Girl and her dog

[Dana353]

My husband and I want to drive from southwest Minnesota to smack dab in the middle of Arizona October 2021. I lost my husband in January. I'm going to make the trip alone.(with the dog, of course) I'm a little worried about gas. I have a 2018 keystone outback (I've since modified) and a 2012 GMC Sierra Denali with the bigger engine. My camper will be heavy. We put on the nice travel bars, that I hate, but he said it was safer. I've been to South Dakota. (2 hour trip) and it's nice and flat. Any advice on how to avoid the wind, hills, and if I should pack some gas, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.
Dana353

[twogypsies]

Sorry for your loss and I commend you for going on the trip alone.

Definitely no need to carry extra gas. There are stations everywhere. It would be more comfort for you to drive on the top half of your tank instead of letting it get lower.

You said your RV will be heavy.... how heavy? It's important that you have a tow vehicle that is safe to pull it.

Best of luck to you!

[Arch Hoagland]

I always start looking for a convenient gas station when I get down to a half tank. I never go to truck stops. I never recommend carrying extra gas.

I pick out big stations that are empty of nitwits on their cellphones. I don't care what the price is as long as there's room for me to maneuver and not have some moron run into my rig.

Notify your credit card company you are travelling out of state.

As for wind...Usually the wind does't pick up until noon or early afternoon so start early in the morning.

Make sure you arrive at your overnight RV park at least one hour before dark. You don't want to be parking your RV in the dark.

Where are you going in Arizona? Do you have a place to stay there yet?

[Jay D.]

you should average about 8- 9 miles to the gal. figure out how far you can go on a 1/2 tank then get your road map out and see where the nearest stations are. tell us what your pulling with and what your pulling.
Jay D.

[tiffy2000]

Pick up a copy of Next Exit book, helps find gas stations that tend to be RV friendly...we have found that to be very useful ...there are probably apps for that as well but I like the book (stations in Red letters in the book are the RV friendly ones)

We went through Minnesota on our way to Yellowstone , Bryce, Zion Grand Canyon a couple of years ago

Good luck on your trip

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi Dana! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined us!

So sorry for your loss. I admire you for wanting to continue the RV'ing lifestyle. I've never had a travel trailer so can't be much help. There are lots of nice folks here who will give you good advice!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless! .

[carybosse]

Originally Posted by tiffy2000

Pick up a copy of Next Exit book, helps find gas stations that tend to be RV friendly...we have found that to be very useful ...there are probably apps for that as well but I like the book (stations in Red letters in the book are the RV friendly ones)

We went through Minnesota on our way to Yellowstone , Bryce, Zion Grand Canyon a couple of years ago

Good luck on your trip

Just ordered the 2021 edition (from Walmart).

Sorry for your loss Dana. Inspiring to see you move forward in this way.

The title of your post reminded me of a (very irreverent) movie by the name of a Boy and his Dog from many years ago. It was a cult classic type of movie shown at midnight. I am not suggesting anyone rush out to see it, or download it from some service. While the underlying theme speaks to society's ills, it probably did not rate well on the rotten tomato scale.

[jimcumminsw]

Sorry for your loss.

Now my question to you is, did your husband buy this truck to pull a 5er? Is the truck a 2500HD or 3500HD size truck? Did he get the optional diesel engine? What is the displacement of the engine? You should have a owners manual that will list what the engine is for size such as 6.0L (gas) or 6.6L (diesel) engine. If the truck is a diesel engine truck. There should be a decal on the front sheetmetal that will state Duramax and either 3500HD or 2500HD, this will help.

The reason I ask is my wife always refers to the fuel in her Jetta diesel engine car as gas! Even though see knows to use diesel fuel for her car!

To avoid most large mountain roadways I would drop down I35 to I40. You will have some mountains but nothing like you would see in DENVER CO on I70 as you go west. If you take I70 west from MN, you might be able to miss some of the mountains if you take I25 to I40 in New Mexico and than go west.

Let us know what engine you have, we can than provide a better answer as far as where to fill-up!

[hamm2018]

Originally Posted by Dana353

My husband and I want to drive from southwest Minnesota to smack dab in the middle of Arizona October 2021. I lost my husband in January. I'm going to make the trip alone.(with the dog, of course) I'm a little worried about gas. I have a 2018 keystone outback (I've since modified) and a 2012 GMC Sierra Denali with the bigger engine. My camper will be heavy. We put on the nice travel bars, that I hate, but he said it was safer. I've been to South Dakota. (2 hour trip) and it's nice and flat. Any advice on how to avoid the wind, hills, and if I should pack some gas, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.
Dana353

What is your destination in Arizona? We full time and are sitting in Goodyear just on the west side of Phoenix. It is a nice park, it cost us $600/month plus electric. Don't carry extra gas, just keep an eye on your fuel level. If you need you could use RV Trip Wizard to help plan your route. You can modify it to your specs that you want for size, weight and if you want certain type of roads (toll).
We are leaving tomorrow from here and our destination will be Box Elder, S.D. on May 23rd. But we are heading to Lake Havasu, Las Vegas, back to Cottonwood area before we head that way.
Going to central Arizona I would consider looking for a place now, to make sure you get a place you like.
Good Luck with your adventures. Any questions just reach out.

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Hi Dana, welcome to iRV2. My condolences on the passing of your husband.

Good luck and safe travels.

[Dana353]

Thank you for the tips! I will keep the weight under 9000 lbs. My truck is rated for 9500 lbs.

[sbleiweiss]

Can't help about towing, but if you need information about central AZ feel free to reach out.

[Dana353]

Thank you all for your feedback! I do have many more questions. I have a 2018 Keystone Outback travel trailer. I have a 2012 GMC Sierra Denali with the "Big" engine that runs on gas. I use a super heavy hitch that attaches bars to the camper. ( I read the owner's manual on towing weight capacity ,) I plan on going straight south to Texas then west to Camp Verde Arizona October 1st. I've given myself 5 days to travel. The dog and I can only stand each other in the truck together for 4 hours a day. He weighs 109 lbs. and thinks he can drive. My most important question is, the things on the camper that holds the bars...they moved. How do I fix that? Is there some weird formula with the height of the hitch and the distance? Is it ok to travel if I don't? My second is, the roads West from Texas...which one? I joined the RV "thing". It's hard to navigate, and not really that much help. It's a little confusing going south too. I'm a "fly by the seat of my pants" kind of person..so I'm sure I'll figure it out one way or the other. I just hate the other. (HEE!) Thank you all for your condolences and luck on my "New Adventure"![/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

[R.Wold]

After digesting this for a bit I have a few suggestions:

First, and probably most importantly, get with someone that knows your brand of weight distribution hitch and get an in-service on how it works, what it does, and how to set it up and maintain it. A half hour with a good trailer dealer would be time well spent. You could also post the brand and model of the hitch on the travel trailer forum and ask about experiences and helpful hints on it.

Your idea to head south to Texas and then west is a good one. Hwy 40 is a major route with plenty of RV parks and gas stations and while you’ll have a couple passes (Continental Divide and Arizona Divide) this is about the easiest route over all.

Take more breaks than you need and you and the dog will get along better. Try stopping at rest stops for a few minutes every two hours and you’ll be able to go all day. I like to drive to the far end of a rest stop, away from the buildings and the majority of the people - I almost always find a good dog-friendly open area and I’m away from other people with dogs. This is also usually where designated dog areas can be found, and most people park near the facilities so there’s usually good parking at the far end.

Do what ever you can to limit the weight of the trailer. It sounds like your truck is a 1500 and you are pushing the limits pulling a 30’ 9000lb trailer. I like a little more margin than 500 lbs. So travel with your waste tanks empty and your water tank almost empty, and don’t take anything you don’t need. Ultimately you’ll probably find that a smaller trailer would serve you better - 30’ is a lot for one person and a dog - even a 109lb dog.

As some others have indicated, evaluate gas stations based on an exit strategy. Look at how you’ll get out before you commit to the gas islands. If it doesn’t look easy pass it by. A 30’ trailer can be a lot to deal with in a busy gas station with a convenience store right next to the pumps. A lot of stations just aren’t designed with much room between the islands and the store, and with people also parking in front of the store it doesn’t leave much room for maneuvering a trailer.

Think about getting a good RV specific gps. I’m using a Garmin 890-RV and I find it very helpful for both fuel and parks. Since the dog won’t be much help navigating, you’ll find a little electronic assistance very beneficial.

I’m assuming you’ve become proficient at backing and maneuvering the trailer, but if you aren’t completely comfortable with it, get some practice in a big empty parking lot and create some backing and parking drills to improve your skills. Also I’m sure there are some good you-tube videos with helpful hints on the subject. I taught my daughter in about an hour and she went on to tow her 30’ trailer from Ca to a Memphis with four kids and a dog, with a 1/2 ton Suburban and did just fine, but she had to do some challenging backing a couple times - plan on it happening and be prepared for it. You won’t have a spotter to jump out and help. Also ask for pull through sites at parks when making reservations - it will make life easier.

Avoid the big cities by taking the outer loop routes when possible and when you have to go through a big city, plan to do it mid-morning to early afternoon to avoid the commute hours. Also plan your fuel stops before or after the bigger cities to avoid crowds at the pump. There are always gas stations on the outskirts of both sides of cities. I like travel/truck stops because there is more room to maneuver and usually room to walk a dog away from traffic.

Plan on averaging around 40 mph over all to take stops into consideration. Google maps says around 25 hours depending on the route, but chances are you’ll have more like 35 hours of driving time, so 4 hours/day for five days is probably not be realistic. But if you get into a groove with the dog and rest stops you can get in more driving time each day. They don’t need long stops, but they seem to do well with more frequent stops and you avoid emergencies that way. I travel with two 100lb German Shepherds, so I’ve learned.

Expect to encounter some winds. If you don’t that’s great but plan for it. Lower your speed in higher winds so you have more time to react, and if things start getting out of shape use your trailer brakes to straighten things out and regain control. If conditions get uncomfortable find a place to stop for the day, even it it seems too early. You’ll benefit from the break, and conditions will probably be more calm in the morning.

As I mention above you’re going to have some grades to deal with no matter what the route. So just plan on some slower going on the long hills, downshift, take your time, travel with the big rigs, watch your engine temp, use your tow/haul feature. If the truck is constantly shifting, down shift manually to keep it in the rpm range that works for the truck and driving conditions and if yo have a transmission temp gauge keep an eye on that too.

Hope this helps - I know it’s a lot to digest, a lot of it you probably already know, but having traveled by myself with a couple big dogs, towing a big trailer, these are the things that come to mind. Good luck and enjoy!