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desertdeals69

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Posts posted by desertdeals69

  2. Posted · Report reply

    I saw it at Gillette.  I don't think there is a real problem with the conventional slide topper if it is adjusted correctly.  If it flaps in the wind the tension is too little.  The price of the True Topper was around $5000 which I thought was high.

  5. Posted · Report reply

    I use to use Centrimatics for years and it seemed never quite right.  I switched to beads about 10 years age and have been more happy with the balance.  Being the tightwad I am when I changed tires I scooped out the beads and put them in the new tires.

     

  11. Posted · Edited by desertdeals69 · Report reply

    On 3/3/2022 at 5:24 PM, fagnaml said:

    This past February 1, 2022 at age 62 I celebrated my 40th service anniversary with my large energy company employer.   During the service anniversary I had several colleagues of all ages asking me when I would retire.   My response was "in a couple of years" but if being really honest at the moment my answer is "I don't know".  I greatly enjoy my senior manager role in the company, enjoy my team which spans three generations (Millenials, Gen X'ers, and a couple of Boomers), enjoy the business contributions my team makes, etc.   I (and especially my wife) like very nice compensation package.

    The wife and I are financially ready for retirement with a very significant nest egg (nice size 401k account, good pile of company stock awards and rather big lump sum pension monies waiting).   I'm not physically, emotionally, mentally ready to "slow down" yet.   I don't want to be like several somewhat older colleagues who retired and after six months returned to full time jobs because they didn't know what to do with their time.

    Several forum members have very successfully crossed the bridge from full time career to a very enjoyable retirement.  My questions for the "retirees" are:

    • How did you know when it was time to retire?
    • Did you develop a plan for how to spend your time in retirement or just "go for it"?
    • How long before retirement did you start thinking /planning your retirement before making the decision to retire?

    I have no fears about finances in retirement.  My fear is not yet knowing how to spend my time during retirement.  I don't want to become one of those grumpy old men who sits in a recliner watching cable news all day and complaining about everything.   

    Thanks in advance for your insights. 

     

    I will answer your questions in order.

     It was fairly easy for me because I had several friends and business associates pass away in their 50s and 60s.  They were all looking forward to the day they retired, counting the months, days.  I thought between 55 and 60 would be right for me.  As it turned out it was 58 for me.

    My overall plan was to keep busy building or repairing different things.  I was a teacher in the seventies which allowed me to take my family in the motorhome every summer.  We went through all 48 states in 3 1/2 years.  We had opened up a repair shop for boats and rvs.  

    I started to think about retirement when I was about 30.  I decided not to charge or finance anything except a house.  I paid cash for cars, motorhomes, and boats. When the time came to retire everything was paid for.  I built my current home in 87-88.  I was an owner builder.  I paid cash for materials and traded some labor for things I couldn't do such as cement work, framing, roofing, plumbing, and electrical wiring.  We moved into a paid up house.

    I am so busy now I wondered how I had time to work!  My current project is solar power for the motorhome.  I just tested today in my driveway.  The big test is Tucson in a couple of weeks.

    We still enjoy traveling.  Done almost 300 nights of cruising around the world, been to 7 continents and dozens of countries.  Still enjoy motorhome travel.

     

     

  13. Posted · Edited by desertdeals69 · Report reply

    I tried one several years ago and couldn't get it to work.  They replaced the unit a couple of times and the harness and I tried using the connection at the engine and nothing would work.  I have one on a Prius and it works.  I now have Bluefire on my coach.

     

  15. Posted · Report reply

    Went to Alaska in 01.  Drove to Vancouver area and got a campsite for 9 days and they took us to the cruise dock to board a cruise ship for 7 days to Alaska.  They picked us up 7 days later and brought us back to the motorhome.  Left the next day to Alaska.  Lots of things to see and do going through Canada.  A couple of things that come to mind were the Canfor sawmill tour and the lower Liard hot springs provincial park. Stopped at the signpost forrest.  Drove the full length of the Alcan highway.  Toured a pipeline pumping station in Delta.  Was in Valdez when the first double hull tanker came in on her maiden voyage.  Got to tour the ship from bridge to bilge, it was huge. Drove through Chicken and panned for gold there.

    It was a great trip and I wouldn't mind doing it again.  I traveled in my motorhome and a friend followed me in his motorhome.  I prefer to travel on my own so I can spend as much time as I want to see and and do what I want.  We had traveled through the lower 48 states in 3 1/2 years back in the 70s.

  16. Posted · Report reply

    16 hours ago, wildebill308 said:

    Why would you spend the money on a DP to put liquid springs on it when you have a better system with air bags and good shocks? 

    Bill 

    I was that impressed with the handling and smoothness of the ride.  Smoother than my DP which I installed Koni shocks.

  17. Posted · Report reply

    On 11/6/2021 at 8:13 AM, dbkswood said:

    Does anyone have experience with liquid springs?     Thoughts and reviews appreciated!   We have a 2019 fleetwood bounder….   Looking to ease the rough ride….  

    I have driven a coach with liquid springs on the rear and it was amazing.  Not only was the ride smooth but the handling was outstanding. I have toured the factory and ridden in an ambulance with liquid springs on all four corners.  Very smooth ride.  They were originally designed for ambulances to give a smooth ride.  I think the cost i somewhere around $15K plus installation. It maybe more.  I looked into installing the system on my Freightliner DP but my chassis is too old and doesn't have the required electronics to make it work.

  18. Posted · Report reply

    4 hours ago, jeannemaryann said:

    We need to purchase a deionizer system to give us a spotless wash on our RV.  Too many choices out there. We want to purchase one that does the job but doesn’t costs a fortune for filters or supply’s to recharge the system. Your suggestions and advice is appreciated.

    Jeanne

    I go down to the water shop and buy deionized water for 25 cents a gallon using 5 gallon jugs.  I use a rv water pump and hose with nozzle and for the final rinse wash with the deionized water and almost no spots.

  19. Posted · Report reply

    10 hours ago, classarver said:

    We replaced our 8cuft gas/electric refrigerator with a 10cuft Everchill. The Everchill is a 12 volt resident style refrigerator. The problem we ran into is with continuous operation. The temperature of the top shelf would be 27 degrees and the crisper was 52 degrees. After 3 replacements and a manufacturer service technician inspection. They flew him from Indiana to Arizona to do the inspection. I asked for a refund. With the continuous operation at about 4 to 6 weeks. The coil inside would freeze up. This was the 2nd generation models. We went to Best Buy purchased a 10cuft Insignia 120 volt refrigerator. Runs 24/7 for the last year and a half with no issues. We boondock 6 to 8 months out of the year. We have 2000 watts of solar on the roof and 6 - 100 amp hour lithium batteries. We have a video of our solar system on YouTube channel name I Go Where I'm Towed. We will be publishing a video on the Insignia refrigerator soon. 

    I have been using a Insignia 10 cu ft bottom freezer for 2 1/2 years with no problem.  Box 38-42 degrees and the freezer -6 to 2 degrees.  6 lithium 100 amp and 800 watt solar on the roof.  Just installed a dc-dc 60 amp charger so the lithiums will get fully charged off the engine alternator.

     

     

     

     

     

  21. Posted · Report reply

    On 8/29/2021 at 11:33 AM, Tiffin driver53 said:

    How does the M&G Brake work? Is it electric or like a surge brake? I'm thinking of going to a local Blue Ox dealer and have him set it up for me so long as he doesn't rip me off. I think this company is local, and works with people well, and seems to have a lot of repeat business, so it's not like going to Camper World.

    It goes between the power brake and the master cylinder.  Air pressure from the rear MH brakes activates the toad brakes.  I think its the best braking system,  have been using for years. Only connection is the air line.

  23. Posted · Report reply

    On 8/27/2021 at 6:57 PM, richard5933 said:

    A couple of amps @ 120vac would mean about 20 amps being pulled from the batteries. Will likely be fine if you're only going from pole to pole. If someone wants to spend more than a day or so doing this he'd need a more substantial battery bank, decent solar, or run the generator to keep charged.

    Not saying it's a bad idea, just that there's no way to boondock or dry camp with a residential fridge like you can an absorption fridge without adequate battery capacity.

    Another thing is that the auto defrost comes on 2-4 times a day and that is a heat element.  Draws upwards of 6-8 amps at 120 volt.  Thats a lot of amps at 12 volts.  I installed a switch to disable the auto defrost when I'm on the inverter.  

  24. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, obiwan_canoli said:

    My current rig - a 2017 Newmar Ventana LE - has a 12 c.f. 4-door refrigerator/freezer. Runs on 120 or propane, and simply does not keep the ice cream cold enough, and even at the highest setting, previously frozen foods begin to thaw, though only slightly. Temporary solution to this was the acquisition of a Dometic portable cooler (75DZ) that does a much better job of keep the ice cream in an acceptable state.

    The issue for me is this: I'm considering trading up to a new MH, and my research suggests most if not all new coach's come with residential all-electric fridge. Since I boondock often, and will continue to do so, I also plan to move my current Battle Born Lithiums to the new coach (100Ah each, 4 total). I currently also have about 600 total watts of solar, and have room for another 600 watts (3 panels), and it's a given that I'll probably have an equivalent wattage output for solar on the new rig.

    I'm attempting to learn as much as I can about the differences between Residential vs. Absorption fridge's, and why I would want one over the other. Capacity isn't a big issue for me, but I wouldn't want to go smaller than what I already have... To be sure, I'll be spending time at traditional RV parks with shore power, but again, there's the ice cream thing... I'd very much appreciate your insight and experience in guiding me toward the knowledge level I seek to make an informed decision - TIA! 

    Michael

     

    I boondock and have a 10 cu ft residential fridge.  I have 4 lithiums and 800 watts solar.  1 month to go on my 4 month summer trip.  I have 6 new matched lithiums to go in when I get home and my inverter charger needs to be replaced.  I would never go back to a rv fridge because of having to level all the time and poor performance.  Now my ice cream is difficult to scoop out, its -2 to -6 in the freezer.

  25. Posted · Report reply

    10 hours ago, manholt said:

    Five, I feel your pain!  I would go with 2 AGM 6V....longer ah on each than 12V.  I just replaced my 8 house and 2 engine batteries! :(

    Bill, if I was 5 or 10 years younger, I would probably look into Ion Lith.

    I have a matched set of 6 lithium 12 volt 100 amp batteries waiting in my garage to be installed when I get home in a month.  I am replacing 4 lithiums that Ive had for 2 years.  I turned 81 years old last month!

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