RE: Easiest route to Rapid City from Denver towing a 26' TT
"Best" is always a matter of opinion, but here's my route: north on I25 into Wy, then exit onto US18 through Lusk,Wy and on east into SD; hooking up with SD79 near Hot Springs, SD, north on 79 all the way to Rapid City area. Just before entering Rapid City, exit 79 onto 16 east (Elk Vale Road) and take it to 44 where the KOA is.
A longer and more back roads alternate I've used is, take I76 east to Sterling, Co, north to Sidney, Neb and then 385 all the way north to 79 at Hot Springs, SD.
RE: Chama New Mexico To Alamosa Colorado
Hwy 17 Chama to 285 at Antonito is good 2 lane road, during summer conditions. From Chama at about 7800 ft you will climb up gradually to 10,000 ft, go across the top of a high plateau then back down the other side to Antonito. It does have a few sharp switchback turns, but nothing to worry about. I've done it several times in a motorhome, but its especially a fun loop on the Harley from my summer home in South Fork.
RE: RV Insurance
An RV policy is an RV policy, whether its written by State Farm or an RV specialist. The coverages will be similar, depending on your input or the agents assumptions. If there is no detiled discussion of coverage needs before the quote, then you may end up with the lowest price quote, but not the coverages you need/want. Its up to you to spell out to the agent how much & what type coverages you need/want, otherwise you end up with the basic default policy, which may or may not be what you need/want, regardless of which company you use.
Unless youre a fulltimer and ask for a fulltimers policy (more like a homeowners policy), there is generally no liability coverage with a towed RV. The tow vehicle has the liability coverage for whatever it tows. So thats one reason it can be good to have both covered by the same carrier. The other area to be concerned with is the contents coverage limits. An RV policy will have some limited contents coverage, but it may not be enough depending on what you carry in your rig. You need to let the agent know of any valuable items you added or typically carry/store in your rig to be sure theyre covered. It just takes a rider to add as much contents coverage as you want, for an extra premium of course.
RE: Open vs closed garage area
Like many of our choices, its mostly personal preference and how you're going to use the rig. My Raptor has a closed off garage area and I like it. But I use my rig for camping as well as hauling the toys around. So having a seperate space for storing all the dirty riding gear and greasy tools, outside the living area is nice. If you're strictly using yours to & from the track, it may not be a big difference.
RE: Keeping a Honda Generator running till fuel runs out?
Hi, those switches do not turn on and off the fuel, it is for venting only.
true, but unless you've upgraded your fuel pump to be strong enough to suck against a vacuum, no vent = no fuel flow after a few mins.
RE: Keeping a Honda Generator running till fuel runs out?
.... Is there a way to just shut off the fuel with it. What I'm thinking is add another switch to cut the power to actually shut it off.
....
My Honda EU2000 's have a lever switch built into the fuel cap that allows you to turn the fuel flow on/off.
Mine are backup for my builtin genny and so only get used about every 6 months and I never have any starting issues as long as it has a dose of SeaFoam in the fuel tank.
RE: South Dakota Domicile Differences
The wheel tax applies in some SD counties and not in others, Its usually $2 - $4 per wheel.
Due to the Federal "Real ID" Law which requires everyone in every state to show up once in person with their Passport, Birth Cert, SS card, etc, you can not do that renewal by mail. After you go through that and get a Real ID compliant License, then you will be able to renew by mail, when allowed. Thats not a SD change, thats a US change.
As far as domicile, it matters little which city you use. You never have to visit that city in person, unless you choose to for some other reason. You can renew the DL at any SD MVD office throughout the state, regardless of your home city. Just pick the mail service you like.
RE: Coach Net How good is it?
They all rely on the same local service providers; so whichever you choose, you have the risk of a dud being sent ocassionally.
The ERS is only answering the phone and passing your info on to whoever is available in the area you're stuck, and then processing payment.
The other thing thats important to understand is the "one covered response per incident" or should I get towed away or ask for mobile road service. If you ask for a mobile roadside service and then find out later they can't fix the issue, you used up your covered response and now the tow charge is on you.
I have policies with CN and GS both, at $100 a yr its cheap insurance. I have 3 RV's & 3 trucks and want to be sure one or the other responds when needed. When CN had their separate call center dedicated to RV's only it was tops. Now that they share a call center for all their commercial clients as well as RV's, the service dropped a notch, but still equal to or better than GS. just my opinion
RE: Brake Buddy: How does it work?
The Brake Buddy has an adjusting knob to set the amount of pressure applied to your brake pedal. As long as its set properly, it will have no problem applying the brakes. Remember you're not using the Jeep brakes to stop it, just as a supplemental brake to help slow it down in quick stops. Your MH brakes should be big enough to stop both in normal driving, the supplemental brake is just added protection for quick stops and steep downhills. The sensitivity adjustment on the Brake Buddy when set correctly should keep it from activating the Jeep brakes except under quick stop conditions.
Lots of Wranglers being towed behind all types of motorhomes with all types of supplemental brakes with no issues. Wrangler is one of the most popular towed vehicles.
RE: residency
Yes you can, as long as you don't actually "live or work" in one of those other states for extended durations.
Owning property by itself does not detirmine your domicile state; you could own a house in all 50 states, but you only have one domicile state. Its based more on where you spend the majority of your time, where you conduct your personal business affairs, and as part of the legal definition - where you intend to return to after your extended travel days. Fulltimers who stay on the move have a lot of flexibility to choose their domicile state, since its primarily based on "intent" which is hard to disprove. But as soon as you stop in one state for more than a few months, or take paid employment in any state (other than seasonal temp), you risk losing that ability to select your domicile in a different state.
RE: Private camping land
Anyone else have property that does this sort of thing?
Yes, I have both summer & winter properties that I developed with water well, septic and electric RV hookups. After a few years of fulltime RV'ing I decided I much preferred extended stays on my own property, rather than extended stays in RV parks. These are 5 to 40 acre parcels out in the country where neighbors are 1/2 mi away. Out west there are many rural areas where this is allowed, but you need to check the county regulations. Many counties will require at least a septic system before you can "live" on the land, even in a self contained RV. But a std septic sys is easy & cheap; getting the permit is usually the hardest part. Some counties also restrict the length of time you may "live" in an RV on your property.
Back east or near populated towns, its usually more restrictive and more expensive to meet the "codes".
RE: Recent photos of the Aspen in the CO Rockies
Here in the SW Co mtns we've had several signs that winter is coming early this year, including an earlier start to the annual fall color show. I rode the Harley from South Fork over the pass to Lake City a few days ago and above 8500 ft the colors are near their peak and in a few spots have already started falling due to recent rains & winds. Below 8500 ft should peak later this week. I can't get any lower than 7800 ft around here, so not sure what lower elevations are doing. Time to pack up and move south for me.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ooTBzM4-gFE/UFnLtbml2PI/AAAAAAAANn8/w5qK9GQBe6U/s800/DSC_0053.JPG
RE: Fall colors - S.W. Colorado
Oct 1st may be a bit late for this years color show. Mother nature has started early this year.
From Durango, head north on 550 (million dollar highway) to Silverton & Ouray. You could make a big loop by continuing north to Ridgway, then 62 to Telluride and 145 to Cortez. Depending on what type of car you rent, from Silverton go to Animas Forks and hookup with the Alpine Loop, a gravel dirt road that loops over to Lake City and back, most of it above 10,000 ft with a few rough, rocky spots.
RE: colorado truck
Tom, on my Canyon, since it was my first toad and was going to be a fulltime toad, I had the Roadmaster towbar brackets & associated wiring kit professionally installed; it uses the builtin lights. Since then I've added a Jeep Wrangler as a part time toad and installed that wiring kit myself, with diodes to use the builtin lights. I've had no problems with either one. I dont like having to bother with a 2nd set of lights when traveling fulltime, but its just another personal preference choice.
RE: colorado truck
Yes that correct if its a 4x4. Put the transfer case in neutral, the auto tranny in park, turn off the key and away you go. no speed limit, no time limit, no stopping every so often to run the engine, no mileage recorded, no battery drain, etc. its a great toad.
I've been towing the twin to the Colorado, GMC Canyon for 5 yrs behind my motorhome.
RE: Weather in SW US
May is already summer in the desert SW. Most of the areas you mention will have highs in the upper 80's low 90's in May.
The only significant variations will be by altitude. Anywhere you get up over 7000 ft elevation you may still find some daytime 70's
The Grand Canyon for example can have a 20 degree difference between the south rim vs north rim (higher elevation)
My bag would be 90% shorts & T shirts, with one set of long sleeves/long pants. Since you're going to be outdoors alot, plan for lots of strong sun: hats, sunscreen and coverups for any sun sensitive folks.
But every year and every week can be different
RE: Route from Gunnison, CO to Silverton, CO
I don't think you meant 149? that heads in a different direction, to Lake City, Creede, South Fork. There is a 4x4 route from Lake City to Silverton that we do on ATV's & Jeeps, but not for RV's.
Maybe you meant 145 via Telluride and Lizard Head Pass? but thats a long long way around. Why not just 50 west from Gunnison to 550 south to Silverton. Its an easy 120 mile drive of about 2.5 hours. Yes, you'll go over Red Mountain Pass, but unless you get caught in an early snow storm, Red Mountain Pass is not bad, certainly not worth doubling your travel time to go around it.
RE: Cortez Co to Alamosa CO
Its about a 3 1/2 hr drive if you're not going to make any pit stops. Although the speed limit is mostly 65 out in the open, there are many sections with no passing, every town you go through it drops down to 40 or 30 MPH; several of those small towns run speed traps frequently, and of course you'll be going slow up & down Wolf Creek Pass.
RE: Highway 160 from Pagoas Springs to Walsenburg, CO
My summer home is at the eastern base of Wolf Creek Pass (South Fork). I go up & down it about 12 times every summer, with my Motorhome & toad and/or my truck & 5'er. Its a long steep pull and a long steep drop, but its good road, has passing lanes where needed and many pullouts.
Thousands of big rig RV's and big rig trucks go up & down Wolf Creek Pass every week with no problems. About once a year we have a big rig trucker overheat the brakes and crash or run off onto the runaway truck ramp.
Whether you may want to disconnect the toad, depends on the size of your engine vs the size of your rig and weight of your toad. Lots of trucks chug up Wolf Creek at 25 mph, lots of space to pass for those going faster. The critical part is controlling your speed on the downhill, without overheating your brakes. Hopefully you have an engine/exhaust brake.
After Wolf Creek Pass, the rest of the valley is level until La Veta Pass, which is mild compared to Wolf Creek.
Also, be aware that several of the small town police depts you'll pass through, have speed traps setup where the speed drops down to 40 or 30 through town. The rest of the route is 65 mph.
