Tom J travels

[Tom J]

This is coming to you from North Dakota. To update our fuel mileage, so far
on this trip the Born Free with Ford V-10 is averaging 8.76 MPG towing our
Saturn Vue. We had 2 days of strong head winds and of course lots of ups
and down the "hills".
:-)
We are having a ball!! We had rain only 2 days while traveling so far. We
will be touring Theodore Roosevelt National Park the next 2 days before
heading into Montana.

Tom J

[Bob Hatch]

Make sure you do the Pitchfork Steak Fondue cook out in Medora. Worth
the time and money.

--
I do not carry a gun hoping that
I'll be able to shoot someone, anymore than
I carry a jack hoping I'll have a flat
tire.
Me.

[Bob Hatch]

On 8/14/2012 3:47 PM, Bob Hatch wrote:
> On 8/14/2012 3:36 PM, Tom J wrote:
>> This is coming to you from North Dakota. To update our fuel mileage,
>> so far
>> on this trip the Born Free with Ford V-10 is averaging 8.76 MPG towing
>> our
>> Saturn Vue. We had 2 days of strong head winds and of course lots of ups
>> and down the "hills".
>> :-)
>> We are having a ball!! We had rain only 2 days while traveling so far. We
>> will be touring Theodore Roosevelt National Park the next 2 days before
>> heading into Montana.
>>
>> Tom J
>>
>>
>
> Make sure you do the Pitchfork Steak Fondue cook out in Medora. Worth
> the time and money.
>

Oops.

http://www.medora.com/where-to-eat/?Pitchfork-Steak-Fondue

[Ron]

"Tom J" wrote in message
news:502ad2f4$0$1625$c3e8da3$9f40...@news.astraweb.com...

+++++++
Don't hurry to MT unless you like smoke! We can't smell the smoke, but it
is doing a number on distant scenic views. They say most of the smoke here
is coming from fires in ID although there are some large ones in MT south of
I-94 and east of I-90. We have a 40% chance of rain in the morning and if
it rains the smoke may disappear for a day or so.
Ron
+++++++

Tom J

[Lone Haranguer]

Had some nice camping some years back at the north unit of TRNP
and also at Sather Lake. In those days Sather Lake
only had a few vault toilets and a couple of picnic tables but
Google Earth shows it has been built up a lot since our last visit.

Could be full of oil field workers now but in '98 we spent a week
there without another camper in sight. Neither the North Unit or
Sather Lake had hookups back then but Sather Lake had a lot of
bass, bluegill and trout. We got by with solar panels, never ran
the generator, even for the freezer or charging my trolling battery.
LZ

[Tom J]

Bob Hatch wrote:
> On 8/14/2012 3:36 PM, Tom J wrote:
>> This is coming to you from North Dakota. To update our fuel mileage,
>> so far on this trip the Born Free with Ford V-10 is averaging 8.76
>> MPG towing our Saturn Vue. We had 2 days of strong head winds and
>> of course lots of ups and down the "hills".
>> :-)
>> We are having a ball!! We had rain only 2 days while traveling so
>> far. We will be touring Theodore Roosevelt National Park the next 2
>> days before heading into Montana.
>>
>> Tom J
>>
>>
>
> Make sure you do the Pitchfork Steak Fondue cook out in Medora. Worth
> the time and money.

We are going to the play today & the Fondue afterwards!!!

Not a good day for sightseeing today - cloudy with scattered showers, so we
are just lazing around.

Tom J

[Tom J]

Today has been a clear day. We did a 2nd tour of the park today and saw
bison by the hundreds & prairie dogs by the hundreds also. 1st time I ever
saw them come running to the edge of the road when we stopped to get
photos!! People must be feeding them when they stop.

Tomorrow we head west into Montana and hope for the best!!

Tom J

[Bob]

In article <502ad593$0$45183$c3e8da3$b280...@news.astraweb.com>,
bob....@ymail.com says...

>
> On 8/14/2012 3:36 PM, Tom J wrote:
> > This is coming to you from North Dakota. To update our fuel mileage, so far
> > on this trip the Born Free with Ford V-10 is averaging 8.76 MPG towing our
> > Saturn Vue. We had 2 days of strong head winds and of course lots of ups
> > and down the "hills".
> > :-)
> > We are having a ball!! We had rain only 2 days while traveling so far. We
> > will be touring Theodore Roosevelt National Park the next 2 days before
> > heading into Montana.
> >
> > Tom J
> >
> >
>
> Make sure you do the Pitchfork Steak Fondue cook out in Medora. Worth
> the time and money.

Is that like an expensive cheesesteak sandwich?

Bob

[Tom J]

Nothing like that!! The steak was good. The rest was slop!! The crowd was
worse than the wild buffalo!! If I ever get to this are again, we won't go
back.

We are now in Livingston, MT and will be going into Yellowstone tomorrow for
a week. When I get someplace where I have a reliable connection I will
update the fuel mileage.

Tom J

[Bob]

In article <IdOdneIrAoN49azN...@earthlink.com>, tomnews2
@earthlink.net says...

Tom,

I hope y'all have a great time in Yellowstone.

So what was the Steak Fondue thing like? I went to a Melting Pot once.
There I didn't mind sticking the meat in cheese since it wasn't very good.

Bob

[Ron]

"Tom J" wrote in message

news:IdOdneIrAoN49azN...@earthlink.com...

++++++++
Wave when you drive by! If you are in Livingston and headed for YNP you
will drive by the RV park where we spend the summer. We are 18 miles south
of I-90 on US-89. You can't miss the RV park between the Yellowstone River
and the highway. Normally you would have a nice scenic 52 miles drive
through Paradise Valley, Yankee Jim Canyon and more Yellowstone River
valley, but we have been getting lots of smoke from fires in ID and
everything looks extremely hazy. At times we can't see mountains we know
are around us. Fortunately we aren't smelling smoke.

After you pass a rest area about 25 miles south of Livingston, start
watching for wildlife like elk, antelope and big horn sheep. You may see
bald eagles, sand hill cranes, trumpeter swans, pelicans, osprey and you can
hardly avoid seeing deer once you leave Livingston.

Enjoy the drive!

Ron
+++++++

Tom J

[Tom J]

1st time with WIFI connection in the past 10 days!! I still have not
compiled the fuel mileage, but will do that when we get home later this
week.

We had a great time in Yellowstone, seeing many animals of all kinds and
lots of birds. What we didn't see was many geysers. When Old Faithful blew,
it was no where near what it used to be. We happened up on another off on a
side road that blew twice as high and lasted twice as long. That was it.
:-( We did see mud pits and boiling springs, but no like they use to be.

I did make a special point to watch for Jeeps associated with RVs on the
trip. I saw 1 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing a pop-up trailer. I saw 1 Jeep
Grand Cherokee towing a small box U-Hall trailer with camping gear for 3
couples riding motorcycles in Wall, SD. I saw a small Jeep (didn't catch the
model) hooked to a landscape type trailer with a motorcycle strapped on it.
I quit counting when I reached 100 being towed behind motorhomes!!

Tom J
just south of St Louis, MO

[Tom J]

Ron wrote:
> "Tom J" wrote in message
> news:502ad2f4$0$1625$c3e8da3$9f40...@news.astraweb.com...
>
> This is coming to you from North Dakota. To update our fuel mileage,
> so far on this trip the Born Free with Ford V-10 is averaging 8.76
> MPG towing our Saturn Vue. We had 2 days of strong head winds and of
> course lots of ups and down the "hills".
> :-)
> We are having a ball!! We had rain only 2 days while traveling so
> far. We will be touring Theodore Roosevelt National Park the next 2
> days before heading into Montana.
>
> +++++++
> Don't hurry to MT unless you like smoke!

There was some smoke, but did not bother us that much. There were 3 small
fires in the park that were control burns set by the rangers.

Tom J

[Ron]

"Tom J" wrote in message

news:503ec58b$0$1251$c3e8da3$5077...@news.astraweb.com...

++++++++
There are also three lightening caused fires that have been burning since
late July to Aug 10, but they total less than 3,000 acres.

Glad you enjoyed your trip to Yellowstone NP. It has been hotter than
average for this area this summer and also very dry. You could have stayed
in Livingston and seen bears. According to the paper a number of black
bears have been stopped in town this week. The hot dry summer has limited
their feeding and they are heading to town looking for apple trees, dog
food, garbage etc.!

Have a safe trip back home.

Ron
++++++++

Tom J

[Will Sill]

On 8/29/12 9:40 PM, Tom J wrote some travel-related stuff:

> We had a great time in Yellowstone, seeing many animals of all kinds and
> lots of birds. What we didn't see was many geysers. When Old Faithful blew,
> it was no where near what it used to be. We happened up on another off on a
> side road that blew twice as high and lasted twice as long. That was it.
> :-( We did see mud pits and boiling springs, but no like they use to be.

When we stopped to see Old Faithful in the last century ('89) visitors
were kept so far away that the geyser looked pretty puny. It wasn't
exactly 'faithful' either, and kids commonly sang out: "Izzat all?"

> I did make a special point to watch for Jeeps associated with RVs on the
> trip. I saw 1 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing a pop-up trailer. I saw 1 Jeep
> Grand Cherokee towing a small box U-Hall trailer with camping gear for 3
> couples riding motorcycles in Wall, SD. I saw a small Jeep (didn't catch the
> model) hooked to a landscape type trailer with a motorcycle strapped on it.
> I quit counting when I reached 100 being towed behind motorhomes!!

Nice to get evidence that very few are unwise enough to tow TT's with Jeeps.

Will

[Lone Haranguer]

Will Sill wrote:
> On 8/29/12 9:40 PM, Tom J wrote some travel-related stuff:
>
>> We had a great time in Yellowstone, seeing many animals of all
>> kinds and
>> lots of birds. What we didn't see was many geysers. When Old
>> Faithful blew,
>> it was no where near what it used to be. We happened up on
>> another off on a
>> side road that blew twice as high and lasted twice as long.
>> That was it.
>> :-( We did see mud pits and boiling springs, but no like they
>> use to be.
>
> When we stopped to see Old Faithful in the last century ('89)
> visitors were kept so far away that the geyser looked pretty
> puny. It wasn't exactly 'faithful' either, and kids commonly
> sang out: "Izzat all?"
>
>

> Will
>
I visited Old Faithful in July of 1952, June of 1962 and July of
1970. Took some 8MM film in '62 and photos in '70 so haven't had
any urge for another visit.
LZ

[Tom J]

I sit down and compiled the fuel mileage today. It was about what I
expected.

The Born Free is on a 1999 Ford E-450 Chassis with the V-10 engine. We are
towing a 2005 Saturn Vue with the Honda 6 cylinder engine & 5 speed
transmission. We run with a tank of fresh water most of the time.

The average MPG for the 4339 mile trip was 8.1 MPG.

We had a lot of mountions and many miles of hard head winds both going and
coming, so it was a little less than I expected, but not much!! I knew from
towing my Avion trailer with te Ford V-10 that it is not an economy engine.
I had no problem pulling the mountain grades, dropping into low range on
only 4 or 5 "hills".

Now - the bad of the trip. The last 50 miles I seemed to have more
vibrations of the pots and pans than normal. I when around checking all the
tires for a knot or symtoms of cord seperation. I found it on the inside
tire on the passenger side - the last to check. Some of the cords have
broken causing offset tread for about a foot, so it's to NTW in the next few
days for a new tire.

Now the good - not a single rock ding on the motorhome or the toad!!!
We had a great time seeing that part of the country for the 5th and last
time!!

Tom J

[Tom J]

Knocking myself on the side of the head!!!! Janis just came in and reminded
that we had 22 hours of generator run time that came out of that gas tank!!

Tom J

[Bob Hatch]

On my 1999, 37 foot class A pulling the Honda, I've averaged 7.25 MPG
over a total of over 60,000 miles, 48 states and parts of Canada. :-)

>
> We had a lot of mountions and many miles of hard head winds both going and
> coming, so it was a little less than I expected, but not much!! I knew from
> towing my Avion trailer with te Ford V-10 that it is not an economy engine.
> I had no problem pulling the mountain grades, dropping into low range on
> only 4 or 5 "hills".
>
> Now - the bad of the trip. The last 50 miles I seemed to have more
> vibrations of the pots and pans than normal. I when around checking all the
> tires for a knot or symtoms of cord seperation. I found it on the inside
> tire on the passenger side - the last to check. Some of the cords have
> broken causing offset tread for about a foot, so it's to NTW in the next few
> days for a new tire.
>
> Now the good - not a single rock ding on the motorhome or the toad!!!
> We had a great time seeing that part of the country for the 5th and last
> time!!
>
> Tom J
>
>

[Lone Haranguer]

With my generator that would be about another 15 gallons under
normal load.
LZ

[Ron]

"Bob Hatch" wrote in message
news:5043cb3a$0$2053$c3e8da3$5e5e...@news.astraweb.com...

<snip>

On my 1999, 37 foot class A pulling the Honda, I've averaged 7.25 MPG
over a total of over 60,000 miles, 48 states and parts of Canada. :-)

+++++++++++++
Bob,

Thanks for making my day! We have been running 7.2 to 7.3 mpg for a little
over 3,000 miles so far, but ours is a 43 foot class A pulling a half ton
GMC pickup.

I may be doing better than I thought! :-)

Ron
++++++++++++
<snip>

[Frank Howell]

Well that's going to change things! How many gallons per hour does that
genny use?

--
Frank Howell

[Tom J]

Frank Howell wrote:

>>> The average MPG for the 4339 mile trip was 8.1 MPG.
>>
>> Knocking myself on the side of the head!!!! Janis just came in and
>> reminded that we had 22 hours of generator run time that came out of
>> that gas tank!!
>> Tom J
>
> Well that's going to change things! How many gallons per hour does
> that genny use?

I don't have a clue. It's a 1999 Onan 4.0. Had Onan do a tune up last fall.

Tom J

[Lone Haranguer]

Mine has a 6.5.....rated at .7 gallons an hour with a normal load.
LZ

[Will Sill]

On 9/2/12 4:34 PM, Tom J wrote in part:

> I sit down and compiled the fuel mileage today. It was about what I
> expected.
>
> The Born Free is on a 1999 Ford E-450 Chassis with the V-10 engine. We are
> towing a 2005 Saturn Vue with the Honda 6 cylinder engine & 5 speed
> transmission. We run with a tank of fresh water most of the time.
>
> The average MPG for the 4339 mile trip was 8.1 MPG.
>
> We had a lot of mountions and many miles of hard head winds both going and
> coming, so it was a little less than I expected, but not much!! I knew from
> towing my Avion trailer with te Ford V-10 that it is not an economy engine.
> I had no problem pulling the mountain grades, dropping into low range on
> only 4 or 5 "hills".

Nice to see a credible mileage report. By contrast, many others are
misleading because contributors only make spot checks and report the
"good" numbers.

Will

[Ron]

"Tom J" wrote in message

news:zKSdnYbNyYeIkNnN...@earthlink.com...

++++++++
Probably not too much. The manual for our 10kw generator powered by a
Cummins diesel says less than 1/2 gallon per hour at 50% load. Tom's
generator is most likely smaller and would use less fuel.
Ron
+++++++++

Tom J

[Janet Wilder]

Some of us have a computer in our rigs that keeps the mileage records. I
rely on the computer in my RV. It keeps a constant record of our mileage.


--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.

[LonVanOstran]

Usually an incorrect record, but it keeps it.

Lon

[Lone Haranguer]

I don't mind computing the mileage at the end of a trip. Not
sure I'd want to know as I go....it is what it is.
LZ

[D-R]

On 9/3/2012 4:08 PM, Lone Haranguer wrote:

> I don't mind computing the mileage at the end of a trip. Not sure I'd
> want to know as I go....it is what it is.

That is the right answer... wait for a higher mileage rig, wait for
cheaper gas, wait til I have a little more money, wait for
warmer/cooler weather wait wait. There is always an excuse but it is
what it is; just get on down the road and enjoy!!


--

AJ - Who just got back from a 2 week tour/cruse of Alaska ... too
bad my luggage is still in Vancouver.

[Lone Haranguer]

D-R wrote:
> On 9/3/2012 4:08 PM, Lone Haranguer wrote:
>
>> I don't mind computing the mileage at the end of a trip. Not
>> sure I'd
>> want to know as I go....it is what it is.
>
> That is the right answer... wait for a higher mileage rig,
> wait for cheaper gas, wait til I have a little more money,
> wait for warmer/cooler weather wait wait. There is always an
> excuse but it is what it is; just get on down the road and enjoy!!
>

The cemeteries are full of people who said "maybe next year".
LZ

[Tom J]

The cemetery will never get me!! I'm a body donor & cremation after that.
;-)
Tom J

[D-R]

I hope to have this body so worn out that nobody will want it and I
am already pretty close... not sure I even want it.
After that ashes in the desert!

--

AJ

[Vito]

"D-R" <#BadAd...@home.com> wrote ...

I'm holding out for "flameless cremation" where they pressure cook my bod
down to a few gallons of broth that can be poured on the azaleas. A small
sign to that effect otta panic the neighbors ....

[Lone Haranguer]

There once was a wealthy copper miner in Butte MT who was buried
in a copper coffin brazed or soldered shut and pickled in
brandy. I think that would be a good resting place for my corpus.
LZ

[Bob]

In article <5043c2e5$0$1736$c3e8da3$14a0...@news.astraweb.com>, tomnews2
@earthlink.net says...

Glad you had a good time!

Bob

[Max]

On 9/10/2012 9:00 AM, Dean wrote:

> We have traveled ~75000 miles in the 9 years we have had our our '02-
> 35' Suncruiser (gas) MPG averaged over that time is exactly 7.25
> MPG. That is while towing a Jeep Liberty in 49 states.
>

A Jeep Liberty? Does that include a state of disrepair?

[Tom J]

More on my fuel mileage. I took the Born Free to my garage today for the
needed fluid changes. About an hour later I got a call from the garage owner
asking me if I knew I had a "miss" in my engine. I told him I knew it wasn't
doing right the last half of my trip, but thought it was the grade of
gasoline that was available. He told me that was not the problem. The
problem was the #9 coil had died. I went back and checked my mileage from
fill-up to fill-up and found that my mileage dropped from 8.4 mpg to 7.8 mpg
starting from Livingston, MT. SO, I guess I would have gotten closer to the
8.4 mpg for the entire trip if that coil did not die!! With a 10 cylinder
engine and my reflexes and hearing not what it use to be, I now know I
should have had it serviced about 2500 miles sooner!! :-(

Tom J