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srflorie

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Posts posted by srflorie


  1. We are coming to Burlington from Alexandria Bay, NY on NY37, US11 and US2. Was looking at US 7 down to I-84 if 7 is a decent road. I already have an I-Pass which works on the EZ Pass system so not worried, just looking for a more scenic and easy drive without interstates if possible. I'll get enough uninteresting interstate travel during the rest of the trip.


  2. We are planning a trip to New England this fall in a 40' DP towing a small car. We will be leaving Burlingon, VT headed to Stockbrige, MA and then on to PA in October. Is US 7 through VT, MA and CT a decent/scenic route? Would like to see some scenery and avoid tolls if possible. We have a planned stop just outside of Stockbridge and then on to Promised Land State Park in PA. Any assistance and/or suggestions would be appreciated.


  3. There is a Cadillac Document ID: 2684289 and #PI0268B "Revised Dinghy Towing Procedure (June 30 2011) Models 2010-2012 Cadillac SRX" that explains the proper procedures. I researched this a couple years ago before I started pulling my SRX and this is what I got from our local Cadillac dealer. I keep this document in my travel file and carry it with me all the time just in case some dealer gives me static about not being able to tow it. I have been pulling mine for over 2 years with no problems. No fuses to pull. Basically you shut it off, pull the shift lever boot up, press down on the manual release button with a small screwdriver or pen (I use a pen) and put the car in neutral. That's it. This was also discussed on this forum back in March of 2015 and cites this document.


  4. While I may not like a few things that have happened in the last couple of years, I cannot buy an insurance policy that covers what FMCAssist does for $25 per year. I don't think I can even buy it for the $75 total cost of membership. An occasional campground discount, the discount I got on tires and the value of the FMCAssist program more than pays for my membership.


  5. I downloaded it and did the registration thing, but I am not very impressed with it so far. Seems to be graphically overloaded just like the last app FMCA was pushing and difficult to find your way around. I will play with it for a few days and probably delete it. Unfortunately my info is now with some app maker to sell to others.


  6. 14 minutes ago, MarthaChuck said:

    I hope this helps others that find themselves up against not being able to purchase a  "one year" RA policy two weeks after joining FMCA.  I was given this phone number to call and get our policy in force   877-581-8581.  I called and signed up in less than five minutes, no extra year membership into FMCA required. Have your VIN# ready when you call.  

    Overall it wasn't the big deal I thought it was. And, that's a good thing.

    So did you get a full year or just to the end of your membership? If you got just to the end of your membership, was it prorated?


  7. On 1/14/2019 at 2:17 PM, hermanmullins said:

    You can get your own Office Depot card off FMCA website under Benefits. It may be in the magazine. Just print or clip it and present is when checking out. 

    Herman 

    And if I remember right, there is also a coupon on that page to get the card laminated for free!


  8. On 1/10/2019 at 11:55 AM, WILDEBILL308 said:

    srflorie, You didn't say what printer you had so I can't do a comparison, but I have been buying printer ink for my HP printer from LD Products on Amazon. They have toner as well. You might want to do a price comparison with them.

    Bill 

    It is an HP Laserjet Pro 200 color printer and I just checked Amazon and they are about the same as the regular price at Office Depot or Staples. I have this printer because I needed it when I ran my consulting business before I retired and needed to print out decent reports and presentations for customers. I will not use remanufactured or off brand cartridges because I have experienced leaks and failures in the past when using that type of cartridge. When I was working for a large company we also bought in large quantities from Office Depot but paid more than what the FMCA discount is, so I am very happy with using the discount whenever I can. I can usually go about 1 year before I need to replace these and at $93 regular price for the color ones, it can get cashy. The black cartridge is about $20 less. So the almost 30% savings at Office Depot with the FMCA discount also saves enough to pay another years membership fees at FMCA!


  9. 20 hours ago, manholt said:

    I think you got your numbers and math messed up!  Percentage I have no issue with and that's why we also use Office Depot.

    Sorry, but the numbers are not messed up. I guess I need to clarify a little more. I have 4 cartridges in my laser printer, 3 color and 1 black. All the color cartridges seem to get low about the same time. Therefore the numbers quoted are for 3 cartridges. Regular cost at Staples is $93.99. Subtract the discounted price of $89.29 and it equals $4.70 savings or 5%. Multiply that times 3 and it equals $14.10 total savings.

    At Office Depot the regular cost is $93.99 also. Subtract the discounted price of $66.31 and it equals $27.68 savings or 29.45% (I rounded to 30% for demonstrative purposes). Multiply that times 3 and it equals $83.04 total savings, enough to buy 1 more cartridge and have money left over. I have done this twice before with Office Depot.

    Both companies offer free delivery to your home. Office Depot's website does not offer the option for in store pickup, but I have gone to the store and made the purchase there using the card and it worked the same as online. 


  10. Just went through the process of setting up an account with Staples so I could take advantage of the FMCA discount. What a joke compared to Office Depot. I have been buying my LaserJet cartridges for my printer at Office Depot and getting around 30% savings over retail. When I was finally able to check with Staples after getting notification that I was eligible, their discount was only 5%. Both companies are priced the exact same for my cartridges on their regular website, but Office Depot's savings using the FMCA discount amounts to $83.04 compared to $14.10 with Staples.  I think I will stick with Office Depot. 


  11. While the large truck stops may be easier to get into, they are usually much higher priced than some smaller stops. I have seen as high as 25-30 cents difference AND at most of the larger fueling centers, you pay 5 to 6 cents per gallon higher if you use a card of any kind, whether it is debit or credit. Some smaller stations do this too, but not near as many as the larger ones and even if they do, they are usually cheap enough to make a huge difference. So, even with the 8 cents discount for the GS card, you are still paying a much higher price at the larger stops. It may be easier to get into a larger stop, but with a little research using Google Earth, Gas Buddy and other apps, you can find a stop that you can fit into. In my opinion also, it is generally a lot dirtier at the pumps and you carry that diesel stink into your coach on your shoes more often from a larger truck stop than a smaller fuel stop. Again, just my opinion and experience. Unless the large truck stop is within a few pennies of the smaller guy, I'm going to the smaller guy.


  12. 20 hours ago, WILDEBILL308 said:

    359 to US 287 to 87 to US20 would probably be the way I would go. 

    If you add your RV and some outher info to your signature you don't have to type it all the time and you will get better answers.

    Have you used Google Street view to look at any of the roads?

    Bill

    I had my RV info in the signature once upon a time, but evidently it got deleted except for the picture. Must be forum gremlins??  I will add it back when I get a chance.

    I have used Google Street View and it does not have any info for route 359, but the rest looks fine. Thanks for your help.


  13. 20 hours ago, jerrycarp said:

    I would take 35 to I90. You have left off the final leg to West Yellowstone, one is take US287 at Three Forks ( just north of freeway is Wheat Montana, great sandwiches, Bread and some of the biggest cinnamon rolls ). Go south on US287, I would suggest you stop in Ennis, they have a big rig friendly park there then take a day trip up the hill to Virginia City, cont. on us287 to Quake lake than 191 to West Yellowstone.  The other route is I90 to Belgrade then 191 to West Yellowstone

    Have a good trip

    Jerry

    Thanks, I didn't include the final leg because both options are the same for that section. Google however does show getting off I90 at Cardwell on 359 then south to US287. Any problems with that route? Also we are actually going to Henry's Lake just west of West Yellowstone so the map shows 359 to US287 to 87 to US20.


  14. After we leave Glacier we are headed to Yellowstone and Google Maps gives us 3 possible routes, one of which I am not interested. The other options are come down 35 to 83 to 200 to 141 to US 12 and back to I90 for 378 miles. The other option is 35 to 93 to I90 for 389 miles. Getting there fast is not a priority but drivability and scenery are. Again, diesel coach pulling a small car.


  15. In planning our trip this summer Google Maps gives 2 options for travel to Glacier from Coeur d'Alene. The 1rst option is I90 to 135 to 200 to 28 to 93 to 82 to 35 to 206 and it is 228 miles. Option 2 is US95 to US2 and it is 235 miles. We have a 39' diesel coach pulling a small car and speed in getting there is not a priority. Looking for the best route for drivability and scenery. This will be our first time in this area.


  16. 19 hours ago, wolfe10 said:

    Sorry, my bad.  Let us know what you find.  Thanks.

    FMCA Roadside Rescue

    For administrative and general inquiries, or to sign up please call (877) 581-8581.

    Got a call from FMCA this morning and evidently you need to be a paid member of FMCA for the full year term of this program. In other words, my current membership expires in August of 2018 so I cannot take advantage of this program unless I extend my membership for another year making the membership expire in August of 2019. I could then subscribe to this program that would expire 1 year from my start date which would currently make it end in November of 2018. There are a lot of similarities to this program and the CoachNet Basic plan for $79, so I will keep what I have now. I am not a multi year membership person, so this is not appealing to me, but others may think it is.


  17. 52 minutes ago, wolfe10 said:

    srflorie,

    Very first sentence in program description:

    Once you have verified you are an FMCA member in good standing for 2 years or more and have verified your primary email address you will be able to proceed through the online portal and onto Verizon’s registration page.

    Since the Verizon contract period (no increase in cost) is two years, that is also the period during which you need to be an FMCA member to take advantage of this benefit.

    I'm not trying to signup for the Verizon deal. I am referencing the roadside assistance deal which was the first posting on this thread!


  18. Well, I tried to signup for this, but it said I did not have enough time left in my membership to get this, I had just renewed my yearly membership in August. I have sent 2 emails to FMCA, but so far I have not heard any response. As a current member, I guess I am not allowed to get this benefit unless it corresponds to my membership dates. Kind of makes it useless unless you renew it at the same time as your membership. If that is the case, and I am still waiting on a response from FMCA, then I would have to wait until next August to get this benefit. My CoachNet coverage expires next month and I can renew that coverage for $79 and both plans appear to be almost identical. Not much of a benefit for me.


  19. If I understand correctly, if you have the 4 cyl version and you pull the #32 fuse you might have the wobble, but if you leave the fuse in you won't. So here is another question on this topic. If you don't pull the fuse and add a charge line so the steering will not wobble and your battery will not drain, will your odometer rack up miles? I am considering an Equinox for my next towed, but the difference in mileage from a V6 (24 hwy) to a 4 cyl (32 hwy) can be significant. So if the fuse needs to stay in to keep from having the wobble issue but it racks up miles, I guess I need to consider the V6!


  20. While I agree this guy should know his stuff, given his position, there are hundreds of configurations out there and some vehicles actually had an 8 bolt hub. Sounds to me like he was trying to make sure he had all the information needed to get you the best product for your vehicle. It is surprising that some people have no clue as to what they have and evidently you don't know how many studs you have either. Not trying to start a fight here, but I think you were a little harsh. I had a full set of these on a semi tractor and they were great, so I would not hesitate to use them again.


  21. I like the Illinois I-Pass. It is fully compatible with EZ-Pass. Everything can be done online, including getting one. You don't have to live in Illinois. They only have 2 different transponders - a blue one for commercial vehicles and a white one for everything else. You list the make, model, state, license plate and type of license plate of all the vehicles you might use it on. You can swap it between vehicles. They don't ask for vehicle type, size, weights, axles, etc. Cost is one time deposit (refundable) of $10 plus $40 of toll funds. When the $40 is used up, they automatically debit your credit card for another $40. You can go online to check usage, update credit card info and update vehicle info. Nothing to mail in or phone calls to make. Try it, you'll like it!

    I have been using I-Pass in Illinois for years and as stated above, you can list all your vehicles and move it from one to the other and you will be charged for the corresponding rate. I have had a semi, 2 motorhomes, various cars and I even add my granddaughter's car when she comes home from Florida so she won't have to pay the higher fees. Using the I-Pass in Illinois will be a cheaper rate than paying at the booth and most on/off ramps are no longer staffed with a human. It also works in all the same places as EZ-Pass. You can access your account online and change the amount of the automatic debit as often as you like. When I was running a semi, I had it set for $100 debit and a low threshold of $20, but now I have it set at lower rates as I don't use it much. It is a $10 cost in the beginning plus setting up the account and when you return it, you get your $10 back. Can be bought at any Jewel-Osco in Illinois or at any service center on the toll road. You can also order them online. As long as it is still good in all EZ-Pass locations, I will keep it.

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