DBianchini

I have had a Class A DL for over 40 years in CA. The good and the bad, I needed a physical every 2 years and a card in my pocket as proof to be shown to any law enforcement officer. If I hadn't gone to the doctor for that reason, I may not have gone. I found I needed glasses at one of those Physicals. That part is not all bad. The bad news for CA a residents with this license is, any ticket is double the points against your driving record. DUI is activated at .04 vs .08 for a standard license. BTW those points apply even in a std car if you carry the CDL. I fly low and straight between the lines. 15 years since I was last ticketed. None of this has been a problem for me, since I know there are too many lawyers in the world, I keep the commercial license. My 2 cents

Update Please ?

I do 4 down sometimes and other times its a enclosed trailer with the car inside. I have made it easy enough for both ways. For me, it depends on where I'm going and what ill be doing.

Bill, I know towing 4 down is easier, but consider a enclosed trailer. Ive never had that many things dangling outside my motorhome ( I live with under maintained California roads ). They will fall, or break something. I have now done more towing with a trailer than attached on my toad or hitch. Yes its longer, and I've gone to camp grounds where I need to park the trailer in a separate location. It just take more planning. I drive more confidently when i hit those "back jarring bumps" on the highway. I have seen dirt bikes sitting on open frame "rail" trailers, where just ONE of the straps have broke free. It was being towed behind a slide on camper. The highway, ground the handle bar down to almost where the fuel tank was next in line to touch the pavement. Not cool Or consider a small pickup as a toad that you can load your scooters in the back of. Safety first. Consider all that are following you. Good luck !

Is there a web site that does a spread sheet for comparative puposes for the leading states, showing taxes, insurance, registration, etc? Im looking for differences in what your taxed on also.

California, perts of it, including the city I live in 10% sales tax Registration fee for motorhome a little over $700 per year now. Was over $1,200 the inital years of ownership State income tax, 10% Fuel tax 48.5 cents per gallon. Property taxes, about 1.15% to 1.2 % of your purchase price. Home prices about 525 to 650 per sf. Im surronded by 6 bridges that cost $20. To cross with my trailer in tow. Pallums, I'll trade you, no wait a minute, I'll just move.

I thought about writing a book about this, here is the readers digest version. I lived in a hoa 14 years. I didn't know anyting about the people who ran it, or where they lived when I purchased. I learned quickly. I owned the corner lot and the president lived behind my back fence around the corner. The treasurers lived 3 doors down on my 7 home culdasac. 302 homes in our hoa. 19 had rv's behind the fence in the yards. Just 1 , me was taken to court 2x's with $50. Per day penalties looming, with the garuntee of payment as they stood in first position in front my mortgage. I obviously was the square peg in the round hole. All board members were retired, but they took advice from a management firm who billed on specialty issues. Letters, site visits, and fines all increased her billing fees. After living there about 8 years I purchased a motorhome. I built a beautiful gate at the back of my "L" shaped driveway and parked it almost 80' from the street. 20' behind a 6' fence. The slope of the land caused the bottom of the fence to be 5' higher than the street. I tell you this detail to show how much work I went to to keep it "not visible". I got sued. The court agreed with me, after a site visit, the rv was not visible from the street. I got sued again for not getting "architectural approval for the gate". The court agreed that it "looks like a fence, just like the fence that had been there for 15 years" except i had built a metal frame behind it so it would open to my yard. No material difference in apperance. As a matter of fact it was the same fence panels. I countered sued for harrassment. I did not prevail. I got myself elected to the board. The board conviened in exective session each meeting, without me, just the retirees, and would not conduct the meeting according to Roberts rules of order. Difficult times. At one point during all this, I contacted Good Sams. They were a fantastic resouce. After reading their material, I parked the motorhome on the street for about 6 weeks. City street. Governed by city, unless silent, then state vehicle code. This insense the HOA even more, made my freindly neighbors upset with me, so parked it out back again. The punchline, I purchased 8 acres in the next town over, built a house far from nieghbors eyes. Finacially I came out way ahead. I guess in a way, I should go back and thank them, but the 2 instigators both died within a couple of years after my move. Thats life in California. One day ill tell the story of 4 years getting the building permit. Again only in California.

Toney, My RV is much older (97') I had a large in dash (30lbs) tv. I removed it and could see most of what I needed. It was still a spaghetti mess. Heat was my enemy and caused the 1/4" od rubber tubing to become brittle. Earlier, more leaks were found behind what would be my front grill in the generator area. Many days traveling in dry hot temputures ruined most of those tubes 7 + years ago and were replaced by me. They dont make it easy to work on.

Manholt said, " Newell would be my choice. Don't forget that 06' to 10' was not good years for the RV Industry!" Carl Is it a common to have problems from these years of manufacturing? Were they cutting corners to stay in business?

My 97' HR has had a similar problem, for me it was vacuum hose leaking, not pulling one of the mixing box doors closed. Finding the leaking part was hard. Diagnosing the problem was caught by switching the dash controller from cool to hot, dash air to floor air etc. The vacuum pump ran longer ( continually) when it tried to move the mixing door. Most of my hoses were up behind my dash. Good luck.

Thanks for the input from everybody. I was at a RV show today, talking with salesmen. I am always skeptical about what they say, but there is always a bit of truth in the their statements also. Again looking for input. RV's built on a rail chassis vs one on a monocoque chassis. The first will flex too much over time and wear out the wood, nails bolts, or welds, therefore more squeaks, rattles, failures, eventually leaks and water damage. I,m seeing the beginning of this at 110k on my HR, on a Freightliner 4 air bag rail. BTW, Newell, Foretravel, Prevost, are looking to be top favorites. 8 to 10 years old may be the sweet spot for me.

Thank you all for the input. I do want, like, enjoy, big torque motors. I've thought I wanted the isx cummings with 650 hp, but as I have read elsewhere, burning exhaust valves is not cool. Wolfe10, I live in the sf bay area, so most any trip will send me across the grapevine, sierra's, or Siskiyou's. Its nice to have the power going up, and a jake brake that can keep all that weight under control on the back sides of the mountains. We full timed for 2 years in a 35' so I know how to get by with very little storage.

Im looking for advice or opinions on the differences on owning a bus conversion vs a high end purpose built DP. A little history on me. My parents had a slide on camper, I bought Lance in 92'. Out grew it by 97' and purchased a new HR Endeavor 330 hp cat, single slide. At over 110k miles, i'm looking to upgrade to bath & 1/2, and more power to pull my (12k max) trailer. I am a DYI guy. I somewhat enjoy doing maintenance, and major repairs. I don't want to buy a constant project. I've owned several semi trucks. They are designed to be repaired easily (relative to my HR). I would consider a semi conversion but I've not seen the high end quality that I find in Monaco, Beaver, Prevost, Newell, Foretravel etc. Also, I can see on multiple passenger trips, giving passengers motion sickness, with lack of forward vision. My trips are maybe 60% driving, 40% just overnight. I enjoy the open road. So the ride, ease to repair, comfort and quality are very important. I've spent a lot of time reading your Forum and enjoy the wisdom. Just became a FMCA member tonight because of the honest intellect on the Forum.