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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Fridge usage in class B
I turn it on a day or so before I'm planning to leave. Unless you are planning to leave food in the fridge, I'm not sure why you would want to leave it on all the time. I don't think there is a negative impact by turning it on and off.
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truepath
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05/30/13 04:06pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Cargo Carrier
Small enclosed trailers are another option to consider.
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truepath
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05/10/13 09:18pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: What tires do you suggest?
As you can see from the above discussion, there is no end to opinions on which tire is best. TireRack has an excellent website where you can compare tires on several different aspects. I suggest you go there to educate yourself on tire characteristics. Be sure you know and understand the tire size and weight rating the RV manufacturer recommends. BTW, in my experience Tirerack is a good place to buy from. I have compared their prices to local dealers and WalMart and they equal or beat them even considering the price you have to pay to have someone mount the tires. I have no connection with Tirerack other than my experience buying several different sets of tires from them. The last tires I bought for my RV were Michelin LTX MS2. There were a couple of other tires that met my specifications, but I ended up going with the Michelins because of a $70 rebate they were offering at the time.
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truepath
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05/10/13 09:12pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Gas Pods for an RV to improve gas milage?
These things might make sense if one were driving a solar powered vehicle, but I really question that they would make any measurable difference in a large RV that has been designed for everything, but aerodynamic efficiency.
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truepath
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05/04/13 07:22pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: RV Crash Safety & Illusions of Safety
With a class C it seems to me that you are really at the mercy of the coach manufacturer to build in safety features. Your observations about safety considerations in your unit are probably not out of the ordinary for a class C. Without a bunch of testing, it is probably difficult to say how much your planned mods will improve safety, although they sound to me like an improvement to what's there now. One thing though that I would think about is the potential responsibility you are assuming by making these kinds of mods particularly when it comes to subsequent owners/users of your unit. Also, do you feel competent to design appropriate safety mods and are you going to be able to find someone willing to implement your designs. You have raised an important issue that I don't think those of us with RV's have thought enough about. It would be interesting to hear what the RV manufacturers have to say about this.
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truepath
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05/04/13 06:58pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: A Class B I can drive in town and that has a REAL bed?
When I was converting a Chevrolet G20 van I found a mattress company that would make any size mattress I wanted. I ordered one custom that fit my size and it worked very well for years. The cost was also very reasonable. It is very easy to construct a wood platform that folds up when not in use. Depending on the RV you buy, you should be able to remove the current bed/couch system and replace it with your custom platform and bed. I sure wouldn't give up on a B for lack of a good bed. You can make it happen.
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truepath
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05/04/13 06:27pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Campgrounds Custer, SD
Custer is a good place to base out of for the south hills. It is close to the big time attractions (Rushmore and Crazy Horse) and also lesser known, but excellent ones like the Custer wildlife loop, the mammoth site near Hot Springs, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, etc.
You can't go wrong with any of the Custer State Park campgrounds, but I agree with Booster that Stockade Lake South is probably the best if you are looking for one off the beaten path. If they are full, Bismark Lake campground (a forest service facility) is right across the street and is a little cheaper and nice, but without much for hookups. I've stayed at Big Pine which is on the west side of the City of Custer and is very convenient. As mentioned above, it is a nice campground. I've stayed at many other campgrounds around Custer and have never run into any that I would stay away from.
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truepath
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04/28/13 07:09pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Towing with a full car trailer
In addition to the hitch weight limit you also need to consider the overall MH weight limits and maybe even more importantly, the rear axle weight limit. Because of the leverage effect of placing 500+ pounds several feet behind the rear axle you are adding significantly more than that amount of weight to the rear axle and reducing a like amount of weight on the front axle (see saw effect).
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truepath
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04/24/13 07:18am |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Motorcycle receiver hitch rack
I can't imagine any state that would not pull you over for an obscure license plate. Here in AZ the frame can't even cover the word Arizona on the plate. Now you may not get a ticket, but you are just giving an excuse to be pulled over. How hard can it be to re-position the plate. :h
Plus in AZ we have no front plate, and the red light cameras need to be able to read the rear plate, so I imagine states that are similar are more strict.
Good to know that Arizona may be sensitive to this issue. I have thought about how to relocate the plate, but given the fact that it must be both firmly affixed to the vehicle and lighted, makes it a challenge. There really is no convenient way to do this. Attaching the plate to the rack wouldn't work because the rack is removable from the vehicle. This license plate issue might be another good reason to go the trailer route and leave the rack option for limited and short distance use.
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truepath
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04/19/13 07:10am |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Motorcycle receiver hitch rack
I think the obscured license plate is a possible issue. The law in my state (Minnesota) and I assume in every other state requires the license plate to be not obscured. That said, I am not aware of anyone having an issue with this. A while back there was a discussion of this issue on one of the dual purpose motorcycle websites and if I recall correctly, no one there had ever had an issue with law enforcement on this. This is not to say that some officer somewhere might decide to issue an obscured license plate citation. It would be interesting to see what other people here have to say about this question.
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truepath
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04/18/13 03:40pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Motorcycle receiver hitch rack
http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss114/truepath_xt/P1010845.jpg
This is the trailer I use for the motorcycle. It is very small, but I can load one motorcycle and two bicycles into it. Gas mileage is not effected to even a measurable amount. The trailer itself weights about 500 pounds. It is small enough to pull behind a small car. I've pulled it with a Pontiac Vibe (Toyota Matrix) and a Toyota Echo.
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truepath
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04/18/13 09:03am |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Motorcycle receiver hitch rack
My friend and I fabricated a swivel trailer a few years ago. It was a challenging project, but we got it to work and successfully carried a small motorcycle and a small scooter on it. When it came down to it, however in my opinion the one wheel trailer was an idea whose time has never arrived. Among its problems were the requirements of a two point hitch mounting system that could not easily be moved from vehicle to vehicle, instability while backing, bouncing when empty and actually getting air born and when landing the caster wheel came down at any random angle causing unpredictable effects on the tow vehicle, fast and excessive wheel wear, etc. Maybe the few commercial ones available have solved these issues, but I doubt it. I agree that a standard covered trailer is the best option, but the receiver carrier does have a place. I'll post a picture of the small trailer I use later today.
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truepath
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04/17/13 07:54am |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Motorcycle receiver hitch rack
Genecop, I don't think there is a motorcycle on earth heavy enough to lift the front end of your RV. Very nice looking rig by the way.
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truepath
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04/12/13 10:11pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Motorcycle receiver hitch rack
Gene, I did the calculations and I am well under both the maximum weight specification of the rear axle and the overall gross vehicle weight specifications for the RV. Thanks for providing the formula for calculating the weight impact of adding a MC on a rear hitch. Now if the weather would finally cooperate.
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truepath
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04/12/13 10:07pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Motorcycle receiver hitch rack
Yes, it is a Yamaha 250xt. It has been a good machine to bring on RV trips since it can comfortably handle highway speeds up to about 55 mph (top speed is around 70 mph) and also is a fairly capable off road machine. It can be ridden 2 up if no one is too heavy.
Gene, thanks for the excellent comments about weight calculations. I have not done the calculations you suggest, but I suspect the 300 pound MC hanging on the rear of the RV puts the weight on the rear axle pretty close to its maximum spec. I have weighed each axle and have that information. After our blizzard (yes, we are having a blizzard here in Minnesota on April 11) gets done, I'm going to go out and measure the distances you suggest.
As I mentioned in my first post, there are some very good reasons to use a trailer instead of a rack and that is my plan for anything but some lightly loaded local trips.
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truepath
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04/11/13 08:36am |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Motorcycle receiver hitch rack
What brand did you get and what weight is it rated for? I want to use one on the back of my Motorhome for my Triumph Bonneville , about 490lb bike.
I don't recall the exact brand name and it isn't printed on the rack, but I looked around on the Internet and the AMC-400 is identical. It is rated for 400 pounds, but there are other racks that I've seen that are rated much higher. My MC weighs 300 pounds so it is well within the weight specs of the rack, the rv suspension and the hitch. I made a steel rack once and found it to be way to heavy to deal with. I would recommend an aluminum rack if you can find one with sufficient capacity. (Be aware of the weight limitations of your rv since it is very easy to exceed its gross weight capacity by adding an additional 500 pounds.)
I also have a small trailer that I use to carry the bike and in some ways it is better than the hitch rack (but much more expensive). It is closed so it keeps the bike clean and away from prying eyes and also provides a way to haul other stuff like tools and gas cans, etc. It is also easier and safer to load and unload the bike and the heavier the bike the more important that becomes. It also adds very little weight to the rv suspension. The downside is you have to deal with the hassle of a trailer. Both the rack and trailer are good options and each has advantages and disadvantages.
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truepath
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04/10/13 07:36pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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Motorcycle receiver hitch rack
I finally got around to trying my receiver hitch motorcycle rack on the RV and it worked great. I was concerned about clearing the spare tire and that turned out to be no trouble so long as I loaded the bike the opposite way I normally do. The rack was last used on my old Chevrolet G20 van I camped in before getting the B. It was an excellent way to carry the motorcycle and it seems like it will work just as well with the RV. Here is a picture I took right after I got it up on the rack without any tie downs attached.
http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss114/truepath_xt/P1020048.jpg
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truepath
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04/10/13 03:06pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Herniated Disc
I have a partially herniated cervical disk. The neurosurgeon offered a fusion, but I declined. Instead, I did a few physical therapy sessions and then started home traction 2-3 times a day for a several weeks. The acute pain (which was pretty severe) disappeared. Now and then since (over the past 4 years) the pain has returned, but so far it has been much less severe. I keep it under control pretty well with yoga and other physical training 3-4 times a week. Sometimes surgery is the only option, but there are other choices that may successfully keep the problem under control that might be worth trying.
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truepath
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02/15/13 07:40pm |
RVing with Disabilities and General Health Issues
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RE: What speed does one drive a "B"?
The physical world is governed by the rules of physics which includes speed and energy. The kinetic energy of an object is directly proportional to the square of its speed. That means that a doubling of speed, will increase the kinetic energy by a factor of four. This is the energy that will be transferred to you and to anything you run into in the event of a crash. Slowing down just a little saves a lot of potential damage if you crash. People who drive large vehicles at high speeds are creating exponentially more danger.
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truepath
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11/17/12 12:13pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Trailer with bike rack?
I have a receiver hitch mounted bike rack that has a trailer hitch ball on it that I can use to pull a small enclosed trailer. I have used this rack for years and it has worked very well pulling a variety of trailers while at the same time holding two bikes. Let me know if you want me to send you a photo of what I'm talking about.
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truepath
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09/10/12 08:03pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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