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RE: Thinking about early retirement and full-timing
Google SS+at+62
social-security-errors-that-can-cost-you-thousands
4-reasons-to-collect-soci...early
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Brassica
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01/25/13 12:33pm |
Full-time RVing
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RE: Can we throw the clumped cat litter into the toilet...
These are great times we are living in: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaper_Genie
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Brassica
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01/21/13 07:29am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Can we throw the clumped cat litter into the toilet...
BAD idea. Blackwater tanks are a pain under the best of circumstances, and cat litter is really not meant for sewer systems.Thanks for the advice. I had no idea.
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Brassica
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01/20/13 05:04pm |
RV Pet Stop
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Can we throw the clumped cat litter into the toilet...
...where it will end up in the black tank? We are planning to travel with our little black kitty and thought this would be easy. I could put the cat litter tray near the toilet and not have to have a wastebasket for the clumps like we do in the basement of the house. Space is tight. The clumped urine would be the biggest quantity we are putting into the tank.
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Brassica
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01/20/13 03:38pm |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Thinking about early retirement and full-timing
... Do you realise that at 62 you'd get 75% of the 65 amount as opposed to the 50% your looking at, and get the inflation adjustments forever?
Think I'd go find a fee only finacial advisor to bounce your complete financial situation off.Great advice, Padlin!
It is usually best to wait until "full retirement age". For me, that is age 67. The penalty for starting the SS pension early is especially bad if you are age 62 to 65. Delaying the SS pension is best because SS is an inflation adjusted pension, and that makes it quite valuable. You can find the details at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ I am glad your pension plan gave you some options, though. Happy travels!
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Brassica
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01/20/13 03:30pm |
Full-time RVing
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RE: Winter living
...and may I ask....WHY are you there? There are much better places to winter!Snowshoeing and winter sports would do it for me.
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Brassica
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01/20/13 06:43am |
Full-time RVing
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RE: The Down Side
OK, so you're 85 years old and been full timing 20 years doing exactly what you want, when you want, where you want, and die on the road. So, what's the down side?If you were a compulsive hoarder, you would have been "unfulfilled".
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Brassica
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01/20/13 06:33am |
Full-time RVing
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RE: Idling diesels all night
There are little vents and I mean little in the side of the sleeper but they are basically useless and for a time, some jerk figured out that engine starter fluid was ether and sprayed it in open vents to knock out (if not kill) the drivers and rob them.
Wow. That's scary. :E
There are APU's but the major companies find it cheaper to tell you to turn the truck off and buy a sleeping bag.
So, drivers don't have the choice of which truck they are going to get and have to deal with it. If it is a poorly performing truck, you may not have the choice of shutting it down.
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Brassica
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01/20/13 06:24am |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Quartzsite solar tower
I'm a Pipefitter/welder that is working in Blythe at a different design Thermal solar power plant.
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Having read the facts of how power is made in the US the solar project i'm on cost 1 Billion dollars to build ,makes 250 MW, the owner will never need to spend money to purchase fuel but will take 15 years to turn a profit. After that its money in the pocket from the sun, long term smart, short term dump and wall street needs profit NOW to come up with the money to build. So uncle Sam steps in to fund it, these solar units do work and the ones being built now are not experimental. I will also say this, the money from my pocket, from my pay check is a shot in the arm for the small town of Blythe. Thanks for the post, Dave. That was informative.
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Brassica
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01/20/13 06:03am |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Quartzsite solar tower
...The other thing that might come into play is that if the sun does not shine 24 / 7, but instead produces usable heat more like 8 to 10 hours each day,...These solar turbine systems produce steam throughout the day that is stored and can still be used to generate electricity after sunset. Thanks for asking.
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Brassica
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01/06/13 01:41pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: 2014 Silverado/Sierra Info & Pics
I put a rocket box on the roof of my Cobalt and drove across North Dakota into a fierce headwind. My fuel economy indicator plummeted and I adopted a pokey 60 mph ground speed. I developed an appreciation for the "frontal area" of the rig. I hope something with a V6 could handle headwinds and mountain grades.
I am also considering a GM-Lambda/Chevy Traverse for a tow vehicle. It could handle the tongue weight but I think the multilink suspension would be spongier than are real truck with a big old axle behind it. Those cars have a direct injected V6.
Hey, I own a Trek, too, Tom! I detuned it with a straight fork and use it for rail trails and rainy days.
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Brassica
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01/04/13 04:02pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Battery life while dry camping .
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These allowed generator run time restriction times at most camp sites allows me to re-charge my 50% SOC battery battery back up to 90% SOC in about three hours generator run time by connecting my 30AMP Shore Power Cable directly to my 2KW Honda Generator using a RV30A-15A "dogbone" type 18-inch long adapter (WALMART). ...
Roy KenGreat writing on this thread! What's a SOC?
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Brassica
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01/04/13 03:04pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: 2014 Silverado/Sierra Info & Pics
That V6 with direct injection will have more torque, and that torque will enable buyers to pull larger trailers. It will get better fuel economy than the old V6 when the truck is not towing because the new engine will switch to V4 mode. All of the engines are aluminum and that means better fuel economy. GM made some aerodynamic improvements to get better fuel economy.
I am trying to figure out if there is an advantage to buying the truck with the new V6 versus buying the truck with a 5.3 liter V8 if I am going to tow ~2700 pounds. The 5.3 liter V8 was a sure thing. I would be paying a bit more because the V8 is an upgrade. There would be a slight increase in weight with the V8.
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Brassica
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01/04/13 11:27am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: ahhhhh.....sleeping bag solves problem
RV furnaces have rather excessive ductwork. I imagine that if the ductwork was removed to eliminate that air drag, the furnace fan could run on a quite low power setting and not put a huge drain on the battery overnight. High efficiency home furnaces have permanent magnet motors to reduce the electricity demand for the furnace fan. Such technology would be a perfect application for RVers and boondockers.
I lived in an apartment that only had one outlet from the wall mounted furnace and it was adequate.
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I am scheming how to build a wind up furnace. One would wind a spring that would power the furnace fan all night long. The fan would run on a quite low setting: the user would be planning to only move a small amount of heat into the RV to keep the temperature in the fifties Fahrenheit.
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Brassica
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01/04/13 04:01am |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Recirculating toilet for boondocking
... On top of creating a nasty unsanitary situation they also stink after just a couple days.
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I have dry camped for a week or more and never filled the black tank in my toy hauler. ...
Thanks for all the insightful answers, everybody.
Meanwhile, over at the GMC Motorhome message board, they are arguing over whether there is a smell. "It stinks" and, "Does not!"
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Brassica
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01/03/13 02:56pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Going to move from house to 5er
What tools are needed to maintain an RV while "full timing"?
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Brassica
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09/20/12 01:09pm |
Full-time RVing
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RE: Recirculating toilet for boondocking
All great ideas, thanks!
Have to step out, taking my wife out to dinner
We'll talk about something else...!
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Brassica
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09/14/12 02:51pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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Recirculating toilet for boondocking
I toured my neighbor's GMC Motorhome that he had for sale. He said that it had a "recirculating toilet" and those were not common in RVs. I did a little research and found that Thetford makes them. The toilet holds three gallons of water. The owner dumps in a bottle of antibacterial fluid to process the waste. It gets recirculated at every flush, and you only have to dump the three gallons after several days.
It would not take very many flushes to fill up the black tank on a typical RV. Wouldn't a recirculating toilet be the ideal solution, so that you are not forced to move your trailer to empty the tanks every few days? Note that I am shopping for a travel trailer, as opposed to a motorhome.
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Brassica
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09/14/12 01:30pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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