First major trip out, what I learned...

[twojump36]

2015 30 DS purchased new last June 8th 2015.

We have had 2 and 3 day trips both dry and full hook ups for the last year so we wanted to stretch the legs on the motorhome just a bit so we planned a long trip (at least for us)...

2-weeks before we were to leave, we were loading some items in the motorhome when we discovered the air conditioner quit working. One call to Al's Trailer sails (my dealer) and it was scheduled in and fixed before our departure date of 6/18.

Less than 90 miles down the road, a 1972 Cadillac threw a rock up and into the windshield for a nice crack.
I chalked it off to just a normal thing and not a big deal, I'll get it fixed later.

The roads here in Oregon are pretty nice and so are the ones in Washington so there wasn't a banging going on... it was a pretty uneventful first day... we spent night #1 in Coeud' Alene Idaho. 425 miles from Salem Oregon.

Day #2 was another story....
We are headed to West Yellowstone Wy for a few days. Interstate 90 is the main highway east, and going through the "pan-handle" of Idaho was a breeze and the scenery is epic.... then you hit Montana. This is where the horror story starts.
The day was looking to be about 450 miles long and our longest leg of the 9 day trip. When we hit Montana the rattling started... then the shaking... then the crashing.... then the stuff breaking. I have traveled almost every major highway and most secondary roads West of the Rockies... and with the exception of highway 99 through Fresno California, I-90 is as bad as it can get. Our dash rattled so bad the camera monitor came loose. The upper bunk magnet ripped out of the ceiling, a piece of trip came loose and un attached near the kitchen slide out, the knob vibrated loose off of the fantastic fan in the bathroom, and we didn't know it at the time, we suspect the shaking and jarring was responsible for the Furrion DVD to not work anymore. Another hole in the windshield from rock from a truck and horse trailer...
For almost 250 miles, it was the worst experience I've ever had (2-vasectomies excluded)... the violent jolts from the suspension and roads was exhausting. We had to pull off the road and lower the upper overhead bunk so it wouldn't pull the other side out and cause more damage. At some point the left armrest of the drivers seat got bent down at about a 30 degrees... (possibly from the constant jolting?)
Once in West Yellowstone, I screwed the lag bolt that holds the magnet on the upper bunk back in and hoped for the best. Did my best to re-attach the trim, screwed the handle to the fan back on and forgot about watching DVD's the rest of the trip. Avoid the "goat path" that is Interstate 90

Day 3 was perfect... we couldn't watch and DVD's but we had cable at the KOA in West Yellowstone and it was ok. We spent a couple nights there and toured the Park.

Day 5 we headed to Jackson Wyoming and it was 130 miles of zero problems.

Day 6 was 375 miles of wind but good roads from Jackson Wy to Boise Idaho.... it is apparent I need to do the "Sway-Bar" fix when I get a chance because wind and semi- trucks are not all that enjoyable... I probably will add the steering stabilizer on there as well.

Day 7 was a chip shot over to Bend Oregon for some relaxing before the final 130 mile drive home...

I thought I had everything I needed for a 2,000 mile trip like this...
Here's a list of what I still need...

1 a "scrunchie" hose and a "Y" so I can wash the windshield off.
2 a wash mitten and a nozzle with a car wash soap.
3 a fold out ladder (see above)
4 a toilet flush wand ( my tank reads 1/2 to 3/4 full when empty )
5 the rear sway bar moved to the next position
6 a steering stabilizer
7 the best shocks they make for the Ford Chassis (it was that bad)
8 a complete tool kit with square headed screw drivers and torx screws or sockets (in Boise we couldn't get out of the motorhome because the little knobs on the door were now behind the aluminum trip by the door latch and had swelled or something to the point we couldn't open the door)
9 liquid nails or silicone (for the trim that falls off)
10 small headed screws (to hold while the liquid nails sets up)
11 a new drivers seat apparently ( they can't fix it according to my dealer?)
12 a vacuum cleaner for all the rocks and dust
13 a programmable tuner to change the shift points of the transmission ( my transmission is junk as far as I'm concerned.... it's never acted like any other transmission I've ever driven since I've owned it, and everyone says it's normal)
14 an iphone mount for the dash or a GPS and mount. (holding an iphone and driving is hard)
15 some sort of a route planner that takes into account low overpasses... (my iphone gave me an alternate route that would have ripped my roof off if I'd have taken it... under a rail road trestle)

All in all it wasn't a bad trip and we had a lot of fun once we got out of Montana... we met a lot of nice folks and had a blast with everyone we met.
We can't wait until the next trip.

[cucamelsmd15]

I have a tablet with the CoPilot GPS app on it. You can set the RV profile with height/propane/toll/ferry restrictions. Cant remember how much I paid for it now, but it was worth it. Mounted on the dash, and the lane change notifications are great.

[twojump36]

Originally Posted by cucamelsmd15

I have a tablet with the CoPilot GPS app on it. You can set the RV profile with height/propane/toll/ferry restrictions. Cant remember how much I paid for it now, but it was worth it. Mounted on the dash, and the lane change notifications are great.

That sounds like a great option. If I had gone the way my iphone wanted to take me instead of following the road I'd taken once before, I'd have ripped the entire top of the motorhome off...
The lane change thing sounds good to... that way the wife gets a pass.

[SeaDog]

What a adventure

[mdstudey]

Who ever is riding shotgun still navigates with the gps. Just so much to look for when driving. Glad that was only the worst part of your trip and the rest was clear sailing.

[brewjaz]

Those are all things that make it an adventure--hopefully will be better next time.

All-in-all -- you had a good time!

[CaptnJohn]

Garmin makes a GPS for RVs. You input height, weight, etc and it is supposed to route around the roads that can hurt you. I have not had any problems with it. Best price I could find is at thegpsstore.com .

[Havasudave]

I added the roadmaster steering control and sumo springs front and back of my fr3 25ds. World of difference. Crosswinds went from scary to just a nuisance and the ride is far better
Built a 3 soded box and put it under the center console to solve the shake. I also drilled through the metal plates that hold the bunk to the magnets and moved the lag screws so that the bunk is totally secure. We are 1600 miles into our trip with our next stop in Polsun ans Kalispell MT.

[Delco Bobby]

Originally Posted by cucamelsmd15

I have a tablet with the CoPilot GPS app on it. You can set the RV profile with height/propane/toll/ferry restrictions. Cant remember how much I paid for it now, but it was worth it. Mounted on the dash, and the lane change notifications are great.

Which version of CoPilot is for RVs?

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by cucamelsmd15

I have a tablet with the CoPilot GPS app on it. You can set the RV profile with height/propane/toll/ferry restrictions. Cant remember how much I paid for it now, but it was worth it. Mounted on the dash, and the lane change notifications are great.

CoPilot has several apps. Are you talking about the "Truck" version? Looked at it in the App Store but it has a lot of very negative reviews.

[Finch]

Originally Posted by Havasudave

I added the roadmaster steering control and sumo springs front and back of my fr3 25ds. World of difference. Crosswinds went from scary to just a nuisance and the ride is far better
Built a 3 soded box and put it under the center console to solve the shake. I also drilled through the metal plates that hold the bunk to the magnets and moved the lag screws so that the bunk is totally secure. We are 1600 miles into our trip with our next stop in Polsun ans Kalispell MT.

I have to admit that experiencing some 30 mile per hour winds and higher cross wind gusts is terrifying. I do not head out any more before I check the wind speed ahead on the road - but even this is not foolproof as the winds are usually much lower in cities and towns which is where my weather seems to measure. I don't know anything about chassis work. I was wondering if you took your FR3 into a truck repair shop for the Roadmaster steering controls and front and back sumo stablizers, etc. or did the RV dealer do the work. Which would recommend?

[Scrub175]

Originally Posted by emm-dee

CoPilot has several apps. Are you talking about the "Truck" version? Looked at it in the App Store but it has a lot of very negative reviews.

iOS has the app, but dat price tho...

[gspot01]

Originally Posted by twojump36

For almost 250 miles, it was the worst experience I've ever had (2-vasectomies excluded)...

You, sir, are just a glutton for punishment

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk

[bob5560g]

We are headed from Oregon to Montana and the Canadian Rockies on a very similar route in about 10 days. Thanks for the heads up on I-90, might have to find an alternative!

[BandJCarm]

Heck of a report. Sounds like you had some bad times. BUT.......if you got TWO vasectomies, then it sounds like at one point in your life you were the luckiest person on Earth! LOL

[Ron Chamber]

A suggestion on the I-Phone holder.
I have a cover on mine and like Velcro.
I put a strip of the rough / hooks part of Velcro on the top left corner of the dash. The smooth part on the back of the phone.
It lets me put the phone in reach and in view. I use the maps app to get around. So far, it has not got me too far off.
I also use it that way with speaker setup if I have to talk while driving.