Sprinter 3531 shakedown run results

[Chief Mole]

Hey y'all. Just got back from a six day shakedown run from Orangeburg, SC to Ocala, FL and back with a mid stop at Savannah, Ga. Things that we found out:
* Water pressure. Maybe it was the way I did this but the pump beat the hose for both pressure and volume. The hose was rigged as follows: pressure regulator, hose, filter, RV.
* Residential fridge. Turn the inverter on while moving! Had the fridge turned off and almost spoiled the food as the internal temp. got to 55*F during travel. Big OOps on my part.
* Our best speed for fuel economy was 65 MPH with tow/haul mode not used. Made about 11 MPG anywhere from 55 to 65 MPH. Yours may be different.
* Cats love crown molding! They only went there once, luckily for us.
* DVD/BlueRay to be installed prior to next trip in den and 2nd tele for the bed room.
* Electric fireplace heats the recliners very well.
* Walmart love seat covers work pretty good on mini couches.
* King sized bed will accommodate all of us at night. The pack makes an excellent alarm system.
* The sound bar or entertainment system has issues (turns off) when being controlled by its own remote and when the fireplace remote is used.

We still have to get our kit straightened out but for the first time out it was a great trip!

[Pull Toy]

FIRST OFF:.... Thanks for your dedicated service!

Second: Great description of your shakedown, and discoveries!

Third: Welcome to the gang! Lots to share here, questions, and answers!

Fourth: Your water issues may have been low Campground psi. I usually turn on the pedestal faucet even before screwing in the pressure regulator , My two reasons are to clear any "back flush" issues from previous tenants, but also to assess water pressure. I always use protection! (Pressure regulator, that is). I've been in parks with 120 psi, but I've also been in 15 psi situations. Use what works best for you.

[TomD1]

Thanks for your Service.
We have a Sprinter 334 FWFLS, got it in September but have not had a chance to take it out yet. We will be going from Columbia to Myrtle Beach the middle of March for it's shake down.
I have installed a BlueRay and it works good, also added a TV to the bed room.
I had the same issue with the sound bar that you are having, I found that once you are connected to shore power and have the sound bar turned on push the "Pair" button on the sound bar remote and you should be set. That is until you disconnect, you have to "Pair " every time you connect.
I hope our trip works out as good as yours

[sourdough]

Sounds like a good first trip. Water pressure; what kind of regulator are you using? If it's one of the cheap Walmart or other types, it doesn't matter what you hook it to or what the water pressure it, it decreases it. Get a good regulator with a gauge where you can adjust the pressure.

Blue Ray/DVD - I don't know what everyone else does but we carry our own Blu Ray/DVD/wireless player everywhere we go. We do not watch network TV and only use streaming from Netflix/Amazon etc. using wifi. We try to use the park "networks" hopefully. If staying long, I install my own broadband as we have here in FL. $55 mo. plus installation, full broadband, no worries about park problems etc. YMMV

Electric fireplace is super! We love ours and does a super job of cutting the cold but leaving the bedroom cool if you want to sleep in.

No sound bar. I replaced my speakers with high(er) quality units that will run you out if you are of a mind to....we aren't.

[travelin texans]

Most parks WiFi will not support streaming movies, most all parks have it in their rules to NOT stream movies.
I also totally agree to get a real water pressure regulator, it won't help the low pressures in some/most parks, but it's much better in the parks with high pressures.

[busterbrown]

Originally Posted by Chief Mole

Our best speed for fuel economy was 65 MPH with tow/haul mode not used. Made about 11 MPG anywhere from 55 to 65 MPH. Yours may be different.

If you're pulling your 39 foot 14,000 lb 5er with your signature's TV, that's some pretty impressive MPG's for that 6.4L. Best I've recorded with my Ram gasser pulling my much lower profile 35 ft, 7,000 lb Bullet at 60-65 mph was 10 MPG on the flats.

[Tinner12002]

Originally Posted by Chief Mole

Hey y'all. Just got back from a six day shakedown run from Orangeburg, SC to Ocala, FL and back with a mid stop at Savannah, Ga. Things that we found out:
* Water pressure. Maybe it was the way I did this but the pump beat the hose for both pressure and volume. The hose was rigged as follows: pressure regulator, hose, filter, RV.
* Residential fridge. Turn the inverter on while moving! Had the fridge turned off and almost spoiled the food as the internal temp. got to 55*F during travel. Big OOps on my part.
* Our best speed for fuel economy was 65 MPH with tow/haul mode not used. Made about 11 MPG anywhere from 55 to 65 MPH. Yours may be different.
* Cats love crown molding! They only went there once, luckily for us.
* DVD/BlueRay to be installed prior to next trip in den and 2nd tele for the bed room.
* Electric fireplace heats the recliners very well.
* Walmart love seat covers work pretty good on mini couches.
* King sized bed will accommodate all of us at night. The pack makes an excellent alarm system.
* The sound bar or entertainment system has issues (turns off) when being controlled by its own remote and when the fireplace remote is used.

We still have to get our kit straightened out but for the first time out it was a great trip!

Just wondering, did I read your post correctly that you did not use your tow/haul mode...just courious, why not?

[Chief Mole]

Thank y'all for the responses. I'll try to keep up with what's been asked so far:

Pull Toy & Sourdough: Our water pressure issue has been pretty much a constant since we first started our trips way back in 2003. I'm thinking that if I change the arrangement to spigot, filter, hose, regulator, RV that I may see some improvement in delivery pressure and volume. And yes, it is an el cheapo fixed setting regulator.

TomD1: Great info, nothing in the paperwork for the sound bar about pairing the remote, just for pairing another device via Bluetooth.

busterbrown and Tinner12002: Yes, you did read those numbers and statements correctly. Our previous TT was a Kodiak 30' TT and we ran in the 9 mpg's with it as well. With the Sprinter being a fifth wheel, it appears to have improved on some aerodynamic issues that a TT could never resolve as the Sprinter is connected in the bed of the truck while the Kodiak was connected at the rear. The airflow is likely more laminar from grill to cab to trailer nose on the 5er versus a turbulent area forming in the truck bed area when going grill to cab to bed to trailer nose. We also haven't moved in any more gear than what we had in the Kodiak, about 500 pounds of dishes, pots, pans, trailer stuff that you pack into your unit that remains there even when you're not in it. The Kodiak had a cargo limit of 1000 pounds (rounded number) while the Sprinter has a cargo limit of 3000 pounds (rounded number) so my actual towing weight has really only increased by 4000 pounds (empty weight comparison). The Tow/Haul mode only increases idle speed, the gear change set points and removes the ability to go into Eco mode of using only 4 of 8 cylinders when near 18 mpg ranges (going on a flat or downhill). Travel on our route had lots of little rises and dips with no major grades to climb.

[Tinner12002]

Don't think that I'm trying to tell you how to drive your truck because I'm not, but I would think at least from what I feel I know about mine, is that the trans shift points are adjusted by the tow/haul to help pull the extra weight easier and help save the trans from overheating by making it shift quicker and delay the shifts in order to gain some rpm before the next gear to prevent lugging. As for eco mode, with pulling that extra weight its hard to imagine it would ever go to eco unless you were going down hill. If it does go into eco pulling like that I'd be thinking you have an exceptional truck!

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

Most parks WiFi will not support streaming movies, most all parks have it in their rules to NOT stream movies.
I also totally agree to get a real water pressure regulator, it won't help the low pressures in some/most parks, but it's much better in the parks with high pressures.

You're right. Many places prohibit streaming and place it in their rules; I should have pointed that out. But, some places don't; and some of them are in out of the way places with surprisingly good wifi. I do think that more and more parks are probably moving to stop streaming and it's understandable. On our way here last year we stop at the same campgrounds usually. We have detailed notes on each one. One of them that allowed streaming the first of last year did not in Oct. They didn't provide rules or anything but they had their router? programmed to not let your TV access it. We've experienced that in other places as well. So the wireless capability of the BluRay may only be useable in the future beside my house or in a campground where I install my own wifi.....or, it can still play my collection of DVDs!!