RAV and Toad

[Glenn Baglo]

We're here, as in camped just south of Merritt. We took the long way from North Vancouver, over the Hope - Princeton and then up 5A to Merritt.

The RAV was a trooper ( actually it was a Toyota ) and performed wonderfully. The new larger RAV4 with a 3.5 cu. in. 269 hp engine is heavy enough and powerful enough that the Escape 17 became just an afterthought.

I've read posts on anti-sway bars and so far I don't think that's a necessity. I was passed by several large trucks on the cross-wind prone Chilliwack section and didn't feel a thing, although I had a tighter grip on the wheel, having kept my eye on the rear view mirror.

I'll have to calculate the mileage later, but I used 27.798 litres of regular grade to travel the mountainous section from Chilliwack to Princeton, a total of 183.1 kilometres. Most of that was with the shifter in Drive, but on long climbs I'd drop to 4th.

We're at a new RV camp called Moonshadows. It's right on the Coldwater River, surrounded by cottenwood trees to shade the site. I'll break out the rod in an hour or two and see if there are any trout.

We stopped briefly at Allison Lake Provincial Park and found it abandoned. Not a camper in sight. No wonder. The lake is across the highway and the campsites are surrounded by beetle kill pine. According to the Accommodation Guide it is "No Smoking" and I don't wonder why.

Next door neighbor cautioned me about hooking up to the water. No pressure reduction valve so you could blow the lines in your trailer. I'll pick up my own valve as soon as possible.

We like the place enough that we'll stay here at least a couple of days.

baglo

[Daniel V.]

Hi Glenn,

The RAV was a trooper ( actually it was a Toyota ) and performed wonderfully. The new larger RAV4 with a 3.5 cu. in. 269 hp engine is heavy enough and powerful enough that the Escape 17 became just an afterthought.

Thanks so much for sharing your comments about the RAV4. We are looking closely at getting the V6 (runner-up being the previous Highlander model) and are interested in any info you may have about mileage and general performance.

Next door neighbor cautioned me about hooking up to the water. No pressure reduction valve so you could blow the lines in your trailer. I'll pick up my own valve as soon as possible.

I've been thinking about this problem since it has been mentioned in another post recently... would just cracking open the main water valve, as opposed to opening it entirely, not do the same thing? You typically don't need that much pressure anyway, and it's one less part to bother with.

[Glenn Baglo]

Hi Glenn,


Thanks so much for sharing your comments about the RAV4. We are looking closely at getting the V6 (runner-up being the previous Highlander model) and are interested in any info you may have about mileage and general performance.


I've been thinking about this problem since it has been mentioned in another post recently... would just cracking open the main water valve, as opposed to opening it entirely, not do the same thing? You typically don't need that much pressure anyway, and it's one less part to bother with.

The part probably costs about $7. I'm just going to buy the valve.

baglo

[Doug Mager]

I might be w w w w wrong (it has happened once or twice) but IMHO:
...the pressure is there whether you open that spigot a crack or wide open. Either way, right or wrong, what does it hurt to pack and use a reducer???

[Adrian W]

We do mpg down south, do you guys up north do kpl? "I used 27.798 litres of regular grade to travel the mountainous section from Chilliwack to Princeton, a total of 183.1 kilometres." Most of us in the states have not gotten a handle on the metric stuff. I had to be driving our car after reading your post of getting Toad home and you had gotten up to 100 kph. I figured you were at about 62 mph at that speed. We tried to go about 90 kph or whatever I figured 55 mph to be. We slowed down to save on gas. Last year we did the 60 to 62 mph.

[Kurt & Ann K.]

Daniel V
Doug has the concept correct, just "cracking" the valve will reduce the volume of water, but the pressure will still build up to the same amount.
The pressure regulator may save some quite expensive and inconvenient repairs. Once obtained, simply leave it installed on the end of your hose which connects to the park's spigot. Then you'll look like a seasoned veteran when you are setting up.

Now the trick is to remember to leave it on the hose when you break camp. An awful lot of them are left attached to the spigot and you'll have to purchase another at the next campsite. Trust me, it happens very frequently!

How are the trout biting?
Kurt & Ann K.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Also keep in mind that during your stay, an unregulated water supply may vary quite widely up and down -- RV plumbing will be no match for city water gone wild.

[Daniel V.]

Most of us in the states have not gotten a handle on the metric stuff. I had to be driving our car after reading your post of getting Toad home and you had gotten up to 100 kph. I figured you were at about 62 mph at that speed.

Wait a minute. It is us that have it right with our "liters per 100km" and we are the ones that don't have a handle on the weird US measurements.

(Either way, follow this link for instant relief: http://www.onlineconversion.com/fuel_consumption.htm)

Doug has the concept correct, just "cracking" the valve will reduce the volume of water, but the pressure will still build up to the same amount.

Excellent, I feel smarter already, AND I get to buy another cool part for my egg.

[Glenn Baglo]

We do mpg down south, do you guys up north do kpl? "I used 27.798 litres of regular grade to travel the mountainous section from Chilliwack to Princeton, a total of 183.1 kilometres." Most of us in the states have not gotten a handle on the metric stuff. I had to be driving our car after reading your post of getting Toad home and you had gotten up to 100 kph. I figured you were at about 62 mph at that speed. We tried to go about 90 kph or whatever I figured 55 mph to be. We slowed down to save on gas. Last year we did the 60 to 62 mph.

In Canada mileage ( kilometerage? ) is measured in litres per 100 kilometers. The Explorer used 18.5 / 100 just highway driving. I used about 10 / 100 without Toad behind me.

[james kent]

Using a conversion table, our litres per 100 kilometers work out to 6.114 gal Cdn or 7.34 gal Amer. and the distance would be 113 miles. That's 18.5 mpg Cdn or 15.4 mpg Amer. Won't it be nice and a lot simpler when we all adapt to the metric system based on the unit 10? But then I'm just an old guy that still converts centi-upgrade to farenhigher to see how warm I feel.

[Glenn Baglo]

On this maiden voyage I tried to stay at the speed limit or 90 kph when the limit was 100.
Just did the calculation and I used 15.18 litres per 100 k. That's 15.58 miles per U.S. gallon.

Today, I think we'll re-pack the Toad, learning things as we go along.

baglo

[Doug Mager]

........this 'pressure reducer' (aka a good f_ _t, LOL):
I've had experiences with leaving it on the hose (still do it) but found quite often if left on for too long a time the (so called) brass parts OXIDIZE, so maybe remove it at seasons end but leave it laying beside or very near where you store the hose for next season???

[Nancy]

I've added that nice conversion chart to my conversion bookmark.

But I think I'm missing something here. When up north, since my car only tells me how many miles I have gone, I first have to convert my miles into km. Then I can use your URL.

Here is another metic site for those of us who haven't gone the right way.

http://www.culturebridge.com/tools/metric.html

We get an overall average on our long hauls: 13.4 liters/100 km and 7.4 km/liter. 17.5 mpg. Gonna take me a long time to get used to this liters per 100 km idea.

Nancy

[Nancy]

This site is much more useful to me. I just went back to my bookmarks and tried this one again. This site gets past that miles driven being calculated into the situation.

http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/...lator-input.cfm

Nancy

[Glenn Baglo]

RAV AND TOAD, Day Two

We woke to day two refreshed and eager for coffee. The three of us, Old Bag, me and Charly the beagle had managed to sleep comfortably in one bed.

We were warned that the temp could drop to 10 degrees C. overnight so I set the furnace. I only heard it start up once.

Happyness is your own toilet. No longer to I have to stumble around in the dark looking for the 2kg. coffee can or brave the great outdoors in the middle of the night.

Today is a day of rest and reorganization.

I had bought plastic containers for our clothes. They fit perfectly in the bottom of the wardrobe. The space left for hanging clothes, however, was less than ideal. Old Bag figured there had to be a use for all those empty cupboards over and under the bed and moved her clothes. I grudgingly did the same. We still have several empty or half empty cupboards. The plastic containers will spend the rest of the trip empty and getting in the way.

Made the ten minute trip into the metropolis of Merritt to shop for groceries and sundries. Had a latte and cinnamon bun and ended up in conversation with a famed local. He's a hunter / trapper / guide and he and his dog ( also present ) captured a man who had murdered his family and eluded police for more than a week. We didn't talk about that, but we did introduce Charly and his potentially nasty critter to one another.

I also picked up that pressure-reducing valve so I could hook up the the city water and a galvanized pail for a garbage can. Garbage is the one thing I haven't found the perfect location for.

We're just taking it easy, with me trying to reduce weight in the trailer by drinking the beer and, of course, checking the efficiency of the fridge. When the mood strikes, I get up and do some small chore, but mostly I don't.

We've found Moonshadows so peaceful ( and shaded, which is an important factor in Merritt ) that we'll stay here three nights and then put the RAV and Toad to the test on the forestry road leading up to Chattaway Lakes. Last time I took this road in a Subaru wagon with the tent trailer, I had to back down a hill and take another run at it in 4-wheel-drive.

baglo



There are no steelhead.

[Pete Dumbleton]

For garbage, I got a plastic wastebasket that's the right size to use a plastic shopping bag as a liner (frugal reuse!) and bungeed the basket in a corner. That way I empty it often and reduce the food smell, plus the CG dumpster is that much cleaner.

[Glenn Baglo]

Tried to attach a pic but I haven't got the hang of it. Probably too big.

Anyway. The next installment:


We're sitting here looking at the sunset. And, a bunch of vehicles and RVs. Several more campers have rolled in.

It was cause for thought this afternoon - one of the few thoughts I had. Why do we go to so much trouble to sit at a camp-site surrounded by machines? And why do we still enjoy the experience?

Well, for one, the river.

The Old Bag took Charly for a walk and insisted that I check out a piece of water she'd seen. She doesn't fish, but she did take a one-day course on fly fishing and when I saw the water I knew she'd learned a thing or two.

I hooked up on the third cast. Must have been at least an inch long. The kid at the camp-site who said the fish were small wasn't exaggerating. I probably got three dozen fish to rise or take the fly, the largest being four inches, or five, if I'm lying.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to talk the Old Bag into checking out the Thompson at Spences Bridge. She, however, heard the forecast for 35 degrees Celsius and isn't that keen.

Alternative is to sit and drink cold beer from the 5 cu. ft. fridge in the Toad.

Damn. What to do?

[Glenn Baglo]

RAV and Toad, Day four

Forecast was for thunder storms and winds of 70 to 80 kph. And the forecast was pretty much accurate.

I took down the awning as a precaution when the winds began breaking branches off the cottonwoods.

Watched a young couple arrive and begin setting up their tent just as the storm hit. There was the sound of a lightening strike, thunder and then a loud crack. I know that's not in the right order, but that's what I heard.

And then the rain began to fall, drops the size of jaw-breakers. The new arrivals abandoned their tent and retreated to their car and we to the Escape. And, it was an escape. Warm and dry, no need to go outside for water or to have a pee.

As I sat in the doorway, with the last few drops of rain for company, they hurried by, carrying sleeping bags, on their way to the laundry to dry them, I presume.

The forecast for tomorrow isn't any better, and I don't care. I'm dry, I'm warm and I have a fridge full of beer. I get CBC on the radio and I'm hooked up to the internet through my company financed cell phone. I've got several good books and the New York Times crosswords.

And, I hooked up and moved the Toad, emptied the black and grey water tanks, opened and closed the awning several times without referring to the instructions and used the hot water heater without incident.

Tomorrow we just coast. Day after we move to an unserviced lake-side camp for new challenges and discoveries.

baglo

[Glenn Baglo]

RAV and Toad, Day five: Photos at Moon Shadows on Coldwater River

Pix of Toad's first camp.

baglo

[Doug Mager]

Looks like the two of you are REALLY stressed out. Ya best chill out a bit. Hope you are enjoying the new Escape!!!!