TXiceman

8 hours ago, sandsys said:

We tested one where my Dave, who is 6'2" tall couldn't close the bathroom door because his knees were in the way.

Which reminds me to tell you those floor plans are not to scale. They tend to measure beds but nothing else.

Linda

HA ha.  Reminds me of a couple of RVs we had.  One was a class C that the bathroom was so small that you could sit on the toilet and brush your teeth, literally over the sink.  Another small class A ....you had to open the bathroom door in order to stand up and pull up your pants.

Yes, you need to be sure you can fit into the bath room.

Another thing is what is often referred to as the "first timers bed".  The bed stuffed up in the corner next to the bathroom and has a corner lopped off to have a pathway to the bathroom.

One thing that we tell newbies shopping is to visit lots of dealers and politely tell the salesperson to get lost and you will find him when you have questions.  Now sit in the RV, play house in it and pretend to fix a meal.  Where will the dishes and cooking utensils be placed?  Where is the pantry.  Next try on the bathroom,  Will you fit in the shower, where are the toiletries stored, where are the linens, etc. 

Next is the sleeping area.  Where are clothes stored, can you easily access the bed? 

And finally, relaxing for the evening.  Can you see the TV from a comfortable position, or do you watch sitting sideways?  Is there adequate lighting for reading?

But do not forget about storing outdoor chairs, fishing gear, a grill, etc.

Have fun looking.

Ken

When we looked at TT, they could only promise a site and could not guarantee a 50 amp site.  This was a definite NO for me.

Ken

Hard to tell someone what is best for them.  As for manufacturers, I'd start by looking at Lance, Northwoods or Arctic Fox.  I would stay away from Thor and Forest River products.

Winnebago now owns Grand Design.

Take a flashlight with you and look in the back of and behind cabinets to see how they constructed, wired and plumbed.  Stapled cabinets are not good as is the faux plastic covered wood-look particleboard cabinets.

Ken

When we still had a sticks and bricks home, you could always tell when we had the sub on the route.  They were late and the mail was misdelivered.  Neighbors were out taking mail to the proper boxes several houses down the street.  Complaining dis zero good.

Ken

Try here,

Ken

So, what happened?

We have looked at the park models and one thing that is quickly apparent is that at 400 sq. feet, they do not have nearly as much storage and closets as does our 40 ft 3 slide 5th wheel.  We looked at several smaller mobile homes and they all look and feel cheap.  Kind of spoiled with our trailer.

Ken

We lived in Toronto, Canada for a spell and saw the same thing.  First snow storm of the year and it was like they had never seen snow.  Wrecks all over the city.

If you really want to see nuts on the roads, try Houston, TX.  The news mentions two snow flakes and the whole city goes nuts.  But you cannot expect any better, every time it rains, these smae folks drive like they have lived in the desert forever.

Ken

I have had RVs since 1984 and been living in this one full time for 8 yeas now.  I have never needed to have a tank professionally flushed and cleaned.  I look on these tank cleaning services as a solution that was looking for a problem and a way to make money.

If you use the tanks properly and take care of them yourself, the professional is an unnecessary service.

Ken

There are lots of areas not covered with repeaters, but you can use the radios in simplex mode....radio to radio without a repeater.

In order to legally use these radios, each person using the radio will need to take the Technicians exam from the FCC.  There is an associated application and license fee.  The best source of information on the license is at www.arrl.org.

You can let another person use the radio in your presence with you as the "control operator" on your license.  Any misuse of the radio falls on your license.

The radios you listed are pretty cheap Chinese radios and most HT radios (Handi-talkie) are not easy to program from the small menu driven screen and buttons.  I generally recommend that you purchase a program from RT Systems and a programming cable for use with your computer.

Nearly all repeaters require your radio to issue a PL tone to unlock the repeater with each transmission.  These tones are required to prevent keying up adjacent or nearby repeaters.

I would strongly suggest you contact a nearby ham radio club to get personal assistance.  They are always eager to help new people entering the hobby.

Ken

KE5DFR 

Amazon reshipped my part via USPS and it arrived a few days later.  USPS closed my search for the original as resolved.  I do not know how they resolve it.  They changed the tracking info and decided it was never shipped.  Yesterday, it showed up with out any explanation.  Got to love such competent workers....not.  If I had shown such a work ethic, I would have been fired.

Ken

Well, I never caught the pooper even though I had a a good idea of the culprit.  They packed up and moved on.  I kept the camera out for a number of days and no poop.  

Ken

You need to face the facts that while you could live in the trailer in a NY winter, it will be miserable in my opinion.  It is a 3 season trailer meant for weekend and vacation use.  As people have discussed, trying to keep warm will use lots of propane and electricity.

You might consider skirting the trailer and putting an electric heater under there.  Also, use a remote reading thermometer to monitor the temperature in the undersides and also the water bay.  A heater water hose will help, but you will still need to insulate the water spigot to keep it from freezing.  You will need to keep the gray and black tanks closed and only dump when full otherwise the drain hose could freeze as well.

Best of luck in your adventures.

Ken

Another vote to take the problem back to the original installer.  We have two Mach 8 Plus HP and they work great in both heating and cooling mode.   I do find that they are noisier and  seem to vibrate a bit more than the older Mach units.  And yes, they are properly mounted.  I did find a lot of loose bolts and nuts that needed tightening and some wires and lines needed clamping.  

You might check a salvage place like Colaw to see if they have a salvaged ceiling assembly for your unit.

Ken

I am sticking to the professional tax preparer.  A couple of years back, I tried a program and to follow the previous tax return that was prepared by a tax accountant and got totally lost.  Wading through all of the stock mess was too much.

Ken

Twotoes, as far as I know we have been talking about the stimulus $600 check to each person.

ken

I read it as a spammer and reported the post.

Ken

RV/Derek, we had already made donations prior to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Prior to that we had sent them smaller donations.

Ken

Our stimulus check appeared overnight in the bank account.  We had already made a contribution of part of the payment to the area assistance ministries where we used to live. So many people in need of food or help with the utilities and rent.  We are very blessed to be in a stable situation.

If you can, please help a local food bank or such group.

Ken

When we lived in Oklahoma, the state income tax form had a line to report items bought out of state that you paid no tax on.  Needless to say, no one reported anything and how would they police it?

Ken

Got up and headed out with my dog for her first thing potty this morning.  Right beside my truck was the 3rd large dog pile in two weeks.  Some clown is walking his dog late or early and not picking it up.  The park has a rule to pick up your poop and several disposal bins around the park. 

Well this will end soon.  The game camera is now set up and will be on at night.  Photos of the offender will be supplied to the office as well as posted on their Facebook page.

Ken

2 hours ago, Kirk W said:

You need to check your information as you disagree with the Texas Comptroller's office.

This demonstrates once more the need to check information for accuracy before you make decisions based on any public forum. 

Try Oklahoma.  They have a state income tax and charge sales tax on ALL groceries.  Texas only taxes basically prepared foods.

Ken

I also carry extra bags and gladly offer people one to pick up after their dog.  Sometimes, the offenders are kids sent out to walk the dog, without a bag and have never been told to pick up the poop.  Ignorant and lazy parents raise ignorant and lazy kids.

Ken

Sadly, under-trucking is not too uncommon.  All too often the person listens to the RV sales person or they look at the truck brochure and all they see is that an XYZ brand can tow "up to" a 30,000 trailer.  They never see the little * and all the foot notes.

Read up and be come knowledgeable about the towing terms and meanings.

Ken

We had a 1978 Silver Streak that we restored.  Went back with period appropriate colors on everything.  Great older trailer and better built than the Air Streams.  After we got the skin cleaned up we applied an anodized finish restorer called EverBrite.  Did a pretty good job on the old girl.  I can't attach a photo as I cannot get the file size down to the ridiculous 100 kB limits.  If you would like some photos, send me a PM.

Ken