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RoverPod
Senior Member
Joined: 07 Mar 2020
Location: Virginia
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Posts: 118
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Topic: Aggravations Posted: 07 Oct 2020 at 7:06pm |
Originally posted by pedwards2932
Yes trailer was at 3450 and I weighed the water and removed stuff so I should be at 3330. I was including passengers in combined and I had about 100 and that won't change.I am very familiar with the bridges as I used to commute across the HRBT. We are going to the Eastern shore next week so I will keep a check on conditions before leaving. I thiink on the Chesapeake Bay bridge you don't pull off you just tell the toll person the propane is shut off. We are going to Cape Charles so it is only about an hour or so trip. | Just a note that the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (which is in Maryland) and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (which in is Virginia) are two different things.
But yes, at the CBBT, you just let the toll taker that your propane is turned off.
At the HRBT, you have to pull into the inspection station and tell them that your propane is turned off. They write down your license plate number on their log.
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2017 F150 XLT SuperCab
2020 rPod 180
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290
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Posted: 07 Oct 2020 at 6:24pm |
Originally posted by pedwards2932
Yes trailer was at 3450 and I weighed the water and removed stuff so I should be at 3330. I was including passengers in combined and I had about 100 and that won't change.I am very familiar with the bridges as I used to commute across the HRBT. We are going to the Eastern shore next week so I will keep a check on conditions before leaving. I thiink on the Chesapeake Bay bridge you don't pull off you just tell the toll person the propane is shut off. We are going to Cape Charles so it is only about an hour or so trip. |
I’m not sure about the Chesapeake Bay bridge as I haven’t taken the rpod over that one. The 64 and the 664 bridges between Hampton and Norfolk both require you stop and show them it’s off. Not a big deal unless you want to run your fridge on propane, then you have to find somewhere to pull off after the bridge to turn it back on. It’s really the tunnels not the bridges sections. Propane settles so they are concerned it will stay in the tunnels if there is an accident and a leak occurs. The tunnels are there so that the Navy won’t get bottled up in the event an enemy attacks the bridges.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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podwerkz
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Joined: 11 Mar 2019
Location: Texas
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Posted: 07 Oct 2020 at 12:49pm |
I hate motels. They will have to pay me to sleep in one from now on. Of course, that wont happen so we are back to square one.
I hate motels.
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r・pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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pedwards2932
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Joined: 21 Sep 2020
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Posts: 338
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Posted: 07 Oct 2020 at 9:49am |
Yes trailer was at 3450 and I weighed the water and removed stuff so I should be at 3330. I was including passengers in combined and I had about 100 and that won't change. I am very familiar with the bridges as I used to commute across the HRBT. We are going to the Eastern shore next week so I will keep a check on conditions before leaving. I thiink on the Chesapeake Bay bridge you don't pull off you just tell the toll person the propane is shut off. We are going to Cape Charles so it is only about an hour or so trip.
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offgrid
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Posted: 07 Oct 2020 at 8:16am |
Originally posted by pedwards2932
Headroom at weigh in: 50 lbs on trailer and extra 100 lbs on total weight. I have lost an extra 120 lbs on trailer with water and unneeded items. We are only taking short trips for now and short stays so we can easily stay under 100 lbs supplies. I know if we decide this is for us then another TV is in the picture. It really tows well for me.....I was in Virginia beach traffic on I64 with a lot of traffic no white knuckles but I ran 55 (which is the actual speed limit but nobody does it) Still getting 15/16 mpg. |
When you say 50 lbs on the trailer do you mean the trailer weighed in at 3450 lbs? And 100 total means the combined rig weighed in at 100 lbs under the MCGVWR on your driver's door sticker? Don't forget passengers, fuel, and your weight distribution hitch in your calculations.
As far as fuel economy is concerned you would get pretty much the same fuel burn with a heavier tow vehicle under the same conditions. We all do. Those that report worse fuel economy are driving faster, hitting a headwind, or are climbing hills or mountains. I drive at 60 and get 14 mpg on flat ground with no wind. I would get about 15.5 at 55.
Why? Because air drag on the trailer is the dominant hp demand when towing on flat ground. That drag doesn't change with the size of your TV, because the trailer frontal area is always larger than the tow vehicle's, but it goes up really fast with speed (its proportional to the square of the air speed). Most all modern engines have similar efficiency, they have to or that manufacturer would go out of business. So the only thing that really changes with a heavier TV is rolling resistance (which is proportional to total rig weight) but that is a small effect.
You will feel like the towing is going fine....until its not. That will be in bad weather or in the mountains or when you have to make a sudden lane change. I know I64 in the Norfolk area very well. I used to live on the Outer Banks. You get to go over one of the few bridges in the country where you have to stop and prove your propane tank is shut off. Those bridges can get really scary when there is a blow creating a cross wind, its best to stay off them towing when there is a nor'easter or tropical storm.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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pedwards2932
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Posted: 06 Oct 2020 at 8:28pm |
Headroom at weigh in: 50 lbs on trailer and extra 100 lbs on total weight. I have lost an extra 120 lbs on trailer with water and unneeded items. We are only taking short trips for now and short stays so we can easily stay under 100 lbs supplies. I know if we decide this is for us then another TV is in the picture. It really tows well for me.....I was in Virginia beach traffic on I64 with a lot of traffic no white knuckles but I ran 55 (which is the actual speed limit but nobody does it) Still getting 15/16 mpg.
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offgrid
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Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posted: 06 Oct 2020 at 7:43pm |
Just to understand was the 150lbs the headroom on the MCGWR? Or was it something else?
Doesn’t surprise me you are close, most folks would be overweight. I understand your reluctance to get a heavier tow vehicle considering that you aren’t sure camping is for you. Please be very careful towing with what you have and don’t let driving the marginal TV effect your decision about camping vs staying in hotels. A heavier TV would make the driving part much more enjoyable.
I do agree that this is more a lifestyle decision than a financial one. When I want to minimize cost traveling long distance I drive my Prius and we stay in La Quintas (pet friendly inexpensive motels). The rpod stays at home. The difference in fuel burn alone pretty much pays for the hotel room on a 600 mile drive even assuming zero cost for camping. When we want to camp at our destination we take the rpod, and sometimes for convenience park it at the La Quinta for a night on the road and get a hotel room.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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MoPod
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Posted: 06 Oct 2020 at 6:43pm |
Originally posted by pedwards2932
To be honest with all the cost, we weren't sure it wouldn't be cheaper to just stay in motels. |
Sometimes I think folks acquire an RV because it will be a cheap way to travel. I have found that it is not necessarily cheaper than traveling by car and staying in a hotel or motel. In fact I have stayed in a motel with my RPod parked in the motel lot when I was trying to cover a lot of miles and didn't want to take time to set up and take down the trailer. There are many cost in addition to the purchase of your RV. As was discussed here many of us have had to upgrade our everyday ride to comfortably tow my Pod. There is the additional cost for fuel, additional time on the road to tow at a lower speed, additional cost for campsites, additional time to setup and take down and then all the specialized stuff we buy for our camper.
That said, I have "camped" or "RVed" for many years. I like being out in nature. I like being able to be right by the natural attraction in a state or national campground. I like being in my own bed, with my own sheets and pillows, a shower only my family uses, and a mattress that I've selected to suit me. I like getting up on the morning with my dog going for a walk and visiting with other RVers all while dressed in my pajamas and no one thinking a thing about it. How often do you visit with your neighbors while staying in a hotel or motel? I'd like to think I'm saving money, but as an old accountant I know I'm not and I don't care. I've drank the koolaid, I'm in it for the lifestyle.
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Bill & Nancy
2015 RPod 179
Previously 2010 RPod 176
2014 Explorer Sport
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pedwards2932
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Posted: 06 Oct 2020 at 5:35pm |
Well I got weighed and I am OK not a lot of room....about 150 lbs. From my estimates it seemed a bit high. I had noticed the black water tank guage read full but I figured it was misreading. I checked with a flashlight and dip stick and it was empty. Went to my gray water tank and found about 10 gals (80 lbs). I went thru things we had on the camper we didn't need and found another 80 lbs. I feel like I have enough room to work with. The reason I am working so hard with this is we have never been campers and are not sure if this is what we want to do. To be honest with all the cost, we weren't sure it wouldn't be cheaper to just stay in motels. So before I shell out the bucks it takes to get a new TV I want to make sure it is something we want to do long term. If we decide this is are type of lifestyle then I will sell the Escape and look for another TV. Trading it in doesn't seem to make sense.....to much loss.
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offgrid
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Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posted: 06 Oct 2020 at 12:47pm |
Originally posted by StephenH
It really isn't worth arguing about. In any case the real thing to remember is that sticker weight is not what will actually be towed once everything needed is loaded.
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+1. And the only way to really know that is to load up and get an actual weight at a public scale.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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