Joe Willey
Member
The next series of posts will chronicle the purchase of our travel trailer and our experiences towing it with our ST. I hope it is of help to some of you. Feel free to add your 2 cents worth.
Road Trip!
- Thread starter Joe Willey
- Start date
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Joe Willey
Member
When I bought my 2005 ST I had no expectation to use it tow anything other than a small utility trailer. Several months after buying it, my wife and I kind of adopted our daughter’s puppy Bella (half miniature pincher and half cocker). Our daughter works extended hours and we didn’t want to see the pup spend 10 or more hours a day in a crate.
On Jan 3rd of this year my wife saw and fell in love with an American Cocker Spaniel puppy. Thinking it would be an ideal companion for Bella she bought it. 3 weeks later I returned home from a business trip and realized that I wouldn’t have been able to resist buy Toby either. So after being without pets since Jan 1988 and being empty nesters since the fall of 1997 we are now Mom and Dad to 2 puppies.
What do you ask does this have to do with towing? Well, BD (before dogs) we had planned on taking a 6-week cross-country road trip. Oh, we were going to visit friends and relatives and spend time revisiting sites where we had lived and vacationed. We intended on camping in either Marriotts or Motel-6’s. When not “camping†we intended on staying with friends and relatives.
As we started to plan the trip we started to question what to do with the dogs. Initially taking them with us was not considered an option. What then were our options? Leave them with our daughter and her roommate? Put them in a kennel? Have someone come by the house daily to feed and walk them? We quickly learned home-care for animals is pretty pricey so ruled out that option. We didn’t like the idea of abandoning them in a kennel for 6-weeks. And we soon realized that although we love our daughter very much that at age 26 she is still doesn’t understand that being a pet owner is more than coming home and being showered with pet love. We then considered taking them with us and staying in motels/hotels that allow pets. All of the friends we intend on visiting are pet owners and rolled out the welcome mat for Bella and Toby. However, after learning not every establishment welcomes pets and those that do often charge a hefty surcharge, we were back to leaving them in a kennel or with our daughter.
In mid-Feb every other TV commercial in the Jacksonville, FL area advertised the annual RV show. I started thinking “Wow, maybe the solution is to buy a travel trailer. You know, a rolling dog houseâ€. I spent several days thinking about how to best suggest to my wife that we go to the RV show and see if there was anything the ST could tow. Usually such suggestions go over like a fart in church, so it was important for me to exercise as much finesse as possible. Anyway, one evening over cocktails she asked if I had given any more thought to what we were going to do with the dawgs (That’s Georgian for dogs). During a pregnant pause, I summoned up as much testosterone as I could muster and, in a way that would make Tim Allen proud, I said I thought we should consider going to the RV show. She agreed.
The show opened on a Friday morning and we decided to go that afternoon. We thought there would be fewer people and that would give us more quality time with the sales reps. Knowing our focus was on something a ST could tow facilitated and expedited our search. The first place I headed was to a dealer with pop-ups. The wife looked at a few and nixed them. Next, we found 2 manufactures that seemed to meet our needs, Jayco and Gulf Stream.
We liked the Jayco configuration better than the Gulf Stream, but it was heavier than the Gulf Stream. Plus the factory rep was in corporate finance and didn’t know squat about configuration or towing specifications. He was friendly enough, but just lacked product knowledge. The distributor’s sales rep was hot to move product and tried hard to convince us the weight of the trailer fell within ST towing limits. It did, but it was still a very heavy trailer for the ST.
The Gulf Stream factory rep on the<
On Jan 3rd of this year my wife saw and fell in love with an American Cocker Spaniel puppy. Thinking it would be an ideal companion for Bella she bought it. 3 weeks later I returned home from a business trip and realized that I wouldn’t have been able to resist buy Toby either. So after being without pets since Jan 1988 and being empty nesters since the fall of 1997 we are now Mom and Dad to 2 puppies.
What do you ask does this have to do with towing? Well, BD (before dogs) we had planned on taking a 6-week cross-country road trip. Oh, we were going to visit friends and relatives and spend time revisiting sites where we had lived and vacationed. We intended on camping in either Marriotts or Motel-6’s. When not “camping†we intended on staying with friends and relatives.
As we started to plan the trip we started to question what to do with the dogs. Initially taking them with us was not considered an option. What then were our options? Leave them with our daughter and her roommate? Put them in a kennel? Have someone come by the house daily to feed and walk them? We quickly learned home-care for animals is pretty pricey so ruled out that option. We didn’t like the idea of abandoning them in a kennel for 6-weeks. And we soon realized that although we love our daughter very much that at age 26 she is still doesn’t understand that being a pet owner is more than coming home and being showered with pet love. We then considered taking them with us and staying in motels/hotels that allow pets. All of the friends we intend on visiting are pet owners and rolled out the welcome mat for Bella and Toby. However, after learning not every establishment welcomes pets and those that do often charge a hefty surcharge, we were back to leaving them in a kennel or with our daughter.
In mid-Feb every other TV commercial in the Jacksonville, FL area advertised the annual RV show. I started thinking “Wow, maybe the solution is to buy a travel trailer. You know, a rolling dog houseâ€. I spent several days thinking about how to best suggest to my wife that we go to the RV show and see if there was anything the ST could tow. Usually such suggestions go over like a fart in church, so it was important for me to exercise as much finesse as possible. Anyway, one evening over cocktails she asked if I had given any more thought to what we were going to do with the dawgs (That’s Georgian for dogs). During a pregnant pause, I summoned up as much testosterone as I could muster and, in a way that would make Tim Allen proud, I said I thought we should consider going to the RV show. She agreed.
The show opened on a Friday morning and we decided to go that afternoon. We thought there would be fewer people and that would give us more quality time with the sales reps. Knowing our focus was on something a ST could tow facilitated and expedited our search. The first place I headed was to a dealer with pop-ups. The wife looked at a few and nixed them. Next, we found 2 manufactures that seemed to meet our needs, Jayco and Gulf Stream.
We liked the Jayco configuration better than the Gulf Stream, but it was heavier than the Gulf Stream. Plus the factory rep was in corporate finance and didn’t know squat about configuration or towing specifications. He was friendly enough, but just lacked product knowledge. The distributor’s sales rep was hot to move product and tried hard to convince us the weight of the trailer fell within ST towing limits. It did, but it was still a very heavy trailer for the ST.
The Gulf Stream factory rep on the<
Joe Willey
Member
[Broken External Image]:
Trailer’s Unloaded Curb Weight: 3909 lbs
ST Trailer Weight Limit: 5260 lbs
Length of Trailer: 24’09†(LOA)
Length of Trailer and ST: 42’09â€
Height of Trailer: 9’
Width of Trailer: 7’
Width of ST: 6’09â€
Trailer’s Unloaded Curb Weight: 3909 lbs
ST Trailer Weight Limit: 5260 lbs
Length of Trailer: 24’09†(LOA)
Length of Trailer and ST: 42’09â€
Height of Trailer: 9’
Width of Trailer: 7’
Width of ST: 6’09â€
Gary DiPietroSr
Well-Known Member
Thanks Joe, we considered doing the same. We have land upstate NY and like to go camping. A travel trailer would be fun.
Gary D.
Gary D.
Dale Carlson
Active Member
Great story, Joe. Got a floor plan of the trailer?
Joe Willey
Member
[Broken External Image]:
Here is the floor plan. There were 2 factors that led us to choose the 22’ over the 24’.
1) The 24’ has as an extension that slides out giving us a little more room than the 22’
2) The 24’ has more closed cabinet/storage space than the 22’.
The love seat opens up into a bed. Only one adult can sleep on it and if you are tall it will be uncomfortable to sleep on (unless you curl up when you sleep). The dinette can also be converted into a bed. Like the love seat it isn’t big. Our younger grandchildren can fit the two beds just fine and we didn’t buy expecting to have our grown children to stay in it with us.
Here is the floor plan. There were 2 factors that led us to choose the 22’ over the 24’.
1) The 24’ has as an extension that slides out giving us a little more room than the 22’
2) The 24’ has more closed cabinet/storage space than the 22’.
The love seat opens up into a bed. Only one adult can sleep on it and if you are tall it will be uncomfortable to sleep on (unless you curl up when you sleep). The dinette can also be converted into a bed. Like the love seat it isn’t big. Our younger grandchildren can fit the two beds just fine and we didn’t buy expecting to have our grown children to stay in it with us.
Joe Willey
Member
Well we left the RV show all giddy and pleased about our purchase. Once home I placed a few telephone calls to local storage facilities and found it was going to cost between $50 to $80 a month just to park the Dog House. Ouch! Being a retired U.S. Army Reservist, I found I could store the DH at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base for $30 a month. It takes me a half hour to get there and on the way I can top off for $0.20 less a gallon than in Florida. Saved some money there so to speak.
I spent the weekend surfing the net and researching RV’ing. I had never done that before so it was a real learning experience. I found a lot sites that seem to be a lot like this one, people helping other people. There are sites that review RV Camps, very helpful in trip planning. There is one that lists every MWR site in the U.S. And there are several that address maintenance and the such.
10 days later we took delivery. We spent the afternoon at the dealership. They are real friendly there and spend time with each customer explaining how everything works. They even give you a telephone number that is accessible 6 days a week for questions. I drove the DH home and parked it in the driveway. Took several attempts, parking a trailer was never one of my strengths. Next day we took it over to Kings Bay.
In the days to come I continued my research and bought a few accessories I knew would be needed. Several years ago we bought some folding foam mattress from Costco to use whenever our grandkids visit. I pulled one down from storage and removed the 3rd partition and laid it on the folded down back seat of the ST. Covered it with a blanket and in no time at no extra expense created an area for the hounds.
The next weekend we took it for its first test drive (approximately 600 miles r/t). Had to dig deep to remember everything they told me in respect to hooking it back up to the ST. Got it hooked up and headed back home. At home, I connected the shore power and turned on the refrigerator. It works off propane, battery, or electricity. It didn’t start to cool down until later that night. The next day we loaded it up. Other commitments that day forced a late afternoon departure, but rather than leave early the next day we just want to get underway.
Doris, my wife, started driving. She had driven it before and commented this time on how it seemed as if the front end of the ST was floating and that there was a lot of sway. You could really feel the sway when an 18-wheeler passed. Doris kept the speed between 65 and 70 MPH and had no problem passing slower moving vehicles. We only experienced one passing problem and caused by an aggressive driver in a Nissan Murano who, despite the fact we had out turn signal on, was unwilling to give us the time to move back into the right lane. He attempted to pass us on the right at about the same time we started our lane change. The driver was forced to complete the pass on the shoulder …unbelievable! :angry:
We got about 80 miles down the road and pulled into a rest stop for the night. We had bought a frozen pizza to eat and went to light the oven. Guess what….no matches. Good thing we brought sandwich makings, cuz that’s what we ate. We had a couple of glasses of wine, took the pooches out twice and hit the rack. The pooches were intrigued by all the strange noises and smells. And puppies or no, whenever anyone parked next to us and got out of their vehicles the pooches barked. All in all we got some rest, but in wasn’t very peaceful.
We were up and underway early. Because we had no matches, we had to stop at Mickey D’s for coffee and breakfast. After getting back in the road I called the dealership (aren’t cell phones great?!?) and explained the difficulties Doris had experienced. They recommended taking up one more link in the stabilizer-anti sway bar. We pulled into the next rest stop gave the dogs a walk an
I spent the weekend surfing the net and researching RV’ing. I had never done that before so it was a real learning experience. I found a lot sites that seem to be a lot like this one, people helping other people. There are sites that review RV Camps, very helpful in trip planning. There is one that lists every MWR site in the U.S. And there are several that address maintenance and the such.
10 days later we took delivery. We spent the afternoon at the dealership. They are real friendly there and spend time with each customer explaining how everything works. They even give you a telephone number that is accessible 6 days a week for questions. I drove the DH home and parked it in the driveway. Took several attempts, parking a trailer was never one of my strengths. Next day we took it over to Kings Bay.
In the days to come I continued my research and bought a few accessories I knew would be needed. Several years ago we bought some folding foam mattress from Costco to use whenever our grandkids visit. I pulled one down from storage and removed the 3rd partition and laid it on the folded down back seat of the ST. Covered it with a blanket and in no time at no extra expense created an area for the hounds.
The next weekend we took it for its first test drive (approximately 600 miles r/t). Had to dig deep to remember everything they told me in respect to hooking it back up to the ST. Got it hooked up and headed back home. At home, I connected the shore power and turned on the refrigerator. It works off propane, battery, or electricity. It didn’t start to cool down until later that night. The next day we loaded it up. Other commitments that day forced a late afternoon departure, but rather than leave early the next day we just want to get underway.
Doris, my wife, started driving. She had driven it before and commented this time on how it seemed as if the front end of the ST was floating and that there was a lot of sway. You could really feel the sway when an 18-wheeler passed. Doris kept the speed between 65 and 70 MPH and had no problem passing slower moving vehicles. We only experienced one passing problem and caused by an aggressive driver in a Nissan Murano who, despite the fact we had out turn signal on, was unwilling to give us the time to move back into the right lane. He attempted to pass us on the right at about the same time we started our lane change. The driver was forced to complete the pass on the shoulder …unbelievable! :angry:
We got about 80 miles down the road and pulled into a rest stop for the night. We had bought a frozen pizza to eat and went to light the oven. Guess what….no matches. Good thing we brought sandwich makings, cuz that’s what we ate. We had a couple of glasses of wine, took the pooches out twice and hit the rack. The pooches were intrigued by all the strange noises and smells. And puppies or no, whenever anyone parked next to us and got out of their vehicles the pooches barked. All in all we got some rest, but in wasn’t very peaceful.
We were up and underway early. Because we had no matches, we had to stop at Mickey D’s for coffee and breakfast. After getting back in the road I called the dealership (aren’t cell phones great?!?) and explained the difficulties Doris had experienced. They recommended taking up one more link in the stabilizer-anti sway bar. We pulled into the next rest stop gave the dogs a walk an
Joe,
I rhighly recomend taking your trailer out to an empty parking lot and practice backing it up. When I got my trailer, not a TT but a flat bed, I spent a few hours driving it backwards in an empty parking lot. Boy am I glad I did.
Tom
I rhighly recomend taking your trailer out to an empty parking lot and practice backing it up. When I got my trailer, not a TT but a flat bed, I spent a few hours driving it backwards in an empty parking lot. Boy am I glad I did.
Tom
Joe Willey
Member
Hi Tom,
Great idea, we were going to do just that, but don't you know the wife has a pretty good knack at backing it. In fact she does better backing it than selecting a pull thru space at the storage lot.:huh:
Great idea, we were going to do just that, but don't you know the wife has a pretty good knack at backing it. In fact she does better backing it than selecting a pull thru space at the storage lot.:huh:
Gary DiPietroSr
Well-Known Member
Thanks again Joe, very good info.
Gary D.
Gary D.
Joe Willey
Member
The first thing I did in my quest for greater performance was surf the net. It never ceases to amaze me about the abundance of information that is literally at your fingertips. Anyway, I came across a thread on another site that offered readers two quick remedies, 1) change the exhaust and 2) change the air intake. Not being a mechanic, I probably wouldn’t have thought that on my own, but it did make a lot of sense.
Next, I asked my neighbors 22 year old grandson for advise. He and his friends are always tweaking up their S-10s and I figured he could steer me in the right direction. He suggested swapping out the stock exhaust system, changing the air intake, and installing a Jet Chip. He told me it was easy enough to do myself. Yeah right, I have trouble assembling stuff that supposedly any child of 12 can do. When I asked about the Jet Chips he started discussing fuel and air mixtures and I had flashbacks of the F’s I got in high school chemistry and physics.
With my eyes doing flip flops I walked back into the house and the computer. My search on jet chip and Sports Trac lead me to this site. After lurking around the site for an hour or so, I registered and posted my situation and questions. I got a real warm welcome to the site and helpful friendly answers to my questions. What I really liked was how no one told me I have should have searched the site before asking my questions and how I wasn’t made to feel like an inept bozo. Thank-you to all you pros out there and for the gracious manner in which you greet and treat new members.
Anyway, here are the recommendations that were made:
1. Get an Excalibrator II
2. Call Wayne Foy and ask for guidance
3. Replace the stock exhaust system with a Gibson or similar quality exhaust.
4. Install a y pipe.
5. Replace stock shocks with Monroe Reflex or similar quality shock.
6. Install an Explorers Express rear sway bar.
7. Install a Roadmaster Active Suspension Kit.
8. Replace stock brakes with ceramic brakes.
9. Install a cold air intake.
10. Switch to a 100% synthetic motor oil.
11. Flush the tranny and replace fluid with Mercon-5 compatible FULL synthetic ATF.
One member recommended against installing a throttle body space.
I gave Wayne a call and told him what I was attempting to do. We spent at least 45 minutes discussing all the recommendations and options. I was truly impressed with how helpful and giving of his time Wayne was. I called him again later that day with information he needed to calibrate the XCAL-II and spent another 20 or 30 minutes talking with him. You know for a guy like me who can be overwhelmed by all this stuff, it is very reassuring when guys like Wayne and the rest of you are helpful and use terms that even I can understand. Anyway, Wayne concurred with all the recommendations, but one. Whereas my ST has less than 11,000 miles on it he did not see the need at this point to change the brakes.
Knowing Doris would probably go spastic and dump all over me if I told her I thought we should buy all this stuff. I sucked it up and once again summoned all the testosterone I could and after becoming once again a manly man I just did it. I rationalized this is a situation where asking for forgiveness was better than asking for permission. Know what I mean Vern?!?
Tomorrow, March 24th, I expect delivery of the remaining equipment I have ordered. It should all be installed by Tuesday evening. Saturday, April 1st is the day we begin our trip. Don’t ya just love it when a plan comes together!
Next, I asked my neighbors 22 year old grandson for advise. He and his friends are always tweaking up their S-10s and I figured he could steer me in the right direction. He suggested swapping out the stock exhaust system, changing the air intake, and installing a Jet Chip. He told me it was easy enough to do myself. Yeah right, I have trouble assembling stuff that supposedly any child of 12 can do. When I asked about the Jet Chips he started discussing fuel and air mixtures and I had flashbacks of the F’s I got in high school chemistry and physics.
With my eyes doing flip flops I walked back into the house and the computer. My search on jet chip and Sports Trac lead me to this site. After lurking around the site for an hour or so, I registered and posted my situation and questions. I got a real warm welcome to the site and helpful friendly answers to my questions. What I really liked was how no one told me I have should have searched the site before asking my questions and how I wasn’t made to feel like an inept bozo. Thank-you to all you pros out there and for the gracious manner in which you greet and treat new members.
Anyway, here are the recommendations that were made:
1. Get an Excalibrator II
2. Call Wayne Foy and ask for guidance
3. Replace the stock exhaust system with a Gibson or similar quality exhaust.
4. Install a y pipe.
5. Replace stock shocks with Monroe Reflex or similar quality shock.
6. Install an Explorers Express rear sway bar.
7. Install a Roadmaster Active Suspension Kit.
8. Replace stock brakes with ceramic brakes.
9. Install a cold air intake.
10. Switch to a 100% synthetic motor oil.
11. Flush the tranny and replace fluid with Mercon-5 compatible FULL synthetic ATF.
One member recommended against installing a throttle body space.
I gave Wayne a call and told him what I was attempting to do. We spent at least 45 minutes discussing all the recommendations and options. I was truly impressed with how helpful and giving of his time Wayne was. I called him again later that day with information he needed to calibrate the XCAL-II and spent another 20 or 30 minutes talking with him. You know for a guy like me who can be overwhelmed by all this stuff, it is very reassuring when guys like Wayne and the rest of you are helpful and use terms that even I can understand. Anyway, Wayne concurred with all the recommendations, but one. Whereas my ST has less than 11,000 miles on it he did not see the need at this point to change the brakes.
Knowing Doris would probably go spastic and dump all over me if I told her I thought we should buy all this stuff. I sucked it up and once again summoned all the testosterone I could and after becoming once again a manly man I just did it. I rationalized this is a situation where asking for forgiveness was better than asking for permission. Know what I mean Vern?!?
Tomorrow, March 24th, I expect delivery of the remaining equipment I have ordered. It should all be installed by Tuesday evening. Saturday, April 1st is the day we begin our trip. Don’t ya just love it when a plan comes together!
Gerald Pierce
Well-Known Member
Nice Camper. Looking at your list of mods that are proposed, all look good to me but I question the Roadmaster Active Suspension. I have never used one, so I cant say for sure, but you have a WD hitch, so you may not need it... I am sure others will chime in.
Most of the other mods should be done by all ST owners, especially 3,5,6,8, and 11.
Install a tranny temp guage. keep the tranny cool, and change the fluid often.
Happy trails. Try camping at Hanna park in Jax, right outside of Mayport NS, and the Mayport Base has a nice RV park right on the ST Johns -- just no shade so it gets hot in the summer.
Most of the other mods should be done by all ST owners, especially 3,5,6,8, and 11.
Install a tranny temp guage. keep the tranny cool, and change the fluid often.
Happy trails. Try camping at Hanna park in Jax, right outside of Mayport NS, and the Mayport Base has a nice RV park right on the ST Johns -- just no shade so it gets hot in the summer.
Joe Willey
Member
We head West tomorrow morning April 1st. Still haven’t finished packing the trailer. Doris and I were interrupted throughout the day with business…unbelievable don’t those people know we have more important things to do. Some of our friends had a quiet little dinner for us and very understanding when we told them we need to head home early.
Phase 1 of the trip will take us from Jacksonville, Fl to Nogales, AZ. That’s where we met and married. I-10 isn’t new to us, so we are basically dead-heading there with over night stops in the vicinity of Mobil, Houston, Ft. Stockton, El Paso-Deming or Lordsburg, and then Nogales via Douglas and Tombstone.
Phase 2 is from Nogales to San Carlos, MX and return.
Phase 3 is to the Sedona, AZ area
Phase 4 is from Sedona to the San Diego area to visit oldest daughter, grand children and friends.
Phase 5 is to the LA/Ventura County areas to visit our old stomping grounds and friends.
Phase 6 is to Monterey, Chico and Marysville to visit old friends and Army buddies.
Phase 7 is to Lake Tahoe for a convention---the reason behind this whole trip
Phase 8 is to Salt Lake City to visit family and help get the parents into an assisted living facility, etc.
Phase 9 is to Yellow Stone…never been there and getting there a week before fishing season opens so the crowds should be manageable.
Phase 10 is to the Little Big Horn.
Phase 11 is to Dead Wood and Mt. Rushmore.
Phase 12 deadheading home with overnight stops along the way.
I don’t know how often I will have access to the internet, but I will keep you posted when possible and let you know how the mods performed.
Phase 1 of the trip will take us from Jacksonville, Fl to Nogales, AZ. That’s where we met and married. I-10 isn’t new to us, so we are basically dead-heading there with over night stops in the vicinity of Mobil, Houston, Ft. Stockton, El Paso-Deming or Lordsburg, and then Nogales via Douglas and Tombstone.
Phase 2 is from Nogales to San Carlos, MX and return.
Phase 3 is to the Sedona, AZ area
Phase 4 is from Sedona to the San Diego area to visit oldest daughter, grand children and friends.
Phase 5 is to the LA/Ventura County areas to visit our old stomping grounds and friends.
Phase 6 is to Monterey, Chico and Marysville to visit old friends and Army buddies.
Phase 7 is to Lake Tahoe for a convention---the reason behind this whole trip
Phase 8 is to Salt Lake City to visit family and help get the parents into an assisted living facility, etc.
Phase 9 is to Yellow Stone…never been there and getting there a week before fishing season opens so the crowds should be manageable.
Phase 10 is to the Little Big Horn.
Phase 11 is to Dead Wood and Mt. Rushmore.
Phase 12 deadheading home with overnight stops along the way.
I don’t know how often I will have access to the internet, but I will keep you posted when possible and let you know how the mods performed.
Joe Willey
Member
Just a quick update.
We left Florida on April 1st, initially was only getting about 175 miles to the tank. Once the X-Cal II towing tune kicked in we started getting at least 200 miles to the tank. The stablizing mods have made a world of difference. Even my wife has commented on how much better the ST handles when towing. With the exception of when we have had encountered heavy winds (twice now--35-50 mph gusts in Texas, New Mexico and Arizonia on 2 different days) you can't tell there we are towing a trailer. Very easy to handle with no sway what so ever.
The performance mods have given us more power. We keep her moving at between 70 and 75 mph with absolutly no problems. Had a problem with one grade outside of Big Bend National Park. Lower speed limits prevented getting a running start. However, the only thing that slowed us down going up the looooong 6% plus grade on I-8 east of San Diego were slower moving vehicles in front of us. Even passed a couple of them. They were all much bigger pick-ups towing 25-30 foot trailers and one semi.
Until we gassed in El Centro, CA the most we had paid for fuel was $2.95 and that was at Big Bend. You are 100 miles from the nearest gas station and don't have any option, but to pay. The same thing in El Centro where we paid $3.49. So far the average has been $2.60.
More later.
We left Florida on April 1st, initially was only getting about 175 miles to the tank. Once the X-Cal II towing tune kicked in we started getting at least 200 miles to the tank. The stablizing mods have made a world of difference. Even my wife has commented on how much better the ST handles when towing. With the exception of when we have had encountered heavy winds (twice now--35-50 mph gusts in Texas, New Mexico and Arizonia on 2 different days) you can't tell there we are towing a trailer. Very easy to handle with no sway what so ever.
The performance mods have given us more power. We keep her moving at between 70 and 75 mph with absolutly no problems. Had a problem with one grade outside of Big Bend National Park. Lower speed limits prevented getting a running start. However, the only thing that slowed us down going up the looooong 6% plus grade on I-8 east of San Diego were slower moving vehicles in front of us. Even passed a couple of them. They were all much bigger pick-ups towing 25-30 foot trailers and one semi.
Until we gassed in El Centro, CA the most we had paid for fuel was $2.95 and that was at Big Bend. You are 100 miles from the nearest gas station and don't have any option, but to pay. The same thing in El Centro where we paid $3.49. So far the average has been $2.60.
More later.
Deleted deleted
Well-Known Member
Thanks for these trip reports! Glad to hear your Trac is handling such a trailer so well. I'm not so sure how well it will do if you attempt any 10,000ft + mountain passes. Those will bring practically any tow rig to its knees.
Joe Willey
Member
Darin: We hit the big mountains May 2nd--Donner's Pass. It will be interesting, but all you can do is plug along.
Q: I don't know what your experience with the suspension mods have been, but my wife and I both are in agreement that they have made a big difference in the way our rig handles. Much less sway and one less chain link to level the trailer for towing profile. Regarding an upgrade, if we don't kill one another and find we like RVing an upgrade is a real possiblity. So far, we are really enjoying the trip and are having lots of fun. The dawgs have been great travelers. We have made a couple of spontaneous changes to the itinerary--Big Bend instead of Sedona and 2 extra days in Mexico (3 at Bahia Kino) and have had a blast. More kitchen space, a little larger bathroom/shower, integrated generator, and larger holding tanks would be real nice. A diesel puller would also be nice.
Q: I don't know what your experience with the suspension mods have been, but my wife and I both are in agreement that they have made a big difference in the way our rig handles. Much less sway and one less chain link to level the trailer for towing profile. Regarding an upgrade, if we don't kill one another and find we like RVing an upgrade is a real possiblity. So far, we are really enjoying the trip and are having lots of fun. The dawgs have been great travelers. We have made a couple of spontaneous changes to the itinerary--Big Bend instead of Sedona and 2 extra days in Mexico (3 at Bahia Kino) and have had a blast. More kitchen space, a little larger bathroom/shower, integrated generator, and larger holding tanks would be real nice. A diesel puller would also be nice.
TrainTrac
Well-Known Member
Q:
Have you tried towing your rig both before and after the suspension mods? If not, then on what basis can you make the statement that they're a waste?:huh:
I have towed my rig both before and after upgrading the shocks, and adding an EE sway bar, and Roadmaster Active Suspension kit, and I can tell you that thereias a tremendous improvment in the way my ST handles when towing.
Have you tried towing your rig both before and after the suspension mods? If not, then on what basis can you make the statement that they're a waste?:huh:
I have towed my rig both before and after upgrading the shocks, and adding an EE sway bar, and Roadmaster Active Suspension kit, and I can tell you that thereias a tremendous improvment in the way my ST handles when towing.
Joe Willey
Member
Just a quick note on use of overdrive and cruise control while towing.
Be sure to turn your overdrive off when towing. It will minimize the shifting and high RPMs. With OD off and doing 70-75 MPH the RPMs remained pretty steady at about 3000 and now then dropped to 2500.
We have not had any problems using cruise control while towing. On gradual and easy grades RPMs slowing and gradually increased at times to 4000. Sometimes there has been no increase...almost as if the engine has learned to adjust. On longer and/or steeper grades the cruise control tends to disengage itself somewhere from mid grade to almost the apex. If you anticipate this you can pick up the pace without any noticable loss of momentum. If you don't catch it in time, you will lose momentum pretty rapidly.....something you want to avoid going up a steep hill.
To put this all into perspective, those of you have driven I-10 through Texas know that driving West from the LA/TX state line and when approaching San Antonio you begin to encounter a series of rolling hills. Cruise control held-up on all those hills and RPMs remained a steady 3000. West of San Antonio the hill get steeper. On those hills cruise control begins to disengage mid-way to the apex. RPMs would generally remain at 3000 until the CC disengaged. Sometimes the RPMs would jump to 4000.
In respect to road conditions on I-10, from Jacksonville to Baton Rouge they are good. From Baton Rouge to Lake Charles they are OK. From Lake Charles to the Texas state line they really, really suck!!! The poor manner in which that stretch of road has been so poorly maintained is criminal. From the Texas state line to Junction and environs very good. The road South from I-10 to Del Rio is good and traffic free. State Highway 90 from Del Rio to Alpine very good and almost free of any traffic. The 90 mile road from Alpine to Big Bend is good, but hilly and with several steep grades. It can be conjested with cars and RVs going making the trip to the Park. State Highway 90 from Alpine to I-10 at Van Horn, TX is very good with minimal traffic. I-10 from Van Horn, TX through New Mexico very good. Highway 80 from Road Forks, NM to Arizonia border cities very good. I-19 from Nogales, AZ to the greater Phoenix area very good. I-10 from Phoenix to the Buckey I-8 short cut very good. I-8 into the greater San Diego area good. The grooved cement sections are well maintained, but are not smooth riding. When you are towing this becomes very noticable and bouncy.
Be sure to turn your overdrive off when towing. It will minimize the shifting and high RPMs. With OD off and doing 70-75 MPH the RPMs remained pretty steady at about 3000 and now then dropped to 2500.
We have not had any problems using cruise control while towing. On gradual and easy grades RPMs slowing and gradually increased at times to 4000. Sometimes there has been no increase...almost as if the engine has learned to adjust. On longer and/or steeper grades the cruise control tends to disengage itself somewhere from mid grade to almost the apex. If you anticipate this you can pick up the pace without any noticable loss of momentum. If you don't catch it in time, you will lose momentum pretty rapidly.....something you want to avoid going up a steep hill.
To put this all into perspective, those of you have driven I-10 through Texas know that driving West from the LA/TX state line and when approaching San Antonio you begin to encounter a series of rolling hills. Cruise control held-up on all those hills and RPMs remained a steady 3000. West of San Antonio the hill get steeper. On those hills cruise control begins to disengage mid-way to the apex. RPMs would generally remain at 3000 until the CC disengaged. Sometimes the RPMs would jump to 4000.
In respect to road conditions on I-10, from Jacksonville to Baton Rouge they are good. From Baton Rouge to Lake Charles they are OK. From Lake Charles to the Texas state line they really, really suck!!! The poor manner in which that stretch of road has been so poorly maintained is criminal. From the Texas state line to Junction and environs very good. The road South from I-10 to Del Rio is good and traffic free. State Highway 90 from Del Rio to Alpine very good and almost free of any traffic. The 90 mile road from Alpine to Big Bend is good, but hilly and with several steep grades. It can be conjested with cars and RVs going making the trip to the Park. State Highway 90 from Alpine to I-10 at Van Horn, TX is very good with minimal traffic. I-10 from Van Horn, TX through New Mexico very good. Highway 80 from Road Forks, NM to Arizonia border cities very good. I-19 from Nogales, AZ to the greater Phoenix area very good. I-10 from Phoenix to the Buckey I-8 short cut very good. I-8 into the greater San Diego area good. The grooved cement sections are well maintained, but are not smooth riding. When you are towing this becomes very noticable and bouncy.
Ryan Grant
Member
I absolutely love this thread. Wife and I have been contemplating the purchase of a travel trailer, but I haven't been that confident in the ST for towing. My wife is from WA state and we go there every summer travelling from Oklahoma. I have been nervous about mountain passes in montana, oregon and washington. I do believe you are making me a believer Joe. How has your gas mileage been overall??? One question I have to ask is " Have you weighed the trailer fully loaded yet? " I would really like to know how much you are really towing. I think I'll start to look into this option more seriously. Joe, please do keep updating this thread about your adventures.
Deleted deleted
Well-Known Member
I agree Ryan - Joe has done an excellent job documenting his trip and what he did to prepare his ST for it.
These are the kind of threads that make this site useful.
These are the kind of threads that make this site useful.
