Making it back to Florida

I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. My fellow bloggers know how it is, the further behind you get on the blog the harder it is to sit down and catch up!

View Larger Map

Okay so let’s catch up. We left Sulphur Lousiana on April 10th and traveled with Paul and Paula to Mandeville, Lousiana and Fontainebleau State Park . We weren’t able to get two sites together as we arrived without reservations. In fact, we were separated by about 4-5 sites. Supposedly there were only four sites available when we arrived. However, on-line there were over 30 sites available the day before! We paid $20 a night for three nights with 50 amp. electric, water and WiFi. However, there wasn’t a sewer hook-up.

Fontainebleau State Park site 50

We spent three nights in Mandeville which gave us a chance to visit with my brother, his wife, niece and nephews. We also spent a day wandering the streets of the New Orleans French Quarter with Paul and Paula.

New Orleans French Quarter

Cafe Du Monde

Moving along, we traveled to Milton Fla. and Avalon Landing RV Park for another 3 nights. We paid about $39 per night minus a 10% GoodSam discount for waterfront sites with full hook-ups and WiFi. The park is small but beautiful and we’ve been here twice before. We had reservations so we were able to get two sites together. While there, we were able to visit with our dear friends, Rocky and Gloria and Paul got to catch up with an old Coast Guard buddy.  

Rocky and Gloria enjoying the afternoon with us.

Maggie

Unfortunately the weather wasn’t fully cooperating as we had a lot of wind but, we were still able to enjoy the beautiful beaches. The bugs were biting in the evening and were a fitting welcome, back to the State of Florida.

Paula and Paul on the windy Pensacola Beach

Our next move was to the Silver Star Ranch, home of our dear friends, George and Bonnie. Paul and Paula traveled with us for the last time on April 16th (more on that later). Just two miles from the ranch, my TST Tire Pressure Monitor System went off alerting me that the right rear tire on the fifth wheel was loosing air and down to 89 PSI. (cold PSI should be 110). I continued traveling slowly on the county road to the ranch as Paul and Paula kept an eye on my leaking tire. Once on the ranch we got Paul and Paula parked and then moved my rig over to the equipment barn where George removed the tire after loosening the lugs with his air impact wrench.  We discovered a large metal object stuck in the middle of the tread.

Paul and Paula's rig at the Silver Star Ranch.

Paul and I loaded up the Goodyear RST G-rated tire into his truck along with the spare and headed to a local tire shop in Bronson, Fl. The shop repaired the tire and I had them swap the wheels between the spare and the repaired tire thus, making the repaired tire the spare. This was at a cost of $45.

Back at the ranch, we replaced the tires and got parked alongside George and Bonnie’s home. The timing couldn’t have been better with regard to the tire issue and arriving at the ranch.

Sunrise at the Silver Star Ranch.  Our rig next to the house.

The horses, Prince, Ruger and Doc.

We spent two beautiful days on the ranch with Paul and Paula before they had to leave us and head north. We had been traveling companions off and on since July of last year and we already miss them. We've become great friends and we plan to see them again down the road. It’s a lot more comforting traveling with others as opposed to being out on the road alone. However, we were doing it alone before we met and we’ll get used to doing it alone once again.

Paul and Paula ready to leave us.

After Paul and Paula left, we spent a few more days on the ranch and called around the Jacksonville/ St. Augustine area looking for a campground that could take us for a month or more. Our plan was to spend some time with our daughter and son-in-law. Our first choice was Stage Coach RV Park. So, Joyce called but was told that our Boxers would not be welcomed as they are on “the aggressive dog list”. We were shocked to hear that knowing that our boxers could only lick someone to death! So after several more calls we found a campground, Frog Hollow Court Mobile/ RV Park that would take us for a month with our Boxers. However, there was a problem with the site as the previous occupant got his motorhome stuck in the sand trying to pull out. After a few days, the park called us and told us the site was ready as they had brought in coquina rock and limestone to fill in the site. 

Travel Day to Valley Mobile RV Park in Buena Vista, Co.

July 6th, 2010.

Last night while walking the dogs in the woods, we came across 3 of these great horned owls. Awesome!

Yesterday, we prepared to leave by packing up and airing up. I had deflated the rear tires of my dually truck from 65 lbs to 50 lbs for each tire. I had done this prior to driving the 100 mile round trip to my sister and brother-in-law's house. You may ask, why we didn't take the Jeep for that trip. Well, we took the dogs with us and the jeep is still too new and clean for them to ride in it! So, I aired the dually back up to 62 each tire as I'm noticing a little center wear on the rear tires. While I was at it, I topped off 3 of the 4 trailer tires to 110 psi. with my compressor.

We took a trip in the afternoon to Sam's Club and went out for lunch. While at Sam's we picked up another Garmin GPS for the Jeep. A year ago we never had a GPS navigator, now we need...okay want two. Of course in our previous working life, we were so familiar after 30 years in the same communities, that we didn't need such a device.

Today we awoke at about 7:30 and made our final preparations to move on. We got hitched and said our good-byes to my father and Karen. They would be continuing to a state park outside of Denver. Joyce and I would be headed back to Buena Vista to visit with a former neighbor and co-worker from the sheriff's office back home. We had just recently discovered how close they are to Buena Vista so we wanted to make the effort to visit with them on our way out west.

View Larger Map

We took Hwy 24 from I-25. Immediately we began climbing and going around sharp blind curves. No fun in a 24000 lb. rig. We went through two passes at over 9K feet.

The views were spectacular. 

Descending towards the Arkansas River Valley

Our original destination was Arkansas River Rim RV Park. After arriving we checked in at the office. We didn't like the sites that were offered so we headed back towards Valley Mobile RV Park that we passed along the way. 
It's next to the Snowy Peaks RV Park were we stayed about two weeks ago.

We ended up with a very nice shady back in site with great views of the mountains. We liked the site so much we decided to stay for a week at only $173 for full hook-ups with 50 amps.

It's expected to be cool this week so we shall see how it goes!

CAT Scales Certified Weight of Our Rig

May 29, 2010.
I mentioned in the previous post that we stopped and had our rig weighed before arriving at Davis Monthan A.F.B. Well, in fact, we stopped at a CAT Scales in a truck stop off the interstate. The scales are located throughout our country. Operation is simple and there is a "how to" video on the CAT Scales website. Basically all you do is drive onto the scales ramp noting the segmented slabs on the ramp. You want to stop with your axles on the separate segments in order to get the various axle weights. Now unfortunately it doesn't weigh side to side, just whole axle weights.


There's a speaker box and a call button. Hit the call button and ask for a private weigh. They then tell you to come on in with your tag number. After parking and going inside you pay $9 for your weigh ticket that has the weights for your Steer Axle (front), Drive Axle (dually axle on my truck) and the Trailer Axles. The ticket also gives you the combined axle weights as the Gross Weight. After weighing the rig, I opted to come back within 24 hours with just my truck to weigh it separately for an additional $1.


Okay, let's get to the numbers! On my first weigh with the rig (truck and trailer) and a 1/2 tank of diesel, my Certified weigh ticket reported:
Steer Axle 4760 lbs.  (Rated for 5200 lbs.)
Drive Axle 6800 lbs. (Dually rated for 9350 lbs.)
Trailer Axles 12380 lbs. (combined axles rated for 14000 lbs.)
Gross Weight 23940 lbs. (Truck GCVW rated for 24000 lbs.)

My 2009 Dodge Quad Cab Longbed 4x4 dually diesel with a 4:10 axle is rated at the following:
Steer Axle 5200 lbs.
Drive Axle 9350 lbs.
GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) 12200 lbs.
GCVW (Gross Combined Vehicle Weight) 24000 lbs. with 4:10 axle
Max Trailer Weight 16900 lbs.


So, with all of those numbers in mind, I'm within the manufacturer's rated weights on my truck. With the trailer my GVW on the truck is 11560 lbs., well under the rated 12200 lbs. However, I'm only 60 lbs. under the manufacturer's GCVW of 24000 lbs. Now I should note that the GCVW is considerably less with a 3.73 rear axle at 21000 lbs.


I went back to the scales later in the evening after unhitching from our Cameo fifth wheel to weigh the truck separately. The truck only had a 1/2 tank of diesel but was loaded just as if traveling to include the dogs, storage box, hitch, inflatable kayak, satellite tripod, gray tote tank etc.  However, Joyce also came along and normally she doesn't ride with me as she drives her own car. Anyway, she seemed to have no affect on the weight.  The results of the truck weights were as follows:
Steer Axle:  4980
Drive Axle:  3740
Gross Weight: 8720

Now it's interesting to note that with the fifth wheel hitched it transfers 220 lbs. of truck weight off the steer axle and onto the drive axle.


The numbers for our 2010 Cameo F35SB3 are not as impressive!
Our hitch weight:  2820 lbs.
Axles weight:  12380
total weight: 15220 lbs.
The manufacturer's GVW rating is 14999 lbs.
So, we are over the GVW on the fifth wheel by 221 lbs. That's with about 20 gallons of water in the storage tank and empty grey and black tanks. I guess Joyce will have to get rid of some clothes!


Overall, I'm happy with our weights.  I knew we were heavy and I always guessed that our fifth wheel was at its rated max of 14999 lbs. so I'm not surprised. We will need to keep a watch on our rig's weight and try to slim down!

Travel Day to Fort Stockton, Tx

April 19, 2010

View Larger Map

Today was a travel day, yesterday we made preparations and visited with neighbors. We had planned to do some sightseeing yesterday but Joyce wasn’t feeling well.

We got up early today and were hitched up by 8:40.  We had plans to stop at A & A Tire Service and get our new Goodyear G614 tires mounted on our fifth wheel. I pulled into the shop and used my BigFoot system to lift the rig. I lowered the front landing gear to take the weight off the truck and then lowered the rear gear to lift the four wheels off the ground. The crew got to work right away on removing my Duro load range E tires and mounted my 5 new Goodyear G614 load range G tires. The Goodyear G614s are "made in the USA" with a build date of 2010. The Duro's that were removed had a build date of 2007.


The assistant manager Mike, took my Duro tires in trade for the cost of the mounting and balancing which saved me about $120.

Maggie and Rico were very patient waiting in the truck while we were in the shop.

We were out of the shop by 9:30 and on our way west along I-10. The initial leg of the route was beautiful with lots of hills.  There was still plenty of wild flowers.

The further west we got the hills flattened and the landscape wasn’t as interesting.

We arrived at our overnight site at Park View Rv Park in Stockton, Tx after about 260 miles and 5 hours in the saddle. I averaged just over 10 mpg towing in 6th gear (overdrive) at 1700 rpms @ 61 mpg.  Joyce’s car is still getting 26 mpg.

Park View RV Park is a park that offers a Passport America discount. The park is really just a dirt parking lot with pull throughs and hook-ups. However, it’s $12 for 30 amp, plus $2 for 50 amp and $2 for cable. We are only here for one night and will be leaving early in the morning headed for Carlsbad, New Mexico.

2nd Rally Day and Tires.."they ain't purty"

April 13, 2010.

The day started off cloudy and threatening rain. We got some drizzle type rain throughout the day. I was out the door by 7:30 taking Maggie and Rico out for a long walk around the park.

After walking the dogs, I headed over to the pavilion to check out the continental breakfast provided by the Texas Travel Club Rally. I grabbed a couple of pastries, one each for Joyce and I and took them back to our rig. A large group from the rally were preparing for their excursion to a local ranch. Joyce was just getting out of bed when I got back! There wasn’t anything on the rally agenda that I wanted to attend today and there wasn't much scheduled due to the ranch excursion.

Since we’ve been here at the rally, I’ve been cruising the rows of Carriage fifth wheels admiring them and paying particular attention to their tires. You see, my Cameo has Duro Tires and in fact the standard OEM tire on Cameo’s is the Duro Tires load range E rated for 3520 lbs. each at 80 p.s.i. The two axles on my Cameo are 7K lbs. each. So in theory the two Duro Tires (per axle) are only rated at a combined 40 lbs above the axle rating. Moreover, the Duro Tires are ST tires which means they are only speed rated for 65 mph. I’ve been babying the tires since I’ve had the rig making sure the tire pressure is at their max 80 p.s.i. before every move and driving at a speed of no more than 60 mph. 

I’ve read several posts on a couple of Carriage forums that some folks have experienced catastrophic failures, blow-outs and tread separation on the Duro Tires. Couple that with the knowledge that these tires are at their limit on a trailer that including the pin weight potentially weighs as much as 15000 lbs. (I gotta get it weighed.) These concerns have made me very uncomfortable with the Duro tires feeling that I’m riding on borrowed time. 

Subsequently in studying the tires on the Carriage fifth wheels here at the rally, I’m convinced that the majority are running the Goodyear G614 RST LT 235/85R16  which are load range G rated LT tires rated for a max load of 3750 lbs. per tire and are speed rated to at least 75 mph. (Not that I would tow at that speed, but it’s nice to have that extra margin of safety.)  I did still see some original equipment Duro Tires on a few new (less than a year old) Cameos like mine. 

I did see one set of H rated Goodyear G114 LHT 17.5 inch tires on a new Carriage Royals. I had considered these tires and wheels however, it would require changing my wheels along with the tires at a cost approaching $3k for 5. However, after conducting my informal study here in at the rally, I’m convinced that the H rated tire, would possible be over-kill (if there is such a thing) for my rig.  The Goodyear G114 LHT is rated at over 4800 lbs. per tire. The other concern is that this is a 125 p.s.i. tire. 

So after careful consideration, I decided to upgrade my tires to the Goodyear G614 RST which is a high pressure tire with a max pressure of 110 lbs. I already learned my current wheels will support the pressure rating. I called a local tire service store about a mile from the rv park, A & A Tire Service for a price on the tires. I was quoted a price of  $325 per tire including mounting and balancing. The assistant manager, Mike agreed to allow me to order the tires over the internet from Trailer Tire and Wheel Supermarket and have the tires shipped to them for installation.  So I contacted Trailer Tire and Wheel Supermarket and ordered 5 tires at a price of $255 each including shipping for a total of $1275.  I'll still have to pay for the mounting and balancing etc. The tires are expected to arrive later this week at which time I’m to be contacted by A & A Tire Service upon their arrival.

So stand by for the tire saga as it continues.

Later in the afternoon, Joyce and I took a ride around Kerrville, Tx not wanting to venture too far due to the iffy weather.  After getting back we attended the ice cream social put on by the Carriage Travel Club before calling it a night. We’ve met a lot of interesting people at the rally to include a number of folks that, like us are just getting started in the full time RV lifestyle.