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I joined Escapees last year and started checking their forum on a regular basis. I was eager to pick up some fresh ideas from experienced full timing folks over there. To say I was less than impressed would be a huge understatement. We never joined a chapter or attended any type of rally's because we just move around too much. I suspect the actual members in most of the chapters are probably really nice folks. However the forum is basically ran by 3 or 4 regulars, none of which are current full timers. One gentlemen seems to have some good knowledge and is a weekend moderator, but if you don't agree with every statement he makes then get ready for his verbal attack. Problem is he used to full time years and years ago and has a closed mind to any new ideas or changes. Anyway, for just participating in their online forum to gain some knowledge as a full timer, or possibly even help a newbie out once and awhile, it was falling short.

About the only discounts we ever see are from PA and GS. Generally those are only weekday discounts and don't amount to much, but they add up through the year and we always get our membership money back within the first 3 or 4 months of traveling for them. The ones that we never find a park giving discounts for is FMCA and Escapees. We are dropping Escapees and I had a weak moment and renewed FMCA recently (thought I would miss Carl too much).

Don't know what type of RV you have, but when your slides are in does that cover up any heat vents? That would be the only issue I would check before heading down the road with a furnace on.

One difference I didn't count on that effects our expenses is the simple fact we are in a tag axle coach this time around compared to pulling a 5th wheel. When we were in our fiver and heading out west we would take several days because I always capped my daily miles around 350 or so. I could take my time and it was just about right. The fiver wasn't set up all that good for dry camping so at the end of every 350 mile day we would of course stay at a CG for between $25 and $35 usually. Now with our current coach I have found that I can easily run 600 to 650 miles in a day and not be tired at the end. We can dry camp because our coach is set up better for that. So if we are just heading somewhere 1600 to 1700 miles away with no points of interest along the way it used to take us at least 5 stays in campgrounds. Now we can do it in 3 easy days with only the middle day staying in a campground. We used to average right at 11mpg pulling our 39' fiver (F350 SRW 4x4). This year we only averaged 6.5mpg with our coach pulling our 24' trailer (Mini + Harley). At first glance it would seem that our total fuel usage would be higher for the year. Not so. With the F350 and fiver all of our transportation needs were met by driving the 1-ton truck. We not only towed the fiver but drove it everyplace while camped. Now we either use the Mini Cooper (32 - 40mpg) or the Harley (30 - 38mpg) for all transportation needs while camped. This has cut our total diesel/gas cost down considerably.

Dee, that is probably the best explained example of how some TT memberships can work I have ever read. Considering the circumstances and amount paid for your initial membership I certainly understand how it is working for you guys. We just figured our end of year expenses and averaged right at $31 per day for CG fees. That is about $5.00 more per day than I wanted to be at but our 4 months in Florida is driving our average up too much. For 2019 I am hoping to do much better by adding a little more dry camping into the mix and taking advantage of a couple cheaper CGs we found. Safe travels, Joe

I'm not really paying any attention to food, eating out, shopping, or recreational expenses, because those are all funds that we would spend if we were in a S&B anyway. As we go along year after year full timing I just wanted to gauge basic RVing expenses, or what it actually costs to travel full time in our coach. Even this first year it was cheaper than maintaining the S&B plus part time traveling in the RV.

X2 what Carl said. My Newmar is a DP and my engine batteries are very well vented plus they are sealed units, so never any corrosion there. My house bank are wet batteries and that compartment is not very well vented so I do see corrosion in there. I check the distilled water level every month but I still have to use a battery cleaner and wash everything out in there once and awhile. I suspect if it was vented better I wouldn't see as much.

Considered renewing my FMCA membership after the first year but decided against it. There were many reasons for this. I did try to visit this forum on a pretty regular basis because there is some good information posted here from time to time. What I didn't realize was that if your actual membership expires they will kick you off this forum also. So, pulled out the credit card this morning and signed on for another year. Guess I will re-evaluate again next December but at least now I know if it expires the forum goes out with it.

I don't know of any forum or outlet geared directly toward what you are looking for. In SW Florida there are several nice campground where owners own their own lots. Don't forget to check Gulf Waters RV Resort in the town of Ft Myers Beach. It isn't exactly on the beach but across the bridge. Extremely nice CG. Several years ago there were lots for sale.

With my battery bank (eight 6-volt) I can do pretty good dry camping for a couple days without the generator. Newmars have a small solar panel which keeps the engine batteries charged so no matter what you won't get stuck. We will see what 2019 travels bring. Certainly if we found a place to dry camp to a longer extended period of time I would get serious about solar options.

Carl, didn't know what section to ad that into. Didn't want to double any of my total annual numbers!

We recently (Nov) completed our first year of full timing in our current rig combination. Even though we had the experience of a 2 year stint of full timing previously, there was a learning curve involved this year. We preplanned our travels throughout the year and relied on our Trucker's Atlas, along with Google Earth, to make sure we could get in and out of places we wanted to go. Our expenses were about what we anticipated as far as fuel costs and CG fees. The coach performed great. As with any new RV there were things to get fixed and adjustments that had to be made. Nothing I would consider "major" and of course everything was covered with no expense to us. I have broke down my figures for the year. PLACES: coming out of SW Florida in the spring we visited St. Augustine, Robertsdale AL, Savanna TN, Pigeon Forge TN, Peoria IL, Coldwater MI, Muskegon MI, Nappanee IN, back to Peoria IL, Lexington KY, Dandridge TN, Bristol VA, Mt. Pleasant SC, Sanannah GA, Robertsdale AL, and back to SW Florida. RV: Traveled 5,865 miles. Spent $2,992.56 for diesel (all at Pilot and Flying J, except for one stop at a rural Shell). Spent a total of $1,138.38 for annual maintenance (engine, chassis, generator, and Oasis). Our longest travel day was over 600 miles. The average travel day was 379.25 miles. The total average mpg ended up being 6.5. CAMPGROUNDS: the total expenses for campground was $11,318, which means our average for the entire year was $31.00 a night. WHAT WE LEARNED: I needed this first year to get familiar with my coach. I would like to start servicing the generator and Oasis myself in 2019 to keep my annual maintenance costs under $700.00. Our $31 per night average for CG's can be reduced easily. The highest we paid was about $500 for a 6 day stay at the Mt. Pleasant KOA on a relative's recommendation. It was an old park, not worth $25 a day, and we won't return there. We will be seeking out and taking advantage of more dry camping while traveling from point A to B. We should be able to get the annual daily average down to $20 to $25 a night.

I really don't think anything that has been posted, either "for or against" a TT membership on this thread could be described as wild misconceptions. But you are correct, a TT membership is not right for everyone. I think everyone would agree that the average TT campground is not a top tier deluxe, or high end facility. At best, based on the ones we have stayed in or drove through, they are average, and some could be easily rated as below average. Most are not resort style with huge paved sites and high end landscaping. When we plan our annual travels the first thing we do is decide on a rough draft of where we want to go and in what order. This rough draft is based on exploring places we haven't been to and sometimes returning to some favorite attractions around the country. The point is we full time travel where we want on our schedule and it has nothing to do with where we might find some membership campgrounds that we belong to and feel we have to use. As I said in another post, we have two regular campgrounds we use for a total of 5 months. One is up north and we stay there almost 3 months every year to visit kids/grandkids. The other is in Alabama and we stay there a month coming out of Florida each spring and another month in the fall prior to reaching SW Florida. The average between these two campground (5 months) comes out to under $12.00 per day. They are both nice campgrounds with large sites. Can you stay in TT campgrounds for 5 months cheaper than that if you add your memberships up? The rest of the year we may spend two weeks at a CG for $95 a day, or $45 a day with a couple free PA free days thrown in. We also mix in some Walmart or Cabela stays when needed. But we always stop and camp where and when we decide, never based on any type of membership commitment. Please do not interrupt anything I have said to be a "wild misconception" about TT. As a full time traveler it is just how we view it and why we would never spend our money on it. Some may feel it is a good bargain and fits their needs.

Jim, I'm following in your foot steps with my Whirlpool washer. Factory tech did another "fix" while I was at Nappanee and it of course didn't fix it. He shimmed the door switch. About one of our every four loads won't do the final spin. I'll probably contact Newmar direct right after the first of the year. If they don't replace it we will toss it out next summer and replace it with a Splendid.

Our experience was the same when we were at the factory this summer. Made the appointment for a few minor issues that came up that would be fixed under warranty. In the meantime our windshield had gotten broke. They agreed to also replace that during our reserved time (insurance paid for that). All the work was expertly done. In most cases they don't fix anything that fails they replace it. Our tech (Mark) noticed that our headlamps were not aimed correctly and took it upon himself to properly adjust them. It was the little things like that we were impressed with.

We have always been retired since starting our RVing adventure, therefore using a GPS to route around traffic congestion in the planning stage has never been an issue for us. We preplan our travel days on the routes that we want to use to get to the destination we want to go to pretty much on our time table. We apply common sense, for example if we are coming from the south around Chicago heading to the Michigan side of Lake Michigan we don't do it during rush hour. The tools we use for preplanning include our Trucker's Atlas and the little Blue Truck Stop guide to name a few. If stopped in traffic or an interstate delay presents itself then we turn to I-phone apps (Waze, etc) and the portable CB for information and routing possibilities.

Actually Jim, on this thread he started Herman answered his question the next day and I don't see anything from him after that. I'm sure he probably looked at Herman's answer, which was exactly what he needed to know, and "hung up the receiver" for this subject.

I think you will find most FL service centers, and there are a bunch all over the U.S., will do a diesel generator service for around $200.00. The one I use up in central Illinois has a cheaper labor rate for service as compared to their regular mechanic repair labor rate. They did mine this summer while in that area for $195.00.

Our 1 year factory warranty was up the second week of November. On the morning of December 1 we were preparing to make the final run (606 miles) to our winter site in SW Florida. The Oasis showed a red fault light. Upon further investigation on December 2nd, and getting information from a Newmar forum, I strongly suspect the summer loop pump had gone bad. Contacted my selling dealer, North Trail. They were two weeks out on appointments. I explained what the issue was and that the only way I could get hot water was to use my bypass switch. She promised me she would see "what see could do". Well, if I had a buck for every time someone told me that...... Anyway, for two days she never even called me back to get the appointment 2 weeks out. I was going to head down to their main office (only camped 2 miles away) and start rattling someone's cage this morning but before I could she called me. She told me she had secured a summer loop pump plus a customer had called yesterday afternoon and cancelled his appointment and if I could get my coach to them they could repair it while I waited. I was thrilled. Broke camp and took it over. Asked them, if they had time to do the annual service on my Oasis while they were at it. Coach was fixed later that afternoon. North Trail had contacted Newmar and received approval to cover it under my original factory warranty. I just paid for my annual Oasis service and that was it. I was a happy camper! To me this says a lot about not only Newmar but North Trail as well.

Buying that coach for 2019 or 2020 you really may want to try to get them down 30% off MSRP. I am seeing more and more super singles on commercial big rigs. It is probably only a matter of time before luxury coaches start coming out with them.

If I remember correctly his Dodge is either a 2016 or 2017. I'm not that familiar with Ram 1-ton trucks but I know it is the top trim level and a really nice one. He mentioned it will have just under 60,000 miles when he arrives down here so he certainly wants to keep it for awhile. I just hope this repair gets everything fixed and it lasts for him. He should be rolling in Tuesday and he has already told me there will be some beer drinking involved after they get set up. I'm so shocked!

RayIN, I came across the jet fuel and DEF contamination also on-line. If I hadn't been the one to post this originally, and had read the same initial information posted by someone else, I would immediately suspect driver error. Actually even after more of the facts came out it would still have been hard for me to buy into the whole contaminated fuel from the pump cause, simply because there were no other obvious victims. I guess I had the advantage of knowing the person this happened to which factored into how I perceived the whole incident. Safe travels.

Actually I posted this incident, or what I know about it from my friend, on 4 RV related forums. Based on numerous factors I am still about 90% certain that the contaminated fuel came from the pump and was not caused by "driver error". As I have already mentioned to Carl C., my buddy is the type of person that doesn't mind laughing at himself and I'm pretty sure he would have been straight with me instead of stretching things. By posting on different forums I never intended to attack Pilot stations. Even though I will probably avoid that particular one up on I-65, I still use them almost exclusively. Heck, we did over 600 miles last Friday to get from Robertsdale AL to N. Ft. Myers and I fueled at a Pilot and then a Flying J. My buddies last text indicated that the adjuster/investigator from Progressive had been to the Dodge dealership. After talking to everyone, inspecting the damaged parts, looking at the fuel samples, they decided to cover the repairs. He was hoping the parts would be in late Friday or at least by Monday morning.

This could be a possibility. I suspect something similar happened to me when we were in the mountains on our motorcycle this fall. Pulled into a Mobile station outside of Pigeon Forge with two other bikes to get gas. When we left mine ran like crap and continued to do so for the next 2 days. Finally had to take it in to a dealership and they found dirt and junk inside the tank, filter, and fuel fill sack. The only way that could have happened was if some jerk had stuffed mud, sand, or something else down the nozzle before hanging it up. Now I tip the nozzle down and tap it on the pump island before sticking it in my vehicles to fuel.

His aux fuel tank is aftermarket in the bed of his truck. I don't think it was driver error. He would have had to pull the small DEF nozzle from the pump and use it to fill his DEF tank, then switch it and put a little in his diesel truck tank, then reach up in the bed of his truck and put a little more in the aux tank. The Dodge dealer pulled samples from both his aux tank and truck diesel tank and they were both contaminated with DEF. If he did do what I described above then my friend was having a stroke and not only the truck, but he would not have made it another 100 miles down the road!