Our Farold's Conversion

[GreyEagle]

I know just what you need.

a Skoolie Repair Kit. Only $34,95 (plus shipping & handling)
Kit includes:

1 Roll of Baling Wire. .......18 gage.
1 roll of Duct Tape.......... silver in color, good up to 95 MPH.
1 Can of WD-40............. 8 OZ. W/straw.

takes up to 8 weeks for delivery

no returns, no refunds, no warranty

Every shoolie needs 1 or 2 so order yours today.....

no Credit Cards, cash or certified checks only. check must clear before shipment is made.

contact GreyEagle to place your orders today.....

[bansil]

Linda good idea about using hose clamps!!
That earned a .............."cheers"

[travelinwithus]

Originally Posted by Shadoll

You charging 2 marine batteries or ?

I have 3 deep cell batteries that the solar panels are charging.

Originally Posted by GreyEagle

I know just what you need.

a Skoolie Repair Kit. Only $34,95 (plus shipping & handling)
Kit includes:

1 Roll of Baling Wire. .......18 gage.
1 roll of Duct Tape.......... silver in color, good up to 95 MPH.
1 Can of WD-40............. 8 OZ. W/straw.

takes up to 8 weeks for delivery

no returns, no refunds, no warranty

Every shoolie needs 1 or 2 so order yours today.....

no Credit Cards, cash or certified checks only. check must clear before shipment is made.

contact GreyEagle to place your orders today.....

You bettcha!

Originally Posted by bansil

Linda good idea about using hose clamps!!
That earned a .............."cheers"

I agree, that is a great idea.

Drove about 250 miles today. Made is just east of Somerset, PA. Fueled up today after nearly 400 miles on this tank. We have traveled over 1000 miles so far. We ended up getting 11.08 miles per gallon. Not to shabby. The DT-408 is a dream to drive so far. Not sure that we have gotten into real mountainous areas yet (I am only about 120 miles into the Pennsylvania Turn Pike) but there have been some pretty good grades and as long as I keep it at about 65 mph and 2500 RPMs I can muscle up almost any grade we have hit so far.

[crazycal]

Have you gotten hammered on tolls yet?

[travelinwithus]

Thanks timmylc.

Originally Posted by crazycal

Have you gotten hammered on tolls yet?

We had about $10-$15 in tolls thru Chicago. I haven't paid any tolls yet on the Turn Pike but, yes, I am going to get hammered. If I am reading this card correct it appears it is going to cost over $40 to drive across PA!

[crazycal]

When I drove from NY, they charged something double for over 7'6". Since I was only driving 50-55 mph, I used a lot of secondary highways. Many of them paralleled the turnpike. I'm not sure if PA does that.

Sounds like you're having lots of fun on the trip. What a great experience for the kids. I'm sure it is something that they will look back on for the rest of their lives. I have one friend that always talks about the trips they took as kids in the family trailer. He just turned 57.

[Shadoll]

When I went through PA it was like $2.50 per axle or ? Driving the motorhomes (I delivered new motor homes A & C class out of Indiana all over the US for one summer) I sometimes had 3 axles on the 34 footers and then towing my car 2 more. The bus will only have 2 (not that I'm going that far in it for a long while if ever). I found IA and PA turnpike disappointing becuase it is a straight cement road lined with trees so I couldn't see back in to see the landscape very often. One cool thing I thought was their use of inter median rest areas. Accessible from both directions. And they had showers and laundry rooms in them. I liked small towns in NY.

[travelinwithus]

I ended up getting off the Turn Pike at Carlisle, PA yesterday after pulling into a service plaza to discover a blown break line . I got on the off ramp to head into the plaza and the break pedal went right to the floor. I got it stopped then looked at the gps to find the closest Auto Parts store. It was about 15 miles away in Carlisle. $30 and 20 min later the break line was replaced, breaks were bled and we were on our way to Hershey. Not a fun experience having 17,860 pounds of metal that you can barely stop.

When we got off the Turn Pike it cost me $26.50 in tolls for the distance we traveled. We are in Hershey, PA now and boondocked at a Walmart just outside of Hershey. Our next stop after Hershey is going to be Philadelphia where we intend to have a Philly Steak Sandwich.

Originally Posted by crazycal

Sounds like you're having lots of fun on the trip. What a great experience for the kids. I'm sure it is something that they will look back on for the rest of their lives. I have one friend that always talks about the trips they took as kids in the family trailer. He just turned 57.

We are having a great time. Kids are doing really well on the trip and learning a lot. They are working on a project now (besides their normal schooling) where each of them draw 2 designs that say travelinwithus.com and the whole family will vote on their favorite. Whoever wins we are going to paint that design on Farold. I will be sure to post pics for all to see.

Last night was the third night boondocking. Batteries are pretty low on charge right now but without the solar panels I would be idling the engine. Because I have the solar panels it is just enough to keep the refrigerator running and we are sitting at 11.5 volts when it isn't running. I think the panels are going to pay for themselves in a short amount of time. We plan to boondock one more night then hit a campground to fully recharge everything.

This has been a huge learning experience for all of us. I boiled water today for coffee rather than run the coffee pot. We use the stove to cook rather than the microwave as it saves power and warms the bus. It has been a really neat experience and I recommend anyone with the resources to give it a shot sometime.

[mightybus]

Whew. I'm glad you got your 'brakes' fixed. I hope you enjoyed your 'break' for the Philly sandwich. What a fun adventure you are having.

[travelinwithus]

Originally Posted by mightybus

Whew. I'm glad you got your 'brakes' fixed. I hope you enjoyed your 'break' for the Philly sandwich. What a fun adventure you are having.

We haven't quite made it to Philly yet. We are still in Hershey and are getting ready to go to the museum and Hershey World.

[Shadoll]

Chocolate!!!

[gbstewart]

Glad to see your having fun and the kids are learning, It is good to see a skoolie being used, and not just sitting in someones yard, we put over 13000kms on our bus (2 years) and cant wait to get going again. anyway I see that you dont have a generator set up. have you considered haveing one for boondocking? I have 3000w with comand start, i can run it to charge house battery or run aircond when driving. very handy to have when boondocking. just wandering

gbstewart

[travelinwithus]

Originally Posted by gbstewart

Glad to see your having fun and the kids are learning, It is good to see a skoolie being used, and not just sitting in someones yard, we put over 13000kms on our bus (2 years) and cant wait to get going again. anyway I see that you dont have a generator set up. have you considered haveing one for boondocking? I have 3000w with comand start, i can run it to charge house battery or run aircond when driving. very handy to have when boondocking. just wandering

gbstewart

I have been considering getting a generator. So far we are able to go 2 - 3 days without needing it. We have been driving about 2-4 hours a day and using the alternator to recharge the batteries in addition to the solar panels. If we stayed in the same town for more than one day we would have a problem but usually the only time we stay for more than one day we are at a campground and plugged in. I agree it would be nice to have a generator but that is just one more expense (both purchasing and fueling) that we are trying to avoid right now.

We made it to Philadelphia and had a great visit to Hersey. If anyone goes to Hershey I highly recommend taking the trolly ride at Chocolate World. It was very educational about the history of Milton Hershey and the sites you see are pretty cool. He was and incredible man and his legacy is still going with the trust he set up to provide education to underprivileged children.

I filled up the bus after our visit to Hershey. 9.5 miles to the gallon. I am pretty happy with that considering I was doing 65mph thru the mountains. I am beginning to wonder if I would get better mileage on flatland if I ran 65 rather than 60. At 65 the bus drives smoother and it is right at the beginning of the power range. You can view the pics from today at http://travelinwithus.com. I should have them up within an hour.

[crazycal]

Gotta find that's sweet spot for mpg. I think every engine is different.


http://www.handandpowertoolshop.com/...FWrZQgodeiUAqw

I saw this generator at my local Costco for $599 plus tax. Seems like a good price. It's stupid the way they write sine wave technology. I don't know if that's pure sine or modified. I think this is like the Honda EU2000 for 2/3 of the price. Probably only handle a small AC. The link says 3.2 gallons while the picture I took of the side of the box in the store says 4.3 liter fuel tank. There is no way it will hold over 3 gallons of fuel. I think the box is right. The box also said over 6 hours run time with 4.3 liters. That's just over 1 gallon of gas. That's pretty good. It didn't say what the load was.

[GreyEagle]

Yo CC,
It's a Yamaha 1600 Watt at 50% load, 2000 peak. If you can find the Yamaha 2400 watt..... it'll be a 2000 under 50% load 2400 peak
The 2400 can run the AC with ease....... Yamaha are good generators, just a little louder the a Honda at a much better price, for the money I'd take the Yamaha but the 2400 watt one......
just my .02 cents........

2000 Watt Inverter Generator with Yamaha Engine

Features:
Gasoline petcock lets you shut off the gas to run the carburetor dry for storage
Recoil sart
Guarded recoil line
Maximum compliance ratings for both EPA and CARB
Thermal overload protection
3.5HP, 79cc, Yamaha MZ80 Engine
USFS-approved spark arrestor
Low oil shutdown
Sine wave technology, suitable for powering sensitive electronic equipment like a laptop computer
Up to 8hrs of runtime at 50% load
Built-in inverter
Automatic Voltage Regulation
Specs:
Running Watts - 1600w
Starting Watts - 2000w
Rated Voltage - 120V
Rated Current - 16.7A
Receptacles
(2) 120V Duplex NEMA#5-20R
(1) 12V/8amp
Noise Level - 51dB
Fuel Type - Unleaded Gasoline
Fuel Capacity - 3.2 Gallons
Voltage Multi Tap
Weight 44 Pounds
Listing EPA
Generator Power Source Gas
Generator Type Portable Generators
Customer Reviews

[Six Four]

great idea on the bunks, the complete project is very nice. Is there anyway to get a pic of the underside of the bunks so that i can see how you mounted them to the windows?

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by GreyEagle

Yo CC,
It's a Yamaha 1600 Watt at 50% load, 2000 peak. If you can find the Yamaha 2400 watt..... it'll be a 2000 under 50% load 2400 peak
The 2400 can run the AC with ease....... Yamaha are good generators, just a little louder the a Honda at a much better price, for the money I'd take the Yamaha but the 2400 watt one......
just my .02 cents........

2000 Watt Inverter Generator with Yamaha Engine

Features:
Gasoline petcock lets you shut off the gas to run the carburetor dry for storage
Recoil sart
Guarded recoil line
Maximum compliance ratings for both EPA and CARB
Thermal overload protection
3.5HP, 79cc, Yamaha MZ80 Engine
USFS-approved spark arrestor
Low oil shutdown
Sine wave technology, suitable for powering sensitive electronic equipment like a laptop computer
Up to 8hrs of runtime at 50% load
Built-in inverter
Automatic Voltage Regulation
Specs:
Running Watts - 1600w
Starting Watts - 2000w
Rated Voltage - 120V
Rated Current - 16.7A
Receptacles
(2) 120V Duplex NEMA#5-20R
(1) 12V/8amp
Noise Level - 51dB
Fuel Type - Unleaded Gasoline
Fuel Capacity - 3.2 Gallons
Voltage Multi Tap
Weight 44 Pounds
Listing EPA
Generator Power Source Gas
Generator Type Portable Generators
Customer Reviews

Thank GE but I'm not getting a generator right now. I had an Onan that was stolen plus I have one in the Bluebird that I would try to use first. I posted about the Yamaha because it was the first time I have seen one at at Costco. Retail is about the same price as a Honda. I was surprised to see a price of $599. They only had 3, so it may be a one shot deal.???

[travelinwithus]

Originally Posted by Six Four

great idea on the bunks, the complete project is very nice. Is there anyway to get a pic of the underside of the bunks so that i can see how you mounted them to the windows?

Thank you. I appreciate the comments. I will post pics tomorrow when the lighting is better.

We toured Philly today and had some great Philly Steak sandwiches at Geno's Steaks and Pat's King of Steaks located right across from each other. There is a pretty interesting story behind the two locations. We saw the Liberty Bell and watched a Veteran's Day speech given by the Mayor of Philadelphia. You can see pics on our website (link below). Thank you to all you veterans for your service to our country.

We arrived in Washington D.C., or just outside, about an hour ago. The drive on I-95 was the most stressful of the trip thus far. Bumper to bumper, tight lanes and CRAZY A#$ drivers all the way for 2.5 hours. I nearly rear ended a Lincoln but swerved to avoid it at the last minute. Traffic came to a sudden stop in front of us and that is what nearly caused the collision. Other than that the drive was decent, lol.

We are staying at Duncan's Family Campground for a couple days just to relax. We have been on the road/run for 12 days now and we are all ready for some R&R. We will be in the D.C. area for 3-4 days and then moving south.

Farold is absolutely a "Powerful Traveler".

[travelinwithus]

Holy Cow! What a day! We visited
Washington DC and actually saw Obama
land in his helicopter! The chopper along
with 2 others flew right over us. I got it all
on video and will upload it as soon as I get
to a decent internet connection.

I haven't had a chance to snap those photos underneath the bunks yet. I'll try to get them tomorrow.

[GreyEagle]

Originally Posted by travelinwithus

Holy Cow! What a day! We visited
Washington DC and actually saw Obama
land in his helicopter! The chopper along
with 2 others flew right over us. I got it all
on video and will upload it as soon as I get
to a decent internet connection.

I haven't had a chance to snap those photos underneath the bunks yet. I'll try to get them tomorrow.

Did you shoot it down????