RE: Cheap Generator saves lives in Tornado
Most people slam them as camping generators, not as a cheap emergency source of power. Obnoxiously loud generators are not a problem in an emergency, but they are not appropriate when camping and RVing recreationally, and that is what these forums are about.
RE: Checking TV cable signals
Might not be much of an issue in Wyoming and Montana. Vast areas of both states have no over the air coverage anyway. It will all be cable or Distant network services from your satellite most places.
RE: %#$&# salesman
Apparently, what this country needs to do is ban "salespeople" since their job is to sell and replace them with gatekeepers. That way when you go into an RV dealership they can tell you what you can and cannot buy based on your driving experience, your tow vehicle, the color of your hair (can't have the paint job of a rig clashing with your personal style) etc. And don't forget the driving test, the eye test, maybe a physical and of course, a detailed test of your mechanical aptitude because the dealership should never sell a rig to someone who might have a problem driving it, setting it up or repairing it should it have a problem.
And it should be expanded to every retail setting. Go into a sporting goods store and walk up to the cash register with a top of the line set of golf clubs, the gatekeeper will be required to review your swing and decide if you are good enough for the clubs. Go grocery shopping, you will have to explain how you propose to prepare that steak. If they think you are going to overcook it, or put on too much salt, no sale.
Personally, I am smart enough to earn the money, and I think I am smart enough to spend it as I choose.
RE: Pulling my hair out talking to India!!!!!!!
If you had gotten the president of Comcast right here in the good ole USofA, the odds are great he couldn't answer your question. Your question really has nothing to do with comcast or their services. It is a question about how your rig's television operates and that is a question best answered by your owner's manuals, be it the manual for the television, or the one for the rig. Really unfair to imply the only thing stopping you from getting your answer is the Comcast call center employees.
RE: Rest Areas Safe?
It kind of depends on your definition of safe. Does the county coroner make it a daily stop to empty the corpses out of the dumpsters? no. Would I leave my wallet and camera on the hood of the car while sleeping? no. It is likely that eventually you will have some shady characters around you in a rest area. The homeless like them because of the restroom facilities with water and often times there are shelters. There are vast numbers of people coming and going and eventually the laws of large numbers will catch up with you and some bad people will be nearby. That situation is exacerbated by the fact there is no one in charge at most rest stops. At least in a truck stop, a Walmart or a campground there is someone there keeping at least a sleepy eye on the comings and goings. In my opinion, they are the stopping place of last resort. Others have a higher tolerance for transients, noise and overall lack of appeal.
RE: Campgrounds closest to Texas A & M
Lots of luck. There may not be a college town with a worse selection of parks. Most of the parks there are the pits, though some are much worse. Do yourself a big favor and park far, far away and drive in for the game and either book an overpriced hotel room or have a designated driver and drive back to your rig.
RE: installing a house toilet in our trailer
The water is going to slosh out of the P-trap pretty easily and all those lovely aromas from last night's burritos are going to waft through the rig. I getting hungry just thinking about it.
RE: Pets are NOT to be left unattended... what??
It sure appears it needs to be spelled out in for some. Most parks (and no one speaks for all parks) generally mean not left outside, however, almost all parks will rapidly expand that definition to include a dog left inside an RV should that dog disturb others.
Good owners, bad owners, stupid owners, I don't really care. There is no way to judge an owner until they are on the property, and there is no way to determine how a dog will react when the owner is away until that owner is away. And just because a dog is quiet one day is no guarantee it won't be upset the next. Unfortunately you can ask most any RV park owner and they will tell you dog complaints are by far the most common complaint they receive.
RE: Pets are NOT to be left unattended... what??
Good grief...... some ppl need to chill out. Just because some dogs don't know how to behave or have irresponsible owners, you lump all dogs and dog owners in one category?
Get real - there are wife beaters out there - does that mean all men are wife beaters? There are women who can be real shrews - does that mean all women are like that? There are children who are neglected and unsupervised - does that mean all kids and parents fall into that group? Some people steal - does that mean all people steal?
I surely don't understand the attack this thread took on, against dog owners.Probably because in a 100 site RV park there is almost always one incessantly barking dog left alone in a rig. It gets really, really old enforcing any kind of policy. The norm is we finally get ahold of the person. They apologize profusely and tell us it will never happen again. The dog is then left alone to bark incessantly the next day and we notice that they are scheduled to leave the next morning anyway, so there is really nothing we can do short of tossing them out and create a big scene at 9PM when they return from their day trip. We then take the path of least resistance and say "What the Flip" and let nature take it's course and wave goodbye to them in the morning and then start following our ears to the next problem pup. It's only one dog, but they disturb entire sections of a park. Doesn't take too many for it to be a constant problem for both the park and the guests.
RE: Pets are NOT to be left unattended... what??
Just curious, when they state a quiet time do most observe it, when stated no booze do most observe it, when stated no grills on picnic tables do most observe it, etc. This stuff gets old.Everyone KNOWS you can ignore any rule, policy or law if you feel breaking it will either cause you an inconvenience, or really won't do any harm. Get with the program.
Funny, I've been to many campgrounds where the hootin and hollering goes on all night ,and the next, and the next. It surely caused many some inconvienance. All the while my dogs were nice and quiet. So does the program only apply to dog owners?Absolutely not. I thought it was common knowledge that rules and policies only apply to other people. You are always exempt from any rule you don't agree with. It was spelled out on the stone table that Moses accidentally broke that had the final five of the fifteen commandments on it. It was Commandment 14: "Thou arth special and shalt noteth be obligated follow any rule or law of man if thou doesn't wanteth to. Thoueth Knows better than the rulemaker, showeth him that youeth's does noteth stink.
RE: Pets are NOT to be left unattended... what??
Just curious, when they state a quiet time do most observe it, when stated no booze do most observe it, when stated no grills on picnic tables do most observe it, etc. This stuff gets old.Everyone KNOWS you can ignore any rule, policy or law if you feel breaking it will either cause you an inconvenience, or really won't do any harm. Get with the program.
RE: Full-timing with an infant
Perasonally, I think that if I were full-timing with an infant I would go with a 5er in a tow hauler configuration. The back being a great place to kid-proof once they get out of infant stage...which is pretty bloody quick.
Since you will need a play room in short order IMHO the wee one would be less destructive in the "garage".That is a dang good Idea!
RE: Is this normal? Dealer service question.
Yes, that has been our experience. Actually, I like it in some ways. At least the tech working on the rig is likely to have had experience working on that component. The average RV dealer tech normally fixes RV toilets, adjusts RV blinds, finds wiring problems and has a great knack for finding rattles and squeaks. That doesn't make them qualified to be tearing apart a diesel engine or transmission. No different than the medical field. You might know the greatest podiatrist in the world, but I wouldn't choose them to be my brain surgeon.
Automobile dealers are franchised by the manufacturer. A franchise for an auto dealership is extemely difficult to obtain. Their dealer agreements with the manufacturer require them to provide warranty service to everyone. RV dealers are not franchised in the same way. The manufacturers, frankly, don't have a big hammer to hold over their heads. If Toyota tells a dealer to honor warranty work or they will lose their franchise, panic sets in and there would a long, long line of dealers waiting to pick up that franchise. If an RV manufacturer tried that same tactic, the odds are the dealer will tell them, "have at it". RV dealers buy the rigs from the manufacturer, they are the manufacturer's actual customer. If a dealer kicked a manufacturer to the curb, there would likely be another manufacturer knocking at their door, asking them to carry their lines, because RV dealers that can floorplan expensive motorhome inventory are scarcer than hen's teeth. Even though RV dealerships and Automobile dealerships seem to be similar at first glance, they are actually polar opposites as far as dealer/manufacturer relationships go.
RE: Beware of Flying J
Standard operating procedure in Indiana. Not just Flying J, but most every station. Indiana is the only state we have seen it in, which doesn't mean it doesn't occur elsewhere. It is a quirk in Indiana tax laws, not a scam buy the fuel stations.
RE: Canadians buying RV lots in Florida
You are probably going to be limited to owner financing. Not too many lending institutions will take on an RV lot anymore. Another option is use a personal loan from your bank and own the lot free and clear.
RE: Finding Past Owner
Thanks everyone...figured this would not be received very well. Was just wondering if somehow a private message would be a way to connect for a quick answer to a simple question. That way no one would know who is who. I would just ask a question about the 5er and end it there. I would know who the past owner would be by them knowing something about the 5er others would not. I never posted all the information about the 5er till I seem how others feel. I am done and thank you all very much. Appears the warranty people and our insurance agent will be fighting this one out. Have save and happy travels.
Wow a fishing trolling post to try and get info/find here and/or trick the previous owner on what might be a legal action. :RI agree with Rockhillmanor 110%, what a low attempt at trying to trap someone. Given the additional information about Warranty People, Insurance agents and fighting it out I sure hope everyone can see why when you sell anything that is absolutely the last time you ever want anything to do with it.
Reading between the lines it sounds like a component may have failed and caused some damage. The risk for the previous owner is they may innocently answer a question that could open them up for liability. Say the problem was someone visiting the current owner stepped out of the rig onto the steps and the steps collapsed breaking the visitors legs. If in answer to an innocent sounding question such as "Hey, I bought your old fifth wheel, did you ever have any problems with the steps?" and the old owner replied: " At one time they did squeak really bad, so I just loosened the nuts and sprayed it down with WD40." Now the current owner, armed with that information, tells his insurance agent, who tells the adjuster, who tells the insurance companies legal department that the broken legs they are being sued for was caused by someone carelessly modifying the rig they may very well sue the previous owner, especially if that previous owner signed the normal disclosure everyone signs when they trade in their vehicle that they no knowledge of any safety concern or defect with their trade in. I have no idea if ultimately the old owner would lose and be subjected to a judgement, but when you are sued, you always lose because defending yourself costs time, money and creates a giant mountain of stress.
RE: Warped Attitude
For me, I think it became prominent when the Dear Marcus forums first appeared. New members (1 to 5 posts) who posted a problem there are routinely spanked by holier than thou types who would almost immediately admonish them as bashing CW - whether the OP's issue is valid or not. These 'spankers', as I call them, aren't contributing to the conversation one bit. It seems that this attitude is carrying over into the other forums where an OP starts a thread and leaves out helpful details or has not well thought out what they are trying to say - and instead of trying to help the OP with leading questions to get more details so that they can be helped, the OP get spanked/admonished into silence and/or the thread gets hijacked.
I would be OK with the admins physically deleting such posts (especially from the Dear Marcus forums) that do nothing but admonish the OP for starting the thread - and to do it without comment.
Maybe when folks see their OP-bashing replies disappearing it'll persuade them to refrain from posting them in the future.For me, the appearance of the "Dear Marcus" forums took away from the other forums. The Dear Marcus forums are nothing but a complaint platform. They almost always follow the same pattern. Complaint with a bunch of unsubstantiated information. Some posters chiming in with the "Yeah Good Sam Sucks" posts. Others, including me, making the skeptics posts about filling in the blanks and how maybe the expectations are a bit high or maybe how we are being trolled. Then the Good Sam people chime in with the "That's terrible, we will look into it promptly, response" and then nothing. Never know if the problem got solved, it was uncovered that there really wasn't a problem, or the mods just block any other followup and the thread dies. It has really turned the forums into gripe sessions. Wouldn't bother me a bit if they disappeared.
I like the forums for the exchange of opinions much more than the exchange of repair facts. Frankly, posts about the spark plug gap on a motorhome engine isn't very appealing to me. If I have knowledge about a specific problem or request I try and post it, provided it hasn't already been answered. Opinions and the exchange of ideas can go on forever. There never is an answer, so it is much more mentally stimulating and a much more enjoyable read. That is why people tend to read novels and not text books. It is not about the facts, it is about the journey.
RE: Boondocking at Walmart
I just bought a new MH. I did ask the dealer if I had to stay in campgrounds all the time. He asked, "Why would you ask that?"
I told him, "The people on RV Net tell me I have to stay in campgrounds and should never sleep anywhere else or I'm cheap."
He laughed.
Some people are just uptight and not happy unless they are in everyone else's business, especially if it involves the great American institution of Wal Mart.
I was looking for a check and sorted my online banking by payee. We spent $8,700 at Sams Club last year. I didn't bother adding up all the WalMart purchases, too many to bother.
Holy smoke, if I sleep in one of Sam Walton's lots every once in a while, I earned it!
As for cheap, I have spent more than $100 per night at campgrounds for a week at a time. One local spot with few amenities charges $80. We like the location and it is kept nice. We use it while attending a yearly festival. We usually drop several hundred at the festival (if I can keep my wife distracted from spending)?
Yeah, drop 100K on an RV, take a trip, spend $1000 on gas, $750 on campgrounds, oh, and stay at Wal Mart a couple nights along the way and you are cheap.
So, call me cheap if you want.
You don't know me.If it is all about how much money you spend, how about the fact that between lodging taxes, property taxes, licenses, permits and various other taxes I pay $100,000 plus to the counties and state governments for the priviledge of operating an RV park. If those government entities decide to enact and enforce parking laws partially to protect that $100,000 a year income stream, wouldn't that be an admirable use of governmental powers? Using your arguments that everyone should act in the interest of money, the government stands to make much more by outlawing overnighting in parking lots and forcing those people into tax generating situations.
How much you spend at Walmart is about the most bogus argument offered when defending overnighting at Walmart. 99.9% of their customers are perfectly capable of spending money at Walmart without ever staying overnight in their parking lots. I bet if Walmart stopped overnighting tomorrow, RVers will continue to spend $100s of dollars there each month. Personally, I couldn't care less about people overnighting at Walmart, because I know it is a financial decision and they are not going to ever spend the money for a full service RV site even if Wally Docking went away completely. The would be staying at Rest Stops, Truck Stops, forest service campgrounds and all the other free and low cost options. Walmart is not a competitor to a full service campground.
RE: Finding Past Owner
I don't think I would be very pleased if a dealership gave out my name and address to a stranger. So IMHO you might want to think about how the previous owner would react when you call him. Just saying.I agree, I would be furious if a dealer or service center gave out my information to a stranger. And I sure wouldn't appreciate anyone calling me about anything I no longer owned.
RE: Tetons/Yellowstone/Glacier
There are many primative campgrounds, but very little, if any, true boondocking. Your rig size may become an issue at many of the more remote campgrounds. There is plenty of reference sources available listing the individual campground's ability to serve your size rig. Don't get hung up on the campgrounds, you are not there for them, you are there for the National parks. You shouldn't be spending to much time at the campground.
