I would to say that the OP prepared as much as possible and did all the right things right. However, owning an RV that's used only a few times a year is like owning a boat. I'd love to have but one bad experience like that would make me want to burn it to the ground.

Tim

 

Well hopefully someone who is reading this thread will learn from our experiences.
Had I known better, I would have specified bigger axles just because they were available.
The trailer used to hop and bob over every bump in the road, now it just glides over them.
The springs were maxed all the time.
The new set has an extra leaf in comparison to the originals and that really made the difference.

 

One of my vacations from Hell was back when I was a teenager and had taken my kid brothers Tuna Fishing out of San Diego. They were 11 and 12.

I had an old Datsun pickup that I had just replaced the points condenser etc from the local no name parts shop. Saved a bunch of money on parts.

Well, anyway, we started off on the trip with about 100+ pounds of raw tuna in the back of the truck covered with ice and a tarp. It was August and we were headed back homew to Albuquerque New Mexico, across about 700 miles of desert.

Well we got to Barstow and the truck started popping and farting etc. Lucky for us we stopped at a Datsun dealer. Too bad they were closed. As I fiddled with the truck it started to run fine, so we hit the road. A few hundred miles later, more popping and farting etc. We had this happen maybe every hour on the road, it normally took me about 15 hours for this trip, you do the math. I fiddled with it and "fixed" it several times. We had the problem in Ashfork and had to get a tow and they had a real garage. They "fixed" it for me and we were on our way again. We barely made it to Flagstaff and had more trouble. It was late in the day so we put into a hotel and slept thru the summer night, won't talk about what my brothers did to me while I slept.

We got to the Flagstaff Datsun dealer when they opened and they worked on it until well past noon. They really fixed it. The problem was my set of no name $3 points I had installed. They were arching under the mounting plate. When I drove long enough, they heated up and arc'd. As I fiddled with the engine, the points cooled down and started to work again, so that is why we thought it was "fixed" many times.

We spent maybe a total of $300, back in the late 70s on the several garage visits.

After the Flagstaff dealer really fixed the truck we were ready to continue our trip. We walked upto the garage and whew it sure smelled funny, and there was a puddle of water in the garage. It was about 100 degrees when we left this mountain, ie cooler, town. Off on the road again.

Since the Datsun was a tiny truck my brothers took turns in the back of the camper shell. By late afternoon, well past 100 degrees, when we had to stop to let the boys trade places, I opened the camper window/door and whew, gagged a ton. My poor brother was sitting inside with a swarm of flies and red teary eyes. He was more than happy to take his turn in the front of the truck. I could not talk the other younger brother into taking his turn in the back, selfish bword. So all three of us rode in the front to the completion of our saga.

We pulled into Albuquerque late in the early evening it was still light and maybe just 100. My dad took a sniff of the tuna and said "into the trash". The only pleasure my brothers had was that all the neighborhood kids ooo'd and awed and retched when they saw the huge fish they had caught.

This is the reason why I NEVER buy no name parts for any of my vehicles, EVER.

That was one of several vacations from hell. My eyes still tear over at the memory.

Jim Henderson

 

Thank you... I really needed to laugh today!!

Very sorry to hear about your awful run of luck though.

 

have you considered selling the trailer and purchasing a time share???

 

No we havn't given the time share much thought. Not to say someday we wont.
The purpose of the trailer was too see different parts of the country as we get older. The Oregon Coast is a favorite spot of ours. And it is with in a days drive. Hoping to get all the bugs out. Before we make long distance trips. Thinking Arizona next year would really like to see the Grand Canyon then start venturing eastward.. Someday the east coast, places like Maine, Vermont, Virgina,Novia Scotia, etc.

 

I've sat through a couple of time share sales events while in vacation just to get the good deal and they definaterly have thier merit. We would never use one enough to make itpay for itself.

I truely envy the guy who has a nice camper. Instead of a fifth wheeler, I'd like to have a straight job with a deisel pusher sitting on a tandem axle and pull an econobox box around.

Tim

 

20 years ago I bought a time share that is tradeable for different locations around the world.
It's paid for itself many times over in that it enables us to stay in some pretty swanky locations and not have to pay $300.00 a night.
Our last vacation was at the Hilton resort on the big island of Hawaii.
The place is so huge it has a train to carry you around the complex.
We stayed in a condo that had a full kitchen, laundry, etc, so we were not forced to buy every meal out.
If you want to just find a cheap room at your location of choice then the cost is about the same IMO.
.
As far as traveling around the desert SW, well that is my favorite place to go hang out. From Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon and anywhere in between.
I stayed at a KOA in Panguich, UT. which is owned by one of our members here: koabob. CLICK FOR KOABOB
Click HERE for Koabob's campsite. Both he and his wife do a great job, I highly recommend staying there if you are in the area.
Panguich is about eight miles from the entrance to Red Rock Canyon. Go through Red Rock Canyon and there is Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park.
Or you can drive straight south out of Panguich about 35 miles up into the hills and end up at 10,000 foot elevation, looking down on the Cedar Breaks formation.
Panguich is right around 7000 feet elevation so it doesn't get super hot in the middle of the summer like it does in, for instance, Las Vegas.
Very pleasant climate, extremely low humidity.
I love it there!

EDIT: This little map is borrowed from Bob's Koa page, it does a great job of showing how centrally located Panguich is to all the sights there.

 

Small World...

I've been the KOA in Panguitch and can agree with everything - absolutely gorgeous country there. If I ever have the opportunity to go back, it will be on my agenda. I just wish my first trip there had been less eventful - wound up having to have the Ram & my pop-up towed back to the nearest Dodge dealership because a transmission tech didn't install a seal correctly on the transmission filter.

 

Hell no! Any vacation is a good one!

 

Talk about a small world; I worked many winter jobs for a general contractor (Val Middleton) him and his twin brother Vic and their wives Peggy and Margret are all from Panguitch. It sounds like a great place to stop at. I didn't realize it was so close to all the locations you mentioned. I will check into a routing my trip that direction. Thanks for the information.. It would be neat to meet Koabob too.

 

I'm going to highjack some more.
I see that you live in Mattawa, WA.
I'm from Seattle, and pass right by you on the way to vacation.
I have two favorite places to stop for the night on the way south.
One is in Pendleton, Oregon, but that is only about three hours out for you.
It's a very nicely kept place so I'm going to list it.
Mountain View RV Park
About 5 hours down the road in Hagerman, Idaho there is another place that I really like.
We've only stayed there once because of timing, location, etc. but am very glad to have found it.
Welcome to Hagerman RV Village
.
From that point on there are a lot of choices on how to get there.
There's the basic, *ahem* boring (stay on the freeway) route that will get you there just fine. I've done it twice.
Hagerman, ID to Panguitch, UT - Google Maps
A good alternative that routes you through SLC, Utah but then you get off the beaten path onto a more scenic and relaxed route.
In that area of the country, do not be afraid to take the two lane roads.
They are big enough for a semi truck with wide shoulders.
Very little traffic to speak of and some beautiful farm and some undeveloped country to feast your eyes upon.
You get off the freeway just south of Provo and proceed down the back side all the way into Panguitch.
Again, don't worry about it being a two lane road, there is plenty of room.

Hagerman, ID to Panguitch, UT - Google Maps

And if you are feeling like you want to avoid SLC altogether, which I do because of the traffic. (It really jams up sometimes, badly.) One time we took 1.5 hours to go ten miles on the way home. That experience made me want to avoid that part of the country at all costs.
So this is the way that I usually take. It only adds about 11 miles to the total trip.
I like it because it avoids the freeway for most of the trip.
Some very pristine countryside to drive through.
It's about 499 miles on that leg of the journey according to google so you may want to break it up into two days driving.
We always drive straight through the day because I'm not retired yet and we have a timetable to keep.
The only thing that I would want to warn you about is the last 50 miles coming into Panguitch from that route.
You have to go over Cedar Breaks Pass which is a long winding 10% grade that slows me down to about 35 mph and traffic stacks up behind me.
There is a place at the summit that I always pull over to let the traffic go by.
From there it is an easy drive back down the pass through some stunning mountain meadows. Come down to the highway, turn left and continue on to Panguitch.

Hagerman, ID to Panguitch, UT - Google Maps

 

Hijack any time. That sounds like a great route down thru Ely and over to Panguitch. I too dislike the whole Wastach front area lousy freeways and drivers with as you said heavy traffic.
I have a sister that lives in Pendelton. And if you take the last exit there is the Wild Horse Casino. It has a large 100 spot rv park. I am not much of a gambler but I love these Casino's for their security and clean facilitys. And the food is great and cheap.
I also have relatives in the Twin Falls area so I am fortunate to have free acomodations there.lol.. There is a large Rv park just off the freeway in Twin called Andersons Rv Park and it very well kept.
I would also think there would be a park in Jackpot Nev. again casino town..
We traveled to Tuscon years ago in the Ex. thru Ely and on down to Tuscon. It was pretty nice. I like your senic route thru there and over to Panguitch. That sounds like my best choice, and thanks for the information I really appreciate it..