RE: Algodones, Mexico Dentist
My DW had over $17,000 worth of root canals, crowns, caps, extractions, bone grafts, and implants done in Algodones. We used Dr. Carlos Rubio's group. It is one of the leading ones in Algodones and as such, it is just a little more expensive than some of the others. He is US trained and spends a lot of time lecturing at various dental colleges in Mexico and the US. Our estimate for having the work done here in the states was more than $50,000 and that was if they did not find "complications." As you know, there are ALWAYS complications! We were, have been, and still are, extremely pleased with the work done by Dr. Rubio and his staff. Everything was handled in his offices or right across the street. It was always very professional with no real language barriers. They did not accept credit cards but did take our check for almost all work done. We never had a moment when we didn't feel safe crossing the border or returning. We parked in the Indian run fenced lot for $5.00 for all day and walked the few blocks necessary to get to his office, which was new and very modern with all up to date equipment. One day, the day of the major surgery, I was instructed to drive across and park in his driveway since DW would be too woozy and weak to walk. I did this with no problem except that it took quite a long time to maneuver through the long line to cross back into the states. YMMV but we had a good experience and would not hesitate to do it again.
x 2 for Dr. Rubio and his staff. They have taken excellent care of my mother (66 yo), my stepmother (72) , and my father(70) over the last 6 years! I drive/escort. They were super professional and when I need more extensive care than my plan covers, I will go there as well.
RE: Where are you going for Thanksgiving?
Heading to St. Joe State Park for some off road riding. 2000 acre ORV park 40 minutes south of St. Louis. Should be good for sure.
Wait, there's riding there?? My oldest is a junior at Missouri Western State University (Go Griffons!) in St. Joseph, MO. How big is the park? Do you have a link or details? He is flying home on Monday and we are heading to the Oregon dunes, but it would be awesome if he could get some riding in while he is at school.
RE: So, you bought a toy hauler...what would you do differently?
Not sure how many kids you have or their ages, but here is my opinion (mom to mom):
We loved the 28' Carson Fun Runner because it was inexpensive and rugged! We took it offroad and took trips from Seattle to Yuma.
We found that it was more comfy to leave the fold up furniture folded up and use folding chairs and a big costco table for our family of 7. At night we folded down the couches for beds and the kids doubled up. That worked great!
Downside: Unloading everything to sleep, futon mattress in front where the hubby had to climb over me to get in (maybe not such a downside, lol).
So we got the adrenaline 40 footer.
Love: we could fit all 7 quads in the 12 foot garage by standing some of them up. The adrenaline has a corner t.v. so it is WAY COMFORTABLE to watch, and we can hook up the video games to them easily for rainy days. This toyhauler was well designed with a family in mind! Everyone had their own bed if they wanted (we put the boys in the garage though- they just somehow got smellier as they got older LOL) It is fully functional with the slides in which is nice when we stop in transit.
Don't Love: It's so darn big, its hard to find campspots sometimes. Now that all but the little guy are grown and at college, in the airforce, or otherwise gone, it is a bit much for just 3 of us.
We have been looking at smaller toyhaulers and motorhome/trailer set ups but we can't bear to put out that much money, when our current set up is paid for and our main complaint is that it is "too big". Wah!
I don't know that I would do anything different then because our hauler handled the abuse dished out by the kids in heavy boots, the dog who shed (and occasionally barfed) with flying colors.
My advise is to look at your long term needs and go from there.
Probably avoid a rubber roof. If you use hookups, you can use little electric heaters to stay warm, it you boondock like we do, you want a well insulated unit.
Good luck!
RE: Toilet-related
Having sailed long distance before, you don't put ANYTHING in the head other than what came from your body (flush with seawater) as you dump into the ocean. TP (minimal amount) gets bagged.
RE: Who is spending Thanksgiving at the Oregon dunes?
Awesome to know. I loved the old Pizza Rays, Bedrocks is not as good.
Bummer you won't be around seeing as you are on the same street as two of my relatives (gawd, do I sound like a stalker wierdo?)
Anyone else going to be there?
We are going rain or shine - no wimping out for us.
My oldest is flying out from Missouri (he is a junior at Missouri Western State University) and a beginner type rider.
The middle is coming home from WSU ( he is a junior too - Electrical Engineering) and is a very good rider.
The little guy is an 8th grader and a pretty decent rider.
My husband is a maybe - he often works during the holidays at Boeing as that is about the only time they shut down the production (he is a construction super).
Who is spending Thanksgiving at the Oregon dunes?
Only a month to go!!!
Hooray! I'm working crazy hours and looking forward to a break.
Got all 3 of my boys going with me to the Hauser KOA.
Any other RV Net folks gonna be down there at Coos?
Sound off! Where are you staying and where at?
Anyone want to do a RV.net meet up at Bedrocks (formerly Pizza Rays) in Winchester? Somewhere else?
RE: LT vs ST tire Poll
Had ST tires from Jan 2006 to Aug 2009 when I discovered big sidewall bubbles in them while we were at Dunefest. Run LTs now and are very happy with them.
Another reason to love the trailer - Oktoberfest
We hauled the toyhauler to the Puyallup fairgrounds yesterday and set her up.
Two couples and ourselves are going to have a great time and then stagger to the trailer. No driving - $20 for full hookups.
Bring on the beer, brats, and HAMMERSCHLAGEN!
RE: Camping without the camper. - UPDATE
Took the little guy to the dunes last April and did the camping kabin since it was just the two of us and he isn't much help with the trailer yet (some developmental issues). I didn't want to haul the 40 footer down, set up, and pack up all by myself.
Not only did I have to pack all our stuff, but also load the quads in the back of the pick up - he did help me stand his up though. Loading up, there were 4 or 5 guys drinking beer watching a mom and her small 12 year old struggle to load the quads and not one offered a hand! It took a bit, but I got it done.
That said though, we had a great mother-son trip. We rode from boxcar to spinreel, over to the beach and played on bull run.
We are thinking about a smaller trailer though.
RE: Thinking about a smaller trailer
Have you considered renting? For one trip per year it doesn't pay to own anything!
Oh we still take the quads or the boat out about a dozen times a year. Its just usually only 2 or 3 of us at a time.
For instance, my husband and I might go to the dunes for the weekend in the summer, then one of the older boys will drive down sunday with his car, the hubby will take that to work, and I have 4 or 5 days with 2 of the kids.
We took the boat to Idaho for 10 days on the Pend Oreille (had to take two vehicles - grr) and it was only us and the little guy.
I guess I wasn't real clear. We still ATV, but could easily go to a smaller toyhauler. Instead of sleeping 6, we usually only have 3 or 4 max now.
We have had such great weather, I'm going to start buffing it out. We can't really winterize it because we ride year round. Moses Lake in Oct, Coos in Nov, Winchester in Dec, and maybe Sandlake in Jan for giggles.
looking for 32 to 36 foot motorhome recommendations
My husband and I are thinking about going to a class A motorhome.
Background:
We have a camping/atving/boating family. We started in tents, moved up to a 1978 19' Prowler trailer, then a 2003 Carson 28' bumper pull toyhauler, then our current 2006 42' Coachmen 5th wheel toyhauler. We bought the toyhaulers new and were very happy with them - no repairs needed on the Carson and minimal things on the Coachmen. Lucky huh?
Fast forward to now and we only have 1 kid left who regularly camps with us (he's 13 so we can still force him :B ) Two of our older boys are away at college and the third is in the airforce. They like to camp when they visit, but it is very seldom now.
Now what?
We are thinking of changing over to a motorhome. It would eliminate having to take two vehicles when we take the boat, we can take an enclosed when we ride (older boys can stay there if they are with us) and a toad if we are visiting wine country.
What do we want?
36' or under bumper to bumper, walk around bed, a comfy couch/reclining loveseat (don't mind installing our own) and the TV across from the couch NOT NOT NOT over the driver and passenger. After a long day, we love to kick back, snuggle (still! at our age!) and watch a movie without getting a crick in our necks.
Decent finishes are a must. Solid surface counter and undermount sink. Outlet covers are not a big deal - we can and have switched them out.
Probably gas - we aren't towing heavy and we want to keep the price down.
We have looked at:
Coachmen Leprechaun 31 footer, (since we are happy with our current Coachmen) but its a class C. meh
Georgetown 329 and 335. RV Direct gave us a killer price quote and we are thinking seriously about it.
We want a warranty and decent customer service. We can do some things, but there are some we just aren't good at. To paraphrase the original Star Trek, "Dammit Jim, I'm a teacher, not a mechanic!"
Recommendations and OTD price info is welcome. Thanks in advance.
Thinking about a smaller trailer
Thinking about downsizing the toyhauler. Our two oldest boys are away at college and the third is in the air force now. On the last few trips it has only been 2 or 3 of us camping at any given time (I will take one or two of the boys in the summer when my husband is working.)
Its ironic, we went from a couple of tents to a borrowed 19' Prowler to a 28' Carson toyhauler to this is 2006, but we are ready to get smaller again. We have only had 1 trip this entire year with more than 3 of us going at one time.
We like the floorplans of the Voltage 3200 and the Fuzion 310 or 322. At around 35', they are not that much smaller than what we have, but we are currently about 2' too long for a few places we like to camp.
We have been pretty stupid lucky with our rig - we did no research at all, but everything has worked great over the years with the exception of the fuel station pump (swollen gears) and the gas hot water heater.
Recommendations and OTD prices would be appreciated.
We are also thinking about going to the dark side and possibly looking at a class A, but we HATE the tv over the driver models as we like to kick back and cuddle (still!) Not sure about that though.
RE: Pulling 40' toy hauler
I have been towing my 2006 Adrenaline 400DS (42 feet I think) for 6 and a half years now. First with a 1998 Chevy 454 Dually gasser. I towed it to the Black Hills and back and the Oregon dunes and back a bunch and heat cracked the brakes, but luckily I caught it before anything happened (although the les schwab guys kind of laughed when I came in and said my brakes felt squishy.)
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b386/nwcutie/trailer/8-7-11readytoleave.jpg
Now I tow with a 2006 Ford F350 King Ranch dually 6 leaker diesel and it is night and day. The p/u came with the tow boss package which is nice. I had my rv plug (in the bed of the truck) shake out on a really rough road and the truck still stopped the trailer just fine (wouldn't want to do that all the time though!!!)
RE: MX Gear Donations
We contacted the veteran's hospital in our area and they put us in touch with a veteran's group that took our stuff. They were really appreciative of the kids gear as many vets want to introduce their kids to the sport and don't have a lot of money.
RE: Your longest road trip towing your camper?
One trip we crammed 2 adults, 4 kids, and a medium sized dog into the crew cab dually and pulled the toyhauler from Tacoma to Yuma,stopping in Glamis for a week, and back over the Christmas school break.
Another trip, we went from Tacoma to Lead, SD, to St. Anthony's, ID, to Coos Bay, OR and back over the course of 3 and a half weeks.
Most of our trips are shorter - to the Oregon dunes or Sand Point, ID.
