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South West Trip Planning


jacwjames

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Guest Ray Davis
4 hours ago, jacwjames said:

Well, I've started my trip for better or worse.  I am being completely flexible as to where/when which sights I want to see. 

For the first leg of my trip I took the ~420 mile Natchez Trace Parkway from Nashville to Natchez MS.  Gently rolling roadways rambling through woods and fields and occasionally a house or two off to the side.  I stayed in two of the free camping grounds down through the park, both had spots open when I stopped but seemed to fill up as the night approached.  Overall a good drive but slow, mostly 50 mph.

I then headed toward Big Bend National park in SW TX and am parked at a campground ~30 miles north of the visitor center.  Will do some exploring today.  Decided to stay here 4 nights, planning to relax a little before my next leg.  Probably heading toward SW AZ to see the two National Parks there.  Then onto Utah, watching the weather though!

Jim,  Sounds like fun trip.   I agree, keep an eye on the forecast,  you can sure get some weather in Utah.  We set up camp at Cedar City and it was nice,  woke up covered with snow.  Fortunately I had just bought one of those telescoping ladders because it was on sale.   With it I could sweep snow off the slides without getting on the roof.  We decided a little farther south was where we should head.  We dropped down to I 40 then east to Flagstaff where it was still real cool but not snowing.

BTW we boondocked at Twin Arrows Casino a little east of Flagstaff.   They welcome RVs,  have fuel,  hotel,  and food  if it's of interest.  No registering and you won't      be alone.  The semis have an area and RVs have theirs,  a little quieter when separate 

https://www.twinarrows.com/

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51 minutes ago, Ray Davis said:

Jim,  Sounds like fun trip.   I agree, keep an eye on the forecast,  you can sure get some weather in Utah.  We set up camp at Cedar City and it was nice,  woke up covered with snow.  Fortunately I had just bought one of those telescoping ladders because it was on sale.   With it I could sweep snow off the slides without getting on the roof.  We decided a little farther south was where we should head.  We dropped down to I 40 then east to Flagstaff where it was still real cool but not snowing.

BTW we boondocked at Twin Arrows Casino a little east of Flagstaff.   They welcome RVs,  have fuel,  hotel,  and food  if it's of interest.  No registering and you won't      be alone.  The semis have an area and RVs have theirs,  a little quieter when separate 

https://www.twinarrows.com/

Thanks on the tip about Twiin Arrows, I was looking for some places to stop in AZ and completely forgot about Casino's

Spent the day exploring Big Bend NP, man it is a big place.  I took a dirt backroad to the Canyon, did that hike (1.6 Miles) and now my leg is feeling it.  I called it quits early today and will go back to another spot I tried to get into today but they had cars backed up waiting at the bottom road access and only letting cars in as cars came out. 

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18 minutes ago, jacwjames said:

Thanks on the tip about Twiin Arrows, I was looking for some places to stop in AZ and completely forgot about Casino's

Spent the day exploring Big Bend NP, man it is a big place.  I took a dirt backroad to the Canyon, did that hike (1.6 Miles) and now my leg is feeling it.  I called it quits early today and will go back to another spot I tried to get into today but they had cars backed up waiting at the bottom road access and only letting cars in as cars came out. 

If you have some time left, Big Bend SP is a beautiful drive too. I would not do it with the MH but have seen some. We always stay in Presidio on our way west because we know the usual snowbirds there, eventhough it is out of the way south from Marfa. 

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On 11/21/2021 at 3:46 PM, Ivan K said:

If you have some time left, Big Bend SP is a beautiful drive too. I would not do it with the MH but have seen some. We always stay in Presidio on our way west because we know the usual snowbirds there, eventhough it is out of the way south from Marfa. 

Well, you peaked my interest and with spare time on my hands I took a drive to Presidio today, not much in between but the road is along the Rio Grande and does provide for some unique scenery.   There was a sign that I pasted that said Persidio was founded in 1683.  On my way back I toured Fort Layton, interesting history for sure.

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It's a god forsaken place, hats off to anyone who has the balls to cross the river and make it to civilization. 

When I was in the Big Bend NP immigration actually had a truck pulled over checking documentation.  This was on one of the back dirt roads. They would not let anyone pass so there ~6 4WD trucks just sitting there. 

FWIW, there is nothing in Mexico of interest to me so even it was just legal to cross I still wouldn't. 

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Finally gave the System Heat a good workout. I had added a couple heating pads to the fresh water tank.  I also put a heating pad under the black and grey water but left the fuse out since they recommend not trying to heat empty tanks. 

Couple nights it got down ~20F.  Problem is at night I couldn't see if the system heat light was coming on.  I did have a remote temp sensor on the curb side of the water tanks and it always showed ~50F. 

Well this morning it was ~18F when I hit the road and started to drive.  From the drivers seat I could see the system heat light and it was going on and off.  So that was telling my the snap disc was turning the system heat on/off as it was suppose to and theoretically the wet bay was reaching temps above the the shut off limit on the snap disc.  Finally got a chance to stop and use the thermo gun on the fresh water tank and it showed the tank was heated to +55F, can't beat that.   So adding the heat pads seems to have paid off. 

In the near future I am going to wire in an indicator light in the bedroom that would show when the system heat comes on.  I'm a restless sleeper anyway and I had the light I would put my mind to rest that the area is staying warm. 

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  • 1 year later...

This is an old thread but back in 2021 I was in Big Bend NP and found my air leaks, continued trip to AZ and visited the NP near Tuscon and up to past Flagstaff to the next NP but my air leak got much worse so headed home, did stop at Hot Springs NP.

 

But I'm back at it, drove from ET to Thompson UT (~50 miles north of Arches NP).   Had some trouble with the rig (alternator acting up, water pump failed, fuel pressure sensor issue) but I forged a head.  Drove ~1800 miles leaving Wed 9:30AM and getting here ~1PM Sat.  Not bad considering the issues. 

I am staying at a campground for one more night.  Gave me a chance to replace my water pump, dump, get water etc.  Going to go explore options for boon docking today and have a 2PM reservation to get into Arches.  Daily reservations are booked up but they open up reservations at 6PM for the next day, kind of a hassle but it is what it is.  At least Canyon Land it open but I need to find a decent boon docking site.

Does anyone have any suggestions for camping close to the two parks in Moab. 

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3 hours ago, Ivan K said:

We stayed at Goose Island, Horse Thief, Devils Canyon FS that come to mind right now. All were first come. There is lot more, depending which direction you want to go. 

OK, I'll do some searhes

But I ran into Moab just to see what was there and then went to Canyon Lands NP, made it through the entrance and started driving into the park almost the Bluff overlook and my Jeep's check engine light came on.  My DTC did not show a code but my OBD reader said "Multiple misfires #7 cylinder".  So went to the over look, took some pictures, took a moment to relish the views, and then headed back to the campground in Thompson. 

Going to let the engine cool down a little and then pull the plugs, check the connections and may swap out ignition coil to a different cylinder.  If that clears I'm good but if the problem follows the ignition coil I'll have to try and find one.  I had all the coils and plugs changed about 2 years ago so hoping it's something simple. 

I don't know if this is Karma or trying to visit the Utah National Parks are jinxed but this is getting old. 

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2 minutes ago, jacwjames said:

OK, I'll do some searhes

But I ran into Moab just to see what was there and then went to Canyon Lands NP, made it through the entrance and started driving into the park almost the Bluff overlook and my Jeep's check engine light came on.  My DTC did not show a code but my OBD reader said "Multiple misfires #7 cylinder".  So went to the over look, took some pictures, took a moment to relish the views, and then headed back to the campground in Thompson. 

Going to let the engine cool down a little and then pull the plugs, check the connections and may swap out ignition coil to a different cylinder.  If that clears I'm good but if the problem follows the ignition coil I'll have to try and find one.  I had all the coils and plugs changed about 2 years ago so hoping it's something simple. 

I don't know if this is Karma or trying to visit the Utah National Parks are jinxed but this is getting old. 

Good thing Moab is a Jeep town, I broke a ujoint and valve spring in that area and got everything I needed. If you have to have a breakdown in southern Utah, this is the best place to do it.

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So I went ahead and swapped coil packs and spark plugs from #7 cylinder to #5 cylinder.   NO JOY

As a last ditch effort I went the the small convenience store ~2 miles away to get some fuel treatment.  Just for the heck of it I asked the clerk behind the  desk if he knew of any good shops in Moab, he said NO but he had a local guy that worked on his vehicles and gave me his number. 

Just got off the phone with him, he is a retired master mechanic that still does work and owns a small campground ~1/2 mile from where I'm parked.  He checked and they had vacancies and he said he could look at it tomorrow.  Seemed like a real knowledgable guy and asked me all the right questions.  I told him I had already swapped the coil and plugs from #7 to #5.  He said that was the right thing to do so it's something deeper.  He's got the computers to diagnose and I should know real fast what the problem might be.  He arranged with the front desk to make sure I was parked in the shade so he can work on my Jeep and can get at first thing Monday. 

Maybe my luck is changing. 

I"ll keep everyone posted. 

 

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With the Eclipse occuring in your area on the 14th it is going to be difficult to find a reservation anywhere near the zone. I had some Eclipse contingency reservations made.. Richfield KOA, Arches NP, that I made months ago, but I had to cancel.  Arches (Devils Garden Campground) is a tough nut to crack, If I get my own mechanical issues straightened out, I will be there the last week of Oct. Good luck with your Jeep!

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Thanks

To be honest I didn't even know there was a pretty much full eclipse in this zone until I got here at the campground, that was the first question my neighbors asked.  So it's purely coincidental  that I'm here but I'll definitely take advantage of the situation. 

I am not adverse to boon docking, I was actually scoping out areas on my drive yesterday before I had mechanical problems in my Jeep.   I did see some potential areas where others were parked off the side of the road going to Moab.  A lot will depend on when/if I get my Jeep fixed. 

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So the good news (kind of) is that the mechanic brought over his computer and his showed multiple misfires on cylinders 2&3.  We pulled the plugs and he said the spark plugs didn't look like there weren't firing correctly.  So we put one in on the #3 cylinder plug harness and he watched it while the engine was running, instead of a good clean spark across the gap he said it was jumping down to the porcelain ( I didn't watch it, so just going on by what he said.   I changed the plugs 2.5 years ago and my mechanic changed the plug wires in 2018.  The mechanic recommended new plugs and wires, but the parts store didn't have the wires until tomorrow AM.  The mechanic said he'd change the plugs first to see if that clears the problem.  If it does I can take the plug wires back or keep them.  So it's a waiting game.

 

Now the bad news  >>>>>>>>>>       I'm starting to feel like I'm on Hee Haw singing the Doom Dispare  Oh Agony on Me song.

When I moved the 1/4 mile to the new campground the rig wouldn't shift out of 1st gear, no "check transmission light on" but when I stopped I saw a leak at the very back of the rig, once I got parked I found the Derale auxillary cooler was leaking at the return fitting.  I added some oil and took a closer look and it didn't look like the replaceable fitting but rather the portion made into the cooler.  So I am going to bypass the cooler for now and just couple the hoses together.  Not the best option since I know I was having a heating problem without the cooler so I'll have to watch closely.  Not sure what caused the failure, there wasn't any tension from the hose.  Can't check oil level until I get a fitting, which will be tomorrow.  Hopefully I didn't trash the transmission but it was running fine when I came over the mountains yesterday with no warning lights.  I did check the oil level via the shift pad the night before and it was OK.  It was running fine when I pulled into the campground on Friday night.  

This trip is haunted.  Just one thing after another but I'm committed to continuing the trip. 

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Driving these antique, out of production RV's gets more challenging every year.  I'm not going to wish you good luck, as luck apparently is not working for you this trip. Could have been worse... The original built-in-the-radiator trans cooler would have wiped out the Allison.

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Well, the mechanic "Bruce" drove me into town to pick up the plugs and wires at ORiley's and then to Car Quest to get a couple hydraulic fittings to by pass transmission cooler, then to Ace Hardware to get more fittings to make a "U" to make it easier to bypass the transmission cooler. 

Got back to he coach and Bruce said, Heck you don't me to change the plugs and wires, so proceeded to change the plugs.  The Jeep has a Hemi with 2 plugs per cylinder and pretty tight quarters so it took time to change.  After I changed the plugs Bruce dropped by and we decided to fire it up to see it that alone solved the problem.   NOPE.  So we changed the plug wires, this didn't solve the problem either.  But when Bruce read the codes a different code popped up this time, P1417 which has to do with Multi-Displacement System (MDS), there is some sort of solenoid that under the cowling over the air intake manifold.  We watched a video and looked  like a pretty complicated process.  Not easy to get to and Bruce said he wasn't comfortable trying to change it parked in the middle of the campground.  We did take a short drive and the misfires didn't seem to be that bad so tomorrow I'm going to try and drive it some to see if it is usable for me to get into Arches and Canyon Lands. 

Then I took a look bypassing the cooler with the fittings I got.  All worked and I proceed to add transmission fluid using the cold method (old school dipstick).  I ended up adding ~3 gallons of tranny fluid to get it up on the dipstick to the cold mark.  Then took it for a ~15 mile up and down the highway.  Transmission seemed to shift as it should engine temp went to 180F and tranny went to 160.  So I stopped and checked the transmission level using the shift pad.  It counted down as it should and showed oil level was OK.  I then checked for any fault codes, there weren't any. 

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Make sure you have clean oil in the hemi. These fuel economy gizmos work on oil pressure and when they fail, it can get expensive quick. Good luck! I had a misfire that got progressively worse and it was a broken valve spring which was one of the better options. But that was just one cylinder that eventually had no compression which gave it away. BTW, with dodge hemi, I believe only cylinders 1, 4, 6, 7 should be effected by MDS. When active these would not fire so should not have misfire while the others get more fuel and could therefore misfire. If you have a dash indicator, you might be able to tell in which situation the misfire happens. Just some quick thoughts...

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33 minutes ago, Ivan K said:

Make sure you have clean oil in the hemi. These fuel economy gizmos work on oil pressure and when they fail, it can get expensive quick. Good luck! I had a misfire that got progressively worse and it was a broken valve spring which was one of the better options. But that was just one cylinder that eventually had no compression which gave it away. BTW, with dodge hemi, I believe only cylinders 1, 4, 6, 7 should be effected by MDS. When active these would not fire so should not have misfire while the others get more fuel and could therefore misfire. If you have a dash indicator, you might be able to tell in which situation the misfire happens. Just some quick thoughts...

Thanks Ivan  Ya I've read and watched different videos detailing different things that might be the cause, what you describe was in several video's. 

I have been reading and one post indicated that if I drive in Tow/Haul mode it disables the MDS system.  I'll give it a try, might get lucky and at least be able to use the Jeep to do some exploring.  I have a 12 noon reservation to get into Arches NP tomorrow, it will be a good test. 

This trip is testing my resolve, but I will endeavor to preserve👍

 

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So yesterday I went ahead and drove the Jeep ~35 miles to get to the Arches NP.  I had cleared the fault code but it popped up again. 

I did use the Tow/Haul mode which is suppose to disable the MDS function of the engine but at low speeds the engine did run rough.  What I found is that if I kept the RPM's up above 2K the engine smoothed out considerably to the point it was running smooth.   So in the park where the speed limit was 25-45 mph I would shift between 2nd & 3rd gears. 

On my trip back to the campground I took hwy 178 which is on the south side of Arches and follows the Colorado River through the canyons.  This was a nice scenic drive.  I had reset the fault code again and it did not pop back up for the ~55 mile drive until I stopped to get fuel a couple miles from the campground.  During that drive I could still feel a miss occasionally.   Also couple times I tried to accelerate aggressively and the engine would essentially derate. 

This route also had me jump back on I70 for ~15 miles which gave me a chance to get a sense of the portion of drive where I lost the 3 gallons of transmission oil in my coach.  It was very flat, no real grades to speak of, which is what I remembered.

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So I spent a little time looking at options on the rest of the parks I want to visit and decided to head toward Zion and just drive I70 further west unit it merges with another highway and head south.  I figure that way I'll be on main roads and closer to services if the need arises.

Assuming I get close to Zion are there any places to boon dock (preferred) or campgrounds.  

Ivan had mentioned a tunnel which I had read about, besides the ~$15 cost are there any issues.  If the tunnel makes the drive shorter and/or easier I'd like to know what issues there may be taking it?  I may not be able to anyway since my total length is close to 57 feet

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When we went to Zion, we stayed at a park just outside the tunnel entrance and drove the toad into the park, it was impossible to get a spot inside of it. We took a week or so on the way to there from where you are, so many things to see on the way. If you still want to go to St. George, it might be easiest to stay on the highway. You get to do some good inclines either way but you'll miss a lot of interesting places in the inner circle. Your weather looks awesome.

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Thanks Ivan

Before I got too far down on I70 I saw a sign for Bryce Canyon so I pulled over and looked at the route and options and decide to stay where JDCrow stayed in Hatch Utah.  It is kind of centrally located, 27 miles to Bryce & 55 miles to Zion.  From there I can take my time and explore. 

Another interesting issue is that tomorrow is the solar eclipse and these places are going crazy.  A ranger at the Canyon Lands Pinnacle visitor center that they are expecting 300K people in the area surrounding the road coming into the park.  When I drove back through Moab yesterday ~5PM it was crazy people and there was a continual line of cars, trucks, vans, RV & motorhomes coming off I 70 into Moab.   Evidently that general area is a prime viewing area, if you are into that type of thing. 

So my plan tomorrow AM will to watch the partial solar eclipse in Hatch and get on with my life.  😁

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