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RE: Garmin POI Loader for Mac
The Garmin POI Loader (both Mac and PC versions) is very picky about GPX format. You may need to manually edit the GPX file to make it conform before it will load. One excellent source of Garmin information is:
http://www.bigfraud.org/mac/MacGarminTools/gpx2gpi.html
In fact, the tools here pre-dated the Garmin tools for the Mac, although the Loader you'll find there probably won't work for your Garmin GPS since it tries to write directly to the Garmin disk rather than communicate with the Garmin as their Loader does. However, his tools may help you find out what is wrong with your GPX files and maybe even fix them.
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bob_nestor
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11/30/09 08:18pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: "You can't stay here, your trailer is too old."
Well you could camp at the nearest Walmart -- oh wait, the RV Resort owners don't want to loose $'s so they got cities to enact ordinances against that.
Could park in a friend's backyard -- oh wait, the homeowners associations prevent that so they can keep their communities looking "nice".
Could pull into an RV Rest Stop -- but not in Arizona since they were closed to save money and many other States prohibit "camping".
COE, NP, State Parks -- maybe, if the Campground Hosts haven't blocked out all the sites for their friends.
Don't ya just love the freedom you have when you're RVing these days? :h
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bob_nestor
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11/21/09 08:41pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Funny cat stories (nothing mean allowed!)
Had a roommate in college who was a cat fancier. One day I picked up a small stray kitten and brought it back tot he apartment for him. He taught it to play fetch and how to play pinball on the machine we had. The cat loved the flashing lights and movement and learned how to turn the machine on by hitting one of the flipper buttons.
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bob_nestor
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11/11/09 05:12pm |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Where to spend Thanksgiving on the TX Gulf Coast?
Malquite Beach (inside the National Seashores Park) has a dump station and a paved parking lot if you're into dry camping. It's right on the beach. If you'd prefer parking on the sand you can also do that, just drive onto the beach (south of Malquite) and pick your spot. The first 5 miles south of Malquite are is excellent shape and can be driven without 4wd. The parking lot doesn't start filling up until Thanksgiving Day which is when some of the Snow Birds start pulling in. There's also open parking on the inland side. Parking at Malquite is about $8/nite plus the park entrance fee of about $12 for 7 days. There is wind surfing equipment available for rent on the inland side and surf fishing, beach combing, hiking, shell collecting, etc for fun activities. If you've got bicycles, motorcycles or 4wd you can trek 50 miles down the beach to the old shipwreck. Oh, there also a little store at Malquite if you've forgotten something. I've spent the last two Thanksgivings there and plan on going again this year. Have to find some of the "hamburger nuts" that washed up on shore from Brazil.
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bob_nestor
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10/29/09 07:16pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Wax ?????
The finish on my RV was kind of dull and no wax seemed to bring it back to that factory look. I found a product called PoliGlow, originally made for restoring the finish on fiberglass boats. It's a two step system - first a good wash and scrub with a cleaner solution that removes old wax, black streaks, etc. The second step is applying the finish coat. It takes five or six applications but it goes on real easy. The end result is a factory finish. On boats it's said to last for up to two years in sun and water. The kit contains enough to do a couple of large RVs and includes all the equipment needed except a water bucket and some "elbow energy".
I'm not a dealer, just a satisfied user. It may be available from multiple sources, but the one I found was: http://www.myboatstore.com/poliglow.asp
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bob_nestor
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10/19/09 05:33pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Cascade Caverns RV Park, Tx
The RV park is just a big gravel parking lot with full hookups. Not much shade except in the tent camping area which is usually where I park with my little B+/-. Nice place and the folks there are really friendly. One unusual attraction is the deer feeder they have set up near the RV parking lot. Every evening the deer will come right down to the feeder.
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bob_nestor
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10/10/09 05:50am |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: wood preservative
Thermin-8 by Jasco is a brown wood preservative. Resists rot and bugs. I got it at Lowe's but it should be available at most home repair places.
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bob_nestor
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09/26/09 06:43pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Solar on a RT 170
I think I'd work on the math before investing too much in solar. My RV has two 12v batteries with a solar array. On a nice sunny day with most of the sun high in the sky it will do a pretty good job of keeping the batteries charged and I can dry camp for days without worrying about electricity if I'm frugal. Can't run the refrigerator off it and if it's cold out I have to be careful with the furnace as the blower does take a lot of 12v power. You mentioned that you have to run your generator for hours to recharge your one battery. That sounds to me like you're really drawing a lot of power out of that battery and based on my experiences, I'm not sure you'll get enough out of solar to get you where you want to be. Unless of course you cover the entire outside of your RV with solar panels.
Al Gore and friends would like to have everyone believe that we can run everything for free off the sun, but I think we're closer to dilithium power cells than we are to a green, solar powered world.
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bob_nestor
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09/24/09 05:02pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Generator failure
What are the symptoms? Are there any error codes? What are they? Clicking sound but won't crank? Crank but won't start? Starts but doesn't stay running? Runs but doesn't produce electricity? Stalls or stops when load is applied?
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bob_nestor
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09/19/09 09:20pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Weight and balance, cantilever effect
You might try adapting this formula. The fixed numbers in the formula represent the weight and width of the motorcycle hitch adapter. For your calculations you can probably just zero them out.
http://www.motorcyclecarrier.net/motorcycle_carrier_cruiser_formula.html
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bob_nestor
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09/16/09 05:49pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Rotten Egg Smell When Tap Open or Sink Drained
I had the same problem and tried most of the things suggested here. What finally solved the problem was adding some water freshener to the fresh water tanks. I use the Camco Tastepure Drinking Water Freshener carried by Walmart and add a few ounces every time I fill the tank. Can't explain why, but I also noticed the smell when I was hooked up to city water and not pulling from the on-board tanks. Haven't noticed the problem in the last couple of years since taking this action.
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bob_nestor
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08/02/09 07:18am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Texans I need help
4Huskers - I never had to have my trailer inspected, just my truck. I pull a trailer with my motorhome now and I have never had it inspected. I have never heard of anyone having their trailer inspected. You do have to license it and show proof of insurance but no inspection.
This may depend on the size of the trailer. I have a small trailer I tow behind my RV and here in Collin County I just have to license the trailer. No inspections and no proof of insurance are needed for the trailer, only the RV.
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bob_nestor
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07/18/09 06:59am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Question on useage of a Stowaway2 Cargo Carrier
There was a RT 190 with Canadian plates at Big Bend last Christmas that had one. They had it swung to the side when they were digging out gear from the back of the camper. From what I could tell it would have been pretty difficult to get at things in the back without having the carrier swung out of the way.
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bob_nestor
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07/11/09 09:20pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Pleasure Way quality
I had a brand new RV based on a 2005 F350 w/V10. There was absolutely no feel of the road when driving it. Felt like driving a video game. Unfortunately (or fortunately) it was totally destroyed by an 18-wheeler with a sound asleep driver - it only had 1700 miles on the odometer! His insurance company replaced it with another brand new unit again based on a 2005 F350 chassis w/V10. This one has great road feel, no wandering, etc. At about 25,000 miles I noticed some front-end tire wear typical of mis-alignment. I had the font-end aligned at a Ford truck dealership. Still have great road feel and no more unusual tire wear. An ex-Ford engineer he told me the system is basically a fly-by-wire system and the road feel and such are programmed into the system. My first one obviously had some incorrect parameters, or so he tells me.
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bob_nestor
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07/03/09 06:23pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: What is the future of Rving?
Things are a bit out of whack right now. The current generation grew up on Star Trek and they basically have visions of living in a world with abundant inexpensive energy, no poverty, no crime, etc. They've looking to try and bring the fruits of the 24th century into the 21st century - a clear violation of the Prime Directive. When they're finally are forced to deal with what they've demanded (wind and solar energy, elimination of oil, CO2 controls, cradle to grave Government support, etc) and what they really got for their efforts (insufficient energy, lack of jobs, no incentive to work, food shortages), they'll wake up and start really working on making the future happen. Then things will come back into balance, and some of us will be able to sit on the sidelines in retirement in our RVs and watch them. As an uncle of mine used to say in response to the concerns about pollution, "in my day we called it progress."
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bob_nestor
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06/27/09 06:27pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Arkansas Dry Camping
No, I sure haven't.. Thanks for the tip.. That might just work!
I should have written Davy Crocket National Forest (not Park). The south end has a formal campground by the lake. I prefer the north end which isn't improved, open to dry camping and has some nice parking spots. Great view from the bluff overlooking the river, especially in the early morning when there's fog coming off the river. There are pit toilets there too. At night if you watch closely you'll see flying squirrels jumping between the trees too. This whole area was once logged so there are logging roads cutting all which ways thru the forest which has now grown back. Because of this there are a number of places where there are clearings open to camping. The Wilderness Area next to the Forest has an oxbow lake on the river so if you're into canoeing you can launch, paddle down the river and come back out at the same point you launched without having to backtrack.
Not trying to put down Arkansas though. There are some fantastic places there, like Pettit Jean State Park. For dry camping the Talamena/Winding Stairs area can't be beat for the forests and hiking trails.
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bob_nestor
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06/20/09 12:26pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Arkansas Dry Camping
No reason in particular on Arkansas, other than I know of no public lands in Texas that are desirable to camp on ...
Ever try Davy Crocket National Park in East Texas? Or the Wilderness Area next to it? Both open to dry camping, heavily wooded with a great 20 mile hiking trail. About the same distance from Dallas as the Talamena area in Ok/Ark.
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bob_nestor
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06/18/09 07:05pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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