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Old 08-01-2016, 10:01 AM   #1
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Home after 6000 miles in the Greyhawk 29MV

Well it's done. Our first real experience with the Jayco Greyhawk 29MV after rolling more than 6000 miles in the coach (6 weeks).

We rolled through TX, NM, AZ, CA, UT, CO, NM, TX, then home (Louisiana).

We learned a lot about the 29MV. That 6 speed E-450 (6.8) seems to pull through "most" grades very well while on cruise control, and works very well while at maintaining speeds while descending on cruise control. What a blessing that was for the brakes.

We achieved almost every gas mileage number a coach this size could consider. Our lowest miles per gallon was 6.6, while our best mileage was 8.9 miles per gallon. Fuel prices were all over the scale as well. The cheapest we paid was $1.81 per gallon in Page, AZ and the highest was $3.85 in CA. (we purchased 15 gallons to get us out of that region).

With the size of the coach in combination with the TOAD, finding the right service stations was a little cumbersome. Using Gas Buddy was a total success for us.....

The AC struggled in Roswell, MN on 4th of July weekend with outdoor temps at 115 degrees, the coolest the interior got was 82. I guess that was to be expected.

Jacobs Lake, AZ was a pure delight. The AC was turned of at 10PM and blankets were use by 2AM. On the other hand, Zion National Park was a mad house, as was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Towing the Subaru Forester behind the coach was a pure delight. Parking the coach and having the car to go wherever we needed, or wanted the go, was everything.
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Old 08-01-2016, 02:13 PM   #2
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Thanks for sharing. We have a 29MV as well. Have only put 3200 miles on it with a few in-state trips around Michigan, then to NY and CT and back home. Mileage reports are very comparable to yours. Nice rig to drive with a TOAD behind us.
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Old 08-01-2016, 03:00 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boudreaux View Post
Well it's done. Our first real experience with the Jayco Greyhawk 29MV after rolling more than 6000 miles in the coach (6 weeks).

We rolled through TX, NM, AZ, CA, UT, CO, NM, TX, then home (Louisiana).

We learned a lot about the 29MV. That 6 speed E-450 (6.8) seems to pull through "most" grades very well while on cruise control, and works very well while at maintaining speeds while descending on cruise control. What a blessing that was for the brakes.

We achieved almost every gas mileage number a coach this size could consider. Our lowest miles per gallon was 6.6, while our best mileage was 8.9 miles per gallon. Fuel prices were all over the scale as well. The cheapest we paid was $1.81 per gallon in Page, AZ and the highest was $3.85 in CA. (we purchased 15 gallons to get us out of that region).

With the size of the coach in combination with the TOAD, finding the right service stations was a little cumbersome. Using Gas Buddy was a total success for us.....

The AC struggled in Roswell, MN on 4th of July weekend with outdoor temps at 115 degrees, the coolest the interior got was 82. I guess that was to be expected.

Jacobs Lake, AZ was a pure delight. The AC was turned of at 10PM and blankets were use by 2AM. On the other hand, Zion National Park was a mad house, as was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Towing the Subaru Forester behind the coach was a pure delight. Parking the coach and having the car to go wherever we needed, or wanted the go, was everything.
How did the water heater work out for you? did you boondock or did you have water / dump hookups at the sites you stayed? Any other issues with frig, generator, LP cooking, etc.?
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Old 08-01-2016, 03:32 PM   #4
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Awesome.

Sounds like an awesome time.
Of course we have to use the rules of the internet here:
Pictures or it didn't happen.

So where are the picts?
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Old 08-02-2016, 10:34 AM   #5
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How did the water heater work out for you? did you boondock or did you have water / dump hookups at the sites you stayed? Any other issues with frig, generator, LP cooking, etc.?
With regards to the "on demand water heater", I never understood the dislike for the heater. We would just put the heater switch on, regulate the temp dial, climb into the shower, use the hot water only, and shower. No issues.

The frig, the stove, the micro, and propane were all flawless. We boondocked six times (only one night at a time between camp sites. Four Walmart & two flying J locations). It was very helpful in cost savings while traveling. I used "RV Park Reviews" and "Passport America" with much success.

Every RV Park site we stopped at had full hook-ups. Dumping was never an issue.

Having the TOAD (with great gas mileage 30/33 MPG) allowed us to pick a RV Park some distance from our sight-seeing destination.


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Old 08-02-2016, 10:46 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by TimHolt View Post
Sounds like an awesome time.
Of course we have to use the rules of the internet here:
Pictures or it didn't happen.

So where are the picts?
Hi Tim, I understand the need for pictures to verify the existence of the trip. There are just "too many" pictures available ...... LOL ....

Roswell, Pie Town NM, Petrified Forest, South Rim, Kingman AZ, Oatman AZ, Boulder Dam, Vegas, Sequois Nat Park, Yosemite Nat Park, Zion Nat Park just to name a few. Just too many pictures...... LOL ......


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Old 08-03-2016, 07:30 AM   #7
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We too just finished a trip (2 weeks+) from Chicago area to southern CO & UT putting on 3200 miles. This was the first real trip for us, so I was a little nervous all would go well. Since we had just over 6000 miles on the MH prior to this venture (mostly weekend stuff), we had most of the bugs worked out. I must say the only maintenance issue to mention for the entire trip was our in-dash A/C started acting up (cycled cool/warm air) on the 2nd day. Not a major problem, just a bit warm at times when driving. This was not a Jayco issue but a Ford warranty one. We soon learned though not to use the 'regular' 85 octane gas that is sold in CO, but to buy their 'plus' 87-89 octane. Compound this with the altitude (10,000+) and engine/generator really got a workout with diminished returns. On-demand hot water worked well with the exception of one campground due to really low water pressure. Coach A/C kept up in the most part with the hot UT weather (105+ outside). We followed what we learned here (drop thermostat to 70 at night and kept at 75 during the day, used a full windshield cover, kept all blinds closed during the day and awning open when possible). Never really got above 78 inside the entire trip. Though we didn't tow a vehicle, we did end up renting one on two occasions which worked out well.
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Old 08-03-2016, 06:49 PM   #8
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Thumbs up

Boudreaux, nice report. Sounds like a nice time, an ur rig performed well. I to am in the 29MV camp. Mostly weekend trips with mine, an all is well. Was wondering how it would do on grades out west.

Mrjacksprat,
Looks like you had a good trip also. Nice pics
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Old 08-06-2016, 05:24 AM   #9
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Glad the Forrester is working out for you!!!! Thanks for sharing
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Old 08-07-2016, 09:09 PM   #10
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Wow... We did a similar amount of miles... Started from TX, through OK, to CO, then on to MT, then through ID, onto NV, then to CA, then to AZ, then back through NM and returned to TX. Just around 6K miles... We hit Rocky Mountain NP; Yellowstone NP; Reno, NV; Yosemite NP; San Francisco, CA; Sequoia NP; and the South Rim Grand Canyon. Towed a beater Dodge Stratus that my brother law was fixing up to sell. Used one of the Acme Tow Dollies. Had a few issues with the safety chains (both to the hitch and the control arms...almost ground each one of the safety chains in half dragging on a few unavoidable dips and also had the dang control arm safety chains come off of the dolly on a few crazy rough roads). Also destroyed one of the awning arms in a crazy sudden wind burst while camping north of West Yellowstone. Still managed to get the awning closed and stable for the rest of the trip, but the one arm is pretty much going to need to be completely replaced. Had a terrible time getting the generator to stay running. Tried everything...thought it was bad gas...thought it might be heat...thought lots of stuff, but in the end it looks like the ground to the fuel pump might have a short and would just shut off the pump due to vibration. Also...had to reset the dang Girard hot water heater one night, but after that it was just fine. Got some funky issues as well...like it seems like some bolts or something seem to be coming loose and pushing up through the floor and the bottom area by the refrigerator seems to be buckling a bit for some reason, but overall for the hell we put it through, I think it did about as good as can be expected. The entire family had a great time, and everyone got to see and experience some wonderful sights and times.
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Old 08-07-2016, 11:39 PM   #11
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Glad the Forrester is working out for you!!!! Thanks for sharing
The Forester was amazing. Mileage was "so much better" than we hoped for. We had so many side excursions in the Forester that proved to have mileage in the 33 MPG category. we were delighted so many times ......


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