Mar 12, after the weather calmed down in Fl, we departed. In route to Valley of the Gods, Utah, Goose Necks State Park, Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Pheonix, and White Sands, NM.
Tow vehicle was 2012 Chevy Silverado 2500HD
Trailer, 2022 Winnebago 2301BHS which weighed in at 6880 lbs with fresh water full.

Gas mileage ended up around 7.3 mpg going out there, 7.9 coming back. 5500 miles round trip.

Prior to the trip, we removed the front A/C replaced it with a Maxx Air Fan 7500, as well as the bathroom fan was also replaced with the same.
I also removed the 190 panel on the roof, replaced that with 4 175 watt flex panels ran new 10 g wire through the front cap.
installed a Victron system, 12v Multiplus inverter charger, Lynx Distributor, 150|70 charge controller, Bluetooth dongle, and BMV 712 with 4 100 ah battleborn batteries.

I can't say I had the true opportunity to see how long the solar system would truly last as we left a day later than planned. So that put us behind.

Either way we finally arrived at Valley of the gods.
Arriving late, we took the first spot available




sunrise





veiw from the dinette window in the morning


drone view

When we first arrived at VOG I was a bit intimidated by the entrance, and we attempted to camp at Goose Necks, but there was a sign saying NO RV's past that point. Found out the next morning, that we could have made it, they placed the sign way to far ahead.

We did have the water heater fail in NM, we were able to pick up parts to fix it in Albuquerque, NM

Flagstaff was a treat for the kids, as there was a bit of snow.




Painted Desert


Native American petroglyphs

Old car my dog took a lot of interest in. Probably looking for lizards

Used the awning for the first time in Phoenix

The batteries drained once to 2% and took most of the day to recharge after we were on shore power in Texas.
we had driven 12 hours that day with one of th fans in the trailer and both fridges running on electric.
This is prior to everything being connected

White Sands was the last stop

I learned a lot about the truck. Let the cruise control do what does.
learned how to used the manual gears for downhill grades. We did use weight distribution, equalizer 4 10k lbs. worked out well, I wish I had gotten the smaller trailer though. I think I may have seen 10 mpg then.
though the hills and mountains took away much of it.

Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for sharing.

Great pix - Thanks for sharing!

I hear ya on the Maxx-Air fans - They are worth their weight in gold, particularly while boondocking. Don't think I would ever own an RV without one (or the Fan-Tastic version).

I've gotten in the habit of leaving the fridge set to run on propane while towing - It cools better than it does on DC power, and makes the full capacity of the tow vehicle's alternator available to charge the house batteries.

Looks like you had a good trip! It makes me want to head out to that part of the country again sometime.

Will be doing more local trips in near future, due to I'm tired of driving and time available.

<---Blessed with having about a dozen state parks within a few hours drive of home - makes for a WONDERFUL extended weekend, without the need to drive a lot to get there.

Great thread, and a safe trip.  

You will get your second wind soon.

Excellent trip!  thanks for sharing!