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RE: Spiders! (Eeeeewwwww!)
I agree with rodents that keeping them out in the first place is the only successful solution. No amount of handling them once inside -- especially in a case where your rig sits alone and unattended all week like mine does -- will do any good at all.
OTOH, with spiders and insects, it is less practical to make a rig that tight.
Thanks for all the replies. I'm planning to go with the Ortho suggestion and make the area around my rig's "pad" an insect dead zone.
thanks,
jp
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JeffPritchard
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10/12/08 09:11pm |
General RVing Issues
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Spiders! (Eeeeewwwww!)
Well, it seems like I just can't catch a break when it comes to various critters getting into my rigs. I have a small Class A that I've all but written off because I couldn't keep the rats out of it. Finally found the last rat-sized hole and fixed it, but now the mice are still getting in!
Anyway, that rig is basically out to pasture at this point. It has been replaced with a much easier to rodent-proof truck camper. I've been very pleased that after a year of this new Lance 1191 sitting on the same property that killed the class A, not one rodent has found its way in. And that's stock, didn't have to get out any caulk or anything.
But now onto the point of this posting...the spiders apparently can find their way in. In the course of a week long trip I've just returned from, I killed three big brown spiders and a few smaller ones. Eeeek! I'm like a little girl when it comes to spiders!
I did a search here, and only found one suggestion for getting rid of spiders. That was Eucalyptus leaves. To me, having that smell in the camper would be almost as bad as the spiders.
Anyone else have some suggestions for how to keep spiders out of the rig while it sits on wild land in So. Cal? BTW, no practical source of 24/7 electricity to run one of those electric deterrents (do they work anyway?)
thanks for any advice,
jp
(P.S. PUHLEEZE spare me the dryer sheet mania ) :)
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JeffPritchard
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10/10/08 08:04pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Exteme TC'ing in a dually?
Just had an amusing thought of a "big lance and big dually truck" pulling a lifted half-ton with a popup up it. :) Why not? I towed my F150 behind my small class A for a few years. :)
jp
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JeffPritchard
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10/10/08 07:47pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Exteme TC'ing in a dually?
As the owner of a brand new "big lance" and "big Ford Dually", I would just like to throw in a suggestion that you pick up an Auto Trader and have a look at the trucks in there stacked up like cord-wood. With gas and diesel so expensive these days there are lots of people looking to get rid of a fuel sucking truck. Consequently the prices are pretty good even on one that is not very long in the tooth.
Next, have a look around for a bare-bones popup with none of the luxury items.
I think for about the same money you would spend in trading one for the other, you could just get a second pair of vehicle and camper that are just for "extreme" use. This way you don't have to fear banging up the fenders. You're certain to be able to find one that is already lifted and let the other guy eat the money that it cost to do that and any other off-road mods.
cheers,
jp
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JeffPritchard
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10/10/08 07:44pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: On the road again... Must see/stay Rocky M N. P.
Thanks Mtnman,
Is there anything very treacherous getting to the West end of RMN Park by way of Winter Park and the three lakes area? (I-70 to 40 to 34)
thanks,
jp
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JeffPritchard
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10/04/08 08:25am |
Roads and Routes
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On the road again... Must see/stay Rocky M N. P.
I'm on the road early tomorrow morning, Sandy Eggo to Denver area.
I have very fond memories of RMNP, but haven't been there in a coon's age, and don't have much of a memory for specifics of where things were, etc.
I'll be pedal to the metal two days straight on the interstates to get there, then 5 days of intense laziness spent among the changing apsen and the pines and the rocky streams etc. Then 2 days back home.
I think 5 days spent staying in and enjoying the park itself will probably suit me just fine, but wanted to see if any frequent travelers to that area might have some specific suggestions for that immediate area -- maybe just suggestions for good autumn drives and/or extremely easy hikes (I'm up to 350lbs -- weight loss surgery in January)
I'm traveling in a new Ford F350 and Lance 1191 truck camper. If you know of some extremely easy off roading (i.e. dirt road, but no rock climbing or anything) that is well worth the trip in that immediate vicinity that would be welcome info.
I'm not in to sightseeing of the tourist trap variety. Just the road less traveled -- with lots of really nice scenery.
thanks in advance,
jeffp
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JeffPritchard
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10/03/08 07:37pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: height of truck bed - F350 vs. F450
Thanks for all the helpful answers.
Interestingly, the salesman hasn't called me back, so I'm thinking he must have been wrong with his guestimates on the value of my current truck or some other part of the proposed deal. I'll likely be sticking with the truck I have.
Looking forward to a long trip out to the Rockies in a couple weeks.
cheers,
jp
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JeffPritchard
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09/20/08 09:45am |
Truck Campers
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RE: height of truck bed - F350 vs. F450
I use the truck for other things. The camper is off the truck more than it is on.
If I continue to have the aforementioned problem of landing on the step when exiting a gas station, I'll probably just raise the camper in the bed a couple of inches. Maybe put one of those heavy duty wheels just aft of the step to protect it.
It only happened twice out of probably 30 trips in and out of various gas stations so far. Probably a small amount of "plywood" under the camper, and maybe another 20psi in the airbags, and it will not happen anymore.
My question was more out of curiosity, having just been cornered by a desperate salesman at the dealer.
thanks,
jp
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JeffPritchard
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09/19/08 09:29am |
Truck Campers
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RE: height of truck bed - F350 vs. F450
Geez that 1191 looks huge like it was for people in the 7 foot range.
It does have nice headroom, but it is a "basement" style camper. The inside floor is up almost a foot off the bed of the truck. To put it another way, the inside floor sits above the wheel wells in a regular bed, and is thus about a foot wider side-to-side than the floor in a non-basement style camper.
She does stand proud, though at roughly 12 feet on my truck, still a good bit shorter than the class-A's they are making these days!
jp
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JeffPritchard
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09/18/08 08:31pm |
Truck Campers
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height of truck bed - F350 vs. F450
Just wondering, does the bed of an F450 (stock) sit a couple inches higher than a similar F350?
I might have an opportunity to trade up, and my Lance 1191 (specifically the step) sometimes bottoms out when exiting poorly designed gas stations. I was wondering if an F450 would give me any additional clearance.
Would I likely be able to move the rear air bags from an 08 F350 dually to an 09 F450 dually? Or would they be the wrong size?
thanks,
jp
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JeffPritchard
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09/18/08 02:41pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Anyone taken the Lance plant tour lately?
The world is changing. I think the parts thing was probably lobbied for by Dealers in one of their last ditch attempts to keep things afloat.
I think that, while it is certainly very nice to have a knowledgeable and friendly dealer nearby to help with service issues, it just isn't a very efficient way to sell low volume stuff. It is much more efficient for Lance or other manufacturers to truck 5 or 6 brand new units all around the country to the big parking lot sales/shows so people can see them, than it is for a hundred dealers to each take 5 or 6 brand new units and have them sit on their lot.
It's really not much different than the disappearance of brick and mortar music stores or the disappearance of momandpop video stores.
Time stands still for no-one...not even Lance.
jp
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JeffPritchard
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09/03/08 09:41am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Tailgate Ideas?
My tailgate has been chain-locked to my water tank ever since I got the truck. I just use one of those web-like things, but in order to make it easier to get it out of the way, I thread two bungie cords through it (one at the top one at the bottom) and just stretch it accross and hook it on. The original silly attachment for the web thing was some straps you were supposed to tie on. That got to be a pain.
jp
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JeffPritchard
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08/29/08 09:24am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Any great suggestions for bedding on a camper?
Get an electric blanket! (and a small inverter to run it all night)
I wouldn't RV without one.
I know it isn't what you're asking about, but it is related to the topic. :)
jp
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JeffPritchard
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08/27/08 08:54am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Is there a service like this? (ship RV across country)
Since I am currently "stuck" with a very negative equity small Class A, this might be an interesting use for it. Take a couple weeks to drive it up to Maine or some such place and put it in storage there. Then fly up there once a year and use it for a week.
Would have to be in a place where storage is a good deal cheaper than it is down here in San Diego!
thanks,
jp
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JeffPritchard
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08/11/08 05:38pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Is there a service like this? (ship RV across country)
You can forget "by train" they do not go by a schedule so a cross country move may be 5 days or 3 weeks. Not to mention we have had several folks try it for household moves and found out damage is common. RV's on train cars are more popular than stop signs during hunting season. Also they aren't used to moving/loading/unloading cargo that can be damaged fairly easily.
As for drivers or haulers our last quotes when diesel was $3.25 a gallon ranged from $2.25 a mile to $3.10 a mile.
5 days or 3 weeks I can live with. Having people shoot at my rig...not so much!
thanks,
jp
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JeffPritchard
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08/02/08 05:46pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Is there a service like this? (ship RV across country)
Being in the trucking business I highly doubt that since you are talking about a full truckload & not a partial b/c of the beck space used that you could get it moved for less than $3.50 per mile & it might be higher since you wouldn't have any "history" with the shipper, fuel alone will cost them 50-70 cents per mile. I fully agree with the earlier poster you could stay in a real nice hotel for far less $$$.
Thanks. Actually when I came up with this silly idea, I was thinking "by train", rather than "by truck". Would it be significantly cheaper that way?
thanks,
jp
P.S. most places I go don't have a "real nice hotel", or if they do you have to book your room about three years in advance. ;)
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JeffPritchard
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08/02/08 04:44pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Is there a service like this? (ship RV across country)
One solution to living down here in the "corner" is a fly-drive trip. Mine are usually 10 days, sometimes tent camping (gasp) or motel/B&B. You'd be surprised at what dirt roads those rental cars can travel. It's not home-sweet-4x4RV, but it's not all bad.
Thanks Tiger, yes, I have done that before, especially to get to one of the other "corners".
And by the way, I think I've been the unfortunate next customer that rented one or two of those cars you've driven off road. :)
cheers,
jp
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JeffPritchard
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08/02/08 02:50pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Is there a service like this? (ship RV across country)
FedEx's "Custom Critical Transport" will take it on a flatbed for about $1.25 per mile.
http://passport.fedex.com/
Yikes on the price, but this might almost be worth it. About $2000 for an extra 6 days worth of real vacation time. Actually, if you figure in the cost of the fuel to drive there instead, it's only about half that.
jp
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JeffPritchard
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08/02/08 08:43am |
General RVing Issues
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Is there a service like this? (ship RV across country)
I'm not retired yet. My trips have to fit into the "extended weekend" variety for a few years to come yet.
I'm getting tired of the parts of the country I can reach in a 4 day trip. It would be really awesome if there was a way to ship my rig (truck and TC) to a distant city, and then just fly there and meet it for a nice 4 day trip, and then fly back home. The rig would arrive back home a week or two later (i.e. whenever).
Has anyone seen something like this available?
thanks,
jp
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JeffPritchard
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08/01/08 09:26pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Camp ground would not let me take camper off truck.
I think this might be one of those instances where some good old fashioned "civil disobedience" would go a long way.
My response when they came back around and said "we told you that you couldn't take your camper off the truck!" would be...
"clearly you were wrong about that."
cheers,
jp
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JeffPritchard
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08/01/08 08:57am |
Truck Campers
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