17 days, 3 time zones, 3,701 miles, 4 National Parks (if you count the South Rim and North Rim of the Grand Canyon as 2 separate parks), several National Monuments, and a Tribal Monument. This has been a trip that I will never forget.

Motorcycling with a trailer

Even though I have has my trailer for a couple of years, this is the first road trip with it. Upon returning home, I noticed that the tires on this trailer are about 80% worn away. I figure that I am going to plan on replacing these every 4,500 miles. If I take a longer trip than this time, I’ll need to plan ahead for this. The good news is that Walmart sells these tires already on the rims for about $35, which gives me good place to buy them on the road.

This trailer was basically new, but on day 2 of this trip, I had issues with the bearings. This was my error in judgement when I did not check these before the trip. As anyone with a trailer knows, repack and adjust your bearings annually, whether the trailer has moved or not.

Things I learned

This is the first year that we have had anything really go wrong.

As I just mentioned about the trailer bearings, be prepared for mechanical issues. In a previous career, I was a mechanic and I am fully skilled to adjust and repack the wheel bearings, but if you are not, be prepared to have someone make the repairs to your equipment on the road.

Dad got sick, twice. Or maybe it was round two of the initial sickness. Either way, the first day, we were traveling from Soccoro, NM to Show Low, AZ. Skills needed for this leg was minimal but if you are under the weather, your reaction time will likely be worse than normal. On top of the riding hazards, he also missed out on exploring the Very Large Array, instead he found a shady spot, and took a nap. Thankfully, this is just what the doctor ordered because he was much better afterwards. Plan B was to find the next hotel, and stay there instead of at Show Low where we had reservations. Plan C might have involved an ambulance … I’m glad we did not need to use plan C. Three days later, the first full day at the Grand Canyon, Dad was feeling bad again and spent the day in the hammock. I had to remind him to hydrate or I don’t think that he would have drank water all day. By that evening, he was feeling better and he stayed healthy for the remainder of the trip.

Keeping costs to a minimum

By far, lodging is the most expense part of a trip like this. Between this year and last year, we ate up all the rewards points that Dad has accumulated over the years in business travel. When we were in Sedona, AZ, we talked with a couple of riders for North Carolina and Maryland who told us about a rider in their Goldwing chapter who just returned from a month long trip where he averaged spending less than $100 per day for food, gas, and lodging. That is impressive since our room rates vary from $85-$125 a night over the last few years. Apparently the guy looks for those rooms that are less than $40 per night. This is my next mission as I get the time is to find the rooms that can be had for that kind of price. I do realize that Dad and I have different tastes and requirements in lodging, but I think I can find a happy medium.

We also tend to eat a little better. My full-time job, I travel 250-300 days a year, so I tend to eat on the run. Too often this is fast food. We both look for local favorite restaurants to enjoy. Local favorites usually feature specialties of the region and they are usually favorites because the locals can afford to eat there regularly.

The third cost of these trips is gas. There is nothing we can do about the price of fuel, but we can make sure that we get the best fuel mileage possible. Before you leave, perform a tune-up on your bike. On modern bikes that means check and adjust your spark plugs; check, clean, and replace your filters (fuel, air, and crankcase); and change your oil and filter before a road trip (dirty oil will not only cost you fuel mileage, but it will cause premature wear on your engine).

While on the road, check your oil level and tire pressure. The tire pressure will constantly change between the altitude and temperature changes. In previous years, I average between 42-47 mpg on the road trips and I have peaked as high as 55 mpg. This year, fuel mileage is down with the weight and the drag of the trailer behind me. I averaged 37-44 mpg for this trip. While it cost me extra in gas, it saved me at least that much in water and Gatorade that I kept in the ice chest. Speaking of ice, make sure that you fill your ice chest from the hotel ice machine daily to save you the $2 per bag of ice … $2 a day adds up.