RichinBigRig

GRAMPS: As a full-timer, I can fully agree with you about 'depreciation' versus 'appreciation'! A quick story from my files..... Late last winter, or was it then early Spring?, I suggested to my son and daughter (both Duke U. grads) that we go to Jacksonville for the early rounds of the NCAA Basketball tourney--Duke was to play there. It was too short a notice so that was a non-event, but the next day my son called me and said, "Hey, Dad, I forget that you can move your 'house' wherever you want to. Want do you think about taking your two grandsons to the Final Four in Indianapolis?". Of course, we didn't know then that Duke would make the Final Four, but since the boys would be out of school (the tourney took place over Easter Weekend), my son figured they could drive up from Washington, DC, and we could all hang out in Camelot House (the name given to my Monaco Camelot 43 foot Class A) and go to the games. I jumped online, found tickets, booked a campground near Indianapolis, and we watched Duke win another title for Coach K. My 14 year old and my 11 year old grandsons had a great time in the display/interactive area called Bracket Town....we included the other set of grandparents who came up for the tourney at Easter Sunday Dinner in the campground...and the memories? As the MasterCard ad says, "Priceless"! The whole family will never forget the golden memories created because my 'house' is my RV which can go wherever we want it to go!! Depreciation? I DON'T THINK SO! Rich Halverson richinbigrig@yahoo.com F379150

I have a Monaco Camelot which has a balky roadside bedroom slide. I discovered that the gasket underneath was binding--it had come loose at a corner and was folded under the slide floor. Additionally, are you trying to operate the slide before or after getting the coach to "travel mode", meaning that you have raised the jacks? Every seminar I have attended says to always operate the slides at road level, which means to put them out before leveling the coach and bring them in after raising the jacks. This sets the coach "true" so the slides are not "torqued", which can cause binding and damage.

How about Washington, DC? There is a very good RV park close to the Loop Road and convenient to transportation into the city--Cherry Hill Park. Open all year.

MIKE and SANDRAW: I have a Monaco Camelot with the Aqua-Hot system--it is excellent! I will want this system on any coaches I may have in the future! I went through the entire North Carolina winter last year with a low temperature of 8 above and absolutely no problems. And we have just come through one of the coldest nights so far in NC with wind chills below zero. The basement stays heated and I have an auxiliary heater in the service bay to help with the coldest nights. To Sandraw: The electric element is really meant for heating hot water--I do not believe you will find it useable for winter heating. If I am alone in my rig and it is not winter, I use the electric element rather than the Aqua-Hot for heating the water but you can run out if the shower is very lengthy! The Aqua-Hot setting will keep you in hot H2O without any problem. My system also has an engine pre-heat setting so that I can turn it on about 2 hours before I need to fire up the Cummins--makes it much easier on the starter and the motor to have it pre-warmed before cranking it up, especially on these chilly mornings! Safe travels! Rich H.

I am currently full-timing with South Dakota as my state of citizenship. I use a mail forwarding service in Sioux Falls[Alternative Resources] and they are a full service company--meaning that they can handle my adsentee voting, my vehicle registrations/licenses, special delivery mailings, small packages, etc. My mail is forwarded to me on Friday of each week, which means that most weeks I have the mail package on Monday. I was born and raised in Sioux Falls, so it was an easy choice to go back there. And as a previous post mentioned, my drivers license is from SD, my will has been prepared and on file there, and my voting registration is in SD. I had to go to the state of course to get everything in order, but once done, the mail service can handle nearly anything that I need. The tax benefits are worth the one time effort to put everything in place. Rich Halverson RichinBigRig@yahoo.com

GOING TO PERRY! I will be at the FMCA convention in Perry--my first time! Signed up for the full generator section--no problem with tanks, but note to those who are: there is a sanitation and water service available, according to the information in the kit. I have been to the infield at Charlotte Motor Speedway--oops, Lowe's Motor Speedway!--for years and always noted that service providers (sanitation, water, ice, etc.) were very evident. Suspect the same will be true in Perry. Do any of you who have previous experience have recommendations on the seminars? There sure are plenty to pick from! I have circled a good number but feel I may be overloading....what advice do the "old timers" have? Looking forward to mid-March in south Georgia!

Xplorer: I have a 2006 Liberty which I tow with a Blue Ox hitch and a US Gear D-CELERATOR auxiliary braking system--both installed by my RV dealer. I am very happy with the combination: the D-CELERATOR actuator sits nicely under the drivers seat in the foot well of the left back seat with the cable running under the front floor mat. It has a break away cable which attachs easily at the front of the Liberty and a control box which is position on the RV dash for emergency manual override if necessary and for adjusting the force of brake pressure on the JEEP. It is a permanent installation, so there is no messing around with setting up the auxiliary brake before setting out--makes towing/setup/disconnect quick and easy. Good Highways! Rich Halverson