Florida - Grand Canyon - and back

[John Stephens]

Brad, I'm not going to enter the fray about tire pressures and why they change. But I am curious to know why you had to top off your tire pressure so often. I took a similar trip to yours last year, traveling from Cape Coral, FL to Las Vegas and then back I-40 through the mountains and desert to Hot Springs, AR, then up to St. Louis and gradually worked my way back home through the Midwest for a total of 6,200 miles. I use Tire Minders on all my tires except the tow dolly because it has balancing beads that will throw off the readings. I set my pressure when I left town after weighing the rig at a CAT scale so the fronts would have 80 and the rears on the coach would have 85 psi per manufacturer's guidelines and for the entire trip, I never had to add air. When I got back home, the fronts had 78 and the rears had 82-84 after I was off the road for a few hours. I set my alarms at 10% above and below and they never went off for the entire trip. Is there a possibility that your tires are leaking more than they should?

 

[blw2]

Brad, I'm not going to enter the fray about tire pressures and why they change. But I am curious to know why you had to top off your tire pressure so often. I took a similar trip to yours last year, traveling from Cape Coral, FL to Las Vegas and then back I-40 through the mountains and desert to Hot Springs, AR, then up to St. Louis and gradually worked my way back home through the Midwest for a total of 6,200 miles. I use Tire Minders on all my tires except the tow dolly because it has balancing beads that will throw off the readings. I set my pressure when I left town after weighing the rig at a CAT scale so the fronts would have 80 and the rears on the coach would have 85 psi per manufacturer's guidelines and for the entire trip, I never had to add air. When I got back home, the fronts had 78 and the rears had 82-84 after I was off the road for a few hours. I set my alarms at 10% above and below and they never went off for the entire trip. Is there a possibility that your tires are leaking more than they should?

no, not leaking I don't believe.... it had more to do with temperature change.  I started another thread on this.... but I'll answer here.  It had to do with starting the trip in florida.... with "cold" pressures being set at maybe 80 degrees F....
then in the desert, the temps dropped to maybe low 60's (don't remember exactly...) resulting in my cold pressures a good bit below my set points.
That is what started the chain reaction..... I aired them up, which resulted in over pressure once the afternoon temps climbed.
and all this was aggravated by my going to a tire shop where they would not simply add the delta I wanted but instead set the pressures to the setpoints (80psi max for the rears)..but by then they were warmed up.... and they didn't end up equal so everything was messed up after that....

 

[papachaz]

We made a trip in June 2015 to destinations including the Grand Canyon on the way to Yellowstone NP. Towed a 30ft TT with a 2007 Chev 2500HD. Departed Lawrenceville, GA with the following stops on the way to Grand Canyon.

I20 from Atlanta to Vicksburg, MS.
Ameristar RV Park, Vicksburg, MS
https://vicksburg.ameristar.com/hotel/rv-park/
Visited Vicksburg National Military Park - Definitely worth the time.

I20 thru Dallas and Ft. Worth, Camped in Walmart parking lot, Hudson Oaks, TX. Several RVs parked there, no restrictions. Nearby campgrounds all booked.
I20 thru Dallas and Ft. Worth was in terrible condition, maybe better now but I doubt it.
Route to Amarillo: Texas Hwy 180 to Hwy 51 north to Hwy 920 to Hwy 199.
Hwy 199 towards Joplin, Hwy 114 towards Jacksboro, Hwy 114 to Hwy 281 towards Wichita Falls, Hwy 287 towards Chillicothe, TX and into Amarillo, TX. Roads were in great condition, better than Interstate. Great Texas scenery.

Camped at Amarillo RV Ranch RV Park  (Owned by Big Texan restaurant). https://amarilloranch.com/. Big Texan restaurant is home of the 72oz Steak dinner. If you can eat it in the time allotted, it's free. We didn't try but watched several try. Very large restaurant, great service. Free shuttle from RV part to restaurant.

Route Amarillo to Albuquerque: Hwy 87 south to Canyon, Hwy 60 west towards Dawn and Hereford and thru Friona and Bovina. Hwy 60/84 to Fort Sumner, Hwy 60 towards Encino. Hwy 285 north to I-40 and I-40 west to Albuquerque, NM. Camped at American RV Park, Albuquerque (http://www.americanrvpark.com/ ). Visited old town but not much else.

Route: Albuquerque, NM to Winslow, AZ.  Stopped and visited Petrified National Forest along the way. The park is definitely worth the time. What I found amazing was there were MANY signs in the park warning you not to disturb the petrified rocks, etc. However, once you exit the park there are thousands of specimens along the roads and many shops selling petrified artifacts.
Camped in Denny's parking lot adjacent to Flying J Truck Stop, Winslow, AZ. Several RVs parked there. No issues.
Route: I-40 West from Albuquerque to Petrified National Forest.  We Drove thru park and exited on Hwy 191 to St. Johns, then Hwy 1-80 to Holbrook and I-40 west to  Winslow, AZ.

Route: Winslow, AZ to Williams, AZ. Route: I-40 west to Williams, AZ then onto Hwy 64 to campground. Camped at Grand Canyon/Williams KOA campground and used it as a base to visit south rim of Grand Canyon. Drive from campground to park entrance was about 30-40 minutes each day. Stayed 2 days. http://koa.com/campgrounds/grand-canyon/

Traveled Hwy 64 north from campground to Grand Canyon National Park and back to campground. We stayed 2 days then departed north to Bryce Canyon NP and then on to Yellowstone NP via Salt Lake.

Good luck on your trip.
Reggie

this is an awesome post to me for a few reasons, it's almost exactly the trip my wife and I have been discussing planning for next year, we're in NW GA up near Rome, so other than that hour or so difference, it'd be almost the exact trip. EXCEPT that we thought we'd come back a more northern route through SD and go to Mt Rushmore.

I'm going to bookmark this page and review it, for your post and for the OP's updates. Thanks for posting!

 

[John Stephens]

Brad, it sounds like you may have been better off just leaving them the way they were. On our trip, we had good, consistent weather the entire way. We got lucky because the hot weather followed us wherever we went but never caught up with us. So maybe I just got lucky, but my tire pressures never changed enough to worry about topping them off. Where you experiencing variances of greater than 10%?

 

[regval]

papachaz -
I live in the Lawrenceville, GA area and made the trip with my brother and sister, sort of a bucket list kind of journey. I'm the oldest of the three and my two younger siblings have health issues so you kind of get the reason for the journey. We planned a longer return trip, similar to what you have stated, but we had to cut the trip short after reaching Yellowstone and head back a more direct route.
Good luck on your trip and if I can be of any assistance, just drop me a PM.

Best,
Reggie

 

[regval]

Brad,
Great trip report. I really enjoyed your posts. Thanks for sharing the details of the journey !!

Reggie

 

[blw2]

this is an awesome post to me for a few reasons, it's almost exactly the trip my wife and I have been discussing planning for next year, we're in NW GA up near Rome, so other than that hour or so difference, it'd be almost the exact trip. EXCEPT that we thought we'd come back a more northern route through SD and go to Mt Rushmore.

I'm going to bookmark this page and review it, for your post and for the OP's updates. Thanks for posting!

Reading the post you quoted...I'm reminded of something for the petrified forest.
If you want a souvenir, I'd suggest considering to skip the gift shops.  I was shocked at the volume of stuff on display at multiple places in Holbrook.  I didn't stop to check pricing but I've got to believe I could have bought a log for what we paid for a few gravel sized pieces....well maybe not, but they had logs if you want them!
This place for example

John, you are right...I probably would have been better off.  What I probably should have done was nudged my upper alarm setpoint up a bit and left the pressures alone.

 

[blw2]

Brad,
Great trip report. I really enjoyed your posts. Thanks for sharing the details of the journey !!

Reggie

Thanks Reggie

 

[blw2]

I remembered that I owe some pictures, and thought I'd try to sum this up.

1st shot is on the road in the petrified forest.... I was surprised how narrow the little road was and ho close to the edge with no guardrail.  This was the side road up to the Crystal Forest...not the main road.  Not sure I'd want to tow a long TT here.  Oh, it was very windy there too
2nd - another shot of the petrified forest view
3rd - standin' on the corner
4th and 5th - Sandia Peak Tram

 

[blw2]

1) the campsite at American Rv in Abq
2) our 1st night at Grand Canyon, boondocking near Grandview Lookout Tower.  Maybe the best campsite I've ever found in the RV!  I am so jealous of the great dispersed area options folks out west have....
3) the second night at the canyon.  Probably can't see it but to the left of that leaning pine is a bull elk laying over there either grazing or chewing cud....
4) just the class C mine wishes it could be....
5) and the sea of rentals in the visitor center lot
6) that's as far as we got down the bright angel

 

[blw2]

1) the campsite near Page.  Really great park.
2) slot canyon hike near Horseshoe bend
3) Is that Forest Gump?
4) had a great time at Mesa Verde
5) wooden ceiling they say was originally laid by the indians at Aztec Ruins.  I find that almost amazing....no way my house will be that goog when it's half that old!
6) This one is out of order..... a shot I took under the F-105 at the Nuclear Museum in ABQ
7 & 8) the campground's tornado shelters in OK City
9) the nice campground we found in Alabama

 

[blw2]

I typed up a a little summary for my family....mostly thoughts I had when doing my early AM drives while the rest were sleeping.  Things we did.... We did and saw a lot!!!
but boiling it down....no regrets.  It really seemed like we were trying to go too far and do too much with the time we had to do it.  True enough there were countless places I would have just loved to stay a while longer, and there was so much that we really only got a taste instead of the "full experience"....but to anyone else contemplating a packed trip like this....I say just do it.

What did we do on our summer vacation?

Well, in only nineteen days we drove roughly 5,200 miles

Including Florida, we visited 12 states, 6 of them twice.

We saw rocks, and hills, and cliffs of all colors and sizes.  We saw vistas of nothing but clumps of grass as far as you can see to the horizon, except maybe a ghostly mountain way in the distance?.. Or were those shadows?

We stood atop dizzying 1,000 foot cliffs and peered over?. with no handrails

We saw a pair of birds? that were probably buzzards or vultures soaring far below us and yet still high above the river below?. But I sure would like to think they were California Condors.

We saw so many views each  on their own are jaw dropping?. But together day after day become almost boring in a weird way? to some of us.  We drove right past more amazing views and scenic overlooks than almost can be imagined?.without even giving them a look or thought

We drove on some of the worst roads in the country?. And some of the best too.

We had fun visiting places we've been before, but many others we have not.

One of us swam in the Mississippi?? maybe by accident, but I think it was a little bit on purpose maybe

We were serenaded by a cowboy.

We ate steaks, Navajo Indian food, junk food, pizza, and Mexican style food too.

We think we saw a famous chef, Guy Fieri?. But did not get a chance to meet him. 

We kept running where Forrest Gump stopped to go home.

We saw red rocks, and rocks of all colors.  Grasslands, and smelled Ponderosa Pine forests.

We rode a tram to peak over 10,000 ft, that was hanging by a wire over gorges hundreds of feet below.
We camped at near sea level, and almost 8,000 feet above the sea.  Along the way we stopped to see the highest point in Florida?. At 345 feet... to find they put a bathroom on it!!

We set up camp under the watchful eye of a bull elk casually lying and grazing 100 yards away.

We saw jackrabbits,and cotton tails too.  Rock squirrels and pretty blue birds we've never seen before. We saw wild bull elk, cow elk, and baby calf elk too.  We saw a whole heard of gophers(?), And a pretty black and white bird with long tail.  We saw cows, and horses, and more cows.  At one place we saw thousands of cows herded into a small stockyard?.just a little sad that they were probably on there way to becoming steaks, and burgers, and such?.  one early morning while everyone else was sleeping I saw a pair of pronghorn antelope, and a lone whitetail deer too.

We saw acres and acres of the ?petrified forest?.... Which really looks more like a desert of wide ranging colors and types, randomly littered with trees cut down and cut to length and ready for splitting into firewood?. But instead of wood...its rock!

We met the grandson of a Navajo Code Talker, who taught us how the Navajo spin yarn and weave rugs.

My son enjoyed a Sprite at the historic Painted Desert Inn?s soda counter?.

We hiked on the Arizona trail, and about a mile of the Bright Angel trail down in the Grand Canyon too.  We also hike a bit in the Palo Duro Canyon too.  Oh, and I can't not mention the slot canyon hike and rock scramble in Waterholes Canyon.  We visited a Navajo Nation village to get a permit for that one?

We met a pair biking from California to SC, and an 80 year old Korean that biked from the GC to Lake Powell.  I could not understand where else he had been or where he was going?.

We stood on one foot in four states at once....and the family played a bit of four square there too.

We saw Wind Turbine farms that stretched for miles and miles.

We did some hiking and some rock hill scrambles too. 

We watched skits by the kids in the rv, and watched a bit of TV together as a family too.

We walked where the ancient pueblo people lived, and climbed the same cliff faces they did to get to their homes.  We learned that some built their pueblos on flat ground too, and we're mistakenly named Aztec?.just because they knew how to build.

We never found Radiator Springs, but we saw some towns like it?.with names like Cuervo that did not survive, and other such as Tucumcan that did.  We drove along a few of the sections of the old route 66 that are still there.

I saw thousands or maybe millions of places where I would love to drop my backpack, set up my tent, and just stay a while.

We visited museums?.museums about science, we learned about the oil industry and technology, we saw dinosaur skeletons, and human bones too.  We learned about indians, birds, indians, and cars?..we learned about atomic energy, and the race to win a war?.and saw the best museum about naval aviation in the country?.probably the best in the world.

We experienced cold jacket weather, and also temperatures approaching 100.  We saw cloudless skies and rainy days too.  We even experienced some tornado watches and warnings the last night of the trip.

And best of all we lived as a family in approx 200 SF for 3 weeks?. And mostly had fun?. And grew to know each other even more!

 

[regval]

I'm envious .....  Great summary and may you have many more opportunities to create more memories ...
;D  )

 

[John Stephens]

Brad, you did and saw a lot in 19 days, including 5,200 miles of driving. That's one heck of a vacation!

 

[blw2]

Brad, you did and saw a lot in 19 days, including 5,200 miles of driving. That's one heck of a vacation!

ha ha....Yes, and DW drove only a little bit of that..... something like 25 miles maybe.  It was only the second time she drove it....it was early one AM with light traffic and flat roads.  I talked her into it just so she had a little experience with it....just in case.

 

[PopPop51]

Brad,
I've really enjoyed your travelogue. Yes you were crazy, but crazy with the right attitude makes all the difference.
I've been chewing 'round the edges of heading back that way again. (It's been five years.) You've helped me realize that's way too long.
Thanks!

 

[jackiemac]

Wonderful summary Brad. Magical memories for the future ?

 

[mrgalen1]

PopPop could you contact me? I'm looking at an Outback 270BH.

 

[John Stephens]

ha ha....Yes, and DW drove only a little bit of that..... something like 25 miles maybe.  It was only the second time she drove it....it was early one AM with light traffic and flat roads.  I talked her into it just so she had a little experience with it....just in case.

I had to force my wife behind the wheel after we bought our MH for a 17 mile drive down I-75 between exits so she could get used to it in the event something happened to me and she had no choice. But now that we're towing, she won't go near the wheel. The 6,200 miles we logged last year was all on me and that was why I was initially concerned about you trying to pull this off in 19 days. I knew how I felt after six solid days on the road without a break.

 

[Peggyy]

Im following this post as we are planning to go next spring.  Love your photos!