Microwave or any other 110 appliance then you will need the generator.

“Is the furnace automatically powered by the propane tank or do I have to tell it to use the propane? Still learning the lingo. Thanks again everyone. David”

I think you are doing great with the lingo. Let’s make sure the propane is on. Light the stove, if it lights you are good to go. If the stove doesn’t light find the Propane on /off button mine is by the propane filler valve. Look at your thermostat under “MODE” You were using the heat pumps before if I remember right. You may have to change to “GAS HEAT”. Do this for all “ZONES” Most common displays under “MODE” are AC, Electric heat and GAS HEAT.

One thing not talked about is yes you can run the hot water heater going down the road. Wives find it "NICE" to have warm water after stopping for a restroom break to wash there hands. Yes it uses a little bit of propane but not enough to make a big difference.

Bill

Thanks everyone. Once again great input. The fridge is on auto and it shows elec since we are plugged in. There is a "flame" next to the electric insignia so I assume it will switch over when we disconnect. The stove burners light so we know the gas is on.

We are now living in the motor home since we leave soon so last night I switched from heat pump to furnace to check it out. There are 3 settings for heat pump but only 2 for furnace. It took a minute but started to heat up. I could only find one place toward the front of the coach where I could actually feel the warm air coming out. The other places didn't seem to have much hot air coming out although the coach seemed to stay warm. I may not have left them on long enough for a good test.

Bill, I have found happy wife equals happy life. So, I'll plan to keep the hot water on. We have an Oasis system - there are 2 switches and I have the burner on and the ac heat button on ac1&ac2. So I'd just leave them on as we are traveling down the road?

Thanks again for all the great info. Been retired for almost 24 hours now don't feel any different yet but guess that will come.

David

[wildebill308]

The retirement transition is often hard for some. I have had friends who had a hard time adjusting. The feeling that you should be "doing something" or in the morning that you need to "GO" is hard for some to overcome. After all you just spent the majority of your life in that rut. Going on this trip is a good way to get started with this new life. I am not saying you are going to have a problem but to recognize it for what it is.

"We have an Oasis system - there are 2 switches and I have the burner on and the ac heat button on ac1&ac2. So I'd just leave them on as we are traveling down the road?"

I don't have any experience with that system. I don't know how your thermostat/controls are set up. I think if you are running your Oasis system you will just set the thermostat to what temperature you want and leave the A/C controls off. There may be a thermostat for each zone. You may have to get out the book on this and read it.

Have fun and keep us updated on your trip.

Bill

[obedb]

Before retiring we cat napped in truckstops, rest areas, or any place that looked safe enough for just a few hours sleep. We ran flat out to get west because vacation time was usually short. Since retirement we only stop at RV parks. I try to plan for no more than 300 miles a day. I rarely go over that. Less is better. This coming from a guy that used to log 800 or more miles every 24 hours when involved in frequent "missions impossible" in 18 wheelers. Take your time.

You have received very good advice from all responders. I learned much from the school of hard knocks in 86 when we joined RVing. Al Gore had not yet invented the Internet.

[wayne77590]

David,

You should feel warm air coming out of all the heat registers. The volume may not be the same but there should be some warm air. If not, I would check the ducting to the registers, first at the register and if nothing found out of the ordinary I'd check at the furnace end. if duct has come loose the warm air would just be escaping and not coming out of the register.

Happy trails.

[judatt]

Thanks everyone. I'm laying here in my new bed in my new (to us) motor coach anticipating hitting the road tomorrow after church. I am truly blessed - my wife and children threw a retirement celebration at Maggiano's for me today. Total surprise. 50 of my closest friends and colleagues plus they flew my sister in from Oklahoma. Great book of letters and photos from friends and coworkers around the world.

I feel like I'm off to a good start - got the fresh water tank down to about 3/4 and disconnected the water from the city. Turned on the black water tank cleaner and then drained the black water tank and shut the valve. Opened the gray water valve and drained that tank and shut that valve and disconnected the sewer drain hose and stored it. Tomorrow just have to disconnect electric and cable tv and put the slides in and take the levelers up and make sure the air bags are filled and off we go.

Going about 300 miles tomorrow and have a reservation in a campground I'll keep you posted if I get a chance on how the first day goes. Thanks everyone. David

[judatt]

We are here and settled. Had a great day - not perfect but overall great. The coach drives like a dream. I had not planned to use cruise control but I found the ride was so smooth I ended up going 70 before I realized it. So I put the cruise on 62 and off we went. Going through the mountains near Charlottesville it downshifted to 4 but stayed right on 62. A few other times on 81 it downshifted to 5 but never to 4 again. Be interesting when I check mileage. I drove 365 miles and the diesel register is between 5/8 and 3/4.

When we arrived I turned on all 3 heat pumps, a TV, the oasis hot water and my wife fired up an electric skillet and the breaker blew. Hadn't done that at previous campground where we were for 3 weeks but hadn't fired them all up at once. I switched the heat pumps off and started the furnace - so far no new problems.

One other issue we had was one of the front slides didn't lock this morning. It hadn't locked a couple weeks ago when we went to get diesel and I had a guy fix it. Obviously not! The guy here said I could get it checked when we get to where we are staying.

Thanks everyone. Really good day!

David

[wildebill308]

Well congratulations on your first day.

Glad it went well. When you said a breaker blew was it on the campground pedestal or in the coach?

Bill

[judatt]

Well congratulations on your first day.

Glad it went well. When you said a breaker blew was it on the campground pedestal or in the coach?

Bill

Hi Bill. On the campground pedestal. After we reset everything seemed to be fine.

We have now finished our second day. In a campground south of Birmingham. Had some tight squeezes and staff less than helpful (just the opposite of our experience at the 2 other campgrounds we've used). Another 350 miles down. Less than 1000 to go and plan 3 more days. I can get used to this leave at 8:30 and get there at 3:30.

[wildebill308]

Well unfortunately campgrounds do vary in there level of professionalism all the way from go find a spot and tell us where you parked to the guy who leads you to your spot helps you get parked and wants to help hook up. You can leave a review on them at

http://www.rvparkreviews.com/

Or you can look at places you are thinking of staying.

I don't remember if this was brought up before but I do recommend a Portable Surge Guard. I have one like this.

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/portable-surge-guard-with-lcd-display-50-amp/81278

"I can get used to this leave at 8:30 and get there at 3:30" Yes good to be in set up before happy hour.

Bill

[jleamont]

judatt, do you have a surge protector plugged into the tower or is your coach plugged directly into the tower? Do you have a way to test the campground tower prior to connecting?