Kirk W

If both versions were put into one article with pro & con it would make it much more balanced. There is really very little that I would disagree with in either article, other than the presentation. If we had someone like Independent Lady still reading the forums, I am sure she would endorse the first one posted by Joel. Having been active in the RV related internet forums now for more about 30 years, I assure you that many of those who make a first post to announce that they are getting ready to become fulltimers live to regret that decision, just as Independent Lady did. I don't have any scientific data to support my opinion, but I would suspect that of those who try the lifestyle, fewer than half stay with fulltime for as much as 5 years and that may be an optimistic estimate. The US Census Bureau estimates that there are 45 million retirees in the US as of 2019 and most estimate fulltimers at about 1 million, so obviously this isn't the life for the majority. And all of this ignores the families and still working people who are living on the road. It has long been my belief that we who frequent the RV forums are guilty of failing to caution the newest people that join the forums of the challenges that go with living in an RV fulltime or even for extended periods. We tend to promote the positives because only those of us who love the lifestyle stay here to reply to those coming here to learn more.

How do you know this? Will you share your information source?

Or could it be that you operate from the battery when in the car but with power connected when at home? If this is the case, try running on battery when at home and see what happens then.

We have purchased from an out of state dealer before and had somewhat the same issue as Grizz1 and have also had a case where it was no serious problem. The problem situation was one where we had shopped the local dealer and the one in the nest state sold for about 10% less then the local guy. The first time it was in for a minor issue nobody knew us and it went fine, but once he discovered who owned it, I got really shabby treatment. Once we went fulltime and were in a place where they knew no different that problem went away. While the dealers are reimbursed for expenses of warranty work, in many cases that is at a lower labor rate than is charged to other customers. For warranty work on your appliances you do not need to go to a dealer who sells the brand that you have but can go to any authorized service center for the brand of appliance that you have. Nearly all RV shops and many mobile service techs can do warranty repairs for companies like Dometic, Atwood, Suburban, and the various vendors who supply the components in your RV and so you can get work from most of them. I have found that service only shops and mobile RV techs are generally better qualified for service and perform better work. About the only thing that I return an RV to the dealer that I purchased from is for structural things that are RV manufacturer specific. A refrigerator, furnace, water heater, or other appliance can go almost anywhere. Most RVs only have a 1 year warranty for the parts that are exclusive to the RV manufacturer.

If she returns to the forums, she can read it, the same as you. Most people who have never owned an RV do not grasp what it costs to buy one or the annual cost of keeping it, even when only used by the owners. Neither do many realize that it takes specialized & expensive insurance to cover an RV which is being rented out. A post of this type is probably looking either for a motorized RV or one that includes the tow vehicle, since there is little chance that they own something to tow a fair sized travel trailer or fifth wheel. With even used motorhomes costing in the neighborhood of $50-$75K, and travel trailers about half of that, few non RV owners really grasp the cost of owning one.

True, but would you let someone you have never seen before drive away in your RV for a cheap price? And are you aware that your RV insurance most likely will not pay if the RV is damaged while it is rented? Commercial insurance is much higher priced than what most of us pay, which is a significant part of the reason rental rates are as high as they are.

That would be a mighty big yard, even here in Texas! 😷 It is 35+ miles from Ft, Worth and twice that from Dallas.

While I have never used one of the domes, I do have experience with a portable dish and know that it needs to have a clear shot at the southern sky to get TV. With a portable you just carry it to a place not under trees but I don't know how much the domes are impacted by parking under trees.

We always stop at the highway welcome centers as we enter a state and pick up a copy of the official state highway map. I think that you can download a copy from this SD Dept. of Transportation website as well.

Are you sure? In looking through that literature this was all that I found. All that I can see is on/off and auto/LP/Electric.

With the new computer, I am also reviewing what software I want on it. Does anyone out there use one of the free word processor programs? Do you use MS Office? Why did you pick what you are using?

There are those who will tell you that moving the thermisitor will adjust temperatures, but they do not all agree as this video from Youtube says something quite different from the "expert" who is quoted above. If you check this Youtube, he has a different opinion as well. It has been my experience that the amount of temperature change cause by moving the thermistor is not great and it also requires a lot of experimenting to find how much you can gain by doing so. It won't hurt anything to try this, but just be careful not to damage the cooling fins or coils that they attach to as that could do serious damage to the refrigerator.

I can't remember ever having been in an RV park where one could rent a site with a cover for only 1 night. I suspect that the park with trees is as good as you will find.

We had Good Sam's road service for about 10 years when we found ourselves at a large rally where it rained a great deal and many RVs had to be pulled out of the mud. Watching both Good Sam's ERS and Coach Net road service in action for many customers caused me to change companies, as prior to that we had never had an occasion to use the services. We then stayed with Coach Net for the next 15 years, during which we had 2 occasions to use their phone assistance and one time of our motorhome needing to be towed. While we were very happy with the service provided by Coach Net, the annual cost taking a very large jump and friends discovery that if you do not buy their premium coverage they will not tow your truck when no RV is attached, we have not changed our service to that provided by Escapees. It should be pointed out that Escapees Roadside Service is priced at $99/year but you are required to be a member of the Escapees RV Club to subscribe to it. Club membership comes with a long list of benefits that include their road service but it does add an additional $40/year to the cost if road service is all that you take advantage of.

Welcome to the Escapee forums! Is there some way that you could plug up the area where they gained access to the trailer? If you could stuff it full of something, even a temporary fix should keep them out of there long enough for them to find a new home.

With the range that you have, you won't spend much time in the stations, but there are a selection of fuel suppliers in every town in the area. If I remember right, there is even one vendor inside of Custer SP. but they are bound to be the highest priced fuel around.

You are correct about the temperature. As I read the installation materials, there is no way to manually adjust the temperature. Since it is new, I suggest that you return to the selling dealer and discuss the problem with their service department. There must be a way to adjust the temperature.

I don't have specific maps but you should take time to drive all of the paved roads in Custer State Park. Make sure that you travel highway 16a from the park toward Keystone in a northbound direction to get a full view of the monument through the tunnels. And do not fail to travel Take a trip from Hill City into the park on 87 to pass through the "needle's eye" and spend a bit of time in that area. Take a trip through Spearfish Canyon as well and plan some time in the towns of Custer and Hill City. If you use this link to the map you can print it out.

You may be right, since most RV refrigerators go to a "constant cool" mode if the thermistor should fail. Even without knowing the model, you could check for either an open or a shorted one.

When we sold some property we put $100k+ into a "stepped" money market account. It is called that because the CD's each have a different maturity date, thus gradually returning to cash. We have reached an age where our funds are unlikely to need to last more than 25 years so have begun to spend down.

I'm not sure what plastic piece you mean? Is it save to assume that you have adjusted the cooling control to it's lowest setting? Also, what model refrigerator do you have? One problem that some RV refrigerators sometimes have is a pooling effect of the cold air inside so that it creates a colder area at the bottom or in a corner due to poor air circulation inside of the chill box. If that is you problem it cam be improved by the addition of an interior fan and there are fans made for that purpose. We keep two of them inside of our RV refrigerator. These are available at most RV supply stores.

Jimewyatt, welcome to the forums. You probably won't get much response on this one as the thread is now 3 1/2 years old.

I'm not sure what you mean by roof tape? If you mean tape that was put over seams and such, I would use EternaBond tape.

Spell check strikes again!

If you mean to acquire some land by the US Homestead Act, that possibility was ended in 1976. If you are thinking of buying land you might be able to do that for a reasonable price. It could be very expensive to get utilities there since you would need at least water and a septic system.