The Nomadic Life

[PaMtbRider]

It's been a week since we got back home from our Colorado trip. Things went amazingly well. The weather was near perfect with most of the daytime highs in the low 80's. We did see a few nights with the overnight lows dipping into the 30's. The only weather that impacted our trip was returning home during the hurricane. We stayed an extra night in Missouri to avoid driving into the storm. Our last day was about 500 miles in a steady rain. That had the side benefit of washing off the majority of bugs and grime that had collected on the front of the truck and trailer. I'll work on getting both properly cleaned this weekend.

The truck did a great job. I never lacked for power, brakes or suspension. Total trip mileage was 6200. It didn't use a drop of oil and averaged 10.5 mpg. I probably could have done better with the mpg by slowing down. Most of. the interstate miles were at 75mph.

A couple of the trip highlights were, renting a Jeep Wrangler and doing some trails near Ouray, Durango to Silverton steam train ride, being woke up by an elk at 2 am bugling outside the trailer door, all the diverse landscapes from canyons, gorges, deserts, and mountains.

I'm still sorting through all the pictures. I will post a few when I get it all figured out.

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[Too Tall]

Kudos to Dan and Rox.

[froze]

My travel trailer is getting a new fresh water tank later this month. It leaked and I used JB Water Weld to get the leak to a dribble while in Wyoming. I have a warranty which should cover all this. A new 81 gallon tank is around $500 and I'd imagine at least that much in labor. I also cut away the black corrugated material to get to the leak and I'll need all that replaced as well. I used 8" wide tape to cover the holes to get home and protect everything else.

My next chore is to learn how to adjust the slides so they are completely flush when they're in. Right now, the door side slide has a gap. I also plan on replacing the plastic wheel flares that have warped. They're not expensive.

In other news, my wife's Chevy 2500 was getting random check engine lights and maintenance warnings saying the DPF was clogged. She was losing power a few times on the way home from Wyoming. The truck has 270,000 miles and the local diesel guys that we trust says it needs a new turbo and DPF. The particulate filter is the most expensive part but an OEM Garrett turbo isn't far behind. It will be around $10K in repairs and compression checks show the motor is still good. We thought about getting another used truck, but we know the history of this one, so we're throwing money at it. The shop is also servicing the front and rear differentials, with the rear getting the cover removed and the housing wiped out, and the transmission is getting a cover off, new filter service. My F-250 is doing great, I had the transmission, transfer case, and differentials serviced.

After we move to Wyoming next spring, we will downsize our travel trailer and get a fifth wheel, 30' or less. Too many times I've been unable to get a spot in an RV camp because our trailer is 33", especially out west. Since we won't be living in it for months, I want a small toy hauler for my bikes and my wife's art stuff.

Did you say you have a 81 gallon water tank for a 5th wheel travel trailer? I've never seen water tanks in any size trailer or motorhome larger than 48 gallons.