tbutler

Gail and Cor, I'd say the rabbit owes you a big one! If it can't do better than that I would dump it also. You've given me a new saying, at least we won't sink! As a pilot, my saying is "at least we don't have to find a place to land!" We had a flat tire on the rear on the way into our parking spot at FMCA Convention in Minneapolis, last summer. Lucky enough to find a shop that could come out and do a repair on the spot. That got us to the shop to get the tire replaced. And we found out we were spoiled one spring at a campground in Pennsylvania when we found out that propane couldn't be delivered to our location, we had to go get it. In Texas where we winter they come through the park every week with the propane truck and you just put a sign in the window to have them stop and fill up your tank. Enjoyed your story even if it was a sad one! Better luck with June.

Thanks Clay and Lee, It's an interesting way to get to full timing! Louise and I are in the same place, this won't end until something drives us from it. For now we are happy travelers! Had a good laugh at the name of your cat. I knew a man once who had a dog named Dammit. I think it may have had a first name also but I won't mention that.

I have been reading the ongoing discussion in this topic for some time. There were things that didn't ring true with me, from my own knowledge of my coach and from differences in statements from different posters. So I went to the owners manual for my coach and re-read everything related to the inverter, batteries and alternator. From the previous discussion, it is apparent that different coaches have different systems for interfacing with the alternator, inverter and batteries. From our users manual, the information for our coach is as follows. The alternator charges the entire electrical system including the chassis (engine starting) batteries and the coach (house) batteries when the engine is running. There is a caution not to use the alternator to recharge discharged house batteries as it may overload and overheat the alternator causing damage to the alternator. rdlamb's statement is probably correct for his coach but his statement is not true for all Monaco coaches. When we use the inverter while driving this puts a load on the house batteries and thus the entire electrical system and the alternator will attempt to make up for that. A continuous large load in our case could result in overheating the alternator. When we plug in the shore power, or when we use the generator, the inverter switches over from inverting to charging the house batteries. There is a battery maintainer (different from a converter) in the system which will allow the battery charge from the inverter/charger to the house batteries to be diverted to the engine batteries once the house batteries are fully charged. Thus, when parked for any length of time the house batteries are fully charged and the battery maintainer automatically switches to charging the engine battery as needed. The battery maintainer has an automatic circuit breaker which will trip if it draws more than 15 amps and then automatically reset. If the engine batteries are discharged and the maintainer is drawing more than 15 amps, it will click off, then back on repeatedly until it pauses. Could this be the cause of the clicking noise don0344 reported? It will resume putting a charge on the engine battery if the engine is started and then shut down after the alternator has put a base charge on the battery. Again, the above information is from the owners manual for our coach. It can not be applied to all makes and models of motor homes, maybe not even the same make and model from a different year. Knowing what kind of coach someone has (year, make and model) can help find an answer to their questions. You can put basic coach information in your signature as I have done below. This helps everyone understand your problem and helps those who attempt to answer your question.

Let's start a discussion of various aspects of full-timing. Those of us who have already made the break can discuss how we came to the decision to sell the bricks and sticks house and move into a very small but mobile space. It is important to remember that there are no absolutes in this discussion. Each of us arrived at this decision via our own personal route for our own personal reasons. We'll leave it to others (perhaps those who hope to join us) to challenge and question us about our decisions. I'll kick things off with a few thoughts of my own. Please add your own experiences. In 1998 Louise retired from public education. I followed in 1999. For two years after this we worked for a company in Chicago, making trips back and forth regularly. We also did some traveling, going to Paris in the summer of 1999 and to Africa in the spring of 2001. Meanwhile we had traveled to meetings in several locations in the US flying commercial for some and flying in single engine airplanes when possible. On one such trip we drove from Phoenix to Lake Havasu City to visit Louise's mother. Being February we passed through Quartzite and saw the assemblage of RV's. Our discussion began. In Lake Havasu City we saw an RV dealer lot and the discussion continued. Before we left Lake Havasu City, we stopped in to check out the RV's. A very nice and patient salesman spent several hours showing us everything from the Prevost once owned by a NASCAR driver who lost his sponsor to toy haulers. We asked the salesman about information on RV'ing and he referred us to a book titled: Movin' On by Ron and Barb Hofmeister. Written in 1999, this book contains information that is now somewhat dated but describes the experiences of a couple who started in a Class C motor home and went full time. For those considering starting in a Class C, I would recommend this book. The cell/computer information is way out of date but the considerations of packing for a small vehicle are still good. The book had excellent descriptions of what it was like to travel full time, the advantages and disadvantages. I would still recommend it for that content alone. We read the book from end to end and discussed it over and over. We convinced ourselves that we could do it, make the break from our fixed home to a mobile life. We began looking at RV's everything from 5th wheels to motor homes. By March of 2001 we had settled on a motor home and found one to purchase, a used 1994 Monaco Dynasty. We parked it in storage. After we returned from Africa, we decided to quit our jobs and live on our retirement income. The dye was cast, we began the process of getting ready for the road.

I came across an article about the coming Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which goes into effect next week on June 1. This site lists the documents that are acceptable for crossing the borders between Mexico, United States and Canada. If you are planning a trip out of country this summer, be sure you have one of these acceptable documents for each person in your group. http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/eng_map.html The above link also has buttons for the Canadian Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Look at the lower left of the page).

Don, thanks for the update. It helps us all to find out what the solution to your problem was. Now we have another suspect to put on our list of possible faulty electrical components. Unfortunately, it sounds like a trip back to a competent RV technician is in order. If the inverter isn't failing, it is surely malfunctioning.

Don and Linda, We have wintered in south Texas for the last eight winters. While we have been at one park the whole eight years, we have traveled all over the valley. There are hundreds of parks in the Rio Grande Valley with every range of services and type of location. There is a state park at the southern tip of South Padre Island with full RV hook-ups if what you want is seaside residence, you can't beat this one. You can drive the beach in places and fish most anywhere. There are plenty of sea food restaurants and during spring break things get real interesting. There are landlocked parks further inland with every range of service from large dance halls where you can practice your Texas two step or other dance steps, to locations next to wildlife parks. Some parks have lots of activities and others are just places to hang out. Some parks have paved parking spots, some have grass spots. You can find RV parks at golf courses and RV parks next to flea markets. Throughout the "valley" as it is known, you will find excellent authentic Mexican food, Texas BBQ and seafood. Our winter temperatures seldom reach the freezing mark and we seldom have a week that we don't see some temperatures near 70 degrees for at least a little while. So when you ask for a decent campground, just what do you mean? I'm betting we can find one for you!

Brett has hit the nail on the head. Or should I not mention nails when discussing tires? Here is another factor to consider when checking your tire pressure. You should check tire pressure each day you travel in the RV. Why? The more frequently you check your tire pressure the better you will know your tire pressures. If one tire is suddenly low, it indicates a problem that should be investigated. You will know that the problem needs to be investigated because you have checked the tire for many days and it is always at the same pressure as the other tires on that axle and now suddenly one tire is different. Alarms go off in your head and you do more than just add a little air to bring it up to the correct pressure. Another reason you check air pressure each day you drive is because the temperature each day will affect the pressure of the tire. When Brett mentions ambient temperatures, that means the temperature each day you drive. Because each day will vary slightly in temperature, the pressure will vary also and you want to be sure that the pressure stays at your desired value. Now here is a gotcha for checking pressure. If you check tire pressure after the sun rises and the sun is shining on any of your pretty black tires, those tires will have an unreliable pressure reading because they are warmer than the other tires, just as if they had been driven. How much is the difference? Check your tire pressure before sunrise and then check again an hour or two after sunrise and see how the pressure changes. Compare that pressure with the pressure of tires on the same axle with the same starting pressure but in the shade. You will find significant differences in pressure readings. In reality, the tires should all be at equal pressure but you won't have any way to verify that with your pressure gauge. If you now try to equalize the pressure on an axle, you will end up with the tires in the sunlight being at lower pressure (the gauge will read the same but the warmer tires will have less air in them) than the cool tires in the shade. So the only time you can check tire pressures and be sure you are getting accurate pressure readings is when the tires are all at an equal temperature, before sunrise! This same principle applies to tires that are near a running generator or other heat producing device. If something in your coach warms tires unevenly, you can not adjust tire pressures until that heat source is removed from the equation and the tires have equalized in temperature. If you weigh your coach with RVSEF you will receive an analysis that mentions another complication for motor homes. Your coach never weighs the same one day to the next. No I'm not suggesting your diet isn't working... I am pointing out that each day you drive, you use significant amounts of fuel from your fuel tank. A 100 gallon fuel tank holds fuel weighing about 600 pounds. Your propane tank may hold another 200 pounds of propane if it is full. You carry fresh water, sometimes more, sometimes less. You have waste tanks that are sometimes empty and at other times may be nearly full. So when your coach is weighed you need to know what the status of all your tanks are. Then you need to compensate the actual weight of your coach to the tanks full weight. In my coach, the fuel, propane and fresh water are all near the front axle. The waste tanks are near the rear axle. So when it is weighed I have to add weight for each axle to equal the missing liquids in each of the tanks. That way the tire pressure will be sufficient for an all tanks full situation. So, weigh your coach, add weight for empty or partially full tanks, look up the weight for the tires on the manufacturers tire chart and add 5% or 10% for a safety measure. This becomes your target pressure for the tires on one axle. Each axle will be different, based on the weight on the tires on that axle. Also, be aware that tire charts will show a different weight allowance for single tires vs. dual tires. Dual tires run hotter due to the adjacent hot tire and thus need a different pressure for the same weight a single tire carries. The charts make all this easy, just look for the dual weight scale for those tires and use the single weight scale for single tires. Finally, when you drive, your tire pressure will likely go above the rated pressure stamped on your tires and rims. The pressure stamped on the tires and rims is for the cold pressure before you start driving. This rated pressure assumes normal heating during driving and thus the associated pressure increase is also factored into the rating.

Doug, It is interesting how different people plan trips. When we leave on a cross country trip I have no idea where we will be staying. We use the Trailer Life Directory and Woodall's Campground Directory as our reference. Generally, we will determine where we want to be the next stop on the trip and then look for a suitable campground in the area. If we plan to stay for a while we'll be pickier about our campground, if it is just a night or two, we can flex a little and take a less desirable campground. We don't plan on spending a lot of time in the campground generally so we aren't as concerned about the campground facilities beyond the full hook-ups. We almost never make reservations in advance. In fact, I hate to have a schedule that I have to stick to. If we decide it is too far to a campground for a day's trip, we can stop somewhere along the way or change to a different campground without having to cancel reservations. If we are finding campgrounds near full or worried about getting a space at a preferred campground we will call ahead before arriving at the campground. We typically call an hour or two before our arrival in this case. That way it saves us a drive to a full campground and allows us to re-route to a campground with space without wasting fuel or time. We have seldom found a campground so full that there wasn't some kind of space available. Once we have reservations at a campground or a series of campgrounds then we are committed to a schedule. Did I say, I really don't like schedules? I had enough of them when I was working! With no schedule then we are free to do what we want when we want.

We are now in Warrenton, Missouri, parked in my mother's driveway. We had a nice visit with my sister and her family in Kansas City last weekend. My sister is recovering from knee replacement, a familial weakness that will likely catch up with me some time in the future. She is hobbling around on a crutch but is healing and will soon be out dancing again. While in the Kansas City area we enjoyed staying at the Smith's Fork Campground. It is located just below the dam at Smithville Lake, a Corps of Engineers flood control lake. The campground is run by the Smithville Parks Department. They have 30- and 50-amp electric with full hookups at very reasonable rates. With a senior discount the 50-amp electric cost just $23 a night! They have almost 80 spaces, some pull-through sites and the whole park is beautiful. A 14-day stay limit keeps turnover high. They don't take reservations but they take gate reservations. I don't know exactly what that means, but if you are interested, call ahead as this is a popular fishing and family campground. Leaving Smithville, we decided to drive smaller roads directly east rather than heading south on I-435 to I-70. The traffic on the smaller roads was light and local. We seldom were holding up traffic and if they couldn't get around us they usually turned off at the next town. We enjoyed seeing some towns we had only heard of before and a few we had never heard of before. We were surprised to find a very nice looking large resort in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. The Elm's Resort was designed by Kansas City architects, Jackson and McIlvain. The grounds are beautiful. The road through town is torturous for a motor home but we navigated it without a problem. It is very rugged terrain and the road turns every block or two as you go up and down hills. Not the place to zip through in a hurry but definitely worth a stop. I am really enjoying traveling the backroads rather than the interstate highways. The pace is much more relaxing and the scenery is so much more interesting. Even if we don't stop, we get to see so much more of America once we are off the interstates. We found a nice roadside picnic area to stop at for lunch just before we reached U.S. 65 north of Marshall, Missouri. The whole area of this drive we saw beautifully cared for farms and homes. The area had a prosperous look even in this economy. South of Marshall we hit I-70 and zipped across the rest of Missouri to Warrenton, Missouri where my mother lives just a half mile from where my grandparents lived during my childhood. Crossing the Missouri River near Columbia, Missouri we did see that the river is bank full to slightly above. North of our crossing the flood plain was covered with water, evidence of the storms that passed through in the last few days coupled with snow melt from the northern Rockies. At Mom's house we have 50-amp electric that I installed several years ago. There is water and sewer available about 75 feet from our rig. The macerator I installed several years ago comes in handy here. We shower and wash dishes in moms house but if need be, we can empty the waste tanks without moving. Mom has a list for me, her to do's. This time the list is small; replace a porch light, trim some shrubs, glue this, fix that, all minor things that help her stay in her home a little longer. Along with her list, I have my own. A drawer railing rear support gave out when we got here. Too many bumps and cheap supports. I replaced those last night. I've replaced most of these cheap adjustable plastic supports for the rear of the drawer railings with a sturdier support I found at Lowe's. The replacements aren't adjustable and are a heavier plastic. I haven't had to replace one of them yet so they seem to be doing the job. Checking the roof when we got here, I see I have a big cleaning job to do. We were parked under a really nasty tree in Denver at The Prospect RV Park. Sappy buds rained down on us as the tree leafed out this spring. I haven't found a good way to remove the sap yet. While on the roof I also noticed that the anemometer that automatically retracts our awning has been broken once again. I put a protective frame over it to keep tree branches from getting it but this is the second time that hail has gotten it. I guess it needs an umbrella to protect it from the hail. I have a replacement ordered thanks to the help of Freedom RV in Wentzville. Unlike the other RV place in Wentzville, Freedom RV called me back! And they could get the part I needed. I can do the install on this, I watched the first time it was replaced and replaced it myself the next time. This will be the third replacement. I'd just remove it but it is so handy to have the awning automatically retract when the wind picks up. This morning we make a run to St. Louis to visit our doctors. We scheduled two doctor appointments for each of us, our GP for exams and renewing prescriptions and an annual check with our dermatologist. Next week we'll visit our optometrist with the dentist to follow. We are tied to our home physicians for routine care by the medical insurance from our school districts. It is how we manage most of our medical care as full time RV'ers.

My mother pulled out her church cookbook this evening. The cookbook is really two cookbooks in one. Titled: Past and Present, 1946 - 2008, it has all the recipes and other information from 1946 (the year I was born) and from 2008. Mom still has the old original 1946 cookbook and they used her copy for the new cookbook. Anyway, I thought a few of the tips would be helpful today. There were two pages of tips in the 1946 book. Here is a sampling: To make stove polish shine more easily, add a little turpentine. Using a pastry brush, wash the bottom of unbaked pie shell with unbeaten white of egg; your pie will never soak. Silk hose will wear longer if washed in cold water. Tough meat will be made tender if placed in vinegar water for a few minutes. My own personal favorite: Lard will be whiter if a teaspoon of baking soda is added after lard is started to render. The cookbook was produced by the ladies of Friends United Church of Christ, 313 E Main Street, Warrenton, MO 63383 www.uccwebsites.net/friedensuccwarrentonmo.html

Meme, We spent the summer in Alaska in 2006. First, get the bible on travel in Alaska, The Milepost. It will give you a near complete listing of possible things to see. Depending on the time you have to stay there, you can drive most every major highway in Alaska in a season. There is no way you can see anything near everything in a season! Now for more good news. On your way to Alaska you will travel through British Columbia and/or Alberta and then Yukon and if you want you can see Northwest Territories, all beautiful and amazing parts of Canada. It will take some time to see some of the sights here. We spent almost 3 weeks getting to Alaska and another week coming back to the lower 48. Now for the roads. Of course, my report is now 3 years old. That said, the roads to Alaska were generally good. The Alaska Highway pavement was fine through about the first half of Yukon. As you go further north from there, the roads begin to show the effects of the harsh winter. You will develop an eye for the closet dumpers! These are dips in the road caused by frost heaving and slumping. They are about the right length to cause your coach (trailers too) to settle down on the suspension and then coming out of the dip toss the rear end upward so as to cause all the clothes hangers to rise off the closet bar! Viola, a closet dumper! Once you have an eye for those you learn that 45 MPH is a good speed to travel, it allows you to slow just a bit to avoid the big down/up movement of the motor home. That was the good news. Road repair in Canada and Alaska is an on-going process and I'm sure you will see many miles of road under repair. You will drive over packed rock/dirt that is wet down with Calcium Chloride to reduce dust. Being damp this will sling Calcium Chloride laced dirt all over your motor home. Fortunately, most RV parks accommodate washing either with a free washing policy or a paid wash area. I washed the motor home just about every time we drove from one place to another. We were there in a very wet year according to veteran Alaska travelers and this probably contributed to the mud/dirt problem. Also, be aware that you will find few places where the parking lots for gas stations, grocery stores, souvenir shops are paved. Instead you will find them pot-holed and if it has rained, muddy. Is such a trip hard on your coach, yes. Would I go again? We are already planning to do just that, if not in 2010, likely 2011. Our next trip will be via ferry on the way north to see the coastal areas of Alaska, Juneau, etc. Our coach has more scars from other more civil locations than we got in Alaska. In our old home state of Missouri we had a flat tire on the left front steer tire in the fall of 2006, on I-29, none in Alaska! In the spring of 2007 we took a large rock in the windshield, again in Missouri, I-44 this time. We got plastered by tire debris from a highway department mower on I-80 in Utah in the fall of 2007. Now, we did see a motor home with a large patch on the upper rear quarter, apparently a sign or a tree caught the rear of the coach when making a turn. We saw a fifth wheel that had run off the road. There was a path of run down vegetation at least 300 feet long. We watched as a wrecker pulled out the pickup truck and fifth wheel as a single unit and they then drove away under their own power. I'm sure there was damage but it was still drivable. Caution is essential, don't schedule yourself into being in a rush. Take your time and enjoy the great experience that is Alaska. In preparation for our trip to Alaska, we made sure we had new tires on our taod. We purchased a cover for the hood and windshield of our toad and used it as well as the Guardian that we already had with our Roadmaster Tow Bar. We also purchased and installed a Bra for the front of the motor home. Big, ugly and black, it gave us extra protection for the nose of the motor home. We saw all kind of home-made devices to protect motor homes, windshields and toads. I think it makes sense to prepare though as it turned out, we could have likely done fine without these steps during that particular trip. Fuel prices in Canada and Alaska will be higher than in the lower 48. In 2006 we paid about $3.50 to $4.00 per gallon of diesel. On a drive to Inuvik, NWT we paid $4.50 for regular gas! That was the only station in a stretch of about 300 miles on that highway. Given the nature of fuel prices, I would prepare for prices greater than these for your 2010 trip. If they are less, you'll be prepared!

Strange73, I would have suggested a Class C for bunk beds, didn't know there was a Class A or Bus Conversion that had bunk beds until I read garykd's post. The standard saying for Class A coaches is, "Conversation for eight, drinks for six, dinner for four, sleeps two!" That would be the answer to the people who look at that great big coach and think it must sleep 20 people! Glad there are floor plans out there to fit your needs. Again, go to an FMCA convention if you can. I have never had a salesman pressure me to buy one kind of coach or another. If you show an interest in one coach or floor plan, then they will offer help but there are many browsers at the convention and the salesmen can't buttonhole everyone. In fact, the sales people are pretty low key the first day or so. Pretty much just answering questions. With all the coaches that are usually at the convention, you could spend the whole convention just browsing coaches! I wouldn't be afraid of an older coach if it is in good shape. We started in a seven year old coach and stayed with it for two and a half years. Once certain we were in this for the long haul, we purchased a new coach at a rally. We drove it over 7000 miles in the next six weeks. That is a good break-in run in a short time. Our last stop before parking at our winter retreat was at the dealer to get various items fixed. With the lower cost of the purchase of a used motor home comes increased maintenance costs! It would be hard for the maintenance costs to equal the cost of purchasing a new coach.

Thank you LovinLife! You made my day. Glad to have helped you with your decision. Hope to see you on the road soon!

Ouch indeed! I've been there and done that - more than once! The last time it took staples to close the cut. I was busy looking at the ground while walking and then started to bend over to pick something up... At that point I did purchase a hard hat and some safety cones that I put under the corners of the open bay door! So far that is working for me! Knock on wood!

Another source for repair and replacement parts is the salvage industry. There are salvage yards all over the country that specialize in RV salvage. I referenced this source in a topic, "A Great Resource for RV Information," under the General Discussion category. If you can't find what you need from the above references, check the salvage industry.

On the question of what to do with the stuff you have collected over a lifetime of living in a foundation home, everyone has their own connections here that are difficult to part with. From our experience, we started by selling my motorcycle. Louise says she knew I was serious when I did that! We had furniture that was of some value and we gave our children first choice on that. Daughter number two was moving into an apartment at the time and took several of the furniture and electronics items (sterio and TV). We also had a few family heirlooms among the furniture. Those were passed along to specific children with their concurrence. So many of those items were not gone completely though we have no intention of ever asking for them back. Then there is the whole category of collectibles. Both Louise and I had numerous collections of items from coffee mugs to fossils that we had assembled over the years. Once in a while I get a twinge for some of those items. We sold or donated most of those items. None were particularly valuable other than keepsake kinds of value. I would like to have had some of the fossils to give to my grandchildren though none are old enough to appreciate them yet. That collection was too heavy and too bulky to be storing in our daughters basement so it went. So now I look for rocks and fossils and transfer them directly to the grandchildren rather than keeping a collection on hand. Common household items were easier to get rid of. When you think of what you paid for some of these things and what you get when you sell them it helps to keep the RV lighter. My days of consummate consumerism are over and I am glad that I'm not throwing my money away on stuff that will be worth pennies someday when I am finished with it. We sold everything we could at a series of garage sales at fire sale prices and gave away what we could not sell. We had some nice artwork, our oldest daughter took some of those items and the rest we stored in her basement. They aren't heavy and can be stored in a compact space so we kept them. When we have to give up the motor home we'll have some artwork to decorate our new home with. Louise loves to read. She always has some books with her but she doesn't collect books. She loves to use the book exchanges at parks to find new books to read. She has a bread maker, blender and several other cooking utensils. Louise likes to keep the house decorated when we are staying in one place for a while so she has small photographs and nick-knacks stored away in drawers. I made a small table that fits over the steering wheel to hold some of the things we like to display. Many of these things are small souvenirs of our travels. She has a lace tablecloth we purchased in Mexico and drapes it over the dash and steering wheel table to make things look nice. As an amateur astronomer I had several telescopes. I rebuilt one of them to fit into the motor home, the other is compact in a suitcase style carry case and it fits under the bed. I get those out from time to time as we travel though not enough to justify hauling them everywhere. Still, I won't give them up. We have a friend who travels with her keyboard and sets it up to practice and play as they travel. We know another couple who travel with her sewing machine because she loves to sew. Those things that are of greatest importance you will find a way to keep and/or take with you. We had a nice home gym which our oldest daughter took and uses. We purchased a Bowflex, it fits into one of our basement compartments. We get it out periodically to keep fit. It is out more often when we are in a location for an extended period of time. We have items for our grandchildren when they come to visit. Coloring books from places we've visited, puzzles from National Parks we have visited, they love to play with tickets and our convention badges and ribbons. We got some native toys in Alaska. We keep some simple games they like to play. We can't keep them away from our dominoes and they love to play Mexican Bingo. We also have a collection of DVD's for them to watch. So plenty of rainy day stuff for the children. Life is simpler knowing that there isn't room for anything more so now we shop for the essentials. We invest our money in the experience of living rather than in things.

Brett, Thanks for the information. Your technical tips are very helpful. I always learn something. With our side radiator I usually hose it out good with a garden variety sprayer every time it gets a good wash. I hadn't used any detergent and that would be a good idea once in a while.

Now Wayne, nothing I said should discourage you. Filling out the form won't cost you a cent! It just takes a little while to put together an inventory. You don't need to include any of the stuff that is attached to your motor home. Just inventory all the valuable loose items, computers, cameras, other valuables you carry with you. You should have a good inventory of these items for insurance purposes anyway. Consider this a good reason to get it done now and go to Canada. We have been to Canada every year, for the last four years. It's a great country, go and enjoy. You don't have to pay anything at US Customs to process the form. It will take you a few minutes to process the paperwork. One hangup is that it isn't easy getting into Customs from the "back side." We can usually find a parking place on the US side somewhere nearby and walk in from there. I enjoy the reaction of the border agents, they don't see too many of these forms. I suppose that most RV'ers don't file this form but if you don't you leave yourself open to more problems than you want. Most border agents are quite reasonable but if you get one on a bad day it would be nice to have the form! With it you won't have any argument.

Here are the official web sites of the border crossing agencies in the United States and Canada. Consult these before making your border crossing. Even if you cross frequently, check this before you go as rules do change. Find out what you are allowed to take with you when you cross, regulations for food, animals, plants, liquor, cigarettes, firearms, etc. Both sites have extensive information on other rules and regulations for entering their respective countries. Before you leave your country of origin, you should know what you will be allowed to return with. Likewise, before entering another country you must know what you will be allowed to bring with you. For the US Customs and Border Protection: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/ For those leaving the US: Look under the side heading: US Citizens/Legal Permanent Residents For those entering the US: Look under the side heading: For International Visitors For Canadian Border Services Agency: http://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/menu-eng.html For those leaving Canada: Look under the side heading: Canadians and Residents For those entering Canada: Look under the side heading: Non-Canadians One of the items under US Customs and Border Protection (Know Before You Go - Tip: Register...) is of particular importance to RV'ers. Since those of us who are full time carry plenty of stuff with us, it would serve us well to follow this tip. I have always prepared CBP Form 4457 and get it verified by CBP before leaving the US. I have never been challenged regarding the contents of the motor home upon return to the US but it only takes once to make it worthwhile having this document prepared and verified before you leave the US. I have the form on my computer and update it as I purchase items. I fill out form 4457 and refer to the attached list which is printed from the computer. I have had agents come to check serial numbers and look at one or two items on the list and then go ahead and certify the remainder of the list. I have had agents simply certify the list without looking since it had serial numbers and identification information on it already. What they are looking for is anything you purchased out of the country and are returning with. You have to have some way to prove you took it out of country with you or you may be liable for duty on everything in your motor home! This is the wording from the CBP Web site referenced above: Tip: Register Items Before You Leave The United States If your laptop computer was made in Japan, for instance, you might have to pay duty on it each time you brought it back into the United States, unless you could prove that you owned it before you left on your trip. Documents that fully describe the items -- such as sales receipts, insurance policies, or jeweler's appraisals -- are acceptable forms of proof. To make things easier, you can register certain items with CBP before you depart -- including watches, cameras, laptop computers, firearms, and CD players -- as long as they have serial numbers or other unique, permanent markings. Take the items to the nearest CBP office and request a Certificate of Registration (CBP Form 4457). ( CBP Form 4457 ) It shows that you had the items with you before leaving the United States and all items listed on it will be allowed duty-free entry. CBP officers must see the item you are registering in order to certify the certificate of registration. You can also register items with CBP at the international airport from which you are departing. Keep the certificate for future trips.

In a previous article I outlined an alternate route for I-80 through Utah and Wyoming. One that isn't as fast but got us there just the same and we got to see new places. Here is another installment of that series. We have been across Kansas on I-70 at least once a year for the entire time we have been full time in the motor home and for years before that in cars. This spring when we left Denver, we dropped south from I-70 at Lyman, Colorado, taking US 40/287 south to Kit Carson and staying on US 287 to Lamar, Colorado. From there we turned east on US 50/400 and stayed with US 400 when the two separated. We stayed overnight at a nice rest stop on US 50/400 just before crossing into Colorado. The next day we drove to Dodge City, Kansas. We stayed at Gunsmoke RV, a nice park with large pull through campsites. In Dodge City we visited the Boot Hill Museum. They have a fine collection of pioneer and cowboy memorabilia. Both east and west of Dodge City we saw numerous cattle feed lots. East of Dodge City we stopped in Greensburg, Kansas to take a look at the community recovering from an F5 tornado. Construction is still going full force two years after the tornado. Wichita was our next overnight stop. We spent several nights at USB RV Park. Wichita has many attractions, museums, an old downtown area with shops and restaurant/bars and a Cowboy Town with many old original buildings from the era of the cattle drives. We returned to I-70 in Kansas City via the Kansas Turnpike and I-35 which takes you through the scenic Flint Hills of eastern Kansas. Most of this route is extremely rural. So rural that we didn't see a Wal-Mart until we got to Wichita. The wheat fields in eastern Colorado and western Kansas were beautiful and agricultural activity is everywhere. The roads are generally good roads with light traffic. In some places there are frequent passing zones to assist other traffic in passing you. These are things we enjoy and why we try to vary our route as we travel well worn routes.

The Weather Channel is busy hunting severe storms. I am watching for their vehicles, when I spot them I'm headed in the opposite direction. Today we left Wichita, Kansas headed for Kansas City. Spring storm season is in full swing in the mid-west and the Weather Channel is making the best of it, pursuing storms across the very area we are traveling. The forecast for the whole trip was highlighted in red on the weather map. I told Louise that an early start was in order as the afternoon promised storms. So we were hooked up and on our way early. The trip was uneventful, I kept watching the skies and the clouds were small scattered cumulus. Driving on I-35, I could watch the cloud shadows zip across the highway and noticed that the leading edges were moving northward almost as fast as we were traveling. The warm air pipeline was really working hard today! We had a nice tailwind! We stopped in Emporia to pick up just enough diesel to make it to the Flying J on I-435 on the east side of KC. Why not fill up in Emporia? The price of diesel there was $2.19 per gallon and the price at the KC station was $1.99. Since it was on the way, I'll purchase most of my fuel there. It turned out the price had gone up by 2 cents by the time we got to the KC station but it was still a bargain. Pumping almost 100 gallons we saved $17.00 by making our major purchase at the KC station. Thank you internet! We arrived at the Flying J in Kansas City about 1:00 p.m. The pumps for car diesel are inaccessible for RV's so we went to the truck pumps. This made the fill-up faster because of those great big nozzles! Leaving the Flying J, we were driving into turbulent skies. Are those trucks from the Weather Channel? We made it about 7 miles north and just off the interstate highway before the rain started. When it started raining, it came in sheets. We went through hail and more heavy rain. We could hardly see the sign for the campground. It was only the last five or six miles that were stormy out of a trip of 225 miles. Still that experience dominates everything else for the day. When we finally found Smith's Fork Park Campground, the campground host came out to greet us in full rain gear! We invited him in because we weren't going out in this downpour. He gave us the layout of the campground and told us which sites were reserved and where we would find the 50 amp hookups. He also cautioned us about the drop off on the left turn corner ahead! Good information to have in a rainstorm. We found a campsite and pulled in, shut down the engine and relaxed back into the couch and recliner. I told Louise that I was glad we had a motor home, all our conveniences were right here for us. We didn't have to run outside to our home. We didn't even have to put out slides, there is plenty of room to move around. I started up my computer to check on the storm status. The Weather Bug gave me all the warning and watches, there were severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado watches, flood watches and flash flood warnings! The thunderstorms were lined up and heading our way our way like cars on a train. We just relaxed and enjoyed the show, lightening, thunder, flooded campground, a river flowing down an embankment from athletic fields to our north. By 4:00 p.m. the campground host was around to collect the rent! We had neighbors who had pulled in behind us and our toad was keeping them from moving forward. These sites are loops of the main drive, one loop after another. The exit for one is the entrance for the next. Their door was right by a mini-lake! We moved forward then put out our slides and hooked up the water. I would wait for the sewer connection until the weather was better. No rush there, our tanks last for days. Later our neighbors moved out to join friends in a different spot. Oh, well, we didn't have to move to let them off their site. The storms have passed off to the south and things are quiet now. The forecast for the next few days is sunny and cool. Ideal weather for relaxing in a nice campsite.

Hey Wayne, I nominate you for the FMCA GGA (Good Guy Award)! Not for helping them with the electric, anyone would have done that. But you didn't report the rest of the conversation. I'm sure there was much said after you solved the problem! And you probably didn't even hear the best part of it! We should start a summer camp, basic training for RV'ers! Can you find a DI hat? We could whip them into shape in no time! SEAJAY will help and we only have to pay him a dime!!!

SEAJAY, You are probably correct, we had a 1994 Dynasty and it had a four door refrigerator with an ice maker. When it started to leak we were told that the refrigerator had to be removed to fix the leak --- so we traded it for a new 2004 Windsor which doesn't have that problem. We agree with Wayne, you should have baught a new coach!!