RE: Pros and Cons of 1099 versus withholding
1099 for non employees. W2 for employees. Withholding on either one.
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Guess again. The vast majority of employers attempting to illegally classify employees as independent contractors do so to specifically avoid things like witholding. If you are an independent contractor you get a 1099 for the amount you are paid to do a job, it's not the payer's responsibility to withhold your taxes.
RE: Pros and Cons of 1099 versus withholding
I've been in the construction business for several decades now. I personally know several contractors who have been to hell and back with IRS battles over this issue. Bottom line is, if you are receiving direct supervision, working on an hourly basis, using tools and material provided by the employer, and not holding yourself out to be an independent contractor with your own tools, insurance, responsibility for profit and loss, etc... you ARE an employee. If you receive a 1099 for your wages, the employer is breaking the law. Is this set of guidelines 100% accurate in all cases? No. Will you end up in a big legal mess for taking the money and attempting to pay all typical costs that you employer is skipping out on? Probably not. Are you aware that you are responsible for taxes and fees on your money that can be in the 30-40% range, and need to be paid quarterly? Are you aware that if you are seriously injured on the job, you will probably have a long legal battle ahead of you, since one item you employer is attempting to avoid is having you legally and properly covered by mandated workman's compensation insurance? With 30 years experience in this game, would I ever do it as a work camper? Absolutely not! Legitimate businesses have employees, and don't play games at your expense by pretending that you are a contractor.
RE: Disappointed in Cummins Engine
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Most people that buys a motorhome with that kind of engine and can afford the repairs that he/she mentioned I would say that they took good care of it. I took good care of my Ford F250 6.0 and it blew a head gasket at 99,000 and I changed the oil I changed the filters and the air filters regularly. It wasn't my fault it was inherent to that engine.
I've done enough searching for a quality used motorhome to assure you that the price of a piece of equipment has nothing to do with how well it has been maintained. As for comparing a Cummins to one of the worst motors ever built..........seriously?
Seriously? what. What is so much better with a Cummins to anything else? Every company puts out a product that gets by quality control. Cummins isn't run by the divine and yes sometimes even they will let a faulty product get by. could be a Friday night and the QA is thinking about the weekend and didn't pay attention. but to say that the OP didn't take care of it is not a fair statement. Because I never met a person that had a motorhome of that quality, neglect maintenance. And I would MUCH rather have a John Deere or a Detroit or a Perkins or a DT series engine than a cumapart I mean cummins.
Two issues here. First, there is ZERO evidence that the price of a piece of equipment has ANYTHING to do with if, whether, or how well, the owner maintains it. Sorry, but that isn't something to debate. A neighbor just dropped $400 on a large, thirty year old, bottom of the line travel trailer that looks like a museum piece, literally a 9.99 on a scale of ten. OTOH, in my recent search for a nice used mtorhome I saw more than a few that were 5-8 years years old and trashed, in both appearance and mechanics. Second, it doesn't matter if you are talking about a Cummins or any other brand of motor, once you compare it to the 6.0 Ford disaster, you lose all credibility. The question you appear to be asking, and I quote......"What is so much better than a cummins to anything else?" isn't the issue. The question should be, " When it comes to smaller diesel engines, has there been a bigger disaster that the 6.0 in recent history?" When Ford and International sue each other for billions over a train wreck they both are responsible for, comparing it to a cummins is just a giggle.
RE: Disappointed in Cummins Engine
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Most people that buys a motorhome with that kind of engine and can afford the repairs that he/she mentioned I would say that they took good care of it. I took good care of my Ford F250 6.0 and it blew a head gasket at 99,000 and I changed the oil I changed the filters and the air filters regularly. It wasn't my fault it was inherent to that engine.
I've done enough searching for a quality used motorhome to assure you that the price of a piece of equipment has nothing to do with how well it has been maintained. As for comparing a Cummins to one of the worst motors ever built..........seriously?
RE: Warranty work refused
Lots of strange replies here, but unfortunately nobody can really understand the relationship between a specific manufacturer and the dealer, unless they are involved with the situation, as it stands at the moment.
To give an example, I know a dealer who was going on three decades of a relationship with one of the big trailer builders. He was heavily involved with a new unit that was nearly totalled, since it had a supply water leak buried deep inside the bathroom floor. He literally had to replace the entire lower structure of the back third of the unit. He was in continual contact with the factory, they were verbally authorizing the work and shipping parts on a regular basis. At the end of the repair, the manufacturer denied the claim entirely, since he did not get a signed repair authorization from the manufacturer prior to starting any work. They had told him to not worry about it, start the work immediately, and they shipped thousands in new repair parts during the process, but felt that it was OK to attempt to screw a loyal dealer who had been doing business with them since the early 1980s. That is one of many reasons that dealers refuse the opportunity to lose money on warranty. It's also pretty common to see a dealer at a show, or a salesman, and ask what happened to the "wonderful" product line you had last year? Often the response is, "we got real tired of being screwed out of warranty money"
The other issue may be the remoteness of SLC. I have spoken to quite a few ranchers and contractors in rural South Dakota that will have a new vehicle shipped in from a thousand miles away, and save $5K doing so. The bottom line is that the mentality of dealers in remote cities can be, "we don't discount, because we don't need to". It's quite possible that the Lance dealer is attempting to get that point across to anybody who isn't a loyal buyer. Heck I have done business in a densely packed area of the Northeast and heard the same story. "If you buy from an internet wholesaler, don't bother walking back into my dealership". Finally, it has been discussed many times before on this forum, but it doesn't seem to sink in. An rv dealer has ZERO obligation to do any warranty repair work to any unit that they did not sell. It's not a car, it doesn't matter how puffed up and full of indignation you get, they are not obligated to do it, and some will refuse.
Not only did the OP handle the situation well, he has done a great job of attempting to explain how and why he did what he did.
RE: Campgrounds near Badlands
assuming you mean the South Dakota badlands there are a couple in Wall, SD. we use and like the Arrow Campground. the other one in town is the Sleepy Hollow Campground. frankly, they're both about the same so you would be fine at either. wall is just outside the NP boundry at the western end of the loop road.
We have stayed at both, and IMHO the Arrow is best avoided. The place is worn out, and we were given a site that was a joke. It was literally too small to put the awning out on a small travel trailer. When I discussed it with the staff, the guy said he was out of room, and offered to let me pull up next to an outbuilding and plug in. I told them I needed my money back, as it was heading out. Suddenly a very nice site became available. A quick check of rvparkreviews.com will confirm that I am not alone on this. The average review for the Arrow is a 5, the average for Sleepyhollow is an 8.
If the OP wants full hook-ups the KOA at Interior is tough to beat. Great staff and it's a beautiful green oasis. For absolute beauty, you can't beat the no hookup sites at the visitors center. I have been there during a full moon, and another time when the town of Interior, off in the distance, was doing fireworks, both were magical evenings in the desert.
RE: Campgrounds near Badlands
I recommend Rafter J Bar Ranch in Hill City. Close to Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and just a short jaunt to Wall, SD and Badlands.
Very nice park with large, grassy sites and full amneities. Not fancy, but very nice and centrally located.
Happy Trails! :W
Darryl Wholeheartedly agree that the Rafter J is the best of the best, we have been there at least a dozen times in the last 15 years, and loved it every time. That said, it's 104 miles from the visitors center at Badlands NP, which fails to meet my definition of a "short jaunt". If you take 44 out of Rapid, it's a stunning drive, but short? not so much :)
RE: Window Fabrics, bed covers, etc
I left a Arctic Fox factory rep. speechless during a conversation on this topic, while attending a show a while back. I asked if their primary market for the line was still the typically outdoorsman type, fishing, hunting etc? He said, sure is, that's what we are famous for. I then asked if they ever though of using focus groups, or any other technique to find out what the buyer wants, instead of dressing the insides up like a Victorian whore house? Suddenly, he was out of words, LOL
RE: Tools and Maintenance Items for the Full Time RV Life
I ran into a family pulling a travel trailer in a remote village in the Yukon. They had torn part of their black gas piping off the bottom of the rig. They had the tools to do the job, a 1/2 IPS fitting they unexpectedly found at the local general store/bakery/hardware store, and could of easily gotten everything cobbled back together, but there wasn't an inch of teflon tape to be found anywhere. I was passing through and had a roll to share. I'm all for packing every tool you can, and don't forget the duct tape, teflon, silcone, tywraps. electrical tape, and............
RE: Pioneer Museum in Minden Neb
We spent a day there last summer. The attractions are well worth a stop. We took the time to look at the CG, and were a bit shocked. It is an unmaintained gravel lot in very poor condition. It is surrounded by two motel buildings that look like something out of a "COPS" show prostitution sting, and a huge, abandoned restaurant. It was mid-summer, and not a single RV was parked in any site. Although a lot of signage indicated otherwise, there really wasn't much visual evidence to indicate that the whole mess (motel, diner & CG) wasn't abandoned long ago.
RE: the worse built motorhome you can think of
Shane, In our houshold we now occasionally discuss a pychological condition that we have named "Fleetwood syndrome". Very early in our RV obsession we were moving up to our first new travel trailer. We found a Fleetwood that seemed to fit our needs, and jumped on this forum to ask about other's experience? We we found a majority of the posters had glowing reports about how wonderful their Fleetwood towables were. The next 30 months of Fleetwood ownership were pure hell. The unit was garbage, the factory support was non-existant, and the dealer was trying hard to continually patch and mend this rolling dumpster. In the end it returned to the factory to have the lower half rebuilt due to extreme rot, and mold, caused by defective cargo doors. Fleetwood was well aware of the issue, but hope that they could cut their warranty in half, and hope that owners discovered the issue after it was too late.
the point of all this is that "Fleetwood syndrome" is just a way to express the condition that many suffer from which causes them to defend and justify whatever decisions they have made. It got soo bad that during our ownership I would call out members here who would whine about what a POS their Fleetwood towable is, yet jump on another post and suffer from a bad case of the syndrome, telling some other poor mope to rush down to their local dealer and buy one. Fortunately, Fleetwood's towable division suffered a well deserved death during the recession, and they can no longer harm the public. That said, this post will certainly generate a response or two about how wonderful somebody's Fleetwood is. The same poster may have suffered from all kinds of expensive problems directly attributable to the total lack of quality control and garbage construction quality that the brand was famous for, but they convienently forget about all that when their ego gets in the way.
Bottom line is that we all have our own version of the truth. Some folks here make a decision, suffer greatly due to their poor choices, but think nothing of given a very shaded version of their experience. Your harmless question about the worst motorhome tends to bring the most sensitive of the lot running toward their keyboards. It's no different than making the mistake of joining the board for some help after a dealer and or manufacturer is really giving you a good screwing on your new RV purchase. Many will spend the time to call you a liar, troll, or do anything you can to discredit your experience.... not that they have a clue what the truth actual is, but they need to defend their delicate egos. Sad, but it is what it is.
RE: Fried A/C, 2 TV's and micro wave-my fault or electricians.
...The job of the inspector is to visually inspect the installation to confirm that it meets code requirements, and that it was done to a minimum standard.
Meeting code requirements includes making sure that L1, L2, Neutral, and ground are all connected to the correct terminals - they also make sure that the correct size wire is used based on the requirements of the load and the circuit breaker. Sounds great when you state what SHOULD be done in a perfect world. However, wording your statement as a declaration of fact isn't going to wash. After a few hundreds hours spent, along side of various electrical inspectors, as the perform their duties, I can assure you that a significant percentage of them would of given this job a pass, and jumped in the truck less than five minutes after they arrived. Doesn't matter what their job is on paper, the reality is that they often have a full schedule, a lot of ground to cover, and often no time to be going over another professional's work with a microscope.
RE: Fried A/C, 2 TV's and micro wave-my fault or electricians.
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I get the feeling that you are placing way too much value on the inspector's blessing, and what that contributes to the situation..... snip
Just saying if I knew nothing about some system to be installed and had an inspection scheduled.... I think I would have waited for the inspection.
Chances of getting one of the two to do it right reduces the risk of malfunction at start up. No guaranty of course.
It becomes a matter of really understanding the responsibility of the inspector, VS. the expectation that they will inspect, test and or verify that anything is done correctly. The job of the inspector is to visually inspect the installation to confirm that it meets code requirements, and that it was done to a minimum standard. They are not there to break out a multimeter and test anything, or to confirm that the electrician is doing everything according to contract documents, or meeting the owner's wishes. I can easily see an inspector devoting less than five minutes to performing the entire inspection, and giving it a pass, since everything appears to be correct.
Better than nothing, sure. Taking the time to review the NEMA specs. on the device and confirm that the voltage is correct......maybe. Giving it a pretty green sticker, moments before the RV owner fries all of his electronics in the camper.....you betcha! It isn't the first, or last time that's going to happen.
RE: Fried A/C, 2 TV's and micro wave-my fault or electricians.
All water under the bridge but the breaker should have stayed off until inspected.
But again the electrician should have left it off and let the inspector turn it on with instructions to the OP not to mess with it.
Glad to hear they will make good on everything.
I get the feeling that you are placing way too much value on the inspector's blessing, and what that contributes to the situation.
After dealing with dozens of individual inspectors, I find they are all over the map when it comes to the final product. I have done business with many who were technically competent, up to date on the latest info. on everything from code changes to best practices, and a real asset to the end user. OTOH, I have actually told one that he didn't have a clue and he needed to contact his boss on an issue before I did. He was in the process of failing my work based on code requirements that were several years outdated. Currently I deal with two extrodinarily incompetent individuals who represent a major regional engineering firm that subcontracts inspections in my area. Both of these folks have no idea how to inspect electrical installations, but they sat through the proper classes, and got the badge that says otherwise. I have no personal issue with either of them, but I know that the public is being cheated when the job is inspected by a bureaucrat who does paperwork well, but has no idea what they are looking at in the field. Between those that fit this profile, and the many who ended up with the inspectors badge because of nepotism, politics, or being a total clown with a guaranteed lifetime, union position, I really am less than impressed when I here, " Yep, you passed inspection, everything looks good". A competent, experienced electrician is far more important that a sticker that says everything "passed"
RE: Forest River Motorhomes RV One Superstores????
Sure would be nice if some of the members here would stop shooting the messenger, in every case where the OP is a new and fails to explain everything immediately, in great detail, and to your satisfaction. I am a VERY long time member here, and have done business with RVDirect and Buffalo RV. I have clearly explained why I would not do business with them again, in a previous post, and had no problem at all accepting the OP's original post at face value. I literally purchased a TT worth 1/20th of the motorhome being discussed, and based on my experience, don't doubt for a second that the OP is straight up. It does get a bit old to see the same clowns starting up the same circus everytime a new member jumps on board with, "hey I just got really, really screwed by......." Which is inevitably followed by the big red nose and floppy rubber shoe clowns running around like quacking ducks chanting "liar, liar". I own a Forest River product and have done business with the dealer in question. It doesn't take too much effort to locate far better products and sellers.
RE: Fried A/C, 2 TV's and micro wave-my fault or electricians.
As a licensed, educated, and worn out electrician,(thirty years in the trade, and counting), I'm always amazed at every single internet thread were many passionate folks take the time to give their strong opinion on that which they know little about! It's not worth taking the time to address all the misinformation here. My favorite BTW, is just learning that three phase IS 277V, LOL. I guess all the other variations don't count, eh?
Anyway, back to the subject at hand. The electrician made a series of errors that are common, but inexcusable. First, the required receptacle is an industry standard TT-30. This device has "125v-30A" molded into the face. Ignoring this info. is inexcusable. The second issue is that the terminating clamps on the back of the device are color coded, brass, nickel, and green. This is a universal color code for where to land the hot, neutral and ground, respectively. If it was a straight 220V device, it would not have a neutral screw, just two brass colored ones, and a green ground terminal. Any competent electrician has installed individual circuit conductors thousands of times, following this procedure, as every 15/20 amp. duplex receptacle is marked as such. Third, in order to "stupid-proof" the installation, it is now common to see that the manufacturer has even molded the wire color, or abreviation (I.E. "White" or a capital "W") at the entrance to the terminating clamps. Bottom line is that the electrician made an assumption, and then proceeded to ignore a lot of visual clues that should of caused him to question his assumption. The responsibility for the error, and subsequent damage, lies solely with the professional tradesmen in this case, the RV owner is competely fault free, even if he gave the electrician incorrect info.
This would be no different that the theoretical example of me getting a service call to install a new circuit to feed a microwave in a residential kitchen. The customer states that it is a 220V installation, which raises a red flag. I'm going to do some research when I get to the job. Including inspecting the appliance to read the nameplate, see it if is cord connected, and reviewing the cord end configuration. The reason to do this investigation is that I never have encounted a 220V version of this appliance in a home, and I want to confirm the facts, not assume or rely on the customer's information, before I start. It was the OP's electrician's duty to do the same.
RE: Where to stay in Asheville, NC ??
I hear the Biltmore house is nice. A little old, but well kept and clean. Not sure what they charge, but should not be much as I don't think very many folk stay there anymore.
Either a twisted sense of humor, or we forgot to take our meds. this morning? As for the question at hand, we stayed at Rutledge lake and it was just fine. Nice folks, fairly quiet location, and close to everything you need.
RE: Light truck for dingy,, searching
j-d In the long run, I doubt you will have lost $1000 by passing on the Suzuki. Even before they pulled out of the states, the Equator was about as rare as a pair of chicken lips. I can't imagine that the residual wouldn't tank much faster on an orphan version of a truck that few have seen, and fewer knew existed, as compared to the nearly identical nissan. The other issue is that as those Suzukis get older, I can't imagine getting parts, particularly crash parts.
RE: Tow Car
I would buy a VW any with a 5sp make great tow cars and are not heavy. If the OP is looking for an inexpensive used car, he probably couldn't make a bigger mistake than buying any VW product in his price range. Most of the VW products of the late 90s to early 2000s are well documented as some of the least reliable******on the roads. They are extrodinarily expensive to repair, and it can be extremely difficult to find anybody who can handle the repairs in more remote areas. To answer the next question, I DID own one, and wouldn't wish that experience on any member here. From my typical ownership experience, when you are CELEBRATING the fact that you went a few weeks without a check engine light flashing, and the need to drop $1000 or more to make it go away, it doesn't quite compare to the ledgendary, and very real Honda reliability.
RE: On used MH: how much mileage is too much?
I'm trying to sell a 13-year-old Class A, and am finding reluctance among buyers because of the mileage: 65,000. The unit is in excellent mechanical condition. NADA pricing even allows an extra amount because the mileage is below normal. Are buyers today purchasing based on mileage mainly?
Place the above information in your ad plus add "Price -$200 comes with a full tank of fuel and propane." Trust me it will sell.
It's all about price. Just like everything in life.
Don't let the forum "experts" confuse you. I'm guessing you have more on the road RV knowledge then 90% of them. That's where the rub is, those that are looking at your rig could be internet "experts" thinking they have an inside track to this stuff, while you know the true value of the rig based on what it is capable of doing.
All it takes is one buyer. Look around and see what type of competition you have and price it to win. If it's worth more to you then that, keep it and keep enjoying a good rig.
It might be a bit easier to respond to this post if there was some semblence of a coherent though taking place in what you posted????
First, you recommend that he cut-n'-paste an RV forum question about why he is having trouble selling his rig in HIS AD, then ad "price-200 blah-blah-blah." Yea, that will work wonders, leaving the average shopper to wonder exactly what the heck the seller is talking about.....or if it's a good idea to buy a rig from a crazy person? It's bad enough that he is trying to move an older rig with high miles, now he should toss in some incoherent babble into the copy, eh?
Second, nice job dismissing all the previous posts on his several threads regarding this issue, since we are all a bunch of "experts". Well as an amateur, I have spent the last several months, thousands of dollars, and about 6000 miles of travel, looking at gas rigs in his price range. But as you stated, I couldn't possibly have a clue. Not to mention all the folks here who are on their fourth or fifth coach, and have spent well into the seven figures on the hobby so far.... probably clueless also, eh? Or maybe it would be the techs. dealer employees and other insiders that hang out here, and add their obviously useless opinions?
Wow, it may be best if you just deleted the whole thing, and we just all pretend it never happened. An internet Mulligan, if you will.
