This is how we do it

[dkoldman]

So two weeks ago we decided to go to Colorado to visit what we missed when we got caught in Colorado's worst Snow Blizzard of the century this past March 2021.

So as a rule, I never make travel arrangements for the trip in route to my destination. Now if I have two intended destinations that may be different, but as far as the journey, we will live off the fat of the land.

So we try to book at a Colorado State Park that was our 1st choice. It was booked solid So versus booking alternative sites, I decided to keep trying to see if anything became available. The next day; I was able to book part of our stay with a 80ft back in site with no utilities. We booked it, we went 5 days before we found a 40ft back-in site with no utilities on the same campground loop; so we booked it too. So we were good 1 week before our departures at a cite that is heavily booked.

We took the RV up into the mountains ( we don't do the toad thingy). While we may not have exactly gone off road 4 wheeling; I may have accidentally pushed 4 Jeeps over the side of a mountain trying to park

But we completed our hike up the intended mountain turning heads for all to see a RV on the mountain

Our home campsite while full, is spaced out very well. Very clean, nearest RV was 100 ft or more. Temperature hit 41 degrees last night; but we didn't even run the propane heat. I told my wife that it was physically impossible to freeze to death at 41 degrees , besides we saw some folk camping in tents. Actually I am trying to complete the trip without using the propane heater due to the altitude unless it is an emergency. So far Easy Peasey.

[ducksface]

That's how to do it.
That is a nicely spread out campground.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by ducksface

That's how to do it.
That is a nicely spread out campground.

They actually had Wifi that works too

This has been one of the better maintained RV Parks we have been in. Some RV Parks you never even see a Park Ranger, this place has people cleaning & sweeping every site as soon as person left. There were at least 4 or 5 Campground Hosts living on site as I can recall and maybe 10- 15 volunteers. Worth every penny.

The weather is very nice, it gives me better perspective how some can deal with and only need 1 AC unit.

[CHS]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

They actually had Wifi that works too

This has been one of the better maintained RV Parks we have been in. Some RV Parks you never even see a Park Ranger, this place has people cleaning & sweeping every site as soon as person left. There were at least 4 or 5 Campground Hosts living on site as I can recall and maybe 10- 15 volunteers. Worth every penny.

The weather is very nice, it gives me better perspective how some can deal with and only need 1 AC unit.

If you want the AC to cool even better, Take the cover off and pray paint it white. Makes a big difference not have the sun beating down on a black cover.

[Bob Denman]

The best adventures always seem to happen with the least planning...

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

So two weeks ago we decided to go to Colorado to visit what we missed when we got caught in Colorado's worst Snow Blizzard of the century this past March 2021.

So as a rule, I never make travel arrangements for the trip in route to my destination. Now if I have two intended destinations that may be different, but as far as the journey, we will live off the fat of the land.

So we try to book at a Colorado State Park that was our 1st choice. It was booked solid So versus booking alternative sites, I decided to keep trying to see if anything became available. The next day; I was able to book part of our stay with a 80ft back in site with no utilities. We booked it, we went 5 days before we found a 40ft back-in site with no utilities on the same campground loop; so we booked it too. So we were good 1 week before our departures at a cite that is heavily booked.

We took the RV up into the mountains ( we don't do the toad thingy). While we may not have exactly gone off road 4 wheeling; I may have accidentally pushed 4 Jeeps over the side of a mountain trying to park

But we completed our hike up the intended mountain turning heads for all to see a RV on the mountain

Our home campsite while full, is spaced out very well. Very clean, nearest RV was 100 ft or more. Temperature hit 41 degrees last night; but we didn't even run the propane heat. I told my wife that it was physically impossible to freeze to death at 41 degrees , besides we saw some folk camping in tents. Actually I am trying to complete the trip without using the propane heater due to the altitude unless it is an emergency. So far Easy Peasey.

Nice trip..what state park?

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by CHS

If you want the AC to cool even better, Take the cover off and pray paint it white. Makes a big difference not have the sun beating down on a black cover.

Really? I have never heard of that nor read on the many topics with OP'ers having issues with their AC running cool enough to keep the cabin cool.

I don't doubt it may have some impact, but why do the Mfgs put on the black ones? If it were a truly sound mod upgrade I would consider buying new shroud covers in white when these start to look bad. Something about Spray painting to existing makes me skittish to try. Maybe because I spray painted my Cat Converter few months ago with that High Temp paint and it is already started to fade.

FWIW, I have yet to have situation in the Texas Heat (100+) whereby if I turn both ACs on High, the coach will be cool in 15 minutes. I do pull the shades on any side facing the sun. I also extend my Awning for same purpose if I wish to keep a view open from inside the coach.

[Scubawise]

Wife and I have watch many YouTube videos on this product and will make for each window
The reviews are great

Reflectix BP48010 Double Pack Insulation, 48 in. x 10 ft (Тhrее Pаck) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08M2F4XD5...ing=UTF8&psc=1

[ducksface]

the new ceramic window tints cut so much more heat than just 3 years prior generations best.(you tube video shows cheap walmart to be about the best but its blurry and purple tinted. I dont care on my already dark windows.)
Mine will be done, all windows and the skylight as soon as I get off of my considerably sized ass to do it.
And I'll do the wider opening side window extension thing at the same time.

IF we add a second ac, I have my mind soundly/sorta/kinda/maybe set on putting a household minisplit in the 24.1 basement and ducting it between the bed.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Scubawise

Nice trip..what state park?

Cherry Creek State Park Colorado

They have made my Top 5 as a RV Park. I am very peculiar about what RV Park to stay in. Half the RV parks I see, I would just assume stay at a Wal Mart or Truck Stop and be happier.

It is not uncommon for us to call in to verify an opening to a RV Park we have never seen; but wait until we get there to commit. I drive around the park as if I was buying a house Sometimes I see enough, where I circle back and leave not sawing a word. (i.e. I don't park my RV on loose dirt or that white dusty gravel ever, nor when I see political flags as I know it not for me to call home for a few days, or even when I see large free roaming dogs. The latter has happened twice. I love dogs and would never say anything directly to any owner, rather I would just leave and let others live, I bought a RV that I can basically live anywhere that makes me fill at home. I like knowing I can get out of my RV day or night, walkaround in peace.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

The best adventures always seem to happen with the least planning...

So true, I plan to not plan; so technically I have a plan in event the RV Planning Police were to stop me

Here is perfect example of how we do it...

We left Denver yesterday at no particular time, my only plan was not be driving at dark because I wanted as few bugs as possible; so we would overnight somewhere, but where?

Made it to Amarillo, TX and found a nice Wal Mart RV friendly and very good Wifi, but we still had 2 hours of daylight. So we left and kept driving, an hour later found a very nice and new Rest Stop in Texas that had several RV's with slides out preparing for the night. We had a perfect spot and Mon Night Football was about to start, but we still had some daylight and your's truly wanted a real dinner, my wife thought I was gambling but we rode to next town about 20 minutes. It was Memphis Texas (not Tennesee).

So we see this nostalgic restaurant with few cars, but very large parking lot. My wife goes in and they say we can camp overnight on the RV So we ordered dinner to go; I setup the RV with levelers and slide and we watched Monday Night Football in complete solitude and peace as the restaurant closed at 9:00 PM. Oh by the way, the Restaurant Manager wrote on the receipt that we could camp overnight just in the event someone questioned us. We left for Dallas this morning with less than 1/3 tank of fresh water (12 showers and used the fresh water to wash front of RV & Windshield of bugs when we 1st arrived in Colorado). We were gone 6 days never had any electrical, water, or drain hookup. Only used the Genset to help cool coach on the TO trip and it ran couple hours each day to top off the batteries from running the inverter and TVs.

When we got back to Dallas, the 1st thing I did was fill up propane. $4.99 so we only used 1 & 6/10ths of a gallon. We only used propane for Fridge and hot water; never turned on the propane heat; yes it got down to 39 degrees the last night, but inside the coach it was 52 degrees, yes it was cold, but that was late night and we had our blankets. I could have ran the propane heater, but I was in Colorado NOT at Home it was fun, beside, not that it would have done damage, but at that altitude I just wanted to minimize the need for the Heater. We now know that at 40 degrees and above; running gas heat is purely optional

2nd thing we did was stop at Costco and fill up with gas $170 I complained every minute the pump was pumping. I easily spent $800 total on gas

Regardless, short of the washing it will get later this week; it is already for the next trip whenever that may be.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

2nd thing we did was stop at Costco and fill up with gas $170 I complained every minute the pump was pumping. I easily spent $800 total on gas

Regardless, short of the washing it will get later this week; it is already for the next trip whenever that may be.

I incorrectly said Costco; It was Sam's Club. I don't know why my keyboard typed in Costco? I never go to Costco and only go to Sam's to buy gas for RV off my wife's card

[Campnjoe]

So what's with the heater and the altitude? What am I missing?

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by Campnjoe

So what's with the heater and the altitude? What am I missing?

Same question what is heater altitude issue?

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Campnjoe

So what's with the heater and the altitude? What am I missing?

Originally Posted by Scubawise

Same question what is heater altitude issue?

I chose to not run my furnace in part because there may not be enough oxygen in the air to run continuously. I spoke with Suburban before my 1st trip to mountain this past March '21 and they spoke that the heater need an adjustment to function at high altitude. I believe they even spoke of a high altitude kit that I verified that I did not have. I have now made two trips to Colorado and thus far have not had to even try the heater to see what the furnace may do. I suspect it may not run consistently if it did in fact start.

By contrast my Onan 5500 has an Altitude adjustment. Although 5,000 feet is as high as it will go. It was kind of strange because while we had no electrical service, my genset may have only run 4 hours; and that was to recharge batteries. It ran a lot more on the trip to Colorado because in Texas it was 90+ degrees when we left so we had both ACs running on the drive.

I did run the water heater and the Norcold fridge virtually the entire time with no issues. The fridge is on an]the inverter whenever we are driving though. When we are in motion with the RV, all of my propane items are always off / shutdown 100%.

[CHS]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

Really? I have never heard of that nor read on the many topics with OP'ers having issues with their AC running cool enough to keep the cabin cool.

I don't doubt it may have some impact, but why do the Mfgs put on the black ones? If it were a truly sound mod upgrade I would consider buying new shroud covers in white when these start to look bad. Something about Spray painting to existing makes me skittish to try. Maybe because I spray painted my Cat Converter few months ago with that High Temp paint and it is already started to fade.

FWIW, I have yet to have situation in the Texas Heat (100+) whereby if I turn both ACs on High, the coach will be cool in 15 minutes. I do pull the shades on any side facing the sun. I also extend my Awning for same purpose if I wish to keep a view open from inside the coach.

Because you never read it on a forum, it cannot be true? WOW!

Painted mine 2 years ago and still looks like new. Plastic AC cover not really the same as a Cat cover.
Friend had a $300,000 Class A and a Winnebago rep told him at a rally to paint his units white due to the 2 units had a hard time keeping up at times. The cooler you make the box the efficient it is. Just common sense.
I painted mine and it made a noticeable difference. As for why manufacturers don't make them in white? aesthetics!! Don't know what else to tell you.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by CHS

Because you never read it on a forum, it cannot be true? WOW!

Painted mine 2 years ago and still looks like new. Plastic AC cover not really the same as a Cat cover.
Friend had a $300,000 Class A and a Winnebago rep told him at a rally to paint his units white due to the 2 units had a hard time keeping up at times. The cooler you make the box the efficient it is. Just common sense.
I painted mine and it made a noticeable difference. As for why manufacturers don't make them in white? aesthetics!! Don't know what else to tell you.

I never said it wasn't true. Just that I never heard of it and I cite what I read on a forum because that it where I have got 99.9% of my learning on RVs. My really? comment; was just as in "wow" for me because I did not know that.

I can believe it to be true, but I think my point is that I may actually also agree with the assumption that mfg's install the black ones on some of the coaches for aesthetics. I am a DIY'er but don't trust myself with some things because if/when I screw up, I am hard pressed to explain it I used Rustoleum 2000 degree High Temp paint on my cleaned Cat Converter, cured it by cycling 3 times per instructions and it is still changing colors and partially flaking. No big deal because it is on the bottom and it is still clear to a thief or whom ever it is painted. Not sure if you wish to recommend a spray paint? I don't know how long shrouds last, but if I ever had to replace them I could get white. They are about $200 maybe cheaper if I look?

With all that said, I only have a 30 ft RV; and with the two ACs I don't have a problem today. It is common for me to go in the RV in excess of 100+ degrees as both thermostats are reading 99 degrees (digital reading max is 2 digits) and in 15 min; we are comfortably cool. I don't even have to play around with the ducting

Thanks for the information. I just keep reading and keep learning; all good things will get around to the forum sooner or later

[happy]

Sounds like a great trip.

I'm Gonna check out high altitude needs as that is where we hope to go for several trips.
We live at 1500 ft and have plans to be sleeping at 8,000.

Thanks for the report of the St. park.

PS: did any of you read about the recently invented/developed "whitest" paint ever? Reading about it said it would actually reflect so much heat that it created a cooler temp inside buildings. Most white paints do reflect heat and slow heat transfer but not enough to create a negative temperature affect. Not available or affordable I suppose.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by happy

Sounds like a great trip.

I'm Gonna check out high altitude needs as that is where we hope to go for several trips.
We live at 1500 ft and have plans to be sleeping at 8,000.

Thanks for the report of the St. park.

PS: did any of you read about the recently invented/developed "whitest" paint ever? Reading about it said it would actually reflect so much heat that it created a cooler temp inside buildings. Most white paints do reflect heat and slow heat transfer but not enough to create a negative temperature affect. Not available or affordable I suppose.

Did you see that movie Long Long Trailer on TCM. It was hilarious and they went up to 8,000 ft pulling a 40ft trailer with a car

There is some type of derating adjustments required for some systems with every 1000 ft climbed. Best to check owners manual of with mfg directly because some manuals are not clear.

I took the position to avoid use of propane at the altitude unless absolutely needed. Had I had electricity when camping, I would have used our portable electric heater. Had it got to freezing I would have turned on the propane heater and took my chances. I did run Norcold fridge and Suburban water heater and there was no problem what so ever. My Genset came with an Altitude adjustment and I had it on 5,000 the entire time. Note: Norcold did tell me to NOT operate over 5500 ft I had Fridge & Hot water heater shut down completely while we mountain climbed at that 8,000 ft.

BTW,
I had not read about the whitest paint, but I have now. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ng/8378579002/ Looks like that is something we will all see in the future. For me it is akin to the Lithium batteries, I may have to way until it comes standard with my coach. Except for my OEM FLA batteries that I gave away, I gonna try to get every penny of use of the gazillion dollars I have spent buying this RV brand new. It is all part of the game and fun

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by CHS

Because you never read it on a forum, it cannot be true? WOW!

Painted mine 2 years ago and still looks like new. Plastic AC cover not really the same as a Cat cover.
Friend had a $300,000 Class A and a Winnebago rep told him at a rally to paint his units white due to the 2 units had a hard time keeping up at times. The cooler you make the box the efficient it is. Just common sense.
I painted mine and it made a noticeable difference. As for why manufacturers don't make them in white? aesthetics!! Don't know what else to tell you.

Great information thx