tbutler

We took our granddaughters to Lava Beds NP several years ago. Hiked a number of the lava caves with them. Last year we did Mt. Lassen and then Crater Lake with them. It's been several years since Louise and I were at Mt. St. Helens. The Lava Canyon Hike is spectacular, unknown to anyone until after the eruption cleared the forest in the area. We had a real explore with Ape Cave (Boy Scout named it). It's a long lava tube, about 1/2 mile is smooth bottom, lit and easy walk. Backtracking uphill from the entrance it is about 2 miles, rough going over ceiling rockfalls, no lights, take a gas lantern and several other sources of light, all the usual cave precautions. If you haven't been to the Columbia Gorge before, take the small road (Historic Columbia River Highway) on the south side of the gorge. You will be treated to one waterfall after another. Oneonta Gorge is spectacular. You have to walk in the stream to get back to the waterfall. Last time we were there you had to climb over a huge log jam to get into the gorge. Well worth the effort but be ready to wade through waist deep water. Several dams on the Columbia can be toured if you enjoy visiting them. There are fish ladders, can't remember which dam but they have windows so you can watch the fish (salmon in the fall) on their way upstream. Enjoy the trip.

Here is a link to the Official Travel Site. These islands are a series of small islands in the Salish Sea between Washington State and Vancouver Island, Canada. I can't find information for the ferries that indicates anything other than cars. The Washington State Ferries can accommodate large vehicles but the fares are quite steep. You may end up camping somewhere near the ferry terminal and then taking the toad or even going on foot. This should get you started.

We did exactly what you are planning to do. Roads within the park are not generally accessible for large vehicles. You will be much happier parking the coach in RV Parks and taking day trips out into the park from a variety of locations. We found this to be a wonderful area to explore. I did a series of blogs here on the FMCA website on our trip starting with this, the first in the series if you are interested in reading about our trip.

This is the information that I have received. I believe it to be from an official source. I would not make any firm plans for the conventions past the March 2017 convention. Notice the phrase, "pending successful negotiations." The location of those conventions is subject to change until commitments are firm. Upcoming FMCA Conventions From now on, the FMCA gatherings will all be referred to as Conventions instead of Reunions. The following Convention is on the books and registration is now open: Winter, 2017 Chandler, AZ March 7 - 10, 2017 The following Conventions are pending successful negotiations: Summer, 2017 Indianapolis, IN Winter, 2018 Perry, GA Summer, 2018 Gillette, WY Winter, 2019 Chandler or Tucson, AZ Summer, 2019 St. Paul, MN Winter, 2020 Perry, GA Summer, 2020 Redmond, OR Winter Conventions are normally scheduled in March or April and Summer Conventions scheduled in July or August.

A USGS topo map is your best reference for latitude and longitude! Assuming of course that you can read and interpret a map to determine your location. US Army and years of experience in orienteering. I love maps.

I've never had a problem. Let's face it, if a station is selling fuel for more than 50c below truck stops, they will sell a lot of fuel. In fact that station was very busy. I slipped into a spot after one vehicle moved but it was busy the whole time I was there. I've purchased fuel at small stations in the US and Canada and never a problem. There is always a first time but given over 200,000 miles of experience, one occurrence would be an extreme rarity.

Thanks Brett, You are correct, the old Flying J used to be a regular haunt of mine when we traveled. I still go there for propane if I can't find an independent supplier convenient. I remember my first encounter with an auto gas station. Our first motor home, first time refueling, only about the third or fourth time I'd driven it. I parked "auto" close to the pump and scraped a door on the protective pillar on the way out of the station. Lesson learned, now I park about five or six feet away from the pump with a slant toward the intended direction of exit. Prior planning prevents poor performance! Anyway, once you have done a number of ordinary auto stations you develop a sense for what you can get into and get out of without damage. Any damage at all completely negates any savings from cheaper fuel!

I haven't been in a truck stop in ages. Dirty, high prices, have to go in to pay for private vehicle. I purchased diesel at Smith's grocery for $1.939 several weeks ago in Kingman, AZ. The Flying J just east of town was advertising a cash price for diesel at $2.469. I save $0.53 per gallon! A purchase of 70 gallons saved me more than $35.00. I use the Gas Buddy app to find the lowest price. I'm always looking for a station that is close to our intended route. You don't have to drive far to cancel out a savings of a few cents per gallon. Sometimes the stations are not convenient for our 40 footer with a toad so we only use stations which are clearly accessible. We have a Sam's Club credit card that gives 5% cash back on fuel at almost all stations, not just Sam's Club, and we've been through many Sam's Club stations as well as Murphy stations (at many Walmart stores in central and east US). I look over a station carefully to determine an entrance and exit that are accessible. There must be space to turn and get to pumps and to turn and get out. It is also good to examine the gutter you must cross to get from the station from the street. That and any incline on the station lot has occasionally been a barrier that I wouldn't cross. If one station isn't suitable it isn't unusual to see a competitor nearby that has a price almost as low. If not, we're on down the road looking for another inexpensive station unless the tank is nearly empty. If you fuel at smaller stations you save money and you'll seldom have a problem with a high volume pump and delivery system associated with truck stops. Other stations we've used include casino's operated by various tribes from NY to CA and OR. No-name quick shop in Phoenix area, any number of small stations in Canada because, in Canada you almost have to use small stations. When you get off the interstates and away from heavy truck traffic, you'll find yourself in smaller stations sooner or later. Sometimes I have to run my card multiple times to get a fill-up. For savings like $0.53 per gallon, I'd run the card ten times!! So, yes, I'd still try to fix the fuel routing to the tank because eventually, you'll find a need to use a high volume pump but in the meantime, try a few smaller stations to see if it works for you.

You are singing my song! Not that I needed a replacement freezer/refrigerator, we've done that with our main one (we don't have another) already. No, I'm echoing your caution about measurements you find posted on the internet. In particular when dealing with Amazon I've found their measurements (if listed at all) for various products to be suspect. I always go to the manufacturers web site to verify measurements. In your case, I guess even that wouldn't have helped. Anyway, it is a good point, you can't trust any of the measurements. If you find serious disagreement on-line and from the manufacturers web site then a call to the manufacturer might help. If not, find one in a physical store and measure it there. If it fits, I buy it there! The owner of the physical store has provided me necessary verification of dimensions by stocking the unit and they deserve to get the sale. In turn, I've received valuable information from the store owner and am willing to pay for that.

You will see a number of those items in my profile. In addition to what I list, I have a background in the sciences and taught geology, astronomy, meteorology and oceanography (Earth Sciences) for many years. I'm never happier than when I'm looking at a night sky, hiking a volcano, exploring some great erosion features like the Grand Canyon or Death Valley, or doing some nice snorkeling. And yes, I take pictures of everything I see. I also find yoga important for keeping flexible and my balance good so I can really enjoy those hikes.

I have seen flag poles that were mounted on a plate that was pinned down by a tire. Put the plate in front of the tire, park on it. Drop the pole into the open cylinder and you are in business. When ready to depart, remove the flagpole with instruments and stow them, then drive off the plate and stow it. Here is one example. It might be something that you could make or have made for you. Make sure there is sufficient clearance between the coach and the pole so the wind doesn't sway the pole and make it contact the coach. Here is another product. This one came from a page that had plans for a do-it-yourself but to download the plans they required downloading some additional software so I didn't look at that. There are also hitch mounted flag pole kits that will fit the hitch on your coach. On our coach the hitch is busy with the towing hardware but if you don't have a toad, this may be a possibility.

I can't make recommendation as we have only rarely stayed in the Phoenix area and never for an extended period of time. A good source for searching parks is RV Park Reviews. If you don't get recommendations, even if you do get recommendations, you may want to do what I suggest to anyone looking for a park for an extended stay. Make short term reservations (a week or two) at a park in the area you are considering. While staying there, visit other parks in the area to get a look at them. I hesitate to make recommendations for others because what suits me may not suit someone else. I think the best way to select a park for long term stay is to actually visit the park, take a tour, see the facilities and where it is located in the community to see if it meets your expectations. Some parks have quite extensive activities, others are more contemplative. We live in a "party" park. There are always activities going on in the park and people are quite social. Group dinners, street parties, competitive games and dances keep the group interacting and we like that atmosphere. Our park is located in a fairly remote area but is within a half hour travel of almost any "city" convenience including many franchise restaurants and also many unique "mom & pop" restaurants. There are major shopping centers and a thriving outlet mall in the area. We have a variety of nature parks, state parks and wildlife refuges in the area and the Gulf of Mexico beaches aren't far away. Like Phoenix, our area has many retired people and there is a shared culture of Winter Texans in the area. Unlike Phoenix, our community is small enough that retirees represent a significant impact on the economy and culture of the area. We feel right at home in our community.

We travel from place to place regularly and never have called anyone. Our satellite dish is automatic, it locates the satellite and locks on automatically. Once that is done we have all our TV channels. Many of the systems that are available today are automatic. Many years ago we carried a fixed dish with us and I used to go outside and set it up. I knew the general direction to look for the satellite and had an instrument that hooked to the dish to let me know when I had the dish aimed at the satellite. Then we would hook up the TV and Louise would let me know what the signal strength was as I fine tuned the aiming of the satellite. Those were the old days, you can still operate this way and we see some fixed dishes set up by RV's still today. If you don't move frequently, this method isn't cumbersome but if like we, you move frequently you will find an automatic dish to be much more convenient. Of automatic systems there are some you can take outside and place them on the ground and connect the cable to the coach input connection. They allow you to move the dish from one place to another on your campsite. This is useful as trees will block the satellite signal. With a dish fixed on the roof of the coach, you have to move the entire coach to work around trees. Location of utilities, size and orientation of the parking space will limit how far you can move and where you can place your dish. We've occasionally been in campgrounds where we simply couldn't get around the trees and had to live with local TV off the antenna. We don't get local TV off satellite but can get that off the antenna if we are close enough to a TV market. I have heard of people who want local TV off the satellite and you can call the company to get that signal. This would be something that you might do if you moved seasonally or very seldom. Local TV stations are broadcast via spot beam so you can only receive them in a small area near the local market. There are major networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, etc.) which are available nationwide and you can subscribe for those. You have to complete an application and submit it to the satellite TV company to certify that your installation is in an RV or Truck. You will be asked to select which market you wish to receive. That's about it. Get an automatic system that meets your needs and budget, sign up for the services you want with Dish TV or DirecTV and you are set.

After we retired, we went full time in the motor home. We had insurance coverage through our employers and had to return to that state for our routine medical treatments. Those were the days when insurance companies could refuse coverage if you had pre-existing conditions so we had to keep our coverage in effect of face losing all coverage if we had a serious health problem. In our case, we had family located there as well but it did present a challenge at times. You should be able to get emergency treatments elsewhere but may sacrifice some of your coverage benefits. We were registered out of South Dakota for ten years and we enjoyed being residents during that time. If South Dakota isn't working out for you as a home state, maybe you should move to a new state. Do a little investigating to determine which state might offer better health options and/or be more convenient to visit on a regular basis. We were fortunate to be in good health and could work with a spring and fall visit but if you require more visits than that, a new more convenient state might be your best choice. One of the problems with the Affordable Care Act is that it was a compromise from the original plan. States with small populations, South Dakota being one, are struggling to maintain coverage. A provision was made to assist those states but a lawsuit resulted in that provision being nullified. Florida has a much larger population and should have many more coverage options as well as being a location you cite as being more convenient. Florida has many of the same tax advantages as South Dakota so it might be an alternative. Out of the states that you mention, I believe that Florida may be your best option though I don't know any specifics regarding their health insurance options. You don't indicate your age or health condition. We are now on Medicare and rather than selecting a Medicare Advantage plan which can be state specific, we have opted for the regular Medicare with a supplement plan. Medicare is not state specific, we can get care wherever we are though we like most people always prefer a physician and hospitals that we are familiar with. So when you get to 65, things should get better! In fact there has been some discussion of lowering the age for Medicare eligibility to 55 which would help many older people. Only time will tell how the various plans will develop.

You can also renew for a longer period, I think 4 years and get the 5th year free and you can renew now before the increase. I did this before the last increase. I'll have to pay dues in 2019 again. Here is the information from our National Director: This was published in the Monaco International Newsletter which I just received. The increase is not effective until October 1, 2016. You may renew your dues prior to October at the current annual rate of $40.00. Better yet, if you renew for four years you get the fifth year free. This is in essence like getting two years free (4 years X $40 = $160) vs. (4 years X $50 = $200). Renew by October and save $40 over four years and get the fifth year free. So if you are still young enough to buy green bananas, you might send in your dues for five years, $160, a $32 per year rate that will last you until 2021!

We've been running our residential refrigerator on 4 6V batteries since we installed it in 2010. I replaced the regular wet cells in 2014 with AGM, still 4 x 6V. We have auto gen start but it is a convenience, not a necessity. When we are without electric and living in, using the coach we simply run the generator in the morning for coffee, etc. A couple of hours in the evening and it will last overnight unless the weather is really cold and the furnace runs too much at night. That might involve running the generator sometime in early morning for several hours. Going to more than 4 6V batteries would be nice but I don't see it as a necessity in our case.

Our travels have taken a turn for the hot lately. We've been spending most of our time in southwestern Colorado, northeastern New Mexico and northern Arizona. The temperatures we've faced have been moderate to cool. Several weeks ago we decided to visit Louise sister in the Mohave Valley in western Arizona. The elevation is 483 feet alongside the Colorado River. Needless to say the temperature was quite a bit warmer than in the mountains and high elevations we were used to. Temperatures were in the high 90's during the day. We had a nice site at Moon River Resort with a little shade but not too much. We enjoyed three days of visiting. On Saturday we spent the day at Oatman visiting the donkeys that roam the town and doing some shopping before having a fine dinner at the Oatman Hotel. Our next stop was Lake Havasu City. This is where Louise's parents settled when they retired. The state park was almost empty and we had a nice site with a view of the lake. We visited the cemetery where her parents are buried and spent some time around town. In Lake Havasu City, elevation 459 feet, the temperatures at sunrise were 90 degrees and it warmed into the mid 100's. We took the Copper Canyon Sunset Cruise the night before leaving town. The best part was the breeze when the boat was cruising. We left town headed for Williams, Arizona. We had stayed at the Canyon Hotel and RV Park in Williams, elevation 6924 feet, just a week before. Returning, we were delighted to find more moderate temperatures again. We were back to comfortable daytime temperatures in the upper 70's and low 80's. We spent one day in Flagstaff at the Lowell Observatory. The Lowell Observatory was built by Percival Lowell, an astronomer famous for his drawings of the canals on Mars. This is also the observatory where Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto. They have a spectacular program of lectures and tours of the telescopes that are well worth a visit. The next morning we were on our way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. As busy as the South Rim is, the North Rim is uncrowded and very available. We stayed at the Jacobs Lake Forest Service Campground, elevation 7900 feet which has no hookups but has some nice sites the will accommodate large RV's. We ran the generator morning and evening to charge the batteries and only needed to run the furnace at night. Air conditioning was never needed. We were parked among trees and the daytime temperature was in the high 70's while the nights dipped into the high 40's. We drove to the North Rim one morning and came back after dark. There are many overlooks into the Grand Canyon and you can drive to each one. There were plenty of parking places at each viewpoint. There were never crowds at any place until we reached the visitors center and the lodge. After a day of exploring along the northeastern reaches of the canyon we spent the evening at the Lodge and the viewpoints in that area. It was a little early for dinner but Louise wanted to get dinner at the lodge so we asked and were given a table by one of the big windows overlooking the canyon. Wow, was that a fantastic setting for dinner. Louise had roast duck, I opted for the blackened chicken fettuccine Alfredo. Both dishes were gourmet quality and the service was excellent. Following our meal we made our way to the overlook below the lodge. We enjoyed the view and visited with several of the people who were there. Everyone was quite talkative, maybe the bar above had something to do with it. From there we made our way to the Bright Angel Viewpoint to watch the sun set. We drove back to the park and arrived by 8:00 p.m. On the way back we saw a few cattle near the road (open range) and several deer but none challenged us for a spot on the road. The next day we moved on to Hurricane, UT. We stayed at Sand Hollow State Park, elevation 3040 feet. We're back to warm again. With highs in the upper 80's and nary a tree in sight, the air conditioners are running all day. We are headed for Zion National Park tomorrow morning for a little hiking and exploring, then we'll leave for Las Vegas, elevation 1672 feet, on Friday. Once more into the desert heat. Maybe they will have a cool spell while we are there though the forecast calls for highs near 100.

When I replaced our old TV's, I rebuilt the cabinet to fit the New TV. Actually as you can see in this article, I cut down the cabinet height and left the front open. This accomplished two things, I maximized the size TV that would fit in the cabinet and cut the cabinet back several inches and took five inches off the height of the cabinet, raising the bottom of the cabinet five inches. That took a constant threat to my head out of the picture! The rear TV was a little different, that cabinet could not be reshaped easily so I fit the TV inside the cabinet but framed it so the speakers are exposed. If the speakers are on the side of the TV, you could mount the TV so it extends just beyond the cabinet. As the article mentions, when I went shopping for TV's, I did my primary searching on the internet, going to the manufacturer's web site and finding the largest TV that could fit the cabinet. Then I went to retail shops with my tape measure just to be certain the measurements were correct.

That is a listing of free e-mail services. The OP asked for commercial e-mail services.

Here is a link to the Michelin Tire Dealer Finder. These are specifically truck tire dealers. They have the tires sizes we use for our motor homes. You are looking for the dealers that can handle the Michelin National Accounts. Look at the symbols at the bottom of the map. Each dealer found will have a set of those symbols indicating which services they offer. The symbol for National Account Dealers is near the bottom. If a dealer doesn't show the National Account Dealer symbol, they won't be able to help you with the FMCA Advantage Plan.

Consult Canadian Border Services. They allow very specific limits of alcohol you can bring across the border. You have several choices. You can declare it at the border and pay the tax for anything in excess of your allowance, you can dump it or give it away before crossing the border or you can find some place to store it until you return to the US. Don't even think about trying to "smuggle" it across the Canadian Border. The consequences are much worse than paying the tax or dumping the liquor. Read the information from Canadian Border Services carefully. They also have restrictions on some food items and they are very strict about weapons including not just guns but also pepper spray. As the saying goes, know before you go! New Brunswick is a wonderful place to visit. We've been there many times. The Bay of Fundy has some of the worlds highest tides. Up to 50 feet between low and high tide. Viewing the change in tides at Hopewell Rocks is really great. You can walk on the ocean floor and six hours later kayak on the ocean in the same spot. The flower pots are equally amazing. We have friends who operate a whale watching operation on Grand Manan Island. We've taken our coach on the ferry to and from Grand Manan to visit them several times. I just checked their web site and their whale watching tours are not operating this summer. The whale watching is great in the Bay of Fundy and I'm certain you can find other operators to take you out if interested. There is great scenery along the St. John River, Hwy 105 and 165 give great views of the river valley going North. In St. John, the capital of New Brunswick, you can watch the river reverse its flow with each incoming tide. Go and enjoy the experience!

I've had flexible valve stem extensions on both valves on the rear wheels (factory standard) on both our motor homes and never had a problem with them. I'm currently in the process of replacing the originals, now 13 years in use, with new ones. The flexible extensions are attached to the hub cover and the Pressure Pro sensors are easy on - easy off.

And that is spot on Bill Adams! That is one of about one hundred basic things that every motor home owner should know when they leave the dealers lot. Yes, it's in the owners manual. If FMCA could put together a general owners manual with basic concise information about tires, electrical systems, water, sewer, diesel engines, transmissions, generators, driving tips and a few other basics, dealers could hand out the booklet for a quick read. It would of course have the universal disclaimer, the owners manual from the manufacturer always is the best guide. Maybe FMCA could work together with RVSEF and promote both organizations.

Thanks for the update! I'll keep that in mind, our units are now 13 years in service. They are still working fine but I know the day is coming!

It's a hit and miss kind of thing. I'd put I-40 west of Flagstaff to Kingman, AZ (in both directions) on my hit list. The sign that said rough road wasn't lying! There are sometimes stretches of road that are really good and then you hit a patch that makes you slow down and grit your teeth. The fact is that with the heavy loads (our coaches included - consider our axle weights) will destroy roads and they need to be periodically repaired and rebuilt. The US has roads everywhere, not the case with many countries. Keeping up with the repair costs money and many taxpayers aren't in the mood to contribute. We could generate a whole lot of jobs, good paying jobs, if we would fund the repairs. Ask your state department of transportation about their funding level. Talk to your state and federal representatives and tell them that the DOT needs better funding. Press your representatives with data, how many bridges in the state are in need of repair, how many need to be replaced? How many miles of highway are in need of repair and how many miles are being repaired this year? Use statistics from the DOT to let your representatives know that you know. Get your local FMCA Chapter to work with you. Have everyone in the chapter contact their state and federal representatives. It isn't lobbying if I tell you to write to your representative, the same for your FMCA Chapter. Individual voters writing to their representatives are the most effective communication we can have. If enough of us write, we can get action. But we have to support what that means. We have to be willing to say, I'll pay more to get good roads. Fuel prices are down, now is a great time to increase the fuel taxes which can be used for road repair and bridge replacement. I think that $0.50 per gallon could be added to fuel prices right now and there would be very few places where the price of fuel would be more than $3.00 per gallon. I can still remember paying close to $5.00 per gallon a few years ago. I don't like toll roads and I sure don't support the privatization of toll roads as has been done in some states. I'd rather see funding for roads come from fuel and vehicle licenses (user fees). I really resent driving on toll roads that are in dire need of repair. Significant funding should come from the general public because everyone needs good roads. That means increased income and property taxes. The groceries don't come to your neighborhood store any way other than the road. If you eat, you need roads.