RE: Please read what this forum is about before posting
Shouldn't this thread be moved to "In the campfire".
I vote for a renaming.
It confused me, too at first.
I just read the active topics, so never know what I'm looking at. Sometimes, I start to read a thread and have to look at the Forum name to know what the heck I'm reading about - DUH?
RE: Boondocking at Walmart
I'd stay at Western's RV park. We're all entitled to opinions. I don't mind sharing mine and listening to yours'. If Western's park fit's our needs at the time, I wouldn't hold an opinion of Wal Mart against him.
I think these threads are often more about the big greedy import-peddling conglomerate more so than a place to park.
Since many on here assume Wally dockers are cheapskates, I'm going to assume opponents of Wally Docky are just Wal Mart haters.
I don't see heated debates about overnighting at Flying J, Cracker Barrel, rest areas or any place but Wal Mart.
These people (myself included) crack me up too.
RE: Boondocking at Walmart
I might "save" $300 per year by staying in WalMart, Cracker Barrel, etc... If that makes me rich, DUH?
I made my way in this world by hard work, going to college and more hard work. The same's true for the DW. I don't consider myself rich. I consider myself blessed.
RE: Boondocking at Walmart
I...
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.
Are some people that Wally Dock there to save money? Yes, most likely. I wouldn't call them cheap, but others do.
We are fortunate that we don't have to make decisions in daily life because of money. That's all taken care of for the most part. My DW and I have been truly blessed with good incomes and the foresight to make good decisions in life.
Like I said, you don't know me. The money not spent on campground fees is chicken scratch when compared to our overall RVing budget. I don't even think about it as "saving" money. I think of it as getting off the road and getting some sleep at a place where I am welcome. Wal Mart doesn't require I shop there. When I said I earned my stays by the money I spent there, that's meant as tongue-and-cheek. Sorry you didn't recognize that. I should have been more clear that it was a joke.
For us, Wally docking is about convenience 100%. The price does not even factor into it.
The real costs of RVing are gas, insurance and the RV. Now that we have bought a more expensive rig, we will probably pay more in taxes than on camp fees per year. I think you will find that most Wally dockers are doing it for the convenience. There are some who live from lot docking spot to other similar spots. I think they are the minority of Wally dockers.
As a business man, you can understand that time is money. Wal Mart is right there, just off the exit. Easy in for some sleep, and easy out in the morning. I squeeze an extra half-day of travel by leaving after work and Wally docking that first night. If the trip involves another day of travel, we'll usually make plans for a campground that second night and check in early enough for the kids to burn off some steam.
I really don't care what you pay in taxes to operate a CG. I pay taxes too. We all do. I only care that you run a good CG and it's worth the price of admission. When I pay the camping fee, that's all I want. When I sleep at Wal Mart, all I want is sleep without the hassles of checking into a campground and being an inconvenience to other campers.
I have been in campgrounds when late arrivals come. It can be a distraction. I've even pulled in somewhat late a time or two. When that happened, I felt terrible and wish I had just lain over in a Wal Mart until morning.
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.
RE: Trailer novice here, can you help me plug in my TT?
When you go to a CG, you will not use an adapter. That 30 AMP cord will go straight from the camper to the electric post. All your devices will work, although you may have to take turns running heavy draw items (microwave, AC, water heater).
If you use the adapters, to "adapt" down to 15 AMP, you will trip the breaker, if you try to pull too much juice through the line. I have been able to run my AC from a 15 AMP receptacle (with adapters) in my garage with all other heavy-load items turned off.
For instance, if the DW tries to use a hairdryer while your AC is cooling the trailer, trip. If you leave the water heater on electric and try to turn on the AC, trip. You get the drift, I hope.
These campers are great with all the amenities of home. Just don't try to use them all at once.
RE: Forest River Motorhomes RV One Superstores????
You will not get a thing if you don't give Forest River the chance to fix it. That is how warranty works. It you want it fixed, you have to give it to somebody approved by Forest River.
It sounds like your relationship with the selling dealer and their stores is shot. I'd ask Forest River for help finding an authorized service facility and try to get an appointment. Or, ask them if they offer factory service and plan a trip.
You wouldn't expect Ford to authorize warranty repairs at a Chevy dealer would you? Likewise, Chevy isn't going to pay Billy Bob's Lube and Tires to rebuild an engine that's under warranty.
You have to give Forest River a chance or this will go nowhere.
We pick up our new MH in a couple weeks and I hope everything goes smooth. I have had thoughts of what if that is broke or that or this, etc...
Good luck to you.
RE: RV Crash Safety & Illusions of Safety
One other thing you might want to look into to. Find pictures on the web of high-speed RV accidents. It isn't pretty. I have seen pictures of RVs turned into a pile of splinters.
Basically, you are proposing to build a cage into one of those types of RVs that will turn into a pile of splinters.
We are thinking about buying a Jeep Wrangler. I was worried about safety. I found a photo of a head-on collision between a Wrangler and 4-door sedan. The sedan was toast. The Jeep surprised me. A frame underneath you makes a big difference. Now, if I roll it with the soft top on, look out.
Most RVs have pretty stout frames under them (by today's standards for automobiles). Even the TTs I've seen turned into splinters still have the frame intact. You are far ahead of the curve in that RV than in any small to midsize car. (IMHO)
Mass wins. Height wins. Frame wins. Go have fun, but be careful.
RE: RV Crash Safety & Illusions of Safety
You'd be better off taking a financial hit now and getting a different Rv.
If you modify like you are describing, the result will be hard to sell and probably worth considerably less.
Some Class Cs are built on pickup truck chassis with captain's chairs in the rear seat section. These seats take away from living area, but you would have a better safety margin.
Off the top of my head: Isata makes one.
RE: RV'ers wanted (or should be)
I agree. My home state (WV) is a perfect example. You can make a reservation for a room in a lodge at our state parks with the click of a mouse. You can rent a cabin the same way.
Try it for a campsite and its stone ages. Well, maybe not stone ages, but you can't do it on line.
If you want to book ahead, you have to wait until February 15 and mail an application to the park of your choice. Reservations by mail, now that's a novel approach to efficiency and accessibility.
Phone reservations are allowed starting March 15. You call an 800-number and they forward the call to the campground. If you get lucky and catch the host in the office, you get to make a reservation.
They do keep a number of first come, first served sites in each CG. We have resorted to winging it. We call in the morning and ask how many vacancies. If the numbers sound good, we take off for that CG.
How much money are they losing from others who just give up. How many sites sit vacant because nobody wanted to chance it.
I agree with you. We spend a lot of money while we are there. I think they are missing the boat and are behind the times.
RE: One way to stop catalogs
Funny how different perspectives can be...
We heat our house with a woodstove, so junk mail is free fuel to us! :B
lol
I have to watch my cholesterol, so junk mail catches the grease in the trash bag!
RE: Deviled Egg Recipes
You should try any classic recipe and fold in some finely diced green olives just before stuffing the whites. Its way better than putting an olive slice on the top. You could even put a splash or two of the liquid from the olive jar in there too.
If going the sweet pickle route, try a couple splashes of the pickling liquid in that too. The juice in either recipe throws it over the top.
I use this trick with my macaroni salad for the sweet pickle. The diced sweet pickles are good, but the pickling juice makes that flavor pop.
I'm going to try the jalapeños. That sounds like a good combo.
RE: blown tire collision or comprehensive
I think the second moving object would have to be something other than your vehicle.
Do you insure the tire with one policy and the vehicle with another? I think I would fight it and immediately shop new insurance carriers once the claim is paid.
RE: paying before trailer is here
I see you made a good down payment. Was the remainder to be secured with a lien on the RV?
If so, I like your bank.
They gave you a loan before the property that secures it was even built. That doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe your loan is unsecured? If not, do they have a VIN, title or certificate of origin?
I put $5,000 down on a MH February 23. It's being built, almost done. I made application for a loan, but that's it. When the MH comes in, we put $30K more down and write a finance contract for the rest. The bank we finally go with will write the loan with a lien on the MH as security.
How did you and your bank get the cart before the horse? The big question is, "Who has the MONEY?" Please don't tell me your dealer has been paid for an RV that they haven't even received from the factory. How does that happen? Too many things can happen between factory order and delivery.
Dealer or factory bankruptcy, RV burns en route, death of purchaser (sorry dude had to bring it up), I could go on and on.
Please explain.
RE: Walmart, Internet on the Go
To stay on topic, like most things Wal Mart sells, they mark it up much less than the mom and pops, so you probably are getting a better deal on this type of internet service.
Local-owned stores often mark things up much, much more because they don't have the volume that the big box stores have. They usually don't have the great return policy that the big box stores have.
Now, if you are computer illiterate and need great service after the sale, Wal Mart might not be the best place to buy. If you're like me and can figure most things out on your own or with a little research, the big box stores should work.
As to the specific internet service you asked about, I'm about as helpful as Supercharged.;)
RE: First time owner. Seasoned road junkie.
Here you go:
12 volt side of life
This has helped me understand my wiring system. Of course, mine is not all goobered up like yours.
Good luck
