Sorry…this should have posted a day or two earlier. ~ Shawn
When I was working I always had limited time off for vacations so I maximized it; I would leave straight from work, driving all night to Colorado and my beloved Rocky Mountains. Then when I came back a week later sometimes I left so late I’d go straight to work after driving 11 hours.
Travel was easy and affordable for me – tent, sleeping bag, ramen, mac & cheese and $50-75 cash for the entire week’s budget. Nothing fancy and I always had a great trip camping in the mountains.
My trailer towing experience has been just in the last 11 years and I have driven right at the speed limit since 2007 when one particular speeding ticket I got cost me a few hundred plus I had to go to traffic school on a Sunday that I also had to pay for. Towing a trailer has never really slowed me down. Think about tractor-trailers; they head down the highway at 70-90 MPH…so why can’t I?!
Well, one reason might be the tires on your trailer. A few das ago I happened to notice on mine the speed rating is 75 MPH. That’s fast, and very few states have limits that are higher. You should check that on your rig so you know. You could be driving at an unsafe speed and not know it.
But, it also made me think about the bigger picture too. I did a little research and found the best speed for fuel efficiency is 50-60 MPH.
I then started thinking about how my driving habits have changed. I have no schedule so there’s no hurry. I am doing maximum 5-6 hours a day to be able to stop & see more and get situated by dark.
If the speed limit is 75 and I drive 60-65 (I am certainly not driving less than 60), then on a travel day I’d only lose 50-60 miles of road – not that much really. If I slow down I can gain some fuel mileage at the expense of a few extra miles.
I really think that this is a reasonable trade-off. Saving gas is great for the planet and it helps my wallet. I am going to give it a try and see if it makes a difference.
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I got the tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) for the trailer set up. It has a monitoring unit that goes in the truck to monitor the temperature and air pressure in the trailer tires. With this unit I can also add sensors to my truck wheels to monitor those tire pressures as well since my truck is old enough that it doesn’t have them. At some point I will do that but I can get by for now.
But, I really need a rear camera on the trailer for backing it up. The Rockwood is six feet longer than my Scotty was so a camera would be very helpful to have.
After smacking my head for the last time, today I cut up some pool noodles to pad the awning frame on the trailer. Last time I ran into it I didn’t see it because my hat blocked the view and I damn near knocked myself out.
I’m through with that nonsense. Next time I hit it it’s going to be padded!
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Fall feels to be quickly approaching. Wonderful, cool evenings, cooler days, and the leaves are turning with some starting to fall to the ground. I wonder if they yell “Yippee!” As the come loose from the tree heading towards Earth.
I’ve been getting more done outside now that it has cooled down. I got many more weeds cleared out and will be cutting the trees down after I get a new chain for the saw. I got the old chain sharpened enough to cut a few limbs that had fallen but it’s going to take a new chain to get the trees down safely. After that I have a few other trees that need trimmed up.
I hauled off three loads of old lumber back to an area that was an old farmer dump site from many years ago. It will simply finish returning to the earth back there instead of by the house. I felt it was pointless to pay to dump it at the transfer station when I can do the same and do it for free.
It has been dry and some of the cracks in the ground I saw were an inch wide. That has slowed the grass down so it gives me time to do other stuff I need to do, plus I can work on some of the areas I haven’t mowed.
I will be working on more stuff outside but first I need to do some cleaning in the trailer. I still need to mount the TP holder and towel rack in there. They don’t mount them at the factory because of personal preference of the new owners may not be the same. I think that’s about all that’s left to do other than tightening a few cabinet doors.
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That’s it for this post. See you next time!
Shawn
