Our 7,300 mile trip this summer is from Portland (well the burbs) to Idaho, to Yellowstone, to Mt. Rushmore, to Chicago (burbs), to Ohio, to Delaware (stay there for a week for my nieces wedding). Then south to Charleston for a week, then to Florida for a week to do theme parks with the kiddos. From FLorida, head NW stopping in St. Louis and Denver as the big points, the trek home to Portland.

 

I sent an inquiry to Allstays. They referred me to Low Clearance POI - GPS Data.

Allstays could still be a very useful tool.

 

With a height of 13' 10", you need to be extremely careful. Id recommend investing in a Motor Carrier's Atlas. Far more reliable than a GPS. You will have to plan your route very carefully as many overpasses clear 13' 6" and not much else. Oh, and watch your damn mirrors when you turn.

 

im up here now for the weekend and it is gorgeous if you get a chance to get out might want to check out the Coon dog cemetery, Dismal Canyon, and the rattlesnake salon foe a great burger

 

No cell service, no navigation with a smart phone. As long as you never travel out in the boonies i agree with you though.

 

cell phone still has GPS (even when there is no cell signal).....we often have a loss of cell coverage on our (frequent) runs from Houston to Winchester (va)....the GPS (and maps) continue to function (cached).

 

So another question I was asked was to check wheel bearings, which I have my trailer service yearly and that is part of the check. I want to do a visual inspection of it on this pages recommendation, but not sure what to look at on the wheels?

These are aluminum wheels and drum brakes so where should I look for 'leaking' bearing?

Thanks for the help and sorry for my stupidity!

 

outside front of the hub to start with.


Backing plate can be another indicator.


Only other option is to take the drum off and have a look to see if any grease made it onto your brake shoes.


Short of any issues I would not take the drums off if you had it serviced just recently.

 

Thanks we service it yearly, and the trailer is fairly new, only 3 years old and we have about 3200 miles on it. I just wanted to do a visual before we head out and we have road side assistance and towing assistance.

 

depending on where you go, texas is 14' legal state for height. its getting to be rare for bridges to be lower then that.

 

10 hours wheel time on Google means about 11 hours wheel time towing a camper, which means about 14 hours travel time counting quick refuel stops and short rest/meal breaks. Unless you have someone else in the truck that is willing to take turns driving, I'd find a truck stop about 2/3 of the way and plan on overnighting there.

 

I try to stick with name brand stations, and start looking for fuel earlier enough that I can pass up a station or two, until I find one that's laid out so as to have room to maneuver. I find that, especially with the help of Gas Buddy, that I can usually save 15-25 cents/gal over the truck stops. I also find that many of the truck stops do not have RV pump blocks and leave you to fight with the cars or the big rigs.

The key is to make EARLY stops so your not desperate for fuel.

 

I average 50 mph towing time. I travel when towing at 65 mph.

 

Yep we are staying overnight in Little Rock, so we should be good.

 

Just wanted to bring this back around and say thanks! You guys really helped a lot and this trip was a success and we had a great time.

628 miles each way.

Out I averaged 8.9 MPG
Home I averaged 10.2 MPG

Using google maps I decided to make my stops around half a tank or at 150 miles so I had plenty of gas if I needed to skip. Mostly used Loves truck stops and besides the food had great luck. Some guy even told me at the pump, "WOW looks like you have done that a few times!"

I did have to take one of your advise and ignore stupid people, this one guy with a boat was blocking the pumps so when I pulled in I was slightly blocking him, he could pull out but had to go right instead of left. Worked out fine but he went out cussing.

Anyway, thank you so much guys! You are much appreciated, you help to make a trip much less stressful for a newbie!