jmonroe

Just did mine, following the instructions of my dealer. Seems to have worked great, and was very simple. After I'd run the anti-freeze through all the other faucets, toilets and the shower I hit the 'Cold' water wash button and started the washer. Very quickly I was getting the pink anti-freeze (almost no clear water). I then stopped the cycle and changed to 'hot' water, started the washer again, and again I had anti-freeze almost immediately. I then turned the control to 'drain' and when the drum was empty, turned everything off. Took all of 2 minutes.

Just to be clear, Lake Farm Park is on one of the lakes (there are 4 lakes within the city limits of Madison, which is why many businesses will include "4 Lakes...something or other"), but the campground is not on the water, nor can you see the lake from the campground. You can take a trail from the campground to the lake. Many of the sites are big rig compatible, 50 amp power (although they share one power post between two sites - two 50 & 30 amp recepticles per box. In some cases the post may be out of reach of even an extra 25' of extension cord), no water or sewer, but they do have a nice easy access dump station. The showers are 'individual', not part of the restrooms. (if you send me a private email I can email you a map of the campground, with sites I deemed compatible with our 43' rig marked). I don't believe satellite reception would be a problem in any of the big rig sites, but if in one of the smaller sites, along the back of the park (maybe in a class B or small C?), it could be.

Can't help you with the IL routes, but you'll have no problem with 43 in WI. Coming our way for any particular reason?

It would make an outstanding toad. I've towed a '47, '60 and '67 CJs in the past.

Had a similar issue last year. It was in the switch box (controls power to rig from shore to genset).

I just received a 36' 50amp extension cord I ordered on eBay, from Adventure RV. It was $91.99 plus $19 shipping, for a total of $110.99.

OK, next suggestion... DO NOT GO TO DISNEY THE WEEK OF THANKSGIVING!!! I realize that families with kids in school may have few options, but that is one of the busiest weeks of the year. There will be large crowds, the lines will be long and the 'fast pass' tickets for the popular rides will all be gone by mid morning. You will be frustrated and stressed, not what you go to Disney for. We'll be there a couple weeks later. The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas offer the best Disney experience you can have. Good weather, the longest waits will probably be less than 15 minutes, and the Christmas decorations are all up. All goes to h*!! again, the week of Christmas.

Just as a follow up. I voted to allow the Super C's, which the developer had defined as having a length of 40' or more (while my very modest 'A' is less than 35'). After getting 'permission' from a majority of the current owners, the developer ultimately decided to leave it as class 'A' only.

Don't know when you're planning to go to Disney, but I suggest you keep checking, like at least once per day. They have cancellations and reservation changes all the time. We've been successful in the past by being persistant, but we're usually planning months ahead.

We've wondered about some of the ratings as well. We've chalked it up to ratings being given by 'city folk' for whom the site of a tree, anywhere within a one mile radius, rates high for asthetics. We've also stayed in a number of lower rated parks, having lost on "completeness of facilities" that we would have rated as outstanding. Clean, attractive, quiet, well groomed with no fear of losing something off the roof to a low hanging branch. We don't choose a campground based on the presence of a game room, multiple pools or onsite mini golf. While more young families may be choosing to take RV vacations, my guess is the majority of us are from a bit more 'seasoned' demographic.

Problem is, there is no wireless fence, short of one that will give a fatal shock, that will stop a terrier focused on some rabbit, squirrel, chipmunk, ... All senses seem to be completely over ridden by the instinct to hunt!

It would be easier to just trade for a 4X4 Tracker or Vitara. Even IF the transfer case were to bolt right up to the transmission, you'll also need a shorter driveshaft. You'll need a different center console to accomodate the transfer case lever. It goes on and on. Each modification leads to another problem. Better to let the OEM engineers figure all that out. We towed a 4X4 Tracker for a number of years. We were very happy with the vehicle and the ease with which it towed. We put well over 100K miles on that tracker and generally got mid 20s for fuel mileage.

In general, I don't like the side cameras. When the turn signal is on it shuts off the rear view camera in favor of the side camera. I can see down the side with the mirrors. I can't see the back of my toad, relative to what's passing me, or vice versa, when the rear camera is off.

Tom's point is right on. It is irresponsible pet owners that ruin it for all. Of course not all irresponsible RV owners also own pets (can you believe what a mess some leave at the dump station, the restrooms, at their camp sites, not to mention the earlier mentioned unrully kids), but it's easier to target those with pets. As for the breed restrictions, it may not be the campground owners imposing those restrictions, it may be their liability insurance carrier. Some breeds have a bad reputation, deserved or not. Nothing the campground owner can control. Tom is also correct when he states that we, pet owners (we travel with a pair of Australian terriors) have to be aggresive at confronting non-complying fellow pet owners.

So what's the 'downside' of "eliminating the computer codes"? I've never noticed any adverse affects. My home computer, nor my laptop, lose any of their programing when power is interupted. It was also claimed that I'd lose all of my radio presets - I do not. As for losing power to the 12V power recepticles, when the battery is disconnected, that is right. That is also why I wired one of them into my towing / wire harness, it's now powered when plugged into the MH, ignition on.

I ended these issues, towing our Jeep, by installing a simple blade switch on one of the battery posts. 2 seconds to flip, no fuses to pull, and no question about any power drain.

Carol, Thanks for the response. As I look over the dates it looks like all my wife would be able to attend is the last day of a four day event. I think we'll hold off until we can both attend. Walworth county is my old stopping grounds, having gone to high school in Delavan and college in Whitewater. Would have been fun to visit.

We've never been to a rally and I thought the Midwest Area Rally, which is close to our home and one week after my retirement date, would be a good one in which to get our feet wet. Unfortunately, my wife cannot take the time off work to attend the entire rally. I note that there are two prices quoted for attendance. One as a solo, another for two people in a rig. How about if I were there for the entire rally, and my wife joined me Friday evening? Can this be accommodated?

It's a nice facility, in a beautiful city. A lot of both large and small functions are held there, including the Dane County fair, but if you're not staying on the grounds, you're going to be some distance away.

Most of us 'RV' because we like the freedom and the variety. Variety of experiences, scenery and associations. I think a bit more 'color' can only enhance the lifestyle. Look forward to meeting both of you around a campfire someday. Happy trails. : )

A couple days ago, shortly after waking up and realizing that, yes, it is a work day, I was thinking how nice it will be not to care what day of the week it is. Who cares if the lake is over run with drunken idiots over the weekend, I can come back out in the middle of the week. Who cares if it's raining today, I'll just extend my stay to take advantage of the good weather that's sure to follow. Who cares if... You've got the idea.

We're just starting our transition to the full time lifestyle, having talked about it for years. I'm retired effective June 1st, but we have two homes to sell before Peggy can retire. We've been working to get the 'primary' home on the market for a couple months now and are just about there. We have an appointment on May 3rd for the realtor to come back and take photos for the MLS listing, and sign the paperwork. It's fingers crossed from there. As I said, we've got not one but two homes for sale and all the stuff in them, accumulated over 35 years, to divest ourselves of. The second home, which we refer to as 'the cabin', we'll advertise as fully furnished. It's in an area that's popular with what we call 'flat landers' (Illinois) as a second home area. It's full log on about 6 acres. The home that goes up in May we're including all appliances, the lawn tractor and even the 61' HD TV in the family room. We've told the realtor to advise potential buyers that everything else is for sale. When we first moved from the 'dream about it' stage, to the 'start working to make it happen' stage, I lost sleep over what to do with all of our stuff. Some of it has sentimental value, some of it no one would miss. The farther along we get in the process the less attached I find myself to anything. I see it more, everyday, as just an impediment to the lifestyle I soon hope to lead. What doesn't sell with the houses I think we'll just give away. I don't have the patience to do a garage or estate sale and would get upset at people trying to nickle and dime us on things that we spent good money on and meant something to us. I'd rather donate it to a good cause, that is what is left after we let the family pick and choose. We've set a tentative date at full retirement and hitting the road at two years out, but with any luck it will come much sooner. I should have the cabin ready for market later this year. When it is we'll talk to our realtor about when would it be best to put it on the market, this fall, or next spring. From there it's anyones guess.

Having lived in the area for 35 years, let me know if we can help. I'm retired as of June 1st and can't say for sure what the immediate future holds, but would be very surprised if we'd have both homes sold before then. Obviously Lake Farm won't hold the entire cadre of attendees. I assume there will be accomodations on site too?

I'd guess it's caster (affects self centering) more than toe in, but bottom line, talk to an experinced front end alignment shop, they may be able to help.