jmonroe

Isn't it interesting -- that the same government that some how felt it more efficient or expedient to let a PRIVATE company run the campground / forest concessions somehow feels it can do a better job than the private sector at providing health insurance?

State Farm will be happy to insure the RV too. Can't travel anywhere in the US or Canada and not find a State Farm agent on the street corner, and yes, I do work for State Farm, at least for another 10 weeks (retiring). : )

I'm going to post this both in the Class A and the 'C' forums. We own a lot in a Class A restricted RV 'resort'. It's a beautiful resort that has opened at just the wrong time, at the hieght of the banking/economic bust. While we have a class A, I really would not mind if ownership were opened to Super C motorhomes. The developer has proposed just that, to try and widen the market. My questions are this: If you own(ed) a class A and were contemplating purchasing (or maybe you own) a site, would you mind if Super C motorhomes were also allowed? If you own a Super C, would opening the ownership up be enticement for you to look at a resort? I know I've seen complaints that even stratispherically expensive class C motorhomes are not welcome in parks were 'entry level' class A motorhomes are. I need to make a decision, as current owners are being asked to vote on this very issue. http://www.canecreekresort.com/

I'm going to post this both in the Class A and the 'C' forums. We own a lot in a Class A restricted RV 'resort'. It's a beautiful resort that has opened at just the wrong time, at the height of the banking/economic bust. While we have a class A, I really would not mind if ownership were opened to Super C motorhomes. The developer has proposed just that, to try and widen the market. My questions are this: If you own(ed) a class A and were contemplating purchasing (or maybe you own) a site, would you mind if Super C motorhomes were also allowed? If you own a Super C, would opening the ownership up be enticement for you to look at a resort? I know I've seen complaints that even stratospherically expensive class C motorhomes are not welcome in parks were 'entry level' class A motorhomes are. I need to make a decision, as current owners are being asked to vote on this very issue. http://www.canecreekresort.com/

We took in a launch some years ago now. At the time it was $10 to get access to what we were lead to belive was as close as the general public can get to a launch. We don't regret it one bit. There's only 4 launches left. Just not the same, watching on TV, as it is in person.

NWJeeper, I'd respectfully disagree. I use synthetic for a number of reasons. One, it does seem to give me a slight increase in mileage. In my case about a .5mpg increase (I typically got 6 to 6.5, changing to synthetic increased mileage to 6.5 to 7). Second, it is my belief that the synthetic will "cling" to the critical parts better than a conventional oil, giving me better protection during engine start and better corrosion protection during long periods of storage. Maybe not so critical in my daily driver, but in a vehicle that can go weeks to months between trips... Like most, I pull a 'toad' behind when travelling. While the combined weight of our rig is within limits, the engine will still get very warm/hot when in the mountains, or pulling into strong head winds. The synthetics offer far superior longevity and protection under these conditions and are not likely to turn to 'sludge'. I see it as some additional insurance. The time limits recommended, as an alternative to mileage limit recommendations, I've always taken with a grain of salt. If you commute only 10 miles to work and back, especially here near the arctic circle ( ), the engine never gets to full operating tempurature and is continually building up moisture and other contaminants. In that scenario I'd agree with a time limit. Few of us use our motor homes for short commutes, however. If run at least 15 - 20 minutes past reaching full operating temp (this can be up to an hour total around here in the winter) any built up condensation or combustion contaminantes will have evaporated out. Eventually even a synthetic will wear out and/or acumulate potentially harmful contanimates, however, so nothing lasts forever! I do go 15k between changes on my daily driver though. I've got a 45 mile, one way all freeway speeds, commute every work day.

Many years ago now, we had a tire come apart on our rig on a trip to the Black Hills. The tire was an 'odd' size, at least for the Rapid City (Goodyear) dealer, and they had no replacement in stock, he'd get one shipped in. It took most of a week to get it there. I determined never to travel without a spare. Our current MH came with no spare and no where to store one. I went on-line and found what has turned out to be a great solution. It is a spare tire carrier that slides into the hitch receiver, is big and robust enough to carry a 'bus sized' spare, and the hitch for our toad will slide right into it. It adds maybe 18 - 24" of overall length to our set up going down the road. Unfortunately, for the life of me I can neither remember the name of the manufacturer (I had the impression it was a small 'ma & pop' type of operation) nor the name of the company. The rig is in winter hybernation and it would be difficult to get at the information right now (both the web address and toll free number are on a plate right on the carrier). I want to say it cost just under $400. I just did a quick search and can't come up with it - sorry. I do not carry a mounted spare. That would add a lot of weight on the reciever and would have been impossible for me to get onto the carrier. I do carry an unmounted tire of the same size and brand as what the coach came with.

Hey, NWJeeper. Was born in Seattle, although the family moved away shortly there after. We were back in the state when I was about 7 years old. For the next 4 or 5 years we lived in various parts of the state, mostly to the east, including Spokane and the BIG town of Newport (about an hour north of Spokane, and right on the Idaho border), where my grandparents lived and are now buried. My grandfather was a mechanic at a large local saw mill. There's no more beautiful country to be seen. Hope to retire before you. Once we are, hope to do some minor upgrades on the Wrangler and do some serious exploring. (Years ago I 'restored' a 47 CJ2A, ground up, using a rebuilt Buick 238 V6 and a warn overdrive. Wish I still had it) Moab is definitly on my bucket list as well as getting back to Washington state. Perhaps we'll run into each other on one of our future adventures.

Nice upgrades all. I'm really impressed with the concept and execution of the slide out TV storage areas.

You want to investigate claims experience. Do an on-line search. It's been a few years since I've handled an auto accident claim (but I did so for over 20 years), but working with GIECO was almost always much more time consuming and frustrating than with other carriers. It seemed a corporate policy to try and frustrate claimants hoping they'd give up and accept something much less than owed. Also, I've heard (but can't confirm personally) that they will quote very low first year rates to get the business, only to surprise you with horrific increases for the second year. Again, this is anticdotal, I have no personal experience with in that regard.

Based on our experience, your mileage sounds about right. Our 35' 1991 Southwind was good for about 6mpg, Oshkosh chassis, Ford 460 V8 and a three speed transmission. After that we had a V10 '96 Dodge Ram pulling a 15,000 lb 5th wheel and got about 6 mpg towing. We now have a 35' '07 Tiffin Allegro, Ford V10, and get 6 to 6.5 mpg. Combine the brick shape with the weight...

According to the Remco site ( http://www.remcotowing.com/ ), the Fit is towable with no modification. They refer you to the owner's manual.

Photos!

We're towing a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4dr. There's plenty of leg room in the back seat, if you need it, and it's amazingly tight, even at freeway speeds (Nothing like those old Willys I had years ago!!) It will also tow our 23' boat. I've installed a simple blade switch on one of the battery terminals to disconnect the battery from any drain while the vehicle is being towed and I wired one (there are two) of the dash 12v recepticles into the towing wire harness. It's 'hot' when the motor home ignition is on. This recepticle is used to power the Blue Ox braking system. It was a simple matter to install a brake light kit into the OEM housings. They are completely separate from the vehicle system, wired only into the tow harness. You can not tell they are there. It takes about 10 minutes to hook up and get down the highway and there are very few limitations on where we can explore, given the capability of our 'toad'. This is just one of the many good choices you have.

Once we left behind our years of tent camping (some 25 - 30 years ago) this became an issue. What I don't understand, if you're advertising your business as an RV park, how can you not consider reasonably level sites as an equal priority to water, electric and sewer services? We keep a three ring binder in the motor home. If we anticipate ever returning to a park, be it public or private, we'll spend a bit of time touring the park and marking sites we can get to, fit on, and are level -- on a map of the campground. That map then goes into the binder. If some sites are particularily scenic, or otherwise more desirable than others in that same park, we'll so note, and why. Over the years that binder can get quite thick and becomes an invaluable resource. Unfortunately we lost track of our original binder, with 20 years worth of campground data, when we stopped RV travel for a few years. Now we're starting over.

We had a '91 Tracker that we purchased new when we bought our first motorhome. We flat towed that thing all over the place, just over 30k miles following that motorhome around before we traded the motorhome for a 5th wheel (we're back in a motorhome now). In addition to the 30k miles as a dingy, we put well over 100k miles on it as daily transportation before it was sold in favor of something bigger. We never had a lick of trouble. The only real modification we made was an odometer disconnect. It was an electric solinoid that screwed into the transmission where the speedo cable went into the side of the trans, and the cable then screwed into the solinoid. I had it wired so it was activated whenever the Tracker was attached to the motorhome and the motorhome ignition was on. I wish I had it back. It would go anywhere, making it fun to explore back roads to off road (I've owned a number of Jeeps. The Tracker could hold its own) and its so light (I think our 2 door was only 2300 lbs) most any motorhome can tow it with little trouble. I'd get rid of the dolly. It's just one more thing to have to deal with and maintain.

I use the Blue OX Apollo system without the break away switch. With the safety cables I doubt the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited I tow (probably similar to the wieght of your Liberty, if not even a bit heavier) would let it get far enough away to activate the switch. The unit is powered through a 12 volt recepticle. The first trip we took with the set up I simply plugged it into one of the Jeep's dash recepticles. The battery was dead the next morning. Before the next trip I rewired one of the two dash recepticles into the harnes that plugs into the motor home (I use the same type of tail light set up you do. There's no connection or integration with the Jeep's lights or harness). It now draws its power from the motor home. I also installed a simple blade switch on one of the Jeep battery terminals allowing me to completely isolate the battery from any draw what so ever while being towed. It's very simple to set up (two minutes) and works very well. Even in a panic stop I never feel the Jeep is 'pushing' me.

Just about anything can be made 'towable'. It's just a mater of what modifications need to be done for both safety and durability. Check with REMCO. It's been a long time since I've needed them, but they'd be a good place to start our research. http://www.remcotowing.com/

Looks great! Have you tried taking a hairdryer to the ceiling? I just installed a 40" Samsung LCD in our 07 Allegro. Yes, I know that seems big. I took my tape measure to the store looking for something 'high' enough to cover the hole removing the original 27" TV would leave. I lose function of the small cabinet to the left of the TV, over the driver's head, due to the TVs width. The TV is slightly skewed to the left to preserve function of the cabinet on the right, which is where the DVD player and satellite reciever is. Sorry I don't have photos, but the installation looks good, to my eye. I reinstalled the wood frame the manufacturer had surrounding the original TV. From the side (behind the TV) all you see is the nice woodwork. You can also see about 1" of the woodwork between the top of the TV and the cieling. This is much better than the unfinished edge of the plywood the cabinet is made of. The original TV 'box' is substancial, built out of 3/4" plywood. I through bolted a length of 2X2, slightly recessed into the opening, along the bottom of the cabinet, and lag bolted another length of 2X2 on the top side. The bottom bolts are carriage bolts, hidden by the upholstery. To this I secured 3/4 inch plywood to which I mounted a standard steel flat panel TV mount, purchased at Best Buy. The TV hangs from this. Few would know it was not factory installed. The bottom of the TV is even with the bottom of the original cabinet so little view is lost out the front "picture window". When seated in the driver or co-pilot chairs it's above your line of vision. We've got 2500 over the road miles on the rig since installation, with no issues. It is nice to be able to toggle between TV, the DVD player or the satellite just with the TV remote. The picture is phenominal. As our sattellite dish (domed, auto seeking) is not of the latest generation, we can't get the full array of satellite HD available. An upgrade may be done in the future. This fall I'll install a 19" LCD, with built in DVD player, in the bedroom. The TV will be a gift from my employer for years of service (selected from a supplied catalog).