Very general questions re CG/RVpark living

[JudyJB]

One last thing: I occasionally do stay in places without cell phone service. Next month I will be in a lovely place in the Everglades called Midway. Since I need to check emails and do uploading and downloading each day, I have to drive out a few miles each day. But considering that I have a motorhome, I just unhook electric, put my slides in, and pull out. I have found a visitor center and roadside parking area near a nature boardwalk where I will park. I turn on my generator and then my AC, so I am comfortable, and sit for a couple of hours in my recliner doing all my electronic stuff. I am cool, comfortable, and enjoy my refrigerator full of cold drinks and snacks. THAT is one benefit of a motorhome!

[OTW]

Judy, thanks so much - you packed a ton of info into that post! All stuff I need to know, too. So for uploading every 2 months I'm wondering if a library would have that kind of speed and if I could do it at a library. For general use, your system sounds great (bear in mind I haven't even checked out what Mifi is yet) but I spend a LOT of time online, researching stuff, emailing, and updating my business website. So with your Jetpack, say if you're on a forum or on Amazon or researching a new kind of awning or whatever... checking weather... or in my case, updating a website with calendar events or writing new articles... that kind of thing costs extra?? But you can do it from most anywhere?
Carol

[OTW]

One last thing: I occasionally do stay in places without cell phone service. Next month I will be in a lovely place in the Everglades called Midway. Since I need to check emails and do uploading and downloading each day, I have to drive out a few miles each day. But considering that I have a motorhome, I just unhook electric, put my slides in, and pull out. I have found a visitor center and roadside parking area near a nature boardwalk where I will park. I turn on my generator and then my AC, so I am comfortable, and sit for a couple of hours in my recliner doing all my electronic stuff. I am cool, comfortable, and enjoy my refrigerator full of cold drinks and snacks. THAT is one benefit of a motorhome!

It sure would be! If I planned to be on the go as you are, I wouldn't be considering a TT. Just out of curiosity though, what's your gas mileage on a 32-ft. Class C? And when you do stay at the occasional place that doesn't have cell phone service, that means you don't have internet connection either, right? (If I'm understanding right, both your cell and internet are through that one JetPack whether a CG has wifi or not, yes?)

[Colliemom]

As to leaving stuff out in the campgrounds, our state parks here look like a shopping mall when everybody's set up. Chairs, BBQ grills, ice chests, clotheslines, name signs, table clothes, you name it. Nobody bothers anything. Not to say thefts don't happen, but a lot times they are by outside people who are driving through during the night and sometimes 4 legged visitors. When I am traveling on the road, I don't take much of that kind of stuff, not planning to be in a particular spot long enough to bother with it and some private campgrounds won't allow things to be left out. It's why I like State Parks, they are more laid back and more like home.

[OTW]

As to leaving stuff out in the campgrounds, our state parks here look like a shopping mall when everybody's set up. Chairs, BBQ grills, ice chests, clotheslines, name signs, table clothes, you name it. Nobody bothers anything. Not to say thefts don't happen, but a lot times they are by outside people who are driving through during the night and sometimes 4 legged visitors. When I am traveling on the road, I don't take much of that kind of stuff, not planning to be in a particular spot long enough to bother with it and some private campgrounds won't allow things to be left out. It's why I like State Parks, they are more laid back and more like home.

That sounds very liveable!

[Redetotry]

I just Googled 'how many miles per gallon does a 32' RV get and found this link with that answer and the answers to a lot of questions that seemed helpful. The answer is 'not much' No really it does give a lot of answers check the comments.

http://www.everything-about-rving.com/h ... e-get.html

[JudyJB]

Agree that mileage is "not much." Mostly I get from 8-10 MPG with my motorhome. That is almost exactly what my son gets with his F150 pulling his 28' trailer. And Sue is right about the "shopping mall" look of state parks, especially on weekends. You would NOT believe what people consider to be essential to camping for a weekend. I once saw two guys unloading a 9 cubic foot chest freezer from their pickup truck. They said they got it cheap from a garage sale and it was "handy" for camping!!!

And yes, all my internet access is through cell service via my Jetpack, which is also called a mobile hotspot. It is a tiny thing about .5 inches thick and 3.5 x 3.5 square. You turn it on, and it finds a cell signal, and then sends an internet signal to your laptop. It works on a battery so it does not have to be plugged in all the time, but it needs to be plugged in to charge occasionally. I can use it whether I am hooked up to power or not because I can also plug it into a 12 v connection.

A 12 volt connection is what your cigarette lighter is in your car or truck. Except if you use it to charge electronics while parked, you will run your vehicle battery down and not be able to start it. I know this from personal experience! Now, another advantage of a motorhome with a built-in generator is that I have an emergency start. My generator will recharge my vehicle battery. If I don't want to wait for that, I can push a button from the driver's seat to start the generator, and then push another button on the emergency start, while turning the key, which starts the vehicle even with a dead battery. I know THIS from experience also when the battery became dead from trying to charge my laptop that way! I don't want to push motorhomes, but another thing you do need to know is that a motorhome generator will run the AC, while most generators bought for trailers will not.

Also, whatever you buy, you need to make sure you have at least one, and preferably two, 12 volt plugs that will run off your house batteries because you will need them to charge your laptop and cell phones and such. I have two--one in the bedroom closet where my bedroom TV is stored and one in the hallway near the hallway TV. (Yes, I have too many TVs.) You can buy a laptop charger that will work off of 12 volts from Amazon. Here is what the one for my new laptop looks like: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004V ... UTF8&psc=1 It enables me to use my laptop at rest areas and in campgrounds with no electric hookup.

Some libraries will allow you to upload and download, but some will not. Also, as a non-resident, sometimes they limit your usage. Places like McDonalds are actually better. And you can get a booster antenna like this one to use when campground Wifi is weak: http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/it ... na-3/76530

[Bethers]

I had a hot spot, similar to what Judy has for a long time. Now I just add data to my smart phone and can use it to do the same things.

[OTW]

I just Googled 'how many miles per gallon does a 32' RV get and found this link with that answer and the answers to a lot of questions that seemed helpful. The answer is 'not much' No really it does give a lot of answers check the comments. http://www.everything-about-rving.com/h ... e-get.html

Thank you - I read a bunch of the comments reports and sheesh! "Not much" sounds right. What surprised me was that diesel people didn't seem to get the mileage I expected.

One person wrote this which might be of interest... (the "all caps" are his)...

OK, I HAD MY 454 GEORGIE BOY, 1976 BACK IN THE 80'S AND REMOVED THE #78 CARB JETS IN THE ROCHESTER CARB to 72's, CHANGED THE FLOAT FROM A STYROFOAM TO A BRASS FLOAT AND RECALIBRATED THE FLOAT. THIS CHANGED THE 7 TO 8 MPG IN THE CITY TO ABOUT 10 AND ON THE HIGHWAY TO ABOUT 12. I JUST PURCHASED AN 88 ITASCA SUNCRUISE AND THE FIRST THING I AM DOING IS THE SAME I DID ON THE 76 GEORGIE BOY,. IN ORDER NOT TO WASTE GAS ON A 454 OR "ANY" OTHER ENGINE, IF IT IS PUMPED BY A MECHANICAL PUMP, INSTALL A FUEL PRESSURE REDUCER/RESTRICTOR AND PUT THE DIAL TO ABOUT 5 POUNDS, INCREASE AS THE ENGINE NEEDS IT. THE FACTORY PRESSURE IS BETWEEN 10 TO 11 BUT OUT OF THOSE POUNDS OF PRESSURE, YOU WASTE AT LEAST 3 POUNDS EQUALLING IN FUEL AS UNBURNED FUEL, STRAIGHT OUT OF THE PIPES. TRY IT Y'ALL LIKE IT.

[OTW]

I had a hot spot, similar to what Judy has for a long time. Now I just add data to my smart phone and can use it to do the same things.

I don't have a smart phone (would have to get one) but I sure don't like web surfing, shopping, etc. on my Fire tablet. Slow and annoying. I think a smart phone probably does a better job. As for work related stuff, however, I'd definitely need the laptop so maybe a combination of those two would be ideal. Thanks for adding that, sounds very reasonable.

[OTW]

Judy--

Thanks for the device/laptop charging links, those would be very helpful to have for sure. So your laptop connecter doesn't drain your battery out if your vehicle is running I assume. If I were to travel like you do, I'd definitely be into a Class A or C. It sure sounds like you have a great setup and have figured out a ton of stuff to work around the issues!

[MelissaD]

There are so many variables to mpg's.

Fuel, gasoline and diesel have different energy content and thus offer different mpg's they also offer different performance characteristics. Also the fuel of 20 to 30 years ago is very different than the new low and ultra low Sulphur fuels of today and that effect fuel mileage also. Low Sulphur fuels actually get worst fuel mileage than higher Sulphur fuels but are better for the environment. Then there is the argument since we are burning more are we actually making an improvement.

Aerodynamics, has a pretty big effect on mpg due to wind drag and campers normally stink at aerodynamics. Its a trade off for all the roomy interior living space.

Weight, is kind of a no brainer. The more it weights the more energy it will take to accelerate and to slow it down. Fuel to accelerate and brakes to stop it.

Engine and drive train. Having the right size engine and drive train makes a huge difference. See engine have a sweet spot in there power curves. Its a rpm where they generate there most fuel efficient torque and if you can match the drive train to the normal highway speed of say 65 mph it will give you your ideal highway mph. Any time you can run the engine at this rpm you will get you bet mpg's for that gear. For diesels this peak torque is also a low rpm which gives a extra fuel savings over a gas engine which reaches peak power at a higher rpm. The other part of the drive train is the gear ratios of the drive train. These are either set to towing (crappy mpg) of speed (great mpg).

If you look at the history of trucking in 1995 a cab over got 6.5 mpg with its big flat front. A classic Peterbuilt or Kenworth got 4-5 mpg with it long hood, chrome air cleaners and twin stacks. Around then Kenworth introduced the T700 with it's slopped aerodynamic hood. Drivers said it was ugly and called it the anteater. That it got 8 mpg, everyone went wow. 20 years later we have ultra low sulpher fuels, DEF systems that add $6,000 to the cost of a truck, better aerodynamics and we are lucky to get 8 mpg. The guys in the shop claim the exhaust is cleaner but the trucks seam to be in the shop all the time and the mpg's seem to have stayed the same of gone done. Not sure in the end it was worth the cost. Time will tell. Bottom line is it costs more to tow.

[JudyJB]

When I have no electric hookup, I charge or use my laptop connected to one of the 12 volt plugs in my motorhome so it pulls from the house batteries, not the vehicle battery. I have two 6 volt deep cycle batteries in series that really last quite a long time without running down--plenty of time to charge batteries and run my lights and various fans. With a trailer, you also will have house batteries and they should last as long as mine, but then you will have to charge them with a generator of some sort. If you are boondocking, you will probably have to run the generator an hour or so each day to recharge it--maybe less depending on what you are using to draw them down.

The good news is that generators really do not use that much gas.

Mileage is really not a big problem, whatever you buy, because you will be doing a lot more staying in one place than driving. So you drive 200-300 miles to get somewhere, but then you spend a few days there. If you are towing a trailer with a truck, you will drive around in that, so you need to worry more about your non-towing MPG on the truck than the towing MPG.

[OTW]

Judy it sounds like you have it really well figured out! I'm hesitant to buy a portable generator because I hear campgrounds just do not want to listen to that running for an hour or whatever. (Can't say I blame them.) The guy who has the trailer I like charges his house battery (fridge, lights, I don't know if anything else) with a solar panel. He bought it several years ago and it's big. He had it stored on the bed. I thought it would be a powerful one but he said 60W. (??)

[OTW]

There are so many variables to mpg's..

SNIP (for convenience of reading)

Melissa, there is a shortage of used cargo vans around where I am. There's one I found that's a Chevy Express 3500, 72K miles on it, 6.0L engine. I haven't looked at it yet (likely going tomorrow unless something doesn't end up being right enough) but I do know from photos that it doesn't have a hitch.

What all would I have to add to it for towing? Sorry but I don't know what sway bars, weight distribution hitch, etc. require in terms of modifying the truck itself. Any idea what that set of modifications ought to cost, and whether to take it to a camper world type place or ???

Thanks in advance.