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Old 04-16-2017, 07:04 PM   #1
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Returned from our 5 week trip.

Well the wife, 2 dogs and I returned from our 5 week trip out west a few days ago. We had a couple of issues on week one of travel, not show stoppers, just a little pain. First was the forward AC failed when we were in Arizona. Outside temperatures were in the low 90's, inside with the rear AC running was 77 to 80. No biggie, we were only staying a few days then heading up to cooler Grants Pass OR. Now during our travels I discovered we have 20 gals of fuel when the needle is a little below the center of the E and the need fuel light has been on for the last 30 miles. I was sweating it on hwy 95 between Mina and Hawthorne NV., should have listened to the DW (she uses the Allstays app) and filled up in Las Vegas.
The second issue when we were leveling our rig in Grass Valley CA. our Equalizer system began spraying fluid out all over the undercarriage. I had the wife retract the jacks so at least they would be in the up position for travel. The next day we stopped at a Jayco dealer for them to look at it, hoping for an easy fix. We were told it would take 2 weeks for replacement pump. After hearing that we decided to continue on our trip. Just call it luck I had packed (7) 2"x10"x20" leveling boards just in case we had been given a crappy camp site during our travels. As it was all the places we stayed were fairly flat and level except a couple.

Now the good stuff, we had a great time traveling around visiting my family and the wife’s. The Freightliner ran flawlessly, towed the Jeep through the mountains without any problems. It handled the high cross winds in Wyoming and Nebraska, although we did carry a little extra weight than normally, kept the fresh water at 2/3, 1/3 to 2/3 for gray and black. That might have helped, not sure but we are happy with the way it handled the winds.


We traveled 5624 miles with an 8.75 avg mpg. calculated by miles traveled and fuel used. Only used 14.5 gals of DEF.

ed
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Old 04-17-2017, 05:26 AM   #2
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Thanks for the review Ed. Sorry to hear about the AC and the leveler, but at least you over came and still had a good trip. What happened with the AC? Again we hear that the fuel gauge is overly pessimistic. I guess it is better to worry that you are running out of fuel and finding you had 20 gallons than thinking you have plenty and running out. Seems like they could easily fix that problem.

Happy you had a good trip. Sounds like you went to some cool places.

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Old 04-17-2017, 07:05 AM   #3
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What would cause you to get so low on fuel? I start looking once I show a half of tank. Was it that far between truck stops?

We are planning a trip West this late Summer and fuel sources are my concern. There has got to be lots of truck stops, lots of trucks are traveling that area.
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Old 04-17-2017, 07:44 AM   #4
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Mark I am not sure what is going on with the AC. But while it is running it draws about 8 amps, the fan runs fine. Not sure if the compressor is engaging or not, I have not been on the roof with the cover off to check it out. I will leave that to my Jayco dealer.
The rear AC draws about 13 amps when running.

Ric, I didn't listen to the DW, she said I should have filled up before leaving Las Vegas. I figured I would get fuel somewhere outside of Vegas, that didn't happen. My DW "co-pilot" uses the Allstays app to find fuel/truck stops, if you don't have it I would recommend trying it out. The take away from this is, listen to the DW, she is always right and lastly I now know how much fuel is left when getting down on the E.

ed
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Old 04-17-2017, 08:01 AM   #5
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Being that you were leaving Las Vegas, I can see how you left without filling up. That gambling atmosphere can influence your logic. I can't imagine getting that low on fuel. I guess my big thing would be the inability to start the generator, if below a quarter of a tank. I've worked in the marine industry with diesels most of my life and you can spend a lot of time getting a diesel restarted after you've run out of fuel. Not that I couldn't do it. But I also almost cut a thumb off and I try to avoid some of the "more exciting things" I've done in my past.
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Old 04-17-2017, 12:15 PM   #6
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listen to the DW, she is always right
Two words every husband learns quickly: "Yes, dear..."
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Old 04-17-2017, 02:19 PM   #7
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rgolding, I can't even begin to tell you our horror stories of no fuel in Nevada. We left Las Vegas one time thinking we had plenty of fuel to get to our next destination. It was an ISOLATED road typical of parts of Nevada, and the headwind was blowing at hurricane force. We kept seeing that needle get lower and lower. Thank goodness there was a small town with a station in the middle of nowhere between Las Vegas and Laughlin called Searchlight. We were almost on empty by the time we got that far. Another time we thought we had enough and almost fainted when we saw one of those dreaded signs that said "no services for the next 90 miles". People think Wyoming is isolated...Nevada is far, far worse. Now we gas up as soon as we hit half a tank or when we're heading into the unknown, or just when we happen to see a station, sometimes when we have way more than half left! Just a note - it was also 105 degrees out!
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Old 04-17-2017, 02:48 PM   #8
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I have found the app gasbuddy or the website gasbuddy.com to be very useful in planning my fuel stops. One end of a small town can be 35 cents more/less than the other.

There is a map feature to show where the stations are visually, with their posted prices. Zoom in and out as needed. It can be tied into the GPS to show locations in reference to your current location.

I plan my fuel stops days before I leave using gasbuddy.
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Old 04-17-2017, 08:19 PM   #9
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14.5 gallons of def seems a lot for 5600 miles
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Old 04-18-2017, 07:14 AM   #10
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"no services for the next 90 miles".
First coach we had, had a 30 gallon tank and 9 MPG
.
I remember it being near 2:00am, frantically checking the phone apps, Google maps. Coasting down hills in neutral.

Not fun...

Pulled into an empty gas station on fumes and thankfully they were one of those that left the pumps on, even no attendant in the wee hours.
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Old 04-19-2017, 03:19 PM   #11
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Just call it luck I had packed (7) 2"x10"x20" leveling boards just in case we had been given a crappy camp site during our travels. ed
Haven't bought any manual levelers in case of a auto-leveler failure. Is this something most Seneca owners carry for backup?
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Old 04-19-2017, 04:31 PM   #12
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Javamom, Aren't you about ready to pick up your Seneca?
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Old 04-19-2017, 04:37 PM   #13
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RVOne called and said it was released to shipping on Monday, 4/17. Once they receive it in Tampa, they will need 5 days to get everything (prep, loan, etc) ready. Hoping to be travelling down there 29-30 Apr.
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Old 04-19-2017, 04:41 PM   #14
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javamon,
Not sure why I made them and packed them away, our Equalizer system worked many times without any issues. Maybe its from years of managing projects always looking for a contingency plan to initiate if a system fails. Or just intuition.

ed
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Old 04-19-2017, 05:05 PM   #15
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RVOne called and said it was released to shipping on Monday, 4/17. Once they receive it in Tampa, they will need 5 days to get everything (prep, loan, etc) ready. Hoping to be travelling down there 29-30 Apr.
That's great news. Mine is to allegedly be released May 4. This wait is really tough. Please keep us posted.
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Old 04-19-2017, 05:06 PM   #16
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javamon,
Not sure why I made them and packed them away, our Equalizer system worked many times without any issues. Maybe its from years of managing projects always looking for a contingency plan to initiate if a system fails. Or just intuition.

ed
It is always good to have back up plans.
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