RE: Paying at the pump just got more risky!!
This isn't limited to paying at pumps. Any place that has a card reader has the potential for some buthead to set it up to skim your card. Its actually safer to use a CC on the Internet than it is "in person". It happened to my wife a few years ago when she took our daughter to a weekend at an indoor water park. She only used her CC in the resort and never left it. Probably happened at one of the restaurants. She almost never uses her CC otherwise. Our CC company told me that skimming is the most common form of credit card fraud.
RE: SUV Hauling
I completely agree about keeping the length modest with the Envoy. My mom tows a 26 ft TT with a Trailblazer and while its got enough power (they have the I6, like I do), they get quite a bit of sway. Granted, I don't think they are set up right, so as others said, take special care to get it right. On the other hand, a modest length TT tows great behind the GMT 360 platform. Don't let anyone tell you that its a "white knuckle" experience. If they had a problem towing a 16-22 ft TT behind a GMT 360, its because they weren't setup right in the first place. I've towed mine through the mountains in Montana & Wyoming, not only very well, but very comfortably.
Oh, I would recommend an auxillary transmission cooler. And while you're at it, check out http://trailvoy.com/. Its a site for owners of GMT 360 trucks.
Funny how you worded things above.....anyway...You may not have any white knuckle drives as I did for years as I also did. Travelled to Florida twice, both routes through the mountains and for the most part, no problems.
Its the "perfect storm" scenario which can cause the problem, and this set-up is prone to it.
Lets say bad cross head wind, 18 wheeler passing you, and a bad rutted hwy....man o man you'll wish you had a Burb or Yuk for that trailer.
my 2 cents..
The part you seemed to miss in my post was the lengths of the trailers, and TBs, that I'm refering to. My mom's TT is 26ft and a "standard" length TB. My HTT is 17 ft and I tow with an EXT TB. What I didn't mention was that some of the towing through those mountains I did was in heavy rain, and through high cross winds on I90 in MN. And I can't even begin to think how many 18 wheelers pass you on a 3k mile trip. Like I said, I never had the white knuckle experience. Shorter trailers should not be a problem with a GMT360, even a standard length.
RE: SUV Hauling
I am not a fan of using the small and mid size SUVs for towing a TT. Been there and done that and will not do it again. They will tow the trailers, but not very well or comfortably. You can get by with short tows (2 to 3 hours), but a long trip will be very tiring.
Personally, I'd limit the Envoy and such to about a 22' max length trailer, regardless of the weight.
There is a lot more to towing than weight. You have a big box that catches the wind and you have to be able to control the trailer and the truck has to be up to the job. A shortr wheelbase and high center of gravity are noth waht you want to do this.
Ken
I completely agree about keeping the length modest with the Envoy. My mom tows a 26 ft TT with a Trailblazer and while its got enough power (they have the I6, like I do), they get quite a bit of sway. Granted, I don't think they are set up right, so as others said, take special care to get it right. On the other hand, a modest length TT tows great behind the GMT 360 platform. Don't let anyone tell you that its a "white knuckle" experience. If they had a problem towing a 16-22 ft TT behind a GMT 360, its because they weren't setup right in the first place. I've towed mine through the mountains in Montana & Wyoming, not only very well, but very comfortably.
Oh, I would recommend an auxillary transmission cooler. And while you're at it, check out http://trailvoy.com/. Its a site for owners of GMT 360 trucks.
RE: What is the most spectacular view you've ever seen?
Mine is the view from Glacier Point in Yosemite Nat. Park with Half Dome right in front of you. WOW!!!Mine's the opposite, looking at Glacier Point and the Merced River going through the valley from the top of Half Dome. It's real spooky looking straight down the sheer face of the dome too!
I was blown away the first time I saw the view from Glacier Point. Last year was the first time we got to drive Tioga Road. At Olmstead Point there is a short but potentially dangerous trail which provides an unbelieveable view of Tenaya Valley, Half Dome, and Cloud's Rest. I was blown away all over again.
RE: Problems with Hybrids?
Our Jayco is 5 years old and has the older style "knob" latches. We have never had a leak in the bunk ends, and we have towed in heavy rain a number of times. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, it just hasn't happened to us. I keep the seal pliable with a protectant and take care of the latch mechanism. I'm always very careful not to over tighten and make sure that no part of the bunk cloth gets hung up under a seal.
RE: Buying used: sale agreements, inspections, liens
good points, IMHO. why have two pages of meaningless tripe?
but you are assuming that a dealer will give you a guarantee.
bumpy
I would think that most dealers provide a 30 day warranty of some sort. If not, there are dealers that will.
RE: Buying used: sale agreements, inspections, liens
After reading through the last couple of pages, I have 2 questions:
1) If the 2 page contract does not hold the seller liable, whats the point?
2) To avoid the headaches of a private sale, i.e. the very real possibility of a seller turning you down for you contract, the feeling of distrust, issues with leins, etc, why not spend a few extra bucks and buy a used unit from a dealer?
RE: Update 29 Days after "We were robbed"
Glad to hear that's settled and not more of some part of the scam. I hope the rest of this goes well for you.
RE: Software to use a digital camera as a document scanner?
Try PT Lens. It used to be free, but now its $25. It'll correct barrel distortion and has profiles for lots of cameras and lenses.
For general photo editing try The GIMP. Its free and for most people its as good as Photo Shop. Better really, because its free.
RE: Why Am I Nervous About My First Time At The Dump Station?
Don't forget to put the cap back on. I had to find an RV shop in the Black Hills because I forgot to put mine on and it got a little chewed up on the road.
Also, go earler, or later than the crowd (usually 10:00 am to Noon). That way you'll avoid an audiance and can take your time.
RE: Buying used: sale agreements, inspections, liens
As a seller of a used trailer, car, or anything else considered "big ticket", I would only provide a reciept similar to the one that beemerphile1 posted. Nothing more. If someone requests more than that, I ask them to continue thier search.
Still, I would expect that you as the buyer would want to know everything you can about said trailer. When I sold my last PUPs, I walked the prospective buyer through everthing that I thought they might want to know about, showing them what worked and what didn't. And then I asked if there is anything else they wanted to know. I want people to know what they are buying from me. Either way, in the private used market, its the buyer's responsibility to know what they are getting into.
If you can avoid dealing with someone who has a lien, by all means do so. Every time I've heard a friend buy something that had a lein on it, there was nothing but headaches for months after the fact. In one case I know, the buyer never got a clear title. The only way I would consider it is if the lender had a branch in the same town as the purchase, and I could finalize the deal on site with someone from the lending institution to confim that the loan was paid. They can usually give you the lein satisfication document right away in these cases. Otherwise, make getting a clear title on full payment part of the agreement.
RE: does everyone want an Airstream?
We love the look of them. They ahve excellent build quality. But I really can't justify the cost. The 16' Bambi is 30k. More important, every one of them I have been in has a small bed. Too small for our preference.
RE: Purchasing a Hybrid?
The only thing I can add is that opening and closing in the rain is WAY easier with a hybrid than a PUP. With ours, I put the mattresses in "stow away" position with the vinyl side facing outward, prior to folding up the bunk ends. This minimizes water getting all over the mattresses. Also the fact that most bunk ends are vinyl covered helps because the water doesn't soak in, I force it to run off just before I close the wall. When opening the ends at home (a 5 minute process) to "dry out", often I only have to take a towel and dry them off. After an hour or so, they are completely dry.
RE: Door County Campgrounds & Attractions
If you can, the ultimate place to camp in DC is Penninsula State Park. There is a light house you can tour, they have great natralist programs, nice beaches, an excellent bike trail, and good hiking trails. Its also very central to most things. Its absolutly beautiful there, Stickdog already provided a link. You must make reservations early if you want an electric site. Its the most popular park in WI. As an alternative, I recommend "Egg Harbor Campground". Its been recently taken over by someone new, very friendly and squeeky clean. We really enjoyed our stay there. No full hookups though. Its only a few minutes south of Penninsula SP and is a 20 minute ride or less from most things there is to see and do.
What to do? Where do I begin? As I said, the light house in Penninsula SP, Eagle Lighthouse is well worth touring. As is Cana Island Lighthouse. There is also the Door County Maritime Museum which has "branches" in Sturgeon Bay and Gills Rock.
Lots of good places to ride bicycles. The SP as already mentioned. We like to spend a day riding on Washington Island. There isn't a lot to see or do there, but because traffic is so light, its a great place to ride. There is an interesting farm museum on Jackson Harbor RD, and a couple of small museums that are worth a look. Stop for a break at Fiddler's Green on Jackson Harbor RD and have a Guiness to cool off. Very cool place to sit for a while.
If you like hiking and nature, not only is there Penninsula SP, but also Rock Island SP (no bicycles or cars), Newport SP (backpack only camping, LOTS of trails), Whitefish Dunes SP (and Cave Point CTY park just north of that), and Potowatami SP just south of Sturgeon Bay. All of these places have fantastic views. There is also Ridge's Sanctuary in Baily's Harbor.
Everywhere in DC you will find lots of shops. Everything from wood working to clothing and tee-shirts, jewelry and art, kites and garden decorations, and all sorts of other things. Most of them are unique and often expensive. We know people that will spend all of their time over a 5 day period just hitting the shops. These days we skip a lot of them, most are too expensive for our tastes, but some can be kinda fun to browse. Watch out on roadsides, there are lot of places that are worth stopping at that you might miss otherwise. The small towns are jammed with little shops, art galleries, and restaurants. There are number of wineries with unique local varities. Door Penninsula Winery and Stones Throw Winery are our favirites. The former has free tasting, the later charge $5 for a specified number of tastes. Both have resaonbly priced wines. Lots of bakerys too. Our favorite is Sweetie Pies on Hwy 42 just south of Fish Creek. Simply the best pies we've ever had.
Restaurants range from medium priced to very expensive. There are literally scores of restraurants of nearly all cusines. There are one or two places that are somewhat cheap, but you will not find a fast food joint north of Sturegeon Bay. The best restaurants are the oldest. Here's some of our favorites:
Baily's Harbor:
The Blue Ox
Ellison Bay:
Wagon Trail Buffet; The Viking
Fish Creek:
Pellitiers; Summer Time; The Cookery (currently closed due to fire); Julies Park Cafe
Sister Bay:
Sister Bay Cafe; Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant (famous for the goats that graze the grass roof)
Egg Harbor:
Cuppola Cafe (a nice deli); Shipwrecked (they have a great line of thier own micro brews too!)
Lots of golf courses if you like golfing.
There lots of little museums through out DC. Some are free, some have a small fee. Most are worth spending an hour two to check out. Also there are a number of performing arts centers. The Penninsula Players theatre is pretty well known, as is the American Folklore Theatre (in the summer they play outdoors at Pennunsula SP). There is also one of the last surviving outdoor movie theatres in Fish Creek.
At a minimum, I'd spend 3 full days there. Even if you spent a week, you could not take it all in.
Go to a fish boil, either at the Viking (in Ellison Bay, the "original" DC fish boil), or Pellitiers in Fish Creek. Not only is the food good, but the cooking is a small show in itself.Tour the Cana Island Lighthouse.Take a drive through Penninsula State Park, hike around a bit if you can and climb the obsevation tower.Ride bikes on the trail in Penninsula SPWalk the streets of Fish Creek in the evening as the sun is setting. Its the only town whose shops stay open after 5:00 PM. Everything is lit up and its very lively.Have an ice cream at Dippy's in Fish Creek. Then have another at "Not yet Licked Frozen Custard", also in Fish Creek. Stop at Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant in Sister Bay for breakfast, get Swedish meatballs with your eggs. Then go outside to see the goats on the roof after you eat. Stop at Seaquists Market, north of Ellison Bay. Lots of samples and unique food items. Excellent bakery.Get a pie at Sweetie Pies south of Fish Creek. If you don't want a whole pie, they usually have slices.Wine tasting and tour at Door Penninsula Winery
Hows that for starters? We've been going there almost every year for over 20 years. Feel free to PM me if you any specific questions. Have a great time! :)
RE: Campground Quality Alert
I agree, please post a review on rvparkreviews.com. The last reviews for this park are 4 years old and very favorable. Something must have changed.
RE: What can I tow with this...
Your 'Voy is easily capable of towing most smaller hybrids under 5k lbs GVWR. Due to wheelbase, I would stick with something no longer than 21' or 22', but there are lots of people towing 23 & 24 foot TTs with the GMT360 platform and the I6 also. I'm not saying that's a good idea, just that people are. FYI, all GMT360s come with the "towing package", including the wiring for the brake controller. Not all come with the 7 pin plug though, which I think is very strange.
The rear suspension of these trucks is soft, so if you choose a hybird, you will need a W/D hitch. I have towed my trailer through mountains and my right leg does not "ache and tremble". You won't win any races towing through mountains, but then again, that's not your purpose. On a 6% grade I do about 50mph in 2nd gear. I could do 55 or 60 but I like to keep the RPMs below 3500. Keep in mind that you're not going to be towing a 30 ft trailer. As long as you keep it within limits, leave some reserve, and set it up properly, your towing experience will be a pleasure. Then again, thats what you should do with ANY tow vehicle. I only have a standard W/D hitch with a friction bar type sway control and I have never experienced sway. But I do agree, if you get a larger trailer than mine, a Reese Dual Cam or Eqaulizer would be a good chioce.
If you really prefer a hybrid, then start looking at them. To learn more about your truck you might enjoy http://trailvoy.com/
RE: boondocking at a motel
A hookup at a motel would not be boondocking in the true sense of the word. We have called Super 8s while on the road and were told more than once that we could park in the thier lot for a few hours to get some sleep. One even offered to let us use thier restrooms to freshen up, no charge.
I think you are right, this is an opportunity for some of these places to make a few extra bucks. It would beat overnighting at a Wallyworld or wayside.
RE: Security & crime rates for CG and state parks?
Good comments from everyone.
I agree with most of you that society in general is safe, honest, and trustworthy. I have already been in enough CG and parks to know that most people are easy going and the environments are generally stable enough.
I disagree, however, that CG and parks are just as safe or safer than your home environment. This might be true if you live in a bad part of town and camp in nicer facilities but for most of us camping (or traveling in general) introduces numerous risk factors which make you more likely to become a victim or to experience some kind of crime around you.
Really? You must camp in some pretty seedy places. I live in a nice, well kept up suburban neighborhood. Not fancy, just middle imcome with a variety of working stiffs, professionals, and somewhat diverse as well (the later not enough IMO, but thats beyond this discussion). Yet we have a bit of crime now and again, mostly vandelism, and an occasional garage break in. But I never worry about my house when I'm gone, nor do I ever feel unsafe at home. Yes, traveling introduces risk factors, but if one takes the time to learn a bit about their travel route and desitination, alot of the uncertainty and risk can be removed.
For starters you are traveling to a variety of places, many of which you are not familiar with and have never visited before. Thus it is much easier to stumble into a bad or questionable area without realizing it until something happens. Unlike hotels which have international standards and reliable reputations for safety and service, the quality of CG and parks varies significantly from place to place and you can't always count on the reviews or websites to paint the full picture.
Also, your camper, out of state plates, and location in a CG mark you clearly as travelers and most criminals are smart enough to know that travelers carry all sorts of easily stolen-and-resold valuables such as cameras, laptops, extra cash, credit cards, etc. And unlike your home, it is pretty easy to tell when a camper is empty just by looking at the windows and lights and checking the parking spot for a TV. So a CG or park represents a collection of prime targets in a vulnerable setting.
Sorry, I have to disagree. Hotels are VERY unsafe places. Not that I fear them. But you are much more likely to encounter violent crime in one visit to motel/hotel than at home or in many vists to a campground. I live near an airport, hence lots of motels. About once a year I read of a violent crime, and every couple of years there is a murder at one of these places. And thats only the stuff that's reported. And these are at well know chains that supposedly have international standards. What standards? For cleanliness and service maybe. They don't/can't screen customers. How can they have standards for clientel anymore than a campground? And since the majority of the chains are franchises, quality varies from location to location
Now consider that strange vehicles or people riding up and down your home street would be likely to arouse suspicion in short order, whereas this is the norm in most parks and CG. Add the fact that most campers don't know each other well enough to distinguish a stranger from a visitor or new arrival and it is pretty easy for a criminal to blend in. Then remember that most campers are easy to break into very quickly with minimal noise and you have a nearly perfect recipe for crime.
Now there's an interesting point. You are correct, we really don't know who's in and out. Still, do we really know our neigbors? Jeffery Dahlmer's neighbors thought he was harmless. People thought they knew John Wayne Gacey ("what a great guy!") yet look at his monsterous secret. These people were "known neighbors" who managed to "blend in". We can only guess at people's real nature and motives. That said, observation is key. If someone/something doesn't look right, keep observing. If you really have good reason to suspect a problem, let the authorities handle it. I can tell you that in WI, the park rangers do a fantastic job of watching what's goin on in their parks. We, as campers have a role in that as well. Its only going to be as unsafe as we allow it to be.
I am not saying that CG or parks are rampant with crime. We all know that is not the case or we wouldn't be on this forum. The overall crime rate for CG and parks may still be low but I'll bet it is higher than the rate in most of our neighborhoods. Most of us are less safe than when staying at home so I believe it is prudent to consider security and take reasonable precautions while traveling. Judging from the posts on this forum some people seem to put more effort into planning for a leaky hose than they put into planning for the safety of their family members while traveling. In our case we have extra risk factors as well so I won't be making that mistake any time soon.
Again, I question where you camp. Must be scary places if they feel less safe than home (mental note to re-consider future trips to Tennessee). Reasonable precautions? I agree. But I, and I'm sure some others here, are offended by comments that infer we "couldn't care less" about crime and safety. The term "reasonable precautions" will mean something different to each of us. If I place security lower on the list than "cracking a beer open", its only because of my many years of experience (over 23 years) camping all over the state of WI and a lot of places out west. I simply haven't been given any reason to be "more secure" than I already am.
As I've already stated, I hope you can work this out. Make the extra effort to be more secure, it makes no difference to me. Someone put a lot fear you without a lot of good reason. Too bad. Camping is a lot of fun, but putting too much emphasis on the negative, the "what ifs", are only going to diminish the experience for you and yours.
RE: Camping lights/Decor!!!!!!
I've seen several posts saying they are "guilty" of putting up lights. Why feel guilty? I admit I don't care for some of the lengths that people go through to decorate and light up thier sites, but I've never seen one that impeded my ability to enjoy camping. Have at it and have fun. One thing I thankfully don't see very often anymore is the bright Coleman white gas lanterns. Now those really annoy me because they light up everything within 2 miles.
We used to use a blue light string, but my wife didn't care for it. We now have a string of ten "lanterns" with white Christmas type bulbs in them. Enough to gently light the area under the awning, not enough to read by. Depending on the proximity of other sites, sometimes we leave them on all night, sometimes we turn them off. The only other thing we sometimes put out is a mutli-layered pinwheel.
RE: Starting the search and compromise!
Build yourself a first aid kit. You can equip it better than one of the kits you buy at the store. We keep a ton of band aids, some gauze, neosporan, an Ace bandage, and various other things. Just think about what your kids might need if they get hurt.
Games. We keep several in our trailer (and its just the wife and I!). With kids, this one is mandatory.
Get a water pressure regulator. This will keep the water at an even pressure so things flow more smoothly when using a water hookup. It also prevents lines from blowing out when you're at a campground with high pressure.
A box of plasic gloves to use when dumping tanks.
