What to operate while moving

[TRAILERKING]

Yes where ever I read someone said their fuel consumption doubled.......Better do some math.

[mymyst]

Ok, as a new guy here (still) and getting ready to load up for a road trip to Georgia, I am a bit confused. I have read multiple posts that most peeps run their LP forced air furnace going down the highway. However I found in my furnace owners manual in two different statements that the furnace was never to be used with the coach in motion! Am I just lucky, dense, or do they all say this and you just ignore and boogie on down the road??!!?

[mvpmich]

Originally Posted by mymyst

Ok, as a new guy here (still) and getting ready to load up for a road trip to Georgia, I am a bit confused. I have read multiple posts that most peeps run their LP forced air furnace going down the highway. However I found in my furnace owners manual in two different statements that the furnace was never to be used with the coach in motion! Am I just lucky, dense, or do they all say this and you just ignore and boogie on down the road??!!?

As noted below, you can run almost everything while in motion. I think the manufacturers are concerned about operational issues with the air and wind but I've never had any problems. Besides you could never warm up the coach just using the dash heater in cold weather.

[PyrateSilly]

Originally Posted by mymyst

Ok, as a new guy here (still) and getting ready to load up for a road trip to Georgia, I am a bit confused. I have read multiple posts that most peeps run their LP forced air furnace going down the highway. However I found in my furnace owners manual in two different statements that the furnace was never to be used with the coach in motion! Am I just lucky, dense, or do they all say this and you just ignore and boogie on down the road??!!?

The thing is there are some places and states that say it is illegal to have the propane on while traveling. Most ignore that and only turn it off when fueling. For us ..... we turn off propane when we take off on a trip and don't turn it back on till we stop for the night.

[trode]

Originally Posted by ncbounder

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel - They ask you if propane tank valve is turned off and tell you pull over and turn it off before crossing. I have heard of other tunnels that do that but CBBT is the only one i have seen first hand.

And, that policy may have saved our lives, if not just our TT. Traveling back from Chincoteague VA we were told to pull over and shut off gas on TT, I shut off bottles and went in TT just to check around, smell of gas nearly knocked me out, had bikes in there that had shifted and hit the control on the stove, I opened door full wide then carefully opened a few windows and got out, waited half an hour there while airing out, and saying my thank you prayers at the same time!

Now to my questions. I too am undecided on the genny while riding question, and usually use dash air and fridge on LP. I decided to try the genny with roof air one trip, and hour or two down the road noticed my dash battery light would flicker on and off, would only stop if I put large load on chassis battery, i.e. lights on high beam, fan on dash, etc. As I turned them on the light would re-appear. So left them on rest of trip and haven't used genny while running since. I was thinking that the battery was being overcharged?

Next issue; I read alot about turning off refrigerator while re-fueling. Not sure why that is. I mean I know there is an open flame, but on my coach it is 20+ feet away and nearly 5 feet above ground level in an enclosed space. Gas fumes being heavier than air fall during fueling and disperse quickly, is there really a significant risk here, or just being overly cautious?

[Papa_Jim]

Originally Posted by PyrateSilly

The thing is there are some places and states that say it is illegal to have the propane on while traveling. Most ignore that and only turn it off when fueling. For us ..... we turn off propane when we take off on a trip and don't turn it back on till we stop for the night.

All I know, if it's cold and we're driving down the road, and the dash heater can't keep us warm, that propane furnace is getting turned on!

Jim

[MoonSail]

Originally Posted by PyrateSilly

The thing is there are some places and states that say it is illegal to have the propane on while traveling. Most ignore that and only turn it off when fueling. For us ..... we turn off propane when we take off on a trip and don't turn it back on till we stop for the night.

This thought has raised two questions for me. My sailboat has an electric solenoid for the propane, controlled by a switch in the galley. My coach (2005 Alfa) does not. Do any brands provide this? It would certainly be more convenient than opening and closing the main all the time.

On the subject of shutting off the propane fridge during fueling, is that more of a concern with a gasser than a DP? So far I have only fueled once, shortly after buying the rig, and the fridge was off only because we were just bringing the rig home and not moved in yet. No one had warned me of this before.

[wa8yxm]

What can you run while rolling, rolling, rolling down the highway.

Well, most anything save for a front mounted Television. Though... Water heater (Gas or electric if you run the genny) A/C, heat furnace, fridge.

Insurance companies say to turn off the propane at the tank, but frankly the danger is small if you do not, and I'd rather, if a fridge, for example, were to catch fire, it happen on the freeway than say an FMCA rally where we are packed in so close we can't even open an awning.

Oh, I do not think I'd care to operate a hand mixer making a cake either.. but then I don't do cakes, I'm a 3.14 man. (There is a pun there if you can figure it out).

[OutAround]

Originally Posted by Robert41

One thing that you do not want to operate going down the road is the washer/ drier. Road bumps plus an out of balance load can stress the suspension. I preferr to turn the water pump off while traveling, just incsase the vibration causes a leak. If water is needed for a drink, it can be turned on and back off.

We use the washer and dryer almost constantly while driving.....no issues ever. I run the furnaces always.......we have two LP furnaces to heat the coach inside and I added a third to heat the entire basement and water tank area. I got tired of electric tape and frozen pipes so just heated the whole thing. Keeps the tile floor warm. I've been down to -16 so far. I'd freeze to death if we didn't run the furnnces. I have 3 heat pumps but they are useless IMO.

I suggest adding an extra CO2 and fire detector. The fear w the furnace running while driving is theoretically CO2 could build up in the coach if wind conditions and pressure keep the exhaust from exiting outside the coach. I've never had it happen and we like the heat at 72. We are from Florida. Lol.

I always have added extra battery powered fire and CO2 combo detectors for piece of mind. One in the bedroom, one in the bunk area and one at the front of the coach. This way all 3 sleeping areas have independent protection.

I keep the water pump on and h2o heater on always. Never shut them off....even when parked. I always want hot water without waiting and I always want want ice in the freezer. When I had a LP fridge always left that on too. This one is residential electric. If you ever have a wreck in a coach there are so many ignition sources and sparks ect I'm not worried about the appliances. Coaches are not in anyway safe in an accident so I wouldn't stress about LP appliances---frankly if the accident is minor your fine and if its major.....well...its major. Doesn't matter what you do really. The fallacy is Class As are somehow safe because they are big and heavy. Nothing is further from the truth and you have virtually no protection in an accident.

I always leave the inverter on 24/7 even if the gen is running. That way if I shut off the gen I have seamless inverter power. Doesn't hurt it a bit. I'm going on 30 months with the inverter never being shut off. I have done this with every coach I've had.

We also run the Genny nonstop. If we are in the coach or using it the Gen tends to run. I don't even shut if off to fuel. I also leave it running when parked if we are at a football game or out sightseeing ect. Diesel fuel isn't explosive like gas. We have almost 4,000 hrs on the Gen. I only shut it off to check the oil every 3 or so days. Those little 3 and 4 cylinder Kubota engines can be abused and neglected and still go 15,000 to 20,000 hrs!! The electrical generating part is good for 10-12k hrs before needing rebuilt.

I also leave all the propane items on when fueling. Again diesel isn't explosive.

Make life easy and use everything always. Don't try to "save" the RV. Its meant to do a job so why not use it to its full potential.

Cheers,

Jim

[mvpmich]

Originally Posted by trode

And, that policy may have saved our lives, if not just our TT. Traveling back from Chincoteague VA we were told to pull over and shut off gas on TT, I shut off bottles and went in TT just to check around, smell of gas nearly knocked me out, had bikes in there that had shifted and hit the control on the stove, I opened door full wide then carefully opened a few windows and got out, waited half an hour there while airing out, and saying my thank you prayers at the same time! Now to my questions. I too am undecided on the genny while riding question, and usually use dash air and fridge on LP. I decided to try the genny with roof air one trip, and hour or two down the road noticed my dash battery light would flicker on and off, would only stop if I put large load on chassis battery, i.e. lights on high beam, fan on dash, etc. As I turned them on the light would re-appear. So left them on rest of trip and haven't used genny while running since. I was thinking that the battery was being overcharged? Next issue; I read alot about turning off refrigerator while re-fueling. Not sure why that is. I mean I know there is an open flame, but on my coach it is 20+ feet away and nearly 5 feet above ground level in an enclosed space. Gas fumes being heavier than air fall during fueling and disperse quickly, is there really a significant risk here, or just being overly cautious?

I totally understand the condition in your TT but this forum is for Class A motorhomes which is an entirely different situation.

[trode]

Originally Posted by mvpmich

I totally understand the condition in your TT but this forum is for Class A motorhomes which is an entirely different situation.

I have a class A which you can see in my picture, I was relating a story of what happened at the CBBT relating to turning off propane. Rest of my post is about traveling with things on in the MH.......

Guess you thought I was a low life TT owner infringing on the upper class (class A)?

[mvpmich]

Originally Posted by trode

I have a class A which you can see in my picture, I was relating a story of what happened at the CBBT relating to turning off propane. Rest of my post is about traveling with things on in the MH.......

Guess you thought I was a low life TT owner infringing on the upper class (class A)?

My bad. Just thought the TT incident didn't apply. Really didn't read the rest of the post.

I can't use the excuse that I only looked at the pictures either!

[Ramzfan]

Originally Posted by PyrateSilly

We have the inverter on and run things like the fridge and water pump along with the lights and some plugs. We try not to run the genny unless it's absolutely needed for AC as ours runs on diesel and off the same tank as the engine so our MPH goes down about half if we do that. So for the hottest part of the day if we are on the road we stop and eat at that time.
Once thing I will tell you is that if someone tells you that you cannot run the AC while going down the road and that you have to go down the road with the windows open for air they are very WRONG. You will probably have to have the genny on to run the AC but yes you can have the windows closed and the AC on.

I agree completely with this post...I figure about 1/2 gal per hour when running the Gen on diesel.

[OutAround]

Originally Posted by Ramzfan

I agree completely with this post...I figure about 1/2 gal per hour when running the Gen on diesel.

...which is 2 bucks an hour......20 bucks for a 10 hr day.....why not just run the gen and be comfortable?