A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 149 miles from Monument Valley, Utah to Mancos, Colorado.
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Travel from Monument Valley, UT to Mancos, CO
We drove our coach 149 miles, about 3 hours, from Monument Valley, Utah to Mancos, Colorado. Another new state!
The map route, heading east — through four states:
Leaving Monument Valley:
Horse riders:
Rocks:
Dusty road into the distance:
Rocks:
Another straight road over the horizon:
Having gone from Utah through Arizona, we briefly crossed into New Mexico near Four Corners, the only place where four states meet:
Then a minute later into Colorado:
We stopped on the side of the road for a lunch break:
Mesa Verde:
Cinema in Cortez, Colorado:
Liquor store in Cortez:
Mesa Verde:
Our destination:
Coach Proxy
I bought a Coach Proxy device for our 2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP coach.
This is hardware and web-based software to remotely control the Spyder coach systems like lights, fans, etc. Everything that can be done from the main touch panel.
It is also obsolete technology that has a new lease of life. It was a commercial product a few years ago, but was discontinued. But many people enjoyed it, so it was released as an open source project, and some people have continued to make hardware for it using off-the-shelf components.
The device I purchased was an example of that; it was made by a guy named David Earnest, housed in a 3D-printed case:
The logic board is actually from a Raspberry Pi 400, with another board to interface with the Spyder network:
I had a spare Spyder connector under the dash, so I mounted the box there:
The software side is a web app powered by that hardware, with controls for the various lights etc. Here is the top of the Interior page of Coach Proxy, with the main lights; the ones with a slider can be dimmed:
Scrolling down, the living room TV lift (that TV raises up in front of a window when wanted), and more lights. At the bottom the MEM ON turns on the lights that were on when the ALL OFF was used:
On to the shade controls; day and night shades on the driver and passenger sides, or all at once:
The Exterior page has lights, locks, and water systems:
The Climate page has fans and heated floors (very nice in cool weather):
A nice thing one can do via Coach Proxy that one can’t do via the touch panel is assign presets, to turn on or off custom sets of lights; I just have a couple so far:
The Status page has tank levels and power stuff:
The Notifications page lets me get a notice when certain conditions occur:
Plus there are a couple more pages for settings, including options to set up remote access, so these controls can be changed when away from the coach via a secure connection.
A very useful device.
Water quick connectors and gauges
I have a history of overly complicated plumbing at our former homestead, and having an RV hasn’t prevented that hobby. But always for good reasons.
To make hooking up our fresh water supply components easier, I have added some hose quick connectors, that clip together very easily:
The first of these is at the tap, in case I want to disconnect due to sub-freezing temperatures. Following that connector is a two-way splitter, with a hose on one side, and a pressure gauge on the other:
This gauge is useful so I can see the pressure of the water supply (which I note in my campground reviews); the black needle indicates the current pressure, and the red needle indicates the maximum pressure:
Here they are at another campsite, with a frost-free tap (lowering the handle not only shuts off the water, but also drains the water out of the vertical pipe, so it doesn’t freeze and burst):
At the other end of that hose is a second splitter, with one side going to a flexible cleanout hose, and the other going to a pressure regulator (set to a maximum of 60 PSI, though not approaching that at this campground), another quick connector, and the water filters:
On the other side of the filters is another quick connector (so I can disconnect and put it away on travel days), and another gauge, to check the output water pressure (not very high at this campground):
Here are a couple of pictures showing both sides of the filters (the orange hose in the background is the “stinky slinky”, i.e. sewer hose, on a ramp for proper drainage):
The other end of the aforementioned cleanout hose has a built-in valve, and I added a quick connector:
That connector has a mate and a valve on the black tank flush port; this port is used to rinse out the black (toilet) tank:
Here is the hose connected and both valves turned on:
When I’m done, I can simply turn off these two valves (and the one back at the splitter), and easily disconnect, without any mess:
Nice improvements.
Monument Valley KOA Journey
We stayed at Monument Valley KOA Journey in Monument Valley, Utah. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Dates:
- Check in: 2022-05-22
- Check out: 2022-05-29
- 7 nights
Weather:
- A mix of sunny and cloudy
- High temps ranging between 73-89°F, lows around 46-60°F
- Some afternoon wind, with 45 MPH gusts on the last day
Noise:
- Negligible road noise, no train noise
- Frequently changing neighbors, mostly quiet
Site:
- #6, pull-through, gravel
- Needed to disconnect toad; parked beside coach
- Smallish site: about 40 feet long by about 35 feet wide
- Full hookups:
- 50 amp power somewhat conveniently located; running ACs on a hot day overloaded the circuit a few times
- Good water pressure, 65 PSI, conveniently located
- Good sewer connection, conveniently located
- Picnic table; fire pit; charcoal grill
Internet (in usage priority order):
- Starlink: 31 Mbps down, 6-11 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
- AT&T: 8 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up, 59 ms ping
- Verizon: 1 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
- T-Mobile: no service
- Campground Wi-Fi: apparently slow; not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpster
- No pool
- Package delivery to our site
Here’s the review Jenn wrote on Campground Reviews:
The view you imagine when you imagine a Western
A bit overpriced for what it is, but you can’t beat the panoramic views of one of the most iconic landscapes in America. We had a 50amp pull-through site, which was just long enough for our 40′ motorhome and we parked our tow vehicle alongside, with plenty of room left over for outdoor living space. The sites and roads could use another layer of gravel to keep the dust down. It’s a fairly basic park, but very convenient for visiting Monument Valley, Goosenecks State Park, Bears Ears National Monument, etc. We camped at Monument Valley KOA Journey in a Motorhome.
The RV park map:
Here’s the weather for our time here. Two screenshots; the first is using the GPS location, which for some reason lists us as Moab, even though it’s over 100 miles from Moab. And the second searching for Monument Valley. Close enough, regardless:
Our site:
Since there was no T-Mobile connectivity, which is our preference for unlimited internet, I set up the Starlink dish:
Electrical and water utilities; the electrical pedestal is in a strange place, but the water and sewer are conveniently placed:
65 PSI water pressure (I have a regulator to limit it to 60 PSI):
Table, fire pit, and charcoal grill, with our rug and chairs:
This is a very scenic location, with several buttes nearby:
Sunset every night saw several people lined up along the fence, taking pictures:
Another sunset:
Let’s walk around. Here’s the entrance, with another butte beyond:
The office, and Jeep rentals:
Other RVs:
Bathroom:
Playground:
Dog park:
More RVs and views:
A nice-looking skoolie — a retired school bus, converted into an RV. Many RV parks don’t allow skoolies, or other custom or older RVs, but this KOA obviously doesn’t have that rule:
Our coach, with the skoolie beyond:
Our coach:
Another skoolie, not so nice looking:
There are horse tours available next to the RV park (we did such a tour; stay tuned for that):
This being a KOA Journey park, it tends to have a high turnover of occupants; it can empty out during the day, then fill up again by the evening:
Watching the sunset:
Jenn playing a videogame outside:
Sunset between the truck and coach:
On the day before we left, there was a lot of wind (with 45 MPH gusts), kicking up a lot of dust:
We pulled in our front passenger slide-out to reduce the rocking and rattling of the slide topper.
Video: timelapse of motorhome coach driving from Green River, UT to Monument Valley, UT
A timelapse of driving our Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome 195 miles from Green River, Utah to Monument Valley, Utah.
Travel from Green River to Monument Valley, UT
We drove our coach 195 miles, about 4 hours, from Green River, Utah to Monument Valley, Utah.
If you’ve ever seen a Western movie, you’ve seen Monument Valley.
Here’s the map, heading south:
Green River is proud of their melons:
An interesting church:
We stopped at Love’s to top up the diesel, since fuel stops are few and far between for the next few legs of our journey:
Only about 40 gallons (our tank is 150 gallons), though still rather expensive with current fuel prices:
Back under the lowish rail bridge:
Mesa:
Rocks:
Moab:
We stopped for lunch at the rest area by Hole N the Rock:
Onward:
An arch:
Trading post:
First sight of some iconic Monument Valley rocks:
Bridge:
The bridge was a little narrow for our coach, so we treated it as a one-way bridge:
Several people stopped at Forrest Gump point; an iconic location from the movie:
Our destination:
Ceiling AC filters
In the ceiling of our motorhome are a series of register and return vents for the three ceiling AC units; the air is sucked in on the right side, cooled (or heated), and blown out the left side:
Here’s a closer view of one of the intake vents:
Looking on the reverse side, you can see that each of them includes a foam filter to catch dust:
These filters need to be cleaned every few months. But we decided to try some replaceable filters from RV Air, that should do a better job than just a thin bit of foam:
A comparison of the new and old filters:
An old filter, showing the collected dust:
The new filter installed:
The vent back in the ceiling:
About half of the ceiling vents are a different kind, for some reason:
These ones are attached via a clip in the middle, so need a different style of filter:
We’ll see how these new filters perform; I think they’ll be an improvement.
Green River KOA Journey
We stayed at Green River KOA Journey in Green River, Utah. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Dates:
- Check in: 2022-05-11
- Check out: 2022-05-22
- 11 nights
Weather:
- Mostly sunny
- High temps ranging between 69-94°F, lows around 39-58°F
- Windy several afternoons, with gusts up to 40 MPH on a couple of days
Noise:
- Negligible road noise, occasional distant train noise
- Quiet neighbors
Site:
- #50, pull-through, gravel
- Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
- Large site: about 100 feet long by about 40 feet wide
- Full hookups:
- 50 amp power somewhat conveniently located
- Good water pressure, 60 PSI, somewhat conveniently located
- Good sewer connection, conveniently located
- Picnic table on cement pad; fire pit
- Nice new landscaping
Internet:
- Campground Ethernet: 97 Mbps down, 45 Mbps up, 6 ms ping (first time we’ve had an Ethernet option)
- T-Mobile: 62-71 Mbps down, 38-45 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
- AT&T: 6 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
- Verizon: 34-62 Mbps down, 28-43 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
- Starlink: not used, since Ethernet was so fast
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpster
- Pool, still closed for the season (preparing to open soon after we left)
- Package delivery available (sometimes collected from office, sometimes hand-delivered to our site)
Here’s the review Jenn wrote on Campground Reviews:
Good base camp for all the area has to offer.
We stayed in the newly renovated section of the park, each with very young trees and brand new patios and picnic tables. The staff were very friendly and helpful, even bringing our packages to the site. They do an excellent job keeping the sites raked and tidied up after every departure and the whole park is very well kept up. Sadly, they were just starting to get the pool ready for the season (it opens on Memorial Day) so we were unable to use it, despite several days being over 90 degrees. They recently upgraded their WiFi and even had ethernet ports on the pedestals, which we were able to plug our router right into for the fastest internet we’ve had in ages. If you need to work while on the road, this is the place to do it! In the late afternoons after work, there’s still plenty of time to venture out and explore Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, Moab, and several state parks before returning to this nice, quiet spot away from the touristy confines of Moab. We camped at Green River KOA Journey in a Motorhome.
The RV park map:
The satellite map is a bit out-of-date, since they’ve made recent renovations:
Screenshot of the weather for our stay:
Our site:
Working outside:
Cooking burgers on the griddle:
This is the first time we’ve had an Ethernet jack available at a site:
I fed the Ethernet cable through the front passenger window:
Into the modem:
Utilities:
We visited Canyonlands and Arches National Parks while here, so added their stickers (stay tuned for posts about those visits):
A dust devil:
A lunar eclipse:
Let’s explore:
The office:
Camp store:
Camp registration:
The swimming pool was being cleaned, for opening on Memorial Day at the end of the month. We could have used it on some of the hot days, though we were out exploring parks most of the time:
Playground:
Dog park, with a shade and seating area, and agility course:
Patio sites:
Cabin:
Other RVs:
A field behind the park (and dumpster):
One of the many occupants of the site next to us was a U-Haul and tent; rather unusual:
Two trailers:
One of the first nights here we went to Ray’s Tavern in downtown Green River:
They had the menu on a white board above the bar:
Then we went to the grocery store (yes, the only one; it’s a very small town). A well-stocked family-run store (the two cashiers were father and daughter):
Towards the end of our stay, we walked from the KOA to the Tamarisk Restaurant next door (which offers a 10% discount for KOA guests, though we didn’t bother to ask for that):
We had to wait 20 minutes due to a bus-load of other guests:
River view:
Finally, the entry sign at night:
Video: timelapse of motorhome coach driving from Torrey, UT to Green River, UT
A timelapse of driving our Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome 107 miles from Torrey, Utah to Green River, Utah.