RE: Post Your 'B' Sightings Here
Two recent sightings.
Friday the 19th while on the way to work, I saw an old Coach House. Looks very much like a PW, with an AC in a recessed area at the read of the fiberglass top.
Today, down near Petersburg on I95, I saw a Class A towing a Sprinter based Westfalia.
RE: Who does the planning
I do most of the route planning, but always run the plans by DW. I'm not completely stupid.:R
I do almost all the driving. DW only drives when I need to take a nap. Other wise, I'd go stir crazy sitting in the navigator's seat.
DW is great with maps. She tells me where to go, and I go there.:W All kidding aside, she does a great job reading maps, and does a great job navigating for us.
DW will not drive in congested settings such on city streets or on the interstates going thru large cities, such as Atlanta.
RE: BEE Social Group, Lafayette, LA Meeting LA LA
So, the May trip to the Social will be my vacation until next fall. We are so looking forward to the trip down. We plan to leave Richmond after work on Friday, May 17 and drive...I think you mean April.
If you insist. :)
RE: BEE Social Group, Lafayette, LA Meeting LA LA
I'm really looking forward to the Social in LA LA land, and I dont' mean California. ;)
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I'm not going to go to a lot of football games this fall. And the ones I go to will be somewhat reduced in the amount of time I can spend on campus.
So, the May trip to the Social will be my vacation until next fall. We are so looking forward to the trip down. We plan to leave Richmond after work on Friday, May 17 and drive as far as Greensboro, NC or near Bristol, VA depending on our route down. Either way, we'll end up at Knoxville, TN and then it's off to Lafayette. We plan on going down I75 fm Knoxville to Chattanooga, then I59 fm Chattanooga to where it intersects with I10 & I12. We'll then turn west on I12 to Baton Rouge, which becomes I10 again and then to Lafayette.
I've also noticed that US11, a 2 lane, paved highway basicly parallels I59 fm Chattanooga to I10. I suspect we will spend a fair amount of time driving it rather than I59. I like driving the byways. Lot more interesting country to see on the back roads.
I know I'm a little crazy, but I do spend a lot of time plotting how I would get fm point A to point B,etc. Sometimes for trips I plan to do, like the Bee Social, and sometimes for trips I just dream about, such as following Route 66 fm LA to Chicago.
RE: BEE Social Group, Lafayette, LA Meeting LA LA
Welcome, Bob & Jane, now there are 15 rigs, 29 LIVE ones!
I am going to ask the CG to hold 30 spots for us until April 1, 09. If everyone is not signed up by then, they will just have to take their chance.
Question for the group: :@ Since everyone may not want to eat crawdads, crawfish, mudbugs. etc. I was thinking of making a reservation at one of the restaurants that played Cajun music, and then everyone could order what they want. Wednesday the 22nd?
The other option is to have a caterer come to the CG and do the mudbugs.
What say You?? :h
I think the resturant idea on Wednesdy, in the middle of the Social, would be great. I'd get very hungry if all there was to eat was "mud bugs". There is a Cajun dish that I do like. Red beans & rice with sausage. I might even nibble on Al E. if served as a fried appetizer.
RE: Is 12 feet too far to run cable for a 2nd house battery?
No problem with a 12 foot run if you have proper cable size.
Some of the posts are way-off, however, in recommending cable size.
12 or even 10 is not enough for the 15 to 30 amp charging current you are likely to see!!! 0 is way overkill unless you are running 100 amps which I cannot imagine ever happening with your house battery (a 100 or 150 amp alternator will not supply anywhere near that much current to a house bank of 700 amp or less and I'm guessing you are talking more like a 75-200 amp house bank max).
As a guide, Leisure Travel Vans (LTV) uses #6 cable to supply their two 75 amp AGM house batteries (150 amp capacity total) in the rear of the van (and on a Sprinter that's over 12 feet). My Link 10 battery monitor shows a charging current of no more than 30 amps when the 150 amp capacity house batteries are 50% down, tapering fast to under 20 amps. And thats on shore-power; the Bosh Alternator won't give the house bank over 20 amps when there are fully depleted (50% or total capacity).
I'd go with #6 for up to 20 feet and a current of no more than 50 amps (assuming your house bank is something less that three 8Ds (700 amp/hours).
The West Marine Products catalog has a good voltage-drop/distance/size chart for sizing a 12-volt system.
Not sure how this plays in the equation, but the "system" is 30 amps as opposed to 50 amps of the larger rigs. Also, the length of my van is 22 ft from front bumper to tire carrier, so the longest the run would be is about 12 ft. It may be even less. I replaced the old Parallex converter with a 55 amp WFCO. The current house battery is a size 24. I don't think the current battery box can accept the next larger size. So the new battery would be a size 24 also.
Is 12 feet too far to run cable for a 2nd house battery?
The house battery on my '96 Chevy RT210P is under the floor at the rear of the van. I have a side compartment just forward of the right rear wheel that is large enough to hold another house battery. It's my understanding that a positive wire would be run from the positive post on the original house battery to the positive post on the additional batter, and the same for the negative side.
That run would be about 12 feet. Is that too long, or is it ok as long as the cable is heavy enough?
I can do this with out hardly any modification. However, I'd have to cut another hole in the floor at the reat to put one close to the old one. This wouldn't be so bad, except there really isn't any extra room back there for another battery.
RE: Drawers or cupboards?
I recently finished converting 2 drawers to pull down door cubbies. In my '96 RoadTrek 210P, RT put in drawers instead of pull down doors with open space behind it under the dinnette benches in the rear.
Not only was a lot of space wasted by this idea, the drawers became usless if we keep our bed made up as a bed, as we usually do. If the bed in the rear was made up, we couldn't get anything out of the drawers without removing the seat cushions that made the bed and remove the dinette table that completed the bed.
I took the drawers out, and re-attached the drawer fronts using the same kind of hinge that RT uses for the top cubbies in the rear.
Now, without the drawers, I can use the space, and I have more space to use.
All well and good if!...you don't mind crawling on your belly to retrieve articles...:B
We just keep stuff like bulky blankets, and extra shoes and boots down there. It's not hard to get that stuff out.:)
RE: Drawers or cupboards?
I recently finished converting 2 drawers to pull down door cubbies. In my '96 RoadTrek 210P, RT put in drawers instead of pull down doors with open space behind it under the dinnette benches in the rear.
Not only was a lot of space wasted by this idea, the drawers became usless if we keep our bed made up as a bed, as we usually do. If the bed in the rear was made up, we couldn't get anything out of the drawers without removing the seat cushions that made the bed and remove the dinette table that completed the bed.
I took the drawers out, and re-attached the drawer fronts using the same kind of hinge that RT uses for the top cubbies in the rear.
Now, without the drawers, I can use the space, and I have more space to use.
RE: Next to no Bs for sale for years...then 2 in today's paper?
I found mine in a similar fashion. But the appearance today of 2 in the local paper just threw me....having seen nearly none for 3 years.
Nationally, I've seen many. Locally, none.
I suspect it has to do with the economy. More people lately have decided they do not either need or can't afford to hang on to RV's any longer, including B's.
RE: Onan Resonator and Camping World
..... Requires a 1-1/2" (38 MM) O.D. pipe clamp. Model number 155-2449 looks right
I'd suggest welding, since on most installations, it's under the living area. I'm probably being an old fuddy-duddy about this, but I trust a weld to contain gasses better, and to not come loose. Admittedly, there's normally almost zero back pressure in this area, but if you use a Genturi or similar, or a SuperTrapp, that changes a bit.
Jim, "Nobody's so important that they don't get wet in the rain."
I understand the SuperTrapp causing some possible increase in back pressure.
I didn't think the Gen-turi would. The Gen-turi stack is very wide. And there is a pretty large open area where air is sucked up the pipe, carrying the exhaust with it. I may be wrong though.
RE: RV.net 6th Annual Class B Rally. Voting Results Are In!
Ray&Janie sent some more info to add to the Follow The River RV Resort nomination. A couple of links to information on nearby towns/cities and a couple of paragraphs at the bottom related to self-contained RVs and food options. Click here to see the web site. Janie says more information will be added as she gets it.
Question. Does the campground expect everyone or almost everyone to shower in their B's? Seems like it, when the "loosely" enforced rules require all B's to be self contained and the fact there seems to be only 2 shower stalls available in the women's side of the bathhouse.
RE: Microwave - convection oven
Anyone replaced the standard mw in an RT Versatile with a convection oven? If so, what brand and size did you use? WTM
If I had a new RT Versatile, either 190 or 210, I plan on getting a toaster oven and store it in the armoire that I would be using when traveling on road trips.
I wouldn't have it the van during tailgating season. I want 4 seats up front at thst time.:D
RE: generators or central air for class B's
Hey everyone, I'm a recent 05 ford okanagan owner, (never rv'ed in my life) and I am loving my class b with two exceptions
no central air, are there aftermarket small air conditioners that could be retrofitted easily? (I hear some people laughing already)
and I like to dry camp as much as possible, but I hear that using a noisy genny brings neighbors bearing pitchforks and tar and feathers late at night
any quiet gennys with enough oomph you guys might want to recommend?
I apologize if these questions have been answered in here but the site is huge and I just started my perusal
If you are going to camp/tour mostly in Canada & northern tier of US states, you can probably get by without an AC. If you plan to tour the souther part of the US in late spring, summer, or early fall, you will probably need an AC.
Don't know how difficult it is to add an AC. Wiring would probably be the hardest part.
As for gensets, Onan's are fairly loud. Their biggest selling point is the ability to remote start them, and the fact they use gas from the van's gas tank.
The Honda, Yamaha, etc genny's are fairly quiet. Their biggest draw back is you probably will need a cargo carrier for them, most of them you have to go outside to start them, and you have to carry a separate can of gasoline.
RE: RV.net 6th Annual Class B Rally. Voting Results Are In!
Where were the first 5 rallies held? It might help those of us who are newB's to know the history here. Do you always have the rally in the center of the country?
Go to the first post in this thread. It has a link to the first 5 rallies.
As for your second question, they will tend to be centered in the midwest because if it comes to a vote, there are more B owners, who vote anyway, in the east and mid-west . Because of that those centered in the midwest tend to be picked.
Another thing that causes places further south not to be considered is the time of the year they are held. Usually around the 3rd week in May. By that time, it is probably a little hot for a rally down in the deep south.
One of the first 2 rallies was in Kentucky, I believe. I've been to the last 3 and they were #3 in Branson, MO, #4 in Racoon Hollar, NC , & #5 at Hocking Hills, OH which is in SE Ohio.
RE: Quiet Furnace?
We have the typical Suburban WakeMaster 5000 in our LTV. Guaranteed you won't sleep when its on... We use a cube heater when we're on shore power, but would like to have a more permanent solution.
Any recommendations about a replacement propane furnace that is quiet, and that would fit in the space of the Suburban?
I'm willing to throw $$$ at this problem if there is a solution...
I must be weird or something. That heater has never bothered me. To me it's not much different than sleeping with the AC on.
RE: Nationality Of Class B Owners
My father is of Scot/Irish and German from the Virginia mountains. The've all be in the US a long time. The Germans were the last to come. First to Philidelphia, then out thru Penn, and then down the Great Valley of Virginia, stopping for a time in Augusta, Co, then going down to what became Montgomery, Co, VA. They were settled in what is present day Montgomery, Co in the mid 1700's.
My mom comes from English stock, all from Tidewater, VA. Her earliest documented ancestor to Virgina arrived in 1619.
My sister had done extensive geneological work on our families.
All that said, I'm throughly an American. As are most later immigrants to the US.
RE: Interest in a Rally
Well, I would really like to be able to attend a B rally, and am giving serious thought to the one in Lafayette, though it's a long way to go for me...being in Ontario.
Technically, the function in Lafayette isn't a Rally. It's a Social. One of the big differences being the amount of organization and scheduled functions.
The Social's are pretty informal things. Folks at the Social can pretty much do as they please, with most of the quality time spent around the camp fire, especially at night.
Official Rallys are much more orginazed and planned, and many times financially supported by RV related companies.
RE: RV.net 6th Annual Class B Rally. Voting Results Are In!
Any chance of tweeking the rules in future years to allow the possibility of a western site? I think a "straight-up" vote is always going to favor an Eastern locale. Due to time pressures, it's too late in the process for changes for B6 - but I would like the group to consider the merits of alternating venues - odd number years an eastern locale, even number years a western locale.
The Missouri nomination (thanks Asheguy & ibthebest) is a central locale - so that is another possible solution.
Else, I suspect that many western folks either will never participate, or will form a different event.
Obviously, we will need to get some western locales nominated for this too work - but in a straight up vote - I'm not sure I'd bother to do the work to nominate a site.
Maybe I'll start a separate thread to ask the question of the forum members.
Shane
Outside of a straight up vote, how do you propose to get a western site? Just name a western site by fiat?
If most B's live east of the Mississippi, then most times a location will be in the midwest or east.
The western most B Rally held was at Branson, MO. And from Richmond, VA that was a long haul. I probably will not be able to do another trip like that while I'm still working.
RE: New B------has anyone checked out the "krystal"
Oh yes, I do stand corrected.
Although not on the Krystal website, McMahon's is a dealer. I talked to Brett Kirkland who sold their first unit. He said that the unit was the best quality he has ever seen in a "B" coach and it is "Just gorgeous". He’s sending me a brochure and tells me that more pictures are available on the McMahon web site but I haven’t looked yet.
What is the pricetag for this machine?
