Roadtrip to Arizona!

[AClayton]

All loaded up and heading to AZ. tomorrow afternoon to deliver my younger brothers rig to him! After about two yrs of rebuilding this entire trailer due to water damage, I am kind of glad to finally get my shop back. I'm hoping to be in Phoenix by Sunday evening!

 

[BIGNASTY]

Last I seen the New's said Midwest was gettin hammered with bad weather BE SAFE!!!

BUT I DONT WATCH THE NEWS EVERYDAY

 

[NIsaacs]

Make sure your AC is working, gonna be in the low 80's Sunday in Phoenix. Dang, 2300 miles by Sunday night is drivin that 'ole Dodge! Drive careful!

Nick

 

[AClayton]

Yeah..... been watching the weather and it looks like I may be ok. I recently replaced my heater core and you reminded me that I hadn't recharged the A/C yet. Yet another pre-trip procedure I have to get done before pulling out this afternoon.

I checked all the tires and inflated them correctly, I am bringing my infrared gun to check them periodically and plan to only run about 65..... maybe 70! I am carrying two spares just in case... . I don't trust 15" trailer tires.

I was hoping to get 12hrs of driving a day... ... maybe that is too far fetched. Not planning on killing myself so I will just have to see how I feel.

 

[NIsaacs]

Should be a fun trip and you have your motel with you Actually 80 is just right for driving with the windows down, but yes, since the A/C runs on defrost it's a good idea to keep them charged, even in the winter.

Nick

 

[CUMMINZ]

Yeah..... been watching the weather and it looks like I may be ok. I recently replaced my heater core and you reminded me that I hadn't recharged the A/C yet. Yet another pre-trip procedure I have to get done before pulling out this afternoon.



I checked all the tires and inflated them correctly, I am bringing my infrared gun:-laf:-laf to check them periodically and plan to only run about 65..... maybe 70! I am carrying two spares just in case... . I don't trust 15" trailer tires.



I was hoping to get 12hrs of driving a day... ... maybe that is too far fetched. Not planning on killing myself so I will just have to see how I feel.

You realize that Nobama rules say no "guns" taken across state lines. :-laf

 

[AClayton]

Just got back home from AZ. Made the trip going west in 3 1/2 days going 65mph. Best tank mileage was 13. 7... ... worst tank was towing over the Smokies of TN. which rendered only 9. 4! No problems with tires on RV and saw no signs of tire heat build-up at all. Arkansas was the worst with the roads..... my truck jolted so badly it bent the frame on the trailer tonque slightly upward. The scenery was second to none though!!

The real surprise was the return trip home. I filled up before I left and made it all the way past Albuquerque,NM one tank of fuel..... averaging 24. 3mpg!!! Never have seen that kind of mileage on my truck before. The mileage gradually returned to my normal avg of 19 or 20 on my remaining fill-ups. Only thing I can think of is that the wind was behind me. Allowed 4 1/2 days to drive home with a stop to Camping World for two of the days to kinda break the trip up. We stopped at Gatlinburg yesterday to break the day in half and had a good time.

Now everything will return to normal tomorrow morning when I have to go to work!!

 

[BIGNASTY]

Glad to see ya made the trip safe, just to start some I TRIED TO BY-PASS THE CUSSING FILTER the great fuel mileage must have been the WEST SIDE FUEL :-laf



WORK IS THE DOWN SIDE AINT IT

 

[NIsaacs]

Arkansas was the worst with the roads..... my truck jolted so badly it bent the frame on the trailer tonque slightly upward.

That was caused by the W/D hitch, your truck don't need one with a trailer that small. Thats good milage overall for winter fuel. I hope Arizona treated you well



Nick

 

[AClayton]

Glad to see ya made the trip safe, just to start some I TRIED TO BY-PASS THE CUSSING FILTER the great fuel mileage must have been the WEST SIDE FUEL :-laf

WORK IS THE DOWN SIDE AINT IT

Thx Big!... ... and yes; I'm having a hard time getting motivated to go back to work.

 

[AClayton]

That was caused by the W/D hitch, your truck don't need one with a trailer that small. Thats good milage overall for winter fuel. I hope Arizona treated you well



Nick

AZ. treated me very well! A little dry down in Pheonix but a 2hr drive further north looked a lot better to me.



Evidently, the Weekend Warrior model that he owns has a weak frame design. I didn't have the bars adjusted tight at all and really only needed the anti-swaybar. That is the worst trailer I have ever towed... . hands down! I towed it from Florida to Md with no WD hitch and learned the hard way to never do that again! Must be the wheel placementI guess... . idk. But hook up the WD bars and stuff?... ... and it tows much better!



After living in MD and/or the east coast for so long, one could get used to the lack of diversity in AZ. Oklahoma and TX shared those qualities also... ... it was a true pleasure to meet people that spoke English that worked behind the counters of fast-food restaurants, truck stops, WalMarts and the like. I can easily see a move out west is in my future!

 

[NIsaacs]

AZ. treated me very well! A little dry down in Pheonix but a 2hr drive further north looked a lot better to me.



I can easily see a move out west is in my future!

Good job! Navajo County, the county I live in is larger than your whole state, population of about 108k:-laf



Nick

 

[Grizzly]

Alan, you came right through Albuquerque and didn't even wave or honk. If I had know you were here I would have treated you to one of my favorite restaurant for a red chile enchilada plate or a big bowl of red or green chile. Chile comes in mild, medium or hot. You would have liked some sopapillas to go with it.

george

 

[AClayton]

Aw man... . I screwed up didn't I?? That would have been great! But I was traveling with my Mother and although I love her to death, she is most certainly a very eccentric woman and probably would have immediately got on your nerves within a few short minutes - lol. We stayed at the Best Western just off 40 on the west side of town.

 

[Grizzly]

Alan, I'm sure I would have gotten along just fine with your mom. She probably wouldn't have liked the hot chile though, even the mild hot.

Next time you come through here let me know.

george

 

[Buffalo]

ACLAYTON,
I moved to Phoenix in Oct. of 1976 & love it out here. I'm originally from Detroit. I miss my friends from the Detroit area but, love living out here. If you get sick of the heat, just head up north or northeast (White Mtns. ) & in an hour or two, you will find beautiful weather & temps, & scenery. I love the mountains that Detroit didn't have. Never get sick of looking at them. Always a pleasure to see. Lots to do out here. On March 23, '13, I have a choice of going to what is advertised as the biggest machine gun/cannon/tank shoot in the country (Big Sandy Shoot) a bit N/W of Phoenix near Wickeup, AZ. At the same time, the Festival of the West (All things western) is going on here in town. Also, that same weekend, there is a rodeo parade in Cave Creek/Carefree, AZ. that is a lot of fun, with a rodeo to follow. That's just a little north of Phoenix. There are plenty of other things to do, also. Big gun show (Crossroads of the West) this weekend here in Phx. More stuff to do than time to do it all.
Camping out here is great. There is a lot of state owned land which is available to us. If you're bored, out here, it's most probably your own fault. All we did in Detroit was go to bars & destroy brain cells. Fortunately, I got out of there with my last 3 cells left!!!

Glad you had a good trip.

Joe F.

 

[AClayton]

Thx Buffalo..... we really did enjoy the visit to Phoenix and the ride to and from the east coast. I was pulling a rather small RV so we came down I-17 from Flagstaff. It is only a 3 hr drive south but the temp literally jumped 20* once we got down to Phoenix! My brother lives in Maricopa and we went on a 4 wheeling daytrip to the mountains... ... just rode the four weelers on the road to get there!! He had them registered to drive on the road! Then we spent an afternoon at some indoor go-cart track called Octane right off I-10.

On the way home we traveled up through 60 east and picked up 77 to Holbrook and that was a very scenic drive. It was kinda funny though, I saw an early 2nd gen 360 gasser pulling a small tt with a 4 wheeler in the bed and he never came out of 2nd gear! He stopped at one of the scenic overlooks to give his gasser some relief and we talked for a bit. He moved to Phoenix from Memphis a few yrs ago because his neighborhood fell victim to the ghetto.

Anyway, I had a great time and look forward to going again..... but I will fly out next time!

Alan

 

[NIsaacs]

On the way home we traveled up through 60 east and picked up 77 to Holbrook and that was a very scenic drive.



Alan

That is a nice drive. How did you like the Salt River Canyon? Anytime you travel east or north out of Phoenix on 60, 260 or I-17, you climb 5 to 6 thousand feet in elevation. Years ago I hauled a lot of wood pellet fuel out of Showlow to the valley areas with my Ford dually at 26 to 30k gcw. With my '01 I try to stay at about 23k. No matter which way you go it is a tough pull, up or down.



Nick