RE: Does anyone ever talk about selling their RV?
We sold ours, which had a book value around $6k, for $3k. We'd tried asking higher prices, but when we lowered the price to $3k that worked. Tried the usual listing locations (rvtrader, local classifieds, etc. etc.) I think it's safe to assume you can sell for about 50% of book, but not much more. You sometimes see the same old used RVs on dealer lots for years and years, with asking prices at book value.
I think a lot depends on the population of the area you're in, and the value of your RV. It's not like a car or truck, where there is likely to be a fairly high demand even in less populated areas.
Paul
RE: What do you shut off when leaving home?
We have a valve at the supply (water meter, at the street) that's only 2 years old, but requires a huge amount of torque to turn, so I don't turn off the water for fear of breaking it (or the pipes where it connects.) If you have valves in the house the aren't used very often, I'd be hesitant to turn those off only occasionally, because they're likely to leak. It seems like you have to use valves frequently, or not at all.
Paul
RE: "Light Duty" 2500 GMC?
In shopping for a truck in 2002 I test drove a used "new" style 2500 regular cab. I am 100% sure it was a 2500 (not HD) and that it had the 5.3L. I believe it was a 2001 model year, but I'm not sure. I know it was earlier than a 2002, but I also know it was a new body style. I'm 98% sure it had the 3.73. It was 2wd.
Paul
RE: Cost to Repack Wheel Bearings
Probably $175 is a little steep, but the real problem is not knowing whether the job will be done correctly. If you have a reasonably sized tire particularly (our pup had 10" wheels, which mean high rpms, which isn't what you want), I'd be tempted to say you might be better off not doing it at all for a really, really long time.
As for doing it yourself, it's not necessarily as easy as some are making it out to be. The fact is, some people have a knack for doing mechanical tasks, and some don't. Some people can get away with using gasoline to clean parts; some of us would wind up hospitalized if we tried that.
Paul
RE: Which lens to get for my DSLR
With digital, it's a bigger advantage to not have to swap lenses, because leaving the lens on keeps dirt off the sensor. So if you're content with 18mm on the wide side you might just go to whatever you choose, 200mm or 250mm.
I have 200mm on an APS sensor, and it's a big (50%, of course) improvement over 200mm on a film camera. But I'd say that the longer you get, the less marginal advantage. So going from 200 to 250 would be more important than going from 250 to 300.
I'd also suggest reading as many reviews as you can, and considering the image quality maybe more than for film. Film didn't improve that much over the years in terms of resolution, but digital cameras improve all the time. So what's a good lens today might be not so good tomorrow.
Paul
RE: Graduation Trip around the United States...
Is it possible that you misunderstood and that what she was really asking for was to borrow the truck and camper for a few months... as in, without you?
Paul
RE: Brand New RVer With Very Basic Question
I'd unplug the electrical if using the TT and not running the TV engine for more than a few hours, due to battery drain. But, I've forgotten to plug the TT back in, too, and had the connector grind off after dragging on the pavement for hours.
Or, have a relay installed.
No need to unhook, so long as you physically fit in your parking location while still connected.
Paul
RE: PCMCIA USB 2.0 adapter
I have two of the PC Card/USB 2.0 (PC Card is the correct term since PCMCIA was too confusing for most users and they officially changed it.) I lost the drivers and disks and can't find the manufacturers name anywhere on them. Looks like I'll have to buy another one!
I don't think you need the drivers, except for W98 or 2000. Mine work without a driver on XP.
Paul
RE: Not enough memory for my pictures-what to do ?
I just upgraded my K100 to a K200, so I have the same memory situation you have. By most accounts the K200 (same sensor as the K10, but not the same firmware) jpegs are horrible, so I've always assumed that raw was the only choice. That's all I used on my K100 too. You should use two external USB drives, stored in separate places. DVDs are too small to be useful.
You can use an online backup service too, although probably not a free one. Most of the free photo sites will charge for downloads.
Paul
My JPEGs with my K10D are excellent...I custom tuned the camera settings to my taste, not sure you can do that with a K100 or K200. a I'm a very critical and demanding photographer and very happy with the quality pf the K10D.
A buddy has a K200D...same thing...JPEG is great. We've taken a few thousand pix each..together on our picture outings.
Being retired, I spend a lot of time out and about taking pictures with other recent retirees...we use different makes of DSLR's...Nikon, Pentax and Canon and we compare our pictures...all on JPEG and there are no big differences that either I or my photo buddies can see....
I don't have other DSLRs to compare against. With the K100 I didn't see much difference in formats, but raw files weren't as big, so I just used raw. The K200 is pretty new to me, so I should probably reserve judgement, but so far there seems to be more of difference in quality between jpeg and raw than there was on the K100, although I almost always used raw on the K100. I'm sure the firmware on each model is different, so the jpeg results will be too. All the cameras are pretty amazing, I think.
Ultimately I don't think my volume will be sufficient to worry about storage, even with the K200.
Paul
RE: Not enough memory for my pictures-what to do ?
Agree with all who have posted that use external USB hard drive. Depending on what you are going to do with the pictures(how large your prints are going to be) you may be able to save yourself some hard drive space by taking pictues in basic or normal instead of fine or RAW. Keep your camera in large format(10.2MP) but use the smaller compression. You wont notice any difference in picture quality until you start printing 20 x 30" photos or larger.
In the case of the same-sensor K200, the issue seems to be the poor quality of the jpeg conversion program in the camera's firmware, not the resolution. Computer software does a better conversion job than the in-camera firmware. You can improve the process somewhat by changing the camera's default output settings, but not to the point that you can with software on your computer. The computer software will probably improve as time goes on, but you can only take advantage of that if you save all the data to process later. I wouldn't have selected a K200 if I'd not planned on using raw.
Paul
RE: Not enough memory for my pictures-what to do ?
I just upgraded my K100 to a K200, so I have the same memory situation you have. By most accounts the K200 (same sensor as the K10, but not the same firmware) jpegs are horrible, so I've always assumed that raw was the only choice. That's all I used on my K100 too. You should use two external USB drives, stored in separate places. DVDs are too small to be useful.
You can use an online backup service too, although probably not a free one. Most of the free photo sites will charge for downloads.
Paul
RE: Trany cooler?
A transmission cooler would be very small. Something larger would be the condenser.
Installing a cooler costs less than having the transmission serviced, and if you get the cooler, you'll probably never need to have the transmission serviced.
Paul
RE: Investment in an RV?
You can't try to justify it as an investment. It's like many hobbies, where you spend money on supplies or equipment, but don't get a "return" except pleasure in using the materials.
In this market, you can get a good value on a used RV. We sold our 2002 for 30% of the price we paid for it, and it was in very good overall condition.
Paul
RE: What exactly makes up a tow package?
Based on my recollection of my 2000 1500 Silverado (but, I could be wrong...):
1. transmission air/oil cooler
2. receiver and wiring
3. heftier shock absorbers (but standard springs.)
I'm fairly confident there was no engine oil cooling, and no larger radiator, or other heavier-duty parts.
I think the axle ratio was independent of the tow package.
Paul
RE: Want to buy a new Desktop computer
I recently bought a new Dell Vostro, partly because it had the legacy ports I wanted (for my old kvm switch) and a 22" monitor. I use it for my business; it was $500(not including tax) with both XP and Vista. It doesn't have a card reader, but I already had a usb card reader ($15.)
As for satellite and mobile broadband, none of those are practical alternatives to the $20-25/mo broadband service that's available for most of us, due to where we live. Most people would need to have a business justification for internet to spend as much as the alternatives cost.
Paul
RE: Camera Trouble
In everyone's rush to technology, I think we forgot that basics will last much longer. I have a 30 yo Konica SLR, (remember, this one takes real Kodak 35mm film!) that still works and looks new. My son and my daughter recently used it in their High School Photography classes, and impressed the teacher with the results. When I bought my Daughter a new, expensive digital camera, it lasted for 3 years..period! 3 years of football games, birthday parties, road trips and basketball games. I loaned her my Konica for her High School yearbook class, and it did splendedly! So I'm getting her a new FujiFilm digital camera for Christmas. We'll see how long this one lasts! And yes, her other digicam got the dreded "blue line" across the screen syndrome! :S
My Canon A-1 35mm cameras were what I'd consider "good" cameras, but if you didn't send them for a CLA (clean lubricate and adjust) every few years, which costs $100, they didn't work right. My "legendary" Pentax Spotmatic was designed with a meter that turned off (and centered the needle, indicating correct exposure) in dark conditions. So let's not get overly nostalgic about 35mm cameras. Yes, they had an undeniable mechanical appeal - the feel of the aluminum and brass focusing mechanisms, etc. But it's kind of like being nostalgic over your '60s car, that you've conveniently forgotten didn't run when it was raining.
I do have an issue with photography teachers, and there are bunches of them, encouraging students to use film. I teach computer software, and I don't make students learn character byte codes, so they can read 80-column punched cards with no printing on them, just because that's something I was taught to do. The photography world, with the exception of a few fine-art applications, has moved on to digital, and it's mostly better. But there's a lot to learn about digital, just like there was about film.
But to get back on topic, that's great to know about the Canon LCDs. However, cameras improve so fast today that unless a camera is very new, it may still be worthwhile to get a newer model. It seems like a lot to spend, but we used to spend a lot on film and processing, too.
Paul
RE: 35mm slides to digital picture frame
My experience is that a decent flatbed will work as well as an inexpensive dedicated film scanner, for about the same price (plus you might already have one.)
I eventually bought a $1000 film scanner, and the results are superior to my flatbed, but scanning takes a long time and while you actually may see a slight difference even on a photo frame (in shadow detail, not sharpness), it's only worth it for archival purposes (your film is fading and/or becoming difficult to store safely.) Hi resolution scans can easily occupy over 50 mbytes each. You can spend a lot more than $1000, and get even better results, but we all have our limits.
So if photography isn't a serious hobby, I'd have a service scan your slides, and not worry about equipment.
Paul
RE: How Much To Live Full Time in MH
It's misleading to say an RV is paid for, any more than a stick house can be paid for. We "owe" about $500/mo for our $100k "paid for" stick house. One year we need carpet, one year a roof, one year hvac. Every year there are taxes and fees. Occasionally we get a year off from some of the expenses, but it never ends. It's the same with an RV. Whether you own it outright or not, the payments never end.
I'd guess the site fees are really one of the most trivial and most controllable expenses, so it would be wise not to fixate on them.
Paul
