RE: Preferred Route from Va Beach to Myrtle Beach
We did 17 once on our annual golf trip from NJ to MB - it's not bad, if I remember but obviously slower than 95. Once south of the VA line it's much less dense and built up, obviously. The other alternative might be 301 which parallels 95 much of the way down there. Again, like 17, it will be the Mayberry RFD road, but there are certain charms to that.
RE: Replacing Flooring
Has the allure job been completed? I am interested in that product and would like to here some positive feedback on itI'm pretty much done mine, but it's too early to say if it's the perfect solution. Like I said, in my situation, it was the best option:
1) Older MH - 1988 Bounder
2) Crappy carpet
3) Inexpensive, yet decent quality
4) Simple to install
5) 'Float' not an issue with me - it's trimmed nice and close to the edges of cabinets, etc, and that's what god invented quarter-round for.
6) Cost effective.
Our MH is fairly straight-forward, compared to some - no slides, no odd angles the only place I had to monkey with trimming was around the toilet flange, and that was more of a "can't quite fit my fat ass in the bathroom to work around everything" problem as opposed to a material issue.
RE: Overnight near I70 - Eagle - Grand Junction
We stopped at the Walmart in Rifle on our way East last summer - it's only a couple of hours from Moab, as we did Arches NP in the morning, and then came up 128 to I-70 and into Colorado. It's maybe five hours at the most.
http://www.jmhare.com/Vacation2012/Photos/IMG_3924_web.jpg
RE: Buffalo to Disneyworld
P.S. From Buffalo, there ain't no way I'd come down to Florida on I-95 thru the N.E. I made the trip north on I-95 from NC to Buffalo... once... LOL.I agree - you're far enough inland so that you can select alternate routes down at least as far as southern South Carolina - eg., US 15 south through the middle of PA, I81 at Harrisburg and south on it till you can pick up I-26, and then I-26 into SC and then you still have a couple of options. There is no reason to pick up I-95 any sooner than that. It's not like you'd miss any scenery.. :)
RE: Flooring upgrade...
Ijust finished with Allure in our 88 Bounder. I can't speak for longevity obviously, but here are points:
1) inexpensive
2) child's play to install
3) many color choices (at least at my local HD - about 30+ finishes
Cons:
1) not really good in areas with WILD temp swings. If I lived much farther north than 45' lat I probably wouldn't risk it. It is designed for INDOORS, after all.
2) If you don't get the seams tight, dirt WILL collect in crevices. But then that would be true about any plank or tile flooring.
That's about it. For not a lot of money, and about two full days of work, I'm satisfied. Considering the absolute crud that came out with our carpet, it's a world of improvement.
RE: I was just wondering (Fuel Question)
All I know is that in Lexington Nebraska last summer (June 2012) we picked up 63 gallons of E85 by mistake that caused really rough running and vapor lock in our old 87' vintage 454. Now, I'm not sure if that "E85" means it's 85% ethanol, but since here in the East, "E10" means 10% Ethanol, I have my suspicions. So E85 must be not much more volatile than Crisco. Modern computer controlled engines may run OK on it but that old cast iron monster in our Bounder didn't like it at all. It stalled every time we came to a stop. The genny hated it. We finally burned out enough to put some Shell V-Power in to counteract it. Once we started putting mid grade fuel in during the rest of our time in between the Ohio River and the Rockies, we were fine.
RE: Las Vegas to Denver via I-70 any tips on roads
Thanks for the tip on 128. Yes I meant I-25. Looking to get back to Moab in a decent amount of time with the best views and least amount of stress. Would that be going back I-70?Heading from I-70 in Colorado to Moab, the stretch between about Fruita and where Utah 128 actually gets near the river again is deadly boring. You're up on the plateau there and there's nothing at all. Then once you hit the river on 128,it's very nice, not a lot of elevation change if I recall, but much more scenic. In Moab, we stayed at the KOA at the south end of town last July, it was nice but not spectacular. Leave the 5W at the Arches VC parking lot though, you do NOT want to tow it around in the park. Heading west on I-70 from Moab it gets pretty desolate, although scenic, between Green River and Salina. Spotted Wolf Canyon is the only big climb UP, going west.
RE: Replacing Flooring
I'm about 95% done putting ALLURE in the Bounder, the old carpet was just getting too disgusting for humanity. There were actually TWO layers of carpet. Sometime during the late 90's, the PO+1 covered the original dark brown with light brown. Both came up without too much trouble, but I did leave the original carpet in a couple of areas - from the front seat-belt anchors forward, the under-seat storage bins in the dinette, and under the bed in the back. Everything else came up. The only furniture that will sit "on" the floor is the fold-out bed/sofa. I will have someone re-carpet the area around the front seats and the doghouse. We will just quarter-round at the bottoms of the cabinets and down the hallway.
The ALLURE goes down very easily. I don't anticipate huge temp swings anytime in the foreseeable future, as we plan on no journeys from Nome to the Keys in one day.
http://www.jmhare.com/bounder/allure/allure1.jpg
http://www.jmhare.com/bounder/allure/allure3.jpg
Note the big stupid mistake I made here - if I'd had made the starter piece a few inches longer, I wouldn't have that big dumb 2" gap at the end by the step...duh...
http://www.jmhare.com/bounder/allure/allure5.jpg
http://www.jmhare.com/bounder/allure/allure6.jpg
http://www.jmhare.com/bounder/allure/allure8.jpg
RE: chesapeake bay bridge tunnel
I've been over the CBBT many times, most recently in our 34' Bounder - there are RVs, RVs with toads, large semis and all manner of vehicle going across that bridge every day, and I don't recall ever seeing any problems on the bridge. And I've been going over it at least once a year since about 1978 or so - back when there was only one two-way span instead of the newer two spans for all but the tunnels. I've been over it in January during a snow storm, in August during a torrential thunderstorm, and 98% of the time, in clear, calm weather. Don't fret. Your biggest risk is hitting a seagull.
RE: Replacing old Dometic/A&E window awning fabric
How come all these helpful tips came in AFTER I'd done the job? LOL :)
I found the original awning instructions and directions in the packet of junk the Original Owner had collected. It was really pretty simple. Far easier than the 20' patio awning we did last fall.
A shot of silicone lube down the channel on the RV, a careful threading of the bead down the channel, and we were attached. Then it was just a matter of doing the same thing for the spring rod, orienting it correctly so it wound up right, and then winding the two end caps back up. I held one end while the BIL turned his, and then I sprung mine. We checked roll-up tension, adjusted as necessary, and we were good. No more than 20 minutes per window.
The trickiest part is making sure you wind it up so that the roll sheds rainwater, and not the other way around. I had the first rail in backwards, so we had to unscrew the cap, slide the fabric out, spin the rail front-to-back and back-to-front, and then re-attach the fabric.
RE: Salt Lake City to Moab
I realize the OP is already in or around Moab but for any others checking this out, we did the SLC to Moab route back in June/July. We had to be in Mona, farther south on I-15 for a day, so the US6/191 route was not an option. We got on US 50 in Scipio and took that to I-70 at Salina. The I-70 route from Salina to Green River is fairly scenic, and the pass at Spotted Wolf Canyon should be seen at least once.
Replacing old Dometic/A&E window awning fabric
Well, after 25 years, the factory fabric has finally given up the ghost... :) Time for some reupholstery.
It appears that I'll have to remove one end cap from each of the two roller mechanisms to slide the old fabric off and the new on. I've already removed the mechanisms from the arms. Both rollers are unsprung, so I'll have to rewind them at some point, I'm guessing. I don't see any good spot on either end to shove in the proverbial cotter pin, nail, or long twig to keep the tension up once they're rewound. Is this just a matter of reattaching them to the pivot arms once they're wound up tight. Obviously, these guys are a lot easier to deal with then the 20' awning we did last fall...
I can't think of any big gotcha's to worry about - anyone else have a warning that I need to know about?
Thanks much..
Jim
Update 04-16-13 - Fabric arrived, inspected, and installed on old rollers with no problems. Easy as cake. :)
RE: Maryland coast to up to Mystic?
If you haven't been north of Virginia since 1971, then what I'd suggest is that you think very hard and carefully about driving anywhere north of a line from Toms River to Philly. It's amazing how much different the roads, routes, and people are once you get north of I-195. You're much better off giving NYC a wide berth to the west, and crossing the Hudson as far north as possible. You can take the NorthEast extension of the PA Turnpike way up into the Poconos and cross over to NJ when you get up around I-80.
RE: I-80 Salt Lake City Utah to Goshen Ind. ???
The Summit Rest Area, about 5 miles east of Laramie, is the high point of I-80, about 6800 feet or so, if I remember. Last summer we approached it from the east, it was a very easy climb but then after you leave and head west again, it's couple miles of swoopies and swirlies down to Laramie. Since you'll be going west to east, you'll hit the swoopies first, so the stop up top is a nice breather.
Heres a possible alternate - from SLC, take I-15 north to Ogden and grab I-84 East. It will hook up with I-80 in Echo Park, and from what I hear, I-84 is much easier than I-80 up to Wyoming. Most of southern Wyoming is not impressive, unless you like towering wind machines and long stretches of nothing.
I had been looking forward to Little America, having remembered its kitschy attraction from a coast-to-coast jaunt in 1975, but was vastly disappointed. They cleaned it up way too much, and now it's little more than a very large Dennys.
We might have enjoyed Nebraska more last summer but it was deathly hot, and the tank of E-85 we picked up that proved to be a little too much corn oil for our old 454 was a bummer.
Enjoy
RE: KC to Philly
Suggestions would depend on your timeframe, specific interests, and mode of movement. Are you into scenics, touristy destinations, or speed? History buff? Music buff? Music history buff? Between KC and Philly you've got a bunch of possible locations, ranging from things like Nashville and Dollywood to various Civil War-type locations for the history buff, scenics like New River Gorge, Cumberlands, and so on. How do you plan to approach Philly - from the west directly, or perhaps up from the south as per the Eastern Shore? There's a lot between KC and Philly, but you need to give us a bit of a hint as to your preferences.
RE: Penn Turnpike
If your eastward travel stops at Harrisburg, you don't need to read any farther. If not, the PA Turnpike gets interesting the farther east you go. From H'burg to about King of Prussia PA on the outskirts of Philly,it's not bad, but it will get more and more congested as you go east, and from KoP, where the Northeast Extension joins in, eastward to NJ is usually pure hell. Unless they've recently repaved, the road surface is horrible in many spots, there is a lot of debris around, and in a storm, people drive like idiots. 20MPH and 70MPH are the only two speeds.
RE: USA Cross Country Adventure Help Needed
Re: I70 through CO to Utah - not a problem. We did this (in the other direction) back in July, even came through Denver at rush hour in the rain. Not a problem. Going west, there are no appreciable grades until west of Denver, but even they are supremely doable - it may take a little while longer, and you may drop down to 25-30MPH on some of the long ones but trust me, you don't see a bunch of broken down RVs and TTs all over the place, so SOMEBODY must be able to do it.
The Black Canyon of the Gunnison MUST be done in daylight, but don't blink - the fantastic ride is only about 20 miles or so, and then you're out in to the high country, Rifle to Grand Junction is nothing special to worry about, then into Utah itself. Head down to Arches, where you will NOT want to tow anything up the road into the park from the Visitor Center.
You can spend a full day in Arches alone. Then hit Canyonlands, and Dead Horse SP. We didn't hit Zion or Bryce this trip, but I was there as a kid and they are memorable.
SLC is a pretty place, I was amazed at how clean it was for a 'big' city, very bright and shiny. Must be all the Mormons... :) Visit Temple Square, the capital, Ensign Peak, etc etc - three days here would not be pushing it. Maybe a side trip up to the Lake, Antelope Island SP is kinda cool as well.
RE: Through Baltimore
I'm with those recommending the Delaware/Rt 301/Eastern Shore route. If you're headed anywhere except the far northwest of DC, it's much easier and scenic, even allowing for the slight hassle of the Annapolis-to-DC traffic. One minor change you could make to Busskippers route it to stay on I-95 south after Wilmington for about 10 miles and take the Route 896 Exit south, and then follow as he recommends. I'm fairly certain the 896 exit comes BEFORE the JFK Highway toll, but I might be wrong. But it's still a bit easier. The construction is all pretty much done there (a new EzPass interchange ) so you can zoom right down.
RE: I 70 in April
As long as the weather is OK, and you were in SLC, I'd run up I-15 to Ogden, get on I-84 EAST to I-80 then follow I-80 to Omaha, then use I-29 or whatever you like south down to Branson. I-80 through southern Wyoming and Nebraska is much flatter than I-70 through Colorado, at least until you get east of Denver. The trip from Denver to KC is deadly boring, and when we did it in early July, windy as hell. There was wind in Wyoming and Nebraska as well, but it didn't seem as constant. The piece of I-84 from Ogden to where it connects with I-80 is quite easy and scenic, and from what I hear, less of a trial for RVs than using I-80 directly from SLC east towards Evanston.
RE: Wash DC to Niagara Falls?
I tend to agree with KD4UPL - once you're in the H'burg area, 22/322 to 15N is great. 15 between H'burg and Sunbury is very easy, paralles the Susquehanna and in late May/Early June will probably be a nice trip. We did the S/Jersey to Rochester route in December and I could see it would be much more scenic and eye-friendly in the summer! :) Rt 15 from Lewisburg to Williamsport is a bit of a slow down with more congestion than the lower half but overall it's not bad. Can't speak for the chunk of I-180 as an alternate. North of Williamsport, Rt 15 is very nice, divided four-lane, going through state game lands, an easy drive from W'port to Corning. I-390 North from Corning is pretty much the same but you're on flatter ground in NY. Then just make a left almost anywhere along there to the Falls. We did not head there in December due to time constraints but it looks like an easy shot.
Here's a pic taken through the windshield while driving home, of US 15 in NY just north of the PA border. This is pretty much what it's like between Williamsport and Corning.
http://www.jmhare.com/images/US 15 in NY.jpg
