RE: Thinking about a 5ver, question?
We very rarely make reservations as we like to be able to change our minds & directions on a whim. We've never not been able to find something. Being completely self contained, we can always find a Wal*Mart, etc if need be. The freedom to change our minds is of utmost importance to us. Let me add, that Thanksgiving and Christmas are our 2 concessions but on more than one occasion we've had to cancel those reservations. Diana
RE: I let the wife drive home - pulling the fiver!
Do you think age 66 is too "old" for a wife to learn? I've always been the typical helpmate with guiding the rig into site and leveling, whether it was one of our m/h's or one of our fifth wheel trailers. I, too, have been responsible for the interior opening and closing of slides. I did drive our m/h home once when my DH became ill at campground and couldn't drive. But that was many years ago. I have never attempted to drive the pickup, towing our fiver. I still work in office and drive the interstate daily, but that's in my Buick! Just wondering what you other DH's think, considering my age.......DH is willing to teach, but I feel he is reluctant. He has always been in charge of the driving, and I think, while he sees the need (he is had three heart attacks and resulting surgeries), he is concerned about my ability to react and to plan ahead. Opinions, please. I'll put on my tough skin :)
I know you wanted DH's advise but I'm going to give you female opinion. No I don't think 66 is too old. I am 60 and have no problems driving or doing any of the "jobs" associated with RV'ing. We've met many 60+ couples who just started RV'ing, having never done it before, and I don't think the husband in that family was asked if he was too old to learn to drive. You could try in a large empty parking lot just moving around a bit. You don't have to learn to back up on your first day. Then get on duel road, stay in your lane and don't worry about the people behind you. If they want to go around, they will simply pass you. My main suggestion is to drive 50 to 55. Some female friends I know, stopped driving because their spouses insisted they drive 65 or 70 on their first trip out. Heck, we only drive 56 now as we're never in a hurry. If you aren't comfortable with your spouse helping you, there are services that specialize in teaching the ladies to be comfortable behind the wheel. Try it you might just love it. Diana
RE: I let the wife drive home - pulling the fiver!
Everyone talks about the reasons for a spouse to drive; emergency, so the other can read or nap, etc. I'm surprised no one mentioned the really important, to us, reasons. 1. Neither of us are the least bit tired when we stop for the day as we have shared the driving by switching every two hours. 2. The few times we have HAD to drive from early morning til late nite, it was great that we could spell each other throughout the day and evening. 3. But the most important reason is that when the driver becomes the passenger he can actually see the wonderful sights we're passing through. Drivers can glance at the some of the spectacular sights we've driven through but as a passenger he can really gawk! Even if going out for just a day of sightseeing in the truck, he drives to our farthest point and I drive back. We both get to see everything. 4. If I had to be a passenger all day long, it wouldn't take long for me to get bored. By sharing the driving, I get to use different muscles, my eyes & ears and exercise my mind. Any gals out there that have the desire to drive, should go for it. We've been sharing the driving for 12 years of fulltiming. Diana
RE: Washer/Dryer combo or stacked
We've had our Sears Stackables for 12 years of fulltime use and so far only 1 minor repair which we were able to do ourselves. We just love ours. The combo wouldn't work for me because of the small capacity and long drying time but to each his own. Diana
RE: Inverters .. do you have one? .. are they worth the cost?
Like the other posters, it does depend on why you want one. We too boondock quite a bit and love it for that but there are 2 other resons we use ours. 1: When we are traveling, if there is a race or golf on TV during the day, we just pull over somewhere, crank up our satellite, it's roof mounted, turn on the invert and watch whatever. When it's done, crank the satellite back down and continue on. 2: if we do stop somewhere for the night that is not an RV park, we can watch TV and use my computer during the evening. The inverter is quiet compared to a genny. Tell us more about what you want to use it for and I'm sure you'll receive lots of advice and suggestions. Diana
RE: skylight in the shower
Our Carriage came with a pull shade which gives us the best of both worlds. It is a dark tan color and does keep it relativey dark. If an RV supply store an't help, you might try the blind section of say Home Depot or Lowes. If you have your inside measurements with you,you might just find what you need there. Diana
RE: Ride improvement advice needed
I agree with the others. Contact Moy/Ryde in Elkhart, Indana. We don't have the Pin Box from them but have their suspension. We even have it on our 1996 Dodge 10 ton. What a smooth ride when unhooked after having that put on. Diana
RE: Carpeted ceiling
I dilute some woolite/liquid carpet cleaner or use foam carpet cleaner and spray it around the area. :S You'd better not be standing directly under it and looking up when you do it. After waiting a few minutes, you can blot the area with towels or paper towels until it comes clean or I use my little green machine to suck out the excess. Do be prepaed for that area to be a little whiter when finished compared to the surrounding ceiling carpet but after a week, it's not noticable anymore. Hope this help, Diana
RE: All I do is defrost.
We've learned to watch the temperature of the area we are traveling in and adjust the thermostat on the front of the fridge.I keep it as high as possible but that will keep the food in the fridge cold and everything in the freezer frozen. If we run into cool or cold weather I raise the temp so it doesn't have to work so hard. Hot weather I lower it and do have to defrost it a bit more. Another suggestion given to me that I'll pass along is that if there is a little sensor on your fins, we have one on our older RV, try moving it a bit to another fin or 2 or 3 either left or right to see if that helps. I keep a little thermometer in the freezer to be sure I don't go too high on he temp.
I was told to put a dollar bill in between the door and the frame then close the door. Try pulling the bill out. If it resists or doesn't come out, you don't need seals. I check ours once a year.
For when you DO have to defrost, I have 2 suggestions that work for me.
On the fridge, I try to wait for a cool night when possible then simply turn it off overnight. Any buildup on the fins will be gone by morning and you can just turn it back on.
On the Freezer. I bought those flexible cutting boards and cut the second to make a full sheet that will cover the entire back of the freezer. Just tape them together. Put it agaist the back wall and put the shelves back in which holds it to the wall. Put your food back in. When there is sufficient buidup, just take out the food and the shelves and pull on he cutting board. Most of it will stick to the cutting board and you just have to dump it in the sink. Some may fall to the floor of the freezer but that's easy enough to clean up. Very quick work of a pesky job. I've use this method for most of our 12 years of fulltiming. Hope this helps, Diana
RE: Happy Memorial Day
We agree wholeheartedly. Thank you to all that have allowed us to live as we do. Wherever and however you are spending it, HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!Diana & Dutch
RE: Fantastic bedroom fan, yes or no ???
We agree with Dick B for the most part. Noise would be a factor in the bedroom for us but we use the one in the bathroom for cooling the bedroom We had one in our bathroom for 9 years. Did eventually install one in the kitchen area but use it more for a skylight than the fan BUT it's good to know it's there if we need it.
RE: New to the forum
You'll really enjoy this forum. It took me awhile to get used to just jumping in when I wanted to post but now it's second nature and a lot of fun. ps. We're in the same boat--keep our 1996 Carriage, in fantastic shape, or go for a new one. Decisions, decisions.
Welcome aboard. Diana
RE: DirecTV or Dish network
We've had DISH for the 12 years we've been full timing. Overall have been very satisfied. Have heard both positive and negative about both so you have a hard decision ahead of you. One thing about it, with all the incentives out there, if you don't like one, just cancel after your contract is up and try the other. Good Luck, Diana
RE: How Long Do You Keep your Unit
We have had our first and only RV since we pulled out of Florida January 1997 in our 38' Carriage tripple slide 5th wheel. It's still is great shape and by adding or upgrading something every few years it has kept us from buying a new one. We have been looking and at new ones for the last year or so but haven't made any definite decisions. #1 because it's paid for and #2 we really do have it set up just the way we want it. Diana
RE: Bye, Bye FlyingJ discount
So where have you been lately that people smile or even seem to give a damn that you stopped there to spend your hard earned money and keep them employed?
Gosh, I've been to many many places where I've found friendly people who give a damn. Just not FlyingJ lately.
I guess I'm the only one who is disappointed that FlyingJ has discontinued their fuel and propane discount but I can live with that. My original post had just been to let people know about the discontinuation. Diana
Bye, Bye FlyingJ discount
We stopped at FlyingJ a bit ago in Tallahassee, FL and they are no longer giving a propane discount. They now say the only way to get a penny off is to spend $10.00 in the store or restaurant. Duh, that would only be worth it if you were going to already use that service. We have eaten there but I want to decide when and where I eat, not FlyingJ. I don't have any need for anything in their store. They did say that if you spend, I think, $300.00 a month or something like that they will also give a discount but that only works if you have a motorhome, an extra tank in your pickup or are going to be in an area for a whole month where there is a FlyingJ. Just isn't going to work for us anymore. I will say that over the last year we have seen a decline in:
The pumps,especially propane, working or even giving a receipt which makes you go inside and wait in line thus holding up others behind you waiting for fuel. Mention something is broken to them and they just shrug
Overall friendlyness in the attendants inside and out-though the outside workers are better. I want to point out that I ALWAYS start with a :)smile and a "how ya doin`" even if something is wrong.
and finally the overall appearance at their pumps and other areas had just gone downhill.
I have taken the time on ocassion in the past year to call corportate just to see if they were aware of certain situations but have always met with an abrupt "Yeah, thanks for calling, we'll check into it". Goodbye
Just my thoughts but after 12 years just don't think we'll patronize FlyingJ anymore.
There are a lot of us RV'ers out there and if the majority of us went elsewhere maybe they would wakeup. Diana
RE: Are Dishwashers Worth It?
We've had our Fridgedaire dishwasher in our Carriage for 12 years. Just love it!! We don't miss the drawer space as we feel we have plenty of room. For us it is a must have. Toss the dishes in as you dirty them and run it when it is full. Just have too many other things I could be doing than to be doing something I don't like to do-----so a dishwasher solves my problem
I have run mine when boondocking but only when I knew there were full hookups in my future within the next 2 to 3 days. FYI it takes apps 15 gallons of water so I agree if you do a lot of boondocking, probably not a good choice. Diana
RE: Washer and Dryer
I wouldn't worry abour leaks from vibrations. We've had our Sears Stackables for almost 12 years of fulltiming and nary a leak or problem. Hmmm, better knock on wood-ha. We agree with the others that they have plenty of room in them and I don't feel my dryer takes much longer than the ones I had when we lived in stick houses. The convenience to do laundry when I want and not have to drag clothes, detergent, softener, etc is a big plus for me. We figured ours paid for itself in less than 4 years,using a very modest fee for laundromat costs, so that's another bonus to think about. Diana
RE: Good Sams Club
We've been Good Sam members for over 11 years and have been happy with them. We use the discount on RV parks when we use a regular RV park. Their magazine is good reading and the Good Sam Forum offers lots of interesting info. We don't use the emergency service as we have it in our insurance plan. Whenever they offered a fuel discount we took advantage on ocassion. Since we are also golfers, the Golf Card purchased through Good Sam is much cheaper than going with Golf Card directly and there is no difference in courses or cost. Hope this helps. Diana
RE: Florida Everglades
:B A big Thank you to everyone who posted. We arrived in Everglades City this afternoon and can't wait to try everything everyone said. Will keep you posted. We opted for Monument campground. It's boondock but a pretty lake and not too far from everything.Regular fee $16.00 but with Golden Age Passport only $8.00 a night. Can't beat that! I was surprised we could find a spot with the Seafood Fest starting on Friday. We were lucky. Diana
