Great White Posted August 20, 2016 Just pulled a 24 ft. 7,000 lbs. Travel Trailer From Oregon To Texas. Trip went great. Pulled up mountains of over 7, 300 ft. Elevation in August temps of 90 plus. Never missed a beat. Engine temp never budged and Transmission temp only rose two bars or about 10 degrees, Even in 115 degrees heat of the Mojave desert with the air going and running 65 mph. I was also carrying about 1,000 pounds of camperconversion weight in the van. I did go to middle grade gas due to some preignition in the mountains. It may have been bad gas but it pulled like a champ. I also went to full synthetic oil and this actually seemed to help with gas mileage, I got an average of 10.5 mpg on smooth and hilly road at 60-65 and 6 mpg in the mountains. The only things that were bothersome,were the side wind issues in Arizona. A bad down draft with 50-60 mile an hour winds made the trip eventful and when an 18 wheeler passed me the bow wave was pretty harsh and would push hard and suck the rear of the van in as it passed. Not dangerous but not fun. I had the wheel turned 1/8 to 1/4 turn for quite a few miles. This is a High top van so I expected it. The trip was long but good. The van preformed flawlessly. The ride was a bit bouncy but it is a 1 ton. I had a weight distribution hitch and anti sway. I have to say, if you are wondering about towing a travel trailer any distance I would recommend it totally. This is one great van and it out preformed trucks I have made the same trip towing comparable trailers. 2 Mr Bill and radin2son reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted August 20, 2016 (edited) Great report. Where did you stay on your travels? Read your other post. Didn't realize you were relocating to Tx. Even so let us know where you pulled in each night, as some of your trip was through some very desolate territory, in August no less. We love early high desert mornings during the summer months, so getting a late start doesn't matter on a trip. It lets you drive until the sun sets and and starts to cool down again. The trick is timing the sunset with a place to stay. Edited August 20, 2016 by radin2son Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Great White Posted August 21, 2016 We are originally from Texas. Lived there most of my life but traveled a lot. My wife is a travel nurse and we full-timed rving for about 8 years back and forth across the country. I have made the trip from Tx. to Or. 6 times and towed it twice. I have marked out regular stops both fuel and for the night. I was concerned about fuel due to the smaller tank and lower MPG than my trucks. I kept it around 65 and found that on regular roads, not mountains, I could keep it around 10 mpg. Not bad for the added weight of my camping rig. I stopped when I could find gas but avoided truck stops. My trailer is 24" less hitch, and the turning radius of the NV is not great. But fuel was not a problem. I have always tried to remember gas stops, because, Like you said, there is miles of nothing out there and no place to stop or pull off. South eastern California and Southern New Mexico can be desolate. Nightly stops where in Oarland,CA., Lost Hills, Ca., Kingman, AZ., Grants, NM., Roswel, NM., Fort Stockton, TX. Lastly, The Texas hill country. We ran about 300-350 a day. Not break neck but a nice days drive in heavy winds, mountains, traffic, and August heat. It is a good trip and the van ran great. If it is someones first time in the Southwest traveling, keep in mind that gas can get sparse at times so fill up frequently. There are long stretches with no gas or places to stay. Wind can blow up at any moment and 50-60 side winds are common and if the sign says gusty winds ahead pay attention. I have seen many RV's rolled over up and down that stretch every time I make that trip. Caution aside, The views are spectacular! The New Mexico light is the best in the country. Give yourself an extra day or so to spend quiet morning with a cup of coffee and watch the sun set the red cliffs and hills on fire and listen to the Doves. Pull off early and enjoy the cooling off of the desert and watch the indigo sky give way to more stars than you can imagine! Most of all enjoy your vans and your lives folks. 1 laharview reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted August 21, 2016 Would you believe, Roswell, NM has a NV dealership? We love getting off the interstate to travel through the small towns etc. Truck Trend did a first drive for the new gas Titan XD and they faulted it for only having a 26 gallon tank. 35 gallon tank would have been much better. They really liked the new 5.6 V8 and 7 speed transmission. 18 mpg. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
