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Topic: New Lazy Daze owner (Read 10 times) previous topic - next topic
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New Lazy Daze owner
Yahoo Message Number: 141615
Hi all,
 Just made a deal for a Lazy Daze.  I'll be picking it up in Denver next Monday and will have 4 days for a leisurely drive to Chicago.  Denver to Chicago doesn't look like a real exciting drive.  I was hoping folks on the site would be able to suggest a more interesting drive than just following the Interstate, and possibly suggest some good campgrounds.  We would prefer out of the way places and would love some boondocking.
 Thanks in advance and thanks for a very active and informative forum.

John


Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #2
Yahoo Message Number: 141620
__ John, We live outside Denver and have family in Ohio so we have driven back and forth a good bit. Our favorite is route 36. It's perfect for a motorhome because there are long stretches of farm country and very little in the way of services, particularly across Kansas. You cross the Missouri River at St. Joseph, Mo which is an interesting little town. In Illinois it goes through Springfield so you'll need to cut north there, if not sooner. It's just a quiet, pretty much truck free drive. It is so much nicer than the rush of I70 and all the fast food stuff that has grown up along the freeways.
Have a safe trip and enjoy the freedom your Lazy Daze will give you to see things off the beaten track.
Patti & John Golden, CO

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #3
Yahoo Message Number: 141621
John, Let me start off by saying we have made a similiar trip many, many times...BUT...always in the spring or fall so have no idea how these suggestions would play out in early August.  I would basically follow I-80, maybe first night on Lake C. W. McConaughy near Ogallala, NB, second night at Eugene T. Mahoney St. Park between Lincoln and Omaha, NB with third night at Illini St. Park near Marseilles, IL.  We've enjoyed each of these spots, and if you can get a spot at Illini St. Pk. right on the Illinois river (we always managed to do it) it's great watching the river traffic as they head for the locks near there.  Welcome to the lazy daze world.  Wonder where near Chicago home is.  We left Elmhurst in 1973, but still have many friends and relations there.

Rich - 2000 MB - Birch Bay, WA
Former 2000 MB- Now Bullet Crossfire 1800RB trailer pulled by a Chevy 2500HD

Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #4
Yahoo Message Number: 141623
Thanks Rich,

Just the type information I was looking for.
 Home is Northern Michigan.  My wife is working at the annual VeggieFest

New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #5
Yahoo Message Number: 142780
Hello Group,
 We just bought a 1991 Lazy Daze 22ft rear lounge.  It is on the Chevy chassis with 350 engine.  We will pick it up tonight.
 It is out first RV and we wanted to start out small and chea.. er, low priced!

Looking forward to learning more from the group.

Thanks, Bill and Jane Lynch


Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #7
Yahoo Message Number: 142791
Thanks.
 The truck needs some attention.  Lights need changing and I'm nervous about the transmission but it runs out real well and the house is pretty much perfect.
 I'm excited that it has both a gen-set and two solar panels.   About the only thing it doesn't have is a television.

-Bill

Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #8
Yahoo Message Number: 142795
We picked up a '92 22' LD a few weeks ago and it has been great.  It's a beautiful arrangement for 1 or 2 people -- very easy to drive, maneuver and park.

I would suggest the Chevy 350 is not real good at going fast or towing.  We don't tow and are, proudly, slow, so it's a good fit for us.  Hills can be a problem unless you take it out of cruise and slow down.  The engine really "whines" when going fast in that low gear.

Good luck and have fun.

John


Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #10
Yahoo Message Number: 142799
Congratulations, we did the same thing 5 years ago, i.e. purchased a '92 LD, FL, 22' on the Chevy G30 chassis.  Also wanted to 'start small" not knowing if we liked RV'ing, found out we enjoyed it and love the LD ( size for us--just right for two).  Just back from a 2500 mile trip down the east coast beaches, over the blueridge mountains, through WVa and back to western NY.  No mechanical problems at all, I think the Chevy 350 is fine for the east coast and given the fuel injection and overdrive transmission introduced in '92(I think) we have been content, if not estatic,  about the way it runs.  Got 11-12 mpg on the trip.  Stay tuned to this group for many helpful tips, I have found it a wealth of information--as well as very civil!  Happy trucking!   Peace, Larry&Bonnie '92 FL named Tilly

Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #11
Yahoo Message Number: 142811
Hi Larry,
 That's encouraging about the fuel mileage.  I don't know if we have an overdrive but it does feel more like a four speed transmission than a three speed.
 I once saw a document that listed all the Lazy Daze changes over the years but I can't seem to find it again.

Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #12
Yahoo Message Number: 142816
It turns out we do have the overdrive transmission, so YAY.

But this poor little 350 is going to have a heck of a time

Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #13
Yahoo Message Number: 142829
Bill, one word--patience.  Two other comments: (1)  The previous owner of Tilly had both a heavy duty transmission cooler and a heavy duty engine oil cooler installed- I'm not sure if this improves her performance but I'm pretty sure it has extended greatly her life.  (2) Since most LD's reside west of the Rockies much of the advise from this web site has to be taken with that weather/altitude bias in mind.
Peace, Larry&Bonnie '92,22'Tilly

Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #14
Yahoo Message Number: 142831
Thanks Larry,

I have a lot to learn and get accustomed to.  This is our first RV.
 It does have the HD transmission cooler and a monitoring system so I feel better about that.
 It seems the original owner drove it coast to coast and put on 121,000 miles


Re: New Lazy Daze owner (first camping trip)
Reply #16
Yahoo Message Number: 143015
Whoa!  You shouldn't be going anywhere without first checking the tire pressure.  Driving with under-inflated tires can be really dangerous.
 I have never known a catalytic converter to smoke.  More likely coming from the engine.

Dick

Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #17
Yahoo Message Number: 143016
I'd recommend filling the water tank and using the water pump rather than a direct pressure hookup. Many of us do this so as to avoid any possibility of the coach flooding due to a pipe leak. In fact I shut the pump off when I am not using it.
2021 Mid Bath

Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #18
Yahoo Message Number: 143023
Thanks.  I know about the tires. They aren't drastically underinflated just a little, you can tell.
 The engine is fine.  I've been working on cars and trucks for forty-five years so I'm pretty good with that stuff.
 This machine has barely gone 12,000 miles in the past fourteen years so I'm sure that converter was just gunked up with residue.  You have to get them out on the road and cook those things off.  Short trips and occasional start ups leave carbon on the passages.
 Previous owner just took thing to the beach for day trips so everything needs a little wake up.

We are so happy all the systems are working so well.

This is a great site.

Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #19
Yahoo Message Number: 143024
You didn't say what you meant by "smoking."  If it was blowing blue smoke, that's oil from the engine.  If it was blowing black smoke, that's fuel from an over-rich mixture.  My vote is still with the engine unless it wasn't really "smoking."  With that few miles it could also be a stuck piston ring.
 A clogged catalytic converter usually results in greatly reduced engine power, or it stinks like rotten eggs.
 Oh, and I took vocational auto shop in high school, rebuilt my first engine and transmission at 16, and was an aircraft performance engineer in the Air Force.  So I too know a little about engines.

Please let us know what it turns out to be.

Dick

Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #20
Yahoo Message Number: 143026
"I know about the tires. They aren't drastically underinflated just a little, you can tell."

Bill, I hate to disagree, but I don't believe anyone can tell when a tire is "just a little" underinflated by visual inspection, no matter how many years you've been working on vehicles--and even "just a little" can be dangerous.

That's especially true if these tires are more than five or six years old, which from your description of the rig ("barely... 12,000 miles in the past fourteen years") I suspect they might be. It would be interesting to know what the date codes were--I assume you checked that before driving away.

I don't mean to lecture, but there's no substitute for a good tire gauge and a pressure check all around every morning before driving (or a good tire pressure monitoring system, of course). I would hate to see anything happen to you and your family.

Andy Baird
http://www.andybaird.com/travels
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"

Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #21
Yahoo Message Number: 143027
Thanks Andy.

I guess it's best around here not to say anything at all.
 I will go back to  reading and keep my experiences and enjoyment to myself.

thanks everyone.

Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #22
Yahoo Message Number: 143031
If there is one thing I have learned from this group, proper tire pressure and tire age are critical safety factors.  I couldn't agree more with Andy's points.  I would just add that to know the proper tire pressure, one must weigh the rig on truck scales, preferably one wheel at a time to check left-right weight balance, or at least one axle at a time.  I keep a tire pressure chart (for my model Michelin) pasted to the dashboard below and to the left of the steering wheel, so I can see it from outside the cab when adjusting inflation after weighing.  I weigh the rig before every trip with tires cold and adjust for tank levels.  If I am traveling between two climates with significantly different temperatures (e.g. Oregon to S.Cal. in winter), I adjust for that too.  Finally, I have a ten-wheel tire  pressure monitoring system, that makes checking pressures in rig and toad tires a breeze.  It sets off an audible alarm when pressure falls in a tire below a predetermined level.  That alarm has sounded a few times, and, without it, I wouldn't have known while moving that there was a problem.
 As Andy says, this message is not meant to lecture, but more to alert you to the seriousness of this issue.  As I novice, I wouldn't have known how serious this is, if it were not for the advice from this group.  Ted


From: "andybaird@..." To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, October 6, 2013 8:20 AM Subject: [LD] RE: Re: New Lazy Daze owner


 
Re: New Lazy Daze owner
Reply #24
Yahoo Message Number: 143036
No, forget I said anything! Oh, I didn't.
20 + MH's since 1977 incl...
Past
FMC, 2x GMC's, Foretravel, 2x LD
Present
1996 LD RB under restoration, my project to keep me off the streets.