RE: Time to renew registration, $$$ ouch!
If my entire extended family did not live in Southern California, I would have moved. Have had coworkers that had no ties leave. EVRYTHING is expensive here.
Sales Tax - 7.25% base, 9% in LA county where I live, some cities as high as 10%
Property taxes - Prop 13 helps, but since the properties are so expensive property tax is also high. My 1200ft track home on 7000ft land in the desert suburbs of LA cost me $454k in 06 and $5600 in property tax. It is now worth about $260k and even though the assessor reduce the tax, it is STILL $3800
Oh, our legislature is right now trying to ammend prop 13 so only a 55% majority is needed to raise property taxes instead of 66.67% They claim the 66.67% is too high to pass anything. BS! My community has twice passed school bonds (which I voted for) with over the required 66.67% because enough people felt they would benefit. The 66.67% requirement is supposed to be a check to keep stuff from getting rammed through.
Income taxes - 9.3% on anyone with anything approching middle class income and over 13% for high earners.
Auto Registration - partially based on value. 07 Expy $285, 01 Focus $95, TT $110
Insurance - 100/300 limits full coverage on the Expy, liability only on the Focus, liability on the TT. Both DW and I are premier drivers, I had 1 ticket 10 years ago, DW none, no claims, average milage driven, multi policy discount etc. $1650 per year (and I consider that cheap for CA)
Gas - currently around $4.05 with $0.382 of that state gas tax, which is SUPPOSED to be fixing our roads.
Electricity rates - SCE has a 5 tier system starting around $0.13 per KWh for baseline building to over $0.30 per KWh for tier 5. Baseline is set rediculously low, if you run the AC at all you are in tier 5. To keep my 1200ft home at 78 degrees in the summer costs me over $500 a month.
Yea, my roots are here, my family is here, but there is definately a tarnish on the golden state and I completly understan the exodus.
This thread has actually been interesting to see what stuff that you don't always think about costs in other places :) Actually, except for the electric, it doesn't sound that bad. My electric, water, and sewer came to $125 total this month. But natural gas is close to $200 a month in the winter for heating, and low in the summer, about $15 a month. My 100,000 home comes in close to your $260k home for taxes. Would be higher but I get a bit of a break being a disabled combat vet. Our sales tax is a 3/4 of a percent lower. Homeowners insurance is very reasonable even with full replacement value. Auto insurance close, but covers 09 Focus, 13 Honda Fit, and the motorhome. But I do carry extra liability protection on that policy. My vehicle registrations are lower. Depending on where one lives in the state, our fuel is lower, with gas being about 40 cents lower. Our state gasoline tax is 25.85 cents per gallon, with other taxes being charged to the refiners and distributors. So your is lower, but North Carolina pays higher than either of us!!! And when considering other factors like crime and people, and beautiful scenery, I would not trade with anyone the location where I live. Oh, one other thing - we never had a housing bubble like you guys did!!!
RE: Time to renew registration, $$$ ouch!
We ordered our alpenlite's tabs online in February as we do each winter. T
his time we noticed a $5.00 add on for RV disposal.
chevmanA $5 fee for RV disposal?? Have heard that people in Washington state live all over in old, dilapidated, RVs, but.... And when they abandon them, the state is left with the disposal fee??? $5 certainly doesn't cover it, so it comes out of your taxes too. Wow!!!
RE: Theft
Zilch, Nada, Nothing.
But I did have some kerosene taken out of a 5 gallon at the stick house a number of years back. I had left it sitting outside so I figured my fault. Shortly after that, the neighbors kids were having a heck of a time starting their snowmobiles. The snowmobiles were misfiring horribly and smoking up a storm. Took those kids several weeks to get those snowmobiles running right. Those kids have been extremely nice to me ever since. Nothing was ever said, and I had a heck of a good time watching those kids trying to get their sleds running right.
RE: Tow dolly tires
If you want to stay with ST tires, get Maxxis, and nothing else.
X2If one wants to know about ST tires, one needs to go down to the Travel Trailer discussion area. Lots of discussion are recommendations there. Think LT tires might be a option.
RE: Brake Problem
I know there was a recall on brakes (2003 Pace Arrow) we told our mechanic about it a couple of years ago and he said that it would require taking everything apart to check them. He said that if we were not having any warning signs that we should be okay. And trust putting your families life and your life in his hands??? He doesn't deserve to use the title mechanic! Hope you report him to whatever agency licenses his shop. He could have killed you!
RE: Best Class C Motorhomes
The two big choices for you are Sprinter Diesel vs Ford gas and whether you want a permanent bed or not.One word of caution - the city fire department my son works for also runs ambulances. They are looking at new units and will not consider Ford. They recently had a Ford E450 chassis ambulance in the shop because it needed a new head gasket under warranty. It is a diesel. To change the head gasket, the shop had to lift the cab and ambulance box completely off the chassis. A small repair like that could become quite expensive if it were not under warranty. Don't know if that would be required with the gas engine, but it would not surprise me.
RE: Best Class C Motorhomes
Everybody I've ever known who has had a Lazy Daze says that there isn't anything better. Call it the Foretravel of the Class C rigs. The say Lazy Daze is known for their excellent customer service. At least that is what numerous former Lazy Daze owners have told me. If I were in the market, that would be one on the top of the to look at list.
RE: A sure sign yur getting older but not giving up
I remember when I was a teenager working for a school bus dealer on weekends. Me and a bunch of my high school buddies flew from Richmond, VA to Richmond, IN to a Wayne bus plant. We picked up several new school buses and drove them non stop, 23 hours straight, back to Richmond, VA. That was in the late 60's and we considered it a real adventure. On our 'last' trip, an Ohio State Trooper stopped us and we discovered without CDL's (we were told we did not need them), our activity was not legal, at least in Ohio. He let us go thankfully.You didn't need "CDL"s back in the late '60s. But you did need the appropriate chauffeurs Class 1, or 2, or 3, or maybe A, or B, or C depending on your home state. The "CDL" came into effect when the COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ACT OF 1986 became law. I hauled freight (box trailers, refrigerated trailers, tankers, flatbeds, and double flatbeds) all over the east coast, mid west, Ontario and Quebec on a NYS Class 1 license which I obtained in 1970. Didn't get a CDL until 1986, and had to take the test all over again to get it. Got my first regular drivers license in 1964. Guess I just kind of gave up my age. Oh, have got 10 years of military in there somewhere too.
RE: Tag Axle Adjustment?
Placement of the rear end and the toad on the scales could have given you some false data.
I think having the coach weighed without the toad is a good starting point.
X-2!!!. And go in and tell them that you want all the axle weights seperate and ask how you should line yourself up on the scale to get that. If it is a straight platform scale, you are going to have to pull one axle on at a time until they are all on, and do the math, subtracting the various axles to get the other ones.
RE: Tow dolly tires
If car tires will hold up a car with the wheels 4 down, why won't they hold 1/2 a car on a dolly?:h I don't know, but here is what the big boys say: Trailer Tires vs. Passenger Vehicle Tires
RE: tinting windshield windows
I have a Damon Challenger and it is hot in the summer driving into sun. Has anyone had their windshield windows tinted and does it help and is their a shade level you suggest? thanks
Golfoh1
The many states that you pass thru probably have laws against it. Some states will allow tint 6" down from the top of the windshield, while others will not allow any tint on the front windshield.
RE: Class A & B questions.
Thanks WNY_pat
Now it appears I have the information I need!
RMDon't take me as a expert. Only passing along things I read and heard.
Oh, Jayco makes a nice one at a more reasonable cost, the Seneca, and they have been around long enough you should be able to find a nice used one. Look here:http://www.rvtrader.com/New-and-Used-Jayco-Seneca-RVs-for-Sale----RVTrader.com/search-results?make=Jayco%7C2272274&model=Seneca&vrsn=hybrid
RE: House batteries discharging
It would really help to know what year and model motorhome you have, a some are set up differently than others. Can throw parts at it all day long and not fix anything when you don't know what it is. Are we talking about the 2011 Fleetwood Southwind or the 2008 Jayco Melbourne 29D? Or something else?
RE: Direct TV Trucker Waiver
It's not that I am reluctant in using it, just wanted to see if any others were using it. I am an old tightwad and hate paying more for what I am already paying for(local channels). Also I don't have the dish on my rig, so guessing that is not an issue, just fibbing a little...lol Doesn't mean that it is mounted, just that you carry it along. I contract with Dish at the stick house and own my receiver in the motorhome which is on my Dish home account. Just call them up when we are traveling and have them turn it on. And use the carry out Tailgater that sits on the ground. Talk about a tightwad, its less than $10 extra a month (but I still pay for the home account) when using it, and I get the locals on my over the air Jack TV antenna.
DW will not let me have Dish turn off the home receiver because she want to record her special programs automatically even when we are on the road.
RE: New to this...Older Gas Class A's
My old, sold off now, '94 Tiffin Allegro, GM P32 chassis, came with 8R19.5 on it.
Considering the cost of tires, you pretty much want to stay OEM. My choice would be to stay far away from any Class A with anything smaller in tire size. As to changing there, there is lots of technical tire stuff involved, including lots of money.
RE: Tires
Another idea for those whom are "financially challenged" or just plain cheap like me....
Some people will replace two tires a year. You can start with the steer tires this year. Next year get two new tires but them on the sterring axle again and move the pair you bought this year to the rear. Then the following year, do it all again.
It allows you to space out your purchases over three years, and you always have a fresh set of tires on your steering axle.
Doug
and that is how most trucking companies do it!!! Steer tires get moved to the rear axles long before they wear out! And eventually they find their way to the trailer axles.
RE: Tires
Michelin is not a good bargain.
Wander around the parking lot at a big truck stop looking at the steer tires on those big rigs. Think you will find that the preferred choice of most truckers is Michelin. I don't like riding on Bargains! Just how many square inches of rubber does your motorhome ride on??? I want those square inches to be of top quality rubber from a top quality tire manufacturer. Not saying it has to be Michelin, but they are in the running with a preferred quality tire. Bargains have nothing to do with it.
