lmsooter
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Posts posted by lmsooter
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Carl,
I had not heard this about HUD so I did some research. Found this from the National RV Dealers Association.
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Dave,
If you happen to get up to the Palm Coast- St. Augustine - Jacksonville area on your shopping trips, let us know. We will go to Key Largo the 24th and 25th otherwise we should be around until we leave here to return to Texas April 1st.
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Dave,
Hopefully someone on the forum has some experience with the Legacy. We looked at a Berkshire in 2010 and were not really overjoyed with the quality of the interior. I looked at the current specifications and brochure for the Legacy online today.
As you are looking at this coach for full timing, I would look at closet space in the bedroom (especially full length hanging) and storage space underneath. It may work well for you but I can tell you it would not work for us - but only you can make that decision.
Also, what vehicle are you looking at towing? I note that the specifications state that the hitch is rated for 10,000 pounds but then it states the hitch capacity is 5,000 pounds. When you look at the GVWR at 28,000 pounds and the GCWR of 33,000 pounds that will give you 5,000 pounds towing.
If you look online for Forest River problems, just keep in mind that many postings for any RV will be negative. Most people don't post when their experience is positive.
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Dave,
You must be tougher than I am! We do our winters in a warmer climate - Arizona last year, Florida now and Texas in the future years.
Check these sites for average temps in Cody and Gardiner.
http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/cody/wyoming/united-states/uswy0035
http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/gardiner/montana/united-states/usmt0131
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Has anyone seen Bouvier de Flandres on a list banned breeds?
Dave,
Not sure about this breed. Each RV park may have different standards (and that may be dictated by their insurance). Best thing to do is ask when you contact a park. We have noticed some parks have weight restrictions - we have seen some restricted to less than 40 pounds and one less than 20 pounds.
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You are not going to "fly" up any steep grade in a coach. We had a Four Winds Hurricane with the V10 engine. It was adequate for towing our Jeep Liberty through the Texas Hill Country and central New Mexico but we never had it in really steep mountains. While we enjoyed that coach, we needed more storage space for full time and the power and ride of the air suspension of the diesel pusher is great. Note that you will have a 5,000 pound hitch so you will need to consider the weight of what you want to tow - our diesel pusher has a 10,000 pound hitch.
Have you considered a used diesel pusher? Many of us have bought used coaches with no regrets. You can get a lot of coach for what you would pay for a new gas coach. Check out RV Trader - choose your selection criteria of price range, distance from your location, year range, brand, etc.
As you are looking at fulltiming in your coach, you need to be sure you have adequate storage - do you need full length clothes hanging?, storage for large items underneath - grill, patio rug, etc.
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There are several resorts in the Indio, CA area that specifically state "Class A Motor Coaches only". But they describe themselves as upscale five star resorts. I truly believe they are the exception and not the rule.
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Our coach had a combo when we bought it - we removed it 2 years ago. It did not have the capacity we need fulltiming. I wear jeans most of the time and could wash and dry one pair at a time. And 90 minutes drying time. Really did not want to wash everyday.
We usually go to a laundromat wherever we are every 2 weeks - much more simple and less noise in the coach.
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Welcome to the FMCA forum.
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A lot depends on what you are looking for in an RV park.
We spent last winter in Arizona - $385/mo plus electricity for full hookups and WiFi. Had swimming pool, pool tables and shuffleboard. Other parks in the area had more - wood shop, lapidary, ceramics, silversmithing, etc - but prices were in the $600 - $800 range.
We are in Florida this winter. Nice small RV park - no pool or other activities but for $400/mo plus electricity we have a nice site on a creek, great WiFi and 169 channel DirectTV furnished. Other parks here have more amenities but again prices are higher.
We are from Texas and will be spending our winters there on the future. And prices vary just like Arizona and Florida based on the amenities you want to pay for. I know of a nice park in Rockport, Texas that is $300/mo plus electricity. Cable TV is available for $25/mo. Concrete roads and sites. Another park on the McAllen, Texas area has lots of amenities for $750/mo. We will spend next winter at a small park in central Texas. Rate of $450/mo includes electricity and WiFi - no pool or anything.
Just decide what amenities you want to pay for in a park and then start looking at parks that meet your needs. That should give you a fair idea of costs.
Enjoy the full timing!
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My wife and I just ordered a 2016 Forest River Berkshire 38A. Should be in mid April 2016. We are planning on going to Florida from Nov.2016 to April 2017.We just retired.
This will be our first time going for that long period of time. Not sure what to do about our mail and not sure what to expect at all. This is a big step for us.
We would love to hear from people that can give us help on what to do.
Thank you
Ron & Sharon
Ron & Sharon,
Welcome to the FMCA forum and to retirement.
I can't tell you anything personally about the FMCA mail forwarding service but I am very familiar with the Escapees program after having used it since November 2011.
We have our mail delivered to us on a weekly basis but you can select any time period. In 2012, we traveled from Texas to Alaska and back to Texas with no problems in receiving our mail.
In 2015, we left Texas the end of May traveling through the midwest then east across the northern states to New Hampshire, then down the East Coast to Florida. Again, no problem with mail.
If you are not an Escapees member, you will need to join to use the mail forwarding service.
https://www.escapees.com/support/mail-service
Enjoy your trip to Florida. Many nice RV parks here at various price levels and amenities. We are currently in a small park (31 sites) a few miles outside St. Augustine. Reservations well in advance are highly recommended at most parks.
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Before I retired I flew into DFW quite often, rented a car and drove up to Granite. I think 183 in Ft Worth has been under construction for decades!
I think we are going to take 77 out of Brownsville to I 37 into San Antonio and then 281 North out of SA, spend the night in Lampass and then take 183 to Vernon. Then straight north to Granite. Also, think we have decided to just take the straight route home on I-40 since it looks like the temps will stay above freezing all the way.
Are you going to be at the FMCA event in Perry? Look forward to meeting you sometime. David
We have traveled 281 many times from San Antonio to Lampasas. It was good all the way but lots of red lights coming out of San Antonio until
get out of the metropolitan area. 183 from Lampasas to Brownwood is good but we have not gone further north on it.
I assume you plan on staying either at Boone RV Park or Bent Tree RV Ranch in Lampasas. If you are at Boone, request a site away from the highway - you will sleep better further from the noise of trucks slowing down for the red light. If you will be at Bent Tree, the sign is easy to miss - start watching for it on the left when you are about 9 miles north of Burnet.
Bill is right about Miller Creek RV Park at Johnson City south of Lampasas - very easy to get into their pull throughs. A very nice park.
We are usually in Lampasas during April and May of each year for our annual doctor visits and to visit with our son and daughter-in-law.
Have a good trip.
Leary
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Welcome to the FMCA forum!
I don't know where you are in Texas but you might give Ronnie Wolfe at **** Albrittons' shop in Choudrant, Louisana - 318-372-8225. They have put in a lot of roof units on Alfas. They installed the residential refrigerator for us June 2015 and did a fantastic job.
**** Albritton has an Alfa and he and Ronnie know the Alfa coach inside and out.
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Carl, thanks for the advice. I could probably get away with an older Prevost since they do not have slides and she hates slides. I wont see them until March (custom built), good thing....I have been changing out my dash panel from the dull gray factory to wood grained to match the rest of the controls I replaced earlier in the year. I am trying to figure out if I want to mount my "Scan Gauge" in the dash like it came that way from HR or just locate a simple home for it without going crazy.
Plus, we are expecting 16"-24" snow storm with Blizzard conditions Friday into early Sunday so I am making sure the house generator is ready for the event and my snow blower is tuned up and the usual, wine, cheese stocked up etc...
Think I am going to make some homemade Chili for the weekend and just relax.I have to ask Puff what software he uses to compress photos, seems like my cell phone photos are much to clear to post on here. My old phone worked fine the new I-phone the pixels are too high.
Joe,
Take a look at IrFanView software. I use it a lot to compress photos from my Nikon camera for posting on Facebook, sending with email, etc.
When I need to download free software, it will come from CNET.
http://download.cnet.com/IrfanView/?part=dl-&subj=dl&tag=button
After you get the software installed. Open your photo with the software, select "Image" from the menu at the top. Then from the popup menu select "Resize/Resample". Then select the pixel size from the selections on the right, click OK. Then File, Save As and name it what you like.
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I think that David & Ruthann are in that group that the RV park is their destination. They go to a park and that is where they stay until they move to the next park. There is nothing wrong with this. They are happy with their life stile and I wish them well.
I won't go any where with out my toad. There are so many things to do and see that you can't do in a motorhome. As an example last summer we did North East. in a little over 90 days we drove the Motorhome 5200 miles and the toad over 6000 miles. The ratio was about the same when we went west the year before. The toad gets 30 mpg the coach 8.
Bill
Bill,
You are probably right. I don't know how we would do without our toad. From the end of May 2015 to the 1st of November we traveled 5500 miles in the motorhome from Texas up through the midwest then east along the Great Lakes to Vermont and New Hampshire for a couple of months then south to Florida. Used the Jeep for side trips along the way into Maine, Boston, New York City, Washington and just viewing the Fall colors. I think we probably put 5000 miles on the Jeep.
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I know this is a hard concept for most non-fulltimers, but don't "tow a vehicle" and your trip will be so much more enjoyable. We have not had a vehicle behind our Itasca KD40 for over five years now and have travelled over 35,000 miles since. Admittedly, the first couple of trips were like leaving a family member behind, but now we can't even remember their name.
Enjoy your trip, it's a great adventure. Be careful who you let work on your vehicle, seriously.
David & Ruthann with Peetie, Oliver and Tracker our doxies
Interesting concept. Do you rent a car when you arrive at a destination such as Yellowstone or rely on public transportation or scheduled tours?
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I don't know anything about that company but have you thought about using USPS mail forwarding. For just six weeks it might be a good option.
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Probably the best place to ask this question is on one of the Alfa forums on Yahoo.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/alfaseeya/info
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SeeYaDP/info
I am assuming you are talking about 2 knife switches. I am not familiar with the 2004 model and my 2006 does not have the knife switches but many people on the Alfa forums have 2004 and earlier models and are very knowledgeable. When you ask your question, be sure to sign off with your name, coach year and unit number (should be on your spec sheet and begins with a 7 - mine is 74151).
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Roland,
This is what I use to carry my step ladder on the rear ladder. The top of the step ladder will slip over the rack. You will want to secure the rack to your rear ladder with cable ties. Then secure the step ladder with a bungee cord around it attached on each end to your coach ladder.
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/over-the-ladder-chair-and-bike-rack/27584
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We installed a 20 cubic foot French Door Samsung in June 2015 and have traveled a little over 5,000 miles with no problems. And some of those roads were rough. Just be sure you have a really secure way of keeping the doors closed while traveling. We use strong but non-abrasive bungee cords so they won't mar the finish. Label on our unit states "Maximum amperage 1.1". Twice as much space as the Norcold we had and nice solid ice cream.
When we travel, I turn on the inverter (modified sine wave) and when we get where we are going, the temps are still right where they should be.
As Herman said, spring loaded curtain rods work great to hold everything in place inside.
I can't really comment on the need for additional batteries. I have 6 6 volt and 2 12 volt batteries. Two 6 volt are for the inverter, the remain four are house batteries and the two 12 volt are chassis. We do not boondock so we don't have any experience in that area.
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Yep, I used Google earth often to see what I am getting myself into. Funny how much pre planning we do for this. You are correct, thank you for mentioning that the NE campgrounds tend to be older style, we find they are small and usually not maintained well. I booked KOA Grand Island, site with a patio, I figured it should suffice.
Am I the only one that tries to avoid campgrounds with unpaved roads? I hate cleaning the coach, driving up and it looks great until I pull in and...... here comes the dust cloud.
Another thing....is it me or does it seem like it is getting harder and harder to get into certain places, with regards to them being booked full. Every year I book earlier and earlier and still have problems. This was the first year I was told "we are booked solid May1 through Labor Day" at one CG.
I see you have already booked a site. But if you are in the area again, try Four Mile Creek State Park. Has electric only (50 amp), large sites and located on Lake Ontario. We were there in August and had a wonderful of Lake Ontario, and on a clear day, Toronto across the lake. Dump station on the way out was very easy to get in and out. While you are there, you might want to visit old Fort Niagara overlooking the Niagara River and Lake Ontario - lots of history.
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Welcome to the FMCA forum!! And congrats on the new coach. From the picture, I would guess it was taken at Bentsen Palms in Mission, Texas?
Have a safe trip to Arizona.
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Congratulations on retirement. I highly recommend it!!!
Regarding your refrigerator, I do not remember if you stated in previous posts if you had a Dometic, Norcold or a residential model. We installed a new Samsung French door model a few months ago. All I do is turn on my inverter when we are going to be traveling and that works out well.
We try to go by a rule of 300 miles or 6 hours in a day. This has not always been possible but is useful in trying to plan stops.
You got great advice from the posters above. Now go out and enjoy your new lifestyle!!!
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I just looked at the brochures for the Winnebago Journey for 2012 through 2015. I note that 2015 is the first time the 40R is listed as an available model.
5th Wheel For Full-timing
in Full-timing
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Dave,
You may get some comments here from those who moved up to a coach from 5th wheels.
I have no experience with them although we did look at them as an option. We had 2 problems:
1. I have a problem even backing a boat trailer. But no problem with the coach.
2. The large vehicle required to pull the trailer will be your means of travel when you are parked. My Jeep gets better mileage than a large diesel truck.