My daughter called at the last minute and got a cancellation at Ft. Wilderness on Saturday morning for that night. We packed the motorhome up in an hour or so and off we went. I don't think we have ever done a Disney trip with an hours notice, but off we went.
The drive down went well. Drove at anywhere between 70-75MPH and had a blast. Found couple of rattles and got them resolved. Realized that the cabin door needs to be slammed or you would get some air noise. Do going down with the motor home packed, and with 3 adults and a beagle riding a passengers we got 14.02mpg. The Ford computer said we were getting 13.8mpg so the computer did not appear too far off. This is less than I got driving it home from the dealer, but good guess is that I have 1000lbs of cargo and people in the coach. Still below the 1500lbs it is rated at.
Once we got there we set up camp. Again, no excitement. Got the electricity first, then the cable and then the water. Remembered to run the water through the external filer first to blow out any loose carbon (a very good idea since the first quart of water was black). I did not connect to the sewer since the tanks were still registering empty and I did not get it close enough to the dump for the sewer hose to connect easily. Then we ran out the slide and put out the awning.It all took less than 30 min. with most of that time being me explaining to my wife and daughter (and convincing/reminding myself) what I was doing. The only step I forgot was the turning off the power to the antenna booster to get the TVs to use the cable. I ran through one channel discovery cycle getting no stations before I realized what went wrong.
My daughter went to the park and my wife and myself relaxed and explored Ft. Wilderness. The dog had never experienced camping (no had my wife) so it was new for everyone. The dog was not sure what to do, but had a great time just sniffing around. My wife talked to folks and we just relaxed. We did the fried chicken takeout from Pioneer Hall for dinner. Probably the best deal for dinner in the park. Plenty of food (we had leftovers) for 4 for less than $30.00.
Slept great and got ready to go. Took us about an hour to pack up. Most of that being me repositioning the coach and emptying the holding tanks. It went well, no messes, but I went slow and did the explaining again. This time, my wife and daughter realized this was as much for me convincing myself I was doing it right as it was for her benefit.
Drove back to Tallahassee. This time I kept the speed at 68mph. From Orlando to Lake City the Computer read 16mpg. From Lake City to Tallahassee, it read 15.2mpg. I did the math, miles/gallons and it came out to 14.6mpg for the entire trip. Still going to have to watch stuff but it looks like mileage from 14-15mpg is easily doable.
One of the first things I learned with these smaller RV's, or any of them for that matter, is always filter all water that goes into the coach, even at home. Saves from filling the tank or water system with gunk. I use those blue Camco filters available at WalMart or any camping supply. They usually last a season. Quick connects on the hoses and filter.
ReplyDeleteAlso another tip. Fill your tank when you get to the campground and put the hose away. You paid for a tank and pump, so you should use it. Makes takedown a lot faster. Also the pump needs to be used to stay in good working condition.
I always dump at the dump station on the way out. Never leave the sewer hose hooked up. Now if the sewer hookup is right there, and easily accessible, I'll dump at the site, but that's not very often for us as we don't stay in commercial campgrounds much. Overpriced....
Appreciate all of the comments. I used that same filter you are talking about, but did not think about using the quick connects. Will have to get some and do that next time. Would make the job much easier.
ReplyDeleteLearning more every day