Buying 85 IDI ATS turbo motorhome!

[Cubey]

Sounds good.

Where is the next stop on your fantastic trip?

This month? No where special really. I wasted about $100 in fuel this month going by way of Flaming Gorge but found a camp I used 4 years ago wasn't as nice now due to the bugs that weren't as bad before, and it was crazy busy. I ended up going 240 miles in less than a week by the 5th of the month. I have to watch my budget and that kind of messed with it slightly. Just means I can't save as much money as I wanted to, probably. So, I'm just gonna head back towards I-15, so heading NW from here.

My "real" destination this summer is Glacier national park. I am slowly (as in, ~4 months) making my way there. I might get up there mid or late next month, or in August at the latest. After that, it'll be time to start heading south again back towards Arizona, where I will arrive in November or December once it cools down enough.

About 200 miles away (~$100 in fuel) there is a 2 week free place right off i15 in Idaho that is my next current "destination" in that I'll be there for half a month nearly. I was gonna go there before I got it in my head to go through Flaming Gorge. It's not pretty or fancy, but it's free, has good cell service, and it's near a gas station/RV dump station so sounds good to me. It might be a bit warm but I have the big generator working good now for roof A/C when parked if needed. Costs about 1/2 gallon of gas per hour but 2-4 hours a day is still way cheaper than an RV park.

I might stay here in SW WY for an extra week (use the full 14 night limit here) despite the forecast showing 93-94 next week since it's also quite windy at times, and I can run the generator for AC in the evenings. Was supposedly gonna be 88 today, but it got up to 85 in here at worst due to the off-and-on high winds today. I had to close up the door when it got insanely windy and lightly rainy earlier. Door is still shut but windows and roof vent are open again. Being 900 feet up above the town nearby, it's a little bit cooler here (probably at least 3 degrees less) since it doesn't have the "city heat" factor from cars, streets, etc. I have 12v fans and it's not very humid, so I can survive a week of low 90s.

Being so close to town, I can go back down the mountain and back up when it's cooler in the morning, and get more gas for the generator if needed that way. It's separate dedicated gasoline tank is maybe 10 gallons at most, but I have two red gas cans (5gal and 2gal) that I carry with me and both of those are full right now. I also have a 5 gallon yellow "diesel" one that's is empty right now, which I have used it for gas and diesel. I just make sure it's dried out inside (cap left off overnight inside the cargo trailer) before I refill it with a different fuel type. It has come in handy for both fuel types depending on the upcoming situation. I used it in winter for gasoline for the small generator when I was 20 miles from a gas station, and diesel several times since I hit the road again in April when I'm at a cheaper gas station and I want to use the fuel later for a bit of extra range to facilitate getting to another cheaper station later.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I try to avoid driving in bad weather though.

I sure can see where that big brick could be a handful in bad weather. The trailer on the back doesn't help either.

 

[Cubey]

I sure can see where that big brick could be a handful in bad weather. The trailer on the back doesn't help either.

I do have the HFT friction sway control left over from the travel trailer that I can put on it but it tows very well without it. I've never needed it so far. Pulling it 80 miles or so empty on leaky old car tires when I got it was a breeze with my F250. No noticable swaying even empty. It has proper trailer tires now, of course. I might put the sway control on it before I leave here if it's very gusty day and if I can't put off leaving until a less windy day.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

All joking aside, your Motorhome has some heating issues, this might be your least expensive way to keep it cool. Cheaper than a bigger radiator and electric fans. It should also help to improve your a/c cooling and prevent the need to turn it off for short stints. It’s not for everyone but some cheap insurance you don’t overheat as easy. It even works better when the vehicle is moving and the water pump is moving that cooler water from radiator to the engine even faster. You might just start with a $15 bug sprayer as your proof of concept.

Just an FYI, there aren't electric fans that would fit under the hood of anything that can pull more air than the mechanical.

Another thing to remember, the van version of ATS 085 has no cold air intake. The lid won't fit so they put a metal retaining ring that holds down the filter. If I go spraying water through the radiator, some may end up in the engine. And heat from the radiator makes it's way into the intake too in general.

I see a hood scoop in your future... that would dramatically lower intake air temps at all times. Just sayin'.
Probably the timing is too retarded though. 6.9's rarely overheat, even when working hard.

 

[Cubey]

Just an FYI, there aren't electric fans that would fit under the hood of anything that can pull more air than the mechanical.



I see a hood scoop in your future... that would dramatically lower intake air temps at all times. Just sayin'.
Probably the timing is too retarded though. 6.9's rarely overheat, even when working hard.

Well, the air intake box is there up at the grill and it does push air into the engine bay when driving I would assume. I could probably cobble some kind of air duct to direct some cooler air to the top of the air filter.

But usually when flat highway driving, the water temp is roughly 180-210 typically depending on speed, wind, etc... which seems totally normal.

I had the timing done in November at an OB member's shop east of Dallas, so presumably it's right. Maybe it's not great for high altitude now but oh well.

Considering I took other, probably steeper hills over the past week without going over 230, before I recharged A/C (so it wasn't operable then) I highly suspect A/C is the biggest culprit. Extra heat from condenser and extra engine load plus maybe wind was a factor too.

And maybe the heavy tailwind was hitting the back of the RV and deflecting back, pushing against trailer due to the front going up such a steep hill, making the engine have to work harder due to a tailwind being turned into a headwind on the trailer. If that makes any sense? The back of the RV is much bigger than the trailer so it's possible, I suppose?

 

[Selahdoor]

If the tailwind was being turned into a headwind against the trailer, it would only be cancelling itself out, at worst.

But the tailwind would actually lose some "energy" to pushing the van, and less of it's original energy would be let loose on the front of the trailer. Giving you a net gain.

 

[Cubey]

If the tailwind was being turned into a headwind against the trailer, it would only be cancelling itself out, at worst.

But the tailwind would actually lose some "energy" to pushing the van, and less of it's original energy would be let loose on the front of the trailer. Giving you a net gain.

Well it was just a thought.

Funny how 1-2 hours earlier on US-191 from flaming gorge where it got me down to 20mph a few times, temp wasn't a problem without AC on (pretty sure).

Got here and had AC on and it got up to 240. I chock it up to just a compound of things that got it there. (Daily temp, AC on, the grade %, wind perhaps).

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I think you're right. I think it was several small things that added up to a bigger problem. It's only happened the one time so I don't think that I'd be worrying about it unless it happens more often.

 

[Big Bart]

I have never been to Glacier National Park but I am sure it is beautiful. Sounds like you have some well laid out plans.

 

[Cubey]

There is risk of 60mph wind gusts tomorrow. I moved over to a different nearby clearing that's empty now (it had 2 vehicles when I got here) so I'm not leaning hard to one side towards the cliff anymore. In fact I'm pretty darn level, once I put some leveling blocks under the driver's side front tire. I'm away from the cliff entirely, and I think have the nose perhaps facing towards the direction the wind will be coming from. Maybe not completely, but hopefully I'm not gonna get completely broadsided.

Regardless, I feel a bit safer being away from the cliff, just in case of the very unlikely event that I get blown over while parked. A couple people around have their travel trailers unhitched, which puts them in far more danger of getting blown over than my motorhome. since this has shocks in 4 corners to help absorb and resist the pressure somewhat, and probably weights almost twice as much.

It's probably safer here than town in town, since objects/debris, trees, and power lines getting blown down/around and are the big risk with those kinds of winds. There's no trees or power lines way up here at all. Sand/dust is really the only loose debris to get blown around up here.

 

[Cubey]

Having the AC on definitely raises the water temp a notable amount even just sitting still idling. The other day in Green River WY on a 90 degree day, it was idling much warmer (at least 5*) with the AC on than without. I drove about 200 miles yesterday (about 85-90* for the latter half) including on some pretty steep hills, one in the last 30 miles being the worst. I always shut off the AC before I reached the hills so it could expel the extra heat before the engine got the heavier load put on it, and the hottest it got was 215ish. I left the AC on during one lesser hill to see and it did seem warmer on that climb but nothing horrible. But headwinds were coming and going so it's hard to tell. I had 900* EGT at 55mph a few times on fairly flat stretches due to the headwinds. But overall EGT is what had to be watched more carefully, which is normal.

I think I might put the K&N filter back in so it can breath a bit easier at these higher altitudes. I have the paper one in currently.

I'm over in SE Idaho now (near Pocatello) but it's going to be insanely hot next week. The forecast didn't show that 2 days ago before I came over this way. Figures, that's my luck this month. I don't think I want to ride out 99-102* days off grid, so I'm gonna have to leave after a week so I can get to higher elevation west of the Yellowstone area. This month has been crappy for finding good places to stay (with cell service) except that last place by Green River. This one has good cell but horrific heat. It would cost me about $115 in gasoline to run my big generator 10 hours a day for 7 days. (1 gallon = 2 hours, so 5 gallons = 10 hours, 5gal x $3.30 = $16.50/day, $16.50 x 7 days = $115.50) 10 hours a day might sound excessive, but it's really not, if I have to turn it on at 11am and shut it off at 9pm after the sun goes down.

EDIT: The paper filter was very dusty, as in you could see it coming off of it when I ran my fingers over the pleats. I put the K&N back in since I am going to soon be out of the desert areas finally.

It's SUCH a pain to change the air filter on this thing. I have to unlatch the filter's retaining ring, then lift it away from the filter and push it further back (over top of the turbo) then fight to get the filter out from the grill side, between the upper radiator hose and driver side (van chassis mounted) fuel filter. The K&N is a bit easier since it's more flexible than the paper one, but even that is a pain. Of course in doing all that, it gets rubbed up against the crap condition fiberglass insulation above it, making it drop bits of foil and fiberglass strands down in the bottom of the air box on both the filter's way out and in. Once the filter is back in, I slide my hand under the filter and feel around in the air box trying to find the bits of crap that fell in. And there's always at least 4 pieces. I'm sure the turbo has damage from crap being missed every time I change the filter. Once I am sure I got it all out, I put the retaining ring back. It's just about the worst possible air filter to service that you can imagine.

Just about makes me want to rip out that insulation... as if it's not already hot and loud enough WITH it.

EDIT 2: And I got a big grease stain on one of my favorite shirts because I'm bloody stupid and forget to change my clothes before touching filter crap on this thing.

 

[Big Bart]

Cubey,

I know it’s probably not in the budget but they make cell boosters you can use in a Motorhome. One antenna forward on the outside you point at the direction of the cell tower. A second antenna goes inside that your phone talks to. It then repeats everything back and forth to your phone. Many are vendor specific (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) and you can find them used for less. They use coax cable to hook up to a small box that is the repeater. They do require a little power but not much, so if you have an inverter your would be good. Google Motorhome Cell Booster, it will pull up some YouTube videos of how they work and what folks think. Maybe it’s an option for you.

Regards,

Bradd

 

[Cubey]

Cubey,

I know it’s probably not in the budget but they make cell boosters you can use in a Motorhome. One antenna forward on the outside you point at the direction of the cell tower. A second antenna goes inside that your phone talks to. It then repeats everything back and forth to your phone. Many are vendor specific (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) and you can find them used for less. They use coax cable to hook up to a small box that is the repeater. They do require a little power but not much, so if you have an inverter your would be good. Google Motorhome Cell Booster, it will pull up some YouTube videos of how they work and what folks think. Maybe it’s an option for you.

Regards,

Bradd

It's a matter of lack of coverage. As in, there is no signal that my SIM is allowed to connect to. Visible is owned and run by Verizon but it's more like old Sprint coverage areas of 15 years ago. They use Verizon towers and have zero roaming. And not all Verizon towers have Visible service being broadcast, so I have been told by Visible support. Normal LTE service allows roaming much more than the old days, but Visible lacks it. My Verizon S7 with a Tracfone Verizon SIM can roam on AT&T/Tmobile towers but you would never know since it acts like normal. Vernal, UT was that way. I had no idea why my Visible phone had no coverage in a city that should have coverage. Walmart worker in electronics there told me there are no Verizon towers. That WM only sells AT&T/Tmobile phones/SIMs because there is no native coverage for Verizon. So, a booster won't help if there is no signal to begin with.... and that's really the issue. A booster would help in places where I have had weak signal but I just find a place where it gets good reception and leave it there with hotspot on, and use my laptop/tablet. I did that for 2 weeks in central Utah. The problem with those is it's illegal to use unless your cell company allows it and you register it with them. And they don't allow boosters, same as other budget carriers. I'd do better to buy a Netgear Nighthawk hotspot that has MIMO antenna ports on it so you just need external antennas, rather than a booster.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

You could tear out the fiber stuff and replace it with sticky-back stuff over the air filter. Or as much as you could. When you shot a picture of your filter a week or two ago my first thought was about crap getting into the engine and how that would be gone so fast for me. Yuck yuck yuck.

Glad to hear it working fine in the heat with A/C and moderate hills.

 

[Cubey]

You could tear out the fiber stuff and replace it with sticky-back stuff over the air filter. Or as much as you could. When you shot a picture of your filter a week or two ago my first thought was about crap getting into the engine and how that would be gone so fast for me. Yuck yuck yuck.

Glad to hear it working fine in the heat with A/C and moderate hills.

Sticky back stuff?

Yeah the back edge always droops down.