Kirk W

Welcome to the Escapee forums. While I am not one of them, we do have numerous members who use the SD domicile via the Escapees services. If you have specific questions, don't hesitate to post them here, but I would suggest making that post on the General Forum to get more and better replies. If the cheaper insurance you are speaking of is for the RV and tow car, that may be true for you, but insurance premiums are a very personal thing and are difficult to predict. If you are thinking of health insurance, SD is well known for having very few choices of health insurance that will work for one traveling constantly outside of the state. TX has somewhat more and better choices, but currently there is general agreement that Florida has the most and best choices for health insurance plans.

Welcome to the Escapees forums and also to the RV club! We are pleased to have you join us. The Escapee membership includes many benefits that come with it but both the mail service and roadside assistance require you to sign up for it an additional cost. You can learn about the roadside assistance here. We have had such service from Good Sam, then later shifted to CoachNet, and today we are with the Escapee program. Out best service was from CoachNet, but it has become quite costly and since Escapees members can get service for a much lower price, we changed to it. In the 10 years or so that we had Good Sam we used it for minor services several times with varying degrees of service. Out only time of needing the motorhome towed we were with CoachNet and we were very pleased by the service and considered it much better than the Good Sam ERS was. We have now been with the Escapees/Safe Ride program for just over a year and have had no occasion to need it so can only rate it on price, but the reports that we have heard were favorable.

I would think that you should treat this just as you would if shopping lenders, which to me means start contacting those you are interested in. My comment about contacting the Escapee business office was not intended to mean for help finding a mortgage, but to get help if you run into problems with financial institutions asking for proof of a permanent physical address. I can tell you that in order to get pre-approval you will need to go through the loan application process.

You can download a printable copy of the application for Texas absentee ballot from this link. It also comes with instructions.

There is an alternative address provision in those laws but some companies don't want to bother learning about it. Had you contacted Escapees business office when you had that problem they could & would have helped you as they have with many others. As far as I know that rule does apply to mortgages, since the reason for it is to enable the tracking of large amounts of money. Here is an article from 2017 about the effect on mortgages. What the Patriot Act Has to do with Mortgages

Any news yet? I just had another thought that may apply.

In most cases you can't detect any odor of propane in a refrigerator. If this refrigerator is like those used in an RV, the propane supply is very small and much like a pilot light so it takes a long time for enough propane to come out for you to smell it and the refrigerator will have a limit of how many times it will try, after which the propane is turned off for safety reasons. While a cracked ceramic of the igniter could cause the problem it is an issue that I have only seen one time in an RV refrigerator over the 40 years that I have owned and worked on them. What you could do is to try lighting it with one of the barbecue lighters by holding a lighted one there as the refrigerator is turned on a by a helper. You are correct that the stove top might burn with a lower than normal gas pressure, but if it seems to be the same as in the past that is at least a hint. The RV refrigerators are designed to operate down to 10,5V but a great deal depends on how you measured that voltage and if it was taken under load as a bad battery can present a voltage when not under load and then drop significantly as soon as any load is supplied. Since your dealing with a cabin and not an RV, what type of battery are we dealing with? If you have one of the automotive style batteries that can be easily removed, take it with you next trip and have it load tested at a local battery shop as they will do that free of charge. In this case you could also bring a known good and fully charged battery to the cabin for use with the refrigerator. Are we correct to believe that the refrigerator was working properly when you left from one visit and then failed to work when you returned and didn't fail while in use? Are the indicator lights on the front panel showing properly as they do when things work correctly? Since you are off grid, do you have a solar system and battery bank, and if so, do other electric appliances work properly?

That sounds a lot like us. We do live close enough to 2 of our sons that we can and have visited their homes a few times, which we feel pretty secure in since both work from home for the duration. While things are opening back up, the use of masks is very hit or miss here with no enforcement and the numbers of hospitalizations is rising so things are far from under control here. We even order groceries online with a "no contact" pickup.

I would use a vacuum applied to the burner area first, just to be sure that there isn't some material or bug nest that is preventing the propane lighting. While it is true that it could be the control circuit board, which board is the problem in such case depends on Dometic model that you have. If you look on the side wall of the refrigerator, just inside of the door you should find a plate that will have both the model number and the serial number. Without that information, we are just guessing about what to suggest. Am I correct in assuming that your water heater and your stove top both light and work as expected? Low propane pressure could also cause the problem that you have.

May good fortune be with you as you move into the RV lifestyle! Do drop by from time to time to keep us posted, even if you don't need to ask any questions.

We have been toying with getting the RV ready to travel in the next couple of weeks and taking a trip up to a family farm in Kansas for a week or two, just to get some time away. We are presently living in the Dallas area, one of the population areas where the number of confirmed covid-19 cases continues to rise as is the number of people in hospitals. The death rate does seem to have fallen a little but with things mostly open or soon to be open and no improvement in control of the virus, we are really being very careful and plan to continue being so for the immediate future. The county where the farm is located has had only 5 positive cases and no deaths so we are thinking that the risk there may be less than to stay where we are. Would you share your thoughts and plans as you look to the near term? Please do not do as some have in the past and make this into an argument that has nothing to do with the discussion.

Standard RV water heaters use propane as the primary energy source and electric (120V) is an option but does come as part of the standard package with some RV manufacturers. Part of the efficiency issue when using propane is a reliable source of supply and if you stay in much really cold weather with temperatures below freezing you will us a lot of propane. Most RVs are not great in the area of insulation and have a lot of air leaks.

The check light only means that there is some type of failure in the refrigerator. While a failure to light might cause it to turn on, there are a host of other things which also can do that such as low voltage, poor propane supply, a circuit board failure, or just about anything else. While it is possible that a new cooling unit may resolve the problem, it doesn't come with new circuit boards so it may not be the problem. Based on what you say about it heating up but not cooling, my guess would be that the cause is in the cooling unit, but that is also just a guess.

I'd say that you are correct as I just checked his profile and his interest is "pop up campers." If you go to RV Trader, low to high prices you will find some that are in the price range he is looking for.

Welcome to the Escapee forums! There is really no easy answer to what you ask as a great deal depends on you and on the RV in question. If the RV is in good condition and has been well maintained, it could be a good buy. Based on the listing by NADA the price is a bit high as they say average is $41,000 but if they are asking $45k you cold probably buy it for no more than $40k and possibly as low as $35k. It has a gasoline engine so the condition of the engine and transmission are of vital importance. That engine should be good to 150k if properly cared for and maintained but it could be destroyed in far less. In addition, the RV is now 9 years old so if the appliances are still original and have been used much, they probably will begin to fail in the next few years, which could be expensive. If used a great deal most RV appliances have a life of between 10 and 15 years. Tires are also very important and you should check the tire build date on the sidewall as any tire that is more than 7 years old should be replaced, regardless of condition. I would also consider replacing all belts and hoses before any long trips and since it has an EDPM roof, the condition of it is also very important as it could be nearing the end of it's life, if not very well maintained. Basically, you would be wise to hire a professional to do a complete pre-purchase inspection to be sure of what you are buying. As to where it is best to buy, either a dealer or an individual can be either good or bad. With most dealers you do get some support after the sale and possibly as much as 30 days of warranty where a private sale will be as is and have no recourse if things go bad.

2007 Volvo for sale $25K

If by PUP you mean pickup trucks, then with a price point of $3000 you won't find much worth owning even if not a scam. I have bought from and sold via Craig's list a few times and not had any problems. May I ask why you think that a dealer would be more expensive? I doubt that you would find anything on the lot of new car dealers that price so low as they simply do not keep any in that range but sell them to a wholesaler or auction house. I just checked Car Max for the Dallas area and while they only sell used vehicles, the lowest priced truck on the lots in this area was a 2012 that is listed for $13k.

You are responding to a post that more than 2 years old. A new post was made on Wednesday.

I bought mine from Amazon and installed it myself. They have a wide range in prices so shop carefully. As long as you have some way to prop up the trailer tongue while you remove the old one, it is a very simple job to install one. I wouldn't but the least expensive but neither would I get the most expensive. One nice feature to have with one is a way to crank it up manually in the event that it were to fail.

Welcome to the Escapee forums! We may need to go through this process again as TonyGOTR does not appear to have signed into the forums since Feb. 23. If he doesn't respond, there may be others around who would be able to help you.

Just a little reminder that politicizing of any thread is not acceptable on these forums. If you attempt to do so your post will be removed,

The Workhorse chassis has a GM, V-8 engine, the Ford has a V-10. If you are depending on readings from the volt meter that is installed in the coach, those are of very little value and not useful in trouble shooting. To get an accurate voltage reading you need to get a digital meter from Walmart or a parts store and take the readings with the negative cable lifted on the battery you are measuring.

Having shopped the used travel trailer market last year, I doubt that he is going to find much at the low end of his budget. I am thinking that he might be better served by looking at hybrid trailers since they weigh less and there are several that have 3 outboard beds. Our son used one of those from KZ for about 5 years with great success. Rockwood also builds them as does Jayco. Remember that with any used RV, condition is the most important factor.

Welcome to the Escapee forums! I just replied to your post in the previous forum but here is the essence of what I said there. My first suspicion is that you have a battery that has at least 1 shorted cell as that could easily cause the problems that you are listing. Do you have, or have access to a volt/ohm meter and perhaps a battery charger? I suggest that you lift the negative cables from all of your batteries and allow them to rest for a hour or so, then take voltage readings on them. If that voltage is less then 10V you won't be able to start from them. If you just installed a new battery, you should still lift that negative and check the voltage as it could have been dragged down by a shorted cell in one of the other batteries. Lifting the negative cable from the house batteries will remove them from the system and prevent that from happening again, if that is the problem. This does sound like you might have poor battery connections which, if bad enough could cause your problems. I suggest that you start by removing the connections and thoroughly clean them one at a time and replace them. I would do this with the negative cable lifted, the clean and connect it last, for safety reasons. The fact that he got some lights does seem to indicate that the batteries are not completely dead and probably not a shorted cell. It could also be helpful to know what chassis your Su cruiser is on? I and guessing it has a Ford V-10?

Welcome to the Escapee forums! Unfortunately, the person who started the thread never returned after April 17, 2018 to let us know what happened. He indicated that his would not start when he attempted to jump start it, while I take it that yours did. My first suspicion is that you have a battery that has at least 1 shorted cell as that could easily cause the problems that you are listing. Do you have, or have access to a volt/ohm meter and perhaps a battery charger? I suggest that you lift the negative cables from all of your batteries and allow them to rest for a hour or so, then take voltage readings on them. If that voltage is less then 10V you won't be able to start from them. If you just installed a new battery, you should still lift that negative and check the voltage as it could have been dragged down by a shorted cell in one of the other batteries. Lifting the negative cable from the house batteries will remove them from the system and prevent that from happening again, if that is the problem. Keep us posted as we will do our best to help you.