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Reduce Recycle Reuse
Reduce Recycle Reuse
I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine. ~ Caskie Stinnett
Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey ~ Babs Hoffman
The whole object of
travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on
one's own country as a foreign land.
Earth First!
Don't Believe Everything you Think
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The Basic Ideas of our Tow Vehicle
Diesel Fact Page - Found some cool info if you're on the fence on what type of motor to get in your next vehicle Solar Tips, Fact's and Trick's we've learned while on the road Tool Kit List - We've had a bunch of emails asking what tools and items first timers should bring, so I went ahead and made a list of what we bring with us. By no means is this gospel, but it's a good start. Feel free to copy it and add or delete anything you need. Camper Check List - A list of things we do before leaving camp. Again, this isn't gospel, but its a good start for those who might not already have a list made up. Bio-Diesel and Going Green article and how to cut our ties to foreign oil by switching to this greener method of fuel
Make Sure to Check
out
the
2007
Year in Review,
For our Tow Vehicle on this Journey, we chose a 2003 Ford F-250 with a 6.0L Powerstroke Diesel motor. There are plenty of arguments about Ford Vs. Chevy and gas vs. diesel, which ever you choose, great, I'm not suggesting one or the other, I'm just saying the Ford suited us fine and the Diesel motor doesn't even notice the trailer is behind us. We chose to get a crew cab so our ever growing supply of gear could be stowed in the back seat and easily accessible if we need to get at it. Photography gear, computer equipment and maybe a quick change of clothes can be stored in the back seat and you never have to worry about not being able to recline the seats on those longer day trips. Traveling with two dogs is a major chore. Having the full size back seat gives them a place to lye down while we drive and keeps them out of the camper while on the road. The dogs we thought were going to be a major chore, and surprisingly they've adapted quite well to the traveling lifestyle. I honestly don't know how anyone could travel on a journey like this without having a back seat. I think back to Monika & Gary Wescott circling the globe in their Turtle Expedition Truck which was a single cab. Never being able to recline their seats and not having anything stored up in the cab with them?!?! I give them all the credit in the world.
We're still contemplating on having a Utility Box installed in-place of the stock bed. The bed just tends to leave to much wasted space. With a utility box we could store so much more gear and have it be easily accessible and locked if we need to leave the truck. How often are we going to use the bed for what its designed for? Most of our equipment will end up getting thrown in the back and become hard to get to when needed. The cost of this is what is keeping us from the purchase and we'll see if after a few months into the trip, it is something that can be justified with the trade off of use. For now the truck will remain stock with the exception of a few bolt on creature comforts that should be standard with almost any vehicle...i.e. Window Shades, Bug Deflector, Seat Covers...e.t.c.
I'd love to have some Recaro Seats to make those long days behind the wheel more manageable, maybe a back-up camera to ease into those tight camp spots, or that Air Ride System to make the towing more comfortable, but like we said, if we see a few thousand miles down the road that these items are mandatory, we'll make the investment, until then, we'll have to go with the stock truck. This journey has been a dream of ours for years and I'm just glad to be able to go along for the ride. Really I would be just as happy if we were walking, kayaking or riding a bike, but this time, we'll be taking the trip with this truck as our mode of transportation. Really I don't care which ever one it may be, it just adds to how blessed we are. Follow along and see what items we need and why we think we need them. If you've already done a trip like this, drop us a line and let us know what worked for you. We're virgins when it comes to a trip of this extent, so every day is a new one. Right before we left Michigan, we had to make a few big decisions. A major rain storm blew through our area of Lower Michigan and the Leer truck cap that was on our truck leaked very badly? I took it back to a Leer dealership and they said because the cap was a few years old, they couldn't warranty it?!?! I'd either have to send it back to Leer, or get a new one. We had kicked the idea around of getting a new one and I'd be damned if I was going to spend a few grand on having the one I didn't want fixed. After going back and forth, we decided to order a new cap and have it custom made with all the bells and whistles we wanted which would allow my vertically challenged size to be able to reach into the back of the truck (I'm only 5'5"). We went out to Brighton Michigan, to a local A.R.E. dealer and ordered a new cap. This would hold us up two more weeks, but we felt it would be worth the wait to have our equipment and supplies dry and locked up. The gang at Ultimate Body helped us with our options list and made sure to give us a call when it came in. 10 business days later we got the call that the cap would be in tomorrow and we could come in for the install. After having it installed, I can honestly say, it was worth every dollar we spent, and I'm glad we waited.
It's more than I could ask for when compared to the old piece of junk Leer we originally had. It's painted to match our truck and has an aluminum roof rack that holds the 3 Kayaks perfectly. We had a few added options installed to make pulling into a campsite at night or having to hook up after dark easier. With off-road lights facing the rear of the truck and off to the passenger side, it'll make for easy hook-ups if we ever have to do it late. I also had some front mud flaps installed to try and keep a little of the snow and mud off of the steps leading into the truck. Hopefully we wont be needing those for much longer.
Just a Few Updates after being on the Road
We think we're going to have the top part of the windshield tinted to help cut down on some of the glare while driving. But this is just one of those things we have to find the time to do. We always think about it when the sun is pounding us in the face, but forget about it every other time were driving. The new Utility Cap has been a dream come true. I'd recommend it to anyone who is full timing with a Travel Trailer. I'd still love to have a Utility Bed under the cap, but beggars cant be choosers. The tool box on the Drivers side holds plenty of stuff that we need to get to often, and the double doors on the rear are a life saver for someone who is vertically challenged like me. The passenger side access window is a life saver if I need to get to something up front and the aluminum racks up top hold the three Kayaks perfectly. We did stop and buy a support arm to hold the middle kayak as it kept shifting around between the other two that are secured in saddles. Since we put that on, it hasn't moved in the least. Now it sits up straight and has a good solid arm to attach a strap to. The picture above is before we installed it and you can see how the middle kayak would fall to the side.
The Powerstroke Motor has worked flawlessly and pulls the camper fine. I've talked to a few guys who have upgraded their turbos, or added a Banks system and they cant talk enough about them. They say in addition to the horsepower, it also helps in the fuel economy.
Would I
like one? Hell Yes! But right now we still have a full
warranty and I cant jeopardize that, so we'll have to wait till the
warranty is up before we start adding items to the motor. Update 8-2007: After talking of the want for a Banks Power Pack for our Power Stroke Motor, and referring to the fact that I was worried about my Factory Warranty, we received this email from a Reader in California. I'd love to hear from anyone else that has installed this kit and knows whether it will void my Factory Warranty or not?? Hi Pat,
I love your website. If you are
interested in getting the Banks system installed WITHOUT voiding
your warranty, let me know. There is a
dealer here in So. Cal that will do it.
The dealership I am referring to is,
Tuttle Click Ford in Irvine,
Ca. Although on my receipt for
the Banks install, it is mentioned that the
install might affect my warranty, they assured
me they would stand behind the warranty 100%.
This dealership sells brand new trucks with the Banks kits and
lift kits as well. I have dealt with
them for years and trust them. They also
have one of the best diesel mechanics in the country,
Bud Anderson. Travel Safe,
Chris Sesto, So Cal. I've been researching a charging system to charge the batteries on the coach with the alternator from the truck, but so far we've been able to go for 5 full days with no loss of power! Our solar panels seem to be keeping up with our consumption rate and we'll have to see if this is something that will be needed down the road. Being in the south, the sun is shining non-stop, so we haven't had a problem yet.
Cindy and I try to re-use and conserve as much as possible. At home, friends teased us because our 4 recycling bins were always spilling over. We tried to bring all the empty liquor bottles home from our Bar to be able to recycle them (our Recycle man must have thought we were the biggest drunks in town) We always try and purchase things that are made from companies that we know use recycled materials. Our biggest expense right now is Diesel Fuel. We've been doing some research into switching over to one of the Veggie Oil Systems and but after doing a bunch of research and talking back and forth with one of the technicians from Golden Fuel Systems, we have decided not to make the swap. There are a few different companies that make conversions for Diesel Motors which would allow them to run on Used Vegetable Oil. The motor still runs off of your Diesel fuel till the Vegetable Oil gets warmed up and becomes the proper consistency. I've read one story where this guy drove around the United States on one tank of Diesel Fuel, the rest was recycled Cooking Oil. This would save us thousands of dollars, not to mention the fossil fuels we would be saving. This is our dilemma, we spoke to the Ford Dealership and if we were to add one of these systems to our stock motor, we'll void every warranty Ford offers!?! To me, it'd would be worth the trade off to be able to know we're using Grease that most restaurants have to pay to get rid of; rather than burning fossil fuels and polluting our environment, we'd be recycling and probably hungry all the time since our exhaust would smell like French Fries...LOL
We plan on
doing some more research and we'll let you know what we decide. Update 8-2007: We received this email from a Reader and thought we would share it incase others might want to add to it or help us make any decisions.
My name is
Bob and I just saw your site. It was fun while it lasted (the exhaust smelled like French fries) But I kept having trouble with the screen on the pump for some reason. I filtered it down to very close tolerances and I carried spare screens with me. On a Power Stroke you need to be able to fix a lot of stuff yourself just to keep it on the road. I loved the truck but when I lost the veggie oil option, it seemed better to go the gas route. If you are on the road it would be next to impossible to use veggie oil. I know there is a guy on the web with a pickup and a slide in camper that has two drums on the rear with two systems which was interesting but not very practical. You need to heat the oil in order to remove any water (water can kill injectors dead!!) and filter it and there's always spills etc.
Also you
need pumps, filters, heated lines, etc, etc, etc. They make it look
wonderful in the adds, but in reality its a lot of work and a crapshoot
for the truck. They say you can get oil from dumpsters behind
restaurants, but that is like playing Russian Roulette. I always
insisted on getting it in the original containers that it came in to
reduce the possibility of water or the cleaner they use to clean the
fryers. You got to be REAL careful!!! After getting Bob's email and talking with the technician from Golden Fuel Systems, who explained to me that the Ford 6.0L motor, which we have in our truck, isn't reliable for a Veggie Oil System; we think we might have to put this idea on hold. Now I really wish I would have bought the Ford 7.3L Powerstroke rather than the 6.0L that has so many problems. Luckily for us, we haven't run into any of the problems that everyone talks of, but I really want to make the switch to Vegetable Oil. Oh well, maybe something will come along and we can find a way around this down the road. I was really impressed with the Golden Fuel Systems website and how quickly a response I got back from them when I sent an email asking about their equipment. In this day in age of blowing people off, they were right on the ball.
We broke down and bought a Satellite Radio for the Truck. We were going nuts with listening to CD's and the local radio stations. It seemed like we would be in the middle of some good talk channel, and would lose the signal. That was if we could get a signal. After driving for a few days in Northern Louisiana, we pulled over and had the Satellite Radio installed. They don't pay us to tell you the brand name (Hint - Hint) but since there is only two brand names to choose from and they both do the same thing, take your pick. Really I don't know how we traveled without it. Now we can listen to NPR (our favorite) all day long and never loose a segment. When we're bored, we'll turn to a comedy channel and laugh till our sides hurt. It has made a big difference with driving and we'd recommend it to anyone who full times or spends a serious amount of time in their vehicle. While they were installing the Satellite Radio, we had them hard wire our 300watt inverter to one of the batteries and had it mounted under the dash. Now while we're driving from campground to campground, Cindy can charge batteries, run the laptop for long periods of time and not have to worry about running out of juice.
We bought some insulated panels to put in the windshield for when the truck is just sitting for days. They make a huge difference in the temperatures inside the truck and hopefully will save the dash from dry-rotting. For only $10 at a local auto parts store, it was a great investment. After 8000 miles of towing, I think we have exhausted our leaf springs on the rear. We can look at pictures from when we first started compared to the way the truck sits now, and notice a considerable sag. As soon as we can find a Nation Wide Dealer that can install them, we plan on having some air-bags installed to lift the rear end. It's getting to the point that we've just started to notice the camper swaying while towing, which is something we haven't experienced this entire trip.
We couldn't take it anymore and we had some Air-Bags installed to help the back end sit more level. I'll post some before and after pictures to show the difference.
Here is the way it looked before the Air Bags were installed. Notice how the Rear end is squatted down quite a bit? If we drove at night, people would flash their brights at us even though we weren't driving with our brights on.
Now with the Air Bags installed, the rear end sits level even when hooked up to the Camper. I can also lift it higher if I need to or lower it down which helps in hooking up and unhooking the hitch.
Some Links that might help you when trying to build the perfect Tow Vehicle Golden Fuel Systems - Experts when it comes to adding a Veggie Oil System to your Diesel Ford Powerstroke Forum - For anyone owning a Ford Diesel, this is your bible Expedition Portal - Probably one of the best forums on the internet pertaining to Overland Travel. Not necessarily RV based, but has a wealth of information on destinations and amazing vehicles that get fellow travelers to these far away places. I'll admit I spend way too much time on this forum drooling over the vehicles and the travels of fellow adventurers Overland Journal - A high quality vehicle-dependant expedition magazine for those who dream of crossing those wide open expanses. This magazine is as close to coffee table book as I've seen and is packed with useful info. Their motto is "The publication for environmentally responsible, worldwide vehicle-dependent expedition and adventure travel." Ultimate Body - If you live in Michigan, they can help personalize your truck A.R.E Truck Caps - Manufacturer of custom Truck Caps like the one we use Air Ride System - Air bags we use to level the truck while towing
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