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Jett asked me yesterday how far we have traveled, towing the 5th wheel, in our nearly 8 years of living on the road. I thought maybe 20,000 miles. She thought that was too low. Fortunately I keep records.
The answer: 37,163 miles. If you add in the tow miles that weren’t part of an officially-designated trip (e.g., getting the RV in for repairs or the trip to Maine to attend a rally) then the number approaches 38,000 miles.
Wow. One and a half times around the world at the equator.
Now that the Sixth Trip North (TN6) is in the books, it is time to look back. First, the statistics:
7 hops in 12 nights
2,020 truck miles
1,577 tow miles
$862.89 in campground fees (including $165.20 in lost deposits)
226.9 gallons of diesel fuel consumed (8.9 miles per gallon)
Highlights:
The ding
No breakdowns. No disasters. Not even any near-disasters. The worst thing that happened was dinging the truck in Dumfries VA – the result of looking the wrong way when backing the truck into the site trying to make room for a visiting car. The damage to the truck is minor and cosmetic (and do we really care about cosmetic damage to a 16-year-old vehicle?). The RV damage? A scratch so small that I would have to point it out to you.
Seeing Jett’s kids and grandchild. The pandemic has isolated both of us, but Jett more so than me. It was a relief to see family again.
Jett, me and family
Lowlights:
While there were no truck breakdowns, worry over the state of the truck dominated the trip. The “fun stuff” of the last 4 hops was eliminated, as was one of the hops, in an effort to get to MA before anything bad happened. The start of the trip was delayed for 3 days by truck issues – fuel line problems and replacement of the turbocharger hose. Traveling will not be fun until we once again have a tow vehicle that we can trust.
The only RV issue was the discovery, on a cold morning, that our electric furnace was not functioning. I will have to look into that.
I guess the summary would be “smooth trip, but not much fun.”
Because of the delay at the start and the concern over the health of the truck at the finish, the actual itinerary diverted greatly from the plan.
209 tow miles via NY 17A, NY 17, I-84, US 20, MA 49, MA 31, MA 122A MA 68 and US 202. 281 truck miles. Cumulative tow miles: 1,577. Cumulative truck miles: 2,020.
We made it!
Again, no truck problems (except as noted below). There was a light rain and most of the trip was on I-84 which is far down our list of Favorite Roads. There was a minor detour about 10 miles from our destination, but no big deal. Backing into the site was difficult, but that was expected – I have done it twice before.
The extra truck miles were mostly due to a 60-mile trip I made yesterday to ride by West Point. I didn’t go in as there is some security there, but I wanted to see the area. The elevation was impressive – I can see why a few cannon on the point could block shipping from flowing up the Hudson River. But it was a cloudy day so I took no photos and overall the trip was underwhelming. But it got me out of the RV for 90 minutes.
The large and empty “upper area”
Our home for 2 nights was the Black Bear Campground. This is an expensive RV park – $90 per night. For that price you get a weedy gravel patch, water, sewer, decent WiFi and crappy cable TV. At first I thought it was a small park as only 46 sites were visible (and no obvious amenities such as a swimming pool). But yesterday morning I took Rusty on a long walk to the “upper area” and found that the park is actually quite large – 154 sites, all full hookup. The upper area also has a small meeting room, a basketball court, horseshoe pits and a mini-golf course. On my way down the hill I found the swimming pool (closed due to the pandemic). But the park was maybe 10% occupied. I don’t know if that is more a reflection of the pandemic or the price, but I don’t know how they stay in business.
After we got settled I checked my email. There in my inbox was another problem report from the truck: a second P0727 problem alert. This was the problem that I spent $1000 in Virginia hoping to fix. Obviously I didn’t fix it. But the problem report was issued at 1:30pm when I was still nearly 2 hours from my destination. The truck ran fine for those 2 hours.
Anyway I won’t stress about it tonight. Or even this week. I will have to address the ongoing truck reliability issues soon, but it got us to Massachusetts and tonight I will celebrate that.
178 tow miles via I-81, I-84, US 6 and local roads. 179 truck miles. Cumulative tow miles: 1,368. Cumulative truck miles: 1,739.
One extra truck mile to fill up.
Yes, it’s true: Over 1,300 tow miles and we are back in Florida again. But this Florida is much cooler (68 degrees right now).
If there was a hop to test the health of the truck on this trip, this was it. Both I-81 and I-84 are very hilly. The engine was put to the test. And passed. No problems whatsoever.
I was tempted to use the alternate route that was 31 miles shorter (see the map above). But it saved no time and a close look at it revealed that it was 145 miles on narrow roads, some of them without shoulders or center lines. Too much stress.
Our one night in Jonestown was spent at the Jonestown / Hershey KOA. If not for the pandemic we would have stayed longer. It has been many years since I have been to Hershey and I am not sure Jett has ever been there. We also had a chocolate request from daughter-in-law Cristina. Sorry, Cristina – we didn’t get there.
The campground is very nice, though we didn’t take advantage of the mini golf, the pool, the restaurant or any of the other amenities.
I am seeing a pattern on how the campgrounds are dealing with the pandemic. They are closing the office and transacting nearly everything online or over the phone. When an escort to the site is offered, it is a masked person who stays far away and motions us to follow. Being careful.
171 tow miles via VA 234, I-95, I-495 (around Washington DC), I-270, US 15, I-83 and I-81. 339 truck miles. Cumulative tow miles: 1,189. Cumulative truck miles: 1,560.
TN6 Hop 5
The additional truck miles resulted from 2 trips to the GMC dealer for repairs, some errands and a trip into Alexandria to have dinner (a very pleasant dinner) with family.
Once again, the trip was uneventful, except for the loss of our “Home is Where We Park It” sign that was Velcroed to the front of the RV. The Velcro held, but the block of wood glued to the RV let loose. I think I dropped it on an interstate. Hope it didn’t cause any problem.
It was a beautiful day. High in the low 70s, puffy clouds. A nice travel day. But a lot of traffic (it was Sunday) and, as always, the roads in PA were pretty rough.
Our home for 5 night in Dumfries was the Prince William Forest Campground. This is a very nice, very quiet park. The large back-in sites (there are no pull-thru sites large enough for us) are hard to get into due to the narrow roads, but are lovely, wooded sites. It even smells like forest.
We have stayed here, I believe, twice before. But I never realized that this campground has a swimming pool. It is closed due to the pandemic, but I will keep that in mind for a future visit.
The continuing unreliability of the truck (though performing flawlessly so far) has convinced us that we need to cut out any further sightseeing and head straight (or as straight as possible, given our intense desire to give NYC a wide berth) to our destination. I have cut a hop out of the itinerary and shortened the remaining 3. The remaining miles are now about 550, a reduction of about 200 miles. There will be a 1-night stop in Hershey PA (where, due to the pandemic, we were given a choice of a 1-night stay or a 14-night stay) and 2 nights in Florida NY, near West Point (which is closed to tourists, but maybe I can drive by).
Between the pandemic and the truck issues, all of the fun has been squeezed out of the TN6. Except for seeing family this weekend. That was very nice. Hard on the waistline because there was a lot of eating going on, but nice nonetheless.
The truck has been performing beautifully on the first 4 hops of the TN6. But I still don’t trust it. As evidence of that mistrust, I took it into a GMC dealer in Alexandria VA yesterday in the hopes of diagnosing the troubling email that the truck sent to me at the end of Hop 1. My hope was that it was an aging crankshaft position sensor, which could be replaced fairly easily and cheaply.
But, as is so often the case with this truck, the fix was neither easy nor cheap. The root problem, it seems, were cracks in both the intake pipe to the turbocharger and in its outflow pipe. The hot gases escaping one of these cracks melted the plastic connector on the crankshaft position sensor, making the electrical connection tenuous. Estimated cost to fix those cracks: over $3000. The transmission would have to be removed to gain access to the pipes.
Worse, the parts might not even be available for a week. We need to be on our way north in 3 days. Fixing the pipes in VA is not an option. Fixing the problem at all may be throwing good money after bad.
If there was any “good” news in this it was the observation that the cracks appear to be old. The mechanic said that these pipes had probably been leaking for years. Which immediately raised the question in my mind: why, in all of the times I have had GMC dealers inspect the truck to make sure it was ready to tow, did they not discover these pretty obvious cracks in the turbocharger pipes?
Anyway, the plan is to replace the sensor and do anything else that can be done to “band aid” the problem, then try to get to MA as quickly as possible. I will look for a replacement truck when I get there.
The truck has been running beautifully. I hope it can continue to do so for another 500 miles. I will modify the TN6 itinerary to shorten the remaining trip.
224 tow miles via US 301, US 64, I-95, I-295 (around Petersburg and Richmond) and VA 234. 234 truck miles. Cumulative tow miles: 1,018. Cumulative truck miles: 1,221.
TN6 Hop 4
This was a fairly painless hop, except to the rough roads (why can’t anybody create a bridge joint that doesn’t scramble the eggs?). The truck again performed well. Got to the destination – the Prince William Forest Campground – just as the “low fuel” light came on. Perfect planning.
Our 1-night at Kamper’s Lodge in Wilson NC was uneventful except for the threat of being blocked from leaving by the paving work being done today. That got Jett off her keister and we got out of the park before 11am.
We will stay in Dumfries 5 days, mostly visiting family, but I may find time to do one of those things that have eluded me. Like visiting Mount Vernon.
342 tow miles via I-16, I-95 and US 301. 459 truck miles. Cumulative tow miles: 794. Cumulative truck miles: 987.
TN6 Hop 3
The extra truck miles were mostly consumed in traveling to Hilton Head Island SC on Sunday. That was mostly a huge disappointment. I was hoping the island would have an “outer banks” feel. Or at least Cape Cod or Sanibel Island. But it was like Marco Island, only more so. Very built-up. Not even a glimpse of the ocean through the hotels and condos. Gated communities everywhere. Very upscale. Not my cup of tea.
And the people. This was Memorial Day weekend, in a pandemic. But there were swarms of people everywhere, with nary a facemask in sight. Expect a spike in COVID-19 cases in SC in about 3 weeks. I didn’t get out of my truck.
Instead I visited two nearby cemeteries – the Pinckney Colony Family Cemetery and St Luke’s Cemetery. Both very scenic. I am curious about the “Pinckney Colony” name, but not curious enough to research it.
Pinckney Colony Family Cemetery
So the island may have been a disappointment but the cemeteries were wonderful. I even got about 50 headstone photos that I posted in findagrave.com.
Our home in Savannah for 2 nights was the Sunshine RV Park. This is a family-owned campground (I met the grandfather who founded it and the grandson who is running it) of about 100 sites with a mix of long-term residents and transients. There are no park models but some of the RVs clearly had not moved in years. Some of them had “interesting” modifications, like the trailer with the pitched aluminum roof. They also had fences that seem to have been made from old billboards. This campground did not put a premium on aesthetics.
Sunshine RV Park
The trip to Wilson NC was the longest hop in our itinerary and the only one that required a refueling stop. We ran into a couple of heavy thunderstorms in the first hour and had an annoying refueling/lunch stop. I opted to refuel at the RV pumps which were a tight fit and we had to wait quite a long time for one of the two pumps to free up. I thought one of the guys was just being rude, leaving his truck at the pump to go into the store. But when I finally got to the pump I realized that it was misbehaving. I didn’t have to go into the store but it did take about 5 minutes to get the the point where the pump would dispense fuel.
Then we parked in the truck area to “dine” at Wendy’s. That was interesting in that Wendy’s had no hamburgers. But we got fueled – both the truck and our bodies – and were on our way in about 40 minutes.
The good news: the truck, once again, performed flawlessly and the refrigerator stayed on. The last point is significant because it DIDN’T stay on during Hop 2. I diagnosed that problem as a popped GFI breaker. I don’t know why the GFI popped but I suspect it was due to a surge in the switchover from the land power to the truck power. I made sure that the inverter was off when I did the switchover this time.
More good news: I went to a WalMart Neighborhood Grocery to get some milk, OJ and a few other items. Milk was 75 cents for a half-gallon. And they had a gas station where I filled up at $1.64 per gallon of diesel. In the 8 years that I have owned this truck I don’t believe I have ever paid less than $2 per gallon. Amazing times.
217 tow miles via US 301, I-10, I-295 (around Jacksonville), I-95 and I-16. 219 truck miles. Cumulative tow miles: 452. Cumulative truck miles: 528.
TN6 Hop 2
Two hops with no truck problems! That has to be some kind of freaking record. At least it seems that way.
I was actually more concerned about the state of the truck on this hop than the first one. That is because my truck emailed me a problem report last night. That’s right – no sign of a problem while operating the vehicle but a problem report shows up in my inbox:
Your 2005 GMC Sierra 3500 has triggered a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) with the following details:
Code
P0727
Description
The Engine Speed Sensor tells the Transmission Control Module (TCM) how fast the engine is spinning so the correct gear can be engaged. When the TCM receives an inaccurate signal from this sensor, it can’t properly shift the vehicle from gear to gear as the vehicle needs to change speed and rates of acceleration. Most vehicles use the crankshaft position sensor for this information. The engine control module (PCM) or TCM will set code P0727.
This alert was detected at 05:54 PM on 05/22/2020. We arrived at the campground at 5:58pm, so this happened just as we were approaching the driveway.
I researched the problem a bit and what I learned was (1) it would cost somewhere between $200 and $1000 to fix and (2) if it was a real problem then the truck was probably undrivable.
But was it a real problem? The arguments against that were (1) nothing was reported to me in the cab as I was driving (serious problems are reported on the dashboard and the “check engine” light usually appears) and (2) I drove the truck to get dinner and a full tank of fuel before I read the email and had absolutely no problem.
So… maybe nothing. But as it is Memorial Day weekend and there is ZERO chance that I could get a problem fixed before Monday, it caused some loss of sleep. Getting out this morning was white knuckle time.
But the truck ran like a champ. Very smooth. I started to relax after about 100 miles.
Our home for the evening was the Royal Palms RV Park. It is a small (maybe 30 sites) RV park with a mix of long-term residents and transients. It was pretty low-class, but perfectly fine for one night. The worst thing about it was that it was on the wrong side of US 301 – we had to do a U-turn on a fairly busy highway to get there (maybe that caused the PCM to skip a heartbeat? It caused my heart to skip a few) and another this morning to get out. Our “pull-thru” was large enough but the turnaround to get out was so tight that I decided it was easier to back up into a wooded lawn. Pain in the neck. I probably will avoid this park in the future.
So we are in Savannah for 2 nights. I hope I can get Jett out to dinner or, failing that, get some good take-out for her. Fried green tomatoes!
