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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Small Class A
There is a new A built on the Sprinter chassis.
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dontay
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05/03/09 05:33pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Tire Inflation opinion
Previously on every vehicle we have owned I inflated tires to the max written on the sidewall. Once when moving a mobile home from Tampa to Dallas for my first job the manager of my park (and a mechanic) told me to inflate the tires to 5 psi over the sidewall max. No tire problems reported by the mover.
But that was then and now tires are much better. I use the charts now and at our last TiffinRVnetwork rally I asked all attendees at a tech forum which they used and all use the charts.
But I do use my hand to feel all the tires for heat buildup when we stop for breaks. I would use an infrared thermometer if I had one.
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dontay
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04/26/09 05:41pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Whitehorse to Yellowknife
When we took the Dempster in 2004 it was dry and smooth. It was better than most of the paved roads in Alaska. But the fires in Alaska were so big and the smoke so bad that by the time we got to Engineer Creek we could only see a couple of hundred feet beyond the side of the road. So we spent the night in the cg there and headed south next day. By then the fires around Dawson had started and we had to stop about 50 miles or so north of the junction and get an escort.
When we headed home down the Cassiar it did rain while we were on the gravel sections and I guess that when it dried out it was rutted and rough. We drive slowly on such roads and use wide places to stop when we see traffic coming from either direction. That was a nice feature about the Dempster. We could see for miles the dust clouds behind trucks and had time to find a pullout.
When we took the road out to McCarthy in Alaska it was dry but the "road" wasn't so good. Averaged a whopping 15mph. 4 hours out and 4 back! But, no tire damage unlike a lot we saw.
All these roads were enjoyable and we hope to do all but the McCarthy again. Next time we will fly out to the mine and glacier.
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dontay
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04/19/09 06:13am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Whitehorse to Yellowknife
Is the gravel road in this discussion a good one like the gravel sections of the Cassiar Hwy or great one like the Dempster? When we were on the Dempster it was very dry while it rained the whole time we drove the Cassiar. I'm sure that has a lot to do with our perception of the roads but the Cassiar did not seem to be nearly as wide and smooth if memory serves me.
We would like to go to Yellowknife on our way up to AK this summer and would not like to go all the way back down on the paved part but go on over to Ft. Nelson via the gravel.
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dontay
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04/14/09 03:07pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: mold on trim
You can remove the trim, roll it up, and soak it in a bucket with a mild bleach solution for a while (like over night.) Mine wiped off clean.
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dontay
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04/10/09 05:54pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Magnetek 6300 upgrade or Xantrex XADC-40
I put a PD9145 in the bottom of the 6300 in our Lance camper. It worked great and was an easy job. Because the 9145 is slightly taller than the 9160 I had to saw out the top plate of the 6300 lower box. If the camper had been wired for 60 amps I would have used the 9160. Pictures are in the website in my signature.
The PD converter/chargers use a float voltage of 13.2 which I really like. I just put a PD9145 in my MH so I can use it when in storage. The built-in Xantrex just boils out too much water during long storage periods. Plus I can run the 9145 off our Honda 1000 which we already had from the Lance camper days.
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dontay
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03/29/09 12:45pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Gaspe steep grades
The very steep grade at Perce can be bypassed. There is another road available. But if you take the bypass be sure to go into Perce to visit. It is a very nice town with great views. If you have a toad or TV check out the grade with it before going up or down. That way you won't feel pressured to "go ahead" rather than turning around.
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dontay
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03/19/09 05:21pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: need help, suggestions and advice..colorado-jas
I agree with joe b except that the view from Waterton down the lake into Montana is one of the best. But on the road between Jasper and Banff "one of the best" is just about in any direction all the time. Also, the placement of Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton Township makes it a unique photo target. There is a hike near the hotel to an overlook that is a good spot for keepsake photos.
There is (or used to be) a great boat ride down the lake to Montana. I recommend passing on the hike back up as you are in deep woods and only get views of deep woods except in a couple of places where you can hike down to the lake for the views.
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dontay
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03/17/09 06:46pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Seward, Valdez & Haines.... What to see?
At Seward take the ship out to Misty Fjords N.P. Very nice trip even though I got seasick. If you are prone to it carry Dramamine.
I also recommend the McCarthy/Kennicott side trip. However, I would not drive it again as the only really scenic part of the drive was going over that narrow bridge way above the gorge! It has guardrails now but didn't used to. There are flights out and it would be nice to have more time at the site and glacier instead of driving. It took us way over three hours each way at 15 mph max. Our Jeep has leaf springs so when I tried to get up speed it was so bad the dash was a blur. Since our Jeep belonged to us and was not a rental I didn't try to just push ahead fast. We had no flats but there were a couple of vehicles in the parking area that had flats.
In Haines we took a flightseeing trip up to Glacier Bay. The weather was clear and it was unbelievable. If you can work it in go to Skagway and take the train up the mountain. But if you have done the Durango-Silverton trip in Colorado you could be excused from this if you don't have enough time. Don't be in a hurry on the Haines Junction-Haines hwy. In three Alaska trips we have seen more bears there than anywhere else except a 9 day river rafting trip.
In Valdez there is a good boat trip out into Prince William Sound and to some glaciers. That was a fantastic trip. I took Dramamine on that one and probably wouldn't have been bothered. (I am very prone to seasickness. If it were a sport I would be on the Wheaties box.)
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dontay
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03/17/09 06:24pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Digital Milepost
gypsy, I would get a 2009 version now so you can plan your trip. The roads don't move!! Except for re-alignments, that is. We had a '99 version for that trip and a 2004 for that one and they weren't very different.
OTOH, for a whole summer trip to Alaska $60 for 2 versions of Milepost would be a drop in the bucket. Get the '09 and wear it out planning your trip then you will be ready for the '10 version.
I would go to a bookstore or library and check out the print size. Maybe a digital version would be best for you if you can adjust the font size on your computer.
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dontay
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03/15/09 06:41am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Tiffin and FRED
We like our FRED a lot and love the 34XB floorplan when it is parked which is about 99% of the time. However, when we hit a stretch of bad road during that 1% it would be really nice to have air ride. Engine noise is very low except when the engine revs up like during downshifts for hill climbing or braking. It is the fan that makes the noise. Because it is front engine the fan does not run during normal driving, even on the hottest days.
The RED did not exist when we bought ours but today I would certainly take a look. I recommend this review: http://www.rvcruzer.com/2009_36QSA.htm
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dontay
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03/13/09 06:03pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Digital Milepost
I didn't see the digital version of MP 2008 available at Amazon.com. But if the digital version is available would it be for the Kindle? Would a Kindle work in small towns in B.C. or the Yukon? They probably have 3G cell service in that area but would it be free with the Kindle or would they charge for downloads like they do if you use it for email or surfing?
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dontay
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03/12/09 05:40pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Atlantic coast
I don't do flea markets but I do know that around here Daytona and Frontenac (just south of Titusville) have had the same markets open since we moved to this part of the state in 1984.
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dontay
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03/02/09 06:32pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Radio Noise
If you have an older converter/charger with transformer in it you can get a 60 cycle buzz when you use the 12V radio while plugged into a 120V source. If this is your case try using the radio without the MH being plugged in to see if the converter is the problem. If it is, an updated converter/charger with electronic switching technology instead of a transformer will solve the problem (it has on our last 3 RV's.) I've used Progressive Dynamics units on ours.
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dontay
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03/02/09 06:12pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Payment method for Public Campgrounds in Alaska & Canada
When you cross into Canada the maximum undeclared cash is $10,000 Canadian. If you happen to have that in US Dollars you are over the limit and you have to declare it. It is no big deal but you will have to show it to them and they will record it. In our case we had travelers checks and the lady just made copies of the summary printout we got from AAA. In our case we were returning to Canada after driving the Top of the World Hwy. and she asked. If the guy at the southern border had asked I would have told him but he didn't and I didn't know about the limit.
We don't carry travelers checks anymore so just using credit and debit cards will make one less thing to worry about if you can get past the 3% "foreign transaction" fee they charge!!
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dontay
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03/02/09 07:20am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Motorhome Garage??
Ours is steel 20x50 on a 6" concrete floor with 16" footers around the perimeter. The sidewalls are 15' and the peak of the roof is 18' It uses 4x4 steel trusses on 5' centers and is wind rated to 130mph.
I had the windows raised so the bottoms are 6' off the floor. This puts them at the correct height so one can see out from the MH. It also would make it difficult to climb into them from the ground. 20' may seem wide but when the LR slide is out and a storage compartment is opened there is just room to squeeze by.
Our roll up door is 12' wide and 14' high. While the height is fine I would like it if it was 14' wide. When backing in the mirrors sure seem close to the door frame.
Ours required 36" of fill so we put in a 20x20 apron also 6" thick to get it down to ground level. I ran a string from the back wheels to the drop hitch to calculate how long the apron had to be to avoid dragging the rear.
I can walk on the roof at the center of the garage almost without bending over which makes it nice for maint on both the coach and the building.
If I remember correctly it was mid 30's with dirt work, concrete, building, and erection. I put in 50 amp service, water, and telephone myself. I did not put in sewer because it is 200' from the house and would have required its own septic tank. The permitting alone was enough not to want to fool with the septic system. I used a Sewer Solution while we lived in it as the new house was built.
It is a very nice addition to the property and I'm glad we put it in. There are pictures in the website in my signature.
Good Luck.
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dontay
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03/01/09 06:53pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Payment method for Public Campgrounds in Alaska & Canada
If you travel through or stay in Canadian National Parks see if they still have the following program: you can buy an annual pass but you may not know how many park days you will accumulate on your trip. Keep the receipts and present them to a park office if you accumulate enough to equal the cost of an annual pass. We did that a few years ago and got enough for the annual pass around the end of August. So the pass was good until the end of Aug. the following year and most of the entrance fees that year were free also.
Note this is for entrance fees and not camping.
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dontay
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02/26/09 06:31pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Converting from dual to single rear tires
In the 70's we had a Chinook class C which had "super singles" on it instead of duallies. We bought it used so I don't know if it came from the factory like that and I can't remember the brand but I soon noticed that on trips the sidewalls got very hot and the handling was poor. I'm not a pro. driver but I could tell it swayed from side to side in the rear on Calif. mountain roads. I had them replaced with Goodyear Super Singles and that fixed the problem. Cool sidewalls and noticably better handling.
These were 16" tires and not 22.5's but you might want to talk to other owners before you invest in wheels and tires. It still might be possible to get bad ones like my first pair. Also, Goodyear may not be the same company it was back then although the ones on our MH seem to be fine.
I never did carry a spare for the super single because I figured I could make it to help on the spare I carried for the fronts (which were not on dually type wheels, BTW.) I guess few people carry 22.5" spares so this wouldn't be a big issue.
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dontay
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02/26/09 06:06pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: tow bars
We have an A-Frame Blue Ox tow bar and are looking to get an Avanta LX model. I have 2 issues with the A-Frame: 1. It is hard to get into storage compartments of the MH which already have stuff in them. 2. If I make a mistake and have to disconnect while making a turn (most common is trying to go around a gas station only to find I can't go there) there is so much side to side tension in the hitch it is almost impossible to disconnect.
If you have a tow bar with the locking levers is it easy to release the tension by just unlocking the bars? Or do the bars slide in and out as you make a turn preventing the tension from occurring?
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dontay
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02/21/09 05:24am |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Tow Bar or Car Hauler Trailer?
All our trips in the lower 48 and southern Canada were with the tow bar but we used a trailer for Alaska trips that included a lot of Yukon and BC travel. But now our MH hitch would have to be upgraded to pull the trailer so we are going to try the Alaska trip 4-down. Main concern is something to protect front of Jeep from gravel. On previous trips the trailer got sand/gravel blasted down to the bare metal on any part that faced front.
Never had problems with space for the trailer. It is easy to find parks for "big rigs." Backing a trailer is an advantage not a disadvantage! When you are just stopping for the night you don't want to unhitch a toad but I can only remember a few times where we had to back the trailer into a site for a one night stay. Almost always found pullthrus.
It is very nice to be able to see trailer tires in the mirrors and know all is well.
Dealing with the trailer tiedowns in the rain or muddy site is a pain. Carry knee pads.
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dontay
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02/21/09 04:54am |
Dinghy Towing
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