Kelly Travels 2023-24: Critique of SouthWest Trip

74 Day Southwest Trip
Main Locations: Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona
Grand Design Reflection 5th Wheel
Approx 14,000 lbs loaded
22 Stops
Over 6,800 miles
$2,672 in diesel fuel (avg 11 mpg towing, and 21 mpg when not)
Approx $3,573.80 in Lodging (48.20 avg per night)
Food ... I don't even want to figure that total. It might scare me :)

1. Expect the unexpected. Try not to let it ruin your trip (I kept telling myself this).
Day 1 - we were ONE mile from the house and as we sharply turned onto the major highway the truck and RV lurched and came to a screeching halt. The brakes locked up and we were stuck in the busy highway. Don pressed the gas but it was obvious the 5th Wheel was locked up. We threw on the flashers and he investigated the issue. We had just had new disc brakes installed in the Spring and immediately thought they were malfunctioning. It actually was simple - when we turned so sharply onto the highway, the Trailer Brake Cable became wrapped around something in the back of the truck that pulled it tight and engaged the Trailer Brakes. Being only 1 mile from the house and beginning a 75 day trip, my stomach was in knots and I kept thinking "we will have problems, but ALREADY???" I did not expect the first one to be 1 mile from the house. Happy it was easily remedied!!

2. Get a TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System). With the high temps and bad road conditions, as co-pilot I kept a close eye on this. The one time we had a Valve Stem issue and was losing pressure, we had stopped for lunch. I was standing at the camper and began hearing the air rush out of the tire. Then we heard the TPMS monitor go off in the truck.
When we began this trip in August the temperatures were 100-102 degrees. The tire temperatures would rise quickly and I habitually watched the TPMS in case we needed to pull over and let the tires cool.
Our tires did not have many miles on them, yet they were manufactured in the 49th week of 2019, and put on our 2021 5th wheel in June of 2020 when the camper was manufactured. Therefore, the tires are approaching 4 years old. Tire tread is not the issue with failure on RV Tires but it's dry rot, sun damage, splitting and such from weather and road conditions. We've learned all this since having an RV.
We were thrilled that our Goodyear Endurance four year old tires held up so well on the trip out West. Our only issue was the Valve.
We are having new Endurance tires installed on the RV next week.

3. You will not always have cell phone service. We have 3 phones and opted for two carriers: Verizon and T-Mobile.
   The 5G T-Mobile red "Bat Phone" as we call it surprised us and we had service on all but one stop as well as Monument Valley. Verizon was great as well.
   Full disclosure, we did cross into some dead zones traveling to Monument Valley and other desert areas while on the trip but all of our campgrounds and stops had not only cell service but internet. [In another Post I will touch on our TMobile 5 G Cellular Router which performed flawlessly on this trip, on our Florida winter stays, and on all our other
camping trips. We've also used it at home when our XFinity internet failed us.
We always had internet.]
   Also, at this time let me touch on the subject of Emergency Communication.
   Knowing how much hiking we would be doing and some of it would be somewhat remote on mountains and perhaps not well populated with visitors, we purchased a Garmin In-Reach Explorer with GPS Navigation and an SOS feature for emergencies. Garmin In-Reach Explorer
Besides, we are not Spring Chickens anymore and falls happen.

   We purchased a Plan via Garmin where they would send Rescue Help if we were injured or suffered a health emergency or if we were lost.    Again, not that we are ancient, but at our age you never know what might happen and I wanted to know that someone would come get us off a mountain, or in a valley or even on the side of the road if a health emergency arose.
   Every year there are many tourists who break a limb while hiking, or they suffer some type of cardiac episode. Some do not make it.
   We purchased a year's plan and will have the InReach with us on our travels and Winter Stay in south Texas only a few miles from the Border. Being unfamiliar with the location down there, we will definitely have our InReach with us at all times when walking, hiking, biking

4. Because of #3, Keep a printed copy of campground reservations. You may not have cell service to look up emails, reservations, etc.

5. Personally 250-300 travel miles a day is our sweet spot – 325-350 max.

Young folks can do more, but we found we need to stop, walk around and stretch, perhaps take a 10 minute power-nap especially if we did not sleep well the night before.

And we never want to arrive after dark if it can be avoided. We enjoy getting set-up and relaxing for the next day's travel, or if we are staying a couple of nights, we may tour the new location. This leads us to #6.

6. Minimum of 2 nights’ stay at each stop is best for us.

If you have a motor home or Class C, we believe it is much easier to do a lot of one-night stops. They are easier to set-up. But with a 36’ 5th wheel, it takes us a while to unhitch and set-up even the most minimal items and of course pack up the next morning and hitch back up.

For you who do not UNHITCH yet put out your slides, I commend you. I have read too much about unlevel RVs causing issues with slides and these propane-electric Fridges. I’m trying to avoid expensive repairs but again, I do envy you.

7. Build in days for laundry, cleaning, maintenance, cooking/meal prep, or the unexpected.

My husband reminded me to do this half-way through planning this trip and already had reservations made. I then updated several stops to add days for just such reasons.

Again, plan for the unexpected.

Piper, our Shihtzu, had an episode and threw up in our bed requiring all bed linens to be washed. I had a very large blanket on our bed that was too large for the washers and to be honest we just trashed it (thankfully I got it on sale for $20). But this unexpected event caused us to have extra laundry and we had to find time to take care of it.

We also dirtied our clothes more than usual with all the hiking (dirt and dust) which required more frequent washing, or larger loads when we did wash.

8. In the middle of the trip, we wish we had planned at least one 5-7 Day Stay-in-one-location with no hiking or adventuring planned.

This would have given us time to catch up on maintenance to RV, laundry, shopping, meal prep, and cleaning. Most of all we would have rested.

This is not usually feasible unless you have unlimited money and time. We were already cost-conscious as a 10+ week trip was not cheap, so adding RV Park rent for 5-7 days just to 'rest' was not imaginable for us.

9. Use several GPS Apps - but this still does not always guarantee your travels.

Once, our RV Garmin took us on a dirt road that went over a very unlevel sharply-inclined railroad that would have for sure caused us major issues or perhaps taken out a Leveler. Thankfully we were not hitched and only sight-seeing.

RV Life - Trip Wizard

Before travel days, we used Google Maps to view the Route that RV Life - Trip Wizard was taking us. We also did the opposite if we had mapped out a change in the Route. We went back and put it into RV Trip Wizard to make sure there were no "Low Clearance" indicators.

While traveling we also used Waze as well as Google directions on our phones (remember we have 3 phones :).

10. Buy the biggest engine truck you can afford! And Yes, we know all about limited income and budgets!

We did and no regrets. We went from a 2500 gas to a 3500 diesel. First, we never thought about getting a diesel until we went from the Travel Trailer to the 5th Wheel. And we for sure never wanted a dually, but in the summer of 2020 we ran across an unbelievable great deal and went with that larger capacity for pin weight! At that time Don mentioned the mountains out West and that this 3500 dually would easily pull our 5th Wheel.

That truck performed beautifully on this trip!!!!

Granted if you are a weekend camper who goes 30 minutes or an hour from your home to camp 4-5 weekends a year, you perhaps can get away with less engine than you need

11. Tow mode is wonderful on steep inclines/declines. Exhaust brakes are invaluable. Hey, I confess as a woman that I really didn't understand Tow Mode and Exhaust brakes but I sure do now!

We topped some mountains to find a sign that read "8% incline the next 3 miles" or "7% incline the next 18 miles". Our mouths dropped open, after all we are flat-landers from Alabama and hang out in the Florida Panhandle. We were not use to such inclines. Don handled it better than I did; I was pretty unnerved on quite a few mountains where I looked out my passenger window straight down at cars that looked like teeny ants.

12. Always carry water/drink and snacks in your truck while traveling. You never know.

If you plan a trip out West you will find quickly, as I did, that all the sites and camping info discussed having enough water with you.

For us, this included a gallon or more of non-potable water in the back of the truck in case we needed it for any cleaning reason. We had numerous small water bottles with us, and gallons of drinking water that could also be used to wash a wound, water the dog, or wash a dish.

I am Type 2 diabetic so we did not go anywhere without Kind Bars which is my go-to if I get low blood sugar. Of course I have various candy in a 'sugar emergency'. We also carried cheese sticks, crackers, peanut butter, and electrolyte drink packets.

Being out west we were constantly aware we could break down in a very remote area and be stranded a long time. This made having water and snacks an even bigger priority.

13. Gas Buddy App helps you find fuel. It's a really cool App.

14. Pay attention to those signs that say “No fuel/services for ____ miles”. Once we went 104 miles with no restrooms or gas stations and it was on an interstate. Once it was 54 miles in the middle of a no-where desert area.

This was a new thing for us. We are use to traveling the eastern United States where you are always fairly close to gasoline OR can have it delivered to you via Roadside Assistance.

Not so Out West!!! Pay attention to all your signage and heed it.

A Pro to having an RV -- you can always go to the bathroom inside it.

More on Roadside Assistance (or the lack of their efficiency) in a later post.

15. Going through several Time Zones is tough on the body.

This was especially evident crossing back and forth from Mountain, to Pacific and combined with part of Arizona that does not recognize Day Light Savings with some parts of Arizona that do. We were traveling back and forth in and out of these zones and it was unbelievable. Many times we had to ask Google what time is it "where I now am".

16. Much of the United States Interstates that we drove are in horrible shape.

I-17 out of Flagstaff, and most of the Arizona highways were the worst we experienced.

And of course, I-10 out of Houston and through Louisiana is a nightmare. Construction and horrible road conditions.

I-20 going West from around Jackson/Meridian over to Shreveport shook us to our core. In fact we exited before Shreveport, through Minden, LA, and north to Texarkana just to get off I-20.

I-10 around San Antonio and I-35 north to San Marcos had unbelievable construction and much of it had the concrete barriers so close on each side we were surprised 18-wheelers and RVs could squeeze through. We found this same issue in El Paso and coming out of Houston headed East - all on I-10

Many say I-40 is horrible but we only drove it from Amarillo to Albuquerque and while there were bad stretches, it was not the worst we found. I have heard going West of Albuquerque towards Flagstaff and further West is a nightmare.

We found that the highways in the South are not as bad as we thought!!

17. 55-65mph is acceptable for towing. Many of the main highways and interstates were 80 mph and automobiles definitely went the speed limit.

But with our weight and the condition of the roads we find that slower speeds while towing 14,000 lbs is much safer.

And because of the condition of the highways as mentioned in #16, we drive slower to keep the roads from shaking our camper to pieces.

18. Reviews on campsites are well worth researching. Photos on the sites are not always true.

Thankfully most of the RV Parks we stayed at were just fine. Some were nicer than others depending on if we were staying several days, or just needed a quick one-night layover.

But I did find that many of the photos were not accurate :). Of course we already new this from traveling with the RV the past 3 years.

19. If you have health issues have a notebook with important medical info and info on your medications. Same for your Pets.

At the suggestion of our doctor who knew we were going on a 2.5 month trip, I created a 3-ring binder with general health info, copies of Insurance Cards, copies of recent labwork (which would have been necessary should we have an injury or fall sick), copies of diagnoses of health issues, full info of all our doctors including phone numbers, and all this same information for Piper.

In case of an emergency, you just grab that notebook and Go!!

I was so glad we had it when we contracted Covid on the trip. While not life threatening, you never know what might develop such as pneumonia and require hospitalization.

This proved invaluable when Piper had an abscess tooth and we had records of her health issues and medications.

Speaking of pet health - Our precious fur baby is not in good health and suffering the last stages of heart failure. Two weeks before we departed, I discussed with a Vet what we would do if she passed while on the trip (and it was a possibility). She informed us we could have her cremated and shipped back home. I had no idea!!

I also made sure to have her prescriptions filled and enough to last us at least the first month of the trip, this included flea/tick meds. She receives the annual heart worm shot and if you travel a lot you might look into that.

20. Plan on spending more on gas than you anticipated. We found diesel anywhere from around $3.80 to $4.50. I think once we had to fill up at around $4.89, ouch. Husband has all those figures and I'm sure will make a social media post about it. We did see it around Bryce Canyon for well over $5; I think it was $5.60-something.

21. We had disc brakes installed Spring 2023 to replace our drum brakes that come standard on our 5th Wheel. Performance Trailer Braking (PTB) installed them on location for us in Georgia.

We also had PTB repack our bearings and do an inspection of the springs, ubolts, and all those other tire/axle/spring components while at the Grand Design Rally in Texas on the way home. Although it was not 'time', we decided to have it all checked and done after such a long 'rough' drive on this trip.

We’ve seen many posts about “Check your trailer brakes often”. We were so grateful we had disc brakes installed to replace our drum brakes. They worked wonderfully.

22. If you can afford it and have the time, and want to travel – do it, NOW!! We are in our mid-sixties and I see little things about our sleeping, physical abilities (stiffness and small aches) that make us slower than we use to be. I can only imagine how it will increase as we age.

In the last days of my dad's life, as many people do, he was reflecting on his life. He knew how I've longed to travel and see parts of the US other than the South. His advice was to "Do it! Get out there and travel and see different things!" He said he wished he and mama had done it more.

This really made an impression on me. Many of you care nothing about traveling and I respect that. But many of us have a 'wander bug' and we like seeing different places and experiencing new things. Thankfully I have a husband that shares this interest with me. I am surely blessed!!

23. Lastly, and perhaps the most important, Don and I decided that this Trip was too long for us.

What? You may be shocked and we are as well.

Why? We made a mistake and packed too much into the 10.5 weeks. We had what we call Sensory Overload - we saw so much we felt we really could not properly soak it all up. But it was THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME for us in the Southwest. There is a good chance we will not return as we have so many other places we want to visit.

So, we planned this trip as an Adventure Trip -- NOT a relaxing vacation. We were focused on hiking, biking, sight-seeing, photographing, water skiing, adventuring and soaking up every single minute of adventure possible!!

Almost every single day was full of activities. And the days that were not, were full of laundry, cooking, cleaning, buying groceries, etc. This is related to #8 above.

In the future, for us personally, we believe an Adventure Trip such as this should last no longer than 6 weeks, 7 max. And I plan on planning them that way.