RE: Camping World of Katy
I started out as a service writer for a auto dealership. I loved that job, it was actually pretty simple. Customer comes in and has a problem, I got to see the problem, write a clear and accurate description of the problem so the tech would have no problem understanding what it was that needed repairing. The service dispatcher handed the job out to the qualified tech to repair the problem. Once done and the paper work was returned to me, I then went out and checked to see that the problem was corrected, if not, right back to the tech, if so, the owner called and notified to come get the vehicle. Phone contact was made to the owner of the vehicle should any issues arise, like lack of parts or further repairs beyond the original expectations. Somewhere in all these years something has changed to that basic systems as the concept is still the same, only the repair part and the keeping the customer in the loop has gone by the way side. I never got paid unless the vehicle was picked up. I never got paid for a 'come back' as they were called way back then. If a customer returned with the same problem, the tech and the writer were doing the re-repair for free. For years now I have read on this forum and others that this perfect system is no longer being done and I can't for the life of me understand why. Maybe the writers are just paid a salary with no incentives for doing a through job? Maybe the shop/dealerships are looking at the service side as a real pain and could care less if they service anything, as the real profit is in the sale of the new unit. But, good service sells new units from good word of mouth and happy returning customers. I wish there was someway to get the dealerships owners to understand that and then we would not be reading these types of stories here and on the other forums. I wish you the best!
RE: RV Totaled
Just found out that insurance co. will total our 5'er due to major damage suffered from an encounter with a pot hole. (Okla. roads are terrible!) How will they come up with amount we'll receive? NADA guide values? If so, is it low or average retail value? What happens to our 5'er after being totaled?
I would start your own research trying to find a cost for a unit like yours somewhere. The insurance company is not your friend, they are to settle the loss at the lowest possible cost to them, that means the least they need to pay you. Check with your bank to see if they have anyway to determine the value, look all over the internet or contact a local rv dealer. Know the value before the insurance adjuster gives up his offer. If he is high(unlikely) more likely he will be low or real low you have ammunition to show how he is wrong and why. If he is high, say where do I sign and where is the check. The totaled rv will be picked up by a company and hauled to a auction point where others will bid and then they can do as they please. In some cases, you could be offered the trailer as scrap for a set price, so you still get a check, less what they deem as the salvage value. You then can part it out yourself, or try and repair it. But the title will always be branded as a salvage title and always worth less when resale time comes.
RE: Metal Detector owners
When traveling I used my detector at just about every rv park we stayed in, or I would go into town and hunt the local parks. You would be amazed at the stuff you can find, some good, lots junk, but you always find something. Last fall I sold 3 rings I found a few years ago for $347 at the we buy gold joint. I used to average about $150 a year in coins. Still have a pile of rings and lots of coins in a bucket. The more you pay for a detector,new or used, the smarter the unit should be and the more it will tell you before you dig. Always fill any holes you dig and make it look like you were never there. Removing things from the ground can be an art all by itself without disturbing the area.Nothing gets you into more trouble fast, is leaving holes.
RE: What brand of Tire Pressure Monitoring System recommended?
I like the TST system and have been using them for years. They were able to tell tire pressure and tire temperature when other companies said who cares what the tire temp is. Now most if not all the other TPMS are telling tire temps. TST
RE: Tips on to go orders and....
I look at it this way, the tip I leave will not change my lifestyle one iota, 15% for normal service, 20% or more for the waiter/waitress that gives better attention or does something special. Sometimes all they need to do is smile and act like they like their job. They are doing a job I have no interest in ever doing and appreciate how they do it. It is hard work and dealing with the general public all by itself is a chore.
RE: Monthly prices in RGV
4-500 dollars is a nice number to use in the budget. Don't get lured into multiple months trying to save a buck during your first time in the RGV. You may find the park not to your liking, the people in the park (they may not speak your language,) the area itself, or the temps during the shoulder season.
Stay mobile and just accept paying a little extra that first time out. In the long run it will be the best money you ever spent.
Excellent suggestion and right on the money.
RE: ProPride 3p hitch
Ron, I understand your thoughts on this. Has anyone actually measured the horizontal forces applied to the receiver during a sway situation with a Propride or Hensley hitch? Have any engineers performed any sort of engineering analysis of the expected forces during a sway event with one of these two hitches.I'm not aware of any published data or engineering analyses of force and/or torque on a receiver during a sway event -- and, I've done a lot of looking.
Ron
If the side forces with a conventional hitch are less, why do folks have to make steering corrections to a tow vehicle when towing a trailer with a conventional hitch and do not need to make them when towing with a ProPride 3P or Hensley Arrow?
Aren't the forces that cause the steering correction coming from side forces on the trailer and transferred through the receiver?
RE: ProPride 3p hitch
As a past owner of a Hensley hitch and if I ever return to a pull trailer again I will own a ProPride, I just can not understand how you would think that either of these hitches can possibly exert any additional forces to the factory or aftermarket receiver hitch. It isn't even logical. A trailer of any weight swaying at 65MPH exerts MUCH greater forces on the receiver. I'm positive a call to Sean at PP or Hensley would give a clear explanation. But I'm not an engineer, just a guy that knows the benefit of a quality engineered hitch to remove sway. And ProPride does exactly that!
RE: ProPride 3p hitch
I bit the bullet today and ordered my new ProPride 3p 1400 hitch. Whadaya think? DW grabs the dash every time the trailer sways with the other friction bar sway control and we're thinking of getting a longer heavier trailer in the near future too. We're planning on south Texas to St. Louis later this summer and I'm looking forward to not fighting the trucks as they pass me on the interstates.
I think you made a wise decision in the purchase, strong, well engineered hitch that does exactly what it is intended to do, prevent sway. Your trips will not have your wife grabbing the dash ever again! Enjoy your new safe hitch.
RE: TPMS. Necessary or just peace of mind?
These are the same people who insist that you MUST use only the most expensive hitch, the most expensive tires, the most expensive dually, the most expensive wheel chocks, the most expensive.......
Do we see a trend here?
In not all cases, but the best costs more, possibly works better, or longer without failing or break downs. Might have better materials and possibly more engineering to get that product to actually work. Cheap is not always least expensive, been there and paid for that decision. There are exceptions, but I normally tend to go the best I can afford the first time. You can always spend your money the way you want on what you want, those are the rules of the game.
RE: The Secret of a Contented Married Life::::::
I've been told there are six words that help your marriage work,
"Yes dear", "You're right", and "I'm sorry". Works for us!
I've added, "I'll get on that right away", and "I think I'm going to stop and ask directions"!!
RE: TPMS. Necessary or just peace of mind?
After 8 years of weighing RV's by the wheel position and checking tire pressures before weighing the amount of folks that might say they check their tires before every trip are not necessarily telling the whole truth. At one rally where I weighed 57 rigs, 45 had at least 1 tire grossly under inflated. Some of these folks said they checked their tires just a couple of days ago, but that might have been 1,000 miles. Some said they just look at the tire and can tell how they are, some said they thump them. One fellow picked up a nail from where my scales were to the site in the rv park, a distance of 300 feet. Within 4 hours he had a flat. Will a TPMS save everyone a blow out or flat, no, but it sure does make checking tire pressures so much easier from the drivers seat. The damage resulting in a tire failure can be very expensive and take many days if not weeks to repair. One rig we weighed told us of his tire blow out, causing extensive damage to the floor right above the tire, where the refrigerator was, until it fell through the hole and partially out of the trailer. There are all kinds of scary stories from RV'ers of the damages and emotional stress involved when a tire lets go or fails. For the most part these failures occur on the side of the road and that is not a place most of us care to be. For the costs involved in owning a piece of equipment that 'could' make you have a trouble free trip, why not? No one is twisting your arm to spend money you care not to spend, but for a lot of folks they see some advantage and choose to make life a bit easier and maybe safer. I have the TST system and when the time comes to replace it I will own another TST system.
RE: The Bike Rack Rocks and Rolls
I had the same issue so I just drilled a 3/8th hole into the receiver on the top of the receiver and used a tap to cut threads into the hole I drilled. Installed the biker rack, put a bolt into the hole I drilled and tapped and tightened the bolt. No slop or movement in the bike rack. Plus no way is anyone going to just pull the pin and remove my rack without removing the bolt. Total job took 10 minutes.
RE: TPMS - TST or PressurePro?
The TST will easily allow you to leave the trailer parked and not be beeping while you drive off with the truck. The TST is easy to program
and will not need the extra cost repeater for the size rig you have. The service they offer when you have any questions is outstanding and the system works as advertised. I love my system and it has saved me now twice, once with a low tire on the trailer and once with a sticking brake caliper on the truck sending the high temperature alarm to sound.
call them TST
RE: TPMS-which works for mh & toad, then toad only?
I have the TST 507 system and to do what the OP originally asked you could program the unit in reverse. Program what would be the toad sensors as the front vehicle and the MH sensors as the trailer. Then when driving only the toad you can turn off the "trailer" which would leave you with the toad sensors actually showing/scanning.
It wouldn't be a problem as long as you knew what the system was telling you.
Exactly what some others have done to do as the OP is wanting to do.
RE: Cost for 4 corner weighing ?
They are trying to charge you at that rate probably 1 hours labor rate. Some rv repair places that have scales do that. The scales are not cheap, approx $4500 each, so they could get by with 2, but if they have 4 or 6, it will take years to recoup their investment. A CAT drive on scale is depending on the ground work needed to install at the low end $60,000 and up to over 100 grand. The truck stops are not using the scale business as a sole means of income, otherwise they could never charge $10 and expect to make any money. Don't forget those CAT scales need repairs and service adding to the costs yearly. Contact RVSEF in Florida to see of they can help you.
RE: Individual axle weights advice and opinions.
If you were able to take the rig back to the CAT scales and weigh each axle so you knew what that axle was according to them, then tried your method again to see if your system is close or way off. As I think about this, there is going to be weight transfer since only one wheel is off the ground a bit with your scale. I don't think your going to be real accurate your way.
