Prepping for long trip

[Ron & Dee]

I hope it's ok to double post? I appologize if it isn't! Since I have a Workhorse chassis I thought I probably should have posted the question on this Forum.


We are planning a long trip from Florida to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and back, approximately 6000 miles round trip.

The Motor Home is a 2002 32' Adventurer with 48K miles we bought used in 2004 with 24K miles. We have already made two long and one short summer trip and are getting ready for another long trip.

I plan to do the 50K mile scheduled maintenance from the manual and would like to know what else I should do and check before making another 6000 mile trip.

Any suggestions and help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ron, Dee, Bo, Shadow, and Blackie

[Ron & Dee]

I hope it's ok to double post? I appologize if it isn't! Since I have a Workhorse chassis I thought I probably should have posted the question on this Forum.


We are planning a long trip from Florida to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and back, approximately 6000 miles round trip.

The Motor Home is a 2002 32' Adventurer with 48K miles we bought used in 2004 with 24K miles. We have already made two long and one short summer trip and are getting ready for another long trip.

I plan to do the 50K mile scheduled maintenance from the manual and would like to know what else I should do and check before making another 6000 mile trip.

Any suggestions and help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ron, Dee, Bo, Shadow, and Blackie

[paz]

The first thing I would check are my tires. Your coach is a 2002 so the tires should be OK, but they are entering the age where they need to be checked for cracking and age problems.

If you haven't had your coach weighed as it would be loaded for a long trip such as the one you are planning, I would have that done and adjust the tire pressures accordingly.

Have a fun and safe trip.

[DriVer]

I would consider replacing your transmission fluid for Transynd or equivalent "synthetic" transmission fluid.

This would be a good preventative maintenance effort on your part.

[Ron & Dee]

Thanks for the suggestions.

A 50,000 mile maintenance, tire check, and it looks like I'm good to go.

Ron

[alvinc]

Are towing anything? Does it have brakes?

This is more than academic once you get into the hill/mountains of the West. Face it you currently live in the flatlands. The highest point is Florida (Britton Hill in Jacksonville at 345 ft) is not even worthy of being called a hill when you get out here. Yellowstone Lake sits at 7,733 ft, with the park at an average 8,000 ft elevation, highest peak is Mount Wasburn at 10,243 ft.

There are two ways to approach Yellowstone from the South East.

One is from the west, where you could stop in the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota (highly recommended). This is where Mount Rushmore, the Wind Caves, Custer State Park, Devils Tower, Crazy Horse Memorial, etc. lie.

If you enter Yellowstone via the East Entrance (State 14/16/20) and Cody - WY , though beautiful, you fill face the Sylvan Pass. This is a 7-8% grade. In the early 1900's they actually had loop overpasses to reduce the grade.

You should get a copy of the Mountain Directory (western edition). This details the roads, grades and conditions of the highways.

The South entrance to Yellowstone goes through the Tetons, but this could be the way you come back out.

The point I'm making, is be prepared for hill climbs, and not just once, they are all over. Up and down.

<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>Brake check, RV and Toad.<LI>Coolant, if not changed recently do it as a pre-emptive measure.<LI>Transmission, if you don't already have Transynd, get it.[/list]Last, I would go through South Dakota, in the East entrance of Yellowstone, spend at least a week driving the toad around, go out the south entrance throughout the Tetons, on your way to Yellowstone, from there hit the Meteor Crater as well.

If you want to stay at Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone, get reservations or get on the waiting list NOW. You might end up having to stay in West Yellowstone.