RE: Direct or Dish
We use Direct TV although we have had DishNetwork in the past also. We haven't noticed much difference in programming or price of either. Usually, eventually the current provider will upset us enough to make us switch back to the other.
I do love our current receiver and dish setup with Direct TV.
RE: need a little info
We own a 38.5' fifth wheel and live in it fulltime. Although we've only been doing it for 5 months we been in four different locations. A longer RV is restricted by its length but we haven't had much trouble finding a campground or site to get into. Sometimes it just takes a couple of more minutes to get backed in just right.
See the details of our setup in our signature. I wouldn't want to tow our RV with anything less than the F450. Safely towing, braking and stopping that much weight is our primary consideration when towing. Our loaded weight is approx. 1750 lbs. :)
RE: best fifth wheel for fulltime rving
We also sold our house much sooner than we were expecting; about one year sooner. We sold, gave to our kids, threw away, kept, or donated everything we owned and bought a 2013 Heartland Landmark Grand Canyon. Heartland "guarantees" it for full-timing. We've been living in it for a little over two months and we are very pleased with it. Of course, we'll reserve final judgement until we've experienced all four seasons in it.
My wife and I are still working until I retire then we're planning on traveling and work camping - only 1 year, four months and 13 days to go, but who's counting?:C
Direct TV SWM alignment
We have a Direct TV SWM Slimline satellite system and I'm wondering what tool(s) other folks use, if anything, to align the dish. I am looking at good quality signal meters and as I understand it the SWM included in the system requires particular types of meters. Thanks. :h
RE: Who full times all the time with reg job?
My wife and I have camped/RVed together for all of our 30 yrs of marriage and before that while we were growing up. We've been planning on full-timing when I retire from my Civil Service job and her medical transcriptionist job in March 2014.
The plan was to place our home and farm on the market a couple of years or so before then. Ideally our place would sell at approx. one year before retirement. We would then purchase a fifth wheel RV and tow vehicle and live in the RV at a nearby campground to work until retirement and make the transition and work out any bugs in the lifestyle, RV, tow vehicle, etc.
In late June we had been talking about putting our place up for sale soon thinking it may take more than a year and a half to sell. Another couple had heard through the grapevine that we were about to put our place on the market and they called us up. They told us that they had been talking for the last several years and said that if they were in the market to buy when we finally entered to sell that they would be very interested. As luck would have it, we met later that evening and we signed a purchase agreement that night. Our retirement plan was working out better than we could ever have dreamed.
Immediately it became a whirlwind of activity. That following Thursday we were already planning to go to an RV show on June 21st to narrow down our list of finalists for a full-time fifth wheel with the possibility of purchasing the following year. Now we had a new mission; we needed a place to live soon!
We put down a deposit on a Heartland Landmark Grand Canyon at the show. The couple who bought our house had already started their process and were pre-approved for a home loan in anticipation of starting their home search. They wanted to move in around mid-August.
So we started packing up and getting rid of nearly everything. We started shopping for a tow vehicle and purchased a 2008 Ford F450 4x4 DRW diesel crew cab pickup. We picked up the Grand Canyon on July 26th and after the PDI and a few days to work out the bugs we moved it to a campground near where I work.
We've been living in the fifth wheel for a little over a month now. So far so good although I know that we'll have a bad case of "hitch itch" before we can finally get on the road traveling full-time.
Our motto is to "stay flexible."
RE: 5th Wheel or TT - pros & cons
We've had both and our last two have been Fifth Wheels. Welike the weight of the hitch over the rear axle instead of on the bumper. Fifth wheels also have more storage space, etc.
RV Sales Dealers Reviews
My wife and I are in the process of purchasing (probably ordering) a new Fifth Wheel RV to live in full-time. We are narrowing down our choices of Fifth Wheel, dealer, etc. and would like to know if there are reliable websites out there that review RV dealers as far as sales and service. Both are very important to us.
We are looking at Customers First RV, Inc, in Memphis IN with the possibility of purchasing the DRV Elite Suites model. We are also considering doing business with other dealers as well.
Thanks in advance for any help. This forum has been and continues to be very informative and usefull.
