First big trip in 3856

pennuja · June 27, 2015, 04:56:55 PM

We left yesterday morning to pick up our daughter from summer camp in Ohio, so we figured that we would try to make a vacation out of it.

It was a long drive at 55 about almost 500 mile in 10 hours, we stopped a few times for fuel and to tighten the tow dolly lug nuts. The drive went well, this was the first time I towed anything with the bus and you almost didn't know that the car was back there except that on some hills I had to downshift earlier than I would normally would.

I did have one really scary moment, we were dropping the bus off at a close by church because we could not take the bus to the summer camp and I ended up at a stop sign at the top of a huge hill. I was unable to start without really slipping the clutch which I knew that I did not want to do so I only had one option which was to unhook the toad. Then came the next problem I tried to apply the parking brake but I think with the giant hill and the trailer attached the bus seemed like it wanted to roll with the brake on. Luckily my wife is easy going because she had to run back and unhook the car from the dolly and back it off, she was not happy when she saw how greasy the dolly and car was (I don't think that the dolly will ever rust now), but in the end she did it. After unhooking I was able to start on the hill but I still had to slip the clutch ever so slightly otherwise the bus would not move. That was very scary, I am not sure what I would have done different because of the location of the stop, you could not see it because it was after a turn.

This morning we woke up at Walmart and drove to Leafy Oaks campground which was about an hour away and arrived to a flooded bridge. After looking at it the water was only a few inches deep so we drove through, after unhooking the toad since there was a big hill after the bridge with the registration at the top.

Not too bad for the first two days, hopefully it will stop raining so that we can enjoy the outdoors.

Some pictures and a video of the flooded bridge.

Video - Click to watch.

pennuja · June 29, 2015, 08:14:55 PM

Today we went to the rock and roll hall of fame, and got to see the outside of Johnny Cash's bus.

After returning to the campground we moved the bus to West Branch State Park where we will stay for three days.

Parked at the campground.

Johnny Cash's Bus

pennuja · June 30, 2015, 08:32:14 AM

We are in our new spot right by the water, this is a really beautiful park even the bathrooms are nice and clean.

pennuja · June 30, 2015, 11:43:57 AM

Some more pictures of our site.

pennuja · July 03, 2015, 06:47:08 PM

We moved again yesterday, now we are setup at South Park BMX track in Pittsburgh,PA. We are here for the Stars and Stripes Nationals, our 9 year old daughter is racing this weekend.

I already miss the nice state park, we are sitting on top of a hill in a muddy field, the only good part is that it was only $45 for four days of camping here. I was very worried about pulling in here but it was all uphill so getting out should not be too horrible... I hope. I ran out to Lowes to get some 2x8's to put under the wheels so I should not be stuck in any holes when I go to leave. It is really raining tonight and supposed to rain some more tomorrow, hopefully it will dry out Sunday.

pennuja · July 04, 2015, 06:31:57 AM

Last night it rained real hard, now it is even muddier than yesterday, hopefully it will dry out over the next couple of days.

pennuja · July 06, 2015, 05:55:09 AM

Back Home.

We made it back home last night, the ride home was long thanks to the Pittsburgh roads. They are really tough to navigate through with the bus pulling the dolly, either every turn was sharper than a 90 or there was an insane hill to climb after the turn. I think without the dolly it would not have been an issue but I definitely could not make a lot of the turns in one try, I would have had to back up and that doesn't work with the dolly. I definitely have to get a better truck GPS, although I am not sure if that helps with the insane turns or not. I did not want a repeat of the bus not being able to start after stopping on a hill so we took the long way home to avoid the bad spots. We even brought home a good sized chunk of the road in the D rings on the bumper from one of the approaches to a hill it was a hard hit.

Luckily the mud dried up and I was able to pull out of our spot without incident, I did not have the car on the dolly just in case I needed to maneuver around anything.

We only had one issue with the bus on the trip, I noticed that we were having trouble climbing some hills in third gear (which goes up any hill we encountered) so I changed the fuel filter and it fixed the problem.

We went a total of 1200 miles and used about 150 gallons of fuel, probably about the same amount if we took the F250 and the Airstream so we were happy about that. I think I added about six quarts of oil along the way, it was very hard to find 40wt oil on the road. Every truck stop, walmart etc doesn't carry it, I ended up going to Napa to get some. I think I am going to get a couple of gallons to carry a long so I don't have to worry about it on the next trip.

D-Ring full of asphalt.

pennuja · July 06, 2015, 12:12:35 PM

It is hard to believe that this is a brand new car dolly, at least it will never rust!

Nel · July 08, 2015, 05:26:00 AM

Hey Jim,
It's great reading and watching your success with the 4104. Keep up the good work, I am still working on mine .I like reading about your trip, can't wait to take one soon, I think I can see a little light at the end of this 35 foot tunnel. Thanks for posting , Nelson

pennuja · July 08, 2015, 06:15:58 PM

Thanks Nelson, I love reading the other stories too it gives you some inspiration.

We already have a few more trips planned over the next couple of weeks, much shorter weekend ones.

Hopefully you will get to enjoy using your bus soon.

RJ · July 09, 2015, 08:41:33 AM

Jim -

Suggest you carry a case of oil with you - that's three gallons - for topping up as needed while on the road.

If you're using Chevron Delo 100, you can order it at any O'Reilly's and it will usually be there w/in 24 hours. Tell the parts guy to pull up his computer screen and type CHV in the vendor box, then 100-40-1 in the part number box, and finally how many gallons you want in the quantity box. By doing so, you won't get the "glazed eyes" look when you ask for it.

Am researching to find out the correct part number for Exxon/Mobile Delvac 1240 (Clifford's favorite). Not sure if O'Reilly's carries it, somebody has to. . .

BTW, smart idea to put some boards under the tires while being parked in a muddy location. Probably saved you from sinking in and getting stuck.

Also guess that the bus drew quite a bit more attention than the stick-n-staples parked behind it, eh?

Oh, how did your girl do in her BMX competition?

FWIW & HTH. . .

pennuja · July 09, 2015, 05:51:55 PM

Thanks for the oil info, I will carry 3 gallons you probably can't carry too much.

Funny that you mention the guy behind me, he had a comment when he walked by about the bus when he was with his wife and friends but came back later to tell me how much he liked it. The bus did draw quite a crowd, I don't know how many times I was told that it was the best RV there.

My daughter did ok, she just moved up to 9 girls; Friday she finished 4th out of 5 girls, Saturday she finished 7th out of 9 girls, and Sunday she did not make the main event because her grip came loose.Overall this year she is doing well, she is second in the state for girls.

Here are some pictures of her racing:

pennuja · July 12, 2015, 08:51:22 PM

Rather than start a new thread I figured that I would add some more info here.

We took the bus on another trip this weekend to Meriden CT for a Gold Cup Qualifier BMX Race. The drive both ways went well, with no issues, we drove about 360 mile total. The kids did great they both finished second Saturday, and third Sunday, here are some pics of the weekend: