Latest Travel Trip Observations While Driivng to New Hampshire

[Dr4Film]

This past week we left our winter home in Florida to drive just under 1500 miles to our Workamping jobs in New Hampshire. This is our third time for this trip in our 06 Dynasty as we had taken it to New Hampshire and back last year.

I had previously posted on how much I love the engine brake on the Dynasty versus the exhaust brake on our previous Windsor. I am getting more accustomed to its operation especially in conjunction with the cruise control while on this trip north.

Initially, I thought I had a problem with the cruise control last year however, based on suggestions from members here, I discovered that if the main engine brake switch is on it disables the cruise control, duh! That problem was easily solved.

My driving habits have changed with the Dynasty versus the Windsor. When driving the Windsor, I would aim for 62-65 mph to keep the Allison in 6th gear with the Cummins ISC-350. Now with the Cummins ISL-400 in the Dynasty, I am able to drive 55 keeping the Allison in 6th gear. So I now set the cruise control for 55 when on the Interstates and always drive in the far right lane letting people pass me by. I find that I enjoy the trip far more while going slower than trying to keep up with the cars and truckers speeding down the highway. I am much more relaxed at the wheel too. Plus I have better fuel mileage going 55 versus 62-65.

While driving in the right lane I line my body and the center of the steering wheel up with the left edge of the dark oil slick that has been left in the middle of the road. That has the coach traveling closer to the white line on the right allowing plenty of berth on the left for the truckers to pass me by in their left lane. On rare occasions, I will wander too far right and momentarily hit the rumble strips which always causes my wife to panic (haha) as she is viewing her FB on her phone. Plus, as the long trucks pass me by, I always keep track of their wheels to make sure they are staying well into their lane. I have had truckers from time to time start to wander over towards my lane which when that happens I start heading for the side of the road to avoid any possible collision with their trailer.

Now for the cruise control part. I set the cruise for 55 and comfortably sit back and enjoy the ride. When heading down a grade, since I don't have the Vorad Adaptive Cruise Control System, the coach will gain speed as I am descending the grade. Once my speed reaches 62-63 I flip on the engine brake switch which disables the cruise control and toggle between high and low to maintain my speed while descending the grade. Once I am done with the grade I turn the engine brake switch off and hit the resume on the smart wheel to return to my set speed of 55 mph. I never have to use or touch the service brakes at all. The engine brake does all the work.

I have found that if I let my speed get higher than 62-63 the engine brake is less effective at the higher speeds so that's why I don't let it go over 63.

I am really loving the Dynasty the more I get to drive it. There was a time many years ago where I was VERY happy with my Windsor and would never entertain upgrading to a Dynasty as I didn't like the floor-plans that they had back then. However, with this 2006 42 foot Monaco Dynasty Countess III floor-plan it is the perfect coach for my needs.

No plans to change ever again!

[redstickbill]

Richard,

I think I learned a thing or two reading your note. I can relate to the rumble strips (ha, ha).

Glad you had an enjoyable start to your summer.

Bill B 07 Dynasty

[Johnny Mo]

Ditto on the Engine Brake, my first coach had an exhaust brake also... night and day difference....

I also  watch the wheels on truck/trailers as they pass, or I am passing. Specifically the steer tires, if I see that they are crossing the line and not correcting I will give a short blast on the horn. 

[timaz996]

I wish I did have an engine brake but I still do good with the exhaust brake. My happy speed is 60 with the trans in econo.

[cbr046]

Try to keep an eye on the road behind you.  If the highway is half busy there could be line of cars and 18-wheelers clogging the left 1-2 lanes as they move over to pass.  At 55 or 60 you're an interstate rolling roadblock.  I had this experience on the last RV trip where four 4-axle tow trucks followed by a fire engine were going 55 up I-85 just North of Greenville SC.  Took a solid 30 minutes getting around them.  Never did see a wreck (it would have been a massive one!). 

While 55 might be safe for you there's a lot of people taking chances cutting in trying to be the first one to pass.  We all see it.  Yesterday we had a pickup North of B'ham on I-65 towing a low boy that would have caught our front as he cut in front of us, narrowly missing the car in front of him.  I had to move quickly to avoid the collision - it wasn't close, it would have been trading paint.  This was the 4-Runner - The Endeavor wouldn't have moved over fast enough. 

OTOH I'd be striving to keep my rig in top gear.  If that means 55 . . . . It's a tough call.  Our new 4-Runner (bless it's very little heart) has a hard time running top gear with cruise on.  If it drops 1 mph it downshifts to try to maintain speed and takes forever to get back to 5th.  Sure miss the old V8 4-Runner.  Never should have traded (shiny sparkly effect).  The Endeavor's cruise and the way it's set up works great, even at 65-67 pulling a trailer. 

I doubt I'll change anyone's driving habits.  Just try to consider other drivers on the road.

rant off

- bob

 

[windsorbill06]

Richard,

I do exact same thing with our Windsor.  But it has the ISL, like your dynasty, with the 2 speed Jake,  so the magic spot for it to shift into 6th,  is about 62, and that's what I typically cruise at.    I'm sure our overall weight is less than you dynasty, but I've  averaged just over 8 mpg at that speed.  If I slow down to 55, it downshifts into 5th.    

Edited May 26, 2023 by windsorbill06

[Robert92867]

How does the engine brake work? 

[Dr4Film]

I am frequently checking both left and right mirrors and my rear-view camera to see what's going on behind me. However, my main concern is what's going on in FRONT of me, watching for traffic slowing or stopped, looking out for road debris such as "road gators" that could destroy something on the bottom of my coach chassis or the car I am towing and the thousands of pot holes that shake the living crap out of my coach.

The interstates usually have a minimum speed posted, which on the ones that I normally travel, it is 45 mph so traveling at 55 is well above that minimum. Plus, in many places there are three or more lanes so there is PLENTY of lanes for the other vehicles to use versus following me in the right lane. Whenever there is a special truck lane to the right you will always find me there unless I have to pass a truck that is running slower than I am which occasionally I do. In the 1400 miles of interstates that I ran this trip I never had anyone angry enough to blow their horns, through me the bird or exhibit any type of anger regarding my speed.

In fact, when on I-81, frequently the cars and trucks behind were well aware of my speed by watching how the traffic was flowing around me. So they were already prepared to pass by moving to the left lane by the time they reached my coach. The only ones that got caught behind me were the cars that tried to out run a trucker by speeding up and passing it on the right not realizing the reason the trucker was passing me in the first place, DUH! I see that happening time and time again in front of me. You would think that those driver's would have a clue but thy don't. They just want to be out front of everyone else on the road.

The older I get the slower my reaction times is getting therefore my driving habits are adapting to this change by driving slower and safer too.

The biggest advantage I have noticed by driving slower is the fuel savings. When you put your foot into the pedal all the time it's amazing how much your mpg drops when driving 65-75 mph.

42 minutes ago, Robert92867 said:

How does the engine brake work? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8Cta2cC2Co

https://www.jacobsvehiclesystems.com/service-parts-support/how-engine-brake-works

Edited May 26, 2023 by Dr4Film

[Ivylog]

No offense but I hope I never get to where I’m comfortable going less than the flow of the traffic…whatever that speed is. I like the Vorad radar cruise but if you are not careful you’re being passed because of the slow poke in front.

[jacwjames]

2 hours ago, Ivylog said:

No offense but I hope I never get to where I’m comfortable going less than the flow of the traffic…whatever that speed is. I like the Vorad radar cruise but if you are not careful you’re being passed because of the slow poke in front.

I pretty much drive the flow.  I'll be in the right lane and move left to pass.  But if I see slower traffic piling up ahead I'll move to the left lane and adjust my speed with flow.   Doesn't bother me if the speed is 70 mph as long as there aren't any idiots doing stupid things, I'll either slow down or speed up to get away from them. 

I do have a high speed alert on my Silverleaf to keep my speed in check. 

If I get into stop and go traffic I try to be courteous but it's almost impossible to maintain safe distance as small cars will be jumping in front of you at every chance they get.   I also help truckers as much as I can, moving over or letting them in.   I also know where my emergency flasher button is and whenever traffic is slowing I'll turn them on. 

[MJ.STIGER]

After my first voyage. I can agree Love the Engine breaks. I feel like use it too much. But it does wonders i took a few good decent's and too where able to make them with out touching the service breaks. Thanks for the Videos will watch them to learn as much as i can. 

[jacwjames]

The more you use your engine or exhaust brake the longer your regular brakes will last.  I use mine as much as possible, if in city traffic to slow down.  You are doing yourself a huge favor.

[throgmartin]

Richard, I do the same as you, set the cruise at 62 and stay in the right lane and out of everyone's way. With 3 lane and more freeways, if people cannot find a safe way around me then they shouldn't be driving. For some odd reason I get the very best fuel mileage at 62. I go below that or above that and I take a hit at the fuel pump. I believe it may be the gearing in the rear end as well as the ECM parameters. Monaco used a transit bus ECM on some of their coaches and mine is one of them. They cannot be flashed to increase horsepower like the OTR ECM's. I never knew this till my son accessed my ECM. He changed a few parameters to increase mileage for me without sacrificing performance. It did make a small difference in mileage.

I have no idea what parameters he changed. Engines are way out of my wheelhouse. I do know he had a couple friends that worked in Cummin's skunk works and dyno'ed engines for the factory and passed on info to him from time to time. That is where he discovered that Opti Lube was the best fuel additive on the market. The factory were doing tests on fuel additives based on the change over to ULSD. They found that Opti Lube was the very best and scored the highest, even over Cummins own brand - Diesel Kleen which was ranked outside the top ten.

One thing I have found as I am sure you have Richard is that by being slightly out of the flow of traffic it is a lot less mental stress while giving you plenty of room in case some jack wagon makes a stupid move ahead of you. Running in the pack is like NASCAR. If someone makes a bonehead move in front of you, you are going to collected in the mess. I have yet to get a check from NASCAR for getting there ahead of others. My only concern is getting there......... In one piece. 🙂

[Dr4Film]

6 minutes ago, throgmartin said:

My only concern is getting there......... In one piece. 🙂

This has ALWAYS been my goal as the sole driver, to get my wife and I plus the coach to our final destination safely, all in one piece and without any roadside emergencies that were preventable.

I do whatever it takes to accomplish that goal!

As I get older I get slower but also much wiser. 👍

[Florida Hog Man]

I just drove from Atlanta to Greensboro North Carolina -about 300 miles.  Average speed was 42 miles an hour. After delays of several hours due to wrecks, my 6 hour trip turned into 9 hours plus. Started trip with cruise at 63 but after all the delays I set the cruise at max posted speed.  The Eaton-Vorad really helped.  Overall gas mileage was 5.1 towing my Wagoneer.
 It’s strange how the nascar types will come out of a faster traffic flow just to cut me off then swap lanes again in a 1/4 mile.  Seems like they get credit for making somebody hit the brakes…
On another stretch, I had my Eaton-Vorad following the car in front (fast lane) but the autos kept streaming in front pushing me further back in the passing que.  I finally cancelled cruise, floored my ISX to get past the slower center lane, then exited the fast lane and was able to resume at the max posted speed, in one of the middle lanes. Learning the virtue of patience…

[Steve P]

Good judgment comes from experience,  and unfortunately,  experience often comes from bad judgment.  I let the crazies drive as fast as they want (no matter what they drive) , and just try to stay out of their way as much as I can.  The manual for my CR-V says not to exceed 65 when flat towing.  Even if it didn't, I think driving defensively against the things other drivers do would keep me at or below that speed.  I've had too many weird experiences already and don't need to add to the catalogue.  When it's windy (20-25 mph) and a crosswind, especially when gusty, I've been known to drop back to 50-55.  And gusts above 30, I'd just as soon find a place to camp and wait it out.  Oh, on roads with extremely bad, nearly continuous potholes, or bad patches, I have been known to drive in the left lane for miles.  With the taxes we pay, we deserve better roads.  If that bothers you, write your Congressman.  😁

[Steve P]

On 5/26/2023 at 11:24 AM, timaz996 said:

I wish I did have an engine brake but I still do good with the exhaust brake. My happy speed is 60 with the trans in econo.

Same here most of the time... 65 when traffic is light.  The exhaust brake works; simply because I have no way to compare to an engine brake. 

[Raymond]

On 5/27/2023 at 7:20 AM, jacwjames said:

The more you use your engine or exhaust brake the longer your regular brakes will last.  I use mine as much as possible, if in city traffic to slow down.  You are doing yourself a huge favor.

Our 2008 Dynasty has yet to have its 1st brake job, thanks to jake brakes. On a trip from Florida to Seattle Washington traveling along the Pacific coast I used the jake brake exclusively descending the mountainous terrain. Every year I have my brakes pads checked and they are still near 90%.