ChetsJug

Are you a rail fan like me? There are a few road side pull outs large enough for a good sized rig to view the Tehachapi Loop. I would say there is parking for 5 rigs or 20 cars at the main pull out by the historical marker. You have to get off the freeway and go down the old highway. I use Bing Maps to see the roads I want to drive over. It's a fairly easy drive with some fantastic views. It has tight turns and signs "Trucks over 35 feet kingpin to rear axle not recomended" But not outlawed. I got some dirty looks when I drove my 48' flatbed down the canyon, but I know how to take blind curves lol. Hazards of the trade when I drive a construction supply truck. A pickup with a 5th wheel trailer or a bus type class A will have no problem. The tree clearance is ok. California Oaks and Pine trees are all around. Drive like you're site seeing; slow and watch for hazards. There are trains every hour 24/7 as this is a gateway pass to the west coast. You wont be there long before you get to see quite a sight. Plan on having lunch there. If you have never been in a cave, Mitchell Caverns quite a treat. If you have been to large caves, you might save this for another trip. It's off of I-40 a bit, with a climb in elevation. There are many review site and blogs on the road to get there. the photo link--> Google Photos of Mitchell Caverns (more amature pics than the home page) the home page- Mitchell-Caverns.com tons of photos and DVD/CD's pretty cheap too.

I'm just a Dumb Trucker but I've owned 3 business in Los Angeles and I can tell you, it's tricky to keep ahead of all the agencies walking in your door. This business was probably ruined by a resession more than anything else. Licensing and keeping the safety inspectors happy is fairly costly. A for hire charter company on water is akin to getting a health license for a restaurant in California. It's a bear! Insurance costs alone would drive anyone into a partnership with the mob. My brother tried to start a yacht tour our in Marina Del Rey and found they only issue so many licenses and that's it. The competition becomes back stabbing rat finks. He had to find a loop hole. He did, he charged $200 a couple for a gourmet sunset dinner on the aft deck, then a "complimentary" wine and cheese flotilla around the marina. Very romantic. It's like, you need a liquor license to charge for an adult beverage, but if you serve complementary wine with dinner, you can tell the ABC to go pound sand. It's called "Learn the rules; then show THEM how to play the Game". I know the Mississippi River is a swift river. When my nephew came on my 18-wheeler, he commented with wide eyes at how fast the water was moving. A barge with no motor being towed by a tug might have been the problem. Maybe you can't have charter passengers on a barge. If the tug breaks loose, there goes an uncontrolled log into a piling. It's like most states not allowing passengers inside a trailer being towed. He was probably told to get a ferry with its own power and helm. Pleasure craft, craft for hire and commercial ships run the same waters all over the planet. Heck canoes travel thru water locks. In the boating world there is a priority of emergency craft, commercial, pleasure. So I doubt that he got shut down for a "RV barge". They probably gave him an option to upgrade to a different license, different boat, or might not have had the correct pilot license. In most cases people 'choose' to go out of business and then say "I was shut down". So let's start a charter RV river business. Anyone have a ferry and/or a pilot license with a commercial rating?

U-Haul rents car tow dolly's in all 50 states that do NOT have brakes. Dollies requiring brakes are for larger vehicles, as some have said above. That's why U-Haul tells you that you may not tow a pickup on their tow dollies. They also do not have serge brakes on their smaller single axle trailers. Only their larger 1 & 2 axle trailers. It's a weight issue. I would go into your local Motor Vehicles office and ask them. Buy a copy of your states vehicle code. We get them for $5 in California, they are interesting reading. As for license plates, I have a 5X7 Utah trailer that does not require plates in Utah. I tow it behind my California pickup. I've only been asked once by a CHP where the plates were while I was in a rest area. I said it's a Utah trailer and he drove away without asking for the paper work. State troopers and Highway Patrol with any experience is going to know the states that do not require plates on smaller trailers. They will see your rigs plate and not give it a secont thought.

For those of you that have a Class A, You know you can drive a Pickup, tow a 5th wheel trailer and tow another trailer behind that. It's the last trailer that the Highway Patrol will be looking at. Just a reminder... The last trailer must be a full trailer... Tractor/Pickup - semi trailer - full trailer. A "semi" trailer is where part of the weight of the towed vehicle is carried by the towing vehicle. - Part on the axle - part on the 5th wheel plate, placing part of the load over the rear axle of your pickup or tow rig. A "full" trailer is where all of the weight rests on it's own wheels and none of it is on the vehicle in front of it. Think of a farm wagon with a draw bar like an old hay ride. None of the weight of the trailer is on the back of the farm tractor. It has its own front and back axles. Or just go look at a set of double trailers on a big rig. The 2 trailers look the same, but the rear trailer has a "dolly" under it. The full load is resting on 2 axles and not on the trailer in front of it. How does this matter when you tow a second trailer in an RV situation? Well it is a fine line, but one that could cause you problems out there. I have seen RV's pulling a 5th wheel and a single axle boat trailer behind. That's a ticket getter. That is a trailer where part of the load is being carried by the towing vehicle. Part on the single axle on the back, part on the hitch on the front draw bar. When towing a second camping trailer, car trailer or boat trailer, Make sure it's a 2 axle trailer to conform to the "Full Trailer" law. Yes, I know that there is still masive tongue weight and it almost makes no sence. With 2 axles, most of the weight is on the tandem axles and only the legal tongue weight is on the hitch. It's the nature of the beast. Obviously a car being towed with all 4 wheels on the ground and a tow bar is a full trailer. You can only tow one "semi trailer" in any state. The other(s) have to be "full trailers". Yes, you can pull a 5th wheel (semi); 2 axle travel trailer (full); and a 2 axle boat trailer in states allowing "triple trailers". But you better have many miles of experience under your tush before attempting this combination. The truckers dont call them "Wiggle Wagons" for nothing! Another side note: A car dolly has a license plate and so does the car mounted to it. I've heard of some cops trying to say that this is 2 "semi trailers" and it's not alloud behind 5th wheels as a third vehicle. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are ever confronted with this kind of law enforcement twist, remind the officer that the double trailer "dolly's" pulled by the big truck companies ALSO have license plates on them making them a licensed vehicle when not connected to a second trailer. When the car is strapped to the dolly, like when a semi trailer is connected to a dolly, the car and the dolly become one unit (vehicle) with 2 axles.

My driveway and the next house have back to back miror driveways with junipers going 3/4 the way down between the properties. The part from the build line to the street is connected only by a strip of red bricks. I woke up one morning to knocking on my door. It was Dave telling me that his teenage daughter, who had just gotten her learners permit, was backing their 2011 Honda Altima and drifted over the driveway and tore a hole in my motor home. The Harvest was backed down to the sidewalk as it usually is on weekends when I work on cars. The poor girl was pretty rattled. The Honda's plastic mirror cover was under my motor home and their was a post where the mirror USED to be on the right door of the Honda. The hole in the motor home was a ripped horizontal section that was about the size of a cucumber. I pulled out the crinkled piece of aluminum and flattened it. I used some calk to waterproof it. Dave was telling me he would pay for everything. I said "Well, you cant exactly find this type of siding anymore, so let me talk to some people and get some ideas". I never did talk to anyone. It took me a couple days to ponder this thing called "hole". The panel it was on, under the windows, went the entire length of the motorhome. I hate splices and have seen people replace panels and you can always see it because you just cant match 1970's siding paint. I looked inside and out where the damage was. It was in the rear master bedroom wall. I have a goucho lounge set up on one side, a swivel rocker with the little corner TV bench with the 115VAC hookups/circuit breakers underneath on the other side. Just inside the rip was the wet bar liquor bottle rack. I do drink hard liquor, but I sure don't need a rack of 5 bottles! A 5th of Jack Daniel's will do me fine lol. So, how do I exploit this situation? Read on It hit me in a flash of lightning (okay, so the storm was miles away). The next weekend I took off to the 'pull-it-yourself' auto dismantalers. The kind you pay $2 to get in and go play. Disneyland for DIYers! I can spend an hour there just looking around, before a wrench is even pulled from my bag. This one has motor homes in one row way in the back. I have bought sliding windows, crank out louvers, skin & such. Today, I was on the hunt for a utility door. It only needed to be 6 inches high, but 12 inches or longer. I found one about 8X13. It didn't have the exact trim on the edges. It was a tad rounded and my doors are all mitered square frames, but what the heck! I went home with my kill from the great hunt and mounted it on my motor home. I had to carefully cut back the aluminum siding and look for the "studs" (aka kindling) inside the wall. I used one factory stud and fabricated the other 3 sides. I ripped a 2X4 on the band saw and cut them to length so I had a full 4 sided frame inside the wall. I tapped them into place to fit everything, then took them back out and applied wood bonding glue on the edges and sides of all the frame. Then I cut and opening in the inside paneling wall to match the frame studs. I used short wood screws on the door frames and inside in the paneling. I didn't worry about the joints in the frame. The glue will keep the ends fastened strong enough and keep it from making noise. I have as of yet, to do the finishing touches on the inside modifications. From the outside, the dang thing looks like.... well... a factory placed utility door! Go figure! Even though it's off white and not the cream & brown of the original paint job, it really does not look out of place. I also have a really kewl new hatch that I can hand drinks out to people sitting on the back side of the motor home. They can also hold their drink inside and get more ice so they don't have to come in and lose all my cold air on a hot day!! Hmmm, that's a great idea! I'll mount an ice bucket just under the door and they can reach in get their own! I handed Dave the bill from the junk yard. It was $5. He gave me a ten dollar bill and a 12 pack of my fav stout beer Dave's daughter is backing up very well now. She thinks I'm a bit strange, but is very happy I turned her accident into a usefull thing.

This is my 1976 Harvest 440/727. I want to convert the transmission to the 518 OD. I came to be the owner of this classic Class C after a friend had financial troubles and I took it in lew of payment of what he owed me. It has 105K miles on it. Then I have another evil thought. While working on restoring this rig, I've noticed that it's slowely coming apart. Just a loose screw and a slot opening up here and there. Like the back Goucho is pulling away from the outside wall. I've reinforced everything enough to get through a couple years of shaking rattling travel. Hey, nothing lasts forever. When this thing wears out. I want to remove all the stuff that's not Dodge Van. Then go buy 2 van body's and construct a long original looking van with a double back wheel well over the tandum axles. I will put double doors on both sides. the right side, just behind the passenger door, and on the left side, as far back as the wheel well will allow. I'll use the extended rear end buss option. The rear hubs might need a bit of work. But then I will have a conversation peice camping rig that looks like a factory product. I remember a friend had a 3 axle Chevy Van in 1976. The cops were always pulling him over on cruise night to "See if the suspention was safe" lol He did it at his uncles welding shop and was questionable. This Harvest set up was modified at a truck manafacture under an approved FHSA design. I'm sure there is no question of safety. It ought to make a pretty good rolling hot dog

Nice bus! But I think you have the film in backwards?? HAHAHA I always wanted to convert a city bus with an automatic. I've driven trucks so long, I'm so sick of shifting LOL. Started out on a twin stick "5X4". I did get to drive a big red London Bus once. Lealand I think. had a 6 cyl diesel and a 5 speed stick. Oh man talk about having the film in backwards. It was freaky driving in the slow lane of the freeway and being able to see down into peoples back yards sitting on the right side. I had drawn up plans to convert one into a motor home. THAT would be a kewl conversion

Since you wont be needing the boat anymore, can I take have it? I have a spot in Marina Del Rey.... hmmm.... oh, well, I was gonna ask for you to let me have one of the Grey's, but never mind, I think I can get my ex wife to come live on the boat. She used to screatch alot... same same

Hey Don & Deb When I think of African/American, I think of the short white Jew that owned the carpet business next to our truck shop. His family was in Johanesberg for over 500 years. I met some other white South Afericans in Zion National Park. What the heck has being black got to do with being African, American or French. In high school when this name became the tag line. I asked my black friends who were telling people they were no longer Black, but African-Americans, "Would you still be African-Americans if you moved to Spain?" You should have seen the look on their faces as they said "ye----" they would stop mid word and have this look on their faces like "no... wait... that's not right" LOL I am an American. My family has been here for 150 years. My lineage includes German, Welsh and Portuguese. I put Latino on one application just to mess with them. After all Portuguese is a Latin language! My brown nephew was over here at a swim party and he said something to another 14 y/o brown girl and remarked something something "in your country", She let him know in no uncertin terms that "This IS my country!" I was busting up. Thank goodness people are finely realizing this IS their county and they do not belong to some past country of another time in history. You can keep or even adopt any culture you like and practice it and still be a full blooded American! I have a Norwegian neighbor than thinks he's Jamican! Listens to Reggae, painted his motor home red,yellow and green and has his hair in dreds all the time. Anyone can be who they want to be. Including picked on. Yeah? You can be picked on, or you can be the life of the party, it's all attitude. I think that the mixed race relationship would be more the shock for some people, not the color. It takes people time to get over it. People don't seem to have a problem with black couples or Korean couples. I'll admit I was taken back a few times when I saw a mixed race couple growing up. It wasn't untill the last 15 years or so that I stopped flinching. You want the rest of the story? When I was 29, I dated a black girl!. Isn't that funny? We can do something and still judge others for doing the same thing? We do it all the time if we care to look in the mirror. I'm a Chevy man and totally accept that people have the right to own and drive Fords, but when I see both sitting in a driveway, I get all twitchy... "Are those people confused? Are they okay?" Chevy & Ford in the same family... Who'd of thought! Sheesh! The human race, being what it is, is slowly growing up. Not just in color and race, but in religion, lifestyles, car ownership I for example get to tell people that I may have grew up in a Christian faith, but that I no longer subscribe to it and have found a great spiritual teaching I agree with. And I have faith that I will not be burned at the stake for being a witch! People may disagree, call me a Haritic, tell me I'm going to Blazes for not believing in the Atonment, but I'm not going to get shot over it. I'm a Seeker and proud of it. I know my path is the one I belong on at this point in my eternal existence. I like what people have said here... If someone gives you the Stink Eye, keep walking! Friends are just around the corner! People will have a problem with just about anything you do. So don't take it personal and let nice people come to you. I have a hard time with loose ends and try too hard to get people to understand my point of view. In the last years I have been able to let people feel how they want, and see what they want to see. I no longer feel the need to have people see everything with my paradigm. I no longer care if they know WHY I think Chevy is better LOL I like the approach of sitting by your own motor home and have a few chairs out and people will sit down and hunker with you plenty! That's what I do anymore. I sit and do my hobby of RC airplanes or work on something and soon, people will come sit and ask questions about building things or working on my RV. I'm a mechanic and usually end up working on someones brakes, aligning a door or tuning their carburator! And thank you for serving our Country, I salute you. Chet

Greetings! I'm Chet in Los Angeles... San Fernando Valley to be exact. I'm entering the arena as a freeloader because I'm on unemployment and I'm almost broke. lol. I'll join up when I get some gainful employment I grew up near Van Nuys Blvd in the 70's and all that crusing had to offer. My brother had a 1964 Thunderbird and friend had other assorted cars I would ride in. That was 11-15 years of age. We were a camping family. Our lead sled was a 1964 Mercury Marauder with a trunk full of Colman tents, lanterns, stove and sleeping bags. I went with YMCA and Boy Scouts to tours across the South West in the summer by selling things outside of Hughes Supermarkets (bought by Ralphs a few years ago). Remember those annoying little buggers on the way to the car? hehe I always buy something if I have cash in my pocket. Spending 1990-1996 as a Scoutmaster, I start getting Hives if I pass up a fundraiser When I got my license we had moved to San Fernando and I got into 4-wheeling. Muscle cars are always in my heart but I didn't have the money to play. My first car was a '65 GTO 389 that never was much more than stock. My first truck was a Dodge Ramcharger with a 440. I was hooked on 45 degrees LOL The Mojave Desert became my stomping gounds. I'd rather spend money on gas to go somewhere than pour money into a Hot Rod anyway. I've driven 18-wheelers in the 48 states and lower Canada. When ever I got the chance I would pull into a tourest trap. I went to the Statue of Liberty, Old Tuscon, different Caverns and Transportation museums. One time an aquaintence took me on a foot tour of Nashville. I will never forget going to Painters Alley and watching Mel Tillis's neice practicing a new song. It was truly being in the heart and soul of Country Music. Painters Alley is sacred ground, more than the stage of the Grand Ol' Oprey, if you can believe that. Today I'm 50 and feeling like I've missed some good hideaways. Most of my travels took me to popular parks and tourist traps. I really want to get to places where people give you a dirty look for your California plates. I'm still finding places I want to go visit. I love historical places like the Cold Springs Tavern near Santa Barbara or Tom's Farm near Corona, CA (did ya like that plug?) 3 years ago I bought a Class A 1976 Harvest 25', Dodge 440 from a friend that was leaving the state. Soon after a partner that had financial trouble gave me his Class C 1977 Harvest 25' also Dodge 440 in lew of some money he owed me. This Class C has a tag axle and rides very smooth compared to the Class A 2 axle truck frame. I'm torn between the two as the C has a better floorplan, but the A had a massive hitch to pull the speed boat and any other thing I would wish to pull. The C does not have a very good frame to put a hitch on. The extentions behind the Van frame is really cheesey. It would take a ton of money to beef up. My trailer project is a 1961 Lil Loafer by Aristocrat. It's really small but fun on a local weekend trip and I can tow it with my Nissan Frontier 4 banger. That's about it, I'll see ya in the forums! Chet