Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

snfexpress · 09-06-2011, 06:31 AM

There are others here who have more experience than we do, but here's what we have done:

When we're scooting and trying to make distance, we travel with as much water as we think we'll need. If we will be off the grid for 3 days, we fill up the tank. Yes, its over 400 pounds, but it doesn't seem to affect our mileage.

We typically remain hooked to the TV and extend all four slides for comfort. Like SteveS said, though, we don't do it if the lot is full. And, we have two Honda generators that we use to provide power for our satellite TV, ice maker for cocktails, and what have you. We like to park out of the way where we won't bother others. We don't mind being near the big trucks who are idling or using their generators.

We have stayed in the parking lots of Walmart, Target, Kmart, Cracker Barrel, and truck stops. We really like security patrolled rest stops. We wouldn't stay behind the XXX store simply because of some of the people that those businesses attract - people who have no compunction in breaking a window to steal stuff. BTW, we always put the netbook, GPS and other goodies out of sight and reach for our overnight stays. Some of the most restful sleeps have been at rest stops.

When we need more water or need to dump our tanks, we like to find a cheap CG. We never use water from a dump station even if it is marked potable. Once when a tornado went near our CG where we were staying for the week, we went to the local Walmart and bought two 5 gallon jugs of water, & used them to put water in our tank.

We're headed to the Rally from New York and will probably take a week or more to get there. We'll boondock most of the way as we have been this route a lot in the past. We are looking forward to finding a nice place by a lake for a few days.

You will want to keep an eye on your 12 volt gauge. While it is only an indication, you want to try to keep your voltage above 10.5 volts so that damage does not occur to your battery. We installed a voltage alarm to alert us if we get that low - we'll either start the TV or run a genny to charge our batteries (we have two golf cart ones).

09-06-2011, 06:31 AM	#5
snfexpress Montana Master Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: South Posts: 2,499 M.O.C. #5140	There are others here who have more experience than we do, but here's what we have done: When we're scooting and trying to make distance, we travel with as much water as we think we'll need. If we will be off the grid for 3 days, we fill up the tank. Yes, its over 400 pounds, but it doesn't seem to affect our mileage. We typically remain hooked to the TV and extend all four slides for comfort. Like SteveS said, though, we don't do it if the lot is full. And, we have two Honda generators that we use to provide power for our satellite TV, ice maker for cocktails, and what have you. We like to park out of the way where we won't bother others. We don't mind being near the big trucks who are idling or using their generators. We have stayed in the parking lots of Walmart, Target, Kmart, Cracker Barrel, and truck stops. We really like security patrolled rest stops. We wouldn't stay behind the XXX store simply because of some of the people that those businesses attract - people who have no compunction in breaking a window to steal stuff. BTW, we always put the netbook, GPS and other goodies out of sight and reach for our overnight stays. Some of the most restful sleeps have been at rest stops. When we need more water or need to dump our tanks, we like to find a cheap CG. We never use water from a dump station even if it is marked potable. Once when a tornado went near our CG where we were staying for the week, we went to the local Walmart and bought two 5 gallon jugs of water, & used them to put water in our tank. We're headed to the Rally from New York and will probably take a week or more to get there. We'll boondock most of the way as we have been this route a lot in the past. We are looking forward to finding a nice place by a lake for a few days. You will want to keep an eye on your 12 volt gauge. While it is only an indication, you want to try to keep your voltage above 10.5 volts so that damage does not occur to your battery. We installed a voltage alarm to alert us if we get that low - we'll either start the TV or run a genny to charge our batteries (we have two golf cart ones).