First trip

Roadtreking Mike · 03-22-2012, 12:35 PM

I just bought a Roadtrek RS-Adverturous. First RV.
Question: Is it too ambitious to leave the day after I get it for a trip from Michigan to Florida?
My wife thinks we should do some weekend trips first to shake things out.
We have had this trip booked for a long time. It's at a condo in Florida with two sets of our kids and grandkids.
She thinks we should drive our regular vehicle down.
Naturally, I want to take the new RV.
I will bow to the collective wisdom of this community.

Ron J. Moore · 03-22-2012, 12:47 PM

Congrats on your buy......come on down - FL awaits!! I can't see any reason not to get it underway - there are RT Dealers down here that are available should you need them. We bought ours new, took off from VA to TX - never had a problem....matter of fact it was years before I needed a RV repair. Safe travels.

Flashman · 03-22-2012, 04:55 PM

Well, other than long periods at constant RPM being bad for a brand new motor, (Which means you should vary speed up and down a bit all the time) I don't see why you shouldn't drive coast to coast and back. Remember of course the right oil changes, the first couple are sometimes close together and you might need one while you're there.

If I bought anything more than 5 years old, I'd do 5 mile trips, 50 mile trips, 150mile trips... until I was confident it was all peachy, or I got it fixed...

Happy travels,

Flashman

booster · 03-22-2012, 08:09 PM

We were "lucky", or unlucky, depending on how you look at it, in that we couldn't just take off when we got our C190P Roadtrek. The deal came along earlier than we had planned, so we were both still working, late fall, etc. We squeezed in a one nighter before it snowed, and the next year did a few 3 night trips before going for 10 days. We learned a lot that made each trip easier at each step. Would we have been able to just take off, sure, but that first trip wouldn't have been as much fun without the earlier learning trips (and subsequent mods and stuff adding). If you are easy going and flexible, it will be pretty easy, if you are very particular, it might be harder as everything won't go just as you expect. You might want to just try a night in the driveway, and then a couple in a local campground, to get the basics and then hit the road. We are still almost a year away from being free to go long term

Roadtreking Mike · 03-23-2012, 12:58 AM

The unit is used and the engine is broken in.
I'm inclined to go. It would be two nights sleeping in it getting there (leisurely drive down) and two nights on the way back. We're staying in a rented condo for the week between.
By wife wants to wait.
I'm naturally chomping at the bit.
I appreciate the insight...

teachergal · 03-23-2012, 01:07 AM

I'm kinda doing this in reverse...I bought a PW Plateau at the beginning of the month and it's currently in Naples, FL and next weekend I'm flying down there to get it and drive it back to Northern VA (Near Washington DC). It's a little different as I won't be solo - my parents, who have been RV owners for 10 years - will be with me, they actually found the RV and took care of the paperwork etc to help me buy it. So while I won't be solo with it I will get it Sunday night and embark on a 1,000 mile journey on Tues! From traveling with my parents I can tell you that mechanical trouble while on the road happens and you deal with it, just like you'd deal with it at home. We spent one night of our Alaska trip at the Cummins Service Facility in Anchorage where they'd been towed b/c the fuel pump had a failure of some sort. The Cummins guys were nice enough to let us both camp there (I had a small class C I'd rented) and got it fixed and we were on our way! I say pack her up and drive off...

Johnny R · 03-23-2012, 04:16 AM

It pays a lot more dividends to keep your spouse happy than to keep your RV on the road. Use your head, man.

Flashman · 03-23-2012, 04:29 PM

^^^^ Point.

Though, you could investigate the cause of the reluctance, she doesn't want to share driving in it? She's worried about the "what ifs" ?

I'd say, for the first, you might go get a u-haul van for an afternoon and let her run it round, then she might see it's not that bad, and the RV should drive way nicer than the u-haul, like it's probably got a tighter front end, seats adjust etc.

And for the second, you can get Good Sam Club membership or AAA RV gold or whatever it is RV and trip insurance, show her what a good package it is and how they take care of you. Tell her you'll have motel money etc.

sebtown · 03-24-2012, 04:56 AM

I'd want what she wants, it's eaiser that way!!

Davydd · 03-25-2012, 11:02 PM

Our first trip in a Sprinter B was from Minneapolis, MN to Worcester, MA and back in early February the week we bought it. We encountered lots of snow. We didn't however camp in it as we stayed in motels. The temps were still too cold as 20F overnight is the practical limit in my opinion and it was much colder than that even during the day. Our purpose was to use it more as a hauler of "stuff" to take to our son, and of course, to get used to driving it. The Sprinter is a van and very easy to drive.

Photog · 03-26-2012, 06:50 PM

If she is seriously against it, and you force the issue, she may have bad feelings about the RV for a long time. It needs to be as much hers as yours.

Try using as your daily driver, for a few days, with no intent to take it on the trip. After using the built in restroom, and getting comfortable riding around in it, she may suggest taking it on the trip.

Mike · 03-27-2012, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roadtreking Mike

I just bought a Roadtrek RS-Adverturous. First RV.
Question: Is it too ambitious to leave the day after I get it for a trip from Michigan to Florida?
My wife thinks we should do some weekend trips first to shake things out.
We have had this trip booked for a long time. It's at a condo in Florida with two sets of our kids and grandkids.
She thinks we should drive our regular vehicle down.
Naturally, I want to take the new RV.
I will bow to the collective wisdom of this community.

If it's used/broken in, there's no reason other than matrimonial harmony not to use it.
That's what you bought it for. Is it mechanically sound? Take it to either a regular dealer who
services Sprinters, or to your nearest RV or Roadtrek dealer and get a clean bill of health first.

Personally, I can't think of anything that could be that catastrophic that could happen to your
new (to you) van, that couldn't also happen to your car/truck. Get ERS (emergency road service)
from AAA, or Good Sam, or Coachnet. I think AAA requires an upgrade to their RV plan. The other
2 specialize in RVs.

Did you get manuals? You'll figure most of it out on your own. Most of us probably did, and the things
you can't figure out, ask someone with an RV out there on the road. Find a truck stop, there's often RVers at them, doing RVing stuff. Dumping, propane, fuel. People who RV are almost always
friendly and will try to help whenever they can. We had to get 2 young ladies in an older Dodge model
RT at Bryce Canyon, Utah to explain our furnace to us, when we realized it was going sub freezing over
night. They chuckled about it, but they showed us how ours worked, based on how theirs worked.
As a last resort, tell her hotels/motels can have bed bugs (if you take your regular vehicle),
but your new Roadtrek is bed bug free, as far as you know.
Might work.

puppie96 · 04-04-2012, 10:15 PM

We signed the paperwork on our new LTV a week ago today and drove it 1700+ miles home. Why not?
We are under warranty since it's a new vehicle and had a toll free number to call for roadside assistance.
We were a bit concerned that we might have to winterize, but it stayed warm.
Driving across the southwest was great except for gusty crosswinds associated with a front that came through over the weekend. That was a bit nerve wracking and tiring for the arms. My husband handled it better than I did. Yesterday I drove through 200 miles of almost continuous heavy rain and it went fine. (No significant wind.) We had no problems other than some difficulty finding an RV camp in western Oklahoma on Monday night. We really didn't want to try dry camping at this point. It's really a pleasure to drive it. We even had it out on some BLM dirt roads in Arizona. These weren't in bad condition and we didn't continue once they became rougher and more rutted.
While there, we found a 32-1/2 lb. hunk of rainbow petrified wood that came home under the sofa, along with some other fine looking petrified logs. WOOHOO!

Davydd · 04-05-2012, 03:17 AM

In case you are curious about collecting petrified wood...

http://www.amfed.org/sfms/petrified_wood-reg.html

It is totally prohibited in Petrified Forest National Park.

puppie96 · 04-06-2012, 05:55 AM

We know about collecting. BLM lands are open to collecting, unlike Petrified Forest National Park, which obviously is closed to collecting like all national parks.

Davydd · 04-06-2012, 02:59 PM

Then if you know, you obviously mis-weighed that 32-1/2 lb chunk since 25 lbs is a one piece or daily limit.

puppie96 · 04-06-2012, 03:49 PM

No -- the regs are for 25 lbs/person/day PLUS ONE PIECE. The intent there is that people don't have to destroy a larger piece by breaking it up. That find was the "plus one."
In case anyone is interested, there are other restrictions on what can be collected on public lands. Collecting human artifacts is always prohibited, as is collecting of vertebrate fossils.

Mike · 04-06-2012, 11:37 PM

That's a good idea. Did you know that regulation "subtlety" before you snagged your wood, or was
there someone there who was able to explain the regulations? I've only been to one or two BLM sites,
and there wasn't anyone around that looked like BLM staff. We like the NPS campgrounds as our first
choice for where to stay in any given area, but we plan to try more BLM locations as we happen upon
them. There are almost always Park Rangers at the NPS places, and they are pretty easy to spot by
their uniforms/vehicles if we have any questions.

puppie96 · 04-07-2012, 01:05 AM

We've known the regs for a while since we have done a lot of collecting. Somebody had to explain the purpose of the "plus one" rule to me, though -- it wasn't obvious. BTW, the single piece weight limit is 250 lbs -- the same as the annual collecting limit. We've only seen Forest Service people a couple of times -- once we were really lucky since he was the resident geologist and could tell us a lot about the location. We are cautious about obeying the rules; the penalties for disobeying them can be severe. In Montana you have to have a permit to collect petrified wood, but I've never heard of that requirement elsewhere. The big thing to watch out for is artifacts -- if you buy any or collect any on private land, hang on to your receipt. I've been told that the authorities do require documentation.

Mike · 04-07-2012, 04:00 AM

The rules sound complex for something that seems simple at first glance.
I think the "if you're not sure, ask" rule of thumb might be the best choice for novices at collecting
odds and ends when traveling.
I tend to keep all receipts anyway, when traveling in the US mostly for the return trip across the border,
but it's good advice.

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