RE: Help with gun selection
I'm gonna guess that neither critter will succumb easily to most of the firearms mentioned unless good marksmanship is practiced. Tuthfully, if one is going to carry a firearm for protection from any creature, it behooves them to become proficient with it's use. Never become complacent, practice often, keep your head in the game.
Were it me seriously wanting to have the necessary punch to dispatch angry gators and hogs, I'd be looking at a .357 or .44 with a medium barrel length. Lighter bullet weights with hollow points will yield less recoil and still do the job. Alternately, 9mm"s with good ammo have pretty decent penetration as well as more capacity, and a .40 with 155-165 gr. HP ammo would probably suffice in a pinch and be more controllable and handy for your wife. I tried to introduce my wife to shooting and she had problems with cycling the automatic so you may find a revolver works better for her. Don't know the stature or strength of your wife, so your experience will differ. My .02.
RE: Shanandoah Valley, VA
In addition to those already mentioned, we stayed at Andy Guest Campground in Shenandoah River State Park and it was very nice. Water and elec. but no on-site sewer, dump station instead.
Also, I have it on good authority the Luray KOA is one of the sharpest, cleanest campgrounds in the area, though not the bargain Andy Guest is.
RE: Counting propane as tongue weight.
Water and propane are the two most important systems aboard an RV. Without propane RV's wouldn't exist.
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Really?? So the RVs I used for 25 years with out using ONE 20lb bottle of propane. Didn't exist?
And in truth. When we dry camp. We don't use the water system on the TT at all. Y'all can go to those nasty dump stations. I'm not. We have a water container we fill at the CG, and sit on the picnic table. We use that water to cook with, and to wash hands with.
My fresh tank has had water in it one time, and we drained it on the way home from the dealer.
You can surely do as you wish, and I won't try to stop you, I promise. But I continue to find it strange that a contingent of folks who camp in a well-equipt trailers refuse to use the trailer to it's full intended design.
We do nothing but state parks here in PA (elect. only) and have traveled across the US and back once so far, and I can't imagine how or why we wouldn't have done any of it without propane, or water in the tank. I have yet to run across a "nasty dump station" in five years (even in a state park!). Full hookups are a rare treat for us but I'm not giving up the full use of our trailer for anything. We cook over the fire, and we cook over the stove. We use the bathroom in the TT, and we use the bathroom at the campground. It's our option, but I didn't spend all the time and money NOT to use the systems in our trailer. I just don't get the reasoning behind not using the trailer you paid for.
I'm not trying to take you to task on it, I simply don't understand what the big deal is. No offense intended. We have friends who have a very nice fiver and have never had water in the FW tank. Granted, they always book full hookups at private campgrounds, but to not even know if the pump will work when you need it, or sanitze the tank for water while travelling makes no sense to me. I have countless times pulled over for someone to use the facilities on-board, and can't imagine why I shouldn't travel with water in the tank. I don't generally drink the water out of the tank, but it's nice to know it's safe to do should I need to.
You don't have to justify anything to me, but I sure don't understand what the big deal is. Each to his own, I guess.
RE: Surge Guard Universal Lock ??
A sign warning of video surveilance might be the cheapest insurance. These days, it doesn't cost much to cover a site with cams, and everybody knows it.
RE: Counting propane as tongue weight.
When one of mine goes empty, I try to fill it up ASAP, so in my case, I'm usually closer to both full than not. I don't see how it doesn't matter, in any case. It's there. You can't negotioate it away. Add or removing weight virtually anywhere changes how things ride/tow. Might not be much, but it is what it is. Not sure I get the purpose of the question. You can't cheat physics.
RE: 2014 GM 1500 Payload Specs
Hmmmm, beats the heck out of my brand new F150 at 1199 lbs. :(
You just bought the wrong door sticker. Mine says 2197 lbs, nicely equipt. And the rear windows go down the whole way, not just tip out.:B
RE: Biggest issue about keeping TT at home
This thread is funny! My wife and I are constantly getting asked where we went camping last weekend. Everybody knows when we're gone. While I do like the idea that so many are watching our house, I do have to wonder if they'd actually take action if something suspicious was going on while the trailer was away. I willing to bet few would investigate further if push came to shove.
RE: Add grease zerk to axle or not?
True enough, and mostly my point here in the wonderland of stupidity, PA. They must pull two wheels every year at inspection. In my opinion, this does nothing but invite trouble where none existed previously. It would be nice if they could use a system of braking where the brakes could be checked without messing with my bearing preload and increasing the possibility of dirt entering the bearing.
RE: Backing up
I still find myself giving too much steering input and too early, but using the mirrors is a must. The hard part is to not be able to see the blind side when backing. A good spotter is worth their weight in gold. Go slow and don't be afraid to get out and look. After while you will visualize it in your head before you do it and it becomes much easier.
RE: Where on your RV do you put your states visited map?
Ours is the vinyl one with suction cups. It's stuck to the picture window at the dinette. Our criteria is only states we have taken the trailer to or through (I think?).
RE: Add grease zerk to axle or not?
I doubt you'll hurt anything adding grease unless you blow it out the seal in back. Obviously, that wouldn't be good. Given the fact they are designed to allow pumping grease into, and through the hub, adding a little in a pinch won't hurt, just doubt it will be as effective as checking and packing directly as you did. I used my super lube feature for three years and it does sorta work, but it's a lot of grease and a lot of pumping. I have also opted for the direct method from here on out.
RE: ventilating window replacing non
I mananged to come up with several possible mfg'ers but so far haven't found one that is a direct replacement. Definately crank out, no slider. I took apart the OEM one and it just a frame and a piece of glass held in place by a couple plastic nibs. It sure fits the hole tightly, though! I think I'm on the right track at least, thanks for the input. The one on Ebay is close.
ventilating window replacing non
I'm looking into replacing the window on my giant rear cargo door with one that slides or cranks open to ventilate the rear bunk area. Every one of the four bunks back there has an ajacent window except this one and it creates a stale, stuffy spot for the person who sleeps there. I find out this is the main reason my son has taken over the dinette for sleeping. I don't have a problem with his preference occasionally, but on a regular basis it interrupts the flow of day when he holds up the rest of us who need the table to eat and move on to other activities.
Anybody have a resource for a window that would be a direct replacement? On quick measurement (without removing to measure the rough opening) it appears to be about 13 1/2" x 22 1/2" with radiused corners. I've searched a little but haven't found anything that comes close yet. Thanks!
RE: Balancing RV tires
I had severe early wear on my OEM ST tires and after getting the alignment corrected, I put ceramic balancing beads in all the tires. Can't say if it helped the OEM tires or not, but the new Maxxis have the same bead in and I have not seen any perceptable wear in the first season of use. Not empirical data, but as of now they seem to work. I swear from the first I could tell a difference in how the rig rode and handled, but being a highly subjective thing, I wouldn't swear to it. Probably subconsciously trying to justify the cost and time. Cost about $60 to do all tires.
RE: 7 pin connector lock?
If you are trying to lock it for security reasons, I won't be much help. I do a walk around everytime I stop to check such things, and it's pretty hard for someone to unplug it while I'm driving.
For peace of mind, I use a section of bicycle inner tube to pull up around the locking door flap. It holds it all together and helps keep dirt and water out to boot.
RE: Flush King Reviews
I have the Valtera 45 degree hydro flush elbow and I think it works a little better because it doens't just fill the pipe and let it run back down, it shoots water directly up the pipe and knocks anything loose nearby. If a device doesn't shoot up into the tank, you might as well save some money and hold the hose up higher and fill the tank that way. Or, you can just run a couple flushes down the toilet while the valve is open. With the hydro flush, I can shoot a few short bursts up into the tank and flush it pretty effectively rather than fill the pipe with water. I don't get too carried away with a lot of flushing until the last dump of the season.
RE: Traveling with your Fridge On
If we take out the issue of danger (perceived or real) I have to wonder how this is going to work.
For example, I know they take some time to cool off from an ambient start point, so if I take a day to load it and let it get down to temp, then start my trip, how is it ever going to keep up on a longer trip if I shut it off?.
When we went on our trip out west for a month in '08, we put a lot of miles on most days. If the fridge is off for 8 hrs, then on over night, then off again the next day, what is the point of having a fridge? It won't be able to keep up and my food will spoil. I've shut mine off on short trips as a test and it stays below forty for an hour or so, but after that it becomes questionable.
What does Dometic recommend? I don't think that's been posted yet, has it? There's reasonable fear, justifiable fear and lunacy. Where does this fall. Seems to me they are designed to run on gas while moving otherwise it might be an appliance that has little utility. Might as well use coolers and ice.
RE: Can anyone access the Sunnybrook web site?
Yup, works now. Didn't last night on two different computers. I hadn't been on for a while, looks like they revamped. Maybe they went "live" with it last night. Anybody know how long it's been like it is now?
RE: just turning around at home?????
I usually pull the TT through the campground without the wd bars. I install them at the dump station.
Because....?
